Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Sept 9, 2022 1:18:11 GMT
}<^*%#<>^#} I am in panic mode right now. I want cry right now. I cannot deal with this much stress. I have had so much anti-anxiety medication I am so stressed out. I am trying to book puppy training classes for my dog and I need a flight to Oregon. I also cannot use technology well anymore. Delta Dawn Just want to offer a hug. When I get super anxious, it's like my brain freezes and I can't think my way through things. I hope you have someone who can help you or that the panic subsides. I believe I have generalized anxiety disorder. I've been anxious my whole life; it's gotten worse as I've moved into the middle-aged years of personal health problems and losing older loved ones, which has coincided with my country losing its collective mind and the fear for the future that goes along with all of that. I should probably be on anti-depressants and in therapy, but I've not ad much success with either and feel a bit tired of looking, although I do believe both work in the right moment. I have an Rx for Ativan to take as needed and I usually don't need to too often. And I have a husband and a few good friends I can talk to if need be. And I use a meditation app called Stop Breathe Think which has helped me learn a few coping skills. Yoga stretches can be helpful to me, sometimes, walking, sometimes needlework. Anything that can pull your brain out of the spiral and force it into each present moment as it comes and goes will be helpful.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Aug 29, 2022 13:47:59 GMT
I read Eat Like Walt: Disney's Love of Food and Flavors by Marcy Carriker Smothers. I saw this book while browsing on Etsy and ordered it--it's a large book with nice pictures of Disneyland in the 1950s and 60s, menus from the DL restaurants of that era, and Disney family pictures. The text is about Walt's taste in food (pretty plain and Midwestern), the eating facilities that were provided during his lifetime at Disney Studios, and then some recipes at the end. A little thin on content, but the pictures were a lot of fun to look at.
I also read Castle Shade by Laurie R. King, which is the 17th book in her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery series. I love the early book in the series but the last seven or eight have been very hit-or-miss. This one was more of a hit, very atmospheric, as Russell and Holmes travel to a castle in Transylvania to solve a mystery for Marie, the Queen of Romania. I've been looking for books lately that are good at creating a world for me to absorb myself in, and this one did a pretty good job.
And I read What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo. Stephanie is a journalist who was abused and abandoned by her parents as a child and teen. She struggled for years to find ways to help herself, but when she was diagnosed with C-PTSD in 2018, she found a direction to move toward and different therapies to try, which she details in the book. I appreciated her descriptions of the methods and challenges to finding mental health care. There is description of abuse in the opening chapters, but most of the book is about recovery.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Aug 23, 2022 19:14:21 GMT
This is the time of year when I start buying fall clothes and then get pissed that I can't wear most of them till the end of October. 😄
I've gotten two pairs of jeans and two pairs of jeggings and a pair of regular pants--I've lost some weight so I need new pants. I know the jeans will work, not sure I'm up for jeggings but I can always send them back if need be.
And I've gotten a long-sleeve waffle-knit tee, a hoodie/tee, and a fleece shirt/jacket--I don't need any of those, but they're in different colors than I usually wear, so hopefully they'll mix things up a bit. And I'll probably look for a casual/dressy pair of shoes. Being down a few more pounds makes me feel more excited about trying some new stuff for fall.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Aug 15, 2022 12:27:41 GMT
This covers several weeks; I was up in Ohio visiting my mom over two Sundays and forgot to visit the board!
Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris. This latest books of essays deals partly with his father's decline and death and partly with his usual topics: his partner, his sisters, travel and buying houses. (He does go on a bit about his great wealth, my only complaint.) Some reviewers felt that Sedaris went too dark and angry in this book, but he's always mixed darkness and humor tightly together and this book felt the same. I lost my dad in December 2020, and while he was a MUCH better father than Lou Sedaris seems to have been, I could relate to some of the mixed emotions David expresses and to his grief. I thought this book has some of his best writing in it.
Lady Sunshine by Amy Mason Doan. A good summer read about a teenage girl who spends the summer of 1979 at the rural community of her uncle, a famous but faded 60s folk singer. The story is mixed with another plot line from 1999 when this girl, grown up, has to go back to the property which has been left to her in her aunt's will and prepare the estate to sell, and deal with the tragic events that ended her teenage summer there. Sounds convoluted but it's really not. It wasn't perfect but I enjoyed it and really felt pulled into the world of the story.
Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick. Philbrick has written many books on early American history (I've read a couple) and this one is a bit more personal and light-hearted as he and his wife take a few road trips in 2017-2019 to follow the path of trips Washington took while he was President. These trips were meant to show himself to people in all the colonies, to promote the Constitution and some of his policies, and to encourage unity. Philbrick draws some parallels between the America of that time and of our time. And he grapples with the mixed legacy of Washington regarding slavery and other things. A very enjoyable read.
The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron and Clint Howard. This was a really delightful book by the Howard brothers about their lives as child stars in the 60s and 70s, and the life their parents provided for them. If you grew up watching The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, or Gentle Ben, you'll probably love this look back.
Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century by Stephen Galloway. I like reading about old Hollywood, and I read a bio of Vivien Leigh many years ago, so this was of interest to me. Leigh and Olivier met in the mid-1930s, fell passionately in love, and left their respective spouses and children to be together. But Leigh's bipolar disorder led to deeper and deeper disruptions in their life together until they divorced in the late 1950s. The story was interesting, especially the parts about Leigh's mental health and the lack of good medications available at that time and the utter misunderstanding those around her had of what she was dealing with. But Leigh and Olivier don't come off as very likeable and so it's hard to have much sympathy, especially for Olivier. And there were multiple factual errors, which always makes me cast a suspicious eye at all other assertions by the author.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 31, 2022 1:14:35 GMT
I'm very sorry. Losing a parent is surreal in the worst way. I pray for peace and comfort for you and your family.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 30, 2022 6:01:04 GMT
I bet they get special secret parking and don’t have to deal with the parking lot like the rest of us. 😄 I think my TJ's in Newport News VA is one of the few with a normal parking lot that's easy to get in and out of. The one up the road in Williamsburg--I swear that lot was designed by a sociopath. 😄
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 25, 2022 15:34:20 GMT
I found a new-to-me author from the golden age of British mysteries (ie the Agatha Christie era) named Patricia Wentworth. She wrote about a sleuth named Miss Maud Silver, a former teacher turned private detective, between the late 1920s and the early 1960s.
They're quick reads, and I love that time period of British mysteries, so I knocked off the first few this past week and also listened to one while I was painting my stairway. I read:
Grey Mask The Case is Closed Lonesome Road In the Balance
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 21, 2022 19:52:22 GMT
Only 12 out of 21 ! I must be a slacker ! 17.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 21, 2022 1:07:23 GMT
jeremysgirl The Good Place is a real gem of a show. I have a hunch you might like it. It's perfect for binge-watching.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 19, 2022 5:35:17 GMT
I read The Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires. Not sure what to think - I give it 3.5 rounded down to 3 on Goodreads. I don't know why, but I just loved that book. It's not quite my typical thing, but there was just something about it. I read it in 2020, during covid restrictions and after surgery, and I think maybe I just enjoyed having the story completely take me away from that. I didn't care for the author's next boom at all, so 🤷🤷🤷
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 18, 2022 22:48:21 GMT
I actually don't butter or salt corn on the cob any more. My husband doesn't, and one time I thought maybe I should try it without, and it was just as tasty, maybe even more so. He says you can taste the corn more that way, and not just butter and salt.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 18, 2022 21:59:43 GMT
I got my second shot this past Wednesday morning, started feeling loopy and achy by late afternoon, ran a fever overnight and for most of the next day. Tylenol helped with that once I remembered to take it! Still had a bad headache all day Friday but the body aches and fever were much better. Saturday I was 90% back to normal, just a sore arm and slight headache.
The first shingles shot, I got my covid booster at the same time, so I wasn't sure how much of the general afterward lousiness was due to which shot, which made me unsure how I'd be impacted this time around.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 18, 2022 21:54:46 GMT
Tumbleweed is the cutest name for a pup! What a sweet baby.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 18, 2022 21:47:56 GMT
Sorry flanz I didn't see your post for some reason. As others said, it was an Amazon First Reads book. I find those to be pretty hit or miss, but it's nice to be able to try something for free every month.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 18, 2022 15:42:41 GMT
Thanks quietgirl ! That's the perfect compliment for a booklover! 🥰
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 18, 2022 15:40:13 GMT
I read The Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger. She's written several books about classic film; this one was about the studio system in the classic movie era and the methods they used to create movie stars. She talks about people for whom it worked, people for whom it didn't, people for whom it shouldn't have but did, and people for whom it should have but didn't. LOL. I love classic movies and so I found it a pretty interesting topic. She's an engaging writer.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 13, 2022 5:33:35 GMT
Thanks so much for this list! I often feel like I've read ALL the mysteries (at least all the ones I'm interested in), but there are some appealing new ones and also some authors I'd forgotten about.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 11, 2022 13:55:14 GMT
I was stuck at home all week because my husband tested + for covid (he's fine now) so I got a lot of reading done.
A Feather in the Water by Lyndsay Jayne Ashford was the 2nd Amazon free read I got for July. I didn't care for the other one I picked, but this one was better. I've read a zillion books about the World War II era, but this one was actually about a topic I hadn't encountered in fiction before: the displaced person (DP) camps that were set up immediately after the war to temporarily house camp survivors and refugees until they could return home, emigrate, etc. This story was about three different women who volunteer, each for her own personal reasons, to help staff a DP camp in southern Germany in summer 1945. The book wrapped up a bit too neatly and the author seemed to speed through the last 25% or so, but it was still a touching and informative read.
I read Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland for my online book club. It's about three generations from two families who gather at the Catskills retreat they've owned for decades (and which has been declining for years) to decide whether to try to renovate and hang on, or sell to a casino developer for millions. I liked the history and the setting, and some of the interplay between the generations, but most of the characters were unlikable. Maybe if I'd ever seen Dirty Dancing, I'd have enjoyed this more. It was a decent light read, though.
Close Up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream by Sam Staggs...I read this one because I was listening to a classic film podcast, and they had an episode on Sunset Boulevard. I hadn't watched it in years, so I did (a very good movie) and then looked for a book about the making of it. This one was pretty good, except that the last third or so was about the making of the Webber musical, and I'm only interested in the movie. But if you like classic film, it's a worthwhile read.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 11, 2022 13:31:44 GMT
I used to work in a Columbus OH library branch that had a beautiful sitting area with windows that looked out onto woods, and a fireplace, and comfy chairs. And that was where the new books were shelved, so it was very inviting (as a patron) to browse the new books, grab a few, and retreat to a comfy chair for a better look. It wasn't a huge library, but it was new (25 years ago, lol) and thoughtfully designed and decorated.
My current library in Virginia is the very ugliest of industrial early-70s architecture, with no windows and no seating areas. It's purely functional. The city keeps mentioning plans for a new building, but who knows? When they've had patron surveys for what we'd like in a new library, I always mention windows, trees, seating areas, and fireplaces (among other things.)
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 5, 2022 17:01:52 GMT
I'm rereading the " Mistress of the Art of Death" series by Ariana Franklin. It's a good historical fiction mystery series, with one drawback- the author died and the final book ends on a cliffhanger. Have you read her stand-alone book City of Shadows? It's SO GOOD.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 5, 2022 13:55:47 GMT
I read French Braid by Anne Tyler, who books I love. Reading her books are like visiting with an old friend. 4/5 I read French Braid a couple months ago and just loved it. Anne Tyler is wonderful!
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 4, 2022 18:47:13 GMT
I read The Last Lie Told by Debra Webb which was an Amazon First Read for July.
Can I just say I hate it when I'm reading a not-very-good book but I plow through to the end because I'm far enough in that I can get it done and add it to my yearly total, and then I realize it's going to be the first book of a series and the side mystery that I wasn't super interested in but still wanted the answer to, isn't going to be wrapped up because it will be a thru-line in the series, but I'm not interested or impressed enough to pick up any of the forthcoming books?
Yeah, that's how it was. Two out of five stars.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jul 2, 2022 1:17:41 GMT
I read it in 2013 and gave it four stars, according to my GoodReads records. I don't have strong memories, but I remember enjoying it.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jun 27, 2022 19:55:51 GMT
I read Look Both Ways by Linwood Barclay, a mini-thriller about automatic cars that go berserk and terrorize an island town. It was just okay. A fun premise, though. Sort of Stephen King-lite.
I'm in the middle of Death at the Chateau Tremont by M. L. Longworth. I watched this British series "Death in Provence" or maybe it was "Murder in Provence" on Britbox last week and really enjoyed it. This is the first mystery in the series on which the show is based. The show is better. 😄
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jun 13, 2022 20:36:56 GMT
Hola! This past week I read The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones. I found an advanced reader's copy of it at the thrift store. It's a novel that takes place in an Edwardian country house...a party has been planned...and then peculiar things begin to derail the party. The best way I could describe it is "Downton Abbey meets Twilight Zone." I enjoyed it, didn't love it, but it was fine.
And I read Metropolis by B.A. Shapiro. I think it's been mentioned here before. I've read several of this author's books and enjoyed them. This is the story of several people who are using an old storage unit facility for purposes other than storage: as living spaces, as hiding spaces, as office spaces. An accident breaks off this use of the building, throwing each person into upheaval and even peril. This was good; I gave it 4/5 stars. Some of it seemed a bit improbable, but the characters were interesting.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jun 6, 2022 4:14:39 GMT
I listened to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, as read by Tom Hanks. What a fantastic job he did--this audiobook has been recommended by many Peas and I finally took the time to listen this week while working on a project.
The book itself was good, a modern fairy tale of a brother and his beloved older sister who are turned away from their home and inheritance by a wicked stepmother. The book takes place between the 1950s and 1990s. But Tom Hanks's reading of it pushes the whole thing up a notch, makes the story more than I think it would have been if I'd read the book myself. So on GoodReads, I gave the book five stars: four for the book, plus one for Mr. Hanks.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jun 2, 2022 16:34:46 GMT
Thank you so much for the links! I chose Bookends, the memoir.
And @gar I LOVE books set in the UK. And Australia. As a kid I just wallowed in all those classic British children's books and it turned me into the Anglophile I am today!
Also I was thinking of you yesterday because I think you were one of the Peas who sent me some magazines and memorabilia when the Queen celebrated, I guess it must have been the 60th jubilee? I think @dottyscrapper was the other Pea. I still have all that stuff! 😊
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Jun 2, 2022 16:26:39 GMT
A friend of ours is playing in a pipe and drum celebration at Colonial Williamsburg this evening and we're planning to go and sweat in 90-degree heat and celebrate the Queen!
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on May 28, 2022 23:07:24 GMT
I'm so sorry. Much sympathy to you and your husband.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on May 26, 2022 21:50:13 GMT
My husband and I got home yesterday from a week in Asheville. We stayed at The Residences at Biltmore, which is right in between downtown and Biltmore Village, a very convenient location. The studio rooms have kitchenettes and washer/dryer, some have small balconies. It's a really attractive place with a lovely pool and hot tub area. It felt very homey.
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