February 15th, 2010
So today I went grocery shopping at Harris Teeter at North Hills, the newest store in town. Now, I don’t really mind ordinary grocery shopping, but this was grocery shopping at its finest. Fine grocery shopping? It’s true, and I’ll list just a few of the reasons why the grocery store trip was one of the highlights of my day today.
1: I didn’t need my umbrella. Yes, it was raining, but I didn’t need my umbrella. They have covered parking. Harris Teeter has a parking deck! Rain, wind, snow, heat—-none of that matters when you enter the grocery store through the parking deck.
2: I got a meal in addition to my groceries. You know how they say you shouldn’t go to the grocery store hungry? Well, that doesn’t apply to this store. Of course they have an in-store deli with plenty of sushi, subs, and prepared foods. But here they also have an extra-long salad bar, a soup bar with 5 kinds of soup, and an Asian hot bar buffet with almost 20 items. And there’s even nice tables and chairs where you can eat your food while it’s hot. No need to stock up on those free cookie samples when you shop here.
3: You need a map. Seriously. This store is HUGE. And they actually have maps of the store in little map stands all around. But this is Harris Teeter, so it’s not the warehouse-store kind of huge; it’s huge and stylish.
4: This store has two levels. You can take your cart up and down in an elevator! Or you can take the winding staircase if you’re just there for an express lane trip. It’s one of those things you have to see to believe—-taking your cart in an elevator in the grocery store.
So I think we may possibly have a new tourist destination in Raleigh. Harris Teeter at North Hills, sightseeing at the grocery store. Just like me, a lot of the shoppers there today came because they were curious about the logistics of a two-story grocery store. Well, I’m here to tell you, it is big, beautiful, and worth checking out.
That’s Life in Raleigh.
The new Harris Teeter at North Hills
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February 14th, 2010
And this time it was a wet snow that outlined the tree branches and created a winter wonderland effect. It came overnight on a Friday with a few inches and the roads were essentially clear and dry by late Saturday afternoon. That’s the kind of snowfall we like here in North Carolina!
But…we have had enough wintry precipitation this winter! This is North Carolina, after all. Bring on the heat and humidity. We’re ready. We may not even complain about it too much next time around.
That’s Life in Raleigh.
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February 5th, 2010
Thank goodness we have our very own forecasting groundhog here in Raleigh, North Carolina! Our Sir Walter Wally braved the elements and the lingering piles of snow on February 2 to join Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker in a Groundhog Day ceremony and made a prediction for an early spring here in these parts.
While I do feel sorry for those up north for whom Punxsutawney Phil forecast six more weeks of winter, we’ve had enough winter around here already. Several years worth, as a matter of fact. Bring on spring!
But Sir Walter Wally, is today’s 34 degrees and rain really part of our early spring plan?!?!
That’s Life in Raleigh.
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February 4th, 2010
Yep, it snowed in Raleigh. The most snow we’ve had in years, actually. We only had a few inches, but it’s been a couple of years since we’ve had more than a trace.
It was beautiful, too. So clean and pretty and made everything so quiet.
Quiet because snow does that, and quiet because our city shuts down when it snows. See, we don’t want to spend our tax dollars on very many snowplows or snow equipment that we’ll need only a few times each decade. We prefer to shut down our schools and slow down our pace when we get a snow that sticks. Kind of charming, actually. Although a lot of the charm wore off for a lot of the people around here after schools were shuttered for three consecutive days.
Oh, but the next time those kids are home because of snow may be several years away. Enjoy it now.
That’s Life in Raleigh.
My house in the snow of January 2010
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January 1st, 2010
Our family just returned from an evening stroll in Downtown Raleigh. We admired the holiday lights and the official N.C. Christmas tree, checked out the Winterfest Ice Rink, and warmed ourselves up with hot chocolate at Starbucks on Fayetteville Street before strolling back home.
What a great way to start off 2010. This is the stuff that wonderful family memories are made of.
That’s Life in Raleigh.
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January 1st, 2010
So the National Weather Service is predicting that we may have the longest cold stretch in a generation, possibly lasting more than a week. The forecast is cold: Highs between 35 and 42 and lows between 17-25. Oh, and we’re going to have wind chill on top of that.
Even more remarkable than this “prolonged” cold snap, though, is what I heard on my trusty weather radio this afternoon about the average temperatures here in Raleigh, North Carolina, the first week in January. Namely that our normal average high is 50 and our normal average low is 30. In January.
I can look back now on my summer entries regarding the heat and know those temperatures are definitely bearable in exchange for these kind of average normal temps come January. Except for about a week every generation or so.
That’s Life in Raleigh.
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December 29th, 2009
That’s what it’s called. Even though it is actually a visualization of death. See, each light on this tree represents a life lost on a North Carolina road in the past year. Those who died in an alcohol-related fatality are represented by red lights. This tree has 1453 lights and 440 red lights.
This tree with its tragic lights is on the grounds of the capitol each December. And each year our family stops and looks and reads the numbers and feels the sadness and thinks about the people and the families behind each lightbulb. It’s powerful.
Tree of Life
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December 28th, 2009
Here’s a look at how things turned out with Governor Bev Perdue’s participation in the Plant a Row for the Hungry program. These beauties were harvested shortly before the holidays.
The governor's cabbage patch
The governor's cabbage.
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December 15th, 2009
Raleigh is decked out in holiday finery and ready for company.
The weekend of December 12-13 was a big one in the Downtown Raleigh area featuring beautiful holiday decorations and live music by local performers. There was the annual Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour, the holiday open house at the Governor’s Mansion, and the holiday open house at the N.C. Capitol Building.
The elaborate decorations at the Governor’s Mansion take six months of planning, and it takes 15 people four days to put them up! One of the Christmas trees is a tree decorated with items special to North Carolina and its people. It’s covered in dogwood flowers, pine cones, cardinals, seashells, acorns, and sanddollars. Another special tree is decorated with more than 650 ornaments made by the sons and daughters of N.C. military service personnel.
Walking around and taking in the sights this time of year is always a satisfying family activity. And a chill in the air just seems to add the finishing touch.
That’s Life in Raleigh.
N.C. Governor's Mansion December 2009
N.C. Capitol December 2009
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November 2nd, 2009
Everything was perfect in Downtown Raleigh on October 31, 2009, for making this Halloween a memorable one. The moon was about as close to full as it can get. And the weather–well, let’s just say we don’t need to cover our costumes with coats. At trick-or-treat time, the temperature was around 70.
We started our party at the N.C. Governor’s Mansion. After making our way through security and their metal detectors, we were in the governor’s yard with tons of others, young and old, costumed and not. The sidewalk was covered in straw, and the governor had some pretty scary guys in costumes walking around, stirring a smoky brew in a pot, and even laying in a coffin only to rise up to frighten those brave enough to venture close. After working our way through all the creepy sights, Gov. Bev Perdue and her costumed husband were greeting all of their guests with handshakes and posing for photo ops.
My neighborhood, Historic Oakwood, rocks Halloween! Most neighbors participate by passing out candy, displaying pumpkins, and sitting outside on their porches. Some neighbors, though, go all out. They wear amazing costumes, decorate their homes like nothing you’ve ever seen, and even employ dry ice in their fright-fests.
We welcome all comers, and come they do. Throngs and throngs of trick-or-treaters. We bought ten pounds of candy to pass out—yes, that’s not a typo, 10 pounds–and we ran out of candy before we ran out of trick-or-treaters. Fortunately, my own goblins were back at that point, and so we started passing out candy that they had collected, but only what they considered undesirable pieces.
Then there’s the adult Halloween scene in Downtown Raleigh, concentrated particularly on Glenwood South. And with the 31st falling on Saturday this year, there was quite a party going on.
That’s Life in Raleigh.
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