We woke up to a winter wonderland here in the mountains of Murphy, North Carolina!    This is the earliest snow I've seen since I moved to the mountains.  Just enough to dust all the evergreens with a touch of white before sunrise - and just in time for today's Christmas parade downtown. It sure puts everyone in the holiday mood.  I'm heading home to curl up by the fire with a good book and a cup of cocoa...tomorrow it will be in the mid-50's and this snow will be just a memory.  And that's what I love about living here in the Southern mountains.  Two or three snowfalls a year - just enough to enjoy but not enough to shovel!  12/05/2009

What a perfect way to wake up on this beautiful Saturday morning in Cherokee County! This is our first winter snow in Murphy, NC and it’s come just in time for the Annual Hometown Christmas Parade in town today. I thing I’m going to bundle up and get outside for a nice walk on Wolf Mountain with the dogs before we head into town. Just enough snow to have a great day in the mountains!   12/05/2009

This weekend is the perfect time to visit the John C. Campbell Folk School for their Annual Fireside Sale, held every year in the Craft Shop, Keith House and Davidson Hall. Come and enjoy the live music and a warm crackling fire as you shop for artful treasures. Handmade items such as jewelry, weaving, forged iron, quilts, photography and turned wood. Take a look at some of the classes going on at  our recent visit to the Folk School. We'll see you at the Folk School this Sunday, December 6th, 10 am - 5 pm.Click HERE for more information or contact Lee & Carol Barbour www.LeeAndCarol.com   12/02/2009

            Home sales in Murphy North Carolina and Cherokee County continued to remain steady as interest rates inched even lower during the month of November in the mountains.  There were 26 closed sales and 31 pending contracts during the month.  With the first time buyers tax credit extended and a new $6,500 credit for move up and repeat home buyers available until April 30, 2010 activity was brisk during the month.  The total inventory is down, with 144 homes falling into the sold, pending or off market categories and 75 new listings being added.     November 2009 Market Report New Listings     75 Sold                  26 Pending            31 Expired             87 On Market       618 (data based on information from the Mountain Lakes Board of Realtors statistics November 1-30, 20... 12/02/2009

The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce/Welcome Center is located at 805 West U.S. 64 Highway, in the county seat of Murphy. They are open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday throughout the year. They are also open on Saturdays from April through October and on most holidays during the summer. Their staff always has a warm and friendly attitude and are always eager to assist you with vacation or relocation plans. The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce continues to prosper by following its mission of: "Fostering, nurturing and promoting our businesses, and by representing our community to the world and by helping to provide a better economic climate for businesses to thrive within." Make sure to stop in Murphy's Chamber Welcome Center for all your brochures, maps an... 11/27/2009

The turkey was in the oven and the giblets were on the stovetop. I’ve cleaned up the kitchen and fed Ollie the cat so it’s outside to find something for the “old country vase.” Not much outside, but lots of brown leaves all over the ground, but down by the garden I see some color. The last bit of broccoli with tiny yellow flowers, some red starter shoots from the blueberry bushes, some green leaves with barely budded wild roses and an old dried flower head. That will have to do… Not bad for a spent winter garden arrangement. It’s the unusual one’s that I like most anyway. Hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends today. We have so much to be thankful for – even when it looks like there’s nothing out there. 11/26/2009

If you are looking for a real estate team that can help you sell your home, or find the perfect place to live, then you've come to the right place. As former Floridians that made the move to the mountains, we want to serve you in finding and making your dreams a reality, too. It would be our pleasure to help you with all your real estate needs. If you're searching for a get-away cabin, land, investment property, or to make that move into your dream home, let us show you what the beautiful Western North Carolina, North Georgia and Eastern Tennessee mountains have to offer. Lee & Carol Barbour www.LeeAndCarol.com 11/25/2009

                           Today my youngest daughter and I made mountain memories.  We took a break from baking pies and chopping vegetables to wander through the garden, collecting the last of Nature's bounty to create a centerpiece for our holiday table.  The knockout roses are still blooming, despite the frost a few weeks ago.  We'll  clip the last of those to enjoy.  They'll go nicely with clusters of bright red berries from the nandina bushes.   I'll add sprigs of rosemary from the bush that's grown so large, along with some holly.  I've never been able to grow holly in any of my other gardens - like a horticultural Goldilocks, I found Northern Michigan too cold and the Florida Keys too hot.  But the mild climate and bountiful rainfall here in this part of the Southern mountains a... 11/25/2009

Welcome to the Cherokee County Historical Museum! If you're in Murphy, NC you won't want to miss out on this stop and admission is only $3.00 for adults and $1.00 for children. You can't miss the Historic Courthouse, and the museum is just a few doors down from it. Filled with Native-American artifacts, Pioneer Implements, Antique Firearms, Period Dress, Early School House Room, Photographs, Quilts, Doll Collection, and a Log Cherokee Dwelling circa 1800. These are just a few of the items you'll find on your trip to the Cherokee County Historical Museum.             Lee & Carol Barbour www.LeeAndCarol.com   11/25/2009

 In Murphy, NC we are have a lot of deer. During the Fall I see deer at least 4 times a week on my way to and from the office. I recently had a couple from Florida who I have been working with for several months to help them find their perfect retirement home.   We pulled up to a home which had a creek running along the side of the property. We got out of the car and they immediately walked over to the creek and commented on how soothing the rushing water sounded and how peaceful and secluded the property was. I glanced to my right and noticed what I thought was a statue of a deer bedded down in the grass...     Well.... to my surprise when I started walking towards the statue it moved... I recently read some articles about deer and their behavior and I remember specifically if deer are... 11/23/2009

The Princess Closet was founded by the Business Women Of Cherokee County North Carolina www.bwocc.com , which I am Vice President. It's a project that our organization operates and it offers formal wear to girls in middle school and high school so they can attend their PROM, HOMECOMING OR WINTER FORMAL dances. The Princess Closet is located in a local business The Computer Workshop.They have designated a large office that's private so the girls can try on the gowns. It's feminine decor makes the girls feel more at ease and comfortable.  It's a wonderful feeling to see these girls get so excited about going to these events and to hear their stories when they come back.  I had one father who started to cry when he saw his daughter came out to show him the gown that she choose. He thanked ... 11/23/2009

It was a beautiful sunny and blue sky day as my cousin from Maggie Valley, NC stopped by for a visit. We had a great lunch at the Italian Cafe and then headed over to the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. We spent lots of time in the Gift Shop and picked up some watercolor note cards by Margo Locke, and various other pottery items. The Folk School was having weekend classes so we were invited to take the self-tour of the classes and observe their creative makings. First we spent a little time in the History building and then caught a small music group and dancers practicing. Now on to our tour, with map in hand we started down at the Blacksmith Shop and had a great tour of the students there forging and hammering away. One of the best things about the Folk School is they r... 11/21/2009

The recent news that a government appointed panel (US Preventive Services Task Force) published recommendation against routine screening of mammograms should CONCERN every WOMEN. The panel even urged against teaching and encouraging women to do routine self-examinations.                             " The beginning of Heath Care Rationing" I am a BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR who 12 years ago at age 40 had a mammogram.The test showed abnormal shapes of cells in my right breast. I had a biospy and was diagnosed with Ductual Carsomina Insitu. This can only be detected by a mammogram. I was healthy women, wife and mom, with 2 beautiful little boys..... I was terrified!!!!. I ended up having a mastectomy along with reconstructive surgery.I was very lucky because it was detected early and I didn't n... 11/21/2009

Wouldn’t coming home to this setting just make you leave all the stress of your day behind you? Come home and just relax as you sit out on your porch watching the falling leaves blow by. We can all have stressful days with all that we have going on with our businesses, family and just all the little things that seem to pile up on us, but our homes are our retreats and place to shut that door of all those things, for a short time anyway, that fill our mind and time away. It’s great to live in the mountains and have this type of scenery to come home to, but no matter where we live we need to have that place and time to be restful and re-energized so we can wake up to the new day the Lord provides for us. No matter where we live He is ultimately the One that gives us that breath and stren... 11/21/2009

November is on track to keep the pending home sales at the same high level posted in September and October in Murphy, North Carolina and Cherokee County.  With 20 homes under contract from November 1-15, buyers continue to take adantage of the bargains in our market here in the mountains.                      Now that the Federal Housing tax credit has been extended and expanded to include move up/repeat home buyers, more and more prospective buyers are coming back to the Murphy area, ready to take advantage of this one-time cash bonus to middle-class American homeowners. Interest rates remain at historic lows, with a conventional 30 year loan available at 4.75% interest.  Here are the rates at Macon Bank in Murphy as of November 19, 2009: 30 Year Fixed Rate 4.75% with 0.0 discount poin... 11/20/2009

There's a great new option for grocery shopping in Murphy, North Carolina.                       United Grocery Outlet has just opened its newly expanded store in the shopping center on Andrews Road in Murphy.  The new store is double the size of the former location on Hwy 64.  With a wide, well-lit produce aisle and large upright freezer cases, the new location gives shoppers more choices while keeping the low prices that they are known for.   There's a welcome addition in this new larger location - a full meat department with butchers who will cut your steaks any size you want.   During opening week the store had a full page ad in the Cherokee Scout, advertising specials like boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.49/lb. and a whole boneless New York strip cut to your order for $3.99... 11/20/2009

  9530 Beautiful Views, Creek & Pasture on 6.76 +/- acresin a gated Equestrian Subdivision. Timberwood Springs offersgated community living, riding trails, fenced pastures,and Pavilion. This property features year round Mountain andPasture views, nice flowing creek, underground utilities,community water and a 3 Bedroom Septic Permit on file.Drastically reduced and priced to sell at $85,000 NC #108464Lee & Carol Barbour www.LeeAndCarol.com   11/17/2009

We don't have any Starbucks grande moccachinos here in the mountains of Murphy, North Carolina.  But we do have great coffee - at least at my house.   Cowboy coffee is what my husband calls it. All our guests love it... as long as they don't know how it's made.  Once they hear the recipe, they either line up with cups in hand or reach for the teabags.  But I'm hooked.  For years, I couldn't drink coffee at all, not even decaf.  But cowboy coffee is so smooth - there's no harsh aftertaste.  Vickie McCartney, you've asked for it... so here's the secret recipe: Start with about a gallon of water.  Frosty (yes, that's his name!) uses an old metal coffee pot we found at one of the local flea markets, like the ones you use over a campfire.  Our cowboy coffee is made outside over an open flame... 11/16/2009

  BEAUTIFUL 30.66 unrestricted acres with older 2BR/1BA farm houselocated in Murphy, NC. Nice creek, pasture and rolling property with good views.Great for development or your own private estate. This property takes you back in time and feels like you're way out of town, but you're just minutes from town and just across the street from the very desirable Wildcat Subdivision. $300,000 NC #102880Lee & Carol Barbour www.LeeAndCarol.com     11/16/2009

  The Leonid Meteor Shower "THE" event of the season for un-aided eye observersWe'll be leaving the office early tonight to camp out on our deck and watch the nights sky. You won't want to  miss out on this evenings spectacular show, November 16th, from sundown, continuing until Tuesday the 17th at sunrise... The Leonid meteor showers will rock the night sky! The moon should not be a problem, making it easier to spot the fainter meteors. Although some of us may not see more than a dozen or so each hour (how cool is that?), there are predictions of an increase this year.  According to Astronomy Senior Editor Richard Talcott, "If the weather cooperates, viewing conditions should be nearly ideal. Observers normally can see 20 to 30 meteors per hour at the peak, but rates could spike consid... 11/16/2009