Perhaps you should contact Paul about that. He is the owner of the site I link and is a very frequent long-term GardenWebber. I'm sure he would be interested to know if something on his site had become infected. I suspect it is a false alert as I have no problems using Firefox with the latest version of Symantec and AVG Virus software.

Thanks for the input bumblebeez -Fontana and Toxaway both seem to have more of the "lake culture" that I have fallen in love with back east -I have a hard time putting it into words, but it is made up of 100+ year old cottages, families who have been coming to the same lake for generations, old canoes, ice-cream stands, lake roads that insist on a speed limit under 20 lest you bust a tire, etc.... I was wondering about that very thing where Lake Norman was concerned. It seemed very 'new' and more about impressive homes than charming cottages. But we've been interested in Charlotte for awhile, so I was hoping it was more charming than I was finding. We stopped in western NC on a roadtrip to the Outerbanks a few years ago, and really loved it. So would you say Fontana has more of the lake culture than Toxaway?

Flagstone Coping and Tile are done! View from our screened porch!

I know this comment is very much after the fact but I would just like to offer Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area as a wonderful place to retire. I have lived here my entire life and while I have traveled extensively across the country, there is nowhere else I would consider living. First, the area is extremely scenic.......make that drop-dead gorgeous!! Anywhere you might choose to settle will provide views to mountains and natural areas and you are never more than a few miles away from water.........lots of water!! The Sound, many lakes and rivers and streams. Because of the geography (nothing here is really flat), view properties are plentiful. Any outdoor activity you are interested in - skiing and other winter sports, hiking, camping, hunting, boating, etc. - can be easily addressed without any extensive car travel. Second is the weather. Most who have never lived here have huge misconceptions about the weather. IMO, it is excellent. Never too hot, never too cold and contrary to common opinion, it does NOT rain here constantly!! In fact, total average annual rainfall in Seattle is much lower than many other places in the US. Summers are sunny and very dry........winters damp and cool and snow infrequent. Seldom a need for any A/C and no summer humidity. There are 4 distinct seasons and each offers its own attractions. And no strange weather issues that generate ferocious storms.......no hurricanes, no tornadoes and while we do exist on a major fault line, earthquakes are extremely rare. Seattle is a vibrant, active and very cosmopolitan city. Lots of cultural activities, a major sports center and a foodie paradise. Yes, it is expense to live in town but there are scores of smaller communities within easy access of the city that are far less expensive. I live across the Sound, just a quick ferry ride away from downtown Seattle but a world away in terms of a rural feel and reduced cost of living. Puget Sounders for the most part are extremely well educated, entrepreneurial, friendly, and polite and many have a very artistic bent with many smaller communities known for their support of the arts. In short, living in the Puget Sound/greater Seattle area will provide all the advantages of a big city (colleges, employment, superb medical care, museums, theatres, restaurants and shopping) combined with a very strong community feel of the smaller, more rural and very scenically located surrounding towns. What's not to like ??