Mountain Memoirs is an Anthology that I edited with my Word Keepers colleagues Julie E. Townsend and Scot Pope. We're so excited -- it's turned out wonderfully. We've got 20 pieces related to Ashe County somehow, by people who have some kind of relationship with Ashe County. Here's the synopsis that will soon appear on the publisher's website: Read More
Early Order Period Ending Soon
It's All Perspective
May 14, 2012
Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the day with an amazing young woman. Patty works for Habitat for Humanity in El Salvador. Back in 2007, on my first building trip there with Habitat Charlotte, Patty had just started working for the organization. She was our "minder" our "handler" for the week.
Even though she'd worked there a only handful of weeks, she did an incredible job with our group of gringos, taking perfect care of all the details, devoting reassuring attention to us, ensuring we had a productive and rewarding time in her country and that in addition to building, we got a chance to learn a little bit about the culture and the wonderful people. She briefed us on appropriate toilet etiquette, made sure we were safely ensconced in our hotel, and fed sufficiently each day. Everyone who has been to El Salvador for a work project, from all over the world, knows some of Patty's rules: 1. Walk around only in groups -- two is not a group! 2. Don't pet the dogs. 3. Don't eat food from street vendors. 4. Don't drink the water from the faucet, etc.
I also met Kendal Stewart that week, another new employee at Habitat El Salvador. Kendal is a North Carolina native and a Davidson College grad who stayed in the country after an internship there. Both Patty and Kendal are taking on ever more professional duties at Habitat El Salvador since back in 2007; it's no surprise. Habitat is lucky to have two such outstanding and inspiring people working with them.
This week, the dynamic duo are visiting North Carolina. It's Patty's first trip here. Having been in town a couple of whirlwind days, we had the chance to hang out, eat a long lunch, and do a little shopping. It was a small breather for Patty, just about the only one she's likely to get on this trip, which is jam-packed with meetings and tours all across the state.
Do you know what this incredible woman said to me? She said that after seeing how beautiful this place is she was more impressed than ever with us -- that we would come to El Salvador and give up all we have here for 10 days to work on houses there.
Whhaaat? I about drove off the road.
It made me think of what I told Henry when I got back from that first trip in 2007. I told him how incredibly nice the people were... how we here in the United States have everything, and we whine about it. Why are they so nice? -- I'm not sure I'd like me if I were them.
Right. And Patty lays on me how impressed she is with US. Makes you think, don't it?
Read More
Even though she'd worked there a only handful of weeks, she did an incredible job with our group of gringos, taking perfect care of all the details, devoting reassuring attention to us, ensuring we had a productive and rewarding time in her country and that in addition to building, we got a chance to learn a little bit about the culture and the wonderful people. She briefed us on appropriate toilet etiquette, made sure we were safely ensconced in our hotel, and fed sufficiently each day. Everyone who has been to El Salvador for a work project, from all over the world, knows some of Patty's rules: 1. Walk around only in groups -- two is not a group! 2. Don't pet the dogs. 3. Don't eat food from street vendors. 4. Don't drink the water from the faucet, etc.
I also met Kendal Stewart that week, another new employee at Habitat El Salvador. Kendal is a North Carolina native and a Davidson College grad who stayed in the country after an internship there. Both Patty and Kendal are taking on ever more professional duties at Habitat El Salvador since back in 2007; it's no surprise. Habitat is lucky to have two such outstanding and inspiring people working with them.
This week, the dynamic duo are visiting North Carolina. It's Patty's first trip here. Having been in town a couple of whirlwind days, we had the chance to hang out, eat a long lunch, and do a little shopping. It was a small breather for Patty, just about the only one she's likely to get on this trip, which is jam-packed with meetings and tours all across the state.
Do you know what this incredible woman said to me? She said that after seeing how beautiful this place is she was more impressed than ever with us -- that we would come to El Salvador and give up all we have here for 10 days to work on houses there.
Whhaaat? I about drove off the road.
It made me think of what I told Henry when I got back from that first trip in 2007. I told him how incredibly nice the people were... how we here in the United States have everything, and we whine about it. Why are they so nice? -- I'm not sure I'd like me if I were them.
Right. And Patty lays on me how impressed she is with US. Makes you think, don't it?
Read More
A small meditation...
April 27, 2012
The Teacup
I realized this morning that my favorite teacup is just like me.
A crack runs all the way down the side
Still, it doesn’t leak.
The china is bit stained from its many uses.
There’s a lovely floral design on the outside
With a peony – a favorite.
Or maybe it’s a rose.
Fushia wind around the display
In an odd somewhat artificial color combination.
There’s a small repeat of the flower motif on the inside, too.
You can tell that it used to be a very pretty cup. Read More
I realized this morning that my favorite teacup is just like me.
A crack runs all the way down the side
Still, it doesn’t leak.
The china is bit stained from its many uses.
There’s a lovely floral design on the outside
With a peony – a favorite.
Or maybe it’s a rose.
Fushia wind around the display
In an odd somewhat artificial color combination.
There’s a small repeat of the flower motif on the inside, too.
You can tell that it used to be a very pretty cup. Read More
Trip to the Alps - Extraordinary
March 24, 2012
We have returned from our trip of a lifetime. To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary we booked a trip with Wilderness Travel for snowshoeing in the Alps. Friends who have been on trips with the company highly recommended them and we were ready to go for it.
Since early November, we worked on, working up to, this trip. Diets and keeping strict track of all food (myfitnesspal.com) kicked off our process. By two months out, we were doing daily workouts or hikes. I even wore my boots on the elliptical. It really paid off. We were in top shape and did very well physically - no injuries, little soreness, etc. By the end of the days, we were tired, but a good tired. Read More
Since early November, we worked on, working up to, this trip. Diets and keeping strict track of all food (myfitnesspal.com) kicked off our process. By two months out, we were doing daily workouts or hikes. I even wore my boots on the elliptical. It really paid off. We were in top shape and did very well physically - no injuries, little soreness, etc. By the end of the days, we were tired, but a good tired. Read More
El Salvador!
February 22, 2012
Here's the crew with whom I dug a septic tank all last week.
Another great trip to El Salvador with my Habitat Charlotte buds. Once again I am amazed at the resilience of the Salvadoran people, their generosity of spirit, and good and open hearts. In short, we here in the U.S. have everything and they, by our standards, have little. It's 20 years since the end of a brutal civil war and memories of their personal losses are still fresh and yet they are a positive and hopeful people. It is a pleasure and gift to work together with them for a few short days, helping to make the world a better place if only for a small handful of folks. Showing up there, it feels to me, does matter. And that is reason enough to go. (Click on the Photo Essay tab above for more pictures.) Read More
FEBRUARY WORDKEEPERS!
February 6, 2012
The next Wordkeepers salon is Saturday, February 18, at the Ashe Arts Council, 303 School Street. Henry and Scot will warm the crowd up with their singer-songwriter magic at 3:00 p.m. At 4:00 p.m. writers will begin the open mic readings. Refreshments will be provided. For February's Wordkeepers, writers should email Julie Townsend at finally@skybest.com to reserve your open mic spot. I will miss this month's salon because I'll be in El Salvador with my Charlotte Habitat for Humanity crew. Pictures will follow! Read More
Christmas Day
December 29, 2011
Self portrait, Christmas on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
For Christmas day doings, Henry and I packed up an outdoor dinner. For those of you familiar with the Blue Ridge Parkway, we went to Julian Price Park, hiked the Boone Fork Trail (about 5 miles) and then cooked out our noontime Christmas meal.
Boone Fork is a great trail. It's got a good bit of variety down through a gorge and along river and stream. There's also a high meadow and beaver-made wetlands. Clearly recent heavy rains have done some wash-out damage, but it's still a good trail. When there's no snow like Christmas this year, I recommend gaiters. I got my pants pretty muddy. But then I always seem to manage to do that...
Our menu was a buffalo steak (a "Cowboy" steak, bone-in ribeye, to be precise - from our friends at wildideabuffalo.com), baked potatoes (pre-cooked the night before) and a pop-top can of corn. We also had bright green-iced cupcakes, which we actually ate first because we were too hungry after the hike to wait for the main course to get done! Needless to say, the food was excellent. It was good to cozy up to the cook fire in the grill, too. Temps were in the low 30s so we cooled off from the hike pretty quickly. Read More
Boone Fork is a great trail. It's got a good bit of variety down through a gorge and along river and stream. There's also a high meadow and beaver-made wetlands. Clearly recent heavy rains have done some wash-out damage, but it's still a good trail. When there's no snow like Christmas this year, I recommend gaiters. I got my pants pretty muddy. But then I always seem to manage to do that...
Our menu was a buffalo steak (a "Cowboy" steak, bone-in ribeye, to be precise - from our friends at wildideabuffalo.com), baked potatoes (pre-cooked the night before) and a pop-top can of corn. We also had bright green-iced cupcakes, which we actually ate first because we were too hungry after the hike to wait for the main course to get done! Needless to say, the food was excellent. It was good to cozy up to the cook fire in the grill, too. Temps were in the low 30s so we cooled off from the hike pretty quickly. Read More
Wordkeepers!
December 17, 2011
Anna, Luis & Chris at Wordkeepers.
What a fabulous day today at Wordkeepers in West Jefferson. Fellow writers Scot Pope, Julie Townsend and I started the Wordkeepers salons last year. We thought the annual Night of the Spoken Word, through the Ashe Arts Council was always such a big hit that there was probably an audience and a wide group of writers who would be game more often than once a year. We were right.
So, now, every other month we get together at the Arts Council with local writers and avid listeners to hear the latest work. From a handful of people at last year's first Wordkeepers, we've grown to a dandy crowd. Read More
So, now, every other month we get together at the Arts Council with local writers and avid listeners to hear the latest work. From a handful of people at last year's first Wordkeepers, we've grown to a dandy crowd. Read More
Tree Spirit
November 23, 2011
The house we live in is a local treasure. It was architect-built in 1960 in the Frank Lloyd Wright genre, so, there are lots of cool things about it and in it. We have many large windows in the public spaces, gorgeous ceilings of Douglas Fir, sleek modern trim features and mahogany bookcases.
It is very modern. So, it needed, cried for, was desperate to have what? An aluminum Christmas tree -- one with a color wheel of course.
Truth is, I'd been thinking about it since I saw Dee Ann's on Facebook. She's a bona fide Christmas decorating freak and she posted a picture of her silver beauty on her page last year. By the beginning of November this year, I was thinking about Dee Ann's tree and lusting over one.
I remembered my brother and his wife at the time, Donna, had one when I was a kid. It was all sparkly and gorgeous and it had a pink light on it. I thought it was the coolest. I have even verified with Donna's sister Francine that it was, in fact, a pink colored light. I can't believe I remembered that.
I talked with the former owners who built this house and they confirmed, yes indeed, they had one of these trees displayed in the early 60s. So, see? It is destiny, fated, intended that I have one of these trees!
I ordered one up. Yes, the miracle of internet shopping. You can, indeed, find just about anything online. Read More
It is very modern. So, it needed, cried for, was desperate to have what? An aluminum Christmas tree -- one with a color wheel of course.
Truth is, I'd been thinking about it since I saw Dee Ann's on Facebook. She's a bona fide Christmas decorating freak and she posted a picture of her silver beauty on her page last year. By the beginning of November this year, I was thinking about Dee Ann's tree and lusting over one.
I remembered my brother and his wife at the time, Donna, had one when I was a kid. It was all sparkly and gorgeous and it had a pink light on it. I thought it was the coolest. I have even verified with Donna's sister Francine that it was, in fact, a pink colored light. I can't believe I remembered that.
I talked with the former owners who built this house and they confirmed, yes indeed, they had one of these trees displayed in the early 60s. So, see? It is destiny, fated, intended that I have one of these trees!
I ordered one up. Yes, the miracle of internet shopping. You can, indeed, find just about anything online. Read More
No Joy in Mudville
October 16, 2011
Well, the Mighty Casey did not strike out last night. In fact, Miggy hit two home runs, one a tremendous blast that might well have trailed a banner behind it saying "Screw This." It wasn't enough, not nearly enough.
My Detroit Tigers took a brutal beating last night to end all dreams of going to the World Series in 2011. I won't go into all of the brutal play-by-play, a 15-5 score tells that sad tale. Suffice it to say that mistakes were made, mostly by players. A couple of bad calls by umpires only added insult to self-inflicted injury. In short, it was a total Murphy's Law game. Everything that could go wrong did. Even with Miggy's two home runs.
I have been trying to figure out this morning which hurts more -- getting the absolute shit beat out of you, or losing in a nail-biter? I'm thinking the nail-biter would be better. It lacks the humiliation factor. I kept thinking about how truly awful it must have felt to be a Tiger on the plane going home last night.
Additionally, while not a very sporting sentiment on my part, I have to admit that I hated getting beat by the Rangers. As far as I can see, the only thing good about Texas is Lyle Lovett. You can keep the rest. And knowing that W was there cheering for the Rangers (which, during his tenure with the club, he about ran into the ground) made it suck just that little hurtful bit more. The only bright spot about the Rangers is their manager. Washington surely does have a good time at games; you can see why his players want to perform for him. But all in all, I'm hoping they get their asses handed to them in the World Series.
So today I will retire my Tiger souvenirs for another year. I'll put away the pennants and the button and the cartoons and the ears from the 1984 World Series. Maybe I can talk Henry into going down to Florida for Spring Training in March... Read More
My Detroit Tigers took a brutal beating last night to end all dreams of going to the World Series in 2011. I won't go into all of the brutal play-by-play, a 15-5 score tells that sad tale. Suffice it to say that mistakes were made, mostly by players. A couple of bad calls by umpires only added insult to self-inflicted injury. In short, it was a total Murphy's Law game. Everything that could go wrong did. Even with Miggy's two home runs.
I have been trying to figure out this morning which hurts more -- getting the absolute shit beat out of you, or losing in a nail-biter? I'm thinking the nail-biter would be better. It lacks the humiliation factor. I kept thinking about how truly awful it must have felt to be a Tiger on the plane going home last night.
Additionally, while not a very sporting sentiment on my part, I have to admit that I hated getting beat by the Rangers. As far as I can see, the only thing good about Texas is Lyle Lovett. You can keep the rest. And knowing that W was there cheering for the Rangers (which, during his tenure with the club, he about ran into the ground) made it suck just that little hurtful bit more. The only bright spot about the Rangers is their manager. Washington surely does have a good time at games; you can see why his players want to perform for him. But all in all, I'm hoping they get their asses handed to them in the World Series.
So today I will retire my Tiger souvenirs for another year. I'll put away the pennants and the button and the cartoons and the ears from the 1984 World Series. Maybe I can talk Henry into going down to Florida for Spring Training in March... Read More