North Carolina Fall 2011

 

Ahhh....the Beach!

Happy Fathers Day....Not

Every Fathers day I think of all the hard working dedicated Dads out there, who do the right thing as best they can. Some  have a happy family life, some, not so much...some married, some divorced, but to all the Dads who participate in their children's lives, in any way shape or form...I commend you. And to you I hope you have a day filled with love.To the ones who chose to turn their backs, well I just hope you get your armpits infested with bedbugs. And I mean the ones who decided not to be a dad, just to walk away. I hate to write such thoughts on a day we should honor, but this is for the ones who didn't try, who never bothered, who didn't care. For the twenty five years my son has been around, Fathers Day was a tough day for him. I always assumed it was a tough day for his runaway dad as well. He had his reasons, his demons, his fears, he made his choice not to be a parent. I used to think it must hurt him  every year, every birthday, every Fathers day. He could have changed his mind any time, he could have called, he could have sent a fifty cent card....he chose to do nothing. I never asked him for anything, he had nothing to fear but a little boy who wanted him so bad.

For twenty five years I defended you to your son, I protected your image, I told your son that you loved him and that you would be here if you could.
I told him you would have  answered his letter that he wrote you at four years old, if you could have. He signed it," Luv yur sun, james". Four. He was four years old..
I told him it was hard for you to be away from him, but that you had to do what you had to do, and that you missed him.
I told him you would have been proud of  him for winning the cub scout pine wood derby, with a car we cut with kitchen knives.
I told him you would like to have taken him camping.
I told him you would have been proud when he graduated with a 4.5, third in his class.
I told him you would have loved that he went to your alma mater,and he even lived in one of the same dorms buildings as you.

In the last few years, we quit talking about you.  He gets it now.

So to all you Dads out there who don't accept their obligation to be Fathers to their children...it doesn't take much, a lot less than you think. All they want, is to know you love them.

Project Complete....almost

 Well, it is complete enough for a few photos. I love my new desk; I have been looking for over a year as I do spend a lot of time on the computer and at a desk. They were either too pricey, or just not my taste. I wanted something recycled or re-purposed, but being as that is the trend right now...the prices were just too high for me. So a couple hundred dollars worth of  beautiful black walnut, and the talents of a skilled man who gets me and looks in my head and understands what I see....this is the result. It still needs a little tweaking and arranging, I picked up some old wood boxes from the local flea market , antique junk dealers... but...well you get the idea!

Project Underway

After a long  (at least a year!!) search for the perfect piece of furniture I needed; I realized I wasn't going to get what I wanted for several reasons. Number one, I have this vision in my head that won't go away...rustic, rough hewn, wood grain that makes you want to roll on it (and yes, beautiful wood does affect me that way). Number two, when you find something semi-doable, someone thinks their vintage inspired, poorly crafted furniture is worth enough money to pay the mortgage for months. And last, deep down I really wanted to build it myself. Of course, it helps immensely to have a man around who wields a planer and saw like he knows what he is doing, and also who happens to be good at it. He does and he is. So we drew up plans, bought some beautiful walnut,  measured and cut all weekend. Well, he cut, I measured, and he remeasured. So far... this is what we have.Guess what it is?

Project Day!!!!!!

Seven Pings

Last night, at 11pm I realized my kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off...now while I am not a neat freak by any means, but I hate coming in the kitchen in the morning and seeing a disaster area. It unnerves me for the rest of the day. It makes my mind just as cluttered as the counter tops. So, after the men had gone to bed, I cleaned it up and it took until almost one in the morning. And one of those men was the instigator of the much involved kitchen project..... I'm just saying. What kind of event would lead to such a mess, you ask? Well making pickles, of course!!! Which, for some reason, two rational people who have full time jobs and can't seem to find a spare minute for breathing, felt the need to use a holiday weekend to do something they have never done before ....make bread and butter pickles. And make pickles we did. Now all you pioneer women out there, who do this for multi food items every year, and, on a large scale; I do a little "kneel on the floor and kiss your feet" dance for you. I think witnessing one of those annual events would be like observing a NASA coordinated Mars launch. Because people.... it isn't easy. There seemed to be pots of boiling water everywhere and no where to put anything and jars seem to need to all be hot at the same time for some reason. And you can't tell me all those pots fit on your stove at the same time? And boil?? Don't even mention waiting for a pot the size of a washing machine to boil. Some day I will have to have answers to all these questions. As I waited for sleep, I did hear the satisfying little pings as the lids sealed (I hope). Seven times, one for each of the seven jars. Yes; seven jars is all we have to show for all that work.When my adult son came in mid production stage, he said "Why are you doing this?" My answer..."because its fun and satisfying, and we wanted to see if we could do it. Just for fun. " He then stated "Going to the store can be fun; do you know they sell these at the store for $1.89 a jar?" I wanted to do the Visa commercial for him, cucumbers...eight dollars, spices... ten dollars, experience...priceless. And it was. Lots of fun and laughs, and learning, somewhere in the middle of all that madness.
But for right now I don't care if my lids sealed, if the juices stay clear, or if they promote clostridium botulinum....I just want to taste them! There will be a pickle tasting event in my kitchen in a month or so.....stay tuned.

New Garden

How can something that looked this horrible...look so much better after a load of dirt and some free manual labor?  The bare side yard (complete with an old gas grill) was an eyesore...now after less than 6 weeks, it looks like this!!

North Carolina Vacation

I was lucky enough to spend another week in North Carolina's beautiful western mountains. A free house, outdoor fireplace and chilly (alas,with some rain) days, made for a wonderful week. Over the last few years we ave been exploring the western area, looking for that perfect area to dream of relocating to. Each time I discover new towns, I fall in love with a new place. In my mind I have already moved from Banner Elk to Blowing Rock, to Linville, to Brevard and to Marshall. This year I think I moved to the Burnsville area. We made a drive from Linville to Hot Springs, through Mars Hill and Burnsville, and along a beautiful road along a rushing creek (that forks north from Hot Springs) that ended up on Cutshall Town Road. There is some gorgeous land up there. Hot Springs has a beautiful setting; like Marshall, it snuggles up to the French Broad river. Burnsville has the most scenic town square and courthouse. Its a postcard....unfortunately I don't ever take any pictures in the towns, I don't know why. Instead, here are a few pictures , most taken right off the parkway. I love you North Carolina!

Neglected Blog

Sorry blog, just  have been to busy lately...work, family stuff, a whirlwind road trip to North Carolina...too much going on. But hope you all had a Happy Easter. I still  seem to find the time to read all my favorite, but no time to post! Meanwhile, the iris are the prettiest this year that I have ever seen....and a few more garden shots.