From Our House to Yours!

 

Peace, Love and Joy

Christmas Bells 

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
    And wild and sweet
    The words repeat 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
    Had rolled along
    The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
    A voice, a chime,
    A chant sublime 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
    And with the sound 
    The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
    And made forlorn
    The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
    “For hate is strong,
    And mocks the song 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
    The Wrong shall fail,
    The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

A Bad Day by Mary Oliver

 

Ricky, why are you barking and trying
to rip up the couch? Can’t you settle
down? It’s been a long day.

“It sure has. First you forgot to take
me out. Then you went to the market
and heaven knows where else. And my
dinner was late. And our walk was
short. And now you’re supposed to
be on the floor playing with me but,
no, you’re doing something else. So I
thought I’d give this couch a little
distress.”

Well, don’t. Be a good boy.

“Honestly, what do you expect? Like
you I’m not perfect, I’m only human.”

                - Mary Oliver, in “Dog Songs”

Little Dog's Rhapsody in the Night by Mary Oliver

 

He puts his cheek against mine
and makes small, expressive sounds.
And when I’m awake, or awake enough

he turns upside down, his four paws
in the air
and his eyes dark and fervent.

“Tell me you love me,” he says.

“Tell me again.”

Could there be a sweeter arrangement? Over and over
he gets to ask.
I get to tell.

                 - Mary Oliver, in “Dog Songs”

Tuesday - Home, and what I brought with me

 Home.  ❤

776.2 miles (roundtrip) and 7 days later.

I'm home.

Someone once said, "there's no place like home."

Dorothy, honey, you know it's the truth.

https://introvertdear.com/news/why-theres-no-place-like-home-for-introverts/

The long drive home from St. Helena Island to Meat Camp was approximately 341 miles, and with a few brief stops to refresh my weary bones, took me about seven hours.

It's been a long time since I did that sort of drive alone.

Usually Donald does the driving.  He enjoys driving.

Me?  Not so much.

Although, driving long stretches I do sort of slide into a Zen mode which is good for thinking and reflecting.

I had lots to reflect on driving back home to The High Country after my week in The Low Country.  These two areas could not be more different.  They both have their own essence of nature and character.  Their differences are sharp, crisp, and in some demesne, quite stark.

After some time to ponder my week in order to form words coherent enough to put to paper, I'll share my thoughts.

In the meantime, I'll do what I do here so often and share some images.

I am like a lot of people when it comes to traveling; I pick up souvenirs.  Things that hold particular meaning and remembrances of the place of origin.

Images embedded in my mind of the experience.

Of the culture

Of the people trying their ever best to save pieces of their culture that are in danger of disappearing.

And while I bring home memories important to myself,

I hope I show respect for the cultural integrity of The Low Country in my photos and in my words.

My Life is Good

Let me never forget

What's happening at our house . . .

 

I love our little community of Meat Camp, NC.

From Wikipedia:

"Meat Camp is situated along the Old Buffalo Trail and was established before the Revolutionary War.  As the story goes, Meat Camp was the location where hunters stored their dressed animal carcasses in a cabin that served as a primitive packing house."

This is Elk Knob as seen from our bedroom window.

You can read this piece I wrote about Meat Camp for Jungle Red a few years back. - https://www.jungleredwriters.com/2014/09/oh-kaye-talks-about-life-in-meat-camp-nc.html

We have a little country store, Plan B, for essential items when we don't want to drive all the way into town.

And here's the view from Plan B yesterday.

Fall in Meat Camp is pretty special.

So.

Moving along . . .

I'm heading out of town next week.  Leaving Donald and Annabelle in Meat Camp while I spend a week in South Carolina in the beautiful Low Country where I'll be attending The Pat Conroy Literary Festival.

Which prompted me to get a much needed haircut, and some very subtle highlights and lowlights.

Ellie Miller did her usual terrific job.

Today I'm tossing a few things together, cluttering up our sunroom with things that  I'll be taking with me.

In the meantime, here's what the leaves around our house are looking like.

Gorgeous!

And here's what the cluttered sunroom is looking like.

It'll get worse before it gets better when I leave on my trip.

I will have some decisions to make about what goes into this hanging bag . . .

And bless Annabelle.

She is a little confused by it all . . .

Stay tuned - plenty more to come.

Life is good.

An October Sunday in Meat Camp

I love October.

• "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." 
• — Lucy Maud Montgomery, Ann of Green Gables

It's a perfect day here in these mountains.

I'm enjoying coffee on the deck

Donald couldn't resist getting on his bike to take a ride.

Annabelle thinks it's a great day for being outdoors sniffing new smells.

Life is good.

And there's a bowl of apples calling my name.

Apple Cake Time!

From my favorite recipe.

You can tell I've made this a few times, huh?  😁

Apple Pound Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of cooking oil
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup coconut (I do not use the coconut)
3 cups tart apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I do not peel the apples)
1 cup pecans, chopped (I usually do not use the pecans)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sugar and oil. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the sugar mixture and blend well. Beat in the vanilla and coconut. Fold in the apples and nuts. Pour into a greased 9-inch tube pan (I usually use a Bundt pan). Bake for 80 minutes, or until the cake tests done (may not take 80 minutes). Turn onto a wire rack to cool. (this recipe does not call for leaving the cake in the pan to cool before turning it out, but I do that.  For about 15 minutes.)

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

Loving Sundays

 

This is what a lazy, rainy, cool & breezy Sunday afternoon looks like at our house in Meat Camp, NC

Life is Good

I'm not a relentlessly nauseatingly cheerful Pollyanna kinda person, but I am a positive thinking person (for the most part - leaving today's political climate of hate aside).  

Negative people, for whatever their reasons, wear me out and I choose to not surround myself with an over abundance of negativity.  That's not to say I don't have compassion, and people who don't understand where I'm coming from with all this still won't understand if I try to explain it, so I'm not going to bother.

Yesterday was a good day.  

I met one of my former bosses, who is a dear friend, for coffee.  For a couple of hours we chatted, and we laughed.   (Thank you, Ozzie)

By spending most days quite contentedly in Meat Camp and being as reclusive as I tend to be, I forget just how delightful and refreshing coffee and laughter with a good friend can be.

Top that with a manicure, a pedicure, a milkshake, picking up a new book at the Post Office (Thank you, MG), coming home to a sweet, cute husband who makes me laugh and who loves me, along with a fluffy little dog who smiles when she sees me, and I am reminded - life is good.

I'm thankful that I know that.

Clara Brooks' poem is, on the surface, quite simplistic, but the lyricism as well as its message speaks to me.

 Life's Mystery

Poet: Clara M. Brooks

"Laugh, and the world laughs with you";
Weep, and the world weeps, too:
'Tis all as you take it, brother;
You pave your own pathway through —

Pave it with woes and sorrows,
With sighs and drops of grief,
Or with onyx stones of gladness
And ruby smiles of relief;

Pave it with sunshine-golden
Or densest hues of night,
With storm-clouds dark of anguish
Or silver stars of light.

Pause not to mourn o'er the failures
You made on yesterday;
The while you are sadly weeping,
The present you trifle away.

The smoothest and brightest diamond
Was once but the roughest stone,
And the rose of rarest splendor
From the meanest sod has grown.

Thus the deepest and richest blessing
Comes oft from the bitterest woe,
And a life of heavenly beauty
From the lowliest place may grow.

The darkest hour of the night-time
Betokens the coming dawn,
And the brightest and warmest sunshine
Comes after the rain is gone.

Would you but gather roses,
And shun the pricking thorn?
Have all thy dawnings cheerful
With never a cloudy morn?

Ah! life is whate'er you make it:
Bid sadness and grief depart,
And the world shall be filled with music,
Begun in thy trusting heart;

Rejoice, and the world around you
The cheeriest smile will wear;
Bow 'neath thy heavy burdens,
And the world is filled with care.

Then forth to thy duty, brother,
Nor falter for wind or tide.
What matter how dark the storm-clouds?
There's always a brighter side.

"Laugh, and the world laughs with you";
Weep, and the world weeps, too:
'Tis all as you take it, brother;
You pave your own pathway through.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From the Barleys

 

Happy Wishes for this Holiday Season

“Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!