Derecho

Last night we had a weather event that this area had never experienced before. It is called a derecho, a straight-line severe windstorm. I had never heard of it.

We had no warning. We had been out to dinner, and when we returned we turned the TV to HBO. About 9 p.m., suddenly the air around us burst into a roar; it sounded like the house had suddenly imploded.

We jumped up and raced to look outside. The clouds were dark and foreboding, and the wind was fierce. The Roanoke Airport recorded 81 mph winds, which are hurricane force.

This is the damage just around the house:

Tree limbs down, my wishing well destroyed.

Tree broken off.

A redbud twisted and destroyed.

Two more trees down.

Debris and limbs in the yard.

Poplars, which had died and needed to be cut down,
are now mostly down.

Large pine tree down.

Another large pine tree down.

An ash tree with the top gone.

Debris in the yard.

What is left of my garden.

I have no idea what the rest of the farm looks like, but I am sure there are many more trees down.

Thousands are without power, and the temperatures here today are expected to reach 102. I have, somehow, been fortunate to keep my electricity, and I have already invited a few folks to come use my shower and stay out of the heat here if they have to.

Hopefully the county will open a shelter, but I have not heard if they have done this yet. UPDATE: The county has opened as a shelter at Lord Botetourt High School, and Fincastle Baptist Church is also offering its space as a shelter.

Please everyone, be safe. Stay out of the heat.

Remembering Grandma

Yesterday was the anniversary of my grandmother's death. She passed away on June 28, 2007. I can't believe she has been gone for five years.

She was my mother's mother, and she was 84 years old when she died. While my father's mother is still alive (and in her 90s!), she lives in California and I do not know her well. I love her, of course, but there is much to be said for hands-on.

My mother's mother was my full-time, hands-on grandma.

I have many stories of staying with Grandma. She kept us during the summers when school was out, and on weekends when my parents would be away (my father played in a Top 40 band). And on the many days I missed school because I was ill, I stayed with Grandma for her tender loving care.

My mother worked at a job only a block from where my grandmother lived, which was handy. When my brother or I (or both) stayed with Grandma, she could drop us off and pick us up without problem.

My grandmother cooked every day. My grandfather worked at the Kroger warehouse, where he was a foreman. He went in early and came home at 4:10 p.m. every day. And that was when he wanted to eat.

Frequently we had an early dinner at my grandmother's, then. And I still eat early to this day, preferring to have it all over and done with by 6:15 p.m. at the latest.

If Grandma had a food speciality, it was macaroni and cheese. I'm not talking about mac and cheese like you buy in the Kraft boxes. I really can't describe her mac and cheese except that she made a lot of it and we all ate it.

She also liked to fix pudding. She did not use instant mixes but made the cooked kind of Jello brand pudding. I remember one day she was out of chocolate. Of course we wanted chocolate.

She made up some chocolate milk and used vanilla pudding mix to create what we thought was the best chocolate pudding ever.

After that, we asked for her special chocolate pudding instead of the normal kind. We did not always get it, but she made it occasionally.

Grandmas are like that, you know. They offer up treats and love in all sorts of ways.

My grandmother's birthday is also in June, so I have been missing her this month. I have thought of her often and I hope she knows she remains in my heart.

Thursday Thirteen

I am happy that young people have their music - I hope they remember it as fondly as I do the music I listened to as a teenager and young adult.

Without further ado, here are some links and embeds of my favorites:

1. American Pie, by Don McLean. This is the song that will make me stop whatever I am doing, and sing along. And yes, I know all of the lyrics.


2. Vincent (Starry, Starry Night), by Don McLean. This song used to leave me sobbing when I heard it in the car.

3. Seasons in the Sun, by Terry Jacks. I remember when this song came out in 1974 (I was 11 years old). I have a vivid memory of my friend Ann and I singing this song together out in the playground at Breckinridge Elementary School and drawing a crowd as we did. In high school, Ann and I ended up in a Top 40 band together. We did not play this song at that time, though.


4. Wildfire, by Michael Martin Murphy. My mother liked this song, too.

5. Time in a Bottle, by Jim Croce. Such a lovely love song.

6. You've Got a Friend, by James Taylor. This song used to make me cry everytime I heard it.


7. Make It With You, by Bread. Another lovely love song.

8. You needed Me, by Anne Murray. This one still makes me cry.

9. You Light Up My Life, by Debbie Gibson. This song was a #1 hit, but it received a lot of bad press at the time, I recall, or maybe just a lot of ribbing from people my age. However, this is the very first song I ever sang in public. My father had a band and they played a dance at Breckinridge Elementary School. I had learned this song on the guitar and was singing it at home, and my father invited me onto the stage to sing it. I nearly passed out from fright but did get through the song.

10. Sugar, Sugar, by the Archies. A fun song, and a great reminder of Saturday mornings and my childhood.


11. You're So Vain, by Carly Simon. One of the first "adult" songs that I understood and related to.

12. We've Only Just Begun, by the Carpenters. I love anything by The Carpenters, but this song is especially lovely.

13. Mandy, by Barry Manilow. This is another song I learned on the guitar and played in public. And I thought Manilow was cute.

To be sure, I know all of these songs to sing and play on the guitar. The Carpenters song and the James Taylor song are the hardest; lots of chords.

Feeling a little nostaligic this morning!



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 248th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday for the second time ever.

A Very Very Very Fine House

My house is a small ranch, built in 1987 with our own two hands. It is not a big house by any stretch of the imagination, but it serves us well.

I was playing with some photo software this morning:




The House in Pencil
(this looked better in the photo editor than it does here)

The House in Black & White

Original Photo w/ drop shadow.

In Search of Quality

Remember when they made stuff that lasts?

When books did not have typographical errors?

When TV shows were produced with quality in mind?

When movies were made with actors who had that star quality, not just visual appeal?

When vehicles lasted for 150,000 and that wasn't abnormal?

Yeah, it was a long time ago, and I am showing my age. There is an entire generation of people alive now who have no idea what I'm talking about.

They live in mediocre-land, and always have. They don't know that there used to be a drive toward perfection, a push toward excellence. They don't remember when the word "merit" actually meant something.

Things used to have merit.

I am not a fan of mediocre-land. I liked it when I read a book without being interrupted by a typographical error. I am currently reading a compilation of a series of teen novels, and it is riddled with errors, typographical and otherwise. Simon and Schuster should be ashamed of themselves.

My refrigerator is about seven years old. It replaced one that was 21 years old; guess what needs to be replaced now? Yes. The seven-year old Frigidare. The seals around the door have cracked and split, and this morning I noticed the compressor on it was chugging away like a boat on a river. It won't be long, I fear.

TV is full of reality shows, with people who are not actors acting like children. The movies are created by hacks who wouldn't know a decent story line if it rose up and bit them on the ankle.

When I first went to work for a lawyer, way back in 1983, we were told we could not submit a document to the court with a typographical error in it. And we were using IBM Selectric typewriters, not word processors or computers. I remember sitting with my coworker, reading deed descriptions aloud to ensure that we did not make a mistake. We proofed each other's work.

I am not sure when quality became a bad word, and it became okay to simply put stuff out there. When did copy editing become something that could be dismissed by newspapers and publishers? I don't know when it became acceptable to build an appliance that lasts three years, not 30.

Sometime in the late 1980s, it seems.

I think this represents a change in mores, a decline in responsibility, and a loss of education and distinction. It mirrors the rise of capitalism and consumerism, as quality is not preferable to riches; when only riches matter, quality must suffer.

This loss of quality comes at the cost of the rise of mediocrity.

And mediocrity does not last.

People will look back on the last 30 years and dismiss it completely, if the future ever rises to humanity's full potential. If it doesn't, no one will care anyway. It will be too mediocre to care.

Lost generation. Lost in mediocrity. Somehow today I feel that describes the world.

Happy Monday.

Chris Graduates From High School

Earlier in June, my nephew, Chris, graduated from Lord Botetourt High School. I posted photos on Facebook and just realized I never put anything on my blog!

He is a fine young man, interested in farming, carpentry, machinery,and other hands-on activities.

These three fine fellows are my nephew Emory, my hubby, and Chris. Emory is Chris's brother; he will be a senior at University of South Carolina this fall. He is studying to be a doctor.

Chris has a girlfriend!

Our seats for the graduation ceremony were not the best; this is a shot at the end, when the students toss their mortar boards into the air.

I am very proud of Chris. He has never liked school, but he still kept his grades up. He plans to attend Virginia Western Community College this fall, and I think it is terrific that he intends to further his education. He is interested in things like welding and installing air conditioners - and I think that is wonderful, too. Those are good, solid jobs.

Bravo to the nephew! Huzzah!

The Yellow Rose

This rose is from a bush that we rescued from Grandma's rose garden just before the old homeplace was sold after her death in 2002.

We stole down on a damp Sunday evening, my husband and I, with shovel in hand. We dug up four rose bushes and smuggled them home.

This is the only one that survived; it was the wrong time of year to be making such a transplant. I knew that but we were stung by the sudden sale of the property and had to make a move.

I have a few other roses that grew from cuttings Grandma grew for me, but this rose stands out for me because it was originally hers, and because we "rescued" it.

Her flower garden is no more; it did not take long for it to become a plot of grass.

Stuff changes. But I am glad I have this rose to remind me of Grandma, and the roses she loved.

Thursday Thirteen

Some links and thoughts about writing, books, libraries, etc.

1. Some of the publishing websites are making a big to-do over a fellow who used his own material a couple of times in separate articles. You can read about it here and here, plus many other places if you want to search it. The author is being criticized for "self-plagiarism," which I didn't even know you could do. How do you steal from yourself? I have read many books on freelancing and writing nonfiction articles that encourage you to rework your material for different articles, and here this writer is being railroaded out of town for doing just that. Does this mean that every time you want to do a new article out of an interview, you're supposed to do the interview again? Maybe the brouhaha is because he sold the same material to different sites, which violates some sort of copyright, but I am not clear on this.

2. Barnes and Noble has a big loss. I am really sorry to see that Amazon is creaming all book sellers and causing so much angst in the book and publishing industry. It's a good example of monopoly. If B&N has lost $57.7 million in the last quarter, one has to wonder how much longer the company will be able to hang on. Since we have few other options for book browsing in my area, I will be very sad to see the brick and mortar buildings close up shop.

4. Oprah's online book club is, at the very least, a good resource for those involved in book clubs. It also gives one a good reading list.

5. NPR has a page devoted to books, too. It's another resource for finding good reads.

6. You can find an interesting Character Building Workshop at this link. It offers some tests for creating characters, character archetypes, personality types, and personality disorders that are often associated with various jobs or other life roles.

7. This blog entry/article talks about self-publishing and selling through Amazon and using social media.

8. You can also learn about self-publishing at this website.

9. I recently discovered The Great Courses, which offers lecture series on various topics, including writing. They're rather expensive but the friend who suggested I check out the site says they are all worth the money.

10. Here's a website about blogging, how to do it better and smarter, and all of that stuff.

11. This article says that a library science degree is the worst degree to obtain. Of course, I've read other articles that say any M.A. in the humanities is a bad deal, but that is only true if you're interest is only in money and not expanding your mind.

12.  This video available at the Oxford American, shows a tiny little town. It doesn't really have anything to do with books, but the Oxford American website is a good one to bookmark.

13. And lastly, this video is a story about how a library system fought back against those who would see the place close before they paid one little cent more in taxes. Watch it to the end. I consider it must-see.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 247th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today my mother would have been 68 years old, had pancreatic cancer not taken her away in 2000. She was only 56 when she died - an age that, from where I sit now, is not so very old.

Birthdays were not something my mother cared to celebrate. I do not recall her greeting any birthday with open arms. Old age was something to fight and deny. She did not want to have gray hair, wrinkles, or sags.

My mother was a beautiful woman in her youth. My paternal grandfather used to say she reminded him of Elizabeth Taylor. I think it was the dark hair.

She wanted to stay beautiful, I think.

The picture above was taken in the early 1990s, when she was about 44 or so. I have that same graying around the edge on the same side of my hair. I do not color my hair, and I wear the gray proudly.

I don't mind growing old. I can't stop it from happening, anyway.

My mother had a storied life. She was only 18 years old when I was born, and that is too young to be a mom, I think. She took a job when she was 16 and stayed at the same desk from that time until she was 48 or so, when she retired. Over 30 years. Her job was in Salem, where she grew up, and so she drove back and forth, a 40-minute drive, every weekday.

She worked on the farm with my father, gathering hay, tending cattle, canning vegetables. She was a town girl but took to this new life, or tried to, anyway. I never knew if she was happy at it.

Her creativity was boundless; she sewed, made crafts, painted Christmas decorations. I have some of her needlework; it hung on my walls for a long time, until I feared it was fading from sunlight and I put it away to preserve for my niece.

She liked the beach better than the mountains, at least in her latter years. She said she felt better at sea level and had less aches and pains.

Cooking was also something she enjoyed, and she made lots of different foods of many varieties.

I did not inherit her talents, I'm afraid.

The cancer that took her was an unwelcome beast, and she fought it to her last breath. Her fight was strong but she could not best it.

Life is funny. You never know how long you have, you can only do the best with what you do have, and in the end you have no idea if you made a passing grade. I doubt anybody gives out "As" at the end anyway.

Mom, I don't know what the last decade would have been like had you still been around. I don't know if it would have been better or worse.

I do know for sure it would have been different.

Happy Birthday.

Deer

Sisterhood - A Poem

Sisterhood
By A. Firebaugh


"Missing me one place search another
I stop somewhere waiting for you."
─ Walt Whitman

I.

I am the child
who has buried a playmate.
I mourn without knowing
what I have misplaced
or not found. A funeral
for myself; I do not attend.
I send lilies and roses
for others.

I die alone.

II.

In December winds
I stand naked, barren before you.
My chest heaves with the cold.
I want the warmth of company,
another close in my heart.

I probe the earth for understanding.
I search for conversation
by an open fireplace, walks
in the forest, the tangy sweet
taste of persimmons in fall.

I search for fables, but this I
dare not believe. I am
the survivor,
I intend to live.

My quest is for sisterhood.
I seek only a friend.

Summer Concert

Botetourt County has three wineries, and they have joined together with WSLS and Lewis Gale Regional Health System and a number of other businesses (including The Fincastle Herald) to sponsor a series of summer concerts. The concerts have been going on for several years. You can see a list of the businesses that sponsor the event at the link.

Last night my other half and I decided to check out the concert at Virginia Mountain Vineyards. It is located about 10 miles away, outside of Fincastle, on Old Fincastle Road.

The place was rocking when we arrived. Note the grape

vines in the background.

Another shot of the grapevines in the distance.

The line to pay to get in was long. We went in as

non-drinkers, which only cost $5 each. It was $10

each if you wanted to sample the wine offerings.

The vineyard offers some spectacular views of the

Blue Ridge Mountains.

The band, SolRevolt, played under a tent. The offered

up a mix of 1970s rock and blues.

We sat under the tent for a while, but the band

was louder under there. After the inconsiderate

man next to us lit up a cigar, we picked up our

chairs and moved to the rear of the event.

My husband greets his cousins, who joined

 us for the evening.

The vineyard had a nice gazebo. It would be a good spot

for a wedding.

We sat and chatted and listened to music for several

hours.

Final shot as the sun went to sleep.

Nice event. The next one is August 11 at Blue Ridge Vineyards in Eagle Rock.

Long Shadows

I liked the way the shadows fell across the hill when I took this shot the other morning.

Saying Bad Words

Since apparently we've entered a new era of prudishness, and certain words pertaining to women are no longer allowed, and I am feeling like saying bad words this morning, let me type this:

VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA VAGINA

Hey Lawmakers, STAY OUT OF MY VAGINA.

Read more about it:

Michigan State Rep Barred From Speaking After 'Vagina' Comments

Remarks Draw Firestorm

The V Word

Vagina Controversy Trends on Twitter


Now tell your own legislators to do something that matters, for a change, like work on the economy. And if they must legislate morality, they should look first to their own before trying to impose their own brand of BS on the rest of us.

Stuff On My Mind

If I were an alien and I came to the county I live in, and looked around at the multitude of churches, and then visited the recycling bins and saw all of the glass liquor and wine bottles and beer boxes, I could only assume that we are a county full of religious drunks.

***

I do not like bugs. Spiders seem to be readying themselves for winter already. What is up with that?

***

Clover and wire grass at least cover the dirt in the yard. I really don't care if they're not the most desirable lawn covering.

***

I do not deal well with liars and cheats.

***

My flowers (marigolds, pansies, petunias, all in pots), which decorate my deck, are sickly looking and I can't figure out what is wrong with them.

***

I do not believe a single word of any political commercial from either party. See the "liars and cheats" item above.

***

Reality TV has taken over, and I'm sick of it. I want to see good story telling, riveting acting, and good drama. Why is that too much to ask?

***

When I go to the mailbox and all I have is a single piece of junk mail, I consider it a wasted 3 minutes of my life. That is how long it takes me to get from my kitchen, down the driveway, and back inside, if I take the car. It's a lot longer if I walk.

***

Actually, going to the mailbox is probably a waste of time, and over the last 28 years, I have easily lost 26,000 minutes (433 hours, or 18 days) just going after the mail.

Thursday Thirteen

Health care issues are a problem for many of us. Stress is a biggy, one that is blamed for many things but no one seems to know how to deal with it.

Is stress a problem in your life?

Here are 13 physical problems that might be caused by stress:

I bite my nails.

1. Clenching or grinding your teeth.

2. Biting your nails, chewing pencils, or similar behaviors.

3. Chronic colds, cold sores, or yeast infections.

4. Feeling blue, irritable, tired, and/or overwhelmed.



5. Food cravings, particularly those you seem unable to control.

6. Frequent bloating, indigestion, or diarrhea.

7. Frowning or wrinkling your brow often.

8. Breathing rapidly and shallowly.

9. Trouble sleeping.

10. Frequent headaches.

11. Memory troubles, such as forgetfulness or problems focusing.

12. Skin rashes, hives, or acne breakouts.

13. More illnesses than normal.


And here are 13 stress relievers:


1. Talk to a friend.

2. Eat walnuts and/or tuna, which slow cortisol production.

3. Eat carbohydrates such as bread or pasta earlier in the day.

4. Take Vitamin C.

5. Do yoga, tai chi, or some other relaxing body-movement exercise.

6. Meditate.

7. Listen to music.

8. Write in a journal.

9. Use breathing exercises.



10. Laugh.

11. Go for a walk (preferably outside).

12. Try aromatherapy.

13. Don't put stuff off.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 246th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Evening Sky

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday for the first time ever.

Dying Boxwoods

Back in 2009, I posted about my boxwoods and the continual dying off of branches.

This has proven to be one of my most popular posts. It receives page views all the time.

I'm guessing that boxwood death is a problem for many homeowners.

I am down to three boxwoods (there were five), and the branch die-off continues.

The problem, whatever it is, has moved steadily from boxwood to boxwood.

As best I can tell, the culprit is likely something called English Boxwood Decline. This is caused by drought, which then creates some kind of root fungus or root rot. It is not something very controllable, as it is weather-dependent. I try to water mine but apparently I still am not doing something right.

The branch death slowed for a few years and I had hoped that somehow the remaining boxwoods would be spared, but now I do not think that is the case.

In any event, there is not a lot of information about boxwood problems on the Internet. A few sites discuss the problem but generally refer back to the site I have linked to above.

These boxwoods mean a great deal because they came from slips my husband's grandmother cut from her boxwoods.

I have come to terms with the fact that eventually the remaining boxwoods will likely have die. I hope it will take a long time, though.

Books: The Land of Painted Caves

The Land of Painted Caves
By Jean M. Auel
Copyright 2011
Audiobook
Unabridged
Read by Sandra Burr

I have read all of the Earth's Children books, beginning with The Clan of the Cave Bear.

After the third book, they have grown progressively worse. This last one was the longest audiobook I have ever listened to in my life. And it isn't, really, the longest book I have ever listened too, at least not in terms of number of CDs and time.

It just felt that way.

To be honest, I have thought for some time that the last books, including this one, were not written, at least not entirely, by the original author. Auel was born in 1936, and while 76 years old is not too old to be writing a book, I think the books have been taken over by a book packager or something.

How else could one account for such a decline in talent?

Not only that, whoever edited this book should be fired immediately. Surely some editor could have reduced the length of this 800+ page tome to about 200 pages without losing a single bit of story line.

I was sorry I chose to listen to this book, instead of reading it. Had I read it, I could have skipped a lot of repetition. For this book repeats itself ad nauseum, endlessly, page after page.

There is little plot, and little character development.

But . . . there is detail. And depth. And the creation of a vast world. A world familiar yet not. That was why I kept listening, well, that and the hope that something would happen. Which it occasionally did, apparently enough, that, like Pavlov's dog after a bone, I kept on with the story.

This book received more than 600 bad reviews on amazon.com, and only a few 5 star reviews. Many people were disappointed, I fear.

I would not say I was disappointed so much as tired by the time I finally finished listening to disc 29.

If you are a fan of Ayla, the heroine of these stories, then you will want to skim this book (don't do the audio) for closure. But otherwise, unless you like repetitive, detailed books about humans who lived 30,000 years ago, look elsewhere.

49 - A Very Good Year

The last several weeks have been filled with celebration, and today is no exception.

I am 49 years old today.

Almost 50. In another year, I will be an antique!

It has been an interesting life, and I look forward to many more interesting and entertaining years. Maybe even another 49. Won't I be old then?!?

Thank you, gentle reader, for sticking with this blog for however long you have been reading. I have enjoyed making friends with some of you, meeting you in person, or befriending you on Facebook. Finding common ground is always such a comfort. Connections are important and good.

You have been kind to me and I appreciate it. I hope that you stay with me as the journey continues, but if not, I understand. We are all like gentle streams, twisting, turning, sometimes meeting up, other times running parallel, sometimes moving so far away as to be in the next county. Life is like that.

Take care of yourself, dear reader. Be as kind to your body as you can - it does wear out. Be gentle with your soul, and always strive to learn something new each day. Mind expansion is a good thing. You know me - I love education.

Some days I don't think I will have anything else to say here, but I think I will hang around for at least another year. Might as well say "I'm 50" in this space when the time comes, eh?

So may this day also be special to you, just because you're the wonderful you you are.

Thanks for reading Blue Country Magic!

Thursday Thirteen #245

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 49 years old. I suppose I shouldn't tell my age, but darn it, I have earned the wrinkles and the gray hairs.

To celebrate, I thought I'd offer up 13 things I have learned in those years I have lived.

1. Marriage has two components: you and the other person. Treat the other person like you want to be treated and it will go more smoothly. (I've been married for 28 years; I can say this with authority.) Be nice.

Feed him cake sometimes!

2. Too much of what you love is not a good thing. Moderation truly is the best way to go, whether that's in eating chocolate or making love.

3. Patience, curiosity, and caution are often rewarded, but slowly. There is no fast return on those personality initiatives.





4. Staying young is a state of mind, and it helps to be around young people if you want to do that.

5. Death comes. It sneaks up on you in the night, or it hits you full in the face unexpectedly on a pleasant Wednesday morning, but it comes. Nothing prepares you for it and it changes everything.

Be sure to change
your socks.

6. Ritual is a necessary part of life, whether that is changing your underwear by 10 a.m. every morning or partaking in an elaborate once-in-a-lifetime coronation on your wedding day. Embrace rituals and create your own.

7. Never stop learning. Learning comes in many forms, not just from books. Some of the best education I have received has come from watching people (also some of the worst). But then a lot of good stuff has come my way from reading. Figure out what you need, get it how you need it, and leave the rest.

Explore the world!

8. Just because your situation is one way does not mean the rest of the world is the same. You might be comfortable in your nice middle-class house, but that doesn't mean everyone else has one. There is always someone worse off or better off than you are. Leave your comfort zone once in a while and explore the world around you. You will come away with new knowledge not only about what is outside of you, but what is in you.

9. Etiquette and courtesy matter. Say please, thank you, yes ma'am and yes sir. Open doors for one another, especially older people, and allow someone else to get ahead of you in the grocery line once in a while. The response to a thank you is "you're welcome," not "no problem."

10. Whining changes nothing.

11. If you love what you are doing, you will do it well and often. It is important to find your passion.

12. You own your feelings and you are in charge of them. If you feel hurt, angry, depressed, or hung-over, figure it out and take control.

Kick back and relax!

13. Family means whatever you want it to. If that includes your best friend, her dog and your cat and not your blood relatives, so be it. Embrace love wherever you find it.

I could go on all day with that, I think.

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 245th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Hollins: The Art Gallery

When I received my MA from Hollins in May, I promised myself that I would take every opportunity to avail myself of the campus and the college community. Hollins offers a lot of free activities, if some woman will just get off her duff and drive the 20 minutes over there.

This morning I visited the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum in the Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center. I knew it a long time ago as the library, but that was before a major renovation. Now it is the arts building.

The Museum currently has three separate exhibits.

1. Alice Hohenberg Federico, Hollins Class of 1967. She is a ceramic artist and the museum had a room full of her art, almost all vases. Some were quite elaborate.

2. Andy Warhol.

I confess I am not a big Warhol fan. I have never gotten the whole tomato soup thing.

I approached the manikin from the rear and thought it was a real person.

Soup cans and naked woman outline. Hmm.

Marilyn Monroe, right?

3. Clement Hurd's illustrations of Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Moon is a beloved children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown, Hollins class of 1932.

A copy of the book along with activity items in a room set up to appeal to children.

An illustration of one of the pages.

Another illustration of one of the pages.

Cover art for different versions of the book.

The Museum is open to the public Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Saturday 1 - 5 p.m.

Check it out. It is one Roanoke's hidden jewels.

Happy Birthday, Brother

Today is my brother's birthday. He is 46 years old. When we were young, we often celebrated together because my birthday is Friday.

I was on the verge of turning three when he was born, but I vaguely remember when it happened. I recall my mother telling my father she didn't feel well. My grandfather came and got me and took me to their house. I recall talking to my mother over the telephone; it seemed to me she was gone a long time.

And then she came back in time for my birthday with this wailing little thing:

Me and my brother. Don't I look happy?

A newspaper photo of my brother, when, around age 4,
he caught a big fish at the Salem pond during
a fishing rodeo.

My brother at approximately age 7 with his
Christmas toy. Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots.

My mother, my father, me, and my brother at my
wedding in 1983. My brother would have been 17 in
this picture.

My brother this weekend at his daughter's

dance recital; he is in costume for

the daddy daughter dance.

My brother has two children of his own and a stepson; he runs a corporation over in southeast Roanoke. He lives adjacent to the farm where we grew up, where he raises chickens, peacocks, and other birds. He likes to hunt and takes big game hunting trips every year. I don't say it often but I am proud of him.



Happy birthday, Bro!