Giving, Giving, Gone

One of the most wondrous things to me about Christmas is the giving of gifts. I love to give presents to people. I enjoy the entire process: the hunt for that special present, the wrapping, and most especially watching the eyes as the paper comes off and the ribbon is discarded. When I watch I see surprise, joy, puzzlement, or amusement - and occasionally, disappointment - but one thing giving a present is sure to do is evoke some kind of emotion.

Every year I take a day and bake cookies and make fudge. I take these goodies and place them in tins, which we then distribute to various neighbors, shut-ins, and folks who may have done us a kindness but who aren't on our gift list. Many other people receive a gift from me in the form of a card - my mailing list is quite long and I hope the post office loves me.

All of this brings me much joy. It is something I can do and generally do well. I don't often see disappointment face on my gift recipients. Of course I miss the mark sometimes; it is hard to find the perfect gift year after year. And some people are simply hard to buy for. But even so, I love to give them something.

So what to do, then, with the grinchy person who calls you up and says, "I don't want to exchange gifts this year, don't buy me anything." Do you honor that request?

Why does that person think it is her right to tell me where I can spend my money, or put my time? That is not her decision - it's mine. As far as I'm concerned, she has no control over who I buy a present for, including herself. She can turn it down and give it back if she wants, which would be in poor taste if you ask me, but that is as far as it goes. She can tell me that she isn't buying me a gift if she wants me to know that, but she can't tell me not to buy one for her. That's crossing a line.

Am I wrong to think that? I think it quite selfish of someone to try to steal away from me something that I love to do. Besides, guess what? While I do enjoy receiving presents, I enjoy the giving just as much, if not a little more. So if said person doesn't want to spend money on my husband and me, then she should just pocket her sixpence and graciously accept what is given to her.

That's what I think. A gift is a gift. It's not something you're obligated to do. We buy and give because we want to do that. It is nice to receive something in return, but I don't expect it.

What say you?

Thursday Thirteen

Happy Winter Solstice! It's almost that special day of the year - you know, the one where some folks celebrate the birth of Jesus and Santa Claus comes down the chimney bearing gifts. Isn't it an odd amalgamation of religions? Taking something that should be solemn and sacred, or maybe happy and cavorting, and turning it into a capitalistic free-for-all?

Anyway, I'm feeling a big nostalgic so I thought I'd list 13 toys that I played with as a child and remember having. They are not in any particular order.



1. Johnny West.I loved these things. They were made out of heavy plastic. I had them all, along with many of the accessories. Their horses were named Thunderbolt and Lightning. They had a covered wagon. Other characters included Chief Cherokee, Geronimo, and General Custer. These are no longer available. The picture is not mine; it came from this site if you want to know more about them.


2. Erector Set. This was my brother's, actually, but I really enjoyed playing with it. An erector set is used to build things, and they appealed to my creative side.

3. Legos. These were also my brother's (I think this might be a trend) and also something I enjoyed working with. Maybe I should have been a builder or an architect or something.

4. Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots. I don't remember playing with these much, and yes, I think they were my brother's, but I think that's a cool name. You can still buy a version these, apparently, which surprises me.

5. My blue bicycle. I received my first bike when I was five years old. Santa brought it and left it under the tree for me. It was a blue girl's bicycle; I don't remember what brand.

6. That same year, Santa brought me a Batgirl doll. She was sitting on the bicycle seat. I remember being very impressed with that.

7. Paddle Ball. This was a ball on a stretchy string attached to a paddle. You whopped it. I spent many hours trying to do it numerous times in a row. Unfortunately, the string always broke, and the paddle was very good for getting hit on the behind with when you were bad. Maybe I shouldn't include this one.

8. Electric train set. Again, my brother's, but I love electric trains even today. I wish I had a place to set up one. I love those tiny models.

9. Slinky. This is like a paddle ball to me, something I did over and over. It walked down stairs! I actually have purchased one of these as an adult. They're kind of soothing to hold in your hand.

10. GI Joe. Also my brother's, but I played with them too. There were also figures called Action Jackson. We had many adventures with these dolls. Much more fun than holding a baby doll.

11. Board games. Candyland, Monopoly, Life, Careers. Those were fun games. There was no blood, either, unless some who lost had a fit and swung a fist.

12. Viewmaster. This was a terrific way to spend some time. The Viewmaster allowed you to move through a series of slides. You could see shows from TV, or visit foreign lands.

13. Rock polisher. Now this was cool stuff. You could put rocks in this thing and create jewelry, or just make a regular ol' rock look smooth and polished. We have a lot of quartz in our area, as well as colorful slag from the numerous iron furnaces that were around here long ago, and I remember creating some lovely polished stone with one of these things.


For more information on toys from my era (that is to say, old), check out this website: The People History.

To all my Thursday Thirteen readers (and everyone else, too!): Happy Holidays to you. I hope your weekend is blessed as you are surrounded by family, loved ones, and memories of previous years.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 221st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

It's Coming! The Hobbit in 2012

I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so I have been anxiously awaiting the next movie: The Hobbit. This prequel to the first trilogy deals with how Bilbo Baggins obtained the One Ring.

I'm so excited. I have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy many times; I can recite dialogue from it with ease. For Christmas, I asked for the Blue Ray extended 10th anniversary version that came out this year even though I don't own a Blue Ray player.

Yes, I'm a bit of a nerd.

If you somehow missed Lord of the Rings (and I know a few people who look at me like I'm a nut because they don't watch fantasy films so they haven't seen it), you really should watch it. Not for the magic but for the majesty and the themes of brotherhood and redemption. And for the great cinema.

Books: Finding Noel

Finding Noel
By Richard Paul Evans
Copyright 2006
Audio Read by the Author

Richard Paul Evans offers up another of his special brand of heartbreaking yet cheery life sagas. In this book, Mark Smart has lost his mother in a car wreck and his scholarship at school. His father, with whom he has never gotten along, has told him not to come home.

He is thinking about suicide when his car breaks down at a coffee hut. A young woman named Macy helps him out and cheers him up.

She has problems of her own, including a missing sister. The story centers around her search for her sister but includes several love stories.

This was a strong story with well-rounded characters. Highly recommended as a heart-warmer for the holiday season.

Fincastle, Last Night

As everyone knows, I'm in love with the architecture and design of the Town of Fincastle. I love its history, it's quaintness, and it's charm. Last night I took the camera and tripod into town to see what I might capture. Here are the results.

Christmas lights on the Voter Registrar building.

Christmas lights on Main Street.

Fincastle Methodist Church

The town from the Godwin Cemetery.

Fincastle Presbyterian Church from Godwin Cemetery.

The Courthouse from Godwin Cemetery.

Another shot of the town from Godwin Cemetery.

Thursday Thirteen #220

Christmas is almost upon us, so today I thought I'd offer up 13 ways to keep your sanity whilst trying to make everybody else happy.

1. Make a list. You might need to make several lists: who to buy for, and what, the food you want to purchase, Christmas cards, etc. This is the best way to make sure you get it all taken care of, and there's a reason why it's number one on my list.

2. Do what you can early. This one comes a little late in the season to be of much help, but generally speaking, if you can get the cards out early, or the presents purchased (and wrapped!) before today's date, or even by December 20, it makes things a little easier than if you wait until the last minute.

3. Say no. This is a hard one to put in place, because you don't want to turn folks down. But there is such a thing as too much - too many parties, too many nights out, too much time around people who don't really matter to you. Pick the most important events or activities and stick with those.

4. Do what you enjoy, and skip the rest. If you love to bake, then make cookies and cakes to your heart's content, but if that's not your thing, buy it at the market, put it on a pretty plate, and forget about it. If you like to make personal presents for your family, do it, but don't feel bad if you have to purchase something. While "it's the thought that counts" seems to have gone the way of partisan politics and world sanity, it really is the heart of the matter.

5. Turn off your internal critic. Give yourself a pep talk every day. Say things like, "I'm a good person," or make a list of your blessings. When you are annoyed, tell yourself that it will pass and tomorrow will be better.  Close your eyes, take a big, long, deep breath, and think about something peaceful, like a mountain or the ocean, for just a few minutes. It will help.

6. Change your environment. Sometimes it's enough to drive you crazy. If you're in the house all the time, get out and take a walk or go for a drive and look at the lights. If you're stuck at work, take your lunch break and enjoy the sights. Don't stay stuck there. Change your view and change your life.

7. Do what makes you happy. If you like to watch Rudolph, watch it! If you're into It's A Wonderful Life, make sure you have the DVD and make time to see it. Give yourself a little me time to do what you want so that you can recharge those ol' batteries.

8. Take care of your health. Unfortunately, this time of year is fraught with colds, flu, and tummy troubles. Wash your hands frequently, take your vitamins (maybe extra Vitamin D this time of year), and don't scrimp on sleep and healthy food. Exercise as much as you can. Don't skip meals or eat poorly because you think it will save time. You'll lose a lot more time than you'll save if you end up spending three days in bed with a fever.

9. Keep to your budget. This can be hard to do at this time of the year, but it is important for your overall happiness. First, of course, you should actually create a budget for the holiday, and don't forget to include entertaining expenses. Be sure to shop smart and hit the sales if money is an issue.

10. Help someone else. It's been shown that helping others helps you by lifting your spirits and giving you feel-good cooties. We all need feel-good cooties, so do a good deed. You can buy a toy for a child, do an angel tree, bake cookies for a shut-in neighbor, or just go out of your way to be kind to your spouse if you're interested in having a few of those feel-good cooties yourself. Of course, you can also just write a check to a few non-profits. It will give you feel-good cooties, too.

11. Meditate and/or pray. Praying and meditation is a good way to lower your blood pressure and heart rate, something we all need this time of the year. It promotes well-being, and who doesn't need that?

12. Be flexible. Sometimes your plans will change, and that's okay. You will still have a good time, so go along and enjoy it when your Thursday evening shopping trip turns into a sudden evening out with the office staff.

13. Use that mistletoe! In my opinion, in the United States, we don't have enough touch in our lives. We need to hug and kiss more. So pucker up, and lay one on your spouse. It'll do you both good.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 220th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

12,000

According to Picasso, which is a photo editor I use sometimes, I have 12,081 pictures on my computer's hard drive.

Is there such a thing as too many pictures?

Some of these go way back, as I have been using a digital camera since 2001. However, many of those photos are long gone. I have dragged a few along with me from computer to computer but not many.

Most of these photos have been taken since 2005 or thereabouts. While many of them are related to my former work as a newspaper reporter and photographer, others are family. Christmases past, for example.

None have been printed out and pasted in a scrapbook somewhere. They exist in the ephemeral place that is my hard drive.

Some of these pictures have been viewed by the 100 or so of you who read this blog on a daily basis, but close family has never seen them. And most likely, they never will, unless I do some serious scrapbooking.

I worry that an entire decade of our life - maybe the rest of it, since everything is digital - will be eradicated come the future. I mean, who is going to sit down and go through my hard drive when I die? Nobody. All of that work - everything I do - will be pitched out. It will vanish with a few letters: FORMAT DRIVE C.

Life is fleeting, and how many of us actually make an impact on this old world? The work we do on computers is evidence enough of how little it matters. How can it have any importance when with a touch of a few keys, years and years of toil and labor simply vanishes?

In the meantime, I am open to suggestions on how to manage all of these photos. What I am doing doesn't seem to be working very well.

The Moon and the Sun

This morning a big ol' fat moon shone brightly in the bedroom window as I was rising. After I wiped the sleep from my eyes, I padded into the home office and retrieved a couple of my cameras.

Standing outside in my robe was a bit cold, but I was pretty pleased with my early morning efforts.

This full moon, which greeted some folks Saturday morning with a lunar eclipse that the eastern coast of the United States could not see, is sometimes called The Cold moon or the Long Night Moon. It's also called a Christmas Moon, a Snow Moon, a Twelfth Moon, or an Oak Moon. I don't know how they determine which name to use.

Early Sunday morning, around 7:15 a.m. Shot with my Nikon D-40.

Around 7:10 a.m. Shot with my Canon Powershot.

7:10 a.m., Canon Powershot.

However, around the house, something else was going on. The sun, not to be outdone, was coming up brilliantly through the trees:

December 11, 2011, 7: 15 a.m., Sunrise, Nikon D-40.

Shopping Local

Today was my own personal "small business day," and I spent it shopping in little stores around my home.

We have a number of small shops owned by delightful women who offer many unique little gifts. Many of the items are primitive or country, with a generous helping of Boyds Bears, Vera Bradley, and similar line items.

So this morning I hopped in the car and sped off to take in a few of this little wonders.

Of course, I didn't take a camera. I wasn't thinking about blog posts, I was contemplating spending money! However, I have older photos of some of these stores on my computer from when I wrote for the newspaper, so I will use some of those.

My first stop was Blackberry Hollow on US 460 just a little south of the Walmart.

They offer primitives, including curtains and rugs. I came *this* close to purchasing a few scatter rugs not for giving away but for keeping, but refrained this time.

I did, however, purchase several gift items.

Next stop was Marcey's, located on Cloverdale Road (Alt. US 220). This is a lovely little store filled with all kind of unique gifts.

I made a purchase, there, too.

Next I headed to Tin Roof, also on Cloverdale Road. They have Vera Bradly and Boyd's Bear items galore, along with other collectibles.

From there I headed north on US 11 and into Troutville. My next stop was Cackleberry Ridge. This store has Jim Shore collectibles, along with Boyd's Bears and others.

They were having an open house and I sampled some cider that was positively wonderful. It was Murray's Cider, which is my favorite and the best, as far as I'm concerned (and also locally made). The mulling was terrific, too, with just the right spice.

Yes, I made a purchase there, too!

Cackleberry Ridge circa 2009.

From there, I went to Apple Barn II.

And of course I made yet another purchase.

By this time, I was tired and my foot was aching, so I had to head home. However, I will tackle other stores another day.

Other stops you could make include Read Mountain Mercantile, on Read Mountain Road, Southern Past Times, on US 11 just before you get to Troutville, WillowPod, in the Daleville Town Center area, Ikenberry Orchards, just past the Town Center on US 220, and White Oak Tea, which also has many gift items for sale.

Additionally, Buchanan offers a number of different items, and the county has artists like Ed Bordett, Dreama Kattenbraker, and Willie Simmons, just to name three, who would be glad to sell you something.

If you live within driving distance, I hope you'll check out some of these places and people for unique gift ideas. I'm sure your own area has many little lovely shops, too. Do frequent them, because it's a nice shopping experience and definitely different from the department stores.

Thursday Thirteen

I have computers on my mind this morning.

1. My computer, a Dell, has developed a hiccup. It has stopped reading my external hard drive and the fonts changed in Internet Explorer and I can't figure out why or how to change them back. When my computer isn't working right, I get very frustrated.

2. The first computer I ever used was a Commodore Vic 20. My mother bought it when they first came out, which was about 1981, and I immediately took possession of it. I learned a little BASIC programming on it and played a few games with it.

3. My next computer was a Commodore 64. This actually met my basic needs at the time; it ran a dot matrix printer and I had a word processing program that I used with it. I wrote articles for the newspaper on this computer. This was in 1985 or so. Oddly enough, in looking this up I discovered that there is a new Commodore 64 out, one that will run Windows.

4. My next computer was a Tandy T-1000, which was sold by Radio Shack.

5. That was followed by two computers that were built by a computer dude who had opened a local shop. This is probably the best way to go, but it is hard to find this as option around here anymore.

6. Then along about 1998, after the guy closed his shop, I bought an HP. I might have had two HPs, I can't recall for sure.

7. I know I had two Gateways somewhere in there. And then I bought the Dell.

8. I end up purchasing a new computer every three to five years, mostly because something starts malfunctioning. Either a piece of hardware stops working or the software configurations become frazzled that the computer thinks it alive and should get up and walk around the house. I don't know what happens to the darned things when all I do is turn them on and type on them.

9. Personally, I think I should still be using the Commodore 64 from way back when. Or at least my first HP. Shouldn't the things last longer than three years? I mean, that's about $300 a year when you get right down to it. I don't know about you, but I generally spend a $1000 every time I replace one.

10. At the moment, I have my old Gateway computer with Windows XP on it sitting on the floor of my office. I have a Toshiba laptop in a closet, and a Gateway laptop sitting on my desk. I have a Nook Color in the living room, and I'm writing this on the Dell. My husband has an HP computer in his home office. Shouldn't that be enough technology for two people? Shouldn't this damned Dell work right?

11. In spite of all of that, I do not have a smart phone. I have a six-year-old Nokia phone that doesn't take pictures, have a keyboard, have applications, or any of that stuff. I could text on it if we were signed up for that, but we're not. All I do is talk on it and I don't do much of that. We have lousy cellphone reception in the house so the phone stays in my car and I mostly use it for emergencies, like calling home to see if I need to stop and pick up a loaf of bread. My husband and I have 550 rollover minutes between us and we roll about half of those over every month.

12. I suspect if I bought a new phone, it would work better in the house. Other people's phones work okay when they are visiting here. I know because they came to see me and then sat and played with their applications instead of having a conversation. Which is why I have resisted purchasing a smart phone. I prefer to interact with people face to face.

13. This is a lame Thursday Thirteen, but what do you do? When you have something on your mind, it's on your mind.

Damn computer.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 219th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Forecasting Snow

Snow in 2009

The weatherman is calling for snow later in the week.

We had our first snow early, in late October.

My ideal snow would come late on December 24 and melt by 1 p.m. on December 25. However, I doubt that happens.

Have you found your snow boots, coat, hat, and gloves? I'll be looking for mine!

Nobody's Stopping You

This is a rant. Read at your own risk.

***************************

It's the holiday season, and every day on my Facebook wall, someone posts that they are going to say "Merry Christmas" no matter what.

Well, I don't know who's stopping you if you are a United States citizen. I am unaware of a single instance of someone in the United States being killed or maimed because they walked up to somebody and said Merry Christmas.

Now, they might be told, "I'm Jewish, and I don't celebrate, but Happy Hanukkah" or "I'm Muslim, and I don't celebrate," or "I'm atheist, and I don't celebrate," but they aren't going to jail for wishing someone a Merry Christmas. Not in this country. At least, not yet, and I don't really look for that to change.

You have a good chance of being jailed for holding a sign saying, "I'm in the 99 percent," though.

Nor is it wrong to say "Happy Holidays," which, by the way, is simply the modern way of saying "Happy Holy Days." If you take offense at that and you're Christian, then you're just ignorant.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're one of those Christian people in the United States who are feeling "persecuted" over your religion, you're making a big something out of absolutely nothing.

Because it is Christmas everywhere, and it has been since Halloween.

If you want to feel persecuted over your religion, then I urge you to visit another country, or change your religion, and then see how it feels to live here.

Because in other countries that are not predominantly Christian, people lose their lives over their religion.

Yeah, they die.

They don't get to post on Facebook that they're indignant because they heard some rumor that somebody doesn't like their religion. They don't get to post false rumors about the President of the United States and what he does or doesn't do about the holiday.

Because any of that would get them killed.

If you want to see something interesting, go to this website and take a look at it. This details real Christian persecution.

Guess what. Saying "Happy Holidays" is not on the first page. At the moment I write this, the front page talks about a church bombing in Nepal, a prayer meeting interrupted by Hindus in India, Christians being murdered and churches being burned in Nigeria, etc. etc.

There is no public battle over Christmas here. It's all a gimmick to make you indignant so you'll go out and buy another decoration or a bigger toy for Johnny. Nobody is telling you not to celebrate your holiday, to worship your god, or do whatever you want. By all means, go and do that in whatever way you think is best.

However, some people are telling you that Christianity doesn't belong in government sanctioned areas, and it doesn't. Think about how the Christians in other countries feel, the ones who are watching their loved ones die. Do you suppose they are worried about a Christmas tree on the front lawn?

I think not.

Besides, the Christmas tree belongs to the pagans anyway. Maybe the Christians should give them back their trees.

Christmas has become nothing more than crass commercialism, and all of the uproar is to keep people shopping.

I grew up in a fairly non-religious household. If you want even an inkling of persecution, try being in the fourth grade and left to yourself in the library while other children go to Bible study every Friday. Yes, that happened in the 1970s when I was growing up.

I attended those classes for the first six weeks. We were given booklets to study and fill out with church attendance.  My church attendance was blank, because my family did not attend church. You see, my mother was Baptist and my father was Catholic, and when they married in 1962, they were tossed out of their consecutive religious establishments for not following the rules.

Anyway, the Bible teacher, checking the booklets after six weeks, held mine up for everyone to see. "She doesn't go to church!" she cried out to the entire class. "What a sinner."

I cried for days.

After that, my parents told the teacher I was to leave the room during Bible study and go sit in the library. And that is what I did, year after year. I was joined by a couple of other outcast kids. The other kids made fun of us. Every week, once a week, for three years.

That's a type of persecution. It's not like losing your life, but it left scars.

And those scars didn't come from the state. They came from the Christians.

Happy Holidays.


P.S. Before you call me a sinner and all of that crap, (a) I celebrate Christmas, (b) I've been baptised,  (c) I'll put my morality up against anyone else's, and (d) I'm as entitled to my opinion as you are. You want to post about your imagined persecution, I have the right to complain about your imagination.

And if you leave a bad comment, I'll delete it.

Out the Window

Someone told me the other day that he didn't believe the deer came close to my house. They would be too skittish, he said.

Somebody doesn't know what they're talking about.

Just sayin'.

Pink Sky At Night

Last night, we had a pink sunset.

Jet plumes streaked across the sky.

 The half-moon was a little bitty dot in the midst of swirling pink clouds.

I thought I might reach out and grab it!

O Christmas Tree

On Sunday, we put our tree up in the living room.

This is rather unusual for us. Usually I do not put the tree up before December 10, but we had a little time after Thanksgiving and it seemed appropriate to move ahead and get this done.

For one thing, I have a huge final exam to prepare for and take, so time might be a little tight later in the month.

As you can see, I already have one package beneath the tree.

Now I need to wrap the things I have already purchased, address my cards, and get them in the mail.

Thursday Thirteen

This year, on the first day of every month, I have used my Thursday Thirteen to look over the last 30 days and count my blessings.

Since this is the last month of the year, I will look back over the last 11 months and offer up the best of those wonderful happenings. It is good to remember the terrific things, large and small, because it is so easy to forget that life is bountiful and good when things are not going quite as well as one might like.

So here we go! Thirteen things I am thankful for in 2011:

1. First, I am thankful for my wonderful husband. He's had a tough year; it was his first year without his dad. His father's passing left a huge hole in his life, because they worked the farm together and jointly operated a septic tank installation business; they were also best friends. He has had to find a new rhythm to his life and new methods of doing what used to be routine. I am very proud of him for his hard work. He's also a battalion chief with the city fire department, so he's a very busy guy.

2. Family. I went in May to watch my niece at her dance recital; my husband had relatives in during June; my aunt came to my rescue when I was ill this fall; my brother gave me some good advice. It is good to have blood relatives, even the ones you don't particularly like. There is something about those ties.

3. Old friends. My friends have been very supportive of me as I've thrashed about trying to figure out a new career for myself. They have applauded and cajoled, as necessary, in order to help me move forward. I am very grateful for their love and support.

4. Learning. Going back to college is always good for me. I love to learn, and there is nowhere I want to be other than Hollins University. The campus makes me feel welcome and the professors are supportive. The environment there is like manna and I have fed on it for three semesters.

5. My health. This is the year, I think, that I will look back on and say, "that was when I learned," when it comes to health. I have gone on a diet and lost 25 pounds (still need to lose another 70, but it's a good start), but also I have had to come to grips with the fact that I am not, and never will be, the healthiest of people. Issues with asthma, blood pressure, my immune system, and a broken bone in my foot have all let me know that I am aging and need to take better care of myself. When people say that if you don't have your health, you have nothing, they are right.

6. Writing. At the moment, my work is frustrating me in ways I never imagined, but I am so grateful that I can string words together and occasionally make sense. I may never publish a book or another article, because who knows what the future holds, but I have had a good career even if that happens. I am a writer even if I sometimes wonder if I ever will be a writer - that shouldn't even be a question. I've published extensively and won recognition for my work, and that's more than many people can say. I may be moving on to a new chapter, but who's to say it won't include writing? At the moment, I don't know, but I am looking forward to finding out. But I did publish a few articles here and there in the last year, and wrote a couple of good papers for my classes.

7. The ability to read. I cannot imagine being unable to read. I know there are a lot of people in this world who can't, and illiteracy is something that should be fought at every turn. Being able to read opens up worlds; it expands the mind, it offers insight, it is one of the best ways I know to find God, however you wish to define that entity. Where would I be without story and narrative, without the threads that tie the tales together? Some of the best books I read in 2011 were The Way by Kristen Wolf, which I highly recommend; Brava, Valentine, by Adriana Trigiani; People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks; and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Ablom.

8. My high school reunion stirred up a lot of sentiment and memories, all of which I am grateful for even if some were hard to relive. I worked on the reunion committee a little bit and it was nice to get to know folks all over again. I enjoyed seeing old pals and catching up. Many are now Facebook friends and who knows what will come of these renewed relationships.

9. I took time to appreciate nature. Living on a farm, with it all around us, sometimes it's easy to overlook all the cool things that happen in the back yard. We have wild turkey, deer, bear, rabbits, coyotes, skunks, raccoons - all sorts of wildlife - and an abundance of trees, flowers, and grasses. One could spend an entire life examining an acre of the place and never see it all.

10. We are surviving the recession despite the fact that I lost my major client in 2009 and never regained my footing and despite the reality that my husband's other job as a septic tank installer has, well, stalled. While we have had to cut back and make some changes, we are doing better than some folks and I am really grateful that we are managing. I wish I could make it better for others.

11. I'm grateful for little things, like chocolate, Pilot G2 ink pens (extra fine), cheap spiral notebooks, portable heaters, and yellow highlighters. They might not seem like much but they make life a little better.

12. Volunteering. I just finished up a nine-year stint serving on the county library board. I have always volunteered somewhere and I will miss that particular position. In the new year I will be looking for another cause to donate my time to, but for now I am very grateful that I played a small part in helping the county library move forward. During my time there we added on to one library and built another, and these are not small accomplishments for a rural community. It is good to give back and I am grateful I had that opportunity.

13. Last, but certainly not least, I am grateful for you, dear reader, for sharing a small part of your day with me. I hope that 2011 has been and will continue to be a good year for you and that 2012 will bring you much joy and laughter. But if you should find tears and heartache, then I hope you will find the strength and courage you may need in the coming day. Life can be tough but each day is a new promise; so I wish for you all the ability to embrace that hope that each new day brings.

Blessings to you all as we start out on this last month of the year!


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 218th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Technologied Out

Diane over at Blue Ridge Gal posted about a change Google is making that could impact my blog, and maybe yours. I strongly suggest you read it if you're a blogger interested in traffic and the social networking impact of your blog. Di is really up on the blog stuff and her thoughts and opinions on these things seem to be spot on.

The idea, I gather, is to urge users to head over to Google+ and things will integrate that way.

I personally don't care for Google+, and I think it ultimately will fail like some other Google products. For one thing, it doesn't have a catchy name. Google+ is not even as good a name as My Space or LinkedIn. It's more like a product placeholder name until somebody comes up with something better to call it. I also do not like the interface. It also doesn't have a good feel to it; it does not seem friendly. I am not quite sure how to explain that.

The Roanoke Times this morning offers an article about a junior at Hidden Valley High School who is unplugged - she doesn't have a Facebook account or a cell phone. She knows how to use a spinning wheel. She sews, creates, and is otherwise engaged in the world.

Good for her. Because I am starting to think too much technology is not a good thing. And the changes are coming fast and furious.

Way back in 2002 and 2003, when I first started working in earnest on my master's degree (yes, it is taking me a long time), cellphones were not as hooked into the Internet as they are now. So when we took breaks in class, my classmates talked to one another. Some went outside to smoke, others went to the restroom, but always at least a few of us stood around and discussed the world.

Fast forward not even a decade and I find it is completely different. I was struck by this last spring when I returned to Hollins University to try to complete this degree.

During breaks, people do not connect. They get on their cellphone. They check Facebook. They text home and make sure the kids are doing their homework. As they walk out to their cars, they text, they talk on their phone. They rarely talk to each other. Not even in the bathrooms!

The people from class that I now call "friends" . . . found me on Facebook. We're Facebook friends. But are we "Let's go out and grab a cup of coffee after class" friends?

To be sure, those classmates with whom I am friends on Facebook will probably be my friends longer than some. Most likely, they will be in my line of sight on the computer until the day I hop off the technology bandwagon. Or they "unfriend" me, whichever comes first.

I have made friends from this blog, including Diane and a few others, and I am very glad of that. But do I have the time to Google+, Facebook, blog, be LinkedIn, and still fix dinner?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not giving up my blog. I enjoy this and will keep on. But if the hosting companies, which, I admit, owe me nothing because they host it for free, continually make changes that force me to use up my precious time to learn stuff I don't care to learn, I have to wonder what I am gaining.

The computer eats my time as it is. I sit down to write and the next thing I know I've lost an hour reading email or news stories. Technology is no longer my friend.

Maybe we should all take a lesson from the girl in The Roanoke Times article, and step back from the gadgets and re-engage the world and one another.

Steamrolled!

Friday night, my husband and I took my mother-in-law to the Roanoke Civic Center to see Mannheim Steamroller. Her birthday is coming up and this was an early birthday present.

I am not sure, but I think it might have been her first-ever concert. My husband seemed to think this was the case.

The show was in the Performing Arts Theater, which is a huge auditorium. We had seats near the rear because we didn't decide to go until recently, but they were still fine seats.

Mannheim Steamroller has been around a very long time. The group was started by Chip Davis, who has split the group into separate troupes for touring purposes. We saw the East Coast crew.

Davis began producing classical music albums in the 1970s, but the group found its greatest success in 1984 after it began recording Christmas music. A coworker gave me a tape of their music in 1986 and I have been a fan ever since.

The troupe we saw last week had some very fine musicians. I was particularly taken with the flute player and the violinist. Both were women and they were excellent.

Books: The Little Friend

The Little Friend
By Donna Tartt
Copyright 2003
Abridged Audiobook 6 hours
Read by the author

Sometimes I wonder why I pick up particular audiobooks. This one read like a mild mystery on the blurb. In a way it was, but then again, it wasn't. This was a book that in many ways was quite an indictment on today's society.

Harriet is 12 years old. When she was four months old, her brother, Robin, died in a mysterious incident in the family yard. He was found hung from a rope. However, no one was ever convicted of a crime.

The death sent her mother spiraling into a depression. Her father took a job in Nashville and left their Mississippi home, leaving her mother and nursemaid Ida to raise Harriet and her older sister Allison.

Since Harriet is raised virtually unsupervised, at 12 she is willful and, frankly, mean. I had a hard time feeling sorry for the character, though I think I was supposed to.

She decides she will find out who killed her brother. She thinks that if she solves this mystery, her life will be better.

Her sleuthing, though, leaves a lot to be desired. She determines that Danny Ratliff, now grown, killed her brother. She bases her knowledge solely on Ida's word and on the fact that Ratliff grew up and still lives on the wrong side of the tracks. He is, in local parlance, white trash. So of course he must have killed her brother.

This insane logic drove me crazy and it made it hard for me to enjoy the story. Not only was Harriet sure that Ratliff was the murderer, she decided that she had to kill him in order to obtain retribution. This kind of thinking is so out of line with my own value system that I had a very hard time with it. I am not much on an eye-for-an-eye at any time, but to want to kill someone just because you're sure of something, whether it's logically true or not, is just plain wrong.

Her determination leads her to peril and misadventure, none of it particularly pleasant. She even nearly kills Ratliff's grandmother, but shows little remorse over this mistake.

This book offers a lot of things to think about. For example, do you believe in vengeance? If so, why? And what happens if the wrong person pays for a crime he didn't commit?

The book is full of class issues, too. Harriet's family is old money, genteel folk who are no longer wealthy but still have social status. The Ratliff's are painted as drug-dealing ne'er-do-wells, but the author, thankfully, switches point of view to show how much they care for their grandmother and gives them a little humanity.

I just wish I had felt a little more love for Harriet. I found her impossible to like.

I Smell Covington

The other day, I stepped outside to enjoy the still, crisp morning air.

A foul, fetid odor greeted my nose. The smell was something like sewage brewing in a coffee maker and I hurried back in the house before the polluted air could trigger an asthma attack. I recognized the stench instantly. I could hear my mother's voice echoing in my brain. "I smell Covington," she was saying. I remember her saying it many times when I was a child.

It has been a while since I smelled Covington, but when I was growing up in the foothills of Caldwell Mountain, I found the odor wafting from the paper mill in that small, rural city to be quite strong even though it was an hour's drive away from my childhood home. Many mornings you could hardly stand to walk outside without retching because the air currents had brought the scent of the industry straight into our valleys and left it there.

Since I moved away (granted, just six miles but apparently enough to make a difference), I have rarely smelled the paper mill, which is now owned by MeadWestVaco. The papermill has been there since 1900. According to Wikipedia, in 2002, MeadWestVaco as a whole (it's a big company with mills and offices and plants all over the United States) was listed as the 57th largest polluter in the US.

I thought perhaps I no longer smelled Covington because better environmental controls on the paper mill in the last 20 years had kept the place from gagging people for a hundred-square-mile area. And this might be so, since, according to Wikipedia, the company has taken steps to ease its environmental impact. The EPA lists pages and pages about the plant on its website if you do a search for it.

The papermill employs about 1,500 people in the Covington area. Covington is in Alleghany County, which was once part of Botetourt County and now lies next door, but further back in the mountains. It is an interesting place, as I have been there a few times.

Covington began as a town around 1817 or so. It became a small city in 1952.

Just so you know, not smelling Covington is just one of the reasons why I am glad there is an EPA.