Remembering HFI

Saturday's Historic Fincastle festival was a memory tour, of sorts. One stop had a bunch of old souvenirs and other items from the days when HFI was a force to be reckoned with by citizens and government alike.

I wrote a number of the advertisements and other things for HFI. Not everything, but a good bit of it.

HFI did a lot of stuff at one time.

Those newspaper inserts like the one on the right were the types of things I wrote for HFI.

The Festival was a big deal in its time.

HFI has put out some books and other items over the years.

I started to buy one of the tomato can labels, but I didn't.

These were some of the T-shirts. I think there was a different T-shirt design almost every year.
 

Historic Fincastle Festival

Historic Fincastle, Inc. (HFI), a local preservation organization, used to put on a festival in the Town of Fincastle annually. Then they stopped because the people who did it aged and young folks didn't care.

This would have been the 50th year of the festival if it had continued, so they had a little 50th anniversary festival to reminisce and give themselves a pat on the back.

Disclaimer: I am a lifelong member of HFI and was its president back in the late 1990s.

I went but I could not see as much as I wanted because Fincastle is a town of hills, and I can't walk up and down hills anymore.

The view from Roanoke Street looking north. These are artist booths.

A little music for atmosphere.

Looking back down Roanoke Street to the south.

Folks could buy homemade goodies.

Or look at corvettes.

Student art work.

Historic documents were on display in the courthouse.

That is a LOT of signs.

This is Rowan Miller who was touting books for sale.

These books.

This was another author selling her books. She was from Vinton.

More vendors down Main Street. I didn't go down to see these folks because I didn't think I could get back up the hill.

Volcanic Sunset

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. When was the last time you tried something new?

A. The last thing I tried that was new was a recipe for baked pork chops. They were okay.

2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

A. The invisible perfect person.

3. What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

A. Be yourself.

4. What gets you excited about life?

A. Learning something new.

5. What life lesson did you learn the hard way?

A. Don't trust anyone. And I mean not one single person.

6. What do you wish you spent more time doing five years ago?

A. Writing long pieces (like books) and trying to lose weight.

7. Do you ask enough questions or do you settle for what you know?

A. I am always asking questions. My whole life has been one big question mark.

8. Who do you love and what are you doing about it?

A. I love my husband. I married him. I take care of his home and feed him dinner.

9. What’s a belief that you hold with which many people disagree?

A. There is no heaven or hell.

10. What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago?

A. I can play the guitalele.

11. Do you think crying is a sign of weakness or strength?

A. I think it's a sign of being human.

12. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

A. Drive faster.

13. Do you celebrate the things you do have?

A. Yes. Well, I don't do dances around the TV or anything, but I am grateful I have one.

14. What is the difference between living and existing?

A. Living has purpose. Existing is just breathing.

15. If not now, then when?

A. In the next moment.

16. Have you done anything lately worth remembering?

A. I can't remember.

17. What does your joy look like today?

A. It looks like feet in slippers.

18. Is it possible to lie without saying a word?

A. Yes. If someone surmises something and it is incorrect and you don't correct them, then you are perpetuating a lie. A lie of omission is still a lie.

19. If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow this person to be your friend?

A. Not very long.

20. Which activities make you lose track of time?

A. Writing, reading, playing video games.

21. If you had to teach something, what would you teach?

A. Writing.

22. What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life?

A. I don't understand this question. What would I miss if I didn't have it? Is that what this is trying to say? I would miss my imagination.

23. Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of?

A. Everybody is.

24. When you are 80-years-old, what will matter to you the most?

A. Whether or not I have my mind.

25. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards and just do what you know is right?

A. When your gut says so.
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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.  (#250)

Saturday 9: Listen, People

Saturday 9: Listen, People (1966)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Basically Herman is telling us that we each both break hearts and have our hearts broken during our lifetime. Do you agree?

A. I can see where this might be true. Lots of people have secret loves and secret lives.

2) He implores us to take his advice. Have you more recently given or received advice?

A. Mostly I have taken advice lately on housing renovations. I have to listen to the carpenters and installers who know more than I do.

3) Herman's real name is Peter Noone. He was popular with girls because of his bright, toothy smile. How's your oral health? When are you due to go to the dentist?

A. My last check-up was great and I return in February.

4) Peter/Herman got married on his 21st birthday. That's one way to make sure you don't forget your anniversary. Do you have a good memory for anniversaries and birthdays?

A. I mark them on my calendar. Sometimes I am a day off.

5) Between 1965 and 1971, the Hermits worked very hard. They appeared on all the major TV shows of the day, recorded albums, made a movie and then crisscrossed the United States and the United Kingdom, performing live. After those six years, Peter decided he'd had enough and left the group. Have you ever felt burned out and ready for a change?

A. I have, yes. That was one reason why I finally took my doctor's advice and stopped writing for the newspaper. I didn't feel like I was doing the best job I could do because I was limited by money, time, and health.

6) In 1966, when this song was popular, the miniskirt took the fashion world by storm. What's the most recent piece of clothing you added to your wardrobe?

A. I bought a few tops.

7) In 1966, TVs were expensive pieces of furniture. A set with a 16" screen and a wood console sold for $250, which is $1,950 in today's dollars. Tell us about your TV. How big is it? Where did you buy it?

A. My TV is 55" I think. It's new. We bought it last spring when it was on sale because the new models were coming in. It is a smart TV except I don't have it all hooked up to be as smart as it could be. We bought it at a place called Lee Hartman's, which sells TVs and cameras.

8) David Schwimmer, aka Ross on Friends, was born in 1966. Who was your favorite Friend?

A. I didn't watch Friends. I think I might be the only person in the world who has never seen an episode of that show.

9) Random question -- Describe your dream car.

A. My dream car would be a white Toyota Avalon. I think they are pretty cars. Darn. Now I'm going to have to go to the Toyota Website and design one.

Here you go:

That price tag is why I drive a Toyota Camry instead.
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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Renovations, Exterior

The work continues today on replacing the windows and doors. The saw is singing its whining high-pitched screech even as I type this. However, they are in the garage now so I am a bit more insulated than I was when they were in the house proper.

It is very hard to concentrate in a construction site.

Here are exterior shots of the back side of the house. They still have to replace the front door.

This is what the exterior looked like prior to installation:



French door with shutters.



Kitchen window



Most of the back of the house showing the double windows.

Here are pictures of the exterior of the newly installed windows and back door:



We switched from a French door to a patio door. We think it will give us a little more room.
I put some window stickers on there because I am afraid the animals will become confused by the glass. We haven't decided what to do there as far as shutters or curtains or whatever.



New kitchen window. Different angle. The colors are similar but these Pella windows offer more glass space and less white area.

New double window.

The new door and the kitchen window.

This part of the renovation project should end next week. Hopefully it will cut down on drafts and heating. We also found several areas of rotten wood and concealed mold, which we cleaned up and sprayed down with mold elimination stuff. This should also help my allergies and sinus issues considerably in the long run. I sure hope so, anyway.

We still do not have install dates for flooring. That is aggravating and I am starting to question our choice of provider. We can't plan anything because we have no clue when the floor installation will begin. 
 
 

Thursday Thirteen #570

1. If anyone had told me 10 years ago that I'd have done a Thursday 13 for 570 consecutive weeks, I would have laughed at them.

2. That's because I considered myself someone who couldn't stay with something long term.

3. But that's a myth that came from . . . somewhere else. Because I am no short-timer.

4. I've been married for 35 years.

5. I wrote for The Fincastle Herald for 30 years.

6. I wrote for The New Castle Record for 10 years.

7. I've written this blog for 12 years.

8. I took 8 years to finish my bachelor's degree at Hollins University, but by gosh, I finished it.

9. I took 18 years to finish my master's degree, but by gosh, I finished it.

10. I've been playing the guitar since I was 12 years old, so . . . 43 years. I should be a virtuoso after all that time but I still just mess around with it. That's because I'm ok with just messing around with it. I never sat out to master the thing.

11. My friendships run in years . . . 35 years, 25 years, 15 years, 10 years for four of my closest friends. Long time.

12. I have used the same kitchen clock for 35 years. That goes for my pots and pans, my kitchen table, and many other things.

13. Given this, I think it is time I stop looking at writing a long piece of work as difficult. My hard copies of my blog take up about 16 inches of book space shelf. I think the new year will find me, finally, working on a long piece of writing.

Let's hope so, anyway.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 570th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Work Begins

This was the French door my husband installed in 2010. It has always leaked. It was a cheap Lowes door.

This is the hole that is left when said door is removed.

This is the new door in the process of being installed.

The finished door, except we need to decide if we're going to paint it or stain it a color to match the rest of the
oak wood in the house.
 

Next up was this double window. I have never liked the color of these replacement windows.
My husband insisted on the woodgrain look but I knew when we bought them
it wouldn't look good. But sometimes you pick your battles. It was easier to
live with ugly windows than fight over it. But they leaked so, oh well.

This double window had some wood rot and mold around it. Fortunately all of this came out and was replaced
with new wood.

We also sprayed things down with mold elimination spray that we have here. I use it all the time when I see anything
that looks like mold and it works well.

The window hole without the rotten wood in it.

The window replaced. Doesn't that look better, that off-white inside instead of that brown
interior on the sashes? Yes, it does. Thank you very much.

Renovations Underway

At long last some of the housing renovation projects are underway.

The men arrived this morning to install new doors and windows.

This has become an entire house-fix-it project. It initially started out as a door replacement project. The Pella representative gave us a good price on new windows, too, and so we decided to replace those as well. 
Astute long-time readers may remember we replaced the windows in 2010. Those windows failed, and the company that made them, Gorell, went bankrupt. Southwest Sunroom & Windows out of Salem sold us these windows and installed them, but wouldn't or couldn't honor the window warranty, only their installation warranty, which did us little good. We fought with them for five years as the windows failed one after the other. The company that bought out Gorell, Soft-Lite, did replace some of the windows but it was a constant battle to have the replacements made, and then the new windows fit loosely, which only let in that much more air.



That was the biggest waste of money - and probably the biggest mistake - we have ever made in our 35 years of marriage.

This is what the windows look like now. It is hard to take a picture of a window that shows this clearly, but here goes:

I think you can really tell from the bottom one how bad the glass is. That is not dirt. That is glass failure. This is the worst one in the house but several of the windows have spots or areas where you can't see out of them because the glass failed.

The remaining project involves flooring. We weren't planning on replacing flooring this year but a leaking dishwasher changed those plans. We will be replacing the kitchen parquet hardwood with tile, and we decided while we were in the middle of tearing things up we may as well pull up the carpet and put down hardwood floors.

We are hoping this will help my allergies, if nothing else.

Lots of hammering going on now with the new installation. I'll show you some of that tomorrow.

Bruffey Memorial United Methodist Church

Back in May, when we were tooling around the borders of Virginia and West Virginia, we took a side trip over to Gap Mills, West Virginia.

The land there is lovely. From Sweet Springs to Gap Mills, there is a long valley full of gorgeous farmland.

We were searching for a church called the Bruffey Church. That was all I knew about it at the time. Allegedly some of my relatives started this church.

We could not get inside the building, and while we ran into one person there, that person offered no information about the structure or its history.

It's a plain little country church

You see structures like these all over southwestern Virginia and West Virginia.

My husband wondered why the cross was lopsided on the front.

The full name of the church is the Bruffey Memorial United Methodist Church. I don't know if it has always been Methodist.

As best I can tell from an unproductive internet search, about 30 people attend services here. There was no cemetery attached to the church so I am not sure where relatives who attended this structure might be buried.

There is a Facebook page for the church and I've written to see if there is a history available. I'll update if so.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

A. No. And if you answer "yes" to that question, I suggest a psychiatrist and medication.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

A. I am not afraid of the dark, generally. So I guess a 1.

3. The person you would never want to meet?

A. It's a cross between our current president or the loud-mouthed father on Orange County Choppers or whatever it is called.

4. What is your favorite word?

A. Interesting.

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

A. Barbara Walters, anyone? I would like to think I'd be a California Redwood, strong, tall, sturdy, living hundreds of years. I suspect I am actually a willow, fat at the bottom, wispy, with branches that easily break.

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

A. My eyes look tired.

7. What shirt are you wearing?

A. I still have on my nightgown.

8. What do you label yourself as?

A. A writer.

9. Bright room or dark room?

A. Dark room.

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

A. Sleeping.

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

A. Sometime in my 40s. Most of my 40s were fairly good years. I had work I enjoyed and my health, while always not the best, was not as bad as it is now.

12. Who told you they loved you last?

A. My husband.

13. Your worst enemy?

A. Myself.

14. What is your current desktop picture?

A. It's just blue. I don't like pictures on my desktop, it makes it too busy.

15. Do you like someone?

A. I like a lot of people.

16. The last song you listened to?

A. Barracuda, by Heart

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

A. I wouldn't press the button, sorry. I am not into killing people.

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

A. I don't do that, either.

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

A. I don't do that, either.

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

A. I don't know. My skin, I suppose. People often told me I had nice skin when I was younger.

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

A. I'd look like a guy. I have no idea what I would do. One day is not a long time to adjust to something like that. I know what I wouldn't do: I wouldn't treat women as objects, I wouldn't whistle at them or grab them, or rape them. I would be a gentleman.

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

A. If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret.

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

A. I can't think of anything unique.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. What would your sandwich be?

A. I'd have a BLT with chicken salad on the side.

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

A. You can't buy much with $100 these days. I'd probably spend it on groceries.

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

A. New Zealand.

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says.

A. I don't drink alcohol. What kind of angel offers you an addictive drug, anyway?

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

A. All are equal.
 
29. What is your favorite expletive?

A. F#ck apparently. I say it a lot.

30. Your house is on fire. You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

A. My external hard drive. It has my computer back up on it.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.