Proof Positve

While my husband contends that I sometimes drive like a bat out of H E double hockey sticks, may I offer proof to the contrary. After all, how fast can you be going if you get passed by a mere kitchen appliance like a toaster

Well maybe not....




This Honda element was actually parked next to me in the parking lot and I thought the bumper sticker was pretty darn cute. As for my driving, my last speeding ticket was 25 years ago..... really it was.

Carina

Ultimate Air Dogs

 My primary reason for heading up and over the mountains to Asheville for Bele Chere is the chance to take in a diverse array of musical groups for cheap. It costs me nothing more than the car trip, as admission is free. There were 4 stages, each with 4 musical groups playing between noon and 10pm.

Along with the music there are hordes of people (an artifact of free admission), food vendors, arts and crafts for sale, an interactive performance area and kid and family friendly events. The pictures I'm posting here along with this video link are from the family friendly portion of Bele Chere.

http://www.ultimateairdogs.com/youtube.html

Ultimate Air Dogs is the brain child of former Detroit Tigers pitcher Milt Wilcox. Started back in 2005 in conjunction with his son Brian, their show offers a variety of water events including dock jumping and lure coursing. Getting involved as a competitor with his lab Sparky after seeing the great Outdoor Games on ESPN in 1984, Milt so enjoyed the events that he went on to founded Ultimate Air Dogs.

Any dog can compete, regardless of size or pedigree. Most of the competitors Saturday were dogs associated with the water, Newfoundlands,  various Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and at least one Curly coated Retriever.

 Once upon a time, about 20 years ago, I owned an Airedale Terrier that would have been a natural at these events,but my current pack is rather reluctant around the water.


Carina

Delta Rae @ Bele Chere

They were playing the only cover I would hear as I approached the Biltmore Stage at the Bele Chere Festival in Asheville Saturday. It was vintage Fleetwood Mac, The Chain, off the Rumours album. The strong vocal interplay by the voices of Brittany Holljes and Elizabeth Hopkins took the lead and reeled me in. I would eagerly watch their entire set and not wander off to see anyone else on any other stage.

Delta Rae has 4, count them four lead singers, three of which are siblings. Besides Brittany, her brothers Ian and Eric play instruments and have great pipes too. The brothers are the primary song writers and they have crafted some sweet and some powerful tunes. Rounding out this sextet are Grant Emerson on the electric and upright bass and Mike McKee on drums and other interesting percussion like chains and trash can lids.

This link will take you to Delta Rae's first professionally produced video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bimam2j2gEg

This band is not easy to peg, as I found while cruising the web and gathering a little background  for this blog post. Various different sources called them Alt-Pop Americana, a Folk-Rock sextet, Americana pop or as decreed by their publicist Mumford and Sons meets Fleetwood Mac. Whatever category you put them in , the band weaves together multiple influences into a dynamic stage show that has been honed by significant quantities of travel and practice.

 

Delta Rae may be poised to take the next step toward larger audience recognition. From their self titled CD funded by Kickstarter, the band has recently signed with Sire records, a subsidiary of Warner Music. Their CD Carry the Fire was released June 19th and a week later they made their national television debut on the Jay Leno Show.

Signing posters and CDs after the performance.

Currently on tour, if Delta Rae plays near you, make a point to get yourself in the audience. You will not be disappointed.

Carina

Tattoo a banana - not quite a review

 

 A recent trip to the bookstore once again demonstrates that my credentials as a grownup could be up for review. My eyes spotted the book entitled Tattoo a Banana by Phil Hansen. That would be Phil Hansen the X-ray tech and artist, not Phil Hansen the former football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills. Of course I had to purchase the book.

www.philinthecircle.com

Apparently, Phil has found ways to augment his lifestyle on credentials as suspect or even more so than my own. He has an intriguing website and this is first book.

The first project in the book does indeed instruct the reader in all the techniques required to tattoo a banana. The supply list includes a a banana, a pushpin or needle and a template. With practice you could either design your own template rather than using one photocopied from the book or freehand the task.

To watch the process, see time lapse of the bananas going to black and see Phil plug his book go to this video link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXE1Y3m4j7o

Can't wait to try the other ways to turn anything and everything into Art.

Carina

The Daylily Farm

He was mowing lawn when I pulled in the driveway. Intent on his task, it took him a couple of minutes to notice my arrival. Turning off the mower, he walked over and offered a soft-spoken and slightly shy greeting.




A weathered wooden sign announces this floral oasis off a little side street in Wise, Virginia. Here Mike Marsingill tends an acre that features 200 varieties of daylilies soaking up all the available sunshine. Talking flowers broke the ice.



Recently featured in article in the Kingsport Times, I included the farm on a Saturday itinerary that already had me in the mountain community. My plan is to scrutinize the photographs that were taken and select one or two, okay maybe three favorite flowers. On my next trip up to Wise, I'll ask Mike to dig out and sell me those flowers that my garden just can not do without.

 Mike would have dug flowers that day, but my decision was to wait. I have the farm's address and phone number. Transplanting at the height of bloom is likely less than ideal and asking an older gent to dig in hot weather is assuredly less than optimal.






Besides, it is an excuse for another pleasant drive up into the mountains.


Carina

Elderspirit - Brave Old World

A few Sundays, back I attended a garden open house at Elderspirit. Arranged by members of the landscape committee, the focus was on the various gardens and offered my first invitation to visit to the Elderspirit grounds.


 


I had been only minimally aware of Elderspirit and this offered an opportunity to find out more about this intentional community that offers a unique lifestyle choice for older adults. Components include co-housing in a mixed income community, member-management, a focus on spirituality and mutual support.

To watch a video about Elderspirit go to this link

/http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/shared-meals-and-live

 Elderspirit achieves mixed income status by combining owner occupied dwellings with more economical and affordable apartments. It's guiding ethos utilizes outside the box thinking that appeals to community-minded individuals and based on the bumper stickers on cars in the parking lot leans a lot more Democratic than Republican.

 

Talking to people in the community of Abingdon, I got several different takes on Elderspirit. One person characterized the development as "a hippie commune on Geritol." And another commented that if the residents were in their 20's and 30's you could be sure that the law would be up there all the time, which is entirely amusing when you know several ex-nuns reside there.

Someone else told me that while there was general pride in Elderspirit, it was expressed with one raised eyebrow, as it brought people from outside the area into the community. Indeed several folks I spoke with had been looking for a place like this and moved here when they found it.

This place has an open feel. One resident related a story of a friend living in a condo apartment in Ohio. While she was able to garden there, plant heights were restricted to 2 feet tall, so she was training her tomatoes to grow on horizontal lead wires.

As decisions here are based on committee consensus, silly rules like that could be reworked and renegotiated.

 

After touring the various garden spaces I joined other visitors and the community for a buffet.

For additional pictures and information on Elderspirit see this link.

http://www.elderspirit.org/

Gotta love a space that combines bicycles, motorized scooters and rollators.

Carina

Calypso a.k.a. Butchie - A Tribute

April 1997 to June 2012

        

THE DOGS WHO HAVE SHARED OUR LIVES

The dogs who've shared our lives
In subtle ways they let us know
their spirit still survives.
Old habits make us think we hear a barking at the door.
Or step back when we drop
a tasty morsel on the floor.
Our feet still go around the place
the food dish used to be,
and, sometimes coming home at night,
we miss them terribly.
And although time may bring new friends
and a new food dish to fill,
That one place in our hearts
belongs to them...
and always will.

---Linda Barnes---