Cultural and social activities in April

Before I start April let me tell you how we ended March.  I took a chance and got tickets, not the $5 ones, for a group I had never heard of called Pink Martini.  They are a latin jazz group and they were fantastic.  We loved the style of music and the way all the performers worked together.  One song was sung in two different languages and even though we couldn’t understand a word it was beautiful.  They were a 10 piece group including a male and female vocalist.  They are on my Pandora listening list now.  All the talent shows on TV focus on finding the “one” talent.   When you watch a group like this who has played together for decades you immediately hear how each musician is in harmony with all the others and you have a performance that is bigger than any one performer.  I’m so glad I took the risk to try something new.

May started out with the Bob Jones University Living Gallery production.   This is the third year we have gone.  They have a heartwarming religious inspiration story weaved in with about a dozen life size works of art.   Imagine the lords supper with real people in it.   They are really spectacular.   It’s hard to explain.   This years story took place in a coffee shop and a young man who worked there was struggling to deal with the fact that his young wife was dying.   Add in a couple other young people with interesting backgrounds and it made a great story.

Easter weekend we went to Pendelton, a little town about 45 minutes away, for their annual art fair.   It was a gorgeous day.  We also went to see Hunger Games.   We both have real mixed feeling about it.   I probably would not have gone but I learned that all of it was filmed in NC, near where we live, and sure enough, I recognized several shots of the scenery and waterfalls.

One of the Vo Tech schools has a culinary program and we finally got on the list for an invitation to attend and made it to two lunches.   Such fun and good food.   This summer they have fancy high end buffets so I can’t wait for those.  Meals are $8 and one, which was the finals for the students, was free.

A very special event at Furman was the opportunity to listen to the former president of Mexico Vicente Fox speak about Mexico and US relations.  He spoke about NAFTA and  the drug cartels.

Another concert at the Peace Center, for $5, was the award winning  Dailey and Vincent, a well known blue grass group.   Unfortunately we just couldn’t get into their music.   It wasn’t their fault, we just didn’t like this style of blue grass and we even left before intermission.

Furman students had a play called “Beyond Therapy” which was a cross between a comedy and a drama.   Very good acting and interesting story line.

We drove up to the Biltmore one day to see the gardens.  I wanted to see the azaleas bloom because we have caught just the tail end of seeing them the last couple years.   Unfortunately it got hot so early this spring that they were done again when we came and they were just planting the summer flowers so it wasn’t as pretty as it is sometimes.   Still a delightful way to spend a day.   We did have a lovely lunch outside and enjoyed the petting zoo which had baby goats and bunnies.   So cute. 

These sheep and lambs were on a hill side at Biltmore.   It looked like something out of a story book.

This little fellow looks very comfortable.

And my favorite:

There were a few more activities with Newcomers and Olli but you are probably tired of reading.  Yes, I know it is almost June and now I have to do the May update.

A beautiful song and photo tribute to our soldiers on Memorial Day

This song and photos are  so touching.  This is a day to remember all those soldiers and their families who have served and are still serving in our armed forces.  Don’t forget to tell these brave people that you appreciate their service to your country.

Check in your community and see what you can do to support them.  Can you send them a card or some supplies? Do you know they just need simple things like wet wipes to keep clean in the dessert and gum? Can you give something to their families?   They struggle sometimes for basic things.

Pray for peace on earth.

Take a minute to view these photos.

Listen to the touching song  link below created by a teacher and sung by school children.

After all the bad press over a few teachers who stepped out of line teaching songs to our children, this one is one you will be so proud to hear.  At the end of the song you can order the sheet music.

Awesome.  I hope this sweeps our country and gets sung in all our schools.  The music teacher wrote the song and had all the third graders sing.  Enjoy — great message.

From the third graders of Tussing Elementary, Colonial Heights, Virginia.

Click your mouse here:    Tussing Elementary
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=5pfBUUZNbFM

As you enjoy this Memorial Day holiday remember what our soldiers and their families have given and are still giving up for us so we can celebrate this day.

If this post moved you please let me know.

Don’t do this

I finally found a hummingbird feeder I really like.   It has a large opening so it is much easier to keep it clean than the ones with the little dime size opening.   But it still gets moldy.   After many attempts to get it really clean by hand I decided to put it in the dishwasher.   Did I mention it is plastic?  It was in the bottom of the dishwasher and got too hot and melted and warped.   This morning I am off the the bird store for another one.  Hope I find one I like as well.   Wish me luck.

How to save a life

One of my Newcomer friends sent me the link to this very, very important video on how to do the new CPR – continuous chest compression.   Take 5 minutes to watch the video and then share with your family and friends.  I had heard of this but had not taken the time to learn it.

http://ahsc.arizona.edu/node/730

How do these visitors find me?

WordPress, where my blog is hosted, recently added more information on where in the world traffic comes from to your blog.   Here are the statistics for the last 30 days.  I find this amazing.  It really shows how the world is connected.  I average maybe a hundred visitors a day so it’s not a big destination but still they find me.

Last 30 days

Country	Views
United States	1,852
United Kingdom	80
Canada	73
India	19
Australia	17
France	16
Spain	15
Greece	15
Germany	14
Ireland	11
Mexico	10
Indonesia	8
Brazil	8
Peru	7
Latvia	6
Italy	6
Pakistan	5
Lithuania	5
Turkey	5
Philippines	5
New Zealand	5
Saudi Arabia	5
Jamaica	5
Israel	4
Viet Nam	4
Argentina	4
Thailand	4
Hungary	4
Serbia	4
Russian Federation	4
Malaysia	4
Romania	4
Sweden	4
Colombia	3
Finland	3
Trinidad and Tobago	3
Croatia	3
Albania	3
Republic of Korea	3
Norway	3
Denmark	3
Belize	3
Chile	3
Portugal	3
Poland	3
Cambodia	2
South Africa	2
Hong Kong	2
Netherlands	2
Singapore	2
Mongolia	2
Egypt	2
Ukraine	2
Japan	1
Slovenia	1
Georgia	1
Austria	1
Iceland	1
Taiwan	1
Kenya	1
United Arab Emirates	1
Switzerland	1
Venezuela	1
Luxembourg	1
Gabon	1
Virgin Islands	1
United Republic of Tanzania	1
Bangladesh

Happy Mother’s Day

Wishing a wonderful Mothers Day to all you hard working women who take such good care of your families.   I hope you are treated like a queen today.   You deserve it.  I still miss my mom Arlene even though she has been gone since 1991.  She was a great mom and a very creative woman.   At the time I don’t think I appreciated all her skills.   It was just what my mom knew what to do. Here is a picture of her as a young woman.  Isn’t she pretty?

I am so fortunate to still have my wonderful mother in law Helen.  I couldn’t have asked for a nicer mother in law.   We have done much together and she is always so upbeat and fun.   I am really lucky.  She will turn 90 this year.

A variation from wood

Tried my skill at a wine and art painting class last night that I got with a Living Social coupon.   I just drank water but still had a fun experience.   The place is called Design with Wine.   Check out the website to see all the different paintings the classes have done.  There is a company like this in Travelers Rest also called The Wiggle Room.

Below is a photo of  what I made. The photo is a little fuzzy compared to the actual painting.  We have it hanging by our little bar.  It is called “Cheers”.   Bob thought it was good enough to hang up and I was pleased with it.   I must say I went to the class with some apprehension.   Really out of my comfort zone.  I would go again.  I think the regular price is $35.  It took a little more than 2 hours to paint.   I don’t know how long it would take if the class had 50 people.   There was quite a bit of down time while the instructor went to help people.

Our Wood Creations

People keep asking me if we sell our wood creations.   Yes we do.  I have a few items in consignment stores in Travelers Rest.  Most things are custom made just for you so they might take a couple weeks.   We usually have pens, a few boxes and the magic wine bottle holder available.

If you are looking for gifts for those hard to buy for graduates and dads for Father’s Day, consider giving them a hand made wooden pen.  The pens are $10 for regular wood (oak, walnut, cedar, cherry, etc.) and $12.50 for exotic woods plus shipping.  Shipping is about $2.50 but I know I can do multiple pens for still $2.50.

This is probably the only time you will every see me do marketing with my blog.   That’s not the intent of why I write it but I thought I should answer the question.

Most recent two wood projects

I just know some of you have been waiting impatiently to see what Bob and I are making now and worry that since I haven’t posted any pictures lately that maybe we stopped.   Not to worry.  We haven’t been doing quite as much but still playing with our wood.

Here is the last bandsaw box we made.  The wood is spalted maple which is a fungus that is in the wood.   The patterns in the wood are gorgeous.   This box is about 8″ long and 6″ inches high.  I call it “mother and child”.

And this is our very latest project – entwined candle stick holders.  The first pair were really hard to figure out but now they seem easy.  One is mahogany and the other is mahogany and maple.  We think they will make nice wedding gifts.

Did you see it?

Did you see the supermoon last night?   I was at a cocktail party and we all went out about 8:30 to look for the moon.   We were in a subdivision and we couldn’t see it.  It was probably pretty low in the horizon so we all went back in the house.   We could see a few stars twinkling so even though there were some clouds we didn’t think this big bright moon could hide behind a cloud.

About 9:45 the four of us started for home, about a 35 minute drive, and we all kept sticking our heads out of the windows to see the moon with no luck.   We just couldn’t figure out where it was.   We got pretty close to home and rounded a corner and “WOW, there is the moon!”   It fortunately was a very clear night here in SC.  We all agreed that it did seem brighter than usual and you could see the “man in the moon” clearly but it didn’t seem much larger than usual.   I have definitely seen bigger moons.  Even so, it was impressive.

I had trouble sleeping, which is rare, and got up about 4:30 to sniff some lavender to put me back to sleep and walked to the front of the house where the street light is, I thought that was where the light was coming from.   There was a dim streetlight and again a very bright, bright moon.  It was lovely.

It’s fun to think that people all over the world saw that beautiful sight last night.  I hope it brought at least a moment of peace and joy to all who took the time to enjoy it.   Hope you were one of those people.

Here is a photo I found on google images that someone in Mauden SC took.   That is only a few miles from my house.  It doesn’t really capture how bright it was.