JAG, Molecular Gastronomy and Dance Spectacular

A very eclectic group of activities last week.

At the Riley Institute at Furman we heard a presentation from JAG, Judge Advocate General, Dana Chipman, a 3 star general and parent of a Furman Student.   He spoke about the challenges the army faces with the recent decision to allow women in the infantry, sexual assault issues, repeal of “don’t ask don’t tell” and the one I didn’t think about, the problems with grooming and dress codes.    In a half hour presentation he clearly explained these topics as well as answered some very interesting questions from students, Furman president and even one from Bob.    Definitely worth an hour of our time.

An OLLI Bonus class was a lecture from a Furman chemistry professor on Molecular Gastronomy.   This is a topic you foodies have to start to learn about.   I had heard of it but now understand more about what the possibilities are for really cool new taste pleasures.   It’s not so much a new food but eating a familiar food in a form it has never been before like a foam, crystal, etc.   Start checking around your town to see if there are any places who are preparing food like this.   They also are doing some interesting things to beverages so check out the high end bars.  I don’t think Greenville is there yet but will keep my eyes open.

Molecular Gastronomy: The Science of Modern Cooking

Molecular gastronomy is a discipline that seeks to predict and explain the chemicaland physical transformations that createa wonderful eating (gastronomical)experience. Practitioners in the fieldcommonly use techniques and equipment borrowed from the science lab to finelycontrol textures and combine flavorsin novel ways. Greg Springsteen, an associate professor of chemistry at Furman, will lead this hands-on seminarand will provide an overview of modern gastronomy techniques. We will also apply some contemporary scientific analyses to classical recipes. The seminar

has been designed to be accessible to anyone with a desire to learn about the

science of food.

Friday night was the annual Furman Dance Spectacular put on by the Furman women’s dance group and some other dance group from the community.  There were 14 numbers.   Beautiful ballet, clogging, east Indian performance, a fantastic young man doing hip hop, salsa couple, and of course lovely modern dance by the Furman women.   An hour that flies by.   I could definitely watch them for another hour.   One of my favorite Furman events.

On Saturday we celebrated our 39th anniversary with an elegant meal at our favorite restaurant, High Cotton.   I had rack of  lamb and Bob had shrimp and grits.   We shared a roasted beat and goat cheese salad and finished the meal with a yummy pecan torte with home made ice cream.  A quite jazz trio played in the background.   It was a perfect evening.

Is it spring?

Is it spring?   The calendar says spring isn’t until March 20.

Daffodils blooming – check
White flowers on trees blooming – check
Pink flowers on trees blooming-check
Red buds on trees – check
Buds on my roses – check
Forsythia blooming – check
Furnace off – check
Had coffee on the deck outside this morning – check
Windows open – check
High of 76 today – check
May have to put on shorts – check

Ladies and gentleman, I do think spring has arrived!

 

 

 

 

A miracle worker for a broken car door remote control

The remote control car door opener for my 2005 Toyota broke more than a year ago.   I definitely miss it but Toyota wanted $200 to replace it and I figured for that price I can use a key.   One of my newcomer friends, Jan, told me about a  local Greenville company she had used.   We called him and he came out to the house today with a new remote and programmed it and all for only $45.   I am so happy.

If you live in Greenville Country please spread the word about City Auto Locksmith.   Robert does keys and remotes.  http://cityautolocksmith.com  864-275-7480

Southern Living Magazine – The South’s Tastiest Towns – Vote Greenville, SC

I just read that Southern Living magazine is having a contest for the Tastiest Towns in the South and Greenville is one of the 10 towns picked.    Seems the Upstate is popular for contests for the next month or so!   You can vote every day through February.   Help Greenville win and even better come visit Greenville and taste what all the fuss is about!  I will gladly admit that there is no shortage of very good restaurants of all types and at all prices.   Nothing is missing!   The hardest part is deciding what and where to eat.   We have a private wine and food paring meal at the newly remodeled Hyatt in Jan. and I can’t wait.

Vote at this link:Edit

http://www.southernliving.com/travel/souths-tastiest-towns-00417000076768/

Here is what the article says:
Don’t be fooled by the quaint, leafy town of Greenville, SC. When it comes to eating and drinking well, it means business. A concentration of international corporations (including BMW and Michelin) means surprising culinary diversity and well-traveled palettes. Stars like Vicky Moore from Mediterranean-inspired The Lazy Goat and Spencer Thomson from Deveraux’s earned their chops at the best restaurants in Charleston. New restaurants like Ford’s Oyster House and The Green Room have forward thinking menus rooted in Low Country goodness. Restaurants like American Grocery and Roost (in the newly renovated Hyatt) serve refined seasonal cuisine with products from local and regional farms. An alfresco fall food festival, renegade newcomers like Neue Southern Food Truck and The Owl (which serves, no kidding, molecular gastronomy), make eating here an endless revelation.

The Merry month of May with OLLI and the Guild

There were lots of fun and interesting activities for Bob and I in May.   Bob worked on the 8 craft tables for the new OLLI (Osher Life Long Learning Institute at Furman)  building.   The tables are done now except to be painted which someone else is doing. He helped move them with his handy little trailer to the workshop of the gentleman that will finish them.   Turns out it is very close to our house so Bob will probably go help him.  In June they will start on the 16 chairs which is a big new thing for all the woodworkers to learn.   One of our Newcomer friends, Dean, went with Bob to a Guild meeting(and joined)  and to the NC Woodturner’s Guild.  Bob enjoys his company and has a good time and Dean was really impressed with all he saw.

Bob finished his OLLI Elder Law class and we will follow up with the attorney to get our documents in order.  I finished my Origami class by learning to make the ever popular crane. Hope I can remember how to do it.   My Greenville Forward class ended and both of us went to a big community update event for Greenville 2025.   I had told Bob about what I learned but it was good for him to hear it in a presentation,  not to mention yummy snacks and adult beverages.   It was a fun night.  I can’t say enough about the good work Greenville Forward does.   What a treasure of an organization.

I organized a Friday extra event which was a judge from Greenville Probate Court.  He spoke a lot about wills, or the lack of wills, and the problems that can come up.  We had a great turnout and the audience had lots and lots of questions.   Turns out the judge is a supervisor down at the Woodworkers Guild and he recognized Bob.  The OLLI year ended with a spring lunch with BBQ pork and lots of fixings.  There were several hundred people there.  Everyone is very excited about moving to our new building next fall.

I met one afternoon with two of the ladies I took my tarot class with.   One just returned from 3 weeks in New Zealand working with Koala bears.  She had tons of pictures.   They are so cute.   This is my friend Jann who is an animal communicator and animal chaplain.

OLLI has a summer term in June and I will help with a couple historic house tours.   It’s nice to have a break for a few months.  What will I do with my time?

We continue to run into people that we know at a variety of events around town.  I figured out that OLLI has 800 members, Newcomers has 400 members and the Guild has at least 600 members.   That’s a lot of people and so I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that we see people we know.   It’s so fun.

16 more reasons why I moved to Greenville

If you have been following my blog you know that after 5 years of research and travels I moved to Travelers Rest, outside of Greenville SC because:

• It has 4 seasons but MUCH less winter than MN
• Lower cost of living
• Low incidence of hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes
• Not in the middle of nowhere – 1-6 hours drive puts you at dozens of great destinations
• All the benefits of a big city like airports, arts, theater, life long learning and  medical care with out the problems of crime, traffic, congestion, etc.
• Beautiful country with the Blue Ridge Mountains in my back yard and the ocean 4 hours away

You know I love it here but it is great to see others that validate what a wonderful part of the country this is to live in. Here are 16 other groups that think this is a great place.

• “One of America’s Coolest Places in America” – Men’s Journal 2011
• “Best Places for Young Professionals” – Forbes Magazine 2011
• “Best Downtowns in America” – Forbes Magazine 2011
• “#5 Most Fun, Affordable Cities” – Bloomberg Businessweek 2011
• “Playful City USA” – Kaboom 2011
• “Emerging Research Park Award (CU-ICAR)” – Association of University Research Parks 2011
• “4th Best Place to Relocate” – RelocateAmerica.com 2009
• “Best Ballpark of the Year”- Ballparks.com 2006
• “#1 Metro for Economic Growth Potential” – Business Facilities 2009
• “#1 Micro-city of the Future” – fDI Magazine 2009
• “One Of Most Affordable Places to Weather the Financial Storm” – Forbes 2009
• “#4 Among Mid-Sized US Cities for Volunteerism” – Volunteer America 2008
• “Top Ten Streets in the United States” – American Planning Association 2009
• “Great America Main Street Award” – National Trust for Historic Preservation 2009
• “#2 Best Place to Live the Simple Life” – AARP 2009
• “Five Great Places to Retire” – Fortune Magazine 2009

 

 

Another busy fall week here in the Blue Ridge foothills

I don’t know where the time goes.  Our weeks fly by so quickly.  I try and get at least one household thing done each day, a load of wash counts as a task, but sometimes that doesn’t even happen.   Oh well, I guess the world at our the house won’t fall apart if the bed doesn’t get made.   Bob always gets lots of hugs and the kitties get fed and played with and let in and out dozens of times a day so life is good.

Bob and I cut out some more bandsaw boxes on Satruday with three more still to finish cutting out.   Cutting the general shape and drawers from a block of laminated wood is just the second step. The first step is cutting and gluing the wood together.   Then you sand, sand, sand and then sand some more and then finally you can start to apply 4-6 coats of finish.  After that is done we flock with felt the inside of the drawers.   I think we will have 6 boxes under construction. The end product is worth it.  

Bob didn’t feel very good on Sunday.  We still went to the afternoon matinee at Furman of “The 25 th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”.  Very funny musical with lots of physical humor.  Bob felt somewhat better on Monday but both of us were really dragging most of the week.

Tuesday night was our Home Owners Association annual meeting.  Again we didn’t have a quorum so no business done except some nominations for office.  Bob is one of two people running for treasure.  We will meet again in a month and if we get 25% of the people we can do some business.

Bob went to the first two of six classes with a swimming coach to help him improve his swim workout.   I don’t think the teacher is as good as he hoped but it will still help him.

Thursday our “In Conversation..” session featured Tamara Matthews, a Bach Soloist and music professor at Furman.  Delightful woman with a beautiful voice.  Opera and classical music is not our favorite music but we still enjoyed it very much.

Friday we both got massages which felt great and then Friday night we did something that is a “first”.   My Newcomers group had a program and fund raiser for our charity Pendelton Place Children’s Shelter at Palmetto Olive Oil. Co. which features  premium olive oils and balsamic vinegar.  There were about 60 of us there so it was crowded.  The Olive Oil Co. generously donated 15% of the proceeds of items we purchased to the charity.    There must have been at least 30 different flavored olive oils and 30 flavored vinegars.   One really fun thing was we each got a little dish of ice cream and then sampled the dark vinegar with the ice cream.   It was delicious.  The berry flavored ones  were my favorite but others thought the chocolate and espresso was very good with the ice cream.  Who would have thought to put those two foods together?  We also had  ghirardelli chocolate brownies made with blood orange olive oil.  WOW! We bought some wild mushroom and sage flavored oil.   After that we went out for a gooey cake dessert at The Brick Alley with four of our Newcomer friends.  One slice of cake was so huge Bob and I shared it last night and still had enough left over for both of us to have it again for dessert today.

Today, Saturday, the Woodworkers Guild had a fundraising shop tour so on a beautiful fall day Bob and I drove to see 6 of the members shops.  It was fun and interesting.  Seeing these woodworkers projects is really an inspiration to us to keep going.   Some do wood turning, others make furniture or other items like wooden replicas of trains. Tonight dinner is rib eye on the grill with salad with homemade blue cheese dressing topped with sugared pecans we brought back from Charleston.  Maybe a bottle of good red wine will also find it’s way to our table.

Sunday we plan on doing some more woodworking and then go the the Greenville Little Threater play “Fox Fire”.   “Hume Cronyn & Susan Cooper’s beautiful play is the homespun story of an elderly couple in the Appalachian Mountains (near Greenville) and features live bluegrass music. The battle between real estate development and heritage takes the audience on a funny, touching and magical journey.”  I’m really looking forward to it.  It should be very different from the play last week.

I would say fall color at our elevation is at it’s peak.  It was just beautiful driving to all the shops today through tree lined residential streets brimming with colorful fall leaves.  Temperature is around 60 and it is very sunny.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Lake Placid on Paris Mountain, a mountain 5 miles from our home.

 

Photos of Greenville and the Blue Ridge Parkway

I made a slide show at Picasa of recent photos I took around Greenville and into NC.   You will see the Biltmore Estate grounds, Greenville, Furman University, Paris Mountain, Caesars Head State Park, Pretty Place (yes that is it’s real name), NC waterfalls, the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway and our back yard.

Click here to see the slide show.  On the far left click on slideshow.

Enjoying classes, our friends and fall in NC and SC

I can’t believe how the time flies by. Since my last post I have decided that I  am not a big Shakespeare fan.  I watched the three comedies as movies and even with the information from our great instructor I just can’t get into them.   I think the combination of the plays done in Britain with an English accent, old English language and the fact that the actors spoke very fast didn’t help.   I liked best the one that even though in English had subtitles.  The plots of the three comedies are all kind of similar and I don’t think Shakespeare treats women very well.  I have decided to stop the remaining classes and do woodworking instead.

The class “In Conversation…” where interesting people are interviewed is fantastic.  The last couple weeks we heard from a former governor of the Federal Reserve and the President of the Peace Center, which is like the Ordway or Orchestra Hall.  So interesting.  My special Friday class was on art appreciation and it was also great.

Our Newcomers group went on a Ghost Tour of downtown Greenville and we had a big party this last Sat. night.  Lots of fun.

In addition to these activities we had our friends Kris and Don from MN visit for 5 days.   We kept them VERY busy during the day but still slept in and were home at night.  I did a little too much walking on the day we visited three waterfalls so had a few aches and pains but they are gone now.

Today Bob and I drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the fall colors.  Depending on the altitude (between 2000 and 5000 ft) the colors are over or at peak.  It was 49 when we left our house about 11:30 and by the time we got to 5000 feet around 2 p.m. we could see that it had snowed a few hours ago and the temp was 30.  We were worried that there might be quite a few cars on the Parkway but it wasn’t crowded at all. I will let the photos speak for them self.  There are also some photos from our back yard and the Biltmore gardens.  Enjoy.

The Biltmore Mansion – 175,000 sq. ft., 250 rooms, house only footprint is 6 acres.  Build in 1896.

Biltmore Gardens

Beautiful little Lake Placid on Paris Mountain, about 5 miles from our home.

The Blue Ridge Parkway



Our back yard

Fall is our favorite time of year and we are so fortunate to live somewhere where it lasts a long time.  We should have color around us for at least a few more weeks.

Sunday Blues Brunch

We used one of our Living Social coupons for a return visit to the Brown Street Jazz Club for Sunday brunch.  We had a front row table to let us see  Wolf and Merck.  Their music was like sitting and listening to Eric Clapton playing blues and gospel.   It was fantastic.   Bob and I didn’t think we were big gospel music fans but we sure enjoyed it.   Our favorite song was the music from House of the Rising Sun (one of our favorites) with the lyrics from Amazing Grace.   It was such a fun and original song.  There were two guitars and one harmonica and one great vocalist.

They told us of this group Blind Boys of Alabama and they did that version of Amazing Grace.  Click here to listen to it.

I had Eggs Benedict over crab with stone ground grits for a side and a really good Bloody Mary.   I don’t remember the last time I had one of those drinks.

By the way, B B King played near here on Sat. night.  We did not see him.