Laurel Beth

Laurel Beth sits in the shadow of a mountain called Fodder Stack Mountain.  It looks like a fodder stack of hay for animals when our ancestors would actually stack the hay using a pitch fork.  It would kind of settle in the center causing two humps.  Laurel Beth sits on the profile side of the mountain and it borders Laurel Creek, a famous trout stream in the area.  Laurel Bloomery is a rural area between Mountain City, Tennessee and Damascus, Virginia.  It is closer to Damascus.  The town boasts a large barn and field area used for singing where Bluegrass and country music is the entertainment a lot of the time.

A lifetime local that owns property on one side of us plays music and has played with The Carter Family among others.  He says that country music was actually born in Bristol, Tennessee, but it was conceived in Laurel Bloomery.

Fodder Stack of Hay

Fodder Stack mountain

Front View of Fodder Stack Mountain Laurel Bloomery, TN

Inked Fodder Stack Mountain

Fodder Stack from porch

View of Fodder Stack from Laurel Beth

Seasons of Life

It has been a hard year causing me to be depressed while I reflect on my life and what it means now that our (my d.h and mine) best friends are now gone and the sweet daddy I loved so much went to be with our Lord in June.

The Lord has been mysteriously working in my life and leading me, thank goodness.  I have been in no mood to lead and I have been very much in the passenger seat while God does the driving.  I know I shouldn’t wait for a tragedy to move over to that passenger seat, but being the very imperfect human that I am, I like to be in control and drive.

For years my d.h. has heard me long for living at the beach.  I was obsessed with the idea to a FAULT!  Just ask my close friends!  We even bought a trailer named Betty and then sold our house so we can get a second home at the beach.

After my daddy died, that totally went away for no apparent reason.  I was longing for a humble rural place to live my days out.  My vision was clear and I really felt God nudging me to consider this.  We looked at property in western North Carolina and never found that place that I so vividly could see in my mind.

When I drove for Miss Violet in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee, my d.h. fell in love with the area and would often say he would love living in Laurel Bloomery.  I, none the less, was set on the beach.  When we were disappointed at not finding the sweet spot, he said I should consider Laurel Bloomery.  A cabin had caught his eye earlier.  He watched it go pending then for sale again and asked me to look at it.  When we pulled in the driveway, we looked at each other knowing what the other person was thinking. This was it .  I will share with you the transformation of this little humble abode in the following posts.  We named our new place Laurel Beth.  The cabin sits on a trout stream called Laurel Creek and Beth in Hebrew means house.

I know my dad would love this place.  When I drove Miss Violet, I stayed in the barn apartment above the horses.  Daddy would call me and tell me to describe the place in detail.  He was bed bound and I was his eyes and ears for many years.  It comforts me to think that he still knows where I am and know the profound changes he has made in my life while alive and in his death.

Laurel Bloomery Cabin

Laurel Beth

 

Shopping With Miss Violet

I am making more fun memories with Miss Violet this week.  She asked me to come sit with her while her daughter, Marilyn is on a much needed vacation.  Miss Violet has decided to leave Laurel Bloomery to move to Johnson City.  She is a social person and is wanting to be around people and have a cafeteria to go to each day.  The independent living facility is brand new offering 1200 square foot apartments with the most modern appliances and gadgets.  She is very excited.  I have been helping her pack and prepare for the move in three weeks.  Today we went to our nearest town, Mountain City, to look for a queen bed and frame.

I’m meeting so many interesting people.  We first went to Cornett Furniture.  It is a large building on Main Street with old hardwood floors and a rich wood smell that takes you back to a simple time.  Mr. Cornett, asked us what we were looking for and began to show us what he had.  In a little while his wife, Edith returned. She said she had been to her exercise class. I found out they are both 91.  They are soon celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary!  I just couldn’t believe it. They both seemed so young and sharp. They have a soon to be closing sign out front.  Mrs. Cornett said they never had a credit card their whole life and never took credit cards at the store.  The new credit and debit cards has hurt their business and they just don’t want to add all this technology at their age.  She said  people used to always pay in cash.  They had also offered credit to their customers on their word that they would pay when the tobacco was sold or it was bean time, with no problems in the past.  I asked to take their picture,  but he didn’t want his picture taken.

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Main drag in Mountain City, Tennessee

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Mrs. Edith Crowder Cornett

Fun With Fiverr

I discovered Fiverr.com and had to have something done!  This site has many different artists that showcase their style. If you want a portrait, cartoon, logo design, or any other piece of art done that is truly unique, this is the place to shop.  I chose artist Natasha who does Nagel-Esque style pictures.  I love this style because it reminds me of an art deco era from the 1920’s and 1930’s.  Nagel, the artist, would take a photo and work down to simplify and remove lines until it was at the flattest and most simple form, thus leaving only those features he thought to be the strongest and most important. He is also known for an exaggeration of the lips, which makes for a fun look.

 The fees begin at $5.  That is what Natasha charged for my Nagel style picture.  I think I will have a retro cartoon style done next to use on my social media pages.

avagardner1a_BG

 

 

Hanging On The Moon

Synonymous with “Best thing since sliced bread.” “Hung the moon” is an idiom that is used commonly to explain how great something or someone is, but I can’t find where it originated. I went to Carolina Beach with my hubby this week.  He said you can hang on the moon and it will remind you that I hung the moon for you.

If you know how it originated, you can let me know.  This moon I’m hanging on is right around the corner from Britt’s Doughnuts on the Boardwalk.  Remember that place ~ where 6 is not enough!!

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OKI R&R

I have been enjoying my annual month visit at Oak Island, NC.  For two weeks I have been without internet connection.  It has really been a blessing because it has forced me to truly take some rest and relaxation time.  That is something I definitely do not do often.  Today I discovered a new trail to the beach. I took a picture to show the ocean view at the end.  I love this beach!!  Wish you could be here with me.

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This Too Shall Pass…

“When you find yourself cocooned in isolation and despair and cannot find your way out of the darkness, remember that this is similar to the place where caterpillars go to grow their wings.”

— Author Unknown

It has been a long season of physical therapy and healing for my shoulder.  It limits my time on the computer among so many other activities, but I am starting to see some daylight at the end of the tunnel and will embark on a new adventure soon.

monarch coccoon

 

Reminiscing About My Daddy.

Our 2016 year started off a little rocky with my daddy being hospitalized with his copd causing dangerous issues.  I am grateful for God giving him his strength and strong will which resulted in him being able to return home.  In my quiet time, I have more often been thanking God for the parents and family he gave me.  I decided to list some of my favorite memories growing up with my daddy.

Fishing on many stream banks for trout.

Holding his hand at many Canton Labor Day parades.

Canton Labor Day rides.

Going with him to garages while he was restoring an old Jaguar convertible.

His homemade peanut brittle.

His homemade oyster stew.

He got me started eating raw oysters and loving them.

He found several pearls from oysters and kept them in a kitchen cabinet.  One time he let me hold one.  I dropped it and it was never found.  I felt so bad about that.

Him taking me to the swimming pool at Enka Lake.

Listening to his records by Merle Haggard and Hank Williams, Sr.

Taking me to civic center to see Boots Randolph and Stella Parton.

Watching for him to walk home from work at noon to eat lunch.

Drinking a whole pot of coffee from percolator pot.

Driving all the way to Tucamcari, New Mexico before stopping to sleep on our trip to California.

He bought me a cowboy hat when we were in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I was so proud of it.

On our long trips he made me in charge of reading the map.

On one of our beach trips, he jumped waves with me so long that I dreamed I was jumping waves that night.

Teaching me to shoot his guns by shooting at bottles.

Teaching me archery with target attached to straw bales.

Receiving my own bow and arrows as an Easter present. ( I still have this)

Walking many golf courses with him and  Uncle Harold.

Him going out to find yellow root and returning to make tea from it.

He always had a camera in a brown case that he took with us on vacations.

Riding with him on his motorcycle on the parkway.

I will never forget his cute saying when Charlie’s Angels was popular.  He said Kate Jackson is the type of girl you take home to meet your mama.  Jaclyn Smith is the type you take home to meet your daddy.  Farrah Fawcett is the type you take home when no one is home.

So many fun and happy memories to thank my daddy for!

 

The gypsies in North Augusta

On our way to Augusta you go through many quaint little towns.  The community right before entering North Augusta, SC is an attention grabber.  It is home to a gypsy neighborhood.  There are only a few of these  in the U.S.  There are about 400 gypsies in this community.  They own huge mansions and have trailers behind their homes.  A lot of the homes are closed up with wood on the windows as if a hurricane is coming.   People in the area say that they leave these homes boarded up for about 7 years in order for spirits to leave the house.  In the meantime, they live in these little trailers behind the house.  I was reading some old news clippings from the Augusta newspaper.  They said the gypsies are a very tight group and keep to themselves.  They still have arranged marriages with their cousins to keep outsiders from entering the group.  They are also staunchly catholic.  Here is one of the houses boarded up.  All the houses look very similar in design.  You can’t see the single wide trailer that sits in the backyard.

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