My Appalachian Life

Some of my posts will be made public, but those that are more personal will be friends only. If you'd like to be a friend, just comment and I'll friend you. I'm sad to have to go to "FRIENDS ONLY" but experience with trolls makes it necessary.

For those who don't have a Live Journal account, you will no longer be able to see my personal or private entries. It doesn't take very long to get an account and you never have to use it if you don't want to, but I can be your friend then (I'd mark you as a friend and then you can read the entries!). If you are a LJ member already, just mark me as a friend after you comment here.

Tags: header

Posted at 07:54 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 15 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

location: twilight in Appalachia

mood: calm

music: Sarah McLachlan

Click on the link below to see Sarah McLachlan singing Angel at the piano. Beautiful!
(Thanks to frodo_esque for this link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDkcJ-62uuY

Here are the full lyrics:
"Angel" by Sarah Mclachlan

Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always one reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh beautiful release
Memory seeps from my veins
Let me be empty
And weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there

So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lie
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here

Tags: music, video

Posted at 06:32 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 4 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

location: rainy, muggy Appalachian mountainside

mood: chipper

music: Blackberry Blossom

Blackberry Blossom is the name of the tune that is in the above video.

It's blackberry season here, or rather, it's nearly over in our neighborhood. Blackberries are so delicious! My aide, Ellen, made a batch of Blackberry Jelly and it was wonderful. We still have about a half a small jar left. It is really too sweet for my tastes, but she made it the old mountain way. If you want to know more about Appalachia and blackberries, go to my friend Tipper's site at Blind Pig and the Acorn to learn more. She has some great pictures there, too.

Bear bought a blackberry bush for us, and it is putting out new growth. Wish we'd gotten it in time for blackberry season! Our neighbor has lots of brambles with lush, ripe fruit on it but she never picks it. "I just let the birds have it," she told me one year. I think that's a real shame.

It's raining here, and we can sure use the rain. Bear has been watering the flowers and fruit bushes almost daily because the new plants need it. He transplanted a whole bunch of periwinkle from the little garden (it was overtaking everything) down to the hillside next to the steep sidewalk going to the street. Hardly anything grows there because it is so shaded by the maple tree, and the soil is washing away. Hopefully it won't be too long and the hill will be covered with periwinkle. I love the little blue flowers, though none of them have bloomed since being transplanted.

Bear and I sat out on the front porch for a good spell yesterday, and it was so pleasant. In fact, we sat there reading until sunset and ended up talking (our rockers faced each other) until it was so dark we could barely see each other's face! He has read a lot on this vacation already - The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty, Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult, and just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Just a coincidence, of course, that I read all three of those recently, ahem. He enjoyed them all, especially that last two, and the last one he could hardly put down.

I'm reading Art's Blood by Vicki Lane right now, which is the second book in her Appalachian series. It is great, and in fact, I am enjoying it even more than the first book, Signs in the Blood. I've read several books lately that I've not reviewed and put on here, but I'll try to get to that soon.

If there's anyone on my Flist who lives in America and would like to read Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult, let me know and I'll mail you a copy. It doesn't have a dust jacket and it is quite apparently used, but it is legible. Bear read that copy, which we got from a PBS member -- really not acceptable, but we got it anyway --so I know it is legible! I'd be glad to send it to you. Just let me know, with a comment below, and tell me why you'd like to have it! I'll put all the names in a hat and draw out the winner, and mail it off to you.

Hope you are having a good day!
I love hearing from you all... I need to catch up on the happenin's on my Flist as I am so behind, but I'll get there eventually!
.

Tags: appalachia, blackberries, books, flowers, garden

Posted at 01:51 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 17 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Posted at 11:34 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 2 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

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Posted at 11:09 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 1 comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

location: sunny and warm Appalachian Mountains

mood: cheerful

music: the hum of the A/C

What was the subject title of your first-ever LJ entry? Submitted By paperxflowerz View other answers

It was only two days shy of six years ago when I wrote my first LJ post, entitled "Our Move." We had just moved to Appalachia from the midwest (Topeka, KS) and you might even want to read it. It was the adventure of a lifetime for us. I remember the move so vividly, and the first sight of this area -- I was gasping and looking out the windows with my jaw dropped to the floor.

Here is the first post, in case you're interested:
http://quilterbear.livejournal.com/269.html
Not a lot has changed, yet SO much has changed. Our house has evolved and is in SO much better condition now. Still smells of mildew when you first walk in, unless we've sprayed something, lit candles, or someone has cleaned the house with Pine-Sol.

I love this part of the country, and I love the people. I know one person who gets offended sometimes because of what I write, but I see it with different eyes, having grown up and lived all my life elsewhere (prior to 2003). I can't help that. But it doesn't mean I don't love the land, the people, and the culture.

I even talk with an accent, I've been told. Wish I'd picked up my husband's lilting, musical British accent! Ah well...

Tags: appalachia, first post, writer's block

Posted at 05:27 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 10 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Posted at 11:46 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 7 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

mood: jubilant

I am thrilled to report that urban_quilter wrote on her blog about my bag, and took photos of the gift after she wrapped it, even. Front and back and even side photos, and the card she made for me. She tells the story behind the bag, as well.

Here it is (she did have the inside of the card posted as well but that has disappeared, sadly, as I really loved it).

http://divaquilts.blogspot.com/

Go now and see how wonderful it truly is!

PS the lining is dark purple, not black as I'd reported.

Tags: bag, gift

Posted at 04:01 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 11 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

location: cool but humid Appalachian Mountains

mood: pleased

music: Bear's keyboard strokes

I got the most wonderful surprise in the mail today! I participated in a "Pay it Forward" giveaway at urban_quilter's blog in April, and won. I had forgotten about it (well, I forget everything!), but today the gift came today!
What a GORGEOUS, FANTASTIC gift it is, and I am absolutely bowled over by it! Not only was the gift inside spectacular, but the packaging was beautiful, and so was the handmade card. I loved it!

And on to the gift itself: it is a gorgeous quilted bag made from the three colors I said I liked (never dreamed they'd be used together but they are so PRETTY!). It actually fits perfectly on the back of my motorized chair (I'm handicapped) and looks like a quilt hanging there. It is perfect for our extended trips when I go to the out-of-town doctors, as it is large enough to hold my crocheting (dishcloths) and Kindle as well as sunglasses, and any of Bear's stuff, too.

I love it. It is just so pretty! I absolutely LOVE it! And my husband, teacher_bear, who is also a quilter, does too! She didn't even use a pattern to make this, which is even MORE impressive!

( Here are photos of the bag. Remember to click on them to see them better )

Tags: gift, pay it forward, quilt

Posted at 06:33 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 19 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

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Posted at 04:17 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 2 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

mood: giggly

Click on all of these individually to see them MUCH larger! If you like So You Think You Can Dance, you'll want to see them. These are from auditions in Phoenix:

Mary and Nigel:


Cat Deeley:


The group:


Adam Shankman and Mary (he is my favorite judge):




Mary Murphy and Mia Michaels:

Tags: sytycd, tv

Posted at 06:19 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 4 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

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Posted at 04:27 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 4 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

mood: sad

In honor of the King of Pop: What is your favorite Michael Jackson song? Submitted By deathbylies View other answers

Well, I do like a lot of them, the older ones, but She's Out of My Life is so beautifully haunting. I really love that one. But there are so MANY that he wrote and sang that it is hard to say. He was so much a part of the fiber of my life in the '80's. I'm so sad that he was such a tortured soul, and died so young.

Tags: michael jackson, writer's block

Posted at 07:59 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 3 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

mood: giggly

Sorry, I'm going to be filling up your Flist tonight. I know it is either feast or famine with me when it comes to posting!

Here is Bella right now! She is so tired she isn't even fully in her bed! I've never seen her sleep like this before (Spencer does it all the time, in his bigger bed).

Click photo to see better:


What a scamp she has been today! Scared us so much! So glad she is finally home and safe.

Tags: bella, photos

Posted at 07:42 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 7 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Posted at 10:48 am | Link | Leave a comment | 5 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

see more dog and puppy pictures

And thank you for my LJ friends!

Tags: lol cats, lol dogs

Posted at 10:13 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 2 comments | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend