Going to Market

Behind First Baptist Church on Montreat Road each Saturday morning in Black Mountain NC, gather some great vendors, and their loyal customers!

 Someone will have a bountiful harvest of corn pretty soon...and maybe beans.

 Parking at the back side of the market, this is the view I see.  A parking lot is right next to the church, with a lot more traffic.

 The grey tent is my favorite, MudBuddies Pottery

 Shelly and his dog Baxter

The small people were everywhere, and the whole market is kid and dog friendly.

Today's quote:

To blame the poor for subsisting on welfare has no justice unless we are also willing to judge every rich member of society by how productive he or she is. Taken individual by individual, it is likely that there's more idleness and abuse of government favors among the economically privileged than among the ranks of the disadvantaged. -Norman Mailer, author (31 Jan 1923-2007)

An Art Show Opening

Herb Way has a show of his photographs of "Vietnam People" at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts...and the opening was Fri. night.  These are intimate portraits of people along the streets (and rivers) captured in their daily life.  Only a few are giving a smile for the photographer.  They are very artistic, and reasonably priced.

I was going to meet Helen there, but as I looked for her, she texted me that she had a flat tire, and would see me on Sunday in church.

 Herb wearing hat talking with Anna.

 On the right facing me are Emory and Rhea, I won't name everyone by their backsides!

 Rev. Michael and Katharine share a chair while Richard looks on.

I was happy to see so many of the UUCSV people who I knew.  It felt like a church party almost.

First upon walking in there was Rev. Michael Carter and Emory. Then Katharine and Harry, and David and Alice. I sat and nibbled with Ann, who has just become a member of the Board at church.  Tina, David, Annie, Anna and Rhea, Julie, Ginni and David, Diane and Richard.  My neighbor Anthony was there on his scooter, which was great as he's a friend of Herb and Annie's, and about the only person I knew who wasn't from UUCSV.

 David and Ginni and Tina.

And of course the people who keep the Center for the Arts running, Gail and Jessica...who were serving the wine (not pictured.)  I noticed that the snacks were kind of "out of the bag"  rather than what they have a reputation for - catered goodies like pastries or little sandwiches.  I think in the past there must have been donations from one of the patrons that have spoiled me.  The dips with chips were very good and a good variety on the cheese tray.

Annie carrying a potted plant of flowers at her side turned away just as I snapped this.

As I left I again marveled at the beauty of living in the mountains, and a pair of crepe myrtles that are as tall as the third floor balcony of the Arts Center.

Today's Quote:

"I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house
of reasons and proofs." 

Mary Oliver

garden pests

 The Lakeview Center for Active Aging has some plants which are giving their last to some pests or another.

 Squash plants (either crookneck or zucchini) are finishing their production cycle, and some bugs are enjoying the leaves.

The cucumber plants have been decimated by some hungry thing or another.  Nashturtiums that volunteer seeded are blooming though.

We will be looking for something else to plant in this area soon!

 Echinacea is looking pretty good!

Queen Ann's Lace and Lavender are blooming by Lake Tomahawk, where the water is still muddy from yesterday's rain...but the beautiful clouds float in a sunny blue sky today!

Today's quote:
It is our task to imprint this temporary, perishable earth into ourselves so deeply, so painfully and passionately, that its essence can rise again, invisibly, inside us. We are the bees of the invisible. We wildly collect the honey of the visible, to store it in the great golden hive of the invisible.
Rainer Maria Rilke

Clay therapy

One sculpture in honor of my dearly departed cat, Panther...with a symbol of change in a dragonfly perched on her head.

A touch of black glaze as a stain on the finished piece.  I showed it to a neighbor, and she said, what does it do? I said it just sits there, and I look at it.

I do like being given that loving look of her big eyes, and her little black nose.  This is to remind me of her presence, which has now become more ethereal.  I do still hear things and attribute them to her.

I'm reminded of my dream before the first 2 deaths I experienced of loved ones this year...that they are just in the next room.  I'm filled with the knowledge that death is not a total separation.  For those who believe in a heaven, I think you might have this same sense of satisfaction when you miss your dearly departed.

The poppies are popping up everywhere!

 The white of the outside is a smooth unfinished, but vitrified clay surface...I think it's a great contrast to the shiny bright red of the poppy.  Of course it's food safe.

Quote for today:
We now know that memories are not fixed or frozen, like Proust's jars of preserves in a larder, but are transformed, disassembled, reassembled, and recategorized with every act of recollection. -Oliver Sacks, neurologist and writer (9 Jul 1933-2015) 

On the road again

 Going around Asheville NC on my way to Knoxville, TN. I-40 is pretty well paved and a Friday morning doesn't have major traffic.

 But I know we will be crossing through the Appalachian mountains...so it's a winding drive.

 At some point, where I obviously didn't have the phone ready to take a pic, the Appalachian Trail crossed the highway (under?)

I visited sites in Sevierville and Knoxville, then returned home around 6:30 pm.  I was glad it was summertime and I would have daylight all the way home.  Sometimes those white lines on highways have gotten pretty dim and I like to stay in my own lane.

 The speed limit was usually 55 through the mountains, but most of the traffic went around 65 to 70.  I was amazed, but I guess nobody sets up speed traps there.

Of course there were several curves with 45 mph speed limits, so people did slow down to 55.

 I finally got the phone camera ready to get a photo of the tunnel!

And that's the extent of my interest in taking photos along the road.  Incidentally, traveling has been in my bones so long, I had to do one of those traveling songs to keep alert...but I started at 36 bottles of beer on the wall.  What an inane song.  After I finished it, I said as much...who would put beer bottles on a wall?

What has this potter been making?

This last month has been a whopper...challenges keep coming at me, and they probably won't stop.

But I've got one thing under my control, and I'm sticking to it.  I can control my own attitude...and I'm really working on the positive aspect of everything that's coming my way.

I am not sure I always make the best choices.  And yet, given my circumstances I am really doing pretty darn well.

But I haven't had time to be in the studio as much as I'd like.

Survival issues do take precedence.

But between food/shelter/transportation/clothing/loss of loved pet, health issues, and a community of friends, I took time to go see my son and his wife and my grandchildren last Friday.  What a very fulfilling trip.

 A little pitcher with an infinity symbol.

It has a fluted detail around the base.

And my signature Celtic Cross as the thumb knob on the handle.

It only holds about 3 cups, and pours without any dribble, I'm proud to say.

Sorry the coloring is slanted to yellow of incandescent lights...I usually try to take my photos in natural lighting which gives a better sense of what the color really is.  Perhaps when the sun comes up tomorrow, I'll be able to take some better photos for you.

So you're going through some changes...

I am sharing the entire post about "Change" from Daily Om. I get a daily inspirational post emailed from them, and usually feel uplifted by the header, even if I don't read the whole narrative. But this one is so timely that I want to bring it to my own blog.

10 Steps to Making Change Easier

BY MADISYN TAYLOR Change doesn't have to be hard, here are 10 steps to help make it easier.  1. Begin by making small changes or break up large-scale changes into more manageable increments. This can make you feel better about handling the changes you are about to make while making you more comfortable with change in general. 2. Mentally link changes to established daily rituals. This can make changes like taking on a new habit, starting a new job, or adapting to a new home happen much more smoothly. For example, if you want to begin meditating at home, try weaving it into your morning routine. 3. Going with the flow can help you accept change instead of resisting it. If you stay flexible, you will be able to ride out change without too much turbulence. 4. When a change feels most stressful, relief can often be found in finding the good that it brings. An illness, a financial loss, or a broken relationship can seem like the end of the world, yet they also can be blessings in disguise. 5. Remember that all change involves a degree of learning. If you find change particularly stressful, try to keep in mind that after this period of transformation has passed, you will be a wiser person for it. 6. Remember that upheaval and confusion are often natural parts of change. While we can anticipate certain elements that a change might bring, it is impossible to know everything that will happen in advance. Be prepared for unexpected surprises, and the winds of change won't easily knock you over. 7. Don't feel like you have to cope with changing circumstances or the stress of making a change on your own. Talk about what's going on for you with a friend or write about it in a journal. Sharing your feelings can give you a sense of relief while helping you find the strength to carry on. 8. Give yourself time to accept any changes that you face. And as change happens, recognize that you may need time to adjust to your new situation. Allow yourself a period of time to reconcile your feelings. This can make big changes feel less extreme. 9. No matter how large or difficult a change is, you will eventually adapt to these new circumstances. Remember that regardless of how great the change, all the new that it brings will eventually weave itself into the right places in your life. 10. If you're trying to change a pattern of behavior or navigate your way through a life change, don't assume that it has to be easy. Wanting to cry or being moody during a period of change is natural. Then again, don't assume that making a change needs to be hard. Sometimes, changes are meant to be that easy.

The mountains are my home

Looking down in the valley from the lush Blue Ridge Parkway...

Finally got a shot of the Craggy Pinacle tunnel just before driving through it.  On the other side is a very nice overlook with a parking area kind of hard to see from this direction...the "Overlook ahead" sign is there, but nothing right at the turnoff.

 Burnett Reservoir is the source of drinking water for Asheville.

Unlike many reservoirs, this one has no access for public recreation, and the parkway even has signs to protect the runoff by not having cars pull off the road for 15 miles above it.  The same signs can even be seen on Interstate 40.  However, local roads don't have signs, and Black Mountain and Swannanoa and Oteen (all up hill of the Burnett Reservoir) have many folks parking along roads and on grass.  I guess since they have businesses and homes there, the runoff from them is considered part of the environment!

The other side of this overlook looks north west and that's Interstate 26 in the distance.

Today's quote:

I have millions of bodies to live in.

I will dress myself in the moonbeams,

in the gauze made of fine silvery threads,

and pass my time in tranquil rest.

I will sing my songs in the form of hill streams and brooks,

in the form of the rolling waves; I will move on.

I am the soft-footed wind which walks on in ecstasy.

I am the ever-gliding form which goes on as time.

I descended as waterfalls on the mountain slopes,

reviving the faded plants.

I made the roses burst into laughter.

I made the nightingale sing her mournful ditties;

I knocked at the doors and woke up the sleeping ones,

wiping the tears of the one,

blowing the veil from the face of the other.

I teased those near and also far.

I teased you too.

Lo I go, I go, with nothing in my possession .

Swami Rama Tirtha ( written an hour before he left his body)