Last month I traveled to the Big Apple with my good friend for a little adventure. It was a ton of fun and we had a great time exploring that crazy city, but I have to say it . . . I don't love NY. That practically makes me un-American, I know, but it's true. I enjoy seeing the diversity and shopping and art and architecture and the outfits people wear when I'm there, but a long weekend exhausts me. I love small towns, the great outdoors, wide open spaces, driving where I want to go (sorry that's not very "green" of me), and uncrowded places.

So that explains why my favorite part of the trip was the Union Square Greenmarket. It's a farmer's market set up in the middle of the city! Farmers drive their trucks into Manhattan and set up shop and the people flock to it (probably because they're so tired of all the concrete).

I left the Greenmarket wanting to live like that man, who grows zinnias on a farm in New England and sells them in shiny buckets, and doesn't have to pay $5 for a pot of grass.

Thanks for the fun times, NYC, and the pretty photo ops. But that's all I want from you for now.

there is a season

It finally feels and looks like fall here...after endless days of rain and even winter-like temperatures, we're seeing blue skies and crisp cool days, and the leaves are really starting to change.

I like fall. Summer will always be my first love, but fall is a pretty close second...I like like it. I was hiking at Radnor Lake yesterday thinking about autumn. The fall makes me nostalgic for things like apple picking and cider, canoeing and bonfires, for New England color (you haven't seen leaves change til you've seen them change north of the Mason-Dixon) and my grandmother's apple pie. The fall makes that corny line in You've Got Mail about bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils seem not quite as hokey.

But the fall also makes me a little sad...I am not a fan of winter, which in Tennessee is not so much a wonderland as it is a dreary gray mess. So while the fall is fun and beautiful, its also a reminder that winter is coming and another warm season has passed. Change—and not necessarily for the better—is on the horizon.

Isn't it sweet how pretty the transition from something I love to something I don't is...how beauty is found in one season dying. I think it's a testament to the mercy of God, that He softens the blow of the change by making it glorious. The leaves could just turn brown, or shrivel and drop overnight and leave us with the starkness of winter; the light could just disappear or turn gray and the clouds never clear. Instead we are given the splendor of the fall colors, the golden autumn light, and the crystal skies—a reminder that God is faithful in the heat of summer, in the change of autumn, and through the coming winter.

Summer and Winter

and Springtime and Harvest

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

to Thy Great Faithfulness, Mercy and Love

--Great Is Thy Faithfulness

fall craftiness

This weekend was the first time it really felt like fall (sometimes winter with how ridiculously cold it was)...the leaves are a-changing, the weather is cooler, and the light is golden like it only is in the fall.

I was inspired to do a little fall crafting...I've always wanted to try gold leafing something, so I channeled my inner Martha and decided to embellish my autumn decor...why not?

before:

applying the gold leaf:

 

some of the finished gourds:

the final centerpiece

 

Eat your heart out, Martha.

Also got to go to the Leiper's Fork Chili-Cook Off, an autumn tradition and the unofficial start to my own chili season. I'll be making some tomorrow.

Here's to fall!

the more things change...

This weekend I went back to visit my alma mater, Carson-Newman College. It was homecoming weekend and I hadn't seen the school in 4 or 5 years and was curious to see how it has changed. So Mary Ann (my fellow alum and current roommate) and I made the 45 minute trek from Knoxville to Jefferson City, TN (where people drove tractors around campus, as a legitimate mode of transportation).

My studio

The highlight and real reason for the trip was visiting the Art Building, my home for 4 years, the sort of place that has seen so many events and people that it has its own personality. I love that building; every corner and door and desk tells a story.

The canvas where I sealed the shrink wrap when matting artwork. Hasn't been replaced in who knows how many years.

Shockingly, nothing has changed in the art building since I graduated 7 years ago. Its like a time capsule of 2002. The art my friends did still hangs in the halls. The sinks are still splattered with paint. The drawing class is still drawing skulls and models sitting (fully clothed, it is a Baptist college) in the worn, torn leather chair.

sink

new students, same sketches

At first I was excited to see everything just the way it was. But as I spent some time in the building and on campus I realized that while the building and decor is just the same, I am not. I had a wonderful time in college, and it definitely shaped and changed me. But I'm not there anymore. I have had adventures and experiences since college that have also changed me. I have made friends who know nothing of the life I had at Carson-Newman, but who I share life with now.

Where I learned how to make frames and fell in love with tools.

Its fun to travel back in time and revisit times that were happy and fun. But this weekend was a reminder not to dwell in those old times and forget about my life happening right now. I don't want my life to look the same as it did 7 or 10 years ago, and I don't ever want to think that the best times of life are in my past. There is joy in my past but there is also joy in my future.

Maybe the more things stay the same, the more they change...or at least they make you appreciate change!

Past meets present...Thomas Nelson box in the art department!

weekend update.

my weekend in a run on sentence: documentary, wine and cheese, slept in, lazy, made cookies, surprise visit from old friend, more laziness, SUN CAME OUT!!!!, sudanese center celebration, shepherd's pie at family wash, craft night, hanging out with the 3-year-olds, alpaca farm, photo shoot, leiper's fork, sweet potato fries at pucketts, long drive home, beautiful weather, Sweet CeCe's (yum!), clean house, tv, the end.

all in all a pretty good one.

here's some photos from sunday (because one thing i do love is taking pictures):

 lil' bit crazy

 

a field of alpaca (alpaci?)

alpaca with the munchies

 

surprisingly soft fur

ebony and ivory, live together in perfect harmony

leiper's fork...

where the Christmas lights stay up year-round

Puckett's condiments...including George Jones Country Style "Ole Time" Molasses

my favorite time of day from one of my favorite places (home). 

the LeConte hike

I love hiking, but I'm not a big hiker...I feel pretty accomplished if I do the long route (2 miles instead of 1) at Radnor Lake. So the idea of hiking the highest mountain east of the Mississippi (3rd tallest peak...don't ask me how they figure these things out) was a little daunting.

As I started the trek my mind was filled with questions...Would I make it to the top without collapsing? Would I ever be able to walk again? Would I curse the day I signed up for this back in January? Would I catch my death of cold from hiking in the rain? All the unknowns were overwhelming, and I figured this would definitely be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

By the time I reached LeConte Lodge, at over 6500 feet, 5.5 miles and 3.5 hours later, I knew this was no one-time event but something I would definitely do again, many times. The hike up Alum Cave Bluffs was amazingly beautiful even in fog and rain, and it was not as hard as I expected. There are plenty of places to stop and rest and great views to motivate you along the way.

The Lodge itself is priceless. Where else can you find a loom, kerosene lamps, llamas, and bottomless glasses of wine on the top of a mountain? I felt like I was stepping back in time, but with really great food and flushing toilets. Laura Ingalls never had it this good...it's like summer camp for grown-ups (or whoever can make it up to the top).

It was weird to be totally away from everything...no phone, facebook, email, twitter, blogs. It's sad how hard it is to slow down and just sit. I found myself getting restless and ready to do something after just a few minutes of sitting. Next time I go up I want to stay for two nights and really take the time to sit and stare and take in the beauty.

I loved the trail, the Lodge, the isolation, and the food, but mostly I enjoyed the camaraderie. It was a surprise to feel a bond with total strangers, simply because you all accomplished a common goal. We were standing on the porch as the clouds cleared and we glimpsed fleeting views of the valley, sharing the excitement. We laughed and told stories from the trail and teased each other like old friends, even though we didn't know each others' names. We just knew we could all climb mountains.
I hiked up with two of my very best friends, and it was so great to share the experience with them. We took care of each other, encouraged each other, sang stupid songs (sorry fellow hikers) and scared off the bears together. Made memories that will last a lifetime. Even though we all were a little apprehensive at first, we were committed to doing it again by the end (right, friends?). Who's in for next year?

mountaintops

Tomorrow I am hiking Mt LeConte and spending the night at LeConte Lodge on top of the mountain. I can't wait...we have had these reservations since January and the excitement has been building since then.

I do wish I was a little more prepared for the 6.5 mile hike up the highest mountain in the Smokies, but I'm taking lots of Advil and focusing on the meal and bottomless glass of wine that awaits me at the top. I can do anything for the promise of a good dinner.

Plus this is the view from LeConte, and I plan on watching the sun set and rise. Also well worth The Climb (there's my theme song for the trip...thanks Miley!).


Now I'm just praying the rain clears out...

Six Flags over Life

In the past 24 hours or so I have run the gamut of human emotion...happy, confused, sad, frustrated, angry, excited, tired, worried, impatient, disappointed and overwhelmed. It seems God is working hard to remind me that this life is not under my control...there is a whole amusement park of roller coaster emotions to be experienced, even though I prefer to stay on the merry-go-round. The ups and downs exhaust me and I long for peace and answers that often don't come, at least not on my timetable. Life doesn't always get resolved by the end of the day.

In Henri Nouwen's book Turn My Mourning Into Dancing, he addresses living with hope in crazy times:
"Hope is willing to leave unanswered questions unanswered and unknown futures unknown. Hope makes you see God's guiding hand not only in the gentle and pleasant moments but also in the shadows of disappointment and darkness."

How I need that hope today, that despite the dark times and sorrows, despite the unanswered questions and unrevealed plans, God is still ordering my moments. I pray for the courage to embrace the unknown and the emotional highs and lows, because I want to see the guiding hand of God.

oops

I had to admit today that yes, I have a blog, but no, I don't update it regularly. I know all 2 of you readers really have missed me, but its not you I am doing this blog thing for, its me. If I'm not blogging about what I love doing than I'm probably not doing what I love. Does that make sense?

I have been swamped the past couple of weeks with work and commitments after work, traveling, and getting ready for a trip this week, so I haven't taken time to do much of anything creative, let alone blog about it.

So here's a reminder to myself to be more disciplined with the blogging, and more disciplined with being creative just for me (instead of creative just to put a pretty package on some books).

--

I forget sometimes that I have a fine arts degree and spent 4 years painting, drawing, and photographing so I could earn that degree. I have let my painting slide after school as work and design and attempts at a social life got in the way. On my trip to Europe in April I spent some time sketching (it helps to travel with a fellow artist) and really enjoyed it. So when i went to the beach a few weeks ago I took along my sketchbook and paints and played around a little. I am pretty rusty (and the beach is a hard subject to master) but it was fun. Some results below:

(sorry about the weird foot, Elicia)

(those are seashells, in case you were wondering)

i love food!

I am not ashamed of my love for food. I love to eat pretty much anything. Cooking is ok, but I'd rather have someone else do the hard work and I will enjoy the literal fruits of their labor.

So on my recent trip to Charleston I was very happy to have some awesome food.

First up was The Boathouse on Isle of Palms. We started the evening at the bar on the roof of the restaurant, where we watched the sunset over the intercoastal waterway.

The food was as good as the scenery. Fried green tomatoes with homemade pimento cheese and chow chow, followed by parmesan-crusted tilapia with sauteed vegetables and smoked gouda mac and cheese. I wish I had a picture but I ate it too fast.

The next night we ventured into Charleston and got a recommendation to eat at Fleet Landing. It also overlooked the intercoastal waterway, and once again we started at the bar. They served the Jack Daly, which is sweet tea vodka and lemonade...yum.

For dinner I had shrimp and grits, a Charleston classic. It was delicious—creamy grits and a slightly spicy sauce. Also of note were the (free) fluffy biscuits with honey butter. Most notable about this restaurant though was the decor...the building was used by the Navy for years so they played up the sailing theme, from rigging separating the booths to anchors on the wall to signal flags covering the ceiling. I loved this life jacket wall too.



No trip to South Carolina would be complete without a trip to Maurice's Bar-B-Q in Columbia. My good friend McCabe introduced me to Maurice's years ago and now I stop whenever I am in SC. My friends were in awe of the 1960s Confederate flag decorating scheme and the original booths (with movie-theater style vinyl seats). If the South rises again it will start at Maurice's.


They loved the food, although there was some hash left over. But the hush puppies, slaw, and barbeque were delicious. There is nothing like that mustard sauce.


I even brought home some of Maurice's sauce and marinated my chicken in it last night, and it was almost as good as the real thing. Maurice claims his bbq makes you happy, and he was right.

i love vacation

I went to the beach last week with 3 friends for a much-needed rest, relaxation, recharging, reenergizing, reprioritizing, readjusting-the-attitude vacation. It was a spontaneous trip so I didn't plan anything (for a change...usually I plan my trips down to the minute) and had no expectations.



So I had 3 days to sit on the beach and stare at the water. I did a lot of reading, relaxing, photographing, and even some painting. I laughed and ate great food and had good conversation with friends. The mini-vacation far exceeded my expectations and refreshed my soul.





I need to do this more often!