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My car can hold a lot of stuff!

In the hatch: 4 foot round oak table with drop leaves, an oak occasional table with the coolest little porcelain casters, and a solid marble table top about 2×3 feet. Some other odds and ends were tucked in around and under.

Then in the back seat, more stuff, including a rocking chair, wrought iron 4-tier shelf with glass shelves, a few boxes of odds and ends, and (best deal, according to Larry) a pair of work coveralls. It’s a mess but we had a time getting it all in the car.

Then there were two leaded glass windows to put in too. One is in good shape, the other not so good but still nice. Somewhere hidden in here is a stoneware cookie jar, a Fenton amethyst vase, and …

yes, a set of sip n strip glasses–how weird is that. I listed these on eBay. It was an interesting evening at the auction; I did get some odd looks when I got these in a lot; not something a granny would buy! I hope they sell, though.

There were other good finds last week, and I’ll try to post them later. I hope your weekend finds were fine too!

Going Across the Mountains: Day 2(0)

From my journal, May 12, 2012:

It is 6:00 am in Hinton, WV. Birds have been singing for an hour, welcoming a day that has not yet dawned. A train whistle sounds somewhere downriver. Fog blankets the town, hiding the sheltering mountains that slope up and away from the mighty New, Bluestone, and Sandstone rivers.

Out of my window I see the black-and-whites pull in; an officer gets out of one, punches a code and enters the city building. I wonder what mischief occurred in the night or if all was merely routine patrol in this small river town. A car clatters over the brick street; a truck towing a boat heads out, perhaps for a day of fishing. Across the street a Halloween banner hangs on gambrel-roofed house that once sported a two-story front porch. The porch has been replaced by a one-dimensional deck, leaving double doors on the second floor open to nothingness. A knockout red rose blooms wildly in the yard beside a patriotic flag and a mossy cut-stone wall.

On the opposite corner a neatly trimmed hedge edges the street for a short, undefined distance. I wonder who keeps it maintained so squarely because the hedge seems to start and stop with no apparent relevance, but then I see that once it edged the entire corner until a handicapped-accessible curb was built. Poison ivy struggles to take a stand in the hedge but it too is regimentally trimmed to a rigid box shape.

A train’s engine rumbles louder and louder; a freight moving through? Where is it going and what is it hauling? Yesterday an Amtrak train passed us like we were sitting still although we were traveling about 60 miles per hour. This train sounds like its load is a heavy one, perhaps coal from the mines not far away. Mines are never far away in southern West Virginia.

Quiet descends when the train has passed. The highway below me, Route 20, is not busy at six o’clock on a Saturday morning. The town still sleeps. I, sitting in the curving bow window on the second floor of the Chestnut Revival Bed and Breakfast, watch the day begin 200 miles from my own bed yet I feel completely at home. Behind me Larry sleeps in the tall four-poster bed with downy blankets drawn to his chin. Floorboards creak with age but not human weight.

I look out at a church steeple, a tall pink brick building with an elevator room jutting from its roof, at Bluestone Tire not yet open for the day’s business, and at turn-of-the-twentieth-century brick homes with dark windows. An early walker startles me. She is an elderly woman in tan slacks, white cardigan. She passes quickly, one hand on her hip as if that side is painful and needs the comfort of a touch. Her gray hair disappears around a corner. A truck passes. Larry stirs. Another truck, this one towing a boat, a large pontoon boat the conjures visions of a lazy day of floating on the rivers. Down the street the bright orange-yellow school buses are still. This is a day of rest for them.Yet another truck towing a boat passes, a sleek racing boat. The waters will be busy on this fine day.

The fog lifts slowly and deep green hills emerge, their tops oddly but softly flattened by the still dense fog. Downstairs I hear pots hitting steel stove burners. Breakfast is being prepared. It is time to shower, dress, eat and begin. I see a glimmer of sun escape the hovering fog.

Going Across the Mountains, Day 1(0)

Goin’ cross the mountains, oh fare ye well,
Goin’ cross the mountains, oh fare ye well…

Lines from an old Civil War song fit our weekend journey quite well. We traveled across the mountains to the southern part of the state to the home of our friends Ron and Wendy Perrone, who operate the Three Rivers Avian Center high atop Brooks Mountain in Summers county. It’s a beautiful drive, passing stunning scenery like this:

and this:

We wound up the gravel road to their home, passing swaths of pale blue wild foxglove.

The view from their home

is worth the drive:

After an evening cookout, we headed for the bed-and-breakfast in Hinton called The Chestnut Revival. This is the place we laid our heads on this first day of our weekend trip:

More tomorrow about this place and early morning in Hinton, West Virginia.

Around Home(0)

It’s been a busy week: gardens, flowers, storytelling, the auction last night (stuff to show you later) but right now I’m on the road again to tell stories for Migration Celebration at Little Beaver State Park near Beckley, WV.

A few pics from around home: the first one I tried to catch the knockout roses along the driveway; the second is one of my favorite flowerbeds, and the last is a (crooked) peek in the window to the fire in the fireplace. It’s been cold the past few days here, and the fire felt good. We roasted our hot dogs in there instead of the firepit because it was so cold and rainy. We even had some hail one night. Wild weather, but today is a beautiful, perfect spring day.

I’ll be back with more pictures after this trip. See you then!

Rainy Day, Flower Day(0)

It rained all day today. Poured some of the time. We’re getting antsy to get things into the garden but today was not the day. Still we managed to make the most of a soggy situation. We bought plants.

The trip to Charleston’s Farmer’s Market, about 50-some miles away, was not without some adventure.

Yes, that’s a Loomis armored car on its roof in the median. And that’s money scattered on the ground. There were broken money bags and coin wrappers all over the place and the police were busy cleaning it all up–and keeping people out of it! According to the Charleston Gazette, both men in the truck received only minor injuries. Apparently some people who arrived first on the scene took some of the money and could be facing some serious charges if they are identified. Needless to say, we just drove on by. When we returned home 3 hours later, they were still cleaning up the site.

We managed to arrive at the farmer’s market intact and with all our cash, which was a good thing because we left a good bit poorer than when we arrived. I miss my greenhouse this year; buying plants is fun but costly. I was happy to find the varieties I like, however, and a few flowers that were new to me. The back of my SUV was full when we left. Now we just need the weather to clear up a bit so we can get these things in the ground.

What did I bring home? Tomatoes of several varieties, tomatillos, celery (at last!), rosemary, squash, scented geraniums, new lavender plants (I lost a couple over the winter), chamomile, regular geraniums, petunias, this little white flower that I don’t know but love it in pots, lobelia, Victoria, pineapple sage, chili peppers, bell peppers, and Lord only knows what else. We’ll be planting fools when the ground dries.

We also voted today–it’s primary election day in our state. I hope our votes plant some good people in office.

Food for Thought, Food for the Soul: OOPS Storytelling Conference(0)

I spent last weekend at the Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytelling Conference in Mount Vernon, Ohio, just north of Columbus. The conference opened with a story swap at a lovely bed and breakfast. The first teller told a version of the Child ballad The Two Sisters in story form and I followed up by singing the Appalachian version of the ballad, Dreadful Wind and Rain. Later another teller told a story that included a mention of the gates of hell so I offered the ballad about the old woman who beats the devil called The Farmer’s Curst Wife. I love it when stories and songs come together this way.

Keynoter and featured teller Elizabeth Ellis led us off with a morning session that had us thinking about the different hats we wear as storytellers: artist, craftsperson and business manager. She hit the nail on the head: we’re most comfortable in our artist hat, but the other two are equally important. The craftsperson is the one who does all the arranging, setting up, know how to use the mic and how to place the chairs, etc. She used some pretty cool hats to illustrate her points!

I’m pretty good on the first two hats; it’s the third one that needs some work. Elizabeth challenged us to set goals for each hat for the coming year and I know which goal needs the most attention! Time to think about how I can do a better job of marketing and managing the business end of storytelling. I’ve already made a few steps so that’s a good start.

I presented my workshop twice in the afternoon. My sessions had a simple goal: give attendees three stories they could walk out and tell immediately. The format was simple too: I told a brief version of each story, then asked for volunteers to re-tell the story. At least 2 people re-told each tale, then we discussed how and when the story might be used, whether or not to add props, puppets, audience participation, etc. In one session we also wrote the bones down on a flipchart for a participant who felt she learned better that way. I brought props and puppets with me so the tellers could experiment with them in the stories. The best verification that it was a useful workshop came later in the evening when one young man told one of the stories at the open mic. That was cool, and just what I wanted to see happen.

The evening concert features three or four fine Ohio tellers and then an hour with Elizabeth. She was outstanding: funny, inspiring, challenging, thoughtful, and always pulling us into the stories with her. Afterwards we adjourned to the motel for a get-together that continued the fellowship of the day. Elizabeth told a story that referenced the Civil War battle on Shiloh Hill so I sang the old song about that battle for her. I was sorry to see the evening end. Morning brought us together one last time for breakfast, then it was time to head home.

Thanks, OOPS, for an inspiring weekend!

Picking Up Bargains on the Way Home(0)

A trip is not complete with a few yard sale stops, right? Donna and I stopped at two sales on the way home from the storytelling conference in Ohio, and I came home with some good finds. The photo above shows some of them: a tin tea caddy from England, an American Pattern Glass butter dish in the Portland pattern (yes, I’ve already looked it up!–made around 1900), a pretty handpainted cream and sugar set from Germany, a bowl full of safety pins that cost less than the pins alone and the bowl turned out to be a Fenton piece, a Pyrex Friendship Bird mixing bowl with a red and yellow pattern, three Fire King flame stackable coffee mugs,

two large gilt dresser mirror trays, a really nice set of Anchor Hocking amber swirl salad bowls,

an American Pattern Glass goblet in the Narcissus Spray pattern (made around 1917)

and quite a few other things, including two glass-topped end tables for Donna. Her car was quite full with our suitcases, storytelling stuff and these treasures but we had a very good time. I was excited to find more pattern glass; that gave me an intriguing search this evening and since I was too tired to do much else, it made for a nice evening’s browse through my pattern books and the internet trying to track these down.

Busy Day, and On the Road Again(0)

Larry and I were busy as the honeybee hive today. He was catching up on mowing and weed-eating. With all the rain we’ve had this week, the lawn and weeds have grown like wild things. Of course the weedeater acted up and had to go to the shop, where it was pronounced that it needed a new carburetor. At least all the clean-up was pretty much finished before it quit.

I worked on my workshop most of the day, and also on finishing up the line-up for the Oral Traditions Tent at the West Virginia State Folk Festival. That’s been a bigger challenge than usual this year and I am still not finished with it. I also did some eBay follow-up and packed some shipments, did laundry and packed for my trip. I’m off to Ohio in the morning for the OOPS Storytelling Conference! I’ll be presenting workshop called Three Stories Anyone Can Tell. I am expecting a lot of fun interaction in the workshop, a lot of fun times with friends, and…well, a lot of fun in general!

Around noon as I was preparing quiche for lunch, a friend called and said she was nearby and wanted to stop by if we weren’t too busy. I am never too busy for a visit with friends. She arrived in time for a mushroom, onion and cheese quiche, fresh asparagus and salad from the garden, and homemade biscuits. We treat visitors right–they’re kinda rare up here. Few people want to brave the bumpy Joe’s Run, and now the driveway is a challenge because Larry graded it and stirred up a lot of mud. We had a great visit; the porch is a perfect place for a hot May afternoon.

I got back to work after our visitor left, but managed to spend some porch time this evening with Larry as we watched the moon rising. I’ll be up early in the morning to drive to Ohio, so tonight will be an early bedtime for this ol’ Granny.

Yall have a great weekend. I’ll check back in Sunday evening to see what everyone has been up to.