Weekend Fun

Many years ago there was an excellent television program called "Friday Night Lights" starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton that we fell in love with. I will admit we were late to the party as Jonathan and Alissa had extolled the virtues of said program for a couple of years before we actually began watching and watching we did! Binge worthy for sure. As probably many of you know, the Friday night lights in the title refers to high school football and in this case set in Texas where it is really BIG. As we were to find out, it is really big in Murphy too! 

Before we go to the actual game, which we finally did this past Friday, I feel I must share what apparently is a tradition in Murphy. Unfortunately, we did not go to Homecoming, but after seeing this in the current edition of the Cherokee Scout, I am kicking myself!

Previously the girls that made up the homecoming court were all pictured wearing street clothes in a full page spread, however, that was then and this was now. Or a week ago, but you get my drift. At first I was super puzzled, thinking that all of their dresses are essentially the same, but a few days later we were to learn that it is a tradition that no one wants to break despite the crazy expense of those gowns. Looks like lavender/purple wins the color contest? I have it from a reliable source that the dresses cost as much as $1,000! 

Our desire to actually go to the game on Friday night was further stoked when someone at pickleball on Friday morning remarked that it was going to be a good game between Murphy and Hayesville. Just the push we needed so we stopped by the high school to ask questions; as fate would have it, the woman I asked happened to be the football coach's wife! Obviously, she had all the answers.

Let's just say, it was good. 

From the moment we parked and felt the town's excitement as they made their way to the field, we were smiling from ear to ear. 

As to those Friday night lights? They lived up to their billing.

The packed crowd was attentive throughout the entertaining halftime.

as well as the band. 

I believe that there are about 400 students at Murphy High School and it looks like only a handful are interested inbecoming members of the band, whereas the cheer squad was both busy, cheering nearly all night long, and there were a bunch of them.

Come to think of it, seems as if the band and the cheerleading squad are about the same size.  The game began with introductions and the team running through the bulldog's mouth onto the field.

We have read that there is a shortage of referees for high school sports, not only in Murphy but nationwide, but it seemed like they were fully staffed for this game.

That would be the enthusiastic Hayesville crowd pictured behind the players. Lots of the Murphy fans brought their own chairs, sitting adjacent to the bleachers on the ridge overlooking the field making the fan base much larger than the shot of the stands would imply. We had a blast and if not for the lack of jackets, we would have stayed until the end. As it was, we were able to listen to it on the radio both in the car, and when we got home. Bulldogs Win!!

Thank you to the town of Murphy and all involved in our first "Friday night lights" experience in decades. The television show was so good, but in person was even better. 

Last Saturday morning, before the epic Florida State game came on, we went to a quilt show held in Blairsville and what a nice treat that was. Driving there the fog was crazy thick.

Finally it lifted and the venue was both super easy to find, and so nice.

It has taken us some time to get the hang of driving to these other towns to do things because they are all between 12-20 miles away, however, as folks here point out you can drive there in about twenty minutes whereas in, say Orlando, some of these trips would not only take at least twice as long, but more often than not, be filled with frustration. Here you just get in your car and go. As soon as we got out of the car we heard the familiar sound of a pickleball court. Turns out it was adjacent to the center and wow, were we impressed.

In true pickleball spirit fashion, it wasn't but a few moments before a woman came up to greet us asking if we wanted to play. On this day, we had to say no, but maybe another time.

The show was put on by the local guild represent three counties of quilters. A few friends from pickleball are part of the guild, one of whom we saw there on Saturday. A super cool idea below...self portraits done in fabric.

What a joy to wander through the quilts, especially when I know first hand how much work they require. Kudos to everyone!

Generally I do love colorful ones, but the red and white does look mighty good. Talk about a lot of work!

So many beautiful quilts, so little space to share because there is more fun to be had!

For at least a month I'd not emptied one of my camera cards and when I did so I came across some from an earlier First Friday Art Walk we attended, this one involving chain saw artists which I felt I needed to remember in this space. 

It was very warm that evening, but the turnout was still pretty good. 

You might note pictured on the top left is a sign designating Main Street America, a designation that our very own special landlord Laura made possible. According the newspaper article explaining why she was chosen as Citizen of the Year, she guided the town through the process to receive the funds that accompany that designation. Should this subject interest you, read about it here. 

Another of an artist and his creation in process.

Really pretty amazing watching someone carve a log into a shape with a chainsaw. All sorts of people exhibit on these art walk nights, another of which is coming up this Friday.

Back to the present, we joined a group playing mini golf on, maybe Thursday and while I was pretty terrible, a man assigned to Bruce to keep an eye on, Bill, aged 90, got a hole in one!!

The group was comprised of people who have participated in another nationwide movement called National Senior Games that you can read about HERE. Basically, seniors aged 50 and over, which is sort of weird thinking 50 is senior, but anyway, folks compete within their age group in all manner of things from cornhole to woodworking. I am totally simplifying things, but maybe Bruce and I will give it a go next Spring. Anyway, the mini golf was way more fun than I was anticipating. The wonderful weather helped.

As to my score, 72 is nothing to brag about, but there it is nonetheless. 

Saturday we headed to Andrews for their Octoberfest which if I am honest was a little underwhelming. At least there were people on the streets so that was a positive.

The thing is, I think Andrews has more natural beauty than Murphy sitting in the valley as it is, but they have a long ways to go to catch up to Murphy when it comes to businesses. Perhaps they need a Laura? That said, The Blue Stage is a fairly new business there where they have been hosting this summer's wildly popular competition dubbed, "Andrews Idol". It is really exciting to read that they felt so good about it that the auditions for season two are happening now.

There were booths with crafts along with food trucks, one of which was so large Bruce is seen here photographing it.

Bands were playing all day and the beer was flowing from several local breweries. They even had a winery there as well but seeing as it was a warm and sunny day, this blogger was happiest going indoors to the beautiful Sage restaurant, the prettiest business in town.

Since they opened earlier this year they were only open for dinner,  however recently as it Saturday,  lunch is now being served which made us very happy indeed. I can't even remember if I wrote about visiting the restaurant for an early dinner about six weeks ago, but if I did not, we absolutely loved the experience which the chef terms, "an elevated dining experience". For sure! Our only worry is how they will survive on that main street. 

My pork belly sandwich was fantastic, as was Bruce's shrimp and grits with andouille sausage.

The somewhat deconstructed creme brulee with the crispy phyllo dough was perfection.

As we were leaving we saw this! Who remembered that the windshield pushed open? That orange!!!

October seems to a busy time in Western North Carolina with multiple festivals happening most weekends. Next up is the folk school coming up this Saturday where John (landlord) will have a booth, well two booths actually with his furniture to sell. More weekend fun in the mountains to come!

P.S. The leaves are most definitely changing. Will produce photographs next time.

your friend,

Gail

Where Were You?

Yes, everyone is writing about where they were on September 11, 2011 prompting me to do the same.


I was a full time mammographer in those days, working at what was then called Sand Lake Hospital. I distinctly remember being in the midst of a biopsy procedure in my tiny room that fateful morning. I won't bore you with how it is done, but I will tell you that I never left the room, thus, a helper, in this case my boss Dave, would wait outside the room for me to hand him the film cassette, which in turn, he would develop and show to the radiologist. I'm not sure how anyone even knew what was happening, perhaps, a television somewhere in the hospital, I don't have a clue? Anyway, as I opened the door slightly to do the exchange, Dave told me one of the towers had been hit. Now Dave was a bit of a joker so that was my first thought--surely, he's kidding. He was not, as we all know. Shock and disbelief set in. Now I don't recall if I told the patient or not, but what I do know is I was panicking because my dear Bruce was out of town. For once, his Monday travel was a very, very good thing. The boys began calling the hospital to inquire about their Dad's whereabouts. You may recall that the nation was a buzz with fear that horrible things might happen somewhere else. He was safe and sound in Iowa, however, getting home was quite a challenge a few days later. Sadly, that one day changed the way we all live. I wonder how many years it will be until once again we regain our national optimism?

Speaking of which, this piece on the National Theater is quite good. Now what, pray tell, does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Just joking there, folks, an old saying from my mother. Seriously, regular, albeit few, readers will remember we saw "War Horse" at the National during our London holiday. What I'm trying to say, however poorly, is that the world has seen great tragedy before, and good people have recovered and in some ways become even stronger. Let us all hope that our nation can do the same.

A quote in the above piece from the Times spoke to me regarding my photography. The creative director of the National Theater said that they try and produce plays that "would be as interesting as possible to as many people as possible." Aha! Therein lies my problem! Currently I have 125 different numbered prints in my baskets. Good grief, no wonder I can't keep up with it all. Yet, I don't quite know how to do it any differently. Once again, looking for an EDITOR! Another good weekend with my markets; perhaps it is a new beginning?

Rarely do I post picture taken at the market but I couldn't help thinking that it would hard to find a more colorful photograph than this one taken yesterday:

My friend and neighbor at Lake Eola, Kathy gushes every Sunday about all the dogs we see. I, on the other hand, gush about the darling children, including this little beauty:

Those of a certain age may see a resemblance to a Gerber baby.


Just before closing at the Winter Garden market on Saturday, this young couple showed up:

I love how she seems to be noticing his t-shirt for the first time, obviously not a fan. My Friday Night Light buddies will instantly recognize why I'm posting this. After our marathon viewing on Friday night, Bruce and I found out Coach Taylor, our hero, was demoted to East Dillon, an unfair move if ever there were one. During my conversation with the young man I learned he was just as avid about the show as we are! Plus, they use cool music including one of Matt's favorites, Sufjan Stevens, whose songs are filled with Christian themes in a completely non-traditional way. He loves God and isn't afraid to say so. Who can't love God when they see His handiwork like this beautiful sunset from the other evening?

Amazing artist is our God. Speaking of art, since Nancy's departure, I have dropped all pretenses about liking to clean. I don't. I've spent very little time cleaning which means more time for READING. Two novels of late merit a mention. The multi-talented Steve Martin, has tackled the high stakes New York art world in An Object of Beauty. His heroine is not so likeable, nor for that matter, is the world she moves in, however, if you have an interest in art you might enjoy it. Secondly, I read The Upright Piano Player, a first novel by a retired advertising executive from London, David Abbot. Surely you know by now that a happy ending is not a requisite of mine. Once someone asked me if I only read sad things, which was, to be fair, an honest question. That said, although the writing is terrific, there are some very disturbing events, not to mention themes in this novel. I was taken aback when the "bad guy" in the novel, after hammering nails in the truck tires of the boss who fired him, decided that the nearby guard dog deserved the same. Yikes! Make of it what you will.


My blog post regarding my visit to the Brevard Zoo referenced two jaguars, however, I neglected to post the second one, pictured here, hanging out during the heat of the day, trying to stay cool.

Taking photographs through glass can be quite challenging for a multitude of reasons. Next time you are faced with that situation I have to hints. One-- place your camera/lens directly on the glass to minimize all the surrounding reflections. Two--NEVER use flash. You've all seen how that works out. Stumbling upon my blog, curiously called Camera Crazy, a person would be led to believe it was full of camera tips. Obviously, they would be false assumptions, however, every now and again, I like to share what four solid years of taking photographs have taught me.


The sky is sparkling blue, the humidity is down, and the outdoors is calling to me.....talk to you soon.


Gail

p.s. This post has taken forever, first I lost most of it, then I couldn't publish it, then when it did, most of it was missing.....yikes--you would think I was new at this! Finally, I wrote it in Firefox than had to copy and paste it into my dashboard on Chrome. I'm not sure it was worth all the trouble, but here it is nevertheless.

Reinvention, or Not?

I spent an inordinate amount of time Wednesday looking back through pictures from the past four years. So much time, in fact, that when I looked at my watch it read 2:45 in the afternoon! I NEVER skip meals, but never say never, huh?

I found this one that I really loved, taken years ago at the market.

 The light and the adorable girls makes me smile every time I see it.

Why exactly was I looking? Well, Winter Park is looming and I need to order at least 10 large canvases for the walls. Always a big struggle for me. Most people who come by my booth cannot imagine the struggle I go through! I decided to fall back on a technique I've used before--having small prints made at Target to set out and see what grabs me.

Astute readers will note the material in the upper right. Still not done with that dress....

Angela called and I invited her over for her opinion. She chose four. Bruce took a look this morning and chose five completely different ones. So, where does that leave me? One thing Bruce told me was that I need not feel like I must reinvent myself for every show.

That is quite the dilemma for me. For one thing, I get bored selling "Beach Daisies" time and again. As well, I have quite a few repeat customers and it seems to me that they are looking for something new. The whole thing just stops me in my tracks.

While looking I came across this photo of our very first show in Baldwin Park:

This was a few months after meeting Mr. Roger. Notice we are showing only one canvas, displayed hanging on the right side of the photograph. My goodness my tent looked nice and clean, unlike these days. I must consider investing in my infrastructure! The funny thing about that canvas is that the person who bought it was the woman who initially denied me access to the market I've now called my Sunday home for the last four years!

My bridge time yesterday was both fun and painful, with me losing multiple hands! Good thing I'm not very competitive. The ladies were kind enough to not give me a hard time.

Today was spent signing prints, doing laundry and mowing the lawn. All is done. Tonight, after having our supper we plan a Friday Night Lights marathon. Monday night we finished the final episode of the third series which left us hanging! Bruce told me to head out on Tuesday to get the next series, however, I used my Amazon Prime to have it shipped in only two days. While weeding last evening, the UPS guy pulled up and I thanked him. If you've not seen Friday Night Lights you are really, really missing a good show. Time to eat dinner.....