Raige Creations

We have a nice neighborhood to walk in. We can walk down the street, along the river, then walk up a bit of a hefty hill to get back to our place. A nice rectangular walk that includes all sorts of interesting things.  One day, it was the bus stop bench. It has a a great rusty look, right next to the River Walk path.  We have seen clothes left there, food, the usual garbage. This day (being from about 2 months ago - still no sign of Spring), a most interesting piece of what I would call garbage was here, but I would bet that someone will pick this up and do something with it.  Our neighborhood has a great bunch of landowners who have all kinds of interesting bits in their yards. They also add beautiful things to their porches, and even garages! I would love to see this interesting thing left on the porch bench appear creatively in someone's yard. I am not sure what it came from, but I bet it could be used for something interesting. The last time we went by, this piec...

Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.  Ann Landers Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/fire-quotes When you get to enjoy a lovely fire, do it. A little nice music helps too. 

Back in the mountains, I love it. I forgot how lovely the summer is here, and finally the weather is gorgeous. The flowers are out and everything is green. Wildflowers My musing this weekend are as simple as enjoying two of my favorite things:  Walking and  Bread It has been tough for me to let myself take the time to get a few walks in ~ yes I was too busy to get walks in and I know that is just an excuse but sometimes you just gotta take a break. From everything.  And any more than that, I just do not want to dwell on. Also, I am not feeling too wordy today, so will just let the pictures speak for me. The road to the RAD and the bakery nestled in the district with the bread (no beer for me)  A river crossing - it sure did look muddy today probably from the recent rains. Bread and soft pretzel - yumminess. River crossing heading home - lovely even if still muddy. At some point, we may be those paddle boarders in the river, if you look close enough they are ...

I asked for suggestions, and a great cousin of hubby's said she was listening to  Led Zeppelin  yesterday. This request led to an evening of the band for me and hubby last night, and nearly all day streaming the band at work, until I found one that spoke to me, that fit. This one does, more or less . But seriously, so many good songs to choose from. So many! So many that brought back memories of my brother . He was the one who first introduced me to this band. Through his closed bedroom door. He was a musician, a true connoisseur of good rock music. So many hubby had stories about. He knows stories of the band members, and he introduced me to The Song Remains The Same movie . If you have a couple hours, check it out! It is worth it, I believe. The concert was at Madison Square Gardens, this video a part of it. They put on a great show, excellent musicians. And, story from hubby, Robert Plant didn't even realize he was rubbing his fingers through most of the concer...

The commute. Some days it just wears you down. The stop, then go, then slam on brakes because the guy in the next lane suddenly has to be in your lane, right in front of you. The longing looks at the lane next to you who seems to be going by rather fast, maybe 10 miles and hour, while your lane is going so slow the speed does not register. And the realization you cannot sneak in front of one of those cars zooming by you in the next lane because your car is so long, it won't fit snugly in the space that exists before the next car moves up. You would need to get the drivers attention and make sure they stop to let you in, which doesn't make you an appreciated driver. And with one of the only 2 on the island like it, your car is memorable. No need to make enemies on the road.  The stress of the drive just beats you down some days. Then when you finally reach your destination, and dread the parking. Where I am, the parking sucks. No other way to explain it. Spaces too smal...

Sitting here on this chilly night, with snow on the ground from a 'mini' snowstorm that hit us today (so I had to go get son from school 2 1/2 hours early).  This is before the 'big storm' we are anticipating tomorrow through Thursday. We are passing the time watching the Olympics, feeling the chill more looking at the snow and ice, and keeping an eye on the scrolling school closings across the bottom of the screen. As of now, they haven't closed school. But son is anxiously awaiting the news ' School Closed Tuesday .' But the uncertainty is frustrating. Click here if you are having trouble viewing video. Will he stay or will he go? We will probably get a call at 6:13 am (the usual time the automated calling system gets to our number).  So I will be up anyways. But he may get to sleep in.  photo courtesy of volcanic Maybe I will get to go back to bed...we will see.....in the meantime we can at least enjoy The Clash . This indecision...

It was a day that started with loads of potential.  source   Blue skies. Beauty. And things to do. source  Potential. source Sadly, my effort failed me late in the afternoon, and the day ended rather meh. Like, dinner at 9:30 pm kind of meh. source: etsy It turned out to be a  total hump day. Luckily, I think I am getting over the hump. I hope you had a wonderful hump day - did you have a big 'meh' hump to get over?

If you haven't heard, the south has had a bit of a snow storm . (and if you haven't heard, I would ask what rock you have been under) Now, having grown up in the Buffalo area, then moving BACK to the Buffalo area (after my other life in the Caribbean) before moving here, to the mountains of NC, I am quite familiar with snow. I grew up with snow, and my kids spent 5 'love-slash-hate' years dealing with it. This? THIS is snow. photo: Raige Creations I can drive in it, I can shovel it, snow blow it, and basically deal with it. I have even shoveled it off a roof when we got more than 5 feet of snow in one day. (yes, that happened.) Nothing closed up there unless there was a blizzard or sub zero temperatures AND a blizzard. School was open that day we had 5 feet of snow in a day.  Yes, that is several FEET of snow. and there still was school, and everything stayed open. photo:  Raige Creations So now we are in the mountains of a 'southern' state. (...

source: Pinterest At 7am this morning, the rain pouring down, this was my entire attitude.  I know I started out yesterday a bit crazy , but I eventually got it together and went to town to take care of a few things.  I actually got a lot accomplished! Today, I decided it would be a leggings and big baggy sweatshirt kind of day. I had a lot to do, but didn't have to go anywhere. So I decided to slum it a bit. (I didn't even wash my hair!) Well, here it is, almost 2pm, and I haven't crossed anything off my list! YES, I even made a list!! So I decide to at least get a blog done. And as you can tell, I was not really motivated to write, but I just decided to get it done, and that would be one thing off the list. Not the best attitude going into it.  This is one of many days I have had like this lately. Sorry, but I have to ask.... "What is wrong with me?"   I have had far too many days where nothing gets crossed off the list! I have several of those d...

source: Thoughts of Raige Some days, the days when I wake up less than chipper, when I haven't yet found my positive thinking and hope or a good day, I am thankful for the views from my kitchen. Out past the tree line, there is a mountain I can see most days. There are lots of trees and nature is evident all around us. It almost feels like we are out in the country, away from noise and developments and crowding.  But in reality, a main road is on the other side of the house, we can hear traffic. We are down the street from several housing developments, and we hear dogs barking day and night. Our closest neighbor is pretty close actually.  We are within walking distance to Main St, a small village street with restaurants and shops and even a local mechanic's garage.  Though we still have plans for our dream house, our perfect place, the means to do only what we love, this is good enough for now. For this is all we can do right now. We can only dream of a better...

Long overdue, but finally: The Jingle Bell Run 2013 . AND What Running Has Taught Me ~ Finding Success in Every Effort The Jingle Bell Run 2013. Ho-Ho-Ho People have fun dressing up for this race. photo courtesy of  Thoughts of Raige I trained and planned for this race, with huge expectations. Huge for me that is. I wanted to better my time from last year, and not walk at all if I could help it. Mainly, I didn't want to throw up when I was done. I had high hopes for the race - see my big smile? I am in the baseball hat in the middle. photo courtesy of  Thoughts of Raige I succeeded in that last thing, I didn't want to throw up and fall over when I was done. That was it. But at least I felt good at the end. Perhaps not the best race, I was slower than last year. I did have to walk, but really just a little, and yes, it was on those confounded hills. I still couldn't drink the water at the water station, just couldn't catch my breath. (The...

As we sat comfortably in our living room on Wednesday night, watching Cloud Atlas (which I have been wanting to see for some time), we had a criminal in our garage. Hubby went out for a smoke, came back in and asked why the garbage can was between the cars, with the lid off. Huh? I said "I put a bag in it earlier today, with the lid on, and certainly not between the cars!" He said the dog was sniffing by the door just as he was going out, so we assumed that he just missed the culprit. Tracks showed that it could very well be a bear.  Fairly Large Footprints photo: Thoughts of Raige This morning, we investigated further.  We followed a trail of egg shells,  Egg Shells in the Driveway photo:  Thoughts of Raige onion tops and napkins,  Onion and Egg Shells photo:  Thoughts of Raige More onion photo:  Thoughts of Raige and the tissue box right in the middle of the driveway. Tissue Box The criminal went off to the left, near...

A perfect song for a run in the mountains.  I think this band, Of Monsters and Men , is now added to the  'I really, really like this band'  list. Thier poetic and fantastical lyrics and the good beats and the pretty music all blend together in a way that pleasantly gets stuck in your head. source and to purchase The sun is shining brilliantly today, and the air not too crisp. A good day for not many words.  Hold your horses now (Sleep until the sun goes down) Through the woods we ran (Deep into the mountain sound) Enjoy the day, and the Mountain Sounds . 

Fall Reflection taken at Biltmore Estate photo courtesy of Raige Creations Take the time to reflect.  Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing.