Raige Creations

We had a nice break. Took a vacation and ended up in Durham, NC. We splurged and stayed at a great hotel, 21c Museum Hotel Durham . Found an art fair unexpectedly and just wandered and enjoyed. I love being a bit spontaneous like that. And coming across a great performance by the Silver Drummer Girl . A really great art fair. A really great trip. Some very enjoyable time with family. A nightmare of a trip back, but glad we went. The nightmare is a long story that I may never tell, but let's just say I started feeling like the character Victor Nevorski in a good movie, The Terminal . We were stuck in the airport for more than 12 hours, wandering and waiting. I lost hubby for a good hour and a half. He doesn't have a cell phone, so you can imagine how hard it is to find someone in a sea of people with a pesky security department separating you most of the time as it turned out. But, we did make the best of it after all and decided more breaks are a necessity. Bu...

Welcome to this week's Featured Artisan from the group On fire for Handmade . Meet Teresa! She is a fellow creator from just up the road from me, here in North Carolina! Teresa says: "I have been a creative and resourceful person ever since I can remember.My first real crafting love was sewing,and I have tried countless other crafts. Jewelry making started as another hobby, but has grown into an obsession! I love everything about it from choosing the materials and actually designing something beautiful! I am always looking to learn new techniques and expand my knowledge and skills.My love of handmade has inspired me to open Hollyhocks, LLC. My store in Mebane, NC sells handmade items from local artists Stop by if you’re in the area!. I am happily married to my best friend, have 2 grown children,a daughter in law,a dog and our first grandchild!" T.Rusk4U Featured Artist T.Rusk4U is this weeks featured artist on Share the Love Blogger Unite! You will find...

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. (...

When a young girl in Africa heard that her teacher would be leaving their village, she wanted to give her a special gift.  The girl didn't have any money to buy a present for her teacher, but finally she decided what she would do.   The Long Walk photo: Raige Creations at Craggy Pinnacle She was gone for two days and when she returned she was carrying the most exquisite shell anyone in her village had ever seen. Her teacher was amazed.  "Where did you get this?" she asked. The child told her that such shells were found only on a certain faraway beach. The teacher was deeply touched, because she knew that the girl had walked many miles to find the shell. "You shouldn't have traveled so far just to find a gift for me," she said. The girl smiled and explained, "The long walk is part of the gift." The Tree and the Rock photo:  Raige Creations  at  Craggy Pinnacle It is an old story, one I read probably 30 years ago in Reader's Dig...

Well I did it. I ran in my first public race - for a good cause. The Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell 5K Run . When I heard of this 5K run, I thought 'that really isn't much further than my usual route' so I thought this was quite do-able. I wouldn't say I have been working up to this, in fact it was a spur of the moment decision to enter. I never really thought of running with a huge group of people with bells on my shoes.  I only discovered a few days before the exact distance I had been running, well and walking mixed in. It was right at 2 miles. A 5K is 3.14 miles. I was nervous - would that extra mile really do me in? Just one more mile really, not bad, right?  A very festive walker! My 'festive' feet,  complete with bells and number. My Festive Ears So I joined, and day of race got my Christmas Spirit going. I wasn't the only one - in fact I was dressed rather conservatively. Just my festive feet and Santa Hat. Oh yes, and...

I am searching for a good playlist for my runs, which now I can call them because I run for the entire distance, well minus the warm up and warm down. I also measured the distance, and found I do run 2 miles on this path that I have been taking for the last several months, walking and running.  I need a playlist good for 3 miles now though, as I am joining the Arthritis Foundation this year for their 2012 Jingle Bell Run - my first public race. (And now I am only $35 away from my humble goal for the cause) It is a 5k, 3.1 miles. One more mile than my regular workouts. Hubby started the search, and somehow we got lost in the 1980's. (something that happens with regularity it seems....) With great songs like Dexy's Midnight Runners (get it? runners... heehee) , and The Proclaimers and 500 Miles . With a good beat, and a running theme, I think we were on to something. But when he played this song , I knew it had to be on the list AND today's Music Monday! It...

Driving the kids to school last week (when they missed the bus...again....) I was shocked and amused to see this on Main Street right here in little ole' Weaverville . Yarn bombing ! Then I wondered if I should have been in on it! I sort of felt left out!! But really, I wouldn't have had the time, energy, much less skill to be part of this wacky tradition that pops up every now and then. At least I can enjoy it. It really is spectacular to think all this time and effort goes into letting the general public get a kick out of what is covered in yarn. And to think about what they heck it is over the rails of the Library? Wacky. Today the only thing left was the bench cover. No Teddy bear, no garbage can cover, nothing left of the rest of it, just the bench cover. And it had just poured rain for the last 3 or 4 hours, so it was soaking wet.  This left me wondering what happens to yarn bombed things over time. Do people take the yarn, and if so who? Do people steal i...

I love my neighborhood. Though I am sorry to say I missed my goal of walking each and every day since my birthday, I am still walking at least 5 days a week, and I still love seeing everything in my 'hood'.  How about seeing some of the things in my own 'hood' today? I run into some beautiful nature, fine neighbors, and interesting things that make me appreciate where I am. Today I am bringing you into my 'hood'. This area is full of dog lovers.  Dogs go with their families to eat, to festivals, and there is always someone walking a dog or a yard with a dog in it, whether you are downtown or here further in 'the country' as we are. Plus, there is a dog every other house here in my hood. Some houses have 2 dogs. They each greet us with their barks, scaring LadyJ, but I think they just mean to say hello. 'yang' 'yin' These 2 fine dogs, the 'yin' and 'yang' dogs of the 'hood', share the same house, ...