Crazy, beautiful weekend

So, we are just now wrapping up the weekend where everyone is rewarded for their hard work in the pottery. We all live in this pleasant bubble, away from the insanity of the capital city, outdoor malls and bumper to bumper commutes. This weekend, those accustomed to a life we here choose to not participate in, came out in hopes of owning a piece (or many) of fantastic beauty. The turnout was amazing.





We were all prepared for rain, hearing thunder early in the morning. That explains the great fortification above the check-out area. However, this did not come in handy until later in the afternoon. The whole area became a swamp as the water flowed to the lower areas. Despite the weather, pots continued to move from the shelves into people's vehicles as they drove home happy to own a one-of-a-kind, handmade beauty.

Before...

After...

Before...

After...


It's amazing the following that Mark Hewitt Pottery has around here. People drive from all around the south east in order to participate in this event.

On another topic, I just have to continue to brag about our garden. We are so proud of it. Here's a few photos of Joseph struttin' his stuff around his (I mean our) prized beauties.

Emma's Dogs (Mark's Daughter), Puppy and Bea

Beets and Turnips

Purple Cabbage, Broccoli, and Brussel Sprouts

Sweet Peas!

Yum...Strawberries!


So ends a busy weekend. One month and 9 days to go until the wedding. Time moves quickly, and before you know it, we'll be in our 50's and wondering where it all went.

Fresh Vegetables Grown With Love

So, Joseph and I have been creating a beautiful garden at our place. Mark was kind enough to allow us to dig up an additional plot to double our garden size. The people here last basically grew a few herbs and some tomatoes. We're going at it full on: leeks, garlic, kale, collard greens, carrots and lettuce in the fall and winter; green beans, sweet peas, red cabbage, brussel sprouts, beets, strawberries, cucumber, red bell peppers, zucchini, sunflowers, eggplant, melon, and radishes. We just ate a fresh radish today. Man, it kicked the back of my throat. I've never had one so spicy! We also have various herbs growing: thyme, lemon thyme, chives, garlic chives, cilantro and dill. We will also be starting some basil soon. Wow. We're going to have tons of food here and only two people to feed! It's great practice. Mark calls it the "Garden of Eden" or maybe it's the "Garden of Eatin'." I haven't quite figured it out yet. This are our brussel sprouts and cabbage.



Today was easter. Happy Easter everyone! The past two days I have been on a raw foods diet. It has been somewhat of a struggle. I have been craving salt since I started. I was hoping to detox and just create better eating habits. It is amazing how full you get when you aren't eating any sort of starches from pasta or bread or heavy fats or processed, packaged foods. It just doesn't fill you up like a smoothie made of fresh blueberries, strawberries, orange and apple juice. I just spoke with Carol today and she is really keen on raw food diets (it's less of a diet and more of a lifestyle change). She gave me a couple of books on raw eating and how to make crackers/breads using a food dehydrator and how to make raw hummus and nut cheeses by sprouting beans and seeds like lentils, peas, and sunflower seeds. She is a wealth of knowledge and I am grateful that I know her, as I'm sure Joseph is grateful that he knows Mark. We couldn't be in a more wonderful place right now.

Everything is blooming here right now. I think this is the time of year when people fall in love with North Carolina and are so grateful that they live here. They seem to forget that your eyes dry out in the summertime because it's so hot. Here is a photo of a tree that is blooming right outside our cabin window.



These are the beautiful purple iris outside our front door.




What a beautiful place to live right now. I might be saying something different in a few months. The bugs are already starting to take over. Flies, spiders, ticks, chiggers. Yay!

Oh, How the Time Came and Went

Time has passed so quickly. Laura was here on the tenth and left the 14th of this month, exactly two weeks ago. The time was so short. We talked about going to the mountains, various other sites, to the ocean. But, instead we visited local sites worth sharing, spent an hour or two on the porch listening to the birds and the spring peeper frogs, and made a ginger bread house :D) We realized that the ingredients on the box were longer than my shoe size and deemed it not worth eating. However, during the process, we somehow found ourselves picking little candies off, a little here a little there. We also noticed that one of the ginger people had no legs but seemed to have a crotch...take a look


Our neighbor willingly ate the poor soul a few days ago. Oh well. I miss her already. I mean Laura. Her and Joseph went to a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game while I went to my "growing organic vegetables" course. They had a blast, although became distracted on the roads in raleigh and ended up getting completely lost on the way there AND on the way back. Something about the roads here. They call them beltlines: and inner and an outer (like belly buttons). One goes through RTP and the other goes around it. It's very confusing. We live far enough out, though, that we don't have to encounter those on any sort of frequent basis. Just when we decide to go to the Raleigh Flea Market, which Laura also got to experience. One square mile of your grandmother's junk. Everything that has been stowed away in her attic as well as her neighbor, Etna's, garage. You could find anything from old barbie dolls to shoes, gigantic picture frames to old artillery. Great fun, but you leave with sore feet and a headache.

Laura also got to enjoy some local food. We went to the Waffle House (yum!) and then on the last day for brunch we went to Mama Dip's for some good southern cookin'. She had a sweet potato waffle, which was delicious. I had my first attempt at grits, as well as, the "safe bet" french toast. But, time went too quickly. Next time she comes, we're going to the ocean!

I lost a friend today...

I found out today that a distant friend of mine passed away. Justin Kukowski was only 27 years old, passionate about life and Jesus. He was diagnosed with cancer, and when chemotheraphy was unsuccessful at shrinking the tumors that invaded his spine and brain, they decided they could do no more. He has left this world a better place.

I was lucky enough to have him as my confirmation leader as a freshman and to have known him in high school at Chaska. His faith was a light for all of us. He will truly be missed. Now he is at home with the Lord.

My prayers go out to the Kukowski family.


www.justinkukowski.blogspot.com