On the Agenda

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Peace, Juicy Salads

The title today came to me from the closing of a blog post by David Lamotte. I think in Spanish it's supposed to say "Peace, Justice and Health" (or something) but when I saw it my immediate translation was a little different.

Today I wish to say "peace" to my grandfather who passed on last night. And for that I would like to share a poem I wrote about three years ago. After she read it, my mom remarked that she didn't realize I had picked up on so much, which just goes to show for the memory and perception of children. And for the general amazing quality of life.

Moore County, NC
by Catherine Williams

I am from the dust,
built up from time and bees and cobwebs,
in the garage where the tractor and the old RV go to rust.
I am from the bare ground around the blue porch
and the round sycamore pods that fall there to unleash their furry futures.
I am from the tadpoles in the mason jar that shattered on the porch
and sliced my little thumb.
I am from dog lots and wandering canines
and the far-off bursts of shotguns on holidays.
I am from ‘Bless her heart’ and coconut cake, cut sideways so you can see all the layers.
I am from brown-and-serve rolls in a silver serving bowl
and the frog on the edge of the sink holding a dish scrubber.
I am from counters packed with too much food and kitchens packed with the consequences.
I am from the burnt orange chair in the corner that spins ‘round
and the State Fair dolphin, blind, worn, and battered, in the closet.
I am from blue boys’ bathrooms and uncle-carved bed posts,
butterfly bathtub slip guards and a glass Christmas tree with lights.
I am from four generations of Christmas cactus, late-blooming on the back porch.
I am from years of sand piled up around hills where tobacco once grew.
I am from the tobacco and every worm my Daddy pulled off it
and every blister he got working it.

His blood, my blood, runs in the veins
of half of the men and women rooted in the sandy hills.
I am from a house whining with leaky plumbing
and the tinny sounds of Wheel of Fortune,
slipcovered with dust and monotony; but I know
that once it was alive with dancing and the music
brought home from the roller rinks.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Two Scoops of Peaches, and Other Blessings

One of my best friends in the whole world is serving in a church in Mobile, Ala. I think sometimes she gets kinda discouraged because she's not sure what she wants to do next and because she misses being around people her own age. But her ministry is so amazing it's impossible not to see it and to see the doors that have been opened to her. I wanted to share her experience here because it has inspired me for today, so read on here…

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

A Brand New Party Barn


Grace from Design*Sponge (only the best blog in the world) mentioned this story from House Beautiful in a post earlier today. Gotta love the 18-foot kitchen table and the pure simplicity: kitchen, dining area, fireplace, bedroom, bathroom. Check. Maybe I need to add this to my "million dollars" list too. Don't forget to look at the slideshow.

If I had a million dollars...

(resisting singing the song)

I was thinking on this post for a while earlier today. When you're out of college and job-hunting in an economy that makes for a better Steinbeck novel than a meal ticket, that whole winning-the-lottery thing allows for some pretty good dreaming.

But after work I wandered into my favorite indy bookstore in Asheville (and also the place with the best coffee in all of downtown), and I picked up Inspiration Sandwich by a woman who goes by the name SARK (her initials turned into a clever pen name). She writes inspirational, creative, hand-lettered-and-illustrated books such as Eat Mangoes Naked and Fabulous Friendship Festival, and if my sweatshirt hadn't been making me uncomfortably toasty I probably would hav taken a closer look. Her writing/illuminating style makes it look like Lynda Barry and Mollie Katzen got in an illustrating mind warp. Somehow I think her handwriting would be distracting, but further research will be required.

Anyway, as I was flipping (seriously flipping, not even reading a page here or there) I flipped past something that made me go back. It was a segment were SARK was explaining one of her favorite games to play with her journal. The game was simply, "I want." This is an iteration of that:

If I had a million dollars...

- I would freelance to do what I want on my schedule
- I would call my Mom to tell her she can stop worrying about me
- I would make the most beautiful books, like the kind people would want me to initial and hand-number
- I would get a couple of dogs and a rabbit
- I would buy the most beautiful letterpressed wedding invitations
- I would get myself a set of these reindeer café au lait bowls
- I would learn how to roast coffee and pull and excellent shot of espresso
- I would do all my Christmas shopping at the Renegade Craft Fair
- I would rent a cute loft apartment and make it look like something out of Ready Made
- I would sew "for a living"
- I would blog "for a living"
- I would invest in microloans to women in underdeveloped countries
- I would invest in green plants and unadulterated land
- I would support local business
- I would become a local business
- I would learn how to screen print
- I would buy my fiance a studio/cafe/venue of sorts
- I would knit all my socks
- I would buy an old diesel car so I could use local biodiesel
- I would buy from independent designers
- I would listen to independent thinkers
- I would live to make Eve proud
- I would love forever

An interesting experiment. I may have started out with things that need money. But I certainly didn't end that way. And so it is. Peace.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Tweets of the Day

00:54 Girls night at the 'Shed. Good times.

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

Tweets of the Day

10:24 Not sure about this whole radiator thing. When the heat comes on I feel like I'm inside one of those rainsticks at the nature store.

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Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Tweets of the Day

13:28 Montreat actually smells like Montreat this week.

19:28 Mmm... Indian Food.

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