Music in the Foothills

We had a great evening at our local art center last night. We met our friends to enjoy an open air concert performed by a regional group – Queen Bee and the Honeylovers.

Their music is an eclectic mix of swing, blues, Latin and jazz. They performed two hours of both original and classic music. It was really a lovely night with perfect weather.

I loved their original songs born out of the rich history of Asheville. This song “Beecham’s Curve” was based on the story her grandfather told about riding the streetcar in Asheville. There is a lovely clip of her grandfather’s story at the end of the video.

Here’s a short clip of a Bessie Smith song “Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl”.

It was a lovely evening with friends enjoying the first day of June.

You can find out more of their music on their website, streaming on Spotify, or available for download here.

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Trust – Tranquil Thursday #15

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“For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.”
― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

This quote hit home as I was thinking about how hard it is to trust when we have experienced betrayal on even a small scale. I want to emphasize the fact that it is not the details of the betrayal itself as much as it is the betrayal of the trust itself.

In Maine we lived on a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge. I recall a cool summer day wading near the tide pools with my children. We were discussing an upcoming school field trip to study life in tide pools. As I think back on that moment, I find myself drawing parallels.

Tide pools are formed in intertidal areas when ocean water gets trapped in slopes and cracks on the shore as a result of the receding tide. Any creatures trapped at low tide must adapt and fight to survive.

Life, like the ocean, ebbs and flows. At our highest points, when there is faith in a relationship, trust lives and flows freely. As faith wanes and betrayal occurs, trust gets trapped in the tide pools. As the hours pass, trust struggles to survive.

The ability to nurture trust becomes more challenging as time progresses. Trust becomes smaller, clinging to the rocks deep below the surface in an effort to survive the increasingly stressful conditions. It is survival of the fittest. Similar to a sea urchin, trust may develop spikes to ward off anyone who would get too close or it may retreat deep into crevices below the surface.

Even when renewing waters return, trust may not survive. It then becomes a process of regeneration.

1. Have you experienced a betrayal of trust? If so, did it affect your ability to trust again?
2. Do you consider yourselves a trustworthy friend? Have you ever betrayed the trust of another even if they never knew? Would others see you as trustworthy?
3. How do you recover and allow yourself to trust and be vulnerable again?

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OneLinerWednesday – Magic

Image by Willgard Krause from Pixabay

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
― J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan

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One Liner Wednesday is brought to you each week by the lovely Linda Hill. (She has some exciting news brewing!) Why not give it a shot?

My Groove, Mojo, and Muse Are All Kaput

That’s right. Elvis has definitely left the building, along with my inspiration and motivation. This is the longest stretch in which I have not blogged on a relatively regular basis.

Today I’m flying by the seat of my pants, so please do not expect this post to be coherent. The goal is to write something – anything!

I took the last of my antibiotics last night. Here’s hoping it has resolved my problem.

Last week I met my friend Molly and we took a lovely drive in her newish car to drop off some of her new jewelry designs at a gallery. Her work contains all objects found in nature. It is all so beautiful and so inspired. Afterward we had lunch on the patio of a local restaurant and caught up on our respective lives. It was an enjoyable day.

Our son came over to spend Memorial Day with us. It was good to see him and we enjoyed a relaxing and laid back day. Hubby smoked two racks of baby back ribs to falling off the bone perfection. It was a lovely way to spend the holiday.

Our Florida family is adjusting to having a new baby in the house. I hope to go back and see them to help out a little after I get through some things here and once they have found their own rhythm.

After our son left last night we had a few visitors. I managed to get a short video and a few photos but they were wary of our every move.

I am so thankful for this little place of peace in a very hectic world.

Balance – Tranquil Thursday #14

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I am back after a very busy trip to prepare for and welcome our new grandson. I am happy to report that mom and baby and family are happy and healthy and adjusting well. I had a very busy two weeks helping their family prepare for the arrival of Alexander (Xander), a 10 pound five ounce bundle of joy!

I exhausted myself every day, but it was heart work so it was all a pleasure. Not only was a new little boy born but also a new ‘big sister’ as well. Our granddaughter is so in love with her baby brother and she is already such a loving and caring big sis. We only stayed a few days after the birth, but I will be going back no doubt, whenever they need me.

My trip home was trying. We drove the nine hours back, but I was not well on the drive. Saturday morning found me at urgent care. After a short visit and a prescription for an antibiotic, I am finally feeling more like myself.

We forget the changes required when welcoming a new life into our well defined families. Common space becomes a little smaller, while love and concern grow larger. There are adjustments to sleep schedules, meal preparation and even fitting in one more bath time. Soon, the adjustment will be going back to work which can be the biggest adjustment of all.

All of this reminds me how much we need to find balance in our lives. When things are out of balance, the entire world can seem off kilter. I offer a few questions to ponder and answer should you be so inclined.

1. We have all heard of the need of work/life balance. If you are still working, what percentage of time do you dedicate to work that percentage to life? If you are retired, how have you achieved balance outside of managing a work life?
2. Remember teeter totters? Life is like a teeter totter. When lives enter or leave us, we are thrown off balance. When there is too much on one side of the fulcrum, the other side is left dangling in the air while the heavy side is stuck in the sand. How is the current balance in your life?
3. If things get too hectic, what tools do you use to regain balance?
4. Sometimes we self-sabotage the balance in our lives by letting too much in, or giving away too much of ourselves. How do you control the flow in and out of your life?
5. Life Pie – if you ever completed The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, you may recall the exercise to determine how  fulfilled your life is by dividing it into six areas. I will post her instruction below. Draw your life pie. Were you surprised with the results?

“Draw a circle. Divide it into six pieces of pie. Label one piece Spirituality, another Excercise, another Play and so on with Work, Friends, and Romance/Adventure. Place a dot in each slice at the degree to which you are fulfilled in that area. (outer rim indicates great; inner circle, not so great). Connect the dots. This will show were you are lopsided.” -Julia Cameron

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