Spring Fest

The Ashe County Arts Council sponsored Spring Fest last weekend.  The theme for this year's Spring Fest was "Dive Into the Arts".   When the quilt guild asked for volunteers to help out I volunteered to man the hand print table.

My sister and I arrived at 10 AM and the fest was in full swing.  The entire gym at the West Jefferson School was filled with over two dozen art activities.  There was a roving magician who balanced boxes and a metal chair on his chin and sometimes wore a box over his head with a white board in the front so children could draw a face on it.  There were crafts of all kinds.  Next to us was a table full of seashells and do-dads to glue on them.  Kids were making things from fibers, clay, paper, plastic, egg cartons, feathers, paints and beads.

Our group made hand prints.  A child would lay their hand on a piece of fabric of their choice, and we would trace around it.  Then we cut it out and ironed it onto a piece of muslin for them to sign and take home.  The older kids did the work themselves, except for the ironing.

We were entertained all morning long by dancers, cloggers, singers and magicians.  By 1 PM I could not wait to hightail it out of there because the pounding music gave me a pounding headache.  Our group made over 100 handprints that day and sent home over 100 memories.

Rats are a new kind of service animal???

Hubby picked up the Secondhand News last week.  As I was looking through it I noticed an ad under Volunteers Wanted.  The Phoenix Rodentry and Rescue needs someone to help train rats as service animals.  I kid you  not!  For 25-40 hours per week, you can handle and train rats to assist humans.  Assist them in what, the ad did not say.

I went on their website, which said they are a non-profit rattery looking for foster homes for homeless rats.  If that isn't creepy enough, there is a memorial page for rats that have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to rat heaven.

Needless to say, I will not be volunteering there.  Even though the ad did say the volunteer may get paid if there were available funds.

I did a google search on rat service animals and found out there is a women in California that keeps a rat on her shoulder to let her know when she is going to have a seizure.

Oh boy, on further research, I found that the rattery is also a nudist colony.  You can camp there by the creek if you so desire.  But be warned, sex is only allowed in certain areas of the woods.  Can it get any creepier????

Here are some rat pics from the Phoenix Rodentry and Rescue.

Here is the website if you would like to see for yourself:  http://williard_oscar.tripod.com/brsfrcsite/index.html

Home Sweet Home Show

The 10th Annual Home Sweet Home Show was held at the Ashe County High School.  It was advertised as the largest one day home show in North Carolina.  Not expecting much, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of vendors and the quality of the merchandise being shown.  Almost every vendor offered a free giveaway, such as a pen or candy, and a chance to win a prize or service.

  

  

Not only were there home improvement booths, but shoes, perfume, tupperware, plants and massages.  I made the mistake of stopping at the Cutco knife display.  I have been using a Cutco knife to chop up my veggies for years, so I knew they were quality items.  I feel lucky to have gotten away with spending less than $200.00 for two knives and a garlic press.

My favorite booths at the show were the kitchen vendors offering granite countertops.  They had the most unusual granite tops in greens and pinks.  One was offering a textured granite that felt similar to the texture of an orange.

I had a great time and will certainly go next year, even though I did not win any prizes.  I will be sure to  scurry by the fellow with the knives.

Drum Your Ashe Off

Drum Your Ashe Off Against Cancer was a cancer fund raiser held at the old Lansing School.  With a name like that, we just had to go.  The old Lansing School was easy to find as the town of Lansing has only one major road going through it.  Out on the lawn were tents and displays.

The Old Lansing School

There was a tent selling drums and another offering massages and Reiki.  

The folks at the event were not what I was used to seeing in Ashe County.  These people reminded me of the hippies of the 1970's.  We were there for only a few minutes before the drumming began.  Drummers were swaying and pounding on their instruments.  Girls began to belly dance.  One man played the flute.  The oddest sight was an older man wearing overalls tossing hoola-hoops.

We left before the finale, which was a live Celtic, primal folk concert.

The Honey Hole

Ever since we moved to NC I suffer from spring allergies.  I read somewhere that if you took a spoonful of local honey twice a day it would act just like allergy shots.  The farmers market doesn't start for another month and the grocery stores don't carry local honey.

Imagine my surprise when I found out there is a new store downtown, called The Honey Hole, that is dedicated to all things honey.  There are candles, beauty products, teas and food made from honey.  There are all sorts of contraptions for honey bee farming and they even sell real honey bees.

I was perusing the honey selection when the store owner asked what town I lived in.  When I said Jefferson,  he suggested I purchase a jar made in Fleetwood as it would be best for my allergies.  I looked at him in surprise and said "I am not the only one with allergies?"  and he laughed and said, "No".  I hadn't told him what I wanted the honey for, it must have been my dripping nose and red eyes that gave me away.

Don't fret if you do not live nearby, you can order items at www.the-honey-hole.com.  

Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival

On the last weekend in March the Mt. Rogers Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad sponsor The Whitetop Mountain Maple Festival in Whitetop Virginia.  I talked hubby into going. After a quick check of the weather, it was supposed to storm all day, he said he would miss golf and accompany me.

We set off around 9:30 AM to partly cloudy skies and mapquest directions in hand.  I have a very hard time reading directions as roads in Western NC seem to stop in one part of town and pick up in another without any rhyme or reason.  40 minutes of windy roads and we hit the Virginia line. I noticed there was no longer any barrier between the road and the side of the mountain.  We followed the Helton Creek until we came to an old school where the festival was being held.

Plates of pancakes, sausage and applesauce were being sold in the cafeteria for $6.00.  The line snaked down the hallway and was moving very slowly.  Crafts and doo-dads were being sold in each classroom.

There was an author selling his books on local history.

I loved these tutu's.

Lots of goodies for kids.

Toys

Handcrafted wooden heads

and items for the home.

The hallways were crowed with happy folks moving from room to room and the pancake line never got any shorter.  The wet and slippery floors made walking an adventure.  We never did figure out why the hallways were wet the whole time we were there (it wasn't raining yet) and figured someone must have spilt a lot of maple syrup.

We were looking forward to the Bucket and Tubing tour (no, not down the creek) but the threat of bad weather was putting them on hold and it was too early for the musical entertainment.  Hubby bought a few jugs of maple syrup and we called it a day.

Pot of Gold

All afternoon it had looked like rain.  When we sat down for our dinner of corned beef, cabbage and potatoes it finally started.  Our son looked out the back window and announced there was a rainbow.  I jumped up and grabbed the camera.  Sure enough there was a huge rainbow in the valley behind our house.  You could even see the end of it.

I stepped out into the rain to snap a photo and saw that it was a double rainbow!

If you look closely you can see the leprechaun's pot of gold in the cow pasture.