Made to Love

Everywhere you look, everyone is looking for someone. This time of year it seems it is exaggerated. Some try the various hook-up websites. Others hit up the clubs or bars. Loser guys, who have already messed up and lost the girls of their dreams pathetically call, text, and message their exes, hoping against hope they can reconnect (all in vain, of course). Why do we do this? I think we all know deep down that more than anything we just want to love and be loved.

This year I have a slightly different perspective on love and relationships. For the first time ever I am starting off the year happily in love. I have dated guys who made me miserable and renewed my hatred for their entire half of the human race, but this time I will be ringing in the new year with the man I adore and who adores me back. I've known the pain of loneliness and have spent more than enough time trying to fill the silence of an empty house. It can be hard to attend the umpteenth wedding without a "plus one" - to answer all the questions about your relationship status (or lack thereof), or even worse - deal with all the cliche "the right one will come along..." Now I am not complaining. I truly wanted to be single and enjoy all the perks of the single life. It is just that as that chapter is quickly coming to a close, I am rejoicing in the romance, companionship, and camaraderie that can be found in this kind of relationship, and comparing it to what I have had thus far.

It is not shocking that people need relationships. We were made in the image of God, and as such, we are relational creatures. Think about it - we are the only creatures on God's green earth with an actual language (I do not want to hear about how monkeys can sign or how dolphins speak - it is NOT the same). We were made to commune with the God who made us, as well as to enjoy the rest of His creation. Relationships, both friendships and romantic relationships are a gift from Him. But all of that is supposed to point us back to Him.

If you feeling a little alone this year, renew your relationship with the God who made you to love. His love has the power to heal, to comfort, and to fill the void people may have left in your heart.

Never Forget

9-11 will go down in infamy for at least our generation, if not those to come - a date marked by tragedy and grief; of destruction and chaos; of hatred and cowardice; but also of heroism, strength, unity, love, and patriotism. We remember those who lost their lives and honor those who gave their lives, but towards those who attacked us 10 years ago, we still give the rally cry "we will NEVER FORGET!"

For most of us, September 11th marked a turning point in our lives for one reason or another. Some of us lost loved ones, others changed the course of their lives by joining the military or changing their occupation or college degree (I fall into that last category). We were all affected in some way... What is your story? People have a tendency to ask "where were you?" I'd rather know, how did it change you? your world? life as you know it? Will you never forget? Why?

Hurricane Irene

Here are a few pics of what we experienced on Long Island when Hurricane Irene rolled through...

a flooded van


one block from my family's house


a downed tree...


standing in front of my house


my street

Snapshots of Summer

Robert Moses Beach on the 4th of July

Fireworks and a concert at Hecsher State Park

Before and After

I have taken a few pictures along the way of how the apartment is coming along, so I thought I would post the before and after shots of one room just to give you an idea of what a difference all our work has made.



This is the bathroom (as you can probably tell). Mom removed all the gross paint stuff and wall paper and replaced the sink with a vanity. And voila!


white paint above... sponge painting below... so much better!

On Paint and the Past

For those of you, who have been wondering where in the world I have been for the past several weeks... well, I have been kinda busy sanding, painting, and generally fixing up my parents' rental apartment. I have had a lot of time to think (it's impossible to talk with sanders going, so I was pretty much stuck with just my own thoughts). While I was sanding one of the doorways, the layers of paint chipped away, and beneath the beige, white, off-white, green, and white (in that order) paint, there was a beautiful, polyurathaned wood. I couldn't help but wonder what IDIOT would cover that gorgeous wood with PAINT?!?!?!? It got me thinking about how often that happens in real life. Generations never appreciate the one before it. In an effort to write their own history, they tend to try erasing the one prior. Once several generations have passed, eventually someone digs up the history and can appreciate what once was. Sometimes they take the time to remove the falsehood and mystery that recent history used to shroud the past, but more often than not, they are unwilling to put in the time and effort it would take to return to the way things were - to a time of honor and honesty, when men worked for a living and a person's word was his bond. Instead they just slop on their own shade of paint - pretend they never saw that glimpse from the past - that it doesn't exist.
Now, I am not saying that all history is good history or that all paint should never be painted over, but it is important to know what has been, before moving forward into what will be.

Old Rag

CJ and I wanted to hike all of Old Rag (we started out a few months ago, but it was too late in the day when we set out and so the setting sun forced us to abandon our trek before we managed to summit Old Rag). This time around: mission accomplished!



It began all wooded and in the shade, for which we were very thankful - it was rather warm out.

As we got up near the top, the rocks were more prevelant (it became more of a rock climb than a hike) and the trees were rather dead looking.

The views of the surrounding mountains were breathtaking!

When we finally reached the top, we were more than ready to be there!

My feet were sore...

As we started back down, we ran across a deer (at 3,000' elevation!). We were rather surprised to see her, but she didn't seem the least bit disturbed by us. =)



When we reached the bridge (on our return hike) near the beginning at the trail, we could not have been more thrilled. 3 hours up and 4 down (we took the long way back)... we were EXHAUSTED!

Red Fuzzy Dice

I was having a bad day till I drove up behind a little old man, driving a quinessential red 1960s Cadillac. It was in MINT condition! Just a thing of beauty. As I got closer, I caught a glimpse of the big, red, fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview. That just made my day. =)

Gender Reveal Parties? REALLY?!?!?!?!

Apparently, it is a new trend...

Rather than find out your baby's gender in a doctor's office, the docter puts the gender of the baby in a sealed envelope. The pregnant woman then brings that envelope to a baker, who will bake a blue or pink cake, according to what is in the envelope. The couple throws a big party with all their family and friends, and they cut the cake to find out what they are having... boy or girl?

What will they come up with next?!

The Waltons

While CJ was busy at the US Open (that is a golf event, in case you were wondering), I had a whole day to myself (what to do, what to do...). A recent blog post got me thinking about the TV show The Waltons, a show I often watched with my family in my adolescence. I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to drive down to Schuyler, VA and see Earl Hamner's childhood home and the place that began the Walton saga (since CJ had never watched The Waltons, I knew he would not find any of it very interesting).

When I arrived at the museum, I was surprised that it was set up in the Schuyler public school (the school the Hamner children attended). As it turns out, the school closed in 1991, and the museum was set up some time after that. Different school rooms were set up as various rooms in the Walton house (as seen on the TV show).


In this collage of pictures, you can see the set of John-boy's bedroom, the kitchen, and Ike Godsey's General Store.


The set of the living room



The current General Store


Earl Hamner's boyhood home (smaller than Hollywood's depiction of it)


The little, white, Baptist church


Here you can see how close the General Store was to the Hamner home... there was no traveling down the mountain to get there. It was practically in their front yard!

This is the actual camera and equipment that was used in the filming of the Waltons.

The Waltons (part II)

Anyone who has ever watched The Waltons, is familiar with the Baldwin sisters and "the recipe."

An actual distillary, though not actually the Balwins' (as the next picture explains)



a sign


THE Recipe

What I did not know was that the Baldwin sisters were based on a real-life mother/daughter duo, who really did make moonshine that was renown in the area. From what I was told, distillers usually used apples (apple cider) and fermented that. These two ladies used apricots instead, making all the difference (apparently).

A Day at the Vineyard

I guess when you own your own massively huge vineyard, you can name the streets whatever you want.

The Barboursville Vineyard

A random barn at the vineyard (not that I can think of any reason why a vineyard would need a barn, but it was pretty)

Row of Grape Vines

Childhood Flashback

I had a sudden itching to hear Rockapella sing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, so I looked on youtube and sure enough, it was there. Wow... it really brought me back!
Such witty lyrics... just read 'em for yourself. =)

Well she sneaks around the world from Kiev to Carolina,
She's a sticky-fingered filcher from Berlin down to Belize,
She'll take you for a ride on a slow boat to China,
Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Steal their Seoul in South Korea, make Antarctica cry Uncle,
From the Red Sea to Greenland they'll be singing the blues,
Well they never Arkansas her steal the Mekong from the jungle,
Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

She go from Nashville to Norway, Bonaire to Zimbabwe,
Chicago to Czechoslovakia and back!

Well she'll ransack Pakistan and run a scam in Scandinavia,
Then she'll stick 'em up Down Under and go pick-pocket Perth,
She put the Miss in misdemeanor when she stole the beans from Lima,
Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
Oh tell me where in the world is... Oh tell me where can she be?

Ooh, Botswana to Thailand, Milan via Amsterdam,
Mali to Bali, Ohio, Oahu...!

Well she glides around the globe and she'll flimflam every nation,
She's a double-dealing diva with a taste for thievery,
Her itinerary's loaded up with moving violations,
Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

A Few More Cavern Shots

This underground lake is actually only a little over a foot deep, but the reflections of the stalactites make it look much deeper (and cool too!).

Totem Pole Valley

The Bath Towel

The Wishing Well

They drain this pool of water once a year and collect the coins, which are then donated to various charities. They have collected over a million dollars (my contribution is 17 cents).

Luray Caverns

So, after almost six months in this area, I finally made it to Luray Caverns. It was amazing! I would highly recommend it.


A few shots from inside the caverns

Pluto's Ghost

Apparently, they named it Pluto's Ghost because Pluto was the Roman god of the underworld and it's a white rock formation (which stood out from the darker rock around it).

The Stalacpipe Organ

This organ literally plays the stalactites! Stalactites make sound when they are hit - they make different tones, depending on the size. The organ is connected to 37 different Stalactites with different tones. It played A Mighty Fortress is Our God. That was truly the highlight of the tour for me!

Fried Eggs

These were formed after two Stalacmites were broken off in the 1920s. They really did look like fried eggs (as you can see).

Rambles and Brambles

The Rivanna River Trail has become a favorite of mine. Several nights a week you can find CJ and me hiking somewhere along it - I mean, there is not much else to do in sleepy Charlottesville! As a kid, I used to watch The Waltons, and I remember that they would travel into "the city" (i.e. Charlottesville) when they needed something that couldn't be purchaced on Walton's Mountain. But even in that show, Richmond was the larger, more sophistocated city of the two. But in this NYC girl's eyes, even Richmond looks like a little podunk town. However, I am learning to appreciate a bit of country living... learning to enjoy the simple pleasures (or at least that is what I often hear them called)... milk cows grazing in the fields, cylindric hay bales scattered across green meadows, brightly-colored insects that apparently kill the Ash trees (a post for another time), old barns whose paint is chipping and roofs are sagging, the sound of water tripping over stones on its way downstream, and little red berries that I seem unable to identify (but I think may be wild straberries, or somehow related).

The aforementioned berries

A home for the homeless

We came across a couple of homeless gentlemen on a recent hike. They had quite the set-up, so I thought maybe they were just Freegans. I am not quite sure what was up with the two lawnmowers and the edger (doesn't seem like there would be much need for that in the middle of the woods!).


CJ, hiking

When the brush got rather thick, we began question how far we should continue on the trail.

The Rivanna River

Then we came upon a lovely clearing with a bench, overlooking the river. Score!

All in all, it was another lovely evening in little C-ville.

Sad, but True...

I came across this quote just this morning. I think it may just be spot on. It makes me wonder if this next election will really help us at all. I'd like to believe we are still a good country - the best country, but what witness around me every day really makes me question that belief. What we need is not a new president, but a new morality, or should I say a return to the old morality. Apart from Christ, there is no hope for change in this country.

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting an inexperienced man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of Idiots such as those who made him their president."

Now I Know...

...why the South hates the North! My Central VA home has been invaded by New Jersey - and I don't like it (I think there is a family reunion of sorts going on this weekend). The normally smiling faces of the hotel clerks and sevice personnel , look a tad stressed. The fairly quiet building that has been my abode for these past few months has been transformed into a zoo. The southern cheer and hospitality I have come to love and expect is being eclipsed by grating accents, only surpassed by the brash personalities accompanying them.
For the first time in my life, I feel ashamed to call the North my home. Is that really how we act/sound?! Or is this group of people particulary loud and obnoxious? (I'm hoping it's the latter!)

Joke of the Day

It's been a while since I've done a joke post, so here goes...

CJ: [pours remainder of ice from one cup into cup with iced tea] "look, I am consolidating."

Me: "Hahaha... yeah, consolidating your liquid assets."

[rim-shot]

Sometimes it amazes me...

just how many fat people there are! America is truly the land of excess. It's sad...

"It's gonna be a scorcher!"

I remember hearing those words often every summer throughout my childhood and always thought of it as code for "Get your bathing suit on. We're going to the beach!" I really didn't know what scorcher meant - actually, I wasn't even sure it was a real word (Mom was one for making up words to fit the need of the moment). Since then I have looked it up and saw that it merely means "a very hot day." But the phrase has stuck with me all these years and as I drove to the office this morning, AC blowing hard, I glanced up at the thermometer in my rental car and saw that it was alread 80 degrees at 8 o'clock in the morning. I thought to myself "wow, it is gonna be a scorcher!"

Rivanna Trail Foundation

One of the pluses of C-ville, is the river trail that circumnavigates the city, marked by little diamond-shaped, metal signed, nailed to trees and posts.

There are a number of foot bridges, crossing the Rivanna River

The trailes can get pretty dense at times, making the trail almost undiscernable from the surrounding brush. So far I have not had any run-ins with Virginia's snakes, but I am always on the lookout just in case.

All the recent rains have actually washed out parts of the trail... but that did not stop us. Wading, anyone?