becomingsara.com

I guess the reason that I’m gypsying around is to learn things. About myself & about the world. So I’m thinking it’s time for an update on what I’ve learned while in Virginia. I reserve the right to come back & edit this post.

1. I’ve learned a whole lot about gardening. Weird stuff that’s not in books- like to not plant hot peppers w/sweet peppers.
2. I can tell the difference between a sweet potato vine and a weed
3. Ditto potato bugs and lady bugs
4. Praying mantii mantises ( thanks, Brad!) BITE. They’re not all cute like Zorak
5. I can make yogurt & granola
6. Know how to freeze green beans & raspberries
7. Can make juice in a steam juicer
8. Can make myself understood (kinda) in Spanish & can kinda understand what’s going on.
9. Have quite a collection of pink shirts, most of which cost less than $2
10. Can name 3 places where I can get a double Americano in less that 20 minutes. But have to get out of the car.
11. Started taking yoga- like it a lot
12. Flea marketeers fear me
13. Can shelve books, check them out & also do the dreaded vacation check-0ut.
14. Am the most wired person in Shenandoah County (both senses.)
15. Can eat out for years on my story of getting new tires in Maurertown (pronounced- Maurytown.)
16. Know how to hang clothes on a line.
17. Know that oriental carpets can only be vacuumed every 10 days.
18. I may have a career in killing those spider-things w/the webs that feel like hair. Ugh! Ugh! I want them all DEAD. I am on a mission!
19. Know that they don’t know what to do ’bout hippies @ Food Lion. They sell recyclable bags, but aren’t quite sure what to do if someone actually uses one for the 2nd time. Especially if they’re wearing clogs. Not sure whether to call me ma’am or call 911.
20. Know that if I say “slippah chayah” instead of slipper chair, my mama will slap me upside the haid. That is not why she sent me to Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. (Strange, but true.)
21. Know that they are serious about drinking & driving here. 1/2 the natives have to drive the other 1/2 around, b/c they’ve lost their licenses. I want to be the 1/2 in the driver’s seat, thank you.
22. Realize that I may never spell the word license correctly the first time.
23. Yes, I can make a wicked garlicky hummus. I have personally evicted all the vampires in Shenandoah County.

Namaste!

Where did this come from? And why?

Cross my heart, we did not buy this! So why is it in the house?

Well, b/c the mater was attempting to corner the VA market in brass candlesticks. After negotiating $10 for 14 of them, she saw more in a basket. It was near the end of the day, so the gal said, “Give me a dollar, and take the whole thing.”

So, after having spent a good 10 hrs stopping at one sale after another, eating weird Chinese food at a mall, and sundaes @ a frozen kustard stand, we unpacked, and the little hussy had included all kinds of weird, unsalable things in the basket. Of which Ms Chicken is prime exhibit #1. Do you want to hear about the chipped statuette of a person of unresolved gender preference? Or perhaps the bookend depicting equine/canine inappropriate behavior?

What I’d like to know is:

1. Who came up with these ideas?
2. Who bought them in the first place?
3. How the heck do we get rid of them?

At any rate, we did get a whole lot of good stuff. Brass candlesticks, natch. A parisian dress pour moi. Several books we hadn’t read. Lots of canisters for all the bizarre non-flour flour substitiutes the gluten-intolerant require.

And three copies of a CD by an obsure Bluegrass band. WTF?

Next stop, Rio Mall… but first a quick trip to the dump, in the dead of night.

Star Tannery Carnival

So, last night’s entertainment was to go to Star Tannery, for the annual Firefighters’ Carnival & BBQ. Star Tannery is a little town up in the mountains, where the mater has owned property for over 20 yrs.

Star Tannery is one of those little places that almost nob0dy knows about, except the ppl that live there. And those people love it w/a passion. The same creek (Cedar Creek) that runs thru the farm here, starts up there.

Star Tannery has had various industries since the Civil War, & has a tradition of both parents being employed. First a tannery (duh) for the hides that made shoes for Star Shoes of Baltimore, MD. Then chicken farms to supply food for WWII, then clothing factories. Now, it’s kind of forgotten, except by folks who’ve struggled by for several generations (and newcomers, who’ve had 2nd homes there, from DC). (more…)