Life Like.

OOOOooo Child that is how I am feeling this morning, life like, not so much grounded in reality. I had one of those days yesterday where I could have crawled back into bed and stayed there all day. I was bombarded early in the morning with disappointment and hurt feelings and found myself stuck on the verge of tears all day long. Which is no good when you have 4 jobs and you have to make it through the day with a smile. Well of course you don't have to make it through the day with the smile but what kind of day would it be if you didn't?! I refuse to be that employee that complains about the ringing phones or the sometimes unintelligible meanderings of the bureaucratic system. I am so thankful to have the jobs I have, I am doing exactly what I want to right now. I am working or a living, I may have more to do in a day than sometimes feels possible but my day is so full. I interact with so many different people and personalities that the vibes are always moving and changing, what a great way to learn about people and about life and the ways others lead their lives than to be around them, in their periphery watching and enjoying the nuances that each individual brings to this world.

I still have a bit to talk about from this past mountain weekend and I hate that I haven't been as proficient with my postings as I would like, but the new job cuts hours out of my mornings, and well yeah working on a show cuts into your night time hours but all of these things are perfectly fine distractions for me.

OK, so I think I made it through Saturday night for you and now I get to tell you about glorious Sunday. The three of us slept well Saturday night and allowed our bodies some much needed life recuperation. We arose around mid-morning and took to the tiny kitchen to delight our bodies with some coffee and bagels. Hmmm let me tell you about my coffee, this was coffee beans that I put into the grinder and filled to the brim of the pot before brewing a delightfully strong pot of golden brown glory. The night before I procured my little vacation treat, Italian Sweet Cream Non-fat coffee creamer (Usually I would drink sugar free but they don't make THIS stuff sugar free). This deliciousness was first introduced by my best friend Virginia who lives in Florida; I must at some time do an entire Va/SMB post for you it will be highly entertaining I am sure. So armed with my delightfully creamed coffee

I headed out to the porch (remember favorite seat on the planet) in the warm sunlight and fragrant mountain breeze and picked up this...

The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

It is phenomenal so far. One of my favorite movies that makes me cry every time, I didn't realize there was a book and EG highly recommended it so we were a go. But let me say it was a tough choice, one think that is great about the mountain-side cabin is it's plethora of reading material. It is the physicalization of a Google search for "Good vacation reads" with a wide range from old to new classic and comedic. I love books have I told you that? I mean in China that is one of the main things I missed the most about my home country. Not being able to walk into a bookstore and wander for hours reading the back covers, mentally assessing book cover art, if I don't like the cover I really might not read your book, seriously. Anywho books=good, books+coffee= better!!

So after coming up with a basic time parameter for our day, EG and I needed to be back in time for rehearsal and as she put it she would like to have some time before rehearsal to turn herself around that girl can use some words! That allowed us some much desired time to enjoy the porch living. What is it about a porch really? I mean as a child my front porch was my favorite place to play, it was wide open with tall strong wooden pillars and railing. I would imagine it as a stage and would perform my dance recitals or my one woman (girl) show. Sometimes I would just sit on the brick steps and count the cars. It is where I watched joyful homecomings or tearful good-byes. Ever since that time I have always had an affinity for a nice porch. A porch over looking the beach, give me a break I am done my heart will skip a beat to get in rhythm with the waves on a beach house porch. In the mountain, oh the joy, every ounce of my being relaxes and I find that breath deeper and stronger, staring off or reading a book just being in that moment on that porch. Or the joy of going back to that porch in a moment like this where I can bask in the glow of what was, because let's face it the moments that once were, aren't always glowing. But a moment on a porch that is one to hope to return to whether in mind or with body!

After (sadly) leaving the cabin we made our way down to the little town of Black Mountain. This town is splendid, little rows of locally owned shops line the tiny street-sides. There are no high rise buildings to block the beautiful blue sky, really not much noise to break through you mind and disrupt that peace you just came down the mountain from.

Our first stop was at the General Store where I saw, fell in love with- and will one day buy when I have a home to hang it in- this

I mean really HAVE YOU A LITTLE FAIRY IN YOUR HOME...not yet but it is now a necessity!

After that we headed over to the place I have been waiting to go, and which I have often thought about in the year+ since the last time I visited this pleasure town. What one store could keep my attention so long that I literally cannot wait to go back time and time again? I place that serves THIS

Oh it may LOOK like regular ice cream but it is in all actuality my favorite ice cream EVER. Toasted Coconut. It isn't at all what you imagine it will be, if you imagine great things then you haven't even begun to imagine the delight of this tasty treat. I was literally crossing my fingers that they hadn't decided to take it off their menu. Nope we were golden. I also sampled a bit of fudge Mmmmmm before heading outside to decide on a lunch spot. I took a phone call from DFDavid who was in NYC for the weekend. It is always nice to hear from him and we mused on how it would have been nice if I had joined him up there that weekend bc I LOVE the city, but I don't think I would have traded my mountain weekend for anything!

Well after that we found a nice little place for lunch, then hit the road...Hit the road Jack and don't ya come back no more no more no more no more hit the road Jack and don't you come back no moooore Oh sorry for that brief musical interlude.

So after making it through some traffic we were back in Columbia taking on life proper again. All in all it was a fantastic weekend.

Now that I am back in the week, being graciously escorted around town by those who are kind enough to lend this car-less employee a ride, I am happy to think back on the pleasures from this past weekend.

Last night EG and I talked about how sometimes you would love to be able to punch our past, reach in there and give a good one-two. But alas you can't you can only go forward and learn from the things that were good and even more from the things that were bad. You CAN however, give you mind a good smacking every now and again like I did this a.m. with my early morning walk with EG (I must come up with an apt title for our morning escapades into fitness and life, suggestions). We joked and talked and noted by all the "morning" greetings that we heard that life at 5 am isn't all that bad. People are friendly and getting their day started and I am happy to join that group! Today will be a crazy day off coordinating rides and rehearsing (or as EG put it "people walking around feeling things AT each other") but it will be an amazing day because I am here and I am doing it and I am in love with the world and what it gives me. When I shed a tear I am owed a laugh and living the life in between the balance of those two. So thanks again for being you, because you help make me thankful for being me, for our differences and our similarities are pasts and our futures. Send it up!

xoxox

PS Happy Birthday to my beloved Erin R!