Quince

 And after a long COVID virus hiatus, we're back, finally, with another episode.

A Little Sweet...

Leslie and a friend invested in an Addi King Express knitting machine. 

A Little Tart...

Leslie has been taking part in a long term project featuring the history of the community where her grandmother grew up. A new project includes a documentary of the region that includes many of the local descendants of Rock Castle inhabitants. Not only is the area full of history, it's a beautiful location for hiking.

 Beth and Leslie talk about the changes they have seen in life on the mountain and beyond because of COVID-19 and other issues of the day. 

Learning to live with the new normal in rural Appalachia

We tried something new to try to upgrade our sound quality, so there are some things that are a bit rough here and there with the podcast. Bear with us; we'll figure it out!

Our episode this time deals with isolation due to social distancing and the corona virus. Beth has several great quotes from Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright, a book about plagues in history. Both Beth and Leslie pointed out ways they keep their sanity during quiet times, although both are used to isolation because of nature and habitat. 

Annie's Crochet Club

Simple Lines Shawl by Maanel

Special guest Anita Puckett, Appalachian Studies professor at Virginia Tech, discusses the powerful and challenging book, Weedeater, An Illustrated Novel, by Robert Gipe, which centers on the problems with poverty and opioid addiction in the Appalachian region.

Music Attributions:

Reverie (small theme)

by _ghost

featuring Pitx

Our great friend J. C. tells all about house and pet sitting across the country and the world!

For more information check out:

House Sitters America

Trusted House Sitters

Noodle rodeo, hot weather, swimming in the pond, annual chicken liver pie birthday celebration, delightful visitors.

Buffalo Mountain Zipline, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway

A Little Sweet...

Mary Locke's lovely bags at Poppy's

Lenny Mud Yarn Bowls at Poppy's

Phoenix by Hooked on Sunshine

A Little Tart...

Trees that are close to our heart. The Handy Tree, Patrick County, Virginia

Friends in High Places by Katie Letcher Lyle

The devastation of the chestnut blight

Blue Ridge Tree Climbing

A Little Unexpected...

Trees by Joyce Kilmer

Music Attributions:

Reverie (small theme)

by _ghost

featuring Pitx

Things are busy in Meadows of Dan. Leslie is busy at her shop, Poppy's and Beth has been working at the Reynolds Homestead featuring the Bushels and Barrels Festival and the annual book sale. Leslie also demonstrated spinning at Solitude at Virginia Tech for the Crooked Road Homecoming celebration. Beth talks about her Wild Women gathering today.and a special funeral where a Red Hat group honored a friend.

A Little Sweet....

Leslie is still making socks.

Mix and Match Knitting Tools from katrinkles on etsy.

Music Attributions:

Reverie (small theme)

by _ghost

featuring Pitx

Poppy's in Meadows of Dan

Catching up on all the news. Leslie's new shop, Poppy's, at 10 Concord Road in Meadows of Dan. Beth has been busy including a trip to West Virginia for a sister's birthday celebration. Hat making at the Reynold's Homestead for Mother's Day. 

Rhododendron and other beautiful spring flowers on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

A Little Sweet....

Lenny Mud yarn bowls at Poppy's. 

A Little Tart...

Special guest Aida tells about her special name, how she found Meadows of Dan and about her interesting adventures on a motorcycle. Willville Motorcycle Camp in Meadows of Dan. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

A Little Unexpected...

Quotes from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.

“When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called a Religion.” 

“The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”

“You look at where you're going and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back at where you've been and a pattern seems to emerge.”

“Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive” 

“We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone. ”

“In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. 
On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.”

Music Attributions:

Reverie (small theme)

by _ghost

featuring Pitx

Catching up on Reynolds Homestead and other adventures.

A Little Sweet...

Jemima Duck Soft Toy Knitting Pattern

Duck Yarn Bowl by KidAnMePotteryAndArt

George Magazine

A Little Tart...

Spirit animals, especially ducks, and animals as signs, robins and killdeer as signs of spring.

Red Dog, movie

Beautiful Joe by Margaret Marshall Saunders

Lad, A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune

A Little Unexpected...

Great article by local author in Blue Ridge Outdoors, Jack's Trail Review by Rebecca Adcock.