It Happens to Be

A Perfect Example

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.   Romans 8:28

These are probably not the pictures that your mind conjures up when you hear this scripture but it’s one of the first things I thought of when I saw the Eco-Dorm garden at Warren Wilson College.  Even the casual observer can see how these creatures are working together; some pollinating, others eating harmful insects and some just beautifying the landscape and making me smile.  What was amazing was how many critters there were in such a small area.  You haven’t seen bugs until you’ve seen the likes of these guys – thousands of bees, butterflies, ladybugs and others that I couldn’t even identify – all living in harmony for a common goal.  So what if their goal was survival, for us (humans) it means life as well.  Only about 10% of flowering plants are able to pollinate without animal assistance, which leaves a whole lot of work to be done. We can be thankful that so many of the fruits, vegetables and flowers we enjoy are made possible by those “working together for good”.  Not only were the insects hard at work, there are some pretty special people working hard to make this garden so impressive. I was fortunate enough to meet Jeremy who is one of the caretakers of this little slice of heaven. 

Jeremy was full of knowledge about the plants and overflowing with energy about his work and the sustainability of this project. For those of you who don’t “buy in” to the green living and sustainability culture, Warren Wilson College is a perfect example of how these practices are being successfully employed.

Thanks to Jeremy for indulging all of my questions and sharing some exquisite blackberries and tomatoes with us!! Oh, and an extra-special thanks to Leah (Jeremy's sister) for so patiently waiting to go to breakfast - which wound up being lunch because we chatted so long!

These berries were part of their breakfast, er...Lunch.

This girl is having some breakfast too....isn't she (I know, this is probably a male L)the most spectacular sight!

Check out more photos of this wonderful haven at my flickr photostream.

Ciao ~ Renee

Beautiful Living

Bele Chere = Beautiful Living

...that's the meaning of Bele Chere (pronounced Bell Cher) as translated from an ancient Scottish dialect. But what Bele Chere means to approximately 375,000 festival goers is FUN! Bele Chere is a free outdoor street festival in Asheville, NC and draws crowds from across the country the last weekend in July.

To be honest we hadn't planned on going to Bele Chere this year, but it just so happened that it coincided with Jordan's trip to camp. What luck, we had to drop Jordan off at AICL on Sunday so I saw this as an opportunity to have a bit of fun while we were there. On Thursday night, at the last minute (like I do most everything else) I jumped on Priceline.com and got a hotel room for Saturday.  Just like that, we were on our way for a mini-vacation in Asheville.

Asheville is eclectic. A Menagerie of diverse people, things and sights on a regular day - BUT throw Bele Chere in the mix and it's like nothing you've ever seen before. I actually know folks who go just to "people watch". I know, that may not be the nicest thing to say but it's true. People like to look at people who are different than them and Asheville is filled with originality and imagination. It is a lot of fun and I enjoy cultural exposure in small doses.

In just 24 short hours we were exposed to

music...

          

sort of like music....at least it was a joyful noise

                                                

art...

art 1.

-noun (as defined in Webster's dictionary) the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. (yep, this stuff is art too)

         

fine dining...

         

Are you kidding me?

Of course funnel cakes are fine dining! (extra thanks to Alenia & Jennifer from Burnsville - Jordan scored 3/4 of a funnel cake that these girls couldn't eat) Sweet! Sweet! Sweet!

Cultural & Social Diversity...

          

Artist, homeless, vegan, liberal, activist, tattooed, famous, ethnic, musician, farmer, christian, locavore, hippie, foreigner, chef, botanist, conservative, wiccan, or just plain Jane - you name it, Asheville encompasses the whole spectrum of todays diverse society.

Architecture...

          

The buildings here are amazing, especially the Grove Arcade. Art Deco to Gothic Revival architecture abounds. Many of them from the mid to late 1800's still stand because of Asheville's economic downfall after the great depression. Asheville was busy paying off debt during America's urban renewal of the 1950's & 60's. They were forced to maintain what they had instead of tearing down existing structures. This preservation combined with recent revitalization efforts makes Asheville a History or Art lovers paradise.

Sports...

          

The Slackline puts Soup to the test but Lu Lu is "loving" tennis J

Theater...

          

Silver Girl & Bronze Guy were fascinating - totally STILL - makes you want to tickle them, he! he!

and my favorite...........Shopping...

          

I would love the Mast General Store even if it didn't have the Candy Barrel but boy am I glad it does........individually wrapped circus peanuts and Coconut Long Boys made this a Saturday and Sunday stop. Good thing I'm scheduled to have my teeth cleaned soon.

Okay, right - that probably wouldn't be considered a small dose of cultural exposure, it was more like a big heaping helping. One of those, I'm hot and my feet hurt get me some water and air conditioning before I fall out Helpings! Whew, Thank goodness we had to get Jordan over to Warren Wilson College for camp.

As always, if you want to see more photos of our Bele Chere excursion see my flickr photostream.

As a sidenote I liked to give a little piece of advice for those of you venturing to Bele Chere in the future: No matter how comfy they feel right out of the box, NEVER ever wear that new pair of Sperry topsiders you bought on sale the day before the festival - you WILL get blisters. L

Living Beautifully ~ Renee

New Adventure

Origin…beginning…inception…introduction…

Whatever word you choose, they all mean the same – the start of something new.  This blog is the beginning of a new adventure for me.  Not that I’m the real adventurous type but I definitely consider this an adventure.  Sure, I had heard of blogs but in my mind they were some type of resource for techies – boy, was I wrong! Let me tell you of my unexpected discovery of what blogs really are.  In mid February my dear husband and I snuck off in the middle of the week for a “date night”.  We were really missing each others company so we went to our favorite little Italian restaurant. You know the kind – dim lights, warm, inviting tuscan-esque décor, a portrait of Da Vinci (hence the restaurants name) and Pavarotti mesmerizing me with ‘O Sole Mio in the background. Romantic! Yes, but also perfect for conversation.  As we savored the deliciousness of the food and the quiet we engaged in some much needed adult conversation. Conversation about - get this, the children we had left at home.  Curious how we had needed an escape but once there, we found ourselves laughing and talking about the thing we were escaping.  The din of constant noise that hangs over our home, the dirty piles of laundry, the tears of stubbed toes and the reverberating sound of “mama, mama, mama”.  As the hours slipped on and we sipped our coffee our patient server had captured bits and pieces of our conversation and asked how we happened to get a night away. He said he didn’t have children but had nieces and nephews and knew it was hard for his sister to get a night out.  You know, he said, “You should take a look at my sister’s blog www.justpurelovely.typepad.com sometime, I really think you would like it”.  As we paid our check and polished off the last swirls of coffee, I promised him I would take a look at her blog.

Wow, everything DOES happen for a reason!!  It was several days before I got around to looking at the blog but when I did…there was an instant lure.  This was the life of someone very much like you and me being shared with the world: to learn from, to be inspired by or simply for pleasure.  I was totally amazed, what I thought blogs were – dull, boring, technical was so WRONG!  A blog could be anything you wanted it to be – limited only by your time, patience and imagination. To Lori Seaborg and the rest of the blogging world, thank you for your inspiration to embark on a new adventure. So, here goes………..the origin, beginning, inception, introduction of “It Happens to Be”.  Welcome to my world and my adventure. (And, as with most adventures that are filled with surprises and unknowns, be patient with me as I find my niche. There will be plenty of surprises so please visit often and feel free to share your comments, ideas and thoughts!)

~ Renee