Where Do I Begin?

Meet Ray. Ray's my music-makin' buddy. Besides playing twice a month at area rest homes, we have jam sessions at each other's houses. Ray can play anything on the guitar. Our favorites are country, gospel, bluegrass, and rock and roll. Pretty eclectic.

Yesterday Ray invited me for his weekly visit to his dad's in Fayetteville. It was a real treat. We took the keyboard and guitar and had a songfest in his dad's living room. Songs like On the Wings of a Dove, Jambalaya, Your Cheatin' Heart, Amazing Grace, Last Date, Crazy, and many more. Ray's sister and her husband were also present and were an enthusiastic audience. We also enjoyed a nice lunch together and plenty of lively conversation. A very special day.

So what has happened between last Thursday and yesterday? It's been that long since I blogged. Hmm. Maybe I'll do the "list" thing, a la Jennifer and Amanda.
1. Picked pears (multiple days)
2. Picked persimmons (multiple days)
3. Practiced music with Ray
4. Final reading of "Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace" last Friday --and I almost forgot-- I added another fruit to my list by having chilled apricots with my school lunch!
5. Played music for funeral of long-time friend Hubert Michael, World War II veteran and chaplain for area veterans groups
6. Watched UNC defeat Notre Dame
7. Lost several games of cards to Judy (I have just reversed my losing streak--finally!)
8. Usual busy Sunday: morning Sunday School and worship, lunch at Golden Corral (think Bourbon Street chicken!), church service at Manor Care rest home, choir practice, evening worship.
9. One thing Sunday that deserves its own place in the list is that our children and youth sang an oldie but goodie-- "The Perfect Ten." Jennifer and Amanda remember this song about the ten commandments very well.
10. Monday we grilled sausages and veggies--something I don't think I'll ever get tired of!

Upcoming: Friday evening is Sandhills Farm Life's Fall Festival and I'll be selling copies of my book as a fundraiser for the school playground. Hopefully I can sell all I have and take orders for more. I loved reading to this year's fourth graders and hope I am able to continue this tradition for many more years.

Ken Goes FRUITY!

Just as you may have suspected . . .

Ken . . .
has gone . . .
FRUITY!
Not just bananas.

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Yes, in an effort to eat healthier and obtain more fiber in my diet, I have consciously chosen fruit more often since I retired. I find that if I have fruit after my main courses, I rarely need seconds to satisfy my appetite. I bragged about this to my doctor, who shot me down with, "That's great for your health, but don't expect to lose any weight with all that sugar." Oh well, at least I have an excuse for not losing weight.

Anyway, with Judy's encouragement, plus her wide variety of preparation modes, I have LOVED my fruity summer. We brainstormed a list, and here are the fruits I had this summer:

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PEACHES * PEARS * BLUEBERRIES * BLACKBERRIES * WATERMELON * PERSIMMONS * STRAWBERRIES * CANTELOUPE * BANANAS * APPLES * FIGS * GRAPES (muscadines, scuppernongs, and white grapes) * PINEAPPLE * HONEYDEW MELON * GRAPEFRUIT * CHERRIES * CRANBERRIES.

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Wow, I'm full. Most of these I ate fresh. I had multiple varieties of peaches and apples. I've had some of these in muffins, cobblers, cakes, salads. Some I've had dried, or as a filling. I missed my chance to add plums and apricots to this list. Within a short walk of our back door we picked pears by the bushel, grapes by the bag, blackberries by the pail, persimmons, and blueberries. We've fought tangled underbrush, especially smilax and blackberry thorns, and have the scars to prove it. In fact, my arms and legs have been scratched up all summer long. Judy also took advantage of farmer's markets locally and as far as South Carolina and Virginia. Our quest for the best fruit also gave us many pleasant hours outdoors. So the mental health component should not be overlooked.

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I acknowledge that I was FRUITY long before this. Suffice it to say I'm shoring up my credentials and cushioning my resume.

More Words for Teachers to Live By

Early October is a great time at school. Students have learned basic classroom routines, gotten used to their teacher's style, and the fall weather is more conducive to learning. Fall festival and Halloween are just around the corner. But so are Benchmark Assessments, Report Cards, and Parent Conferences. Boy, how I miss school. So much that I'll be out there again Friday teaching foursquare and concluding my book reading with the fourth graders. Below the pictures are some words to encourage MY TEACHER FRIENDS, though most are just as applicable for any of us who find ourselves in the position of instructing, leading, guiding or sharing wisdom with anyone of any age.

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

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"The greatest gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination."

Elizabeth Hardwick

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"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something."

Thomas H. Huxley

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"He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes."

Barrow

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AND MY FAVORITE . . .

"CHILDREN ARE MADE READERS ON THE LAPS OF THEIR PARENTS."

SORRY TO LEAVE YOU HANGING!

I may not have many readers left after being away from the computer so much last week. In the whirlwind of daily events, I haven't EVEN finished telling you about the wonderful last day of our Virginia trip, which we returned from a shocking TWELVE days ago! My apologies!

On Wednesday, September 24, we began a winding journey home by heading further from home. We followed U.S. Highway 58 from a straight four-lane superhighway until it became a meandering two-lane mountain backroad in the far western part of Virginia. Much of it was reminiscent of old 221 from Blowing Rock down to Linville, NC which more of you may be acquainted with.

Our first destination was the beautiful Grayson Highlands State Park. We had never been there but knew that it featured Virginia's highest peaks (over 5,000 feet, but not as tall as NC's tallest). It was obvious throughout this park how heavily Virginia invests in these facilities.

A most helpful attendant at the mountaintop welcome center recommended the Twin Pinnacles Trail, and we were so glad she did. It was a strenuous but rewarding hike, for in just over an hour we had views from the two highest points in the park. Little Pinnacle is actually a few feet higher than Big Pinnacle. But, it's not as BIG (duh)! Here, Judy enjoyed a 360 degree view and it was spectacular.
Not many leaves turn in September, but at these altitudes the colors were already advancing nicely. Climbing over these rock formations was fun, and you never had the feeling you might fall over a sheer cliff.
Traveling another hour west, we came to the town of Whitetop, where Judy found abundant mountain apples free for the picking. We were scouting Whitetop for an anticipated future bike trip on the Virginia Creeper Trail. The unique thing about the trail is that the gentle downhill grade for seventeen miles from Whitetop to Damascus allows you to almost coast all the way, and then pay to be shuttled back to your vehicle.
Our final "tourist" stop was actually back in North Carolina. Our state's Stone Mountain is geologically very similar to Georgia's larger, more celebrated one. But when you stand at the base of this monolith, its size and majesty are awe-inspiring. We plan to return here one day for a hike to the summit.

One additional note: even though it was past tourist season and people were sparse throughout our trip, everywhere we went someone seemed to come along to take my and Judy's pictures! I think it was just for Debi, who had specifically requested them!

It was a great trip and we were never more than four hours from home. Any of you that would like more details for your own little getaways should get in touch. Happy Trails!

MYSTERY AT THE LOYD HOMEPLACE

Most of you will recognize immediately that this is not a post about a robbery or murder or kidnapping over here on Murdocksville Rd. near Pinehurst. It's the title of my one and only book, completed in the summer of 2007. Since then I've been able to share it with lots of family and friends, plus the final class of 3rd graders I taught. I've also read it to friends at church, and to last year's fourth graders at Farm Life School. Thanks to four very helpful teachers, I have the opportunity to read it to this year's fourth graders as well, breaking the reading into three weekly installments of about an hour each. I'll finish it on Friday, Oct. 10 and will be selling and autographing books at our school's Fall Festival from 5 to 8 on Oct. 17. Here's just a little background, but this won't be the last you'll hear about my book.

This is the homeplace the book is based on, built by my great-great grandfather, Jabez M. Loyd, or possibly even by his father before the Civil War. It has been saved from destruction and converted into a clubhouse by the Chateau Montaigne Apartments.

Here is my father, Marvin Loyd on the porch of his grandfather's homeplace, where his father also grew up. The historical plaque on the porch misspells Loyd (naturally) and is only partially accurate.
This chest and its contents are central to the mystery of the book. The story is based on the family story that family valuables were hidden or buried on the eve of General Sherman's invasion of Atlanta. Note the JML on the chest.
More mystery. I don't want to spoil the book, but let me know if you want to read it and don't already have a copy.
You can't see details on this map, but it shows DeKalb County, Georgia in Civil War days. Sherman's armies marched within a short distance of the Loyd Homeplace, as some were sent to destroy a railroad line from Stone Mountain to Decatur and the main army battled their way across nearby Peachtree Creek.
More about the book will follow as I continue sharing the tale at school.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Amanda. Here are the rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write six random things about yourself
3. Tag six people at the end of your post
4. If you are tagged, just do it, and pass the tag along!

1. I've never had a broken bone, but have had stitches twice: my foot and my nose (oh yeah, there's a story).
2. I am or have been a collector of comic books, stamps, rocks, coins, salt & pepper shakers, baseball cards, books, and more.
3. I made $1.50 an hour in my first job (and "No," it wasn't in the Great Depression).
4. I have never owned a new car (most people already know that!).
5. I am left-handed, therefore right-brained. I think that allows me to play the piano "by ear" as I visualize my hands in the proper positions for what I hear.
6. I never give up on getting Jennifer and Amanda to read Gone With the Wind (I just happen to have a couple of copies in the garage. . .).

Now I'm supposed to tag people, but I know you guys are busy, so I'm making it voluntary. Also, not all of my friends blog, so feel free to send me an e-mail with six things about you if you care to participate. So Cindy, Debi, Pat L., Pam C. and anyone else who wants to play--TAG--you're IT!

More Scenes from the New River Trail--Tuesday

Of all our trips to the New River this is the first time we've seen it filled to the brim. Absolutely beautiful.
We love this rock-hewn tunnel near Fries Junction. Imagine riding through it behind an old steam locomotive.
This farmyard caught our eyes as we biked toward Chestnut Yard, where trains were once repaired and serviced. It was the goats that caught Judy's eye and the woodpile that caught mine!
Near the end of our ride we backtracked a mile toward Galax to visit Chestnut Creek Falls.
Judy says "Hi."
More about the trip in the next post.