Christmas at Weymouth 2014

Thursday, I was privileged for the second time

to kick off the annual celebration of Christmas

at Weymouth with an hour of Christmas tunes,

both old and new.

The Boyd House, historic home of author

James Boyd and his wife Katharine, houses the

 Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities.

Here is the lineup of local musicians who will

lend their talents to the wonderful Christmas

atmosphere at the center this year.

Thursday, Dec. 4

10:00   Ken Loyd, piano

11:00   David Wall, flute

12:00   Laurie Muirhead, harp

1:00     Sondra Nelson, piano

2:00     Court Stewart, piano

3:00     Zoopendous Chorus

Friday, Dec. 5

10:00  Missy Brown and Mary Margaret McNeill, duo-piano

11:00  Brian Harbour, piano

12:00  Susan Bartz Herrick, soprano

1:00   Sue Aceves and Carol Tilton, duo-piano

2:00   Aaron Priest, piano

3:00   Livera Hussey and piano students

Saturday, Dec. 6

10:00  Mary Rush, piano

11:00 John and Carolyn Hatcher: saxophone, flute, and more!

12:00  Chris Stewart, piano

1:00   Ruth Sinclair and piano students

2:00   David McDonald and Friends: guitar, fiddle, vocals, etc.

3:00   Peggy Calhoun, piano

Sunday, Dec. 7

1:00  Marylee Schulte, piano

2:00  Nancy Arnold, soprano, and Larry Arnold, piano

3:00  Lydia Gill, piano

Here are several pictures for your enjoyment

from my self-guided tour of the house .

Of course that's Chipper seated with me on the piano.

Dear friend Elaine Sills, who invited me to play,
insisted on this shot with Katharine Boyd in the background.

I love this vintage post office, still with some of
Mrs. Boyd's personal labels.

This room was stocked with vintage toys.

This year Santa wasn't in the tub.  

Weymouth was the fourth different venue

where I've shared Christmas music this week,

with more coming up the next two weeks.

There's nothing I enjoy more.

Two Josephs, Two Dreamers: A Christmas Devotional

TWO JOSEPHS, TWO DREAMERS

The dreams of Joseph, son of Jacob are a frequent topic of sermons.  Two dreams are described in Genesis 37, both of them foretelling his brothers’ subservience to him.  Even his father, who favored him, rebuked him, but verse 11 says “… his father kept the matter in mind.”  Perhaps because of Jacob’s own experiences with a dream of a stairway to heaven, with angels ascending and descending.

Joseph’s reporting of the dreams was not out of arrogance.  The dreams were an accurate prophecy that would have a bearing on the future of God’s chosen people, not Joseph alone.  It is crucial that even when sold into captivity by his jealous brothers (Genesis 37:19 “Here comes that dreamer”), Joseph trusted God and was submissive to His will.  Without that willingness, he could not have been the vessel God created him to be.

In the New Testament, Joseph the husband of Mary was also the recipient of prophetic dreams.  Four to be exact.  That’s right, FOUR.  In Matthew 1:20 an angel appeared to him in a dream to reveal that Mary had conceived through the Holy Spirit and that Jesus would save His people from their sins.  Joseph was obedient to the angel’s words and took Mary home as his wife.  In Matthew 2:13 an angel warned of King Herod’s impending search for the child to kill him.  Joseph followed the command to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt.  A third angelic visitation in 2:19-20 told him when Herod had died and to go to the land of Israel.  And finally, because the son of Herod still ruled, (Matt. 2: 22) “Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee.”

Joseph is often considered a minor character in the story of Jesus’ birth.  But in every instance, God worked through him, and because of his obedience, the Christ child was safe.  God can accomplish his purposes without human assistance, but it pleases him when His work is carried out willingly and obediently by His children.

Two Josephs, two dreamers, had something in common.  They were both submissive to God’s will, and in being true to His purposes they have earned the honor of countless succeeding generations.  Obedience is all God requires of us, as well.  It begins with bowing our knees to the Lord Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to rule and reside in our hearts.  Immanuel means “God with us,” and the Christmas season is the perfect time to check our relationship with our Lord and Savior.  Our full submission and obedience yield an everlasting harvest of love, mercy, and grace.

Christmas Cheer at Watch Me Grow

Today was my annual Christmas singalong

at Watch Me Grow preschool.  There were new

faces, but the same familiar fun.  We didn't get

into the Christmas music until the second half

of the program.

We did several action/ motion songs, starting

with "Shake My Sillies Out." The kids helped

me do motions on "She'll Be Comin' 'Round

the Mountain," "The Wheels on the Bus,"

and more.

Ms. Marianne requested one of her favorites

and I gladly complied.  She had supplied me

with names of the two older classes so I could

make up rhyming verses for "Hey Lolly Lolly."

The verses all go like this:

Hey lolly, lolly, lolly, hey lolly, lolly Lord,

Hey lolly, lolly, lolly, hey lolly, lolly Lord.

I've got a friend, his/her name is _______,

Hey lolly, lolly Lord,

she/he _____ ______ _____ _____,

Hey lolly, lolly Lord.

Here are some of today's special verses in brief:

... Beckett ... drove my car and didn't wreck it ...

...Lily... she likes my songs but says I'm silly ...

...Gavin... he's the kind of friend worth havin'...

...Colt... runs as fast as a lightning bolt...

...Keaton... one of his favorite things is eatin'...

...Will...took me to lunch and paid the bill...

...Parker... he's got a dog and it's a barker...

...Holden... would like to have a ring that's golden...

...Devon... drew me a picture that looked like heaven...

...Aiden and Hayden...had a tan but now it's fadin'...

...Finley...hangs his stocking by the chimney...

...Abby... she told Santa he's too flabby! ...

Those last two led us into the Christmas songs.

My singing frog, Froggie, helped us sing

"Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "Jingle Bells,"

and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

It was a ribbeting performance.

We danced to "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin'

Around the Christmas Tree" and learned motions

for Jingle Bells.  And last but not least we did

freeze dancing to a variety of keyboard rhythms.

Chipper's acrobatics (including double flips)

were a big hit!

 Here are the classes that participated in

our Christmas singalong/dance-a-thon.

 As always, Ms. Marianne's class provided

willing helpers to get me loaded up. Four

for the keyboard stand, three for my stool,

and two for Chipper gave every "elf" a job.

One more group hug and then it's bye-bye

till next year.

Those little hands gave me a memorable card.

In the years to come, I can only imagine what

those same hands will accomplish.

A great big holiday thanks to Ms. Marianne

and her perky Pre-K!

Cooleemee Falls and its Famous Bullhole

Returning from our Stone Mountain trip,

I surprised Judy with a stopoff at a little

out-of-the-way place called the Bullhole.

It's located on the Yadkin River near an

old textile mill in the small town of 

Cooleemee.  We had read about it when

the Raleigh News & Observer had a series

this summer of little known curiosities in

all 100 North Carolina counties.

Apparently the River Park located here

has become a huge local gathering place,

though it was vacant on the chilly morning

we stopped by.  I could envision hordes of

youth and families playing here in warmer 

seasons.

Take time to read the story of the

Bullhole (double click to enlarge).

These cautions apply to most rivers.

I'm sure this sandy beach is popular in the summer.

With caution, this area could be a great water playground.

This seems to be the ruins of an old dam on a
smaller side tributary of the river.

This catwalk is about 14 inches wide.  It was inevitable
that Judy and I would walk across it, though I wasn't
wild about the idea.

Here's what I didn't like about the catwalk.
You're looking straight down.  We had to
step across that gaping opening.  Not
for the faint of heart!

The dam and the rocks below.

The tranquil pool of the Yadkin above the dam.

Peering over the dam from upriver.

A man-made waterfall.

Double click to enlarge and read further

information about the park.  Plans are

underway to make further improvements.

On the side of the old textile factory, this

mural of Cooleemee's Old Square has been

created.  None of this exists now.  Main

Street is a combination of vacant lots and

residences.  All the signs of the old mill

village are up and down every street. A

quaint, lovely old town.

A bit more local history.

Cooleemee Falls and the Bullhole may not

be worth you traveling for 2 hours or more

just for a glimpse.  But if your travels take

you in the vicinity, it might be worth a quick

side trip.  If you like that kind of thing.

And we do!

Plants of the Trail and Highlights of Elkin, NC

I hope you've read my two previous posts

with highlights of my and Judy's hiking

adventure on Stone Mountain, NC's loop trail.

This post will show some interesting plants

we saw and show what we liked about Elkin,

the small town where we stayed.

This is Galax, which was once harvested commercially.
We've seen it in other mountain areas.

This maple leaf was determined to be a little different,
and we loved it.

On the peak of Stone Mountain mosses clung to
the rock under the shade of a bristlecone pine.

I haven't yet identified this dainty, low-growing,
berry-bearing plant.

This fungus reminds me of Indian Pipe, but I
don't know its actual name.

Ground cedar or ground pine is one of my favorite
wild plants.  I don't recall seeing it in this phase of
its cycle.  I'll have to read up on it a bit.

Along the stream and woodland paths was an
abundance of rhododendron.  I would love to see
this when in full bloom.

Now let's head to old downtown Elkin.

On TripAdvisor.com I had found excellent

reviews of this restaurant, so we tried it

for lunch.  

This is the side of the same building. For lunch, Judy
and I both had the Southern BLT, which had bacon,
lettuce, tomato plus pimento cheese.  Yum.  Judy had
a side of broccoli and cheese soup and I had pimento
potato salad.  Yes, pimento again. And double yum.

After a full afternoon of hiking, we returned

to the welcoming arms of a Comfort Inn in

Jonesville, NC, just across the Yadkin River

from Elkin.  By getting a room that faced the

mountains, we were treated to this sunset.

Which soon turned into this sunset.

For dinner, we headed back to 21 and Main,

where we had enjoyed such a good lunch.

We dined in this outside enclosed terrace, with
a cozy heater centrally located.  It was a great
atmosphere and the service was exceptional.

I got steak frites and Judy got a huge pork chop
plus sweet potato puree and brussel sprouts.
It was all great.

We had read that this Comfort Inn would 

pull out all the stops on both service and

decor, and it was true. Here are some of

their festive fall decorations.

After a delicious hot breakfast at the Comfort

Inn, with amazing variety, we took a brief

spin through town before heading for home.

We saw a nice park, some lovely old houses,

and last but not least, this old railroad bridge.

You know I'm a sucker for all things related

to our country's rail heritage.

We would still have one stop on the way home,

a surprise I had saved for Judy.  That will be

in my next blog post, and will wrap up the trip.