Christmas Tree harvesting

This area is covered with Christmas Tree farms. In fact, we can see one from our living room window. Last week they started harvesting the trees to send around the country. There were trailers and trailers of Christmas Trees just from the little farm by our house. It was an interesting process to watch. Who knows - maybe the tree you buy this season in your local parking lot could have come from here. It could happen. I bet you never wondered where that tree came from before...

Woolly Worm Festival

A couple of weekends ago, Kenyon and I attended a local community event worth writing about. I've been to art fairs here, it was nice, but small with a crowd of only a few hundred at best. We attended the Latino Festival in West Jefferson. That was teeny-tiny and not well attended. Then we went to the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk. Driving there we actually experienced some traffic (a rarity in this part of the world). Police were directing cars from a few miles out of the city limits. There were parking lots set up charging fares to park. I'd never seen such hubbub.

We arrived and the festival was charging $5 a head for admission. What?! They are charging admission? There were at least 500 people in attendance at the time we arrived. I haven't seen so many people in one place since arriving here. There were rows and rows of booths featuring foods and crafts. What was all the excitement about? Just wait till I tell you...

All of these people came to see one thing. All of this traffic was related to one main event. This is the Woolly Worm Festival and it is aptly titled. We all came out to watch fuzzy worms race up a string. I use the term race loosely, because this is not a fast-paced event. People come from other states with the worm they believe to be a champion. There are 50+ races in one day and about 20 racers per race. The people line up in front of a string. Put their worm at the green line and hope theirs is the first to make it to the red line. If your worm makes it first you win $25 and a chance in the semi-finals. The semi-final racers win $50 and a chance in the final race. The winner of the final race wins $1,000. That piece of information made Kenyon want to bring a worm next year.

The rules of the race state, you can't touch your worm or the string once the race has begun (unless the worm falls off the string, then you can place them back on the green line). In order to encourage their worm to race people clap and blow near the worm. The funniest part to me was watching grown, burly men encourage their worm to move. I got a photo of a big, hunky, muscly man walking of stage delicately holding his worm. What irony!

Before I put this post I thought, no one's going to believe this! If you need to see such a thing with your own eyes. The annual Wolly Worm Festival is held the third weekend of October every year, come on out.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. The winning worm is supposed to predict the winter weather. I don't really understand that part, but some people swear it is an accurate prediction. Really?

Boiled Peanuts, part dieu

After my last post about the boiled peanut. I got an email from a friend in Chicago. She told me she was reading an article and it said that a boiled peanut has the most nutrients of any form of peanut.

Though that is an interesting bit of trivia, it doesn't convince me to try another boiled peanut. I've had enough, thank you very much.

Boiled Peanuts

So, everytime I move I learn a different cuisine. I may still be in the same country, but the food preferences change. Southerners like sweet tea (and by sweet I mean VERY sweet). They like fried chicken and greens. I found out something else they like - boiled peanuts. Kenyon and I saw signs all over the road advertising places where one can buy boiled peanuts. Kenyon said, "what's a boiled peanut? That doesn't even sound good." I didn't know what it was.

My friend Sarah here said her family once took a road trip and stopped to ask. Her dad got out and asked the man, "What's a boiled peanut?" The man replied in a heavy southern drawl, "A boiled peanut is a boiled peanut." Well, duh!

This weekend I tried my first (and likely my last) boiled peanut. We were at the Woolly Worm festival - more about that later - and Lori got very excited and said, "ah, boiled peanuts! Have you ever had one?" No. She bought a cup full. They really are peanuts, like the kind you eat at a baseball game. They take salt water and boil it, then they dump salty peanuts in to the salt water and let them soften. You open the shell and eat the salty, soft peanut. Some people love them. I am not one of those people. One peanut and I felt like all the moisture in my mouth was sucked right out from all the salt. So, if you've never heard of a boiled peanut...now you don't have to ask.

Small town inconveniences...

Kenyon and I are attempting to make our new town home. This isn't a big place, it probably wouldn't be more than a blip on a map if the college wasn't here. What does that mean? There isn't much to do, stores close early, and all the conveniences of "big city life" are gone. Our town doesn't have a mall, Target, Barnes & Noble or their equivalent. There is a Wal-mart, an Old Navy, and a JCPenney. One of the things folks do on a Friday night is plan car loads of people to caravan to the bigger city of Hickory approximately an hour away. Before moving here I was looking at the area on a map and thought Hickory couldn't be much, it sounded like a hick town. It probably is a hick town, but it has an Olive Garden, a mall, a Target, and so many other stores, restaurants and shops that we are missing. I never thought I would caravan with others to Hickory to eat at Olive Garden, visit the mall, the Barnes & Noble and think it was a great night out. My, my, my how my world has changed!

The other thing is that everything in our town closes down so early. Kenyon has been in shock that the city is almost completely shut down by 9 or 10pm. Every now and then you can find some things open next to the college, but otherwise there are no options.

This week we tried to open a bank account. You would be amazed at how inconvenient the process was. I'll spare you the details, but it took us three days and I took at least 3 hours off work to get it done. Ugh!

On the upside, so you don't think it is all bad, the scenery is amazing. The trees changed colors this week and I cannot describe to you the beauty. Kenyon said, "it looks like a watercolor painting" and it does. There has only been one murder in our town on record, it was in 2005 - I mean on record ever! The people are friendly. The lifestyle is more relaxed. It is very family oriented. The weather has also been wonderful - very pleasant.

Maybe someday we won't even think about all the small town inconveniences, but for now it is still an adjustment.

Daily commute

I wanted to share with you my daily drive to work - look at the traffic I fight. What an urban jungle!

Perfect Fit

I've received a lot of phone calls and emails wondering how I'm doing. How's the new job? The new town? The answer...Great! I feel at home already. The job is just right for me. It allows me to pursue my passions - sharing the love of Jesus in a practical way and working toward an end to preventable disease globally. I get to be involved in politics and policy on a national level. I get to strategize daily. I get to do interesting work that impacts people's lives around the world. I get to work with fascinating people who have done amazing things and are lots of fun to talk to. For the first time in my career I have found an organization I plan to stay with long-term. There is a lot of growth opportunity here so I'm certain my career can progress without having to relocate. In fact, they have a policy that states they prefer to promote from within first.

The town is amazing. It is a college town with all the fun activities and quirky little things colleges bring. It's in the mountains. Which provides beautiful views, clean and crisp air, and fun outdoor activites. The people are so nice. I can tell you that in my experience, southern hospitality isn't a myth. It is very real and wonderful when you are adjusting to a new city. I moved in to my house with no furniture, nothing but me and some clothes. I am now the recipient of an air mattress, a blanket, a pillow and two sets of towels. My landlord also did not like hearing about the conditions I was living in (I call it camping with a roof and shower), so she had her husband bring over a table, some chairs and a microwave. Once again, I am relying on the kindness of others for my survival.

My first weekend here without Kenyon I hung out with some co-workers. We participated in the art crawl on Friday night (kind of like First Friday's in KC, but smaller). The next day we went to a neighboring town for their Art in the Park event. It was very much like the Brookside art fair, except in a cute mountain community. That same weekend I visited a church I really liked and participated in a well attended dinner party that evening.

This is my second weekend here. Last night a group of us went to a callipso music show at the university. It had been raining all day so it was kind of like taking a visit to the beach without leaving the cool mountain air. Another coworker and I spent today exploring - we checked out the farmer's market, ski shops and resorts, and two neighboring communities the other direction from our town. I've already got my calendar full of fall activities - an apple festival and something called the Wolly Worm festival where people race worms up string. I can't wait! I've also scoped out the location where Kenyon and I will pick out our Christmas tree. There are Christmas tree farms all over this place, but I had to search out a "choose and cut" location. Good times to come...

Kenyon should arrive next Saturday. Our stuff should follow him a day or so later. I can't wait to show him all the restaurants I've discovered and introduce him to the wonderful people I've met. Remember, we have a three bedroom house so if you are looking for a mountain vacation...we are located in a prime destination.