Take an inspirational outing monthly

I took my mom to see Barry Manilow for her birthday. I had a cassette of his greatest hits when I was in school. It was an interesting concert – a lot of older people and several younger people too. It was fun and we had a good time. It is amazing to see how one person’s music can be part of so many people’s life soundtrack. I am sure each song means something different for many of them and everyone connects in a different way. That is admirable.

Asheville – we went for a short trip. We attended a wedding in the area so we went early to pick up clay and stayed the night. It is a great town with amazing restaurants. I have 2 fabulous cappuccinos and an awesome fusion dinner. On top of all that, an 80’s cover band was in town. What fun! They played a 3 hour set – and sounded fantastic. I sang and danced with the rest of the enthusiasts. A great time – and the wedding was a wonderful celebration of 2 lives becoming one.

For Christmas, Mayumi and Sharon gave us ticket to see Shen Yun dance performance. It was lovely and graceful.

In lieu of exchanging gifts, we went to Tryon Palace before Christmas. It was great to spend time with the Hardees and my mom. It was also fun to be transported in time – just enhanced the holiday spirit. There was no one else on our tour so it was really nice. We went to another historic home and the museum. Then finished the day with dinner at the Stingray – fantastic!

Went to Fountain to hear Jennifer Licko. It was GREAT! Irish/Scotch Christmas Music LIVE and intimate. It was all that I could have hoped for! So glad we went.

We went to DPAC – a really nice venue for plays. We saw Warhorse but it was too sad. Still glad we went – I think. The puppetry was amazing.

My best friend came to visit – my soul friend… and on one of my favorite days… the autumnal equinox. I made soup, we drank coffee and ate pumpkin bread. We went to the nursery and bought mums – I sent her home with 2. And, she helped me make leaf mugs in the studio – a perfect start to fall! Inspirational even if it took place at my house.

Well – the month, it wasn’t the destination that was inspirational. It was a missionary conference. I went to the Hannah’s Hands banquet last Friday and was amazed by all that Lorraine has done. She established a mission board, works with <60k/year to run a clinic and support herself in El Salavador, the medical missions have been thwarted by the government, she works in a girls prison and with handicapped orphans; she nearly died from an illness last year, she adopted a little girl who was forcibly taken from her and returned to her mother who had tried to traffic the girl - all in service to Christ! I am so amazed by the work the Lord has given her to do. I was so pleased that the Lord had put it in my mind 2 weeks ago to give a gift from the pottery account. And, we plan to take her on for monthly support.

Asheville – Although I was there for a show, it was inspirational. I saw lots of great art. And, I really enjoyed listening to the Tomb Nelson and the Stillwater Hobos. They were fantastic!

This month is filled with inspirational things. We are on a trip to NYC, NJ, Boston, and Portland. It has been quite fun since it was so unexpected. We left last Friday and went to NYC – saw Peter and the Starcatcher (wonderfully witty play) and Spiderman (a bit flat), went to the Natural History Museum (one of my favorites), visited the 9-11 Memorial (very strong commemoration), Ellis Island (humbling to realize how brave and desperate my great-grandparents had to have been to make the journey here), and Liberty Island (simply beautiful). We relocated to NJ for Jeff’s class – and we have done NJ things like eat in a pizzeria (ordered pizza and mussels), ate in a diner (such fun). Yesterday, Jeff was in class so I tromped off to the Staten Island to see the gardens – there is a chinese scholar’s garden which was amazing and a hidden garden that had a winding hedged path. It was a beautiful day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I spent time there. Even sat by the duck pond to write for a while. I had lunch at a great Italian place and had a wonderful cannoli. Today we leave for Boston.