Local Bed & Breakfast

My wife and I stayed at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast over the weekend. It was located between Pendelton & Central SC. It was a very cozy atmosphere, it had recently been redone and was incredible inside. The kitchen was absolutely amazing and one of the owners was a "Gourmet Chief". They had a great wood heater that kept the inside of the Bed & Breakfast nice and toasty. They even had a goat petting area not far from away. They also kept talking about Chicken this and Chicken that altough we kept looking around but never saw one. One of the neatest things is that they had someone who would come and take pictures so you could remember your time there. You can check this web-site for pictures of the kitchen and of the wonderfully lit Christmas Tree they had decorated. I don't think they have an online reservation system yet but you can read various commentary by one of the owners here. They really had everything we could need or think of. It was a little cold outside or they said they would have given us a ride around the property in a recently decorated trailer that won a prize at the Pendleton Christmas Parade. When we were ready to check-out they invited us back and even gave us Christmas goodies to snack on on our way home. They were really great host considering the circumstances. If you ever are interested in staying there just let me know and I'll be more than happy to contact them for you.

Ice Storm Top 10

Below are the top 10 things that I wish had during the last 4 days while our house had no power ...

1. A source of heat: a small propane heater, a kerosene heater, a functional fire place - I gave away an old kerosene heater a couple of years ago before we moved to SC - I could tolerate no refigeration, no hot water for a shower, no electric-lights, and no electric stove - but to sit in a house where the temperature hovered around 48 degrees for 4 days... I don't think so.
2. A chainsaw - to clear my neighbors driveways and cut the few tree limbs/bushes that I missed a few months ago ... allowing them the slightly graze my house/roof as they were bent over with the weight of the ice .... this will be corrected shortly (the trees being cut back more ... not purchasing a chainsaw)
3. A emergency passcode to our alarm system - that thing will drive you nuts when the power goes off
4. More doughnuts and a gallon of hot coffee to bribe the tree cutting crew and Duke Power - to get my power on faster
5. Gloves for a little boy - his hands got pretty cold the first night
6. Clean Baby Bottles & Clean Dishes - that will teach me to be lazy - we still got them clean just had to be a little creative
7. More Coffee Filters for my percolator - only had enough for a day or two - I'll put that on my grocery list now
8. A bigger Car - so when we load up to stay with someone else - we can get everything in one trip
9. A generator - so I could run the essentials - no that does not include the TV or Computer, or Christmas lights or a hairdryer
10. A four day rental near Cades Cove or somewhere similar so we could leave town, relax and enjoy our anniversary

Cultural Icons

Today while little Benjamin and I were doing a little Christmas shopping and last-minute anniversary (5 years!) shopping... I realized I hadn't eaten all that much for breakfast and it was closing in on lunch time. I made a stop for a cup of Sweet Tea at Zaxbys (I think over have the cup was sugar) and that didn't really do it... so about 20 minutes later I stopped at an old faithful restaurant - that I hadn't been too in a while. I don't know why but I think it's been over 5 years since I had eaten at a Krystal. I ordered 3 Krystal burgers and it was less than $2 ... that was some good eating but the onions always seem to stick with me the rest of the afternoon.

All that to say that eating at places like Krystal, Waffle House (maybe Stewarts if your're from around here), maybe even getting a Ice Cream cone from McDonalds, or a dipped cone from Dairy Queen ... always seem to bring back all kinds of memories from growing up, from my high school years, and from college. It's just a totally different experience than going to Cracker Barrell or Brewsters.

Peaceful Nap-Time

Often when my little boy falls asleep in my arms and across my lap ... I can't help but look at him for several minutes. He's out cold... sleeping peaceful. His little belly is rising and falling as he breathes. His little eyes occasionally move back an forth under his eyelids as he slips into a dream. His little foot or hand may wiggle as he gets in just the right position. His little mouth may make a little sucking motion as he thinks about the last bottle he just polished off (I think this is one of his forms of Heaven). He may even fall asleep with his hand open close to his face. Then I can look at his little fingers - how much they have changed over the last 5 1/2 months. Sometimes I wonder what the Lord has in store for this little man and for me (and my wife) as we raise him and as he grows up. So I hold him as he drifts off to sleep and hold him for a few extra minutes and reflect on this little man.

Submission

Check out the Winter 2005 issue of The Cry.

Reflections

Why is it that it seems like only a couple of days ago since I last posted ... when in reality it's been over two weeks?

Home Repair - never ceases to amaze me how complicated things can become - but to which there is often a simple answer. Maybe not the best or most optimal solution but a simple answer. Thanks to my friend who helped me over the weekend with a new installation of a tub fixture. Strongly recommend checking with a local Ace hardware store before venturing to National Chains for parts. Might just save yourself a little time.

Christmas sales - anyone else tired of received lots of emails from online retailers you've done business with in the past - maybe only one or two transactions - seems like each Monday morning I delete a several new daily or weekly advertisments. Online sales consultants say that the best time for online retailers to market to potential customers is on Monday morning because so many people now use their work internet access to search, browse, and purchase vs their home access over the weekend. The biggest sales day of the year for online sales was supposedly the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Decorating Christmas Trees - doesn't really take much money to have a really beautiful tree and have a great time decorating it

Hurricane Katrina - This is an intersting article about article about post-Katrina art collections.

Theme Verse for Holidays - "They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord." Luke 1:6

Challenges

During the Thanksgiving Holidays I faced a few challenges. Thought I might share a few:

First - what to do with Benjamin when I needed a bathroom break on the trip to and from Mississippi

Second - sinus/allergy/cold/etc issues ... left Anderson on Wednesday morning with a sore throat and lost my voice by late Wednesday night ... it did not begin to come back until Sunday. Try interacting with family and your baby when you don't have a voice - and are up half the night with coughing and a runny nose

Third - Traveling the interstate. There always seems to be construction - down to one or two lanes - especially during the holidays. Then there are the accidents due to weather and normal work congestion especially in Atlanta. On the way home one detour in Alabama sent us 20 minutes out of the way and in Atlanta at 4 pm on the rainy Monday afternoon there were 4 wrecks in a 2 miles stretch - extending our pass through of Atlanta to one hour.

Thanksgiving Top 10

Top 10 things I enjoyed most about this Thanksgiving:

1. Seeing and Spending time with my large extended family. Benjamin and I were able to visit with 18 different family members between Thanksgiving Day and the Sunday afterwards.

2. Benjamin meeting and being loved on by most of his distant cousins, Great Aunts, Uncles, his Uncle, and Grandparents.

3. Food - always good, always too much, always left-overs for too many days

4. Squirrel Hunting - my Father, my Brother, a family friend, my Cousin Blayne, and me all went Squirrel Hunting on Sunday afternoon. We only had a couple of hours to hunt before dark - saw two squirrels-Mr Blayne got the first one - with one shot - with Benjamins gun which he had never shot before. His first good hunt. I was pretty proud of him.

5. Football in the South - my parents, my brother, a family friend, Benjamin and I all went to the USM vs Tulane game on Saturday afternoon. It was Benjamin's first college football game - he's watched several with me on Saturday afternoons but this was his first in person. USM won - putting them bowl eligable with is a whole lot better than MSU or Ole Miss this year.

6. Catching up with Friends - I spend several hours on Saturday night catching up with friends who I only seen once or twice a year.

7. Benjamin being held by his 92 year old Great-Great Aunt Lillian. How cool is that.

8. Eighty-Nine year old Great Grandma Little spoiling and holding Benjamin on Sunday afternoon. I think it made her week.

9. Seeing Grandpa Little (my father) lying on the floor playing with his grandson.

10. Laughing with my family on Sunday around my Grandmothers dining room table during lunch.

Reflections on the Week

Last Friday we ventured up in to PHS territory to watch a high school playoff game at Pendleton High School. It was close the first half but the Bulldogs really came out in the second half. I really believe that their mascot was the Bulldogs … but I couldn’t say for certain because it announced like “Bulloogs” or “Boolongs” or “Boulogs”. I kept listening and kept listening but I never could translate for sure.

On Sunday afternoon a group of our friends went hiking north of Wallhalla. We first stopped at Stumphouse Tunnel and Issaqueena Falls. We made it all the way back to then end of the tunnel and little Benjamin really seemed to enjoy himself. After these two stops we ventured on up to Oconee State Park – for a hike up to Tamassee Knob. The weather was great – it could have been a little cooler. The view was definitely worth seeing and everyone in our group did a great job including little Benjamin. He had it the easiest – he had a different taxi each direction.

Due to various work related dinners and laziness on my end we’ve ended up going out to eat several times this week. Monday night we stopped by Capri’s, Tuesday night at 1109 South Main and then on Thursday … the Anderson Coach-House. I was happy to be able eat at 1109 S Main but it was a little nicer than our usual meal … the atmosphere at Capri’s and Anderson Coach-House are much more on my scale.

Other than that it’s been hanging out with little Ben and reading over review material for my upcoming exam. Or should I say reading over and over and over the material.

Recently Watched: Kingdom of Heaven (highly recommend)
Currently listening to: Silence “Little Ben is Sleeping”

gps

Again another insight from my weekend in Charlotte... One of the guys in our class has a newer model vehicle (aka within the last 2 years) and he has mounted a GPS device on his window, above the dashboard, between the driver and passenger. You can also detach it from the window and use it as a hand-held device. It's pretty amazing that almost all the streets, side-roads, interstates, etc for the entire US are programed into this little device. It's great if you need to find the shortest route or the shortest distance (they are not always the same), the distance from one point to another, or how much time or distance is remaining in the programed trip. Despite how nice these devices are I see several problems with them. First there is a slight delay from where the GPS device thinks you are and where you actually are. This isn't a major problem unless you are traveling down the interstate at 70 mph and waiting for The voice to let you know when should make a turn. Not only that but it takes it a few seconds... or minutes to realize that you have missed your turn. Secondly - several of devices have a real hard time zeroing in on a specific location. It can plot them on a time and distance but when you get right next to the actual location or pull into the parking lot the thing go crazy. We had the location to the resturant we went to on Saturday plugged in ... once we got there the GPS device kept telling us to make an immediate U-turn. I can just see us driving around in circles in the parking lot while It figured out where It was. The final and other major issue I have with it is that it is another device to distract you from paying attention to your driving. For some reason I don't like to be involved in accidents but between cellphones, gps devices, laptops that people keep on while driving, eating while driving, etc... the odds keep increasing that soon enough something is going to happen. On the GPS there are all kinds of ways to zoom in and zoom out - to program specific locations - to recalculate trips etc... you can even change the voice that keeps you posted on where you missed a turn that the machine forgot to let you know about soon enough. The guy we rode with had a ladies voice keeping him informed ... he said it was the closed thing he had to his wife giving him directions.

Last Saturday

Last Saturday was unique for a number of reasons. First I was on day 3 out of 4 of a financial planning workshop with 150 others. It was absoutely grueling. In 4 days we covered 33 hours worth of review material and were extremely brain-fried by the end of each day. The mornings started at 8 and went to 6 each day. So on Saturday night we decided to enjoy ourselves and celebrate our last full day of class. We ended up at a great Italian resturant were we proceeded to eat entirely too much.

Living in Anderson - a surburb to Clemson - we had several fellas in our class who bleed orange. I don't really know if it from all the inbreeding in this area or because of their loyalty to Clemson... or a combination of the two. At the restaurant I couldn't tell if they were having a good time to celebrate the Georgia Tech visit to the Clemson's Death Valley or the hope - (which came true) that the Gamecocks would actually come out to play against Tennessee. After our dinner we ended up catching most of the rest of the SC/TN game. The absolute best part of the game was when one of the Referees got his world rocked. I think he flew back about 10 feet and either he lost a couple of teeth or his dentures shot out of his mouth when he landed. He did walk off the field and I hope he wasn't hurt all that bad - but it was an amazing hit.

Life

Okay it's been entirely too long since I've written anything. I sat at my computer a few times last week but must have been having writers block. So now I I have all kinds of exciting events that have happened over the last week or so... here we go:

Last Thursday: Met Napoleon Dynamite's Uncle Rico. Okay so maybe it wasn't him but he had the best impersonation of him that I think I will ever see. Too bad that he was our waiter at a nice steakhouse in Charlotte, NC. Just a few highlights... I asked what kind of soup they had and he said "Broccoli"... I asked him again and he said it was Wisconson Broccoli soup and it didn't not have cheese in it. Hmmm... He carded me for water. Now I know that I look a little young but how young do you really have to be to be carded for water. That was definatley a first. Then after our food was delivered he kept coming around about every 5 minutes and saying "Hey Guys" in a very dull squeeky voice while we were in discussion... he just wanted to make sure we didn't need anything. Hmmm...

Friday: Met Fez from That 70s Show. I almost didn't recognize him. I mean standing behind the desk at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte. I was surprised to see him impersonatting a hotel clerk. The only major difference was that his hair was highlighted a little more on top than on TV. Really it wasn't him but it's amazing how many people almost have twins out there.

Tuesday night: Went to hear SEVEN NATIONS play with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC. It was a bit of a bizarre mix - I think i would have rather heard the GSO by themselves at the Peace Center and Seven Nations by themselves at an Irish Pub. They had some amazing songs and finished the night by doing a version of Amazing Grace with bagpipes and full accompaniment with the orchestra.

The best part of the semi-date night with my wife was walking back to our car and finding out that we had been Booted. No I don't mean towed... I mean immobilized at close to 10 pm on a big party night in downtown Greenville ... Tuesday night (really not hardly). Costing us an extra $40 bucks for the evening due to not noticing one little sign above the area where we parked downtown. On top of that the guy we had to pay only accepted cash - which I never have much of and the nearest ATM (now after 10 pm) looked like it had been through a electrical storm and was totally worthless. Thanks to the manager of the nearest bar we were able to pay our fine and get the heck out of dodge. Lovely.

Listening to: joni mitchell "hits"

Places of Common Ownership

Some of the things my wife and I have enjoyed the most while we have lived in the Upstate of SC have be places of common ownership. The places we've enjoyed the most have been the local state parks and national forest that are within an hour to two drive of our home. We've camped out, we've gone day hiking, we've stayed at a cabin by a lake, we've walked on the beach, we've helped clear trails after stoms have come through, we've looked up at the night sky with no lights around to hide the stars. It's great to be able to enjoy the outdoors without having to pay a sigificant amount. Every time Fall comes my wife's eyes light up and she can't wait to find a good overlook to check out all the changing leaves.

Places of common ownership also include museums, libraries, zoos, rivers, lakes, public beaches... things we've often helped pay for through our tax dollars but which also provide great opprotunites for a wide range of people to enjoy a variety of things at a reasonable cost.

Listening to: Eric Clapton "from the cradle"

Learn How

I'm working on learning how to make do with a lower income instead of needing a higher one. For the last 12+ weeks I've been hanging out and taking care of our little baby Benjamin. We've slowly worked at switching from a 2 income family down to 1. The last time I drew any type of paycheck was 11 weeks ago. Come Monday morning I have to finalize my decision to return to the job I had prior to taking a leave or continue to stay at home with my little boy. It's really deeper than just staying home with him ... I am also using the time to support my wife in all that she has going on with her career and hopefully work toward a personal career change as well. It's a big step... it's a big decision. A lot of what-if's have occupied my mind all weekend. The job really doesn't mean all that much to me besides the security of a second income ... I have found little personal satisfaction in my work over the last 12 months ... and the decision to stay at home with my little boy who is growing and changing each day vs. going back to a corporate atmosphere where there is a seemingly clash of values and goals is ultimately not a hard one to make. The issue is really taking a step from something that is fairly safe, sensible, stable... something that I could "make" work vs a time of change over the next several weeks and months. A time requiring more planning and thoughtfulness about things that we haven't had to think through the last two years or so. A time of uncertanity ... a time of change.

Listening to: Christopher Miner "the calm of paradise"

slow down

Last night we went to the Anderson Civic Center amphitheater to listen to the NewSpring band play. We got there prior to the concert and ate dinner with our friends while sitting on blankets or short-chairs. It was great to be outside with family and friends - the weather was great... as was the concert. I think our little boy was a little overwhelmed - but it was great to be there as a family.

At one point during the concert the band took a break. During this time I layed back on the blanket we brought and saw something that for-whatever reason I haven't noticed in a while. There were several of them just blinking away up above me (us). It was nice to lay back ... and see stars (and a couple of airplanes... and a satellite or two). Now I'm not sure what I've been doing the last several months but I seem to have forgotten that there were stars up there and that it's really cool to look up at them and think about how big the universe is... Somehow I hadn't forgotten the moon... just the stars. Then I thought about where I might could go where I could see more... and more ... where the stage lights or the lights from the city weren't hiding them from me...

Listening to: U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (loudly)

Resist covetousness & consumerism

I think everyone struggles with this to some extent. You see a house, car, clothes, or whatever IT is and say to yourself ... I sure would like to have that. Then the wheels start moving and you figure out a way to get whatever IT is ... when you really don't really need IT. You end up spending more money that you shouldn't, possibly more money than you have, and possibly making payments with interest on something you should never have bought.

My wife and I faced a form of this when we were preparing for the arrival of our first child ... and will continue to deal with IT as he grows. What type of baby furniture to buy, what toys to get, what type of matterss to use, what types of diapers to use, which kind of clothes to buy... etc... With little or no self-control you can easily spend several thousand dollars on Things for your child that simply aren't crucial for your childs development. For the most part the child would be content sleeping in a little onesee, on a pillow, covered with a blanket... but that's not totally realistic. Does your child know the difference between Carter's clothing or the Target brand? How about between Pampers or Huggies diapers and a generic? You want to make good decisions - decisions that you hopefully won't regret - but hopefully staying within a reasonable framework that won't cause you to loose sight of the things that are really important.

Listening to: David Gray Life In Slow Motion

Appreciate Creation

Along with the changing colors of the trees and cooler weather during fall... the Anderson Fair comes to town...

A friend and I went to IHOP last night to study for a couple of hours. We were seated in a corner out of the main path of people so we could hopefully focus a little on our studying. After about 20 minutes the table right behind us was seated. We were eating our food and beging to study when the guys at the table behind us started talking. I don't think it was the guys off of Blue Collar TV or the main character off of My Cousin Ed ... but it was a table full of his immediate cousins or offspring. I felt like I needed to leave right away ... run home and put on a dirty pair of jeans, a flannel shirt with holes in it, and my boots (after I coated them with mud) ... and then go back. They had a fairly simple vocabluary ... about 10 words made up most of it. They were loud and basically harassed the waiter most of their time there. I think their cell-phone went off about 10 times in less than an hour, the volume was turned up so high we could here the entire converstion, and whoever answered the call everyone in the resturant informed about their personal lives during the converstion. Needless to say it made studying a little interesting. My friend said that maybe they weren't locals... maybe they had come over from the fair (since it is in town) ... to be honest I think it could go both ways.

Listening to: Alison Krauss & Union Station "Home on the Highway"

emphasize a joyful life

It's easy to become short-sighted and focus only on the little things that need to be changed, the things that drive you crazy, that things that need to be fixed, that need to be done... while in reality we have a tremendous amount of things to be joyful about. The things in my life that often cause me to loose focus or at least shift my focus include worries about money, family issues, problems at work, career change, housework and... I know there are others.

My little boy helps remind me to be joyful. No matter where he goes he always seems to make friends with everyone. Whether it is because of his looks or because he's only a little over 14 weeks old... he brings out the best in most people. A little girl at the YMCA looked up at me and said "HE Smiled at me!" with all the excitement she had. Pictures of him seem to help brighten the most difficult days of friends and family. Random people at resturants and at the grocery store like to peek inside his carrier and walk away smiling - I have no idea what they are thinking but it seemed to make a big difference in their day. The best part is getting him up in the mornings. He is so awake and constantly smiling. He seems to be waiting for someone to pick him up and give him a big hug. I know that no matter what I may be wrestling with, no matter what unexpected event will come up later in the day or what worry I may allow to cloud my vision or shift my focus .... I know that I am going to have a great time with my little man in the mornings.

Listening to: Tracy Chapman "New Beginning"

Cultivate contentment, desire less

This idea originally struck me the greatest last fall when I went on a long-weekend Hurricane recovery trip with a group out of Hendersonville, NC. Our "job" during this trip was to help several homeowners basically rip apart their homes. The area had been flooded in one of the worst floods in recent histroy. Floodlevels reached higher than the anticipated 100 & 500 yr flood levels. Anywhere the flood waters had touched had to be torn out and discarded. Personal items, family heirlooms, applicances, sheet-rock, flooring, ... everything. Just huge stacks of what was now trash piled outside home after home ... street after street. At one home you could tell that one of the occupants was a woodworker and another an artist. All the handmade shelves and various projects .... and many completed paintings, other pratically finished works, and all of the supplies .... were all piled on the edge of the road waiting for the trash company to pick up.

In recent weeks I was again reminded to "cultivate contentment, desire less" after a series of natural disasters struck the US, Guatemala, and Pakistan... in each of these events "normal life" was totally dismantled as individuals and families lost most if not all they owned... and they begin to relocate and start life all over again. I also received several emails from friends working abroad ... living and being "content" in situations that the average person would absolutely find absurd. Yet they are having an amazing impact through the work they are doing.

Not that owning "things" or having hobbies is a "bad" thing ... just that my focus needed to be more on the eternal and more on the intangibles that a storm, a flood, a fire... can't sweep away. Things like relationships, family, and my relationship with the Lord.

Listening to: James Blunt "Back to Bedlam"
Latest Movie watched: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit starring Wallace & Gromit

simplicity

The inspiration for this blog came from The Cry: An Advocacy Journal for Word Made Flesh Fall 2005. (see link to Word Made Flesh website). A majority of the articles center around Simplicity. These articles profoundly impact me each time I read through them. Hopefully the insights and reflections that I share in upcoming entries will ultimately keep this as an underlying focus.