The Visitor

It doesn't happen often anymore, but this week we had quite a nice surprise. My husband is Lebanese and most of his family lives in many other parts of the world. Just in case you aren't familiar with families from this part of the globe, the families can be large. Not because there are so many siblings but because extended family is just as important as your immediate family. In fact it can sometimes be a little overwhelming when marrying into the family but you eventually get used to it and for me and my kids it has been exciting to be a part of such an extended clan. Back in the '80s and '90s, because of the civil war, many of the younger cousins came to the states to go to boarding schools so our kids had the opportunity to "grow up" with their overseas family over school holidays and breaks. During that time aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws would come to visit regularly and would stay with us for weeks and sometimes months at at time. It was wonderful - most of the time. But in recent years as family has gotten older and young cousins have started families of their own, the visits have been less frequent. We have taken advantage of Skype and Facebook and Google Talk but it just isn't the same.

Now back to the surprise. On Tuesday when I got home from work my husband said he had just gotten an email from a cousin and that he would be arriving at the airport at 8:45. This family member now lives with his wife and family in Geneva but he had an unexpected work assignment in Atlanta. It was so exciting to have him here even if only for two days. We took advantage of the evening hours so I have to admit we stayed up much later than we normally do while he was here but it was worth every minute. As we said our goodbyes it made me realize just how much we miss our family.

The aesthetic of highly authentic function over form...

Images American Furnishings

Vintage Indusrial Chic....

Essentially the well worn stools, tables, office furniture, lighting and other goodies from factories and schools, medical facilities, churches, farms and shops.

I love the ingenuity and the re-use of the whole style.

While it certainly is not everyone's

thang...

Their main characteristic is that they were designed to do a job

~Typically with little attention given to their appearance~

And they did it well, surviving all sorts of abuse in the process...And therein lies the charm...

image courtesy Decorology

Who doesn't love THAT work ethic?!

Joining Becky's Party With a Wonder

Please celebrate Becky's birthday as we all share our wonders. I was inspired to share something with you after attending a big arts & crafts show this weekend. It just so happened that at this fair there was a collection of old buggies and wagons and one in particular caught my eye. It inspired me to share my fascination with you.

I have always been fascinated with gypsies. Back during my piano lesson days I know there was a gypsy tune that I loved (and could play) in one of those John W. Schaum piano books. That song and the illustration is surely responsible for my strange fascination with gypsies. My first encounter with a real gypsy was a few years later. When I was in high school I worked at a department store in our hometown mall (a very small mall but a big deal in a small town). Anyway, we had gypsies who lived somewhere in the vicinity so the store manager would tell us when they came in the store (we were supposed to keep our eyes out for shoplifting). He said you will know they are here when the Cadillac pulls up. I remember the day a yellow Cadillac pulled up to the back door of the mall and a clan of five women, all dark haired with olive complexions, piled out of the care and entered the store. To me it was exotic and exciting to observe. I later learned that they were Roma gypsies.

Many years later as I was planning my first trip to Paris when someone warned me to "beware the gypsies." Of course I am thinking to myself, gypsies? Sure enough, within the first 12 hours in Paris, we encountered a gypsy mother with a baby and a toddler begging. We saw gypsies in the train stations, gypsies outside the churches and gypsies on the Champs Elysees.

In the early 90's I saw a movie about the Tinkers and discovered the Irish gypsies. Even though the name is different, they are still gypsies.


Photo of a Tinker wagon

Then in 1997 the most amazing thing appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution obituaries. The headline read, "U.S. Gypsies Come to Say Goodbye to Their Chief Justice." It was so unbelievable that a very important gypsy leader had been living right here in the Atlanta area. To this day I remember reading about the white horses and carriage that would carry the gypsy dignitary to his final resting place.

Since that amazing discovery NBC has run a special on the Murphy Village community just north of Augusta. After watching the program I was even more intrigued and fascinated with gypsies, their society and culture. I am just curious if others have had encounters with the gypsy communities.

Room With a View

We had such a nice weekend and I hope you did too. We spent the weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Thankfully there was no sign of a hurricane our way and the weather was perfect for celebrating the end of summer. Normally we go to my Dad's family reunion in Tennessee for the Labor Day holiday so somehow it seemed a bit strange to be away from my siblings but because my son is in Iraq, we decided to spend the weekend with his girls and go to the beach together. Here was our view from the balcony of our room. It was a perfect weekend on the beach with plenty of sun, fun, sand and water. So tomorrow is back to work as we say goodbye t0 summer.

Enjoy the Holiday

We are picking up the grandgirls and headed to the beach. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Dialogue In the Dark

Maybe I haven't mentioned it before but I do a lot of volunteering. Volunteering and community service is a part of my job and I love it. Today my volunteering led me to a most unusual experience. The Center for the Visually Impaired needed volunteers to help work with visually impaired tour guides in practicing going through an exhibit in total darkness. Yes, I spent 2 hours with Terence my tour guide who is legally blind. We went down several different paths in total darkness. Our first stop was a garden. We walked on a squishy path, traveled across a bridge, sat on a garden bench and listened to a waterfall. The next stop was a supermarket. We had to find a shopping basket and then locate items on the store shelves. I couldn't really figure out if we were feeling juice bottles or containers of vegetable oil. If you can't see, how do you know? We took our things to the cash register and then left the store and crossed a city street!!! We then went through a door and reached a dock. I walked up a plank and took a boat ride feeling the experience and hearing sea gulls. Our last stop took us to a cafe where we sat and discussed my experience. My role as a volunteer was to go through with my guide and then offer feedback so that when the exhibit opens this weekend, the visually impaired guides are fully trained and can lead groups through the exhibit.

Let me just say that going through the "paths" in darkness was such a challenge for me. My guide just kept reminding me to use my guide stick to help me find obstacles and to follow his voice. It worked but I also found myself sliding my feet just to be sure I didn't trip on something. The whole experience for me was amazing. When I left the exhibition hall I was wondering to myself what it is like to travel as a blind person. I love traveling but without vision, travel becomes a very different experience unless someone is willing to help paint the picture for you. If you live in the Atlanta area Dialogue in the Dark is definitely something to you won't want to miss.

Labor Day Weekend Makes Me Think of Port St. Joe

My mother grew up in Port St. Joe, Florida so when we were young we went back there often to spend Labor Day weekends on the beach. This weekend I was having dinner with my girlfriend, remembering back some of the beach adventures and she suggested that I share this one with you.

I usually spent a couple of weeks every summer with my cousins in Port St. Joe. It just so happened that my relatives lived across the street from "the monument" and just a short walk from the museum. By now you must be asking yourself what museum could possibly be in Port St. Joe. Most people don't know that Florida's constitution was signed in this small Florida town and at the time it was signed St. Joe was a bustling community. Unfortunately in the early 1800's the area was wiped out by yellow fever and a couple of hurricanes. When I was young we all believed a tidal wave had swept the town off the map but you can read more of the history here. After the hurricanes hit the surviving community, whatever was left of PSJ was washed into the bay. This is where I come in. During the summers the curator of the museum would pay me and my cousins 25 cents to walk in the bay at low tide to squish around in the muck for porcelain pieces and other items belonging to the early settlers that might have washed out to sea. Keep in mind that when I was in second and third grade, a quarter was good for 25 pieces of candy! We spent many hours in bare feet squishing around in the bay. So if you ever happen to get to PSJ, Mexico Beach or Cape San Blas, stop by and see the monument and enjoy the museum. I hope you will see some of my childhood summer footwork.