Home......
After spending over 9 hours last night in the chaos of Sunday-after-Thanksgiving interstate traffic, it is good to be home. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, as we exited I-81, to make the hour and a half jaunt over the steep, winding mountain road that separates us from 'civilization', so to speak..... the mountain that keeps us from becoming the tourist and retirement destination that the Blue Ridges of Western NC, my former home, have become. The moon was full, and although it was cloudy, it silhouetted the valley below. The barns, farmhouses, and silos were outlined in the dark, against the mountain ranges behind them. I was keenly aware of the vast contrast of driving a mile without seeing a single light, and the scarred mountains that we had just come from... where monstrous vacation homes line barren ridgetops, and the lights from them seem to be floating in the air. I guess 'progress' and development is inevitable, but I hope our little valley stays pristine and untouched just a little while longer.... that our state can keep its claim to being 'wild and wonderful' and 'almost heaven'......
While I was away, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself featured on a great new blog, called Beauty on the Web. Sheila, the blog's author, describes her goal as this, "This is a blog about beautiful things on weblogs. I found that as I was reading other blogs, a brilliant sentence or a stunning photo would pop out and demand to be shared." Head over and check out some of the beautiful things she has found. The post featuring my blog is Wednesday, Nov. 21st. She has also featured two of my favorite bloggers, Colleen and Fred First.
I also found myself the recipient of a "Community Blogger Award" while I was away....thanks to June, my blogger friend.
Its an award that celebrates "people who reach out and make the blogger community a better one". I'm honored and will share this award with others soon. So much blogging love while I was away! Thanks, girls! :)
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.... and find much beauty and joy today!
8 comments:
Welcome home. I agree, there is no place like It. I loved visiting relatives, eating wonderful food,and just being thankful for the opportunity to share in the bounty, but Home in my own bed and my own routine IS WONDERFUL. 12 hours was a very long drive but we actually had a pretty good time in the car.
Congratulations on your rewards and now I'm off to check out the links you mentioned.
Sue
yay!!!! we are back home too :)
it's the same sentiments here too......while half a day spent in car with some great company was absolute fun...we are glad to be back in the comfort of our home and all things regular :)
but not for too long....very soon we'll have to start packing...the sheer amount of packing that needs to be done for the move to West Coast is daunting, Blue........
Congrats on all the awards..needless to add, you deserve each one of them :)
I'm glad you had such a good Thanksgiving and a safe trip home, Blue. Congratulations on all the accolades--they were well-deserved. If June hadn't already picked you, I would have!
What sweet things happening in your absence. Sometimes it is good to go away, isn't it?
Loved your description of travling away from the world and into your quiet territory. I could just picture it!
We had 10 hours in the car home from Georgia last night, and we too relish being back in our own bed, back in our own home, back in our own town, back in our own routine.
Ah Blue. You're back! You weren't gone long, but you were missed here.
I appreciate your reflections on driving home & the gratitude for what you have implicit in what you wrote.
You are well deserving of the Community Blogger Award!
Now I'm off to check those links...
You're very welcome, Blue. Don't envy you being in interstate traffic. We do our best to time our travel so that we're not anywhere near Charlotte during rush hours. Glad you're home safe and sound.
Congratulations! You do reach out to people and help us to think beyond ourselves. Great work!
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