Got a Hat?

January 13, 2013

Today I tried to take it easy and recover from the busy weekend.  Great morning at church, then home to pack Glen up for his next trip. 

Not a lot of excitement today .... After Glen got on the road, Sean and I ran a few errands.  He bought ANOTHER new hat.  He is really into hats lately, all different kinds, baseball hats, cowboy hats, you name it he likes it.  I guess it is my fault as I kinda like hats too and when he was little ... I did tend to put hats on him quite a bit ....

So here he is with Sissy sporting his new hat.

Got a Clone ?

January 11, 2013

Today was one of those days that I needed not only 1 clone but 2.  I got about 4 hours of sleep.  I was so wound up after the Bluegrass Battle of the Bands that it took forever for me to fall asleep.  I had to be up at 5:30 AM and out of the house by 6:30 AM.  I had to teach a class at Pow-Wow today.  For you non-scout people, Pow-Wow is a day long fun and educational day for Cub Scout leaders. No kids allowed, well we had a few Boy Scouts doing traffic duty and assisting one of the instructors, but for the most part this is a day for the adults to act like kids and learn a ton of information to take back to their packs to enhance their program.  Pow-Wow starts at 8 and ends at 3.  BUT WAIT .........

Today is Winter Jubilee and Sean has to be on stage at 11 and again around 3.  Glen is in Savannah at a trade show .... how exactly am I going to pull this off ???

Well .... with a little help from my friends ..... and family.  I asked Marty (Glen's cousin) to do me the favor of getting Sean over to the Jubilee.  I asked a gaggle of friends to please keep track of the little banjo picker for 90% of the day until I could get there around 5.  I have to say, I know a bunch of amazing people who agreed to this unreasonable request from me.  I was not worried one bit because I knew he was in wonderful hands. I appreciate each and everyone who helped me more than I can put into words.  I owe a bunch of people for today.  I hear the Sweet Potato Pie Kids did wonderful on stage, so sorry I missed it.  I know a bunch of people enjoyed them jamming in the hall too.

I arrived just in time to catch the end of the Little Roy and Lizzy workshop.  Sean LOVES and holds a special place in his heart for Little Roy and Lizzy.  He met them when he first started to play the banjo, and Little Roy helped him purchase his first real banjo ...
here is a flash from the past....

The first time Sean met Little Roy (December 2010) ... Roy handed him his personal banjo and was helping him pick. Notice he has no picks on his fingers as Al taught him to play without picks.

Then Little Roy picks up his guitar, leaves Sean with HIS banjo and they play with Lizzy.

Later that same day, Little Roy and Sean went "shopping" for a banjo.  This is Sean with his new banjo and one of his idols.

Another blast from the past .....

At Bluegrass Under the Stars (Summer 2012), Sean brought his Heartland banjo to show Little Roy his "newest" banjo and wanted him to play it.

  Fast Forward to today .......

Little Roy and Lizzy Workshop at the Winter Jubilee, how far he has come in 2 years.

I love the way he is looking at Lizzy and listening to every word they are saying and  note they are playing.  Sean LOVES spending time with these two .. they are very high on his idol list! I so appreciate how wonderful they always are to him.

If you have never seen the Little Roy and Lizzy Show .. you are missing a TON!  Put it on your bucket list.

Got Orange and Blue ... grass that is ?

January 11, 2013

Today was an exciting evening ... The Blue Flame Bluegrass Band Competition.  Nine Bluegrass bands competing for a $1,000 grand prize.   I was on ticket booth duty for the evening so I only got to see the competition on the hall monitor and over the hall speakers, it was an AMAZING show of talent.  On top of the 9 competing bands Slik Nickel, Nuthin' 2 Lose, Unspoken Tradition, Pinetop Revival, Destined 4 Glory, Smith Family Band, Wrecked Frets, Carolina Blue, and Appalachian Generations, we were also graced with the music of  The Blue Flame Bluegrass Band and the always impressive Most Wanted Bluegrass.  Sean had a BLAST hanging out with friends and watching the show!

As I was watching the people walk past the ticket booth ... something VERY VERY STRANGE caught my eye ..... wait ..... NO .... I am seeing things ...... wait .... are you seeing what I am seeing ??

Documented Proof !!!!

  I had to take a picture to document this as I knew not one person alive would ever believe my story.  Yes friends ... this would be the one and only Jeff Catlin wearing ORANGE !  He tried to scribble some crazy words on that ORANGE band to make up for it ..... so just ignore that.  What is important is he is wearing ORANGE!  For the record .... Reid Toth was also sporting ORANGE ... but I admit my fear of taking a picture of that !  I decided seeing Reid wear ORANGE with MY own 2 eyes was enough and I wanted to live another day to see Little Roy and Lizzy !

The evening was awesome!  Wrecked Frets won first place, with Slik Nickel in 2nd and Unspoken Tradition in 3rd.  I am really glad I was assigned the ticket booth and not the judges station!  I can't wait until next year. What an awesome show.

Got Mud ?

January 10, 2013

Thursdays are normally our jam packed school day.  We don't normally have to be somewhere like banjo lessons or church or ...... so it is normally a very long school/work day that ends with us just being able to be home !  Today was Sean's last day of the first semester ...all work had to be in by midnight .... He did it .... if I would have let him he would be submitting something at 11:59 ... AUGH ..... He has SO much of Glen in him at times .... He could have been done days ago ... but instead .... he dragged it out until the last day ... we have till Thursday, Mom ..... Anyone that knows me knows he did not get that from me ..... :)   He has all A's with one B just by the skin of his teeth he dropped it to a B .... I am proud of him.

Since there was little school work to do today ..... Sean's feeding chores took him HOURS ... it is a maybe a 30 to 45 minute job ..... 3 hours later I find him in this condition.

Not sure the feeding chores require mud caked jeans!

Not just a little muddy, these jeans are CAKED with mud. 

I keep telling Glen we need an outside shower like they have at the beach.  I can't tell you how many times I have had to have him hosed down and he is only 11 !  AUGH .... when I ask the very silly question "Sean, how in the world did you get this muddy" .. I get the answer ... "Mom .. it was fun!"  .... Sigh ... Maybe it is best I really don't know.  :)

Got Carolina Now ?

January 9, 2013

Today was EXCITING and nerve racking.  The Sweet Potato Pie Kids had the opportunity to perform on television on the Carolina Now show.  I think most of the parents were a lot more nervous than the kids were!   :) We arrived at the station at 10:30 and went to the Green Room where the kids tuned and warmed up.  They went live shorty before the end of the show and were cut mid song, so some of the kids did not get to take their breaks .....they were a little disappointed but I am really proud of all of them, they did wonderful.

Here are some pictures and the video of their segment on air !

Sweet Potato Pie Kids hanging out in the Green Room before going on Carolina Now.

Got 5 strings ?

January 8, 2013

Tuesdays are always busy.  Tuesday is better known as "Charles Day" around here.  We make a pilgrimage to 5th String in Greenville for Sean's weekly banjo lesson with Charles Wood.  Yes (as someone asked me) ... THE Charles Wood ... the one and only.  Sean is his biggest fan too!  Charles is more than a banjo teacher to Sean he is a mentor and friend.  For those of you that don't know who Charles is ... here is one of Sean's favorite videos of him on David Letterman with Steve Martin, Earl Scruggs and Pete Wernick. Charles is the middle one who plays right after Paul plays the keyboard.  Sean has also had the opportunity to play with Pete Wernick (aka Dr. Banjo) as he won a scholarship to Pete Wernick's Jam Camp last year and got to play on stage at Merlefest!

Normally after banjo lessons we go to Scouts, but tonight there was a meeting about enrollment at a new charter school here in Pickens called the Youth Leadership Academy.  We have put Sean's application in for 6th grade.  There are 48 spots open, and if need be the lottery will be held in February.  Everyone say a little extra prayer Sean gets in ! 

Got Handyman?

January 7, 2013

Today was a very busy day.  Work was really busy, Sean had school work to get done and I had to play IT support to a family member (who I won't name to protect the innocent).

Once a month my Webelos meet at the Boy Scout Hut to visit and work on activities.  This is something the Scoutmaster and I started last year and it has worked out wonderful.  My Webelos really LOVE it and it gives the Scouts an opportunity to help my Webelos (and ME) out.  It really has been an outstanding opportunity for all involved.

Tonight they worked on part of their Handyman pin and did bike repairs.  It was COLD outside but we had a lot of fun and I learned a lot too !

Sean doing bike repairs for his Handyman pin.

 

Got a Tractor?

January 6, 2013

Sunday is always a great day for us.  We belong to a wonderful church that we really enjoy, our church family is a loving and supportive and we not only attend church and Sunday School, we try to serve as much as we can.  Sean serves as an acolyte, I teach children's Sunday School as a "floating" teacher (I go where they need me) and I have recently trained on the PA system.  Glen has recently stepped up to fill a teacher vacancy in our Sunday School class.  So Sunday is normally a good day for us.  We also had a special learning opportunity tonight, as our Pastor taught a special class called "It's all about the star".  What a amazing class it was, what insight ..I learned so much.  We also went out in the prayer garden to see the star!  They used telescopes, I cheated and used Google Sky Map!  :)  I came home feeling great inside.

After church it was a warm and sunny day here in the valley, Sean "found" his old tractor and decided he needed to ride it !  I think he has outgrown it just a little.

Sean riding his old tractor.  I need to find a picture of him when he first got this!  It used to have a yellow trailer that he could pull behind it.

 As we were all outside, we had a surprise guest show up!  The celebrity of the family... Harper .... Sean decided that Harper needed to learn to drive the tractor and help with the farm chores.  So here she is driving the tractor and collecting eggs(that she took home for her breakfast!).

Harper learning to help with the farm chores.

All in all a beautiful day !

Got Rocks?

January 5, 2013

My arms are already sore typing this up !  I took Sean and Thackston (Sean's best friend) on an adventure today.  First we met up with MY best friend Jeffrey for lunch and the traditional trip to Cold Stone.  Sean loves having lunch with Uncle Jeffrey as it ALWAYS means a trip to Cold Stone for dessert.  I sit and watch them eat and they both laugh at me ! 

Then it was off to Climb at Blue Ridge which is also known as Rocks and Ropes.  The boys had a really great time learning to climb.  They were able to conquer a 5.8 wall.  The 5.9 wall was just a little too much of a challenge for them, but they tried and did not give up.  I learn how to belay with the best of them ... thus why my arms are already screaming as I am typing.  I did not realize how close to the house the gym is and what fun they would have ... we will do this again !

The boys learn to climb at Rocks and Ropes.

Sean Climbing

Thackston Climbing.

Got Princess?

January 4, 2013

Today we added a new addition to our home.  I am sure everyone is having a hard time guessing what KIND of addition it might be .... I mean you never know with me ..... but let me show you !
 

We adopted Princess and now she has become an official farm dog.  I know she doesn't look like a farm dog, but I am sure everyone remembers JD, the bichon frise that we adopted many years ago, who turned into the ultimate farm dog.  Princess came right in the door tonight and fit right in with the rest of the crew.  I think she will be very happy here.

Tonight we went to Oolenoy for the first time since it "reopened".  What a wonderful community we have right here in our own backyard.  You have to experience Oolenoy to understand.  This is a special place to "hang out" on a Friday night, where the older generation and the younger generation ENJOY being together, communicating, playing music and socializing.  Sean loves to go hang out and play with everyone and anyone.  Here are some pictures from tonight's jam session.

You just pull up a seat in the circle and join the jam.

It is incredible to sit and enjoy the quality musicians that turn out at Oolenoy every Friday night.

Another jam circle that Sean joined.

The "next" generation of bluegrass.  Sean (green shirt/banjo) and Ivy (purple jacket/mandolin) are both Sweet Potato Pie Kids, and Logan (red shirt/banjo).

Sean is never ready to leave, even when the room is clearing out and the instruments are being packed up, he is still in there picking away.  There were about 3 people in the room listening when I took this picture.  When Sean was done with his lick one of them yelled "SON!" ... man did that bring a smile to his face!

Got Grandma Mae?

January 3, 2013

They say ... I have always wonder who exactly "they" really are and why everything "they" say is known by everyone and anyone .... but I know that "they" say that it takes a village to raise a child.  Around here that is pretty much what we have, our own little village.  Here in the valley my in-laws are a 1/4 mile down the road, Bob is across the road, Pete is next door to her, Marty on the other side of her, Evelyn and Jimmy down at the bridge and last but not least there is Bett the resident sheriff. Our own little village .... that has provided Sean a whole slew of "grandparents" that help make him who he is and help keep me in line. :)  Not far from the valley not only does Sean have my Mother and Grandmother but he has some more of the Talley Clan and the Crowe Clan.

Today we went to visit Grandma Mae (Jr's Mom) so that Sean could play the banjo for her.  She has not heard him play and last time she was in the valley to visit, Sean and I were not home.  We picked up Grandmother and took her with us for a visit.  Sean provided her a private concert in her own living room.  Glad we could do this and make her day a little brighter.  Sometimes that is what it is all about, making someones day just a little brighter.  We LOVE you Grandma Mae!

  

Got a mess ?

January 2, 2013
Today was a damp and chilly day.  I accomplished some today but mostly it was 3 steps back.  Remember that accomplishment of a 1/2 clean laundry room ?  Well not only is it a mess again ..... I was fortunate enough to lose 2 of my larger shelves.  Yes .... as always there is a story here.

Living where we do, power outages are common.  Now, I don't mean weekly, but pretty often we lose power for extended periods of time.  About a month ago we were out for about 5 or 6 hours, no storm, no wind ....just BAM, no power.  When we have a decent storm, we can be out for days, I think the longest outage I have been through is 12 days.  No power around here also means no water, I think that is the hardest part of the whole thing, we have the gas fireplaces that do a great job of heating the house but no water is harder to deal with.  If I think we have the potential for an outage I fill the bathtubs and collect drinking water, but in some cases I have no warning and we are caught with no water.  We have a small generator that we can use to run some things in the house if necessary, but that only does a few things and does not solve our water issue.  I have looked at the stand-by generators.  The purchase price is not out of reach but the cost to RUN them .... WOW ... the one I was looking at would cost me about $400 to run for a few days. That seemed crazy to me.

Recently we had the opportunity to purchase a large gas powered generator that would be able to run the house along with the well. Glen built it a little hut outside and yesterday Glen and Jr. wired it into the house so that we just have to start it and flip some breakers, and presto we have power AND WATER !

In order to better access our breaker panel, they decided that some shelves were in the way and had to go.  A few power tools later (and a lot of saw dust) .... my shelves were gone.

Now don't get me wrong.... I love the fact that we are wired and I will have water (and probably some company) if we have an extended power outage, but now what am I going to do with the stuff that was on these shelves? AND I have to clean up all over again .... 3 steps back.  :)  Oh well all in the day and life of Holly.  THANK YOU JR for doing this for us ..... I do appreciate it !!!

I did get my 96 oz of water in again today, my bible study, and added things to my bucket list.  So I did take a baby step forward. :)


 

Got Resolutions ?

We all do it, we all make them, break them, stress about them, guilt over them, and then we do it all over again.  We push the rock back up the hill to see if it will roll down yet again.  Crazy isn't it ?  Well I am going to break my cycle.  I am not making any resolutions for 2013.  I am going to make a 2013 Goal List.  A list of the things I would like to accomplish in 2013.  I can keep track of the accomplishments I make and even baby steps towards a goal will be more fulfilling then all the negative emotions/stresses that seem to surround the resolution habit.

So here goes .... My Goals for 2013:

Take better care of  ME ! 

Smile and laugh more and stress less !

Start a bucket list and check at least one thing off.

Study Dave Ramsey.

Do a daily devotion.

Start letterboxing again.

Craft and be creative more often.

Organize this chaos.

365 project, a picture a day.

Hike at least 75 miles.

Make someone's day with a random act of kindness.

So there it is .... documented. My Goals for 2013.

Now lets see what baby steps I have made today.

•  Picture of the day :

Happy New Year and Congratulations to the Clemson Tigers on their win against LSU.  What a wonderful game, you kept your composure and pulled it out!  Proud of you!

•  I have organized and cleaned about 1/2 of the  laundry room, done about 10 loads of laundry (don't ask!  It appears that I re-wash clean clothes more than I would like to admit as they somehow find their way back into the laundry room, and I am sure the boys have NOTHING to do with this strange occurrence that happens here at the Crowe house.).

• I subscribed to a 21 day reading plan via YouVersion (a Bible app).

• I drank about 96 oz of water.

Well baby steps anyway.

Happy New Year to all my family and friends ... may 2013 bring you blessings and happiness.