WV Life: Volcano Days

This weekend, Chris (my husband) and I went to the Volcano Days Engine Show and Festival. I was very confused about this festival at first, given that West Virginia does not have a volcano, and I'm pretty sure isn't even on a fault line. It turns out that the Festival is named Volcano after the now non-existant oil town. The boundaries of the town now lie within Mountwood Park where the festival is held each year.

The soundtrack of the festival was the rhythmic pops and mild hum of dozens of engines. Around these engines, people were displaying other antique tools. It was really inspiring to see people so passionate about sharing and learning the history of their community.

One of my favorite things about West Virginia is that the people celebrate everything about their culture and history. So far, I am aware of festivals that honor the oil boom, apple butter, fiber arts, black walnuts, and honey. I know there's more. Life in West Virginia has a beautiful simplicity that seems to stem from appreciating resources and honoring traditions.

Craft vendors and other businesses had booths set up past the engines. Some of the artisans even did demonstrations of their work. Whitetail Tree Service, as far as I can tell, offers typical tree pruning and removal service. They just also have an excellent marketing strategy--a man carving animals with a chainsaw. It was pretty impressive.

Another favorite booth was Heavenly Sunlight Alpaca Farm. They were selling unbelievably soft alpaca yarn dyed in incredibly vibrant colors, as well as knit and woven items. They even had a box of unspun alpaca fleece, a spinning wheel, and a loom set up to show their process.

Of course a festival is not complete without fair food. Chris and I decided to forgo the traditional corn dog and funnel cake for a delicious (and long overdue for this Memphis girl) barbecue sandwich. We topped that off with a scoop of old-fashioned, hand-churned black walnut ice cream.

The festival also featured live music--mostly talented, local bluegrass musicians. It was getting late, but we stayed long enough to hear the Jones Family band. They were really good, especially their fiddler. A bluegrass fiddle solo is pretty much the equivalent of a rock guitar solo in terms of audience response. Everyone was loving it, including the fiddler himself! You could just tell from his face that playing his fiddle brought him true joy. (I hate that this picture isn't sharp. Oh well, you can still see his smile!)

We had a really great time this weekend. It was wonderful to not only get out of the apartment, but to also experience a piece of West Virginian history. And, I failed to mention that Mountwood Park is absolutely gorgeous! It's located in a mountainous area covered with trees and even has a sizable lake. Along with campgrounds, the park offers bicycle and boat rentals. Chris and I are definitely going back when the leaves begin to change. We might even try kayaking.

A Project That May Be A Little Too Big

Hey! Remember that time I blogged regularly? Me neither...

A friend of mine recently posted a link on Facebook to a really great article about burn out. As I read it, I wept because I could totally relate to every word the author was saying. I think this struggle to balance God, work, and rest is the worst in moms, teachers, and other servant leaders. Because you understand that your position requires the best, and you're surrounded by other moms, teachers, and leaders who are blowing the lid off your efforts without breaking a sweat. You see everyone else excelling. And so (out of fear, guilt, pride, who knows why?), you sacrifice a little more of your time to make those super-involved reading center materials. You pull an all-nighter to make sure that you offer a good selection of baked goods at the school fundraiser. You skip your quiet time yet again because you woke up late and needed to write a few more notes before the meeting. There's this pressure to be perfect, and you don't know how other people are doing it. You're killing yourself just to maintain the facade. 

I taught for a year and a half. To be honest, I was burnt out by the end of the 1st 9 weeks. And I can't seem to get it back. I'm afraid to be in that position again--to feel like my job requires me to do more than I can handle. The next 10 points are directly from the article; the author penned them from her experience with burn out in student ministry. (Read the full article here.)

1. Get the rhythm right. It’s actually prayer, play, and work. – Did you notice I inverted the order? Priorities make all the difference.
2. Put God first and foremost in everything. – If I continually invited Him into every aspect of my life, I would have no reason to stress.
3. Allow God to defend you. – God is my defender. I don’t need to justify myself to anyone. He’ll do it for me or kindly correct me depending on the circumstances.
4. People who believe they can sleep when they’re dead never really get to fully experience life. – Sleep is so important. I can function on four hours of sleep, but what’s permissible isn’t always beneficial.
5. Rest is a form of worship. – Over the summer, I had to retrain myself to enjoy free time. I’ve never been so thankful for opportunities to exercise, appreciate nature, play my guitar, write, hang out with friends, read, and just explore the awesomeness of the world. Rest is about trusting God enough to take the time to appreciate His blessings.
6. Turn off the technology. – Let’s be honest, I don’t need my Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and three email accounts pushed to my iPhone every five minutes. I tend to idolize technology as in I spend more time with it than I do with God and with people God has placed in my life.
7. It’s okay to say ‘no’. – There is freedom in admitting that you can’t do everything.
8. Be honest with yourself and your friends. – To guard against burnout, I’m inviting more accountability into my life.
9. When you miss out, others are missing out too. – God placed me in my circle of influence to leave an impact. When I’m not fully present, I’m robbing people of what God wants to do in their lives through me.
10. God is God. I am not. – If I remembered who God is and who I am in Him, I would be less likely to work myself to the point of burnout. He is in control, and as long as I follow Him, I’ll be okay.

After reading through the lessons she learned, I realized that my issue with burn out is the result of a larger problem with time management and priorities. I am the worst at spending time with God and dedicating time to rest and time to work. I do a weird rest-work that is completely exhausting, stressful, and inefficient. And time in the Word is tacked on at the end…sometimes...okay, hardly ever. So, I am working on my time management and my priorities.

This goal evolved into a larger collection of things I need to work on, and eventually became a partial list of 25 things to accomplish before my 25th birthday in June. When I finish writing the list, I'll post it on this blog. 

After these past 4 months of feeling completely lost and purposeless, I am intentionally embracing what I know of my purpose now, and not letting life pass me by because I don't have it all figured out. God has given me the amazing purpose of being a wife--a purpose that I have somewhat been neglecting as I was trying to figure out a new career path. (I am so thankful for a patient husband who shows me the love of Christ each day!) And I'm not entirely sure if God doesn't want me in the classroom, again. In the meantime, I'm actively waiting for an answer.

I feel like that was a little heavy, so to balance it out, let me introduce the first project I'm tackling on my list of 25 things:

Isn't she a beauty??

Let me tell you something about myself. I like projects. I like things that have good structure, but just need a little work. I like people that way, too. It's the best feeling in the world to help something or someone realize their potential.

So, I believe my couch has the potential to be this couch:

This West Elm sofa is the most beautiful and the most expensive couch I have ever seen. I love its feminine charm and patterned fabric. Obviously, there are some structural differences between my couch and the West Elm one. No, I'm not going to rebuild my couch. I am, however, going to attempt a block-printed slipcover. Depending on the difficulty of lining up the pattern when constructing the slipcover, this project may just be a plain slipcover. We shall see. Stay tuned for what I'm sure will be a poorly written tutorial and a wealth of anecdotes. 

Fangs McGee: The Black, Fluffy Vampire Cat

My family has never actually picked out and bought or adopted a cat. They always come to us. 

(I'm now imagining Harry Potter's Olivander saying, "The cat chooses the human, Mr. Potter. It's not always clear why." Did I mention I was a Harry Potter nerd? Well, now you know...)

First, my family had a beautiful black and white cat. My brothers and I found her in our yard, and then hid her on the porch. Surprisingly, my Dad let us keep her when he found out. We had her for 12 years before she passed away 2 years ago. It felt weird to replace her, so we didn't.

When I moved to Jackson to start my teaching job, I lived in this great apartment complex with my roommate, Miranda. If you know anything about Jackson, TN, then you know it is no stranger to strong storms. Miranda and I were buckling down for a particularly bad one when we heard a noise outside. We opened the door, and there was a big, fluffy, black cat. We eventually found out that he had no owner--probably had been left behind when his previous owner's moved. So, we claimed this sweet kitty as our own.   

I'm a firm believer in giving pets awesome names that you wouldn't give your children. Like the name Amadeus. It's an amazing name, but unfortunately this isn't the 18th century. And though "unique" names are character-building, I'd rather my children get character some other way. So I reserved "Amadeus" for pets, and this regal-looking kitty seemed like the perfect candidate for the name. However, my roommate, friends, and I never called him by that name. We used nicknames, such as Black Sheep, Little Lamb, and Fangs McGee.

The names "Black Sheep" and "Little Lamb" came from the cat's altered appearance after his first grooming. When the cat first came to us, he was matted and dirty, so much so that we had to have him shaved down. Every bit of him except his huge, fluffy tail. His once mane-like fur was reduced to a wool texture. He looked like a sad, little lamb. One day, Miranda was petting him and started absentmindedly singing, "Baa Baa Black Sheep." Thus "Black Sheep" became one of the cat's nicknames during the time of his unfortunate and humiliating shorn condition.

The most prominent and unusual feature of this cat was his teeth. His canines extended past his mouth so that they were visible even when his mouth was closed. The effect was quite shocking, but we soon found out that he was the sweetest cat ever. Unless you're a squirrel. Then, he's your worst nightmare. Because of his teeth, we began to call him "Fangs." I have no explanation for the "McGee" part. This name stuck, so "Fangs McGee" (or "Fangs" for short) he became.

note the fangs

Fangs currently lives at my parents' house, chasing squirrels, terrorizing the neighbor's cat, and running away from small children.

As you can see, I'm very fond of black kitties, especially fluffy ones. It makes me sad that they get a bum rap around this time of year. Black cats don't bring you bad luck. In fact, I've found that they bring you good luck. Unless you count the time I lived with my friend Kristi and her cat. Then, black cats also bring you a bite in the leg when climbing up stairs. But they certainly aren't witches or death omens.

I made this appliqued piece in time for Halloween for anyone who loves black cats as much as I do. This sweet, bow tie-wearing kitty wouldn't hurt anyone, except maybe a squirrel. I mean to do 2 more for a series of pieces that could be hung together. It's been a busy week, so I wasn't able to finish them all. Hope you like it! Look for this piece (and maybe 1 of the other 2) in the shop tonight!   

Whatever is…Wednesday

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

Sorry everyone, but today I'm breaking my policy of silence in the public forum regarding politics. As I'm writing out Philippians 4:8 for this weekly post on positive things, my thoughts go to the current presidential election. I think I am not alone when I say that I'm ready for it to be over because both parties have taken a very negative approach to campaigning, and their supporters have followed suit. I think it's very important to teach our children (and ourselves) that it is right for us to have political views, and we can share them with others. We are blessed to live in a country that allows us to do that. However, it is never appropriate to belittle a political leader or candidate, even if you do not believe in their strategies, ideas, or morals. These men and women are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, and, more importantly, image-bearers of the Lord. We need to have respect for people as human beings when we speak of them. We also need to remember that we have been called to pray for our leaders.

"I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."
I Timothy 2:1-2

 Maybe the problem is that we who have been called to pray for our current leaders are too busy insulting them. Imagine what could happen if we obeyed. I rarely pray for the President and the other leaders of our country. Last night, as I was listening to the First Lady's speech, I was convicted to do so, no matter who wins this election. Running a country is a big job, and I believe that no one truly wants to run America into the ground. So, let's support our leaders through prayer.

On to more praiseworthy things:

-My husband and I took advantage of the 3-day weekend and visited our families in Tennessee and Arkansas. We had a great time, even though our visit was too short, and we returned to a messy apartment that was still devoid of groceries and clean laundry.

But, I got to see this guy (my nephew):

And this guy (my cousin):

Totally worth it. (That last picture is old. It's difficult to photograph a 2 year old, especially one that always seems to be running.)

-Today I had the day off, so I worked on something new for my shop. It was wonderful because it turned out exactly the way I wanted it to. I love it when ideas actually work. I plan to list it Friday, but here's a sneak peak:

Be sure to check back on Friday for the finished product and a little story to go with it.


-One final good thing, and it's a big one. Last week, I learned that the scans for my friend's brother-in-law had come back positive for cancer, and the doctors were worried the cancer had to spread to his organs. He nearly lost his battle with cancer the first time back in 2008, so this news was very scary. This week, I found out that the cancer had not spread to his organs, the doctors had removed the cancerous cells, and the new scans had come back negative!!

Please, feel free to share your Philippians 4:8 things in the comments. I love reading about the positive things going on in other people's lives!