September was a very delightful month until flood warnings were posted as hurricane Helene meandered north on September 26. We were prepared for flooding, but nothing like what really happened. A hurricane in the mountains is like a blizzard in Florida. We were not ready – as you have probably seen on TV by now – the storm got stuck over Western North Carolina and did major damage to many communities. My little neighborhood only sustained tree damage, everyone was alright. It was eerily quiet for the first day after the storm, then we heard the helicopters and knew help was on the way. It took several days for us to know the details of the help available, since we had no communication. Just scouts out coming back and sending us to distribution centers for water, meals ready to eat etc. and we turned into pioneers getting water at the creek to flush.
After a week without power and water I got my internet back after almost 2 weeks. We are now helping other neighbors who still don’t have power or water. So if the Musings are late this time, let’s just blame Mother Nature! I am punchy now; we call it hurricane humor.
But I will tell you about the delightful rest of the month! The first week of September I was judging lots of interesting fiber entries into the NC Mountain State Fair. I did this from 2009 to 2015, then took a break and now I was asked to come back and volunteer again. Since I was flexible during the week before the fair, I gladly agreed to join the fun and saw lots of well executed entries. We had panels of judges for many different divisions from Baking to Photography. I always like the: “Growing our Food” area where avid gardeners can show off their edibles and flowers.
I had helpers to record the lucky winners of blue, red and white ribbons, which translates into cash prizes to be awarded after the Fair. One of my co-judges was Carole Carter. She is one all around talented lady with a beautiful webpage: frommycarolinahome.com Check it our for food and craft ideas; it’s a fun read about life in our mountains.
Much of the rest of the month was spent getting ready for our annual Heritage Weekend Festival. Every year artists practicing Heritage Crafts gather to demonstrate for our visitors, who also enjoy a variety of mountain music, sheep shearing and the famous Whimmy Diddle Competition. It is fun to watch the old timers trying to outdo each other and the youth groups of competitors growing larger each time. We do enjoy preserving some fun traditions every year!
One of the Heritage Weekend participants I mentioned in my past Musings when talking about silkworms, was Cassie Dixon. She now features her little critters on Instagram. If you like to watch the silkworms eat, hatch and do their thing, go to:
Cassiedixontextiles on Instagram. This time Cassie brought flax and talked about weaving heritage design blankets. More on that is on her Instagram as well.
Some day I am going to figure out how to open an account and post my ongoing restorations on it.
The first part of September a gentleman from South Carolina sent me 4 pieces from his mother’s estate to restore. They needed from very little to major attention and I really appreciate his trust to:” just take care of it!” The pieces are back to their original splendor and ready to be enjoyed again. Two more restorations happened last month, and I was able to return them home before worrying about the hurricane.
Helene did major damage to our Biltmore Gallery and there is some damage to the Folk Art Center. The Parkway is closed indefinitely. We will miss all our fall visitors but need to get our act together before we are ready to greet you again.
We are grateful to be safe and hope the same for our friends in Florida as they are dealing with Milton right now. Mother Nature is not very happy, and we hope she settles down soon. Thank you for your good thoughts, hug your loved ones, neighbors and good friends, we have held each other up.
I will post pictures again next time, I promise!
Happy Fall!
“ I do what I love and I love what I do.”