A Mountain Christmas

Marilyn & I enjoyed playing traditional & Celtic Christmas music on our 'harps.'

All the fixings--including the ubiquitous soup beans. Good food & conversation.

Although Marilyn & Baxter live simply, their hospitality & friendship are generously offered.

Christmas eve and Christmas day were extra special because our power had come back on after five days without. Christmas eve afternoon Alan & I drove across the mountains to the home of our Public Health nurse and her husband: Angela and Tommy Hubbard. The day was sunny & the creek in front of their house was bubbling loudly. We enjoyed their fine cooking and fellowship. Tommy loves to hunt, fish, fix big equipment…guy stuff that Alan loves talking about. Angela loves her home & family & work… stuff that I love talking about. Tommy’s chili held a hint of cinnamon, a surprise that reminded us of our years in Greece.

In the evening we went to church at Beverly UMC for their traditional Christmas eve service. The Chrismon tree was brightly lit, the carols and lessons were shared by all, I played organ with two other much more talented musicians on piano & electronic keyboard. Silent Night in candlelight only was a welcome reminder of our many extraordinary Christmas Eve services at First Church. It was simple but very nice.

Christmas Day meant sharing the excitement of grandchildren by telephone. They don’t change. The day is always a little magical. At eight Gracie is really wondering about Rudolph and reindeer and Santa and elves this year. One doesn’t have to teach children about this at all; they simply pick it up from the people and events around them. These young families do a good job to combine the sacred celebration of our faith and the fun of an American Christmas.

Later in the day we drove up the mountain a ways to friends Marilyn & Baxter Brock. Marilyn is a retired nurse and a book waiting to be written. She has an extraordinary number of stories, jokes, home remedies, & witty sayings tucked away in her head. She cooked a huge meal with all the trimmings and Baxter made is normal contribution: soup beans. The tasty kind cooked with lard, just like the mountain folks like them. Marilyn & I played our autoharps—traditional & Celtic favorites—while the men talked (& talked & talked). Although they live simply, Marilyn & Baxter extend a warm generosity & mountain welcome; we were warmed by their wood fire & genuine friendship.

Christmas was good--different, but good. We embraced the new people and traditions of this place, thankful for this opportunity that is ours. At the same time we held dear our family and friends and our memories of Christmas past. In Kentucky we don’t have to watch Polar Express 12 times before Christmas…not a bad thing. But leave behind Grammie’s Christmas bread? Not a chance. Everybody got theirs…some early and some late. There are some Christmas traditions too good to let go of.

A-Caroling We Go

Part of the fun of Christms was delivering fruit baskets and caroling. As feeble as our singing was, the recipients insisted we "sang beautifully." Of course, many were also hard of hearing! Many joined the songs; all were grateful for our visit. This is the true spirit of Christmas.

Christmas week without power

A large limb crushed the DeWall Senior Center sign, as well as part of the roof.

Christmas week of 2009 proved to be more memorable than even we could have imagined. The power went out on the Friday before Christmas (one week) and stayed off until late Wednesday evening. The few people left at the Red Bird campus huddled together in a few heated rooms in the only building on a generator: the clinic & old hospital. Alan & I slept at the house—snuggled deeply under a sleeping bag in 42 degrees. He worked on generators during the day & I was about the normal work at the clinic. The group took common meals cooked in microwaves and on a camping grill. My kettle of corn chowder cooked on the grill turned out nicely for the group too. Food, blankets, and emergency supplies were delivered to some of Red Bird’s frailest clients. One 90 year old man was brought from his home to our shelter so that we could care for him. A winter blizzard had blanketed the area with snow & ice, breaking limbs & uprooting trees, knocking out power & contaminating water. A tree fell on our senior center & one of our garages collapsed. We were beginning to wonder if we would be cold through Christmas, but it was not to be. Everybody cheered when lights flickered on, hot water heaters kicked on, and furnaces began blowing warm air. Having electricity, being in our homes again, taking showers, being warm, having water…we had every good gift we needed.

Family Christmas

Seven of ten grandchildren--we missed the absent ones.

Like Thanksgiving, Christmas was a series of “new traditions.” We drove to Indiana for an early Christmas with family. We (Ryan’s, Rachelle’s and us) got together at Ryan & Tristi’s home for a delicious dinner & gift exchange. Ryan had the fire roaring in the fireplace (oh how we miss ours!)…too hot even for the dog to lie down in front of it! Our gifts are simple—something fun and something practical is our mantra. We look forward to hooking up the electronic photo frame with ever-looping pictures of family for our home. The best presents of all never need wrapping: a grandchild’s hug, the sound of children playing, laughter, a meal shared, a memory made. Thank God for the gift of life.

Thanksgiving

Rachelle & Gracie fixed the salad.

Morgan chopped celery (that knife looked a little too sharp, but he did fine.

Madalynne helped with pie...she loves baking and eating!

Thanksgiving...

We missed our familiar Thanksgiving at “grandma’s” house, but this Thanksgiving was good too. Rachelle & Jeremie and kids and Alan and I drove to Michigan to be with Rae Lynne & Rodney & family. We had little time but it was good. The kids played and helped, and we all watched our first viewing of Polar Express for the season. Rae Lynne tried steaming the turkey all night on a low oven, but did not know that her oven has a safety switch that shuts it off after so long. We awoke to just an ordinary morning, no aroma of a baking turkey to be found. So she cranked up the oven & got the big bird cooked in no time flat, with time left for all the other baking. It was lovely to be together. Late on Black Friday we ventured out into a store so I could finish Christmas shopping for the kids and leave the gifts with them for later. The time passed so quickly, but every moment was treasured with true thanksgiving.

Gladie Homestead

Above are photos of the inside of a tobacco-drying barn. Notice the many racks elevated into the ceiling area on which long leaves hang upside-down for drying. A collection of old farm tools fascinated Alan-some familiar to him from his days on the farm.

Quilt designs are commonly found on old barns throughout Kentucky. They create a quilt trail, another way for tourists to discover quaint and lovely places throughout the state.

The old homestead, once so far away from anywhere, is now accessible by an asphalt road--but still from away from anywhere!

Red River Gorge

One drives along the Red River Gorge, pulling off into overlooks to catch glimpses of the magnificent gorge created by the Red River.

Natural Bridge-2

Natural Bridge State Park is too magnificent for just one posting! It's trails, trees, rocks and views are breathtaking. There is no better time than a crisp, clear fall day to enjoy the park.

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge

With autumn leaves turning & the sky beaconing blue, we took a day in October for hiking in Natural Bridge State Park & the surrounding area. Natural Bridge is a wonderfully wild place with great vistas, craggy stone outcroppings, shaded trails, caves, and mossy rocks. Our day there was uncrowded, but did include several dads on outings with out-of-school children that made the chatter around us lively and fun. We hiked the easier way up to the Bridge, but took the tougher trail down. We felt our legs trembling by day’s end. The leaves were barely turning, but were still beautiful. We walked for a few hours and then enjoyed a late lunch in the lodge restaurant. After eating we drove and photographed along the Red River Gorge and visited the remote Gladie Homestead in the Park. We were the only people at the Homestead so we wandered slowly around the property and through the old tobacco barn. Alan even stretched out in the late afternoon sun and took a nap on the grass.

The bridge's size makes it hard to photograph from close-up. It's awesome.

Grand Moments

Daughter, Rachelle & her husband, Jeremie and Grands Gracie and Noah spent fall break with us. The kids did fine, but mom and dad suffered from car sickness on our winding roads. Mostly we enjoyed hikes in the beautiful autumn woods where nobody got sick.

Grand moments

It was a wonderful week with the grandkids (Grands), Gracie and Noah. At eight and seven they are full of life, questions, comments, and more sugar and spice than is almost bearable. One day we were gazing at a mountain vista, the breeze blowing Gracie’s soft blonde hair around her wondering blue eyes. She sighed, “Ohhh, Kentucky looks just like it did in my dreams.” Gracie, I think that Kentucky blue is almost as pretty as your bright Pearson eyes.
Not to be outdone in the comment column, Noah had a word or two to share in the week too. Although he tended to dance on rocks rather than stand on them, he proved an able “guide” on our mountain hikes. Driving past a sign one day that said Dead End, he seriously informed us that this was where one went on the last day of their life. What a sweet week.

Beverly UMC in its fall colors

The Beverly UMC is picturesque no matter what time of the year it is. The sound of a babbling brook greets attenders; it reminds me each Sunday of the sacred symbolism of water...birth, rebirth, cleansing, life itself.

Pine Mountain State ParK

Lunch at this park is a treat. It has a great buffet…but an even greater view. It’s a popular spot for the after-church crowd on Sunday, as we found out on a gorgeous fall day. The vista is spectacular and we were so grateful to get a table right next to the window! The room was full and we lingered long enough for the waitress to give us the look.

Splendor in the Leaves

The colors of fall are simply splendid here in the mountains of southeast Kentucky. They are more than just seen; they are experienced. Every windy road turns into another colored postcard and every ridge becomes a vista of multi-colored puffs. If the day is clear, the sky is a beautiful blue—bluer than turquoise, clearer than blue topaz. I’ve heard it called simply Kentucky Blue. I didn’t know I liked the combination of blue and orange so well, or blue and yellow. The very best shades of color happen when you get under the leaves and look up through their translucence into the sunlight. I wish I could describe it, or paint it, or capture a photo—but none do the sensation justice. The colors of fall are simply to be experienced.

Mountain Nurse

You would love Marilyn Brock. She's retiring this month after 34 years as the Public Health Nurse here at Red Bird and the years before that in PA, KY, and Sierra Leone. "She's a dandy," the mountain folk say; I say she's the end of an era. Marilyn thought nursing on horseback in the mountains sounded fun so she came to the Frontier Nursing School to study midwifery after getting her RN. Instead of horses, she has made her way around many a winding, steep and uncertain path in Jeeps. I spent a day on the road with her, and sure nuff, we broke down! Her patients love her; she's not only a crackerjack nurse, she's also got the biggest bunch of stories and jokes you ever heard. Marilyn is also a musician and we play four-hand piano every week in chapel, sometimes sing together, and my affection for her caused me to humiliate myself in front everybody singing a song I wrote for her and playing my own autoharp. We have great fun together. I was there when one of her patients, Miss Addie, broke out singing "Walk Around Me Jesus." --And he did. Marilyn is a walking example of a lifetime of love poured out for others. We wish her godspeed.

The Beverly U M Church

The Beverly United Methodist Church is one of the most beautiful and quaint churches you will ever see. It looks like a postcard--nestled in the mountains with a babbling creek running along side. Wild flowers bloom & the sound of water is ever present. Inside, it's chestnut paneling gleams in soft light and a stained glass window graces the front. This is a peaceful, sacred place.

My old Kentucky home

Here are a few photos around our house. You can see that we are surrounded by mountains & much green vegetation. Our front door looks toward several houses and our back door faces a square of grass surrounded by apartments. Teachers & other staff live in these smaller places. We are fortunate to have a single home: 1,300 sq. feet with a single garage.