When I was young, my parents had a friend who threw these amazing holiday parties at his cabin in Disputanta. Driving across the Rockcastle County line meant Christmas had truly arrived. We drank cider and strung popcorn and danced whenever someone picked up a fiddle or banjo to make the season bluegrassy. The host was […]
In the early 80’s, I rode the school bus to and from Providence Elementary. All the kids called our bus driver Sit Down and Shut Up because all we ever heard him say was, “Sitdownandshutup,” bellowed in one raspy breath as if the statement were a single word. That rude declaration might get a bus […]
My love for carbohydrates is no secret. My father is a renowned baker and makes homemade bread, rolls and biscuits almost every week. Growing up, many a bad day was turned around by a hot roll dipped in melted, salted butter. For me, homemade bread tastes like comfort. Last week, I got my rolling pin […]
The Viking war god Odin is normally portrayed with one eye, bloody hands and his two ravens Huginn and Muninn sitting atop his shoulders. It is said that during the Yule festival, Odin transforms into a tall, gaunt traveler, bedecked in a blue, fur-trimmed coat. He mounts his trusty stead Sleipner, an eight-legged, white horse, […]
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman Living in the country, we have a long-standing battle with ants. Crawling all over the cat food bowl. Marching in a line from the kitchen window […]
The Dance Fever of 1518 was a month-long plague of inexplicable dance mania in Strasbourg. Hundreds of people danced without stopping for weeks on end, with several of them dancing themselves to death. Some historians suspect mass hysteria. Others blame hallucinations from food poisoning. Some scholars say the event was staged by a large religious […]
