Merry Mountain Christmas Card

"Mountain Christmas" Holiday cards, Merry Mountain Christmas, http://ow.ly/kXSf #Christmas #mountains

Mountain Christmas by figstreetstudio
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Week In Burnsville

Blueridge Mountains VA, Mabry Mill by figstreetstudio

I spent a week in Burnsville, NC. I just love the Blue Ridge Mountains and Burnsville is right in the mist. It is supposed to have a lot of artists and lots of art studios. There is a weekend of studio tours too but I am heading out to Washington, DC for a Jazz Fest. I spent most of my time meeting new people and cooking some New Orleans style food. The place is friendly and real safe. The town has two discount groceries. Both have the best deals on food stuff. I see why people here eat at home. The restaurants are not all that good but real cheap. I took a few photographs to paint from but have yet to connect with a spot that I can feel its spirit enough to begin to paint. Seeing a few paintings in the local gallery helped point me in a direction but it has not set the point in my minds eye. Seems pottery is the big thong here with a craft school at Penland I have yet to visit. I passed it up already once looking for it, the sign was too late for me to turn in. Next trip. The highlight for me was a tour of a closed feldspar mine. It closed and flooded in the 1960's but was pumped out enough to make a tourist attraction. It made the stuff used in Bon Amie cleanser. I learned a lot about the mines in this area there and well worth the stop in. I hope by spending time in the Blue Ridge that something will light so I can paint something worthy of the time and place.

People in Burnsville love 'Jerry's Jambalaya". I cooked several batches over the weekend. Here is a link to a recipe-http://stuffedartichoke.blogspot.com/2008/03/quick-and-easy-shrimp-jambalaya.html

Jambalaya by figstreetstudio

On The Road Through Mountains

Old Mill by figstreetstudio

Time for my now annual trip to Philadelphia so I took a new route from Knoxville Tennessee east through the Great Smoky Mountains. I avoided the usual tourist spots and opted to follow some little mountain roads. Last time I went south of the Smokeys this time I skirted north. From the distance they did look really smoky but as I got close I discovered it was thunder storms. Some really too windy and hard to drive through but I went forward up and over through a small town of Newport, then to Hot Springs, NC. The roads in North Carolina were better, less winding and more open than the tight curvy roads of Tennessee but after Mars Hill there was a lot of road construction with warnings of blasting areas. A sign saying to turn off two way radios and cell phone as an incorrect signal could set off an early explosion. For several miles things were slow and messy and I wanted to be clear away if a blast went off. It is a spot to avoid if you are heading this way and looks like it will be so for some time to come. Seems the state is widening the highway from Burnsville to I-26 but has to blast away a few mountains to do so. I am spending a few days visiting friends and plan on cooking a few New Orleans dishes for dinner.

Blue Ridge Mountains On Tap

Blueridge Mountains VA, Mabry Mill by figstreetstudio

Time for my now annual drive through the Blue Ridge on my way to Philly. This year I hope to stay a week near Asheville, NC. The trip I took on the motorcycle 2 years ago was wonderful so I hope to return for a longer stay this time. While there I scout out spots to paint like the Mabry Mill in Virginia I did a while back.