One of the projects that has been taking up some of my extra time these days is a dream project involving creating a Heritage Apple Orchard at the 1870’s Adaland Mansion in Barbour County, West Virginia. I actually started work on this project last spring during the Covid shut down. Volunteers came together to apply […]

Our family loves chilies and peppers of all kinds. We always plant sweet and hot peppers but this is the first time I tried to grow chilies at home. The most prized are always the Pablano chili peppers. They are a mild heat chili and make  the base for many of the traditional Tex-Mex dishes […]

When I graduated from college with a degree in art, I never thought that I would be a public art advocate or a muralist. Of course, I never thought I would be on TV or an AmeriCorps Service Member either. Today working on community art projects is one of the things that gives me the […]

Today was another eye-opening experience at the farmers market. I am lucky to live in a community where we have at least 4 farmers markets within about a 12 mile area. I live in a small town of a zip code population of about 4,000 people and the neighboring town may have a zip code […]

It seems everything we are doing this summer is a investment in the future. Even the little day trips we have taken are to help my son explore ideas that he may want to revisit in the future. I have been working on several projects at work that are going to pay off 5 or […]

Ok maybe WIFI is not the only problem I face as a blogger, but it sure made writing harder. It has been over 9 months that my old laptop lost it’s ability to connect to my wireless router. That meant two things for me, I could not read in bed anymore, where I read most […]

“Coming home to West Virginia” is how David Cutlip described the adventure of saving his Great Grandfather’s log cabin constructed in the 1860’s. The story spans 4 generations, crosses state lines and brings new life to a beloved log home. The Cutlip Reconstructed 1860’s cabin in Beverly, West Virginia. This story begins along a rural […]

Today was one of the high points of my summer. As an artist, writer and public art advocate, I was so excited to see the final installation of a children’s art project, that I had a part in making happen.  The “Art in the Park Project” is a MAD (Mountain Arts District)  project that allowed 4 […]

One of my favorite Appalachian dishes is Creamed Tomatoes. Making it from a batch of garden tomatoes in late summer is a real treat. I always look forward to eating tomatoes from the garden but there is something wonderful about fresh biscuits hot from the oven topped with butter and fresh creamed tomatoes for breakfast […]

I get asked all the time if where I work, The Golden Rule, is haunted? For a building to be built in 1902 and not be haunted is a surprise. I would say that the building is not haunted in the traditional way. Not in the way horror movies show hauntings, full of evil spirits […]

So one of the things that the producers of “State Plate” TV show want me to make is apple dumplings made from our very own state apple the Golden Delicious. A wonderful history fallows the apple. It comes  from one of the most rural counties in our state, Clay County, West Virginia. The county is […]

The spring remodeling project with the Barnwood Builders has finally been finished. It is the most surprising and wonderful experience I have ever be part of. It is a gift to work on this project, be included in this T.V. show and be able to promote some of the wonderful things about my West Virginia. The filming […]

I just can’t help the fact that I love where I live and the people around me. I take thousands of photos every year and some never make it to  my blog and others are only uploaded on to Facebook and or sent to friends and family. So, I thought  I would take a few […]

Today begins the first step in the process of our remodel. Tom, Christopher and I are meeting the show producers for BarnWood Builders, from the DIY Network, at the barn that they are demolishing to repurposed  into a pile of supplies for our home. The Barn is way back in the country taking us around 25 minutes to get […]