Almost Heaven: West Virginia USA

Here I am in West Virginia....Almost Heaven!  And I was still smiling and happy even after being locked in the dark box all the way here from Utah.  I didn't even have to nibble all of my carrot.  I used my backpack for a pillow and enjoyed the trip.

After a couple of days of rest, we took a trip to Tamarack, the Best of West Virginia, (http://www.tamarackwv.com/) so Donna could drop off 3 pieces of art for a show in the gallery and let me see some of West Virginia's best arts and crafts.

Did you see me perched up in the daffodil? 
Go back and look.  Now, let's go see what is inside the building.

Here I am perched on the frame of one of Dave Houser's

finest pieces of stained glass.  West Virginia has 55 counties and

very few straight lines.  Preston County is the

red piece with the 2 straight edges. 

Dave is from Preston County.

I learned all kinds of things on this trip.

Hey!  Here is one of Donna's  pieces of artwork for sale....Just Bee.

This is an Allegheny Treenware gravy bowl and ladle...

they are from Preston County, too.  Have you

noticed there are lots of talented people from Preston County?

And here she is in one of Shelia's nice baskets...

another fine Preston County artist.

West Virginia has long been famous for glass making...

look at those swirls and colors. 

 Don't I look stylish standing here?  Those swirls!

Susan Feller made this pretty ruglet. 

Donna took a class from her once upon a time and made

a hooked pin with a sassy little chick in the middle.

Oh!  Now we're talking. 

I found friends!  We had the nicest chat.

I hope they find nice homes and get to

have fun adventures, too.

And then it was time for a little ride on the pony. 

Much more my size than that gigantic thing at Kristen's house.

Oh, and the giant things were friendly enough...just, well,

gigantic!

Gigantic like they would fit under this beautiful hand made saddle.

On the way home we went over the New River Gorge Bridge...

well, we went over it on the way down, too,

but the pull off was on this side and not that side...

this bridge is the longest single arch span in the northern hemisphere...

or maybe the world!  It was a little bit scary for me sitting there....

even scarier than the ledge in front of Kristen's river.

I was very brave, but Donna didn't want to lean out far enough to get this next photo without putting me in a safer place.  If you look, you can see how you walk out there to do the under the bridge walking tour.  It even made Donna's  knees shake.

 If you want some more info, you can try to read the sign.

One day Donna wore this necklace to school and her 5th graders wanted to make one of their own. 

Since she taught them how to sew to make their poetry pockets, they have been bitten by the bug. 

It's sweet.

Here I am waiting with the supplies for the kids to come up

(during their lunchtime!) to sew. 

 They were very excited to meet me and hear about my travels so far. 

 They checked out my Passport to see everywhere I had been.

Look at all these busy hands....

After seeing all the kids busy making their own necklaces, I decided I would like one of my own.

So, being an easy touch for an international bunny,  Donna made me one....sweet girl!

Remember the comment about the big horse at Kristen's?  Well, Donna doesn't have horses, but she does have a dog that is just about as big as a small horse...especially if you are a small rabbit.  But the Mercy girl is very friendly, so aside from a few slurps all went well.

 I guess dog riding is an acquired talent...and Mercy wasn't even standing up!

It was great fun to visit in West Virginia.  Everyone was very friendly.

Afterall, everyone loves Lucy, right?

FROM DONNA:   I hope Lucy has a great time on her next stop.  She is such a good guest.  I wonder if she is starting to miss her momma back in Australia?

Don't you wish you could travel by post?  See the world a stamp at a time....

The Festival of Lights, Hanukkah

She came to us one snowy day, the only snowy day in fact that we've had this winter season, on the back of a chicken through the forest.  All the way she came clear across the ocean from Australia to our family for a short visit here Utah, USA.

Okay, so maybe she didn't arrive on the back of a chicken but she did come in a snowstorm and she did come all the way from Australia.  Her name is Lucy and she is traveling the globe and it just so happens out of  all of the houses she chose to stop at...... ours has been one of them.  We feel quite lucky!  So lucky in fact, that we invited Lucy to celebrate Hanukkah with us!

We had no idea when we invited Lucy to join us that she was such a crack in the kitchen.  Levi loves to help me shred potatoes.  I had about 50 potatoes to shred so Lucy helped Levi while other Native's and I peeled.
She and Levi had the fun part....

After the potatoes are shredded they go into a bowl along with several other ingredients for the latkes!  Lucy was very keen on making sure I fried the latkes to perfection.  They have to be nice and crisp and brown.  We like to eat them with applesauce.

When Lucy saw that the dreidel game was being played she left me to my kitchen duties, (I didn't blame her, I'd have left if I could too) and went over to play the dreidel game.

I think Lucy is getting the hang of it...... look how much candy she is winning!

As we were waiting for the donuts to rise and cook, it was time to light our menorah.  We let Lucy be the guest of honor.  First candle lit on our first night of "The Festival of Lights"!

 We've had a lot of fun having Lucy for a visit.  She's packing her bags, getting her visa stamped by us and soon will be headed off across the country to visit another friend in West Virginia, USA.

The End!

Lucy Lands in Utah - USA!!!

After long waiting on our part, we were thrilled when Lucy flew our way, courtesy of the gracious Linda in South Africa. Charming as ever, little Lucy made herself right at home. (She is seated on my over-stuffed maroon living room chair, watching as I write this.)

In the process of her travels, she has gathered images of the lives she has visited. Thus we have tried to show her a typical bit of this place. And I think she's enjoyed her time with us, as much as anyone can when her shorts are in a perenneal knot—or, at least a series of interlocking ones.

It was a quiet visit. We didn't do much jetting around town, or driving into the city - it's been too busy and cold for much of that kind of thing. So what follows is a very domestic, quiet visit.

Here is Lucy, fresh off the packet from South Africa. First order of business, introducing her to a gang of appropriate and kind friends. The pup was born here, but the Fox is from just outside of London, so he's a world traveler, too.

She actually got here just in time for the great American feast of Thanksgiving. Plenty of browns and oranges and turkey iconery. And another new friend who is more Easter or Christmas-like than Thanksgiving like. Still - it was like they were meant for each other. Thanksgiving is a huge family celebration here, a gathering warm and wonderful, and Lucy fit right in.

We wanted her to have the whole cultural experience, and so involved her with pie making. In the back is a pecan pie sans crust (because M can't eat wheat), and in the front, a big mound of apple pie that should have been baked a little lower in the oven.

Lucy was not at all critical, but I could just tell she was thinking that -

The next day, we started putting away the Autumn things. The leaves have been down for weeks, and it's cold enough outside to be counted winter. So we are setting up for Christmas. Here is Lucy, sitting on one of the huge traditional mounds of Lights That Mysteriously No Longer Work. After many hours of getting out the lights and hanging them from the house roof, the windows - all over, we always have several of these mounds left over. If I could figure out how to fix the dang things, I would. The sun was strong that day, but it was still a little chill outside. I think it did Lucy good to sit in it on the nice, warm hearth.

I showed her the rest of the place. She lighted in the place that is the heart of my own private industry. I think she felt at home there. She was very polite and didn't show any of that borderline wildness she had in other places. I think she is very good at fitting in wherever she finds herself.

A couple of days later, we took her around to meet the big boys. When you introduce anyone to a herd, it's always best to start with the alpha, and Dustin is unquestionably that. You know, it really is amazing that we spend so much time with really, really big beasts like this. And that little yarn Lucy can criss-cross the globe, literally touching people who would love to get a chance to embrace her own creator. Some of this place - dust, tiny bits of DNA and plants and smells - she will take them all back home, so far away from here. The planet is at once too big and just small enough.

She meets my Zion.



And Aunt Sophie. Not Hickory, though. He's too young and silly and shy.



Here she is taking a poll. Or sitting on one. Dustin's. She is smirking, can you tell? How long can somebody stay an alpha with a rabbit on his head?



And then took a little ride on Zi. Please pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Gathering horse dust to take home to mama. Zion is very smooth-gated for the most part. And, of course, Lucy knows her horses.



Here she is, taking the ride I take every day - back and forth from the barn. This is from - heading east toward the mountains. She is very small. The mountains are HUGE. She looks a little bit tired, doesn't she?



She took a moment in the yard by herself (the dogs were inside). But when G found her here, he was alarmed.



He insisted that he keep hold of her if she was going to get this close to that much water. "You have NO IDEA how fast that river is," he chided. Okay, maybe smirking does count as a little wild.



They had a serious talk. But no worries - they got along quite well. It was an amazing visit from someone who has been much farther away from my home than I have ever been. And an honor that we were trusted with her safety and comfort. (The dogs were very respectful)



All in all, Lucy made some fast friends. And isn't that the point?

Lucy Rabbit Visits South Africa!

It has been lovely having Lucy visit us here at Natural Suburbia in South Africa! She sat in the veggie garden with us the day we planted all of our heirloom veggie seeds. It was a special day, our seeds are all growing now and our garden will soon be brimming with produce:)

Lucy also sat on top of the bread bin in the kitchen and and kept me company when I made our first batch of Spring Mulberry jam.

We have loved having Lucy visit, her passport has been signed and stamped from South Africa and she is on her way to the United States to visit with lovely Kristen. I have added a few treasures for you Kristen, I didn't take photos as I wanted them to be a surprise:)

Thank you so much Rachel, you sent us some beautiful books, I really appreciate your kindness:)

Have a wonderful trip Lucy!
Love
Linda and Family