Determining Time

I've been realizing something lately, especially since coming home, and I thought I would write a short blog about it.

I think that everyone has way that they determine time frames. For example, you might not remember the year that you went on a certain vacation, but you might know that it was after someone died, or before a child was born. You are then able to determine about when it was.

Most people have events in life that determine when other things happened. My mom says, "well, it was before the fire, so it must have been....".

I have discovered that I remember when things happened due to what tour I was on, or what stage of my career I was going through. I literally remember where almost every article of clothing I own is from, and most of it right now is from touring and vacations, so I know how long I have had it. (Someone asking where my jacket was from tonight sparked this). If someone asks me when a friend got married, I'll think to myself, "it was right before that figure skating trip to Paris, which was in November because the Nouveau Beaujolais came out when I was there....", so they got married in October of 2004.

I'm curious as to whether everyone really thinks this way, or if I just think they do? I'm also guessing that the way I determine things over time will change as I start to live life in one place?

One Year

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my grandfather passing away. It honestly didn't even occur to me it was the day until I received a few emails about it. Oops! I then proceeded to call it "Remembering Poppy Day", and with the exception of a few tears when I thought about it for too long, it was a good day. My brother Matt, Heidi and I met for drinks after dinner at a new place he would have loved called Rockefeller's, and my sister and my dad lit a candle for him in a cathedral in England together.

It's funny though, because so many people yesterday said they couldn't believe it has already been a year since he's been gone. I totally feel the opposite. I can't believe it's only been a year since he's been gone. I feel like it's been forever that I've been missing him in my life.

What a cool dude.

The Hunger Network Awards

I was recently invited to attend a reception and awards ceremony for The Hunger Network. Majestic Steel is one of the top sponsors of the Walk For Hunger, a program to raise money to feed families in the Cleveland area. It is amazing how much money the company raised last year for the charity, along with a few other companies and individuals. We enjoyed a few appetizers and drinks at the Shoreby Club, and then one of my bosses was honored on behalf of the company.

I cannot say enough about Majestic Steel, and their involvement with the local community here in Cleveland. I am lucky to be a part of it!

My Future Hometown

Where is that, you might ask? After five years of touring, something like 300 cities, 49 States, eight Provinces, and numerous foreign countries visited in my life, I think it's simply Asheville, NC.

I had a few vacation days to use before the end of the year and had miles on U.S. Air, which I never fly. But, U.S. Air flies to Charlotte. I happen to have friends in Charlotte, and friends in Asheville. So I just kind of winged it. I had planned on Charlotte for two nights and Asheville for one, but oh my gosh Asheville... I swear to god if I didn't have a job I really liked in Cleveland, I would have just rented an apartment and carried on with life there. And one day, I will. Not now, but one day. I have never, ever said that about city.

I arrived early on Friday morning, and all of my friends in both cities were working. I had reserved a "Prius or similar" from Dollar, so I headed over to pick up my fuel efficient car. And got a Mercury Grand Marquis. Do you know what that looks like? A boat. I could barely park it. Jerks.

I had read about The Grove Park Inn, and wanted to check it out. It is a beautiful granite hotel built into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Oddly, it also has the worlds largest collection of arts and crafts furniture. It was spectacular. I planned on eating lunch there, but a burger was $22. So, I headed into downtown Asheville and ate lunch at a restaurant at the Grove Arcade. I met some really great people, and a little Welsh Corgi.

My plan was to visit The Biltmore in the afternoon. I allowed myself about four hours. BAD CALL. The Vanderbilt's "vacation property" was massive. It's not just the 31 bedroom, 43 bathroom (they didn't even have full indoor plumbing then), 65 fireplace home... it's 8,000 acres of fabulousness. Walking trails, vineyards, biking paths, shops.... it's a full two day experience that I pretty much rushed through. When I live there one day, I will buy a membership and enjoy the property. I drove past people who had set up a little table on the river with cheese and wine, and were watching the sunset. It was so perfect.

Friday night (yes, it's still the same day), Alison, Gene and I met up with their friends Kellen and Pladdy for drinks overlooking the city, and then had a fabulous dinner downtown, with more drinks after dinner. Everything downtown is independent. There are no chains- none. Except an Urban Outfitters, which I hear there was an uproar about.

In the middle of downtown on Friday nights, there is a massive drum circle. It's like a hippie's dream. It's just a public space where people go to play music, and people stop and enjoy it. Everyone is seriously so happy in Asheville.

Randomly thanks to Facebook, I found out that one of my old touring friend Rasmiyyah, was about 40 minutes away in a show in Flat Rock, NC. She was in Buddy, the Buddy Holly story. The girl I met on Friday, Kellen, had actually heard about this show and really wanted to go, so the two of us went off on an adventure on Saturday afternoon. We took a scenic road up to Flat Rock, and it was beyond words beautiful. Apple orchards, pumpkin farms, Fall leaves... I loved it. I hadn't seen Ras since 2009, and she now lives in NYC, so it was such a random place to reconnect. Buddy was a great show, and the whole day was perfect.

Saturday night, Alison and Gene were invited to a party that we went to out on a farm. Literally, a farm with cows. Everyone there was just in such a great mood, and enjoying life. People brought their kids, there was a fire, hay rides, great food, and band, and a really positive attitude. And, and LOT of wind! (It was very windy the entire time I was there). After the party we went to their friends house and had fun drinking wine, eating smoked food that had been cooking for hours, and hanging out. Of course, their house wasn't just a normal place- I can't even explain it, but if I write that, I'll remember. It came with a Boom Boom Room.

Lastly, and definitely not least importantly, I headed back to Charlotte to stay with my friend Lindsay for the day and night. We spent the day at her house enjoying wine and music, and her cute little twins Brooke and Bryce. We had such a good friend day. I miss her so much now that I'm back in Cleveland and she's not here.

My trip was more than I could have expected or anticipated. I discovered a new city that I want to one day hopefully call my home, and I spent time with really good, good friends.

What a lucky girl I am!

The Red Cross Fire Safety Walk

Click on the picture to see us up close and personal!

On Tuesday after work, sixteen Majestic employees met up with the Red Cross and the Cleveland Fire Department. We went to a very low income area of town, door to door, to offer the installation of free smoke detectors.

The neighborhood we were in was a little unsettling. We paired up to go to each house and cover as much ground as we could. Most of the time the fire chief or firemen were close by, but they were often in houses behind us doing installations which made me nervous at the beginning. It was pretty eye-opening- lots of kids home with no adults, a few homeless people, terrible animal smells, etc. I was so surprised to find that on just two city blocks, over 80 smoke detectors were needed.

For the first time in my life, I got to ride on a fire truck, and wore a real fire hat! Which was much heavier and longer in the back than I anticipated. I kept smacking the back of my head into walls, but very cool none the less.

A few of us went to dinner after and all of us felt the same way about the experience. I know that we did a good deed on Tuesday, and it is something I will always remember.

Oktoberfest

Last weekend Heidi and I decided (last minute) to have a little Oktoberfest party in her back yard. She feels like she didn't use it as much this summer as she would have liked, and it's too beautiful to let go to waste. So in typical Heidi fashion- voila! A beer tent, beer, wine, food, German music (thanks to the local library), and the Browns game. The weather was absolutely horrible which I think discouraged some people from coming. But the food and company was wonderful, as always!