“Tomorrow afternoon we’re going to make journals,” my writing teacher, Elizabeth Hunter, declared. I was at the John C. Campbell Folk School taking a week-long memoir-writing class. Bookmaking had not been part of the class description but my classmates and I took great joy in having something handmade in which to write after our time together was finished. Click…
Author: renaissancerebecca
Monday Night (Asheville Style)
I lay on the chaise lounge of my screened-in porch reading a book while waiting for my friend Amanda to pick me up. We were headed to a fashion show and I was clad in jeans and sandals. The only “fashionable” thing I donned was a silky spaghetti strap top. I wondered if it was…
Running in the Rain
I lay in bed listening to the rain. The brook outside my bedroom door, normally babbling, was now a loud roar. I remember when weather like this darkened my spirits — when weather like this presented me with a good excuse to curl up in bed and read for a few hours. Or the entire day. There…
Falling
I’d done this once before: hooked myself up to ropes and carabiners and attempted to scale an indoor rock climbing wall. After that first class I thought perhaps I’d do it again–not for exercise mind you, but for the sculpted arms and flat stomach I’d always dreamed of. Unfortunately, rock climbing requires two people. And…
The Chinese Dragon
When I set out that morning, I didn’t expect my day would include a Chinese dragon looking up my skirt. But this is Asheville. One day, such things will come as no surprise at all. The idea, from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, is to have a weekly date with yourself. It had been months…
Never Say Never
When I told friends I was going to walk the Camino to Santiago, they would ask, “Is it like the AT?” “No — I could never walk the Appalachian Trail!” I said. “The Camino is easier because I don’t have to carry a tent or food. You walk through towns, stay in hostels, and eat in restaurants.” Click here to…
Help? Yes, Please.
I swung my legs off the top bunk, but as soon as I put weight on my left foot to climb down the ladder, a pain shot up my heel into the back of my leg. Holy crap. What was that? I got down another rung and there is was again. Oh, this is not good. Click here…
The Last Week In June
“Are we doing a gift for Dad? Any idea what he needs?” my sister Jessica texted me. I’m not one to pre-plan for gifts. I just wait and eventually one of my four siblings will contact me and ask if I’ve gotten a gift yet. Upon hearing (and not being surprised) that I haven’t, they’ll…
Decisions, Decisions
As a Resident Assistant at the University of Scranton, one of my jobs was to promote activities being held in our building. This usually involved making signs that were eye-catching and would get students interested. One month the psychology graduate students were tasked with doing a program in our building and my fellow RA’s and I were tasked…
The Joys of Living in Asheville: Part 2
“Did you just step out of the shower?” my co-worker asked. I stood before her with my hair hanging in long wet strands. “I don’t own a hair dryer,” I said by way of explanation. “And I don’t brush my hair after a shower either, so this is what you get.” “I don’t brush mine…
RenaissanceRebecca 