Road Trip Booty

Pregnant April wearing Aries vanity tee shirt while crafting a cheese omlet




Acquired booty from the road trip. Aww yeah...




Detail of booty part 1: Edible blue rose cake decor




Detail of booty part 2: Sir "I" and his boyz




Detail of booty part 3: lovely basket from April with unicorn stationary also from April



I took myself on a little road trip this New Years up to West by god Virginia, or Wild Wonderful West Virginia as some people call it. First stop was the home of dear friends April, Mike and Nathaniel Vincent, who relocated from Asheville this past spring. I was treated to some good solid relaxing hospitality which included my own room which had been meticulously rid of any cat body residue (hair, dander, etc.) for my breathing comfort, homecooked meals (including from scratch peroggis from her Polish great grandmother's recipe) that would have satisfied even the most starving confederate soldier, and very fun and funny playtime with 2 1/2 year old Nathaniel, whose birth came so quickly I missed it by five minutes due to the 45 minute commute from Hot Springs... I rocked out with him to his favorite songs: 5 Little Pumpkins, On the Road Again, and Me Lost me Cookie in the Disco. I did this many times. I was reminded of the naturally sweet and rexaled generosity of my friend April, who is expecting her second child and who is a wonderful mother. She is one of my hospitality role models. Mike is a dear soul who surprised me with his occasion outburst of song in a deep deep baritone voice that I didn't know about.

Second stop was the homestead in progress of JDH4th. He bought 5 acres and a 100 year old farm house (that comes with about 6 large outbuildings.) We toodled around in the the wet snow checking out his estate, and purusing the outbuildings, which were quirky and multipurpose- a sheep house that doubles as a pump house and very very large rainwater cistern and purification station. An old turkey house that doubles as an indoor mini basketball court and loft storage/potential studio space. A groovy root cellar only steps away from the kitchen door. And the list goes on. In one of the outbuildings we decided to casually glance into a couple of old dusty boxes that were left behind. Little did we know there was a treasure to behold- 2 boxes of late '80s and early '90s promotional paraphanalia for Sir "I", of the "Take the Time to be a Friend" musical campaign (that is sweeping the nation). JDH4th and I went nutz over that stuff. 8x10 glossy photos, demo tapes, "Take the Time to be a Friend" reminder cards. It was good. Real good. Turns out, Mike (April's husband), who is a school counselor, met Sir Isaac just a few weeks prior at his school. Turns out Sir "I" did an antibullying concert at the school. Turns out the "Take the Time to Be a Friend" Campaign is alive and kickin.


Third stop: Galax, VA. I stopped to visit old friend Sara Fennell and her posse on the way home. I had a KICK ASS spinach calzone that she made from scratch and some KICK ASS home made heart shaped oreo cookies. We took a power walk around a funny little elementary school track while her husband Willie Nelson, I mean Greg Korbler, and kids played a mean game of catch. I love that gang. Sara hooked me up with some BLUE ROSE EDIBLE CAKE DECORATIONS from Galax's very own Bake Shoppe (which doubles as a banjo and other stringed instrument rental and purchase shop...) You just wait, people. There is a cake in the works that is gonna knock your socks off your big stinky feet. You just wait.