Floating Away With Sam Frazier and Friends

Yesterday I caught the 10:30 mass at St. Paul's and seriously prayed for some strength to get through another insane holiday season.

After church I concluded that the perfect plan was to shop at Sister's on Tate Street in search of some funky earrings sure to please the most persnickety of teenage girls. Next I would swing by Tate Street Coffee where my former guitar teacher Sam Frazier was playing a rare, almost unheard of afternoon gig.

I thought I'd hear a few tunes, give Sam a hug, and move onto the next gift on my list. So I slipped into a seat along the sidewall, sipped on my coffee, and casually leafed through the Sunday N & R. I hid behind a bunch of college guys with young hip hairdo's and who coolly contained their obvious admiration for the musicians at hand. And somewhere between the warm-up and Sam's finale, I went off to a place far far away from Christmas madness. 

Greg Phairas Comes Through on A Rainy Saturday Night!

Last Saturday night our daughter was invited to the Northwest Homecoming and so that left me and my husband with nothing to do.

So we decided to get in our car, grab a bite to eat and figure the night out as we went along. We couldn't complain about the oodles of rain that night because lord knows we needed it!

We took 220/Battleground into town and wound up at Buffalo's. All I can say to that experience is bring back the old location and the old food because it was so much better! While Buffalo's has never been haute cuisine, you could always count on getting a good hot sandwich there with a homemade side of some sort. It always left me satisfied. But not this time. It's a completely different restaurant and experience.

But the evening was not lost! We decided to head back toward Summerfield/Oakridge and we wound up at Bistro 150 in Oakridge Commons.

There's Some Kind of Magic in that Greensborough Coffee!

I don't know what they put in the coffee at Greensborough Coffee on State Street (formerly Carolina Coffee and Tea) but I can hardly go a single weekday without visiting this magical corner coffeehouse!

I've been a patron of this shop for four or five years now and I make it a habit to visit there almost every morning for a cup of whatever's brewing. When I can't get there in the AM, I stop by on my way home from work for an iced coffee and to check out what's going on in the neighborhood.

And I don't even live in the neighborhood!

There is a wonderful cast of characters who frequent this place and I've made some dear friends and acquaintances in the process. And if you need a roofer, a jeweler, a therapist, an insurance agent, a masseuse, an organic gardener (the list could go on and on), you've come to the right place!

Phoenix Asian Makes Any Night of the Week Special!

I love last minute get togethers! There's usually little planning involved and low expectations. And on a Sunday night what can you really hope for when you've got work looming in on you the next day.

This past Sunday night, my daughter and I caught the 5:00 PM teen mass at our local church.
After mass, we decided to grab a bite to eat with our friend Patti and her lovely daughter, Danielle (who incidentally sang like an angel during Holy Communion).

It's always nice to spend some time with our beautiful daughters who are usually on the run with school and after-school sports and various sundry social activities. Our daughters are also strong-willed and naturally have their own mind and preferences about everything from food to fashion.

Say Goodbye to Summer with Picnic at Triad Stage

Hooray! Summer's finally over with a glorious autumn in North Carolina almost upon us! And Triad Stage started their new season. They've staged Picnic, the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning play by William Inge set in small town Kansas.

Let me come clean and say that I've never been to any other productions of Picnic nor have I ever seen the movie. So I was completely unfamiliar with the story.

However, I am a huge fan of Splendor in the Grass and the late great Natalie Wood. Thanks to Preston Lane's Notes from the Director, I learned that Inge had written the screenplay for one of my favorite movies of all-time and he won an Oscar for it. That made me feel a little less out of the loop.


Yes, I was fooled by the title. I thought it was going to be a light-hearted, old-fashioned romance. After five seasons of being a Triad Stage season passholder, I should have known better! 

Backyard and Beyond ...

My husband would argue that there is more than enough magic in our own backyard. Every year when I suggest we take a fall foliage trip to Boone or Asheville, he insists that I look out of one of the twenty or so windows of our home where we are surrounded by lovely views of the woods on all sides.

I have to agree that the autumn palette of greens, reds, yellows, and oranges make for a gorgeous display. And I'm really grateful for our own private enchanted forest. I really am!

But that's not exactly what I mean about finding magic in your own backyard. Mostly because I am the pitiful gardener with the exception of the handfuls of zinnia seeds that I throw around my back deck late in the growing season.

This fools quite a few people into thinking that I actually garden when the flowers come into full bloom right around now. Then I cut a few of the colorful heads (mostly in hues of pink this year with a few yellows thrown in) and place them in a glass of water, showcasing my sole horticultural success on the kitchen counter for all to see.