Magic Wineglass Tours

Tag: smokies

Picnic baskets, they way they oughta be

Ok, I’d like to think I’m fairly intelligent, but have to admit that it took me fifteen years (that’s right, years) to finally figure out that when folks leave here with a picnic basket, it should be a memento of their time in the mountains, not a Made in China purchase. Good heavens. Years.

Yesterday, Larry and I spent a wonderful afternoon with Judy (my bride c. 2012) at the Church Street Craft Fair in Waynesville. Only it’s not on Church Street any more, it’s on Main Street. I think that’s a topic for another day. Anyway. Did I mention that I’m easily distracted these days? Ok. Where was I? Oh yes. Years.

I stepped into a booth and was just transported. Not that kind of booth. I mean, I didn’t go into a time warp or start talking into my shoe or suddenly find myself dressed in a cape and a shirt with a big red S on the chest. Not that kind of transported. I mean a vendor booth at the market – this one filled with the prettiest baskets I’ve seen! Each basket was wonderfully detailed and carefully crafted. Naturally I asked about who made them and the very nice lady in the booth told me that indeed, she had. When I said that they were just exquisite, she actually blushed. Clearly she was pleased, but by way of demonstrating my sincerity, I promptly bought all she had in the size I needed. And I couldn’t be happier about that!

Walking through the remainder of the fair (and what a fair! bluegrass and bagpipes! not at the same time – I don’t know if I’d enjoy that – but the entertainment was great) folks were stopping me right and left to admire my pretty baskets, laced up my arms and held every which way.

So. No more made-in-china baskets. Now, when you get a picnic lunch here, you’ll have a hand-crafted basket, lovingly created by a local artisan. And Miss Laura Ann has burned her initials on the bottom corner of each one: her signature. All the baskets are different, with painted flowers, or braided rope, but all the ones I got have the curled wood at the top, which the artist told me is called a tulip edge. I got completely distracted by that, and we had a nice long conversation about tulips vs lilies vs iris. I probably thought of ‘iris’ because she had a whole row of them worked into one basket in a beautiful blue. Not quite a violet blue, but more like a periwinkle. Like an iris would be. The little Siberian iris, not the bearded ones – those come in oh so many beautiful colors, not just periwinkle blue. I couldn’t get that one because it wasn’t nearly big enough, but oh I did love the Siberian Iris blue colored tulip edge! See there? Distracted.

These are a generous 15×12 and 9 inches tall (plus the handle) and nice and sturdy, so they can hold a healthy-sized picnic lunch, complete with a pie. I do love finding a whole entire pie in the bottom of a picnic basket, don’t you? I mean, that could be distracting for anybody, not just me…

And you can take home your hand-crafted Appalachian artwork basket to enjoy for years. That’s right. Years.

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October 13, 2013
Trout Fishing – complete with rod & reel and mini-tackle box with lures $5

This is just a marvelous program – North Carolina Wildlife Resources has a Mountain Heritage Trout Waters program that makes it a piece o’ cake for you to fish for trout while you’re staying with us! Three miles of hatchery-supported trout stream in Maggie Valley have been designated for fishing within this program, and $5 gets you a three-day license.

No rod & reel? No problem! They have loaners. And every registrant receives a first-time gift of a mini-tackle box with assorted lures.

All the information is right here, and you can even buy your license online.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Fishing/LearnResources/Programs/MountainHeritageTroutWatersProgram.aspx

If you’d rather wait ’til you arrive, the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce is just down the road, and you can get ’em there, too.

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October 9, 2013
Guest Blogger? How about Guest Poet…

This poem was in the room journal, left by our guests this weekend. Made me all misty! But I ask you, how wonderful is this?

Sh.. I have a secret
That I just have to tell
I met a fairy godmother
Into the rabbit hole I fell.

She welcomed me with open arms,
And a beautifully mischievous grin.
Then with a wave of her wand,
Showed me where dreams begin.

It was a pretty little cottage,
Nestled daintily in the trees,
Quietly offering sanctuary;
A haven for a soul in need.

From the first moment I entered
And stepped through the front door,
The feeling of home and comfort
Seeped from every pore.

The cheery crackle of the fireplace,
And the soothing rush of the stream,
Invited the body to rest and relax,
And encouraged the soul to dream.

And oh my! The fairy godmother knows all!
And her wedding fairy sees too!
Dreams never spoken
Somehow come true.

Waving away worries with a magical wand
In her magic I should trust,
And believe in a world filled
With love and magical fairy dust.

What more can a bride ask for
Than for a fairy godmother and her crew
To treat her like a princess
And make her dreams come true?

Of course this would be true,
How could it be any other way?
When a fairy godmother waves her wand
Poof! A beautifully perfect stay.

…

April 1, 2013
Appalachian Mountains? Smokies? Blue Ridge?

We are, according to the USGS (United States Geological Survey, the official mapping service of the federal government) in both the Appalachian mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are part of the Appalachians.

The Great Smoky Mountains is a national park. While we are not physically in the park, we are colloquially in the Smoky Mountains. (USGS actually refers to our area as the Appalachian Blue Ridge.) For instance, Dolly Parton is ‘from the Smoky Mountains’ and sings ‘Smoky Mountain music’ and has an album called ‘A Smoky Mountain Christmas’. None of these refer to the national park, but rather this particular region of the Appalachian Blue Ridge, which is in immediate proximity to the borders of that which Roosevelt declared a national park.

We are, legitimately, in: the Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountains, simultaneously.

This also gives credence to why the Appalachian Trail passes by us, from Georgia on its way north, and also the Blue Ridge Parkway’s immediate presence.

So, Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian Mountains… it all comes together for you here at Timberwolf Creek.

Glad I could help sort that out for you. 😉

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October 11, 2012
Horses in the pasture come to greet me

The air is fresh and cool after a good rain. The only sound is coming from the creek. It’s hard to describe how serene it is. You have to just see it for yourself. —Larry

July 13, 2012
A Hosta, by any other name…

Ok, maybe you can help. I’ve spent endless hours on Google, trying to identify my hostas. These are the ones I have in abundance, planted in the outdoor wedding chapel gardens… but there are others… I’ve learned more about hostas than I ever dreamed there was to know! Margins and leaf shapes and textures, etc. The variety is astounding. I had no idea! And while discovering that there are something like 10,000 different hostas out there, it came as no great surprise that they are lilies. Because, after all, I do love lilies. (And yes, I know: they’ve been reclassified but I don’t care. They are lilies for me, and that’s a Good Thing, as Martha likes to say.)

I’ve done my best, with names, and invite you to correct me. If there’s a searchable database, where I can enter “hosta, small, narrow leaf, tri-color, wide green margin, white center” that would be fantastic. The best search result has yielded “Fire & Ice” but I’m not convinced what this one is…

But it sure is pretty. 🙂

The next one may be right on target, but again, your assistance is welcome! It appears to be Diamond Tiara, which is ok by me.

And these are just ENORMOUS and fabulous and propagating like mad. Not that they’re sending out runners or anything, just that we started with three and are up to 15! Each one just as impressive at the original.

I think this one’s called Niagara Falls. It truly is amazing. Here is the row of seven, just a couple of days after they were all split. And they are already gorgeous, and look like they’ll need to be split again in the spring!

See what I mean? Fantastic! (This is the driveway to the Black Bear Cottage in the Woods – where we have the Streamsong and Woodland rooms.) The plants have been remarkably forgiving. And where I’m concerned, that’s a Good Thing, as Martha likes to say.

And finally, I have this gold-margined beauty, that’s really come into her own this year. Just couldn’t be prettier. Somebody, let me know her name!

April 18, 2012
Mid-spring Walkabout

It was time to take a walkabout as spring looks like it’s coming to an early close, with summer right on its heels. I took a picture of the last of the daffodils, the last of the hyacinth, the early azaleas and peaches. But the real bonanza is these crazy hostas! They are insanely huge, and very happy. Here are some photos.

Last of the daff and hyacinth…

And here are the early azaleas. I do love azaleas, especially the whites. They’re like little tiny spring-time lilies, ha!

And peaches – we’re going to have a nice abundant crop of white Georgia peaches, this year! Unless that family of raccoons recalls where they had the all you can eat buffet two years ago…

And the trillium came en masse, this spring – so many that I may need a new bed for them!

Oh my goodness, would you look at that? This post is already so big, I’m going to have to let the hostas have their very own! So here it is, only the middle of April, and spring is well established and on the wane. It has been a spectacular one so far, I must say.

–Sandee

April 15, 2012
Veteran’s Day 11/11/11

A wedding, a re-marriage, a renewal of vows ceremony… Lifelong friendships forged, commitments made, shared laughter and lots of love in the air… This was such a joyful day for all!

November 11, 2011
The Maggie Valley Weddings Website

I’m having fun, updating the anniversary picture on the Maggie Valley Weddings website every day. Nostalgic for me! Every wedding couple is unique, so every wedding has its own flavor, its own memories. I have the best job in the world. Oh yes, I do!!

July 1, 2011
The Perfect Coffee Mug

We leaned forward to listen, as one of the ladies prepared to tell us about her requirements for a Perfect Man. He would be tall, she said, and employed. Funny and smart go without saying. She restricted his age to 35-43, and begging your pardon, he simply cannot be a democrat. We sat back and laughed, and discretely surveyed the dining room. Hey, you never know.

So here I am this morning, preparing to tell you about my notion of the perfect coffee mug. Like my friend’s ideal man, it must be taller than round. It must also fit on my cup warmer. Even though it takes me an hour in the morning to savor that first cuppa, I enjoy my coffee scaldingly hot, so a cup that fits on the warmer should have a flat bottom (I’ve no idea what my friend’s requirements are in that area) so that it will actually keep the coffee hot. Most commercial cups, which bore me to tears, have a concave base that doesn’t make contact with the warmer, and I’m back at the microwave every few minutes. That said, it really can’t be a commercial cup. There are just too many really fine potters out there that can make a beautiful coffee mug, and these North Carolina mountains are right smack in the middle of clay heaven.

A brief aside about our clay… It’s so special that Wedgwood China imported it in the 1700s. It was taken to port via the Indian Road (now I-26) to the port of Charleston and shipped to England. Josiah Wedgwood pronounced it remarkable and called it Cherokee Clay. There you are, a special nod to today being Earth Day.

Back to the Perfect Mug. It should have a pleasing appearance, that evokes some uplifting emotion. It should feel wonderful – the handle should be easy to use, your thumb finding just the right place, and the rim should be thoughtfully crafted so you don’t get that aggravating drip down the side. It should be exactly the right size to hold a bit more than a tea cup, but not so large that your coffee’s bound to cool. It should invite you to lean back and wrap your hands around it on a chilly morning. Decorative, certainly, but being decorative can’t outweigh function… like those silly handles your fingers won’t fit in, or square for the sake of being square, or squat, just in case that’s adorable. Flared rims may be unusual, but that’s because they’re difficult to use. As in architecture, form follows function. And it should be hand-crafted. I don’t want to ‘make do’. I want to Enjoy. I want to Savor. I want to Appreciate -both the coffee and the mug it’s in.

I’m just guessing that my friend would also like to find a man crafted here in these Smoky Mountains, with a pleasing appearance, who feels wonderful, and is just the right shape, who works flawlessly and is prepared to help her enjoy a cup of coffee every morning. I hope she finds him. I’ve found my mug.

Here it is.

Made in America. By hand.

In case you’re wondering, our mugs are handmade by the good folks at Deneen Pottery. And the coffee that goes in them is Elida Estate, from Panama. We’ll be happy to send you home with both. Come enjoy your next cup on the porch by the stream, under these tall trees, at Timberwolf Creek.

April 22, 2011