Personally/Locally: Days in the Life / Life in the Valley

Birthday Quake!

August 23, 2011

The biggest earthquake in Virginia in over a century could qualify for the OMG category but,
since it was more unusual than devastating, let's just file it under the local/personal category...

Just about 2 o'clock, I was in my office when I sensed some noticeable but indefinable sound
or something... like wind... or hail...
both of which we've had too much of in the past year,
with terrible storms in the Valley, tornadoes and all.
So, I peeked out the wood blinds but didn't see any rain or wind or anything unusual.
Then I realized it was the plate glass in the storefront windows stressing next to me that was making noise.
And oh, the floor was vibrating too.
It seemed to last long enough for me to get up and fully open the blinds and feel puzzled,
but not long enough to start figuring it out -or freaking out.
Until Hubby walked in from the back of the studio and said 'Did you feel that? Was that an earthquake?'
Oh, duh, yeah, that's probably what it was...
I probably should have been walking away from the windows rather than towards them...

I've never been in an earthquake but quickly realized how quickly everything changes
and you have little time to process the event and no time to do anything.

It did however solve the problem of what to send the 15-year-old relative
for her birthday. I mean really, I am now so old and officially uncool,
I have no idea... and so, put off buying so much as a card for her,
thinking I might finally think of something she would actually like or use.
Instead, I dummied up a newspaper page...
Called it The Virginia Times and dated it today, her birthday,
with the headline screaming:
Sarah Dixon Turns Fifteen
Rocks The World
Then, I cut and pasted the AP story into three columns below it
and tucked a $20 bill inside and stuck it in the mail.
If she bothers to read it before hitting the mall (which is still standing),
she may be amused.

Meanwhile, Louisa County, Virginia being the center of anything amuses me.
 

No Free Lunch and No Free Parking

We own the parking lot next to our studio building. Bought it, pay taxes on it, own it. Even put a sign on it that says "Private Parking for Dixon Studio Clients and Employees." And still, people drive right by the sign and park in it, then go shopping in the neighboring businesses.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the craftsmen returned from lunch to find his space taken by an unknown vehicle. So, he parked right behind it, preventing it from leaving. Should he find out it belongs to a client or visitor in the studio, he'll move his van immediately; if not, he'll wait until some poor shopper returns to the car and realizes it's stuck. THEN said driver will suddenly notice the sign and come in the studio and sheepishly ask to have the van moved...

This is usually an amusing and effective manuver, in which the chagrinned driver comes to understand the limits of our parking and our generosity, apologizes, (maybe even has a laugh) and thanks us for not having the vehicle towed. This time however, it got more awkward as the embarassed woman tried to leave quickly, backing her vehicle into the guardrail around the gas meter, scraping the paint and breaking a tail light. Ouch. I cringed and felt embarassed for her and at the same time annoyed at her; echoes of paternal admonitions: "If you hadn't been where you weren't supposed to be, it wouldn't have happened!"

 

Empathizing with Gramma & God

Everyone has family members who only get in touch when they want something. I've heard from a couple recently --and haven't heard lately from the one who owes me for the last something.
At first it's annoying. Then it's a bit painful, as I remember visiting Gramma and seeing the cards from my cousins which were little more than thinly disguised hints for cash. Then it's humbling, as I am reminded to make prayers of thanksgiving, not just supplication.

Staunton: Yummmm!

Our little town has been written up in yet another a big city magazine, this time as a 'foodie find' worthy of a weekend visit. Check out the article in Baltimore Magazine, published in the March 2011 issue.

And check out the restaurant listings on our town's visitor website, as well as some of our favorites on the studio website.