Great Gift Idea for the Holidays… Artisan Co-Op

I have lived years in Green Bank, WV and never visited the Artisan Co-Op.  After coming on board with Pocahontas County Tourism a became aware of this gem and try to promote it whenever I can.  Our local artist are so talented… and their items make great gifts.

Check out this post from the CVB’s blog.

A Wedding Story, Locally Grown.

Here is a post I wrote for the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s blog. Be sure to check it out and interact.

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Being a native to this area, when it came to planning a wedding I knew I wanted something that embodied all the wonderful and magical elements of Pocahontas County, West Virginia and the surrounding area.  The perfect setting was the Inn at Mountain Quest, a 1905 farmhouse that sits on acres of beautiful farm land.

Beyond its striking exterior, it’s the details which make the Inn a jewel, such as the 20,000 volume, two-story library, the collection of kaleidoscopes and antiques from around the world, Chef Andrew’s use of locally grown and raised foods, the dozen or so horses (including ones that have been born on the Inn’s farm), goats, long-horn cattle, dogs, and cats that call this place home, just to mention a few.  But even more, and what is most guests’ favorite aspect, are the Questrooms; each of the Inn’s twelve rooms are themed and decorated to offer an unique experience, from the Safari room with its vibrant and warm Sunset-colored walls and silky mosquito nets, to the Sea room boasting two waterbeds, nautical colors, and lighthouse decor.

During the weeks before, I had spotted an earthy, antiquish-looking necklace in the Artisan Co-Op in Green Bank created by Anja, a local artist.  As my bridesmaids and I dressed, I put on this beautiful black pearl necklace and my transformation in a bride was complete and it was time to enjoy a few celebratory glasses of wine before the big walk down the aisle.

For the ceremony, we set-up the white and gold chairs on the front lawn and, as we said our vows, we were framed by a brick walkway, the large wooden door, and white pillars which open up in the main dining room.  After the I Dos, family and friends proceeded into the dining room where they enjoyed a variety of wines such as Blackberry Merlot, Niagara, and Blueberry Trill from the local Lambert’s Winery, located in Weston; the wines were handpicked by the Jim and Debbie Lambert to compliment Mountain Quest’s menu of locally raised grilled trout with roasted garlic, barley marinated pork tenderloin, and chicken breast with tarragon sauce.

Finally, the wedding party welcomed guests to the back lawn where the reception took place under a white, billowy tent.  Round tables causally decorated with large, white Gerber daises, chocolate napkins, and old-fashioned muth jars filled with honey from my own beehives hugged the dance floor.  Just outside the shelter of the tent was a warm campfire where kids could roast marshmallows and enjoy smores.  We sat down to an amazing dinner, followed by a dessert which included a four-tier spice and white cake with yellow fondant patterned to resemble honeycomb created by The Bakery of Lewisburg and apple, pumpkin, and shoo-fly pies baked by Chef Andrew of Mountain Quest.

In hindsight, the wedding was nothing less than magical.  It was incredible to be able to share this experience with family and friends in such a wonderful setting, supported by so many local entities.  Special thanks to everyone who help make the wedding so wonderful!

Pictures by Blackbird Studio, Lewisburg, WV.

Las Vegas in August Review.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the Connect Marketplace (specialty meetings).  My boss is very cool and allowed me to take my fiance with me (he could do a review on the poker tables!).  Actually, I won’t give him to much grief because he did manage to take about $500 dollars off of some poor guy which paid for some of the fun on our trip.

So what is the verdict?  Well, we stayed in the Red Rock Casino, Resort, and Spa which was impressive.  The rate wasn’t bad either, about $180 at the conference rate… but you can get even better rates certain days of the week or times of the year.  If you stay here, don’t play slots… you don’t win.  But do get a courtyard view… we got to catch a Toby Keith concert free of charge and overlooked the pool.  Do check out the Feast Buffet and Hachi.  Do take advantage of the yummy (and cheap) food-court food.  Do catch Harry Potter in iMax.  And all this under one roof.  Which is good because it’s hot out there folks (especially in August… 110 degrees hot).  And it might be a “dry heat” but nonetheless it’s hot… kinda like putting your face right up to the oven door (pre-heat to 350) and opening it every time you walk out of the AC.  But if you have super thick and somewhat frizzy hair like me, the “dry heat” does wonders.  But I digress.

To be honest, we didn’t do much while we where out there.  Lots of relaxin’. We spent one evening walking the Strip.  Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about it.  Lots of tall buildings, tourist, and did I mention it was hot?  We caught the Bellagio fountains, which were neat but not as amazing as I expected. The Forum Shops in Caesars are worth exploring… the sky-painted ceiling is pretty fantastic.  Take some water if you plan on walking the Strip… you don’t notice, but you get dehydrated really quick.  And you don’t seem to sweat; maybe because it evaporates before it has a chance to leave your pores!

One must do while you are in Las Vegas is Cirque Du Soleil Mystere at Treasure Island.  I caught a glimpse of Cirque Du Soleil on TV when I was kid and have wanted to watch it ever since.  We had six shows to choose from in Las Vegas and we decided to watch the more traditional Mystere.  It was a fantastic choice. The show was hilarious, high-energy, and had incredible imagery. The best act? My vote goes to the Trampoline. Chad’s vote goes to the Ariel Cube and Clowns.  Make sure you buy your tickets ahead of time… the show sell out quick. Oh, and arrive early to avoid being made fun of by the Clowns… remember that if a guy that looks likes Einstein offers to help you find your seat, don’t follow him.

Days Until the Big Day!

Only five days until the big day!  I am not sure what I was thinking when I decided to take on a new job, building a house, and planning a wedding at the same time… it’s been stressful, but the family is pulling through and things are coming together here in the final stretch.  I am very excited about some of the unique elements that we have put into the wedding, some of which I will talk about now (others of which I will post about soon).

TOMS Wedding.  I love TOMS shoes.  I posted about them before, but for those who have never heard of them…. Black Mycoskie founded TOMS in 2006, a shoe company which matches every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need (One for One).   “One For One: TOMS shoes was founded on simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we’re all about.” I already have purchased a pair of the Black Vegan Wrap Boots which are great fun, but for the wedding I decided that Amy (sister and MOH) should purchase an additional two pairs… of oh-so-awesome gold glitter TOMS.  They have arrived and are ready to go for Saturday.

I also love using local West Virginian products.  So for the alcohol for the “wine hour” and reception I decided to source from a local winery, Lambert’s, which I had the opportunity to tour earlier this year during a work trip.  The folks were really nice and help me pick out various white, red, and blush wines to compliment our menu (…which was helpful since I know nothing about wines).  More on this to come.

Now it is back to the doin’.  Table numbers, programs, and escort cards will not make themselves.  :)

Couple enjoys life off the grid – The Charleston Gazette, WV

Couple enjoys life off the grid  - News – The Charleston Gazette – West Virginia News and Sports

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Another day, another swarm.

Monday was the beginning of a long week of swarming.  Monday was the first incident… we were able to capture the swarm and hive them, and so far they seem contend in their new hive.  On Thursday, the bees took flight again but didn’t swarm like Monday.  Instead they seemed to briefly collect on the apple trees near by and around the front and bottom of hive but never took off like they did Monday.  I am not sure if they took off one-by-one or slowly went back in the hive?  And again Thursday, I saw another swarm in the apple trees.  We were able to catch a portion but I am not sure that we got the queen.  The report from home this morning is that a portion of the swarm remained in the apple tree but that the ones we hived last night were still in the hive.  I am not sure how long the other bees will stay in the hives without the queen.  I am hopefully that close attention to the honey supers will keep the bees from swarming in the future?  This week has been a learning experience.

Queen

Honey super from my year-old hive.

Staying in their new home

My recently captured swarm – which split from another one of my hives that had gotten overcrowded – seems to be settling into their new hive, which my father constructed from two supers and a couple pieces of spare plywood.  As soon as I have some extra money I will purchase a spare hive to have on hand in case they ever decide to swarm again.  I ordered another hive and some honey supers, which should arrive today (thanks to Rossman Apairies’s great service and willingness to ship the same day I ordered to help me out!).  I plan to put the temporary hive on top of the new hive I ordered, in hopes that over the winter they will travel down into the deep body and I can clean and reuse the honey supers for there intended purpose. 

Now that the crowding in the hives is undercontrol I am dealing with a hungry blackbear!  He has already forced me to move the hives from my house down to my parents, but they cluster of homes (and dogs) don’t seem to phase him, as he has been spotted curiously checking out my neighbors chicken coop the last couple of nights.  Looks like an electric fence will be necessary!

A swarm in July, isn’t worth a fly.

Today, while at work, my mother called me to let me know that my honeybees decided to swarm.  I left work and when I arrived home, I found that one swarm had already flown away never to “bee” found.  The other swarm was still in the apple tree… a buzzing mass the size of two basketballs.  My older hives are only in their second summer, so I had never experienced swarming bees, and missed signs that would have probably alerted me that they intended to take flight.  After rounding up some branch choppers, a ladder, and my bee suit, dad and I cut branches away until I was able to reach the swarm.  The sound of buzzing bees was incredible as dad cut the final branch and thousands of bees dropped down into a cardboard box inches from my head.  After letting them calm down, I was able to hive the bees in a makeshift hives constructed of some spare plywood and two honey supers. While hiving them I did see the queen with her red dot drop into the frames… hopefully she is still safely inside and will make her home in the new hive.

This evening I consulted my books to read more about swarming.  Things you should do to prevent swarming… avoid congestion, provide adequate ventilation, make the bees comfortable during hot weather, and remove queen swarm cells.  I believe that my bees swarmed because of overcrowding. About a week ago I looked in my hives and noticed they had about two more frames to fill in the honey super… I had planned to add the second super this weekend; however, this was obviously wrong, as I should have added one immediately.  Lesson learned.  I will be watching my hives closely over the next couple of days to see how they fare.

Spring Inspection!

The past few weeks of April have brought both snow storms and clear, sunny days in the 80s to Pocahontas County. I took advantage of the great weather to do a little spring inspection on my two hives… which successfully made it through their first season. Since I am new to beekeeping, I think my hives look pretty good, but I am not for sure, so if anyone has some pointers I would be more than appreciative. Below are some great photos of the hives earlier this week. Thanks to photographer Chad who took two bee stings to get up close to the action!

Almost Done?

The living room area.

The kitchen / dining area.

Roof and some siding.

The view from Mom and Dad’s.