Down the Road a Spell

A quick trip to North Carolina to visit family. Mostly, we sat around, so damn hot and humid. The South gets that way come summer, but this past week was more hellacious than usual and broke a few records. Still, we managed just fine.

--Ate some Smithfield pulled-pork barbeque, slaw, and hushpuppies, washed down with Cheerwine.

--The Raleigh Farmers' Market remains one of the best, with blueberries, 'lopes. sweet corn, peaches, every kind of bean, and watermelons all in.

--My sister and I caught up in her screened-in porch while my kiddos and hers splashed in a saline-water pool.

--Spent time at Lakeview Gardens perusing the late-blooming daylilies. A character named Clayton Pettigrew planted himself in my head four years ago when we first visited. I just *finished* his story last week. I think. I hope.

--My mother, daughter, and I spent an hour re-creating our family lines as far back as we could go. Remembered our ancestors and their lives: the chicken-thief, the Scottish lass with 8 children, the folks from Prince Edward Island, hard-times, the tuberculosis that killed my grandfather's brother and, indirectly, my great-grandfather, my Nana's love of her piano.

--Listened to my son play my Nana's old piano, now in my sister's house.

--We laughed a lot.

Back in the saddle tomorrow. On tap the next few days: cooler weather, lots of writing homework, a party on Saturday (y'all come on down!), and that thing called work. Hope you survived the summer swelter. Peace...