Celebrating Earth Day

 Early morning (for me) up at 8. Made coffee. Checked stuff on computer while nibbling on granola, blue berries and yogurt. It was raining. It was just 46 degrees F outside. My mini-split unit on the wall was heating the apartment a bit.

The dogwoods have been losing their petals, so I walked between beautiful pale pink snow on the ground outside my door. 

Facebook video of Earth Day

My friends from the Climate Conversation group hosted an interactive display again at Lake Tomahawk. I was unable to attend due to cold wet weather, which makes my COPD and coughing worse.

Annelinde Metzner led the Sahara Peace Choir in singing some Earth Day type songs.

If I can download the photos I took with my iPhone, I'll add them tomorrow.

These were from my friend Kevin Jones, who showed folks how to make Kieffer.

Blessings and singing

 Entering the Quaker Meeting House, an aromma of making popcorn greeted us last Saturday afternoon. We gradually met in two areas of chairs...one for the Sahara Peace Choir, and one for friends and family. This hadn't been a publicly announced program, and Helen and I were happy to be friends to enjoy this!

I liked fining this poster ready for another march, as Quakers are known for their social actions.

Here the choir members get ready by having all the sheets of music they will be singing in honor of the various divine feminine godesses who represent waters.

A lovely wall hanging in the food prep area of the meeting house.

An easy sharing of beautiful voices. I was able to meet a few new friends. I have some old friends from when I sang with this choir, the name of which is a combination of the two major religious forces from feminine mothers Sarah and Hagar - in the Bible. Sah-hara Peace Choir. May there be a coming together for these two again in peace.

These three beautiful females represent three generations, with our blinking grandmother having her birthday this day!

Here we find out what the popcorn was all about...an environmental way to send blessings onto the Swannanoa River.

Some of us stayed on shore, while later (not shown here) others indulged in walking into the shallow rockbottomed river.

An older view of the river taken at the same locatiom 2016

Another view of the river, taken 2019.

Today's quote:

Pray, verb. 

To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. 

-Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914)

Peace Choir and beneficiary

One of the members of the Sahara Peace Choir, who also volunteers with Bounty and Soul.  Proceeds from the donation basket today go to that non-profit which distributes free food at different sites daily in Black Mountain.

 

When Linda is leading, singing and playing the piano, it's hard to get a photo of her!

Many of the songs they sang were written by Linda.

Blessings on the River 2019

Annelinde Metzner leads the Sahara Peace Choir. The program included wonderful drumming by the Wild Bodema Drummers. I loved it!

Pearson Mansion

A nice easy climb up a meandering walk to the former site of the Pearson Mansion.  There used to be a stream with water features along the path to the right.  The rock beds are still there, but slightly overgrown.

This is the site of the former mansion.  It had been an Inn before an arsonist set fire to it.  I met a man looking at this swale of grass, and he said the bricks on the far side were the original back wall, this was where the front entrance was, and he had worked here when it was the Richmond Hill Inn when he was much younger.

So much of the grounds and other buildings have been renovated, creating a beautiful place for retreats at OM Sanctuary, a not-for-profit Healthy Life Style center. (See their web page at www.OMSanctuary.org.

 

Historic view of Richmond Hill House
Photo courtesy of North Carolina Collection, 

Pack Memorial Public Library,

 Asheville, North Carolina

For more information about the changes of the Richmond Hill Inn and plans for OM Sanctuary you can read a 2011 article here.

Sahara Peace Choir concert (w/addendums)

Betsy Murray and Barb Rogers at White Horse, Black Mountain, NC

 
Just to let my friends here in blogland know how very happy I am to have been part of this concert...which just finished a few minutes ago.

Stephanie Heildelman, soloist

I'm home now, coming down from the high of performance.  You should have seen me at intermission...I was flying high.  I don't need drugs!

Rehearsal discussions and some great women working together

The women who put this together were fabulous...and the owners and managers of White Horse in Black Mountain did a good job of running around doing lighting and mike and so on.

Betsy Murray, soloist

Anyway, love of the goddess was put into music, poetry and dance, as led and performed and written by Annelinde Metzner. 

Annelinde leading the choir while Stephanie sings with us

Flute by Cathy, guitar by Deb

M.C. by Nels Arnold

Deb and our very own "crone" Antiga (to whom that term is a complement)

Annelinde and Helen discuss the dancing

I'm so proud to have been part of this group praising all the aspects of goddesses, from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Celtic, African and Sumerian roots.

I hope to receive pics of the concert itself from others soon.


 

A friend in the audience who studied music and sang in operas said this was all new to him.  I just reminded him of how many musical compositions were made in praise of the sacred.

Annelinde Metzner