A Rustic Family Tradition

For the past couple of years we have been attending an old fashioned celebration of Thanksgiving in a cabin. The charm of this situation totally suits the gathering of friends and family associated with the Thanksgiving holiday. The beautiful drive in the country to get to the secluded location is down long winding roads, past old farms, and through small towns. We feel grateful and fortunate to have been invited to share in this unique tradition created by the generous family of one of Ben's relatives. I just love this cabin, and the love that goes into making this communal event something special for 

so many people! Truly a day of thanks and giving.

The feeling of warmth you get from this old camp located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains is absolute perfection. A central stone fireplace with a hearth on both sides, fills the room with heat and a relaxing place to sit and enjoy being in an old rocker. Certainly a great place to catch up with the relatives and warm our toes.

It is a large and friendly group that comes together to share the great outdoors and the cozy cabin atmosphere. There were about 37 people sharing Thanksgiving together in this space. The only thing that would make it more perfect for me, is to have my children drive out one year and share in this experience. Not to worry though, I did visit with my babies after Ben and my glorious afternoon in the country.

It is my guess that this private fishing and hunting club has been in existence since the late 1800's. The rustic main cabin is filled with the kind of old memorabilia you would expect to see in such a time honored place. It is living breathing vintage that's still being used to it's fullest potential today. Surely that is the way it should be.

The cabin sits on the edge of a large creek that after three days of rain had over run its banks.  The water was just feet from the cabin and caused road closures in the area just one day before Thanksgiving. Lucky for us that rushing water receded, and we had 
a warm, sunny, and wonderful autumn day. Everybody was happy, 
and all was right with the world. You can feel the goodness in those moments and be grateful. Being in nature gives you a chance to meditate on those thoughts in the ultimate peaceful surroundings.

There are many old group photos of the members of the club from over the years on the cabin walls. Old fashioned scenes of camping, and men standing in front of the very same cabin wearing the patina of time. This camp is still used by it's members all year long, weather permitting. The main cabin and surrounding land reminds you of a time when there was no television, people enjoyed the outdoors, each others company, and reading. How refreshing not to be assaulted by football and obnoxious commercials, and live the true spirit of Thanksgiving... Family, friends and great food.

Sitting on this stunning property is an expansive field next to a pond, just right for the sporty types to get their game on for real. For those who would like to relax while they enjoy nature there are many weathered picnic tables in the shade of various venerable old trees.

Families that are associated with this club have had their private cabins for generations. It's a fantastic tradition of sharing with your family and friends something other than a TV screen and a hand held device. You have to love that these days! Needless to say there is no need to replace that authentically aged sign either.

Everywhere I turn I find treasures and time worn items. Even the new addition to the cabin porch is done with that natural cabin style. But something was missing... Off I went looking for the old dinner bell that used to sit where this railing is today. I found that the old iron bell was currently resting on the ground beyond the porch.

You can see the creek runs right along side of the cabin. Pretty cool! So picturesque! Oh I was talking about the hubby! Well I think it's time to get back inside and see whats cooking! Hmmm I could have sworn that clock said ten of two before we walked outside... Most fishing and hunting cabins have their fair share of the ubiquitous stuffed animals on the walls, and this old place is no different. Saw a moose...saw a moose...did he do the fandango?

All the family members and guests bring a dish to contribute to the bounty of the many overflowing Thanksgiving bowls and platters that are set out on a table on the far side of the fireplace. The dessert table is up front by the entrance, I suppose so you can make a quick escape with your pumpkin muffin! Two very long wooden tables flank the room with rows of comfortably worn old wooden chairs on each side. I can smell ye olde' Turkey. So it's time to choose our seats, hold hands for a few kind words, and say grace.

Dinner was delicious, and I did a fair job of not overdoing it this year. Even with all the yummy dessert temptations, I only had a teaspoon taste each, of a pumpkin casserole, and an apple bake. Outside the sun is getting low on the creeks freshly made mud flats, and the girls are counting raffle tickets on the porch steps. I think we need to walk off dinner and stare into the calming effect of nature.

You can certainly see why I took so many pictures at this charming little camp. As I look at this photo of these branches from the woods next to me, something about it reminds me of the old John Lennon 'Imagine' album cover. Cool.... and hey, dig that 'Wizard of Oz' fighting tree with it's gnarled arms just below!

Our drive home during sunset was lovely and I was snapping photos out the car window! Silly me, a bit obsessed. I wish my eyes were a camera! Anyway, now we were off to round two of turkey time at my daughters home. My son was visiting and that is a rare treat! Oh, and I can't believe I had more to eat, but it was so gosh darn good!

You can view all of my images from this Rustic Cabin blog much larger in a slide-show format by clicking on the first photo. Even an image in the middle will do fine. A new larger view will open with a black background and then you can then click on each small thumbnail to scroll through the entire series. Images look much better that way!

Textures: Shadowhouse Creations, Frames: The Coffeeshop Blog

The REMaking of the Ben Sherman Guitar Website

The new and improved Ben Sherman Guitar website just went live!  
It has been in the works for over a year.  I started my page designs in January, and then in March my health once again took a nose dive.  I did not have the energy to work on this huge project until this October.  So lately every moment we have had to sit side by side late into the wee vampire hours of our day, my hubby and I were cranking out each page and working out the bugs.  

As an artist I have to admit the inspiration for the makeover of the BSG website is due to two talented men.  The first is my loving husband, and my artistic Muse, Ben Sherman. Playing classical guitar, acoustic guitar, electric classic rock, jazz fusion, teaching and writing a book, his talent is awesome. I never tire of all the various ways I can showcase my Ben with my own artistic vision, whether it is by taking photographs at gigs, videoing him in a band, designing promo and merchandise, or creating artwork featuring the Shermanator!  So of course he deserved my very best effort when creating a website to promote his outstanding musical endeavors.  Unfortunately he had to wait out my health issues for most of the year.  Actually the delay made me revisit some of my early designs and make some revisions.  Artists are never satisfied.

I wanted to create for Ben a platform that expresses his commitment to excellence with a richly textured website full of images that would be a visual treat to the viewer.  So the second man who inspired the overall look of the website is Jerry Jones of Shadowhouse Creations, someone I have never met.  Jerry's texture collection constantly wows me, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase what can be done with his textures.  Additionally Jerry's personal digital art gallery is stunning, and even Jerry's personal artwork certainly influenced two of the digital art pieces I added to Ben's new photo gallery.  You can see one I created at the top of this post. I truly hope you visit the Shadowhouse Creations gallery so you can enjoy Jerry's intriguing artistic world.  

Some of my website background designs for BSG were created using various Shadowhouse textures and then using Photoshop blend modes multiple times.  Other textures were used just as Jerry created them, as I felt they were totally captivating just as they were made.  Amazingly Jerry is a generous soul who gives you the use of his textures freely, as long as you use them in your artwork, do not sell them, or claim them as your own. Those of us who follow and respect Jerry are very protective of him ...so don't mess with his rules.  

When Ben and I created his former BSG website in 2008 I was just struggling to learn digital design on the little Paint Shop Pro that came with the computer.  I have learned so much since then about using Photoshop that I was very excited to dig into this website makeover.  Ben actually does all the coding for the BSG website so 
he is the one who makes the magic happen that I have in my head!  
We truly are partners together and that is so cool.  I guess you can tell Ben is my soul mate, and I am his number one fan.  Although 
Ben has some other long time music fans that would dispute that 
fact with me!  hah!

We added a beautiful new photo gallery and video gallery to the new website. In addition to gig photos, there are retro photos from Ben's musical past, (you know...the ones with the funny hair like below) as well as digital artwork I created for fun. (see the artwork at the bottom of this post) There are also newly released videos of Ben, including one I requested myself as I really wanted him to release the song called 'Cliffs Of Dover.' The Video was taken with Hectic Red during the 20th anniversary show.  This is the same song he was playing on stage the night we re-met and I had said to myself, 
"Oh yes he will be mine!" I just felt the connection to him immediately through his music.  It is the stuff of dreams.

 
The reason I have not been posting very much is we have been working our butts off on the new BSG website...  so I hope you will take the time to check it out! Let me know what you think!