Bringing CERCIE Back

Let's not dwell on the fact that I have abandoned this blog for nearly four years ... !

Let's dwell on the Cercie moment of the day: The Intern Cercie.

It's Monday. It's raining. It's dreary. We file into staff meeting, go around the table detailing our busy calendars for the week. As I walk out of the board room and pass Ms. Yvonne's receptionist desk, she calls me aside. "Amy, I have something for you." She pulls out a pretty package with a card. "The intern that worked for you last year came by last week and left this for you," she said. I snatched it up with glee, like a little dog grabbing a bone and running off to enjoy it in private. I snuck off to my office and set it on my desk, admiring it, savoring the moment of anticipation before opening it.

The card was dear. The kindest, most endearing words. Taylor the Intern is on her way to working a job at Teach for America in South Carolina, thanks to my guidance and recommendations and so on. I thought to myself, "You did all that on your own, girl. I was just cheerleading." But it really touched me. I thought about the little encouragements we give and get throughout the day, throughout our lives. They matter, and they mattered to my former intern so much that she went out of her way to thank me.

She remembered how I always had a Tervis tumbler full of coffee, and that I'm a Furman grad, so I was thrilled when I pulled the purple and white curly ribbon off the package to pull out a new tumbler with a Furman logo on it! I read and reread Taylor's note. She is a lovely writer.

I can't think of a better person to be going into schools in distressed areas of the state to help transform the lives of young people who rarely get those little encouragements in life, the young people who rarely get to feel the Cercie Joy that I did today.

Spring is for Cercies

Serendipitous joy when my beloveds and I got together for four days of mountain music fun at Merlefest in North Carolina. A High Country Cercie. Photographer extraordinaire Robert McCartney not pictured.

Pride Cercie, when my brother Billy Love decided to host an art show of his recent works, AND entered the Columbia Museum's Young Artist of the Year show, winning the People's Choice award!

Mittagessen Cercie
My German friend Claudia set up a lunch date for me and all my cohorts from the days at Deutsche Telekom in Germany. While I'm in Germany this summer, we will get to have a little reunion. Her email invitation and all the kind responses popped into my inbox last week and made my day. We love Claudia.


We also love when the little people show up at the pool in the summer. Children are naturals - you just never know what Soul Cercies of joy they will bring just by being themselves. One of my friends brings the kids out to the pool, and they just learned to swim. I get to help them practice. The four-year-old whispered to me today before she took off like a little fish, "You are my coach."

I think my friend Brooke is fantastic. I think she is even more fantastic now that she has sent me a real live Power Frau Cercie in the mail. No occasion; just her infinite niceness. She sent a note and a magnet that I immediately stuck on my fridge. It says:

"I'm fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world."

Ornament. Fruit basket. Bombshell. Hike.

Holiday Serendipity. LOVE it.

Authentic Trick Cercie
(Do not try this one at home, unless you're a natural). My friend Craig showed up at my house before Christmas and pulled an ornament out of his pocket. It was for my tree! Come on, people.

Fruit Basket Cercie
Tonya the Christmas Fairy left me a fruit basket: pears, apples, cherries! We like healthy cercies.

Bombshell Cercie
Meg the Christmas Bombshell mailed me a cercie from the ATL. Big box stashed under the door mat on my front porch (because the big box is always stashed under the door mat on the front porch). I took said box into the house, set it on my kitchen table, cut away the tape and pulled out the package. It was wrapped in bright blue and turquoise tissue tied with a fantastic purple tinsel knot. And a note:

"I can't tell if this gift is hideous or fabulous, but it's definitely "hellooo, bombshell."

What could it be?! Oh! A headless Maharaja Medussa Hoola Dancing Goddess that holds jewelry. Of course! It is fabulous, and even more so now that it's adorned with my jewelry.

Hiking Cercie
Sunday was road trip to Ceasar's Head in Upstate, South Carolina. Jordan drove us in his new Jeep. Georgie the Traveling Giraffe was along for the ride - his first excursion into the mountains. Little did he know he'd also see his first snow! Though he didn't hike Raven Cliff Trail with us - nor did he get to meet the Germans who were also hiking the trail (ja wohl!) - Georgie did get a view of Table Rock. He was so ecstatic about this that he kissed me right on my wind-chapped cheek. Danke, Georgie!

One last stop in Taylors, South Carolina after the hike, to visit meine Freunde The Starkers. Georgie was given a hearty welcome by Noah and Liam. He has never stayed with two young boys before and is in for 100% action-filled adventure. Have fun, Georgie! Don't forget to report from the field.

G-Cercie

Just because I haven't posted in nearly half a year (what?!), doesn't mean the Cercie Love has run out. In fact, there has been so much of it that I cannot-cannot contain it all.

But my favorite and immediate Cercies ...

this weekend:

I went to a christmas concert in Red Bank, South Carolina, and Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie showed up.

tonight:

I had my first Instant Cercie.

I got a two-in-one g-chat cercie from Seven and Thirty-Seven (see "Blogs I like")

That means I got to chat with my friend Jen (37) and her daughter (7)- at the same time! Seven and Thirty-Seven are new wave mother-daughter bloggers. Only such duo I know about. They rock it. And tonight on g-chat, I got to waste a full 30 minutes chatting online with them. About WHAT, you ask? You won't believe it.

HAM.

Yes, HAM.

'Tis the season for HAM, right? HAM bones. HAM hocks. HAM lettes ... So c'mon, HAM it up!

Spoleto. Rollerderby. Moonvine. Junebug.

In 1995 I went on foreign study to England with a band of miscreants from Furman. Dusti was one of them. We took classes in the mornings, played afternoons and evenings, wrote in our journals late at night. One morning during class, Dr. Radel had us on the topic of art and geography or something, and Dusti shot her hand up to make a comment. "You know, Charleston has a sister city called Spoleto." Many laughed, because they had no idea what she was talking about. But I did! Spoleto is a city in Italy, and in many ways, a sister to Charleston. We share a visual and performing arts festival started in Italy, and celebrated yearly now in Charleston since 1977.

I've been going to Spoleto since high school. And now it's a tradition for Dusti and me to go together. I look forward to it every year. This year, we had (nosebleed) tickets at the Galliard for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater's 50th anniversary celebration. Amazing. I got a dance cercie when the company performed Suite Otis (a tribute to Otis Redding). I had never seen that piece. I am always delighted and disappointed all at once with the ephemeral nature of live performance.



Georgie the traveling Giraffe went with me to Spoleto, his first experience in Charleston. He seemed to fit right in at Dusti and Jonathan's house. I think this marks his first experience living with cats. Dusti and Jonathan have three: Faulkner, Whitman, and Titus Bramble. I hope they are all getting along with Georgie, and don't mind him on their hearth for awhile longer.

I got a rollerderby cercie while in Charleston, too. The Lowcountry Highrollers in a bout against the Charlotte Bdazzlers. I was surprised by my own enthusiasm to see the Charleston rollergirls win. By the end of the night, we were all on our feet cheering. Who knew?

That was May. Month of arts and music and festivals and ... moonvines. I soaked last year's seeds and planted them about five weeks ago. By the end of May, there were at least three sprouts, then the heart shaped leaves, then the entwined vines reaching for any possible highpoint. And soon there will be blossoms in the evenings. Big white ones! I will post pictures - they will be your moonlight cercies.

This is June. Month of poolside and sweltering Columbia summer heat and ... LUCK? I was at the garden center this afternoon looking for geraniums and a fern, when ... "Hello!" A ladybug landed right on my chest. I slipped my finger close to her so she would crawl onto it. She did, and went up my arm, then flitted off. My little Junebug luck cercie.

Tulips, bread and a giraffe

Tulips



Spring has been full of cercies.

Tulips are my favorite flowers, ushering in my favorite time of year. When I came home last month one day after work, I found a pot of tulips stuck artfully in my fern planter at the back door. Bright pink popping out of all that green. Wonderful! Thanks, mom. :)

Bread
My good friend Lisa Ellis and I have been training for the past three months. She was my inspiration after she did her first half marathon this year. I'm not much of a runner, but I like the weight training. And I like my new healthy lifestyle hobby. Most of the time Lisa and I are good at keeping one another accountable. She slipped a few Sundays ago, though, and dropped off a loaf of homemade bread. I won't say if I at the whole thing by myself, but it was sweet and delightful. Best of all, a dear friend just showed up at my door and surprised me with it. Who does that anymore? Awesome.

Giraffe



I can't say I'm glad I have Georgie back, because Amanda and I had to be sneaky about taking him when Stella wasn't at home. And Stella so loved him - even gave him his name! But Amanda felt now was as good a time as any, and Georgie should make a new journey.

So the traveling giraffe enjoyed a road trip with me to Merlefest in North Carolina. His first trip to the Blueridge. He got to watch a thunderstorm roll in to Banner Elk as the Honda wound around the curves, hugging the mountain rock through the rain. I would have stopped for a photo opp were it not for the crashing thunder and lightening. He really loved meeting Rob and Meg, and got lots of fresh air at the Mast Farm Inn where we stayed. The bunnies there on the Mast Farm were caged, so Georgie felt happy to be free to sit outside our door unattended. He didn't make it to Merlefest itself. They allow children at the festival - but not giraffes - so he'll just have to look forward to another road trip soon to Charleston for Spoleto. We are very excited indeed about that. But don't tell Dusti - it will spoil the Cercie.

P.S. I've added new blog links and inspiration links. I discovered some wonderful folk artists at Merlefest in the vendor tents (Periwinkle Pass and Art Farm). And just yesterday at the Columbia Crawfish Festival, I discovered a local artist who reforms trash into treasures (Jen Ann Miner). Delightful.

Just de(s)sert

I had a play date today with one of my closest girlfriends from Furman. Since she got hitched back in May, it's been a little difficult to get together. But we pulled it off this weekend, and had a full-on day of Girl Fun in Charleston.

It started with pedicures. Next, a fabulous jaunt to Five Loaves in Mt. Pleasant. Not just dessert ... three courses, starting with Asparagus soup with goat cheese, then Tilapia salad with lemon dressing and a glass of wine, topped off by coconut cake with cream cheese dressing. YUM. A little shopping followed by a personal show and tell of Dusti's latest creative endeavor - the Splatter Paint Purse - and call it a perfect day!

Made only better by the invitation to join Dusti, her husband and several other of their friends on a week-long excursion to Arizona this Summer! A REAL vacation, with rented vans and Vegas nights, mud spas, a vacation house and no humidity! Just desert.