I had a wonderful day off Saturday, traveling to Hart Square near Hickory.

For those who don't know:

Hart Square is a private collection of over 60 reconstructed log cabins located in Catawba County, NC.  Each cabin is furnished with period furnishings.

I've posted many pictures in the Hart Square 2008 album. If you would like more information, please check out this website: http://www.catawba.k12.nc.us/schoolpages/claremont/Hart%20Square/index.htm

It will give you more information and pictures on this incredible place. I recommend that everyone should attend this event at least once in their lifetime. 

Me? I'm looking forward to going back next year! Perhaps even participating as a reenactor? Looks like fun to me!

I have always have been a big fan of post-apocalyptic, post-catastrophic Earth novels. The vision of how society would rebuild itself either the same or take into consideration the past and what changes would be made to prevent a re-occurrence. Robert Adams Horseclans Series offers an interesting take on technology or to be more precise, the lack thereof.

I have not read the novel "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson so my judgment of the movie is not clouded by what it derives from the book or adds to it.  There were two other movies of note based on that novel. "The Last Man on Earth" starring Boris Karloff and "The Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston. Cannot say anything of the first but I have seen the second (ages ago) and thought it was ok.

"I Am Legend" with Will Smith was entertaining, a little slow in spots and the end was kind of strange, but overall a good movie. I will not go into any details to give anything away other than to offer a perspective on what the movie brought to me.

We all experience empty and lonely feelings in our lives, but we are surrounded on a daily basis by people. What he had to endure, the daily routine of NEVER seeing, meeting or talking to another human being is unimaginable! It brought a whole knew meaning of the word "lonely" to me.

After seeing this movie I have no right to complain of being lonely. Not when I can walk next door and visit my neighbor, get in the car and drive to a friends house, pick up the phone to call my family or go online to chat with people I know from far away.

So much for wallowing in the self pity being lonely… now to embrace the realization that there are so many more options to make life truly worth living!

Must be a Holiday thing… J

Another Sunday night...

I feel guilty, wanting to go in to work today... I have soooo much to do. The holiday is upon me. I can only ship Monday, but not much is ready to go... I was told to cut payroll... "Rich, you’re using too much!". So last Friday was a skeleton crew of people and I didn’t bring in the evening crew on Thursday night. I wound up doing production work instead of supervising. But.. today I said "Fuck it!"

I work 12-14 hours Monday through Friday... if I slack off, it’s a little on Friday,  so my time IS productive. I can do no more! I’m not sure what the others do... isolated at home in Burnsville, doing jobs I have done in the past and I’m not sure why it takes them so long to complete.

The part that truly pisses me off is that if they have an issue with me, they cannot directly ask me, they have to ask someone else. This someone else a few weeks ago was my friend and co-worker Ryan. "Ryan, is Rich too involved with her and losing focus on work?" Grow BALLS ladies.. ask me directly! If anything my relationship has caused me to be MORE focused, MORE productive and much MORE happier at work. They both can kiss my hairy white ass! So speaks Papi Gringo! And Richard...  If I leave, the business will fail...not ego... just cold, hard fact!

I was given an interesting proposal today... and I’m not sure if she was serious or not, but we will find out. That the two women who started this business will move on and leave me with it. I’m not sure if this is a reality check for me, but I know deep in my heart I could run it better. Again, not ego speaking, but just the facts...

The next few months should prove quite interesting.

But wholesome and hearty I can do! For gourmet foods... See Master Chef David!

This past Saturday was epiode 2 of "Richard Cooks"... made another pot of chicken soup to nurse my aching body back into shape. Cold and Flu season is upon us! Not to mention 12 to 14 hour days at work.

This one turned out sooooo much better. Veges (carrots, potatoes, celery, onion and garlic) were actually done to perfection. Still a little crunchy! Chicken was roasted first so the meat can be infused with the flavor of the herbal rub... then cooked to make the broth. Roasting eliminates much of the fat too... always a downside to making chicken soup, skimming off the fat. So, for me at least, it has the right amount in it. Combined with some basmati rice that was also prepared using broth... DEE-LISH! (thank you Rachael Ray! I actually met her. She did a story on our bakery back in NY when she was working for a local TV station... she's CUTE!)

The one drawback to all this is that it's mine... all mine... always nicer to share the experience of cooking with another, as my Chef friend has said many times. Perhaps when the containers from episode 1 are returned, they can be refilled and shared that way... :)

BON APPETIT!

I had to stop at Ingle's today to pick up a few things, one of which was shampoo... yes, I use shampoo...lol!

In the 16 foot aisle of shampoos was almost every kind known to man. With protien, conditioner, tea... without protien, conditioner, tea. For long, luxurious hair, hair with dandruff, perky hair, hair with split ends, scented with almost anything and unscented too! Shampoo from Australia that's also for your horse. 99 cent shampoo and ones for $10... guess what? You get more volume wise for 99 cents!

But no where and I mean NO WHERE, could I find the shampoo meant for me.. I saw Head and Shoulders, but come on now... check out the head!

I need Scalp and Stubble! LOL!

I know there's some enterprising person out there who will read this, take this fantastic marketing idea and RUN with it!

A friend asked me why I was pretty happy these past few days. For those who know the emotional rollercoaster that my life has been on the past couple of months, this is kind of out of the ordinary lately. The only answer I could give them was that I am making steps in my life to heal old, festering wounds in my soul and in those that I have caused the same.

I had a very nice, slightly tearful, conversation with my ex-wife Lisa on Monday. I needed to start with the person I had wronged the most in life. I apologized to her for all the pain I had caused in the breakdown of our marriage, the way I had mishandled and mistreated our relationship since. I told her this was a new start in life for me, to try to get back to the person I was before... someone I could really like and love again when I looked into the mirror at myself.

It was an extremely difficult call to make, the hardest one ever in my life, but the right thing to do. I need to put all the negativatey behind me and surge forward with new purpose and direction. Our conversation after the apology was the best I have had with Lisa in these past ten years and I am looking forward to more of them. After all, we have three beautiful children together and our lives will be integrated for many years to come.

Treat each day as if it is the last. Leave this life with no regrets. For tomorrow is an uncertainty and all we can truly do is live for the moment.

Thank you for opening my eyes and my heart... my friend...:)

LEAF Adventures

Flashback to the spring LEAF Festival.

I was added as a vendor "helper" for Eric Backer, owner and operator of 28806, a most amazing restaurant in West Asheville (coming soon to Downtown).

Took a date with me (which didn't work out, but that's another story…lol!). Had a really incredible time with listening to all the varieties of music, watching ethnic dancing and just watching all the cool people that were gathered there. An amazingly diverse crowd of people of all ages… newborns to those in their 80's, gathered together to celebrate this thing called life. From all backgrounds, races (although there is truly only one race…Human), faiths and lifestyles.

I saw an opportunity there to introduce this area to the finest wheat-free, gluten-free and vegan baked goods ever made. It is my product, but I'm not bragging…LOL! It really is… just ask any satisfied customer!

So, after the festival, I talked to Eric about perhaps joining forces and spinning off a part of his space to us. He was very receptive to this idea and would really like to discuss it further for the fall LEAF!

Flash forward 6 months…

Next Chapter, the trials and tribulations of getting started…

I almost got married this weekend! Something I thought I'd never do again till a few months ago...lol!

But this is how it went...

Friday night... almost beer:30 on the clock... time for a cold draft.

I took the long walk (10 feet) to the beverage concession and asked for a Gaelic draft. The girl asked me if I had a yellow wristband. I said no. She said "ID please"... I WAS IN LOVE! (You've seen my pic, don't I look old enough?)

I asked her "You're kidding?" She said no... I then professed my love and asked for her hand in marriage... She said "Only if you're rich". It was then I knew it was meant to be... I said "Read my ID... I AM RICH! all my life!"

God, was she embarassed!

Needless to say, I got my beer, a round of applause from the crowd and left a nice tip for a good sport.

I had a really, really incredible time at LEAF. For all those who know the quiet me, this was out of character. For all those who know the fun loving me... I was hitting my stride!

More to come... keep looking!

Over the next few days I'll be writing several blog installments of my experiences at the Lake Eden Arts Festival.

It was an amazing time!

Incredible music, beautiful crafts, fantastic foods, great local beer and some of the most interesting people I have ever met... and I even managed to sell some cookies!!! LOL!

Stay tuned...

I have basically spent my entire life pleasing others. Putting aside my own needs and desires to help them fulfill their own. Trying to live up to others expectations of who or what I should be.

Several months ago I met someone who touched my soul like no one ever had before and has profoundly changed my life.

They have shown me it is : Ok to stand up for myself. Do the right thing instead of following along with the wrong. Be an individual, not a member of the pack. To stop, feel the exctiement in each new day. That it's good to speak from the heart, throwing caution to the wind, for life really is way too short to and we should not let anything go unspoken. To let the person that has been trapped inside me, out. To open myself up, to communicate, to trust and to love... again.

Time to start living my life for me... and to truly enjoy it once more!

I may not have gotten the relationship I originally desired, but I was blessed with the relationship I truly needed.

Thank you... My Friend... I will forever be in your debt... :)