by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 13, 2014 | Family, Friends, Love, Miracles, Nature, Waiting
Hard times–valleys–come in so many forms. They can be obvious–job loss, death in the family, sickness, natural disaster. Or they can be harder to spot–a child gone astray, a marriage in tatters, a difficult work environment. And all too often,...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 9, 2014 | Appalachian, Family, Love, Nature, Thistle
There are generally two types of folks I run into hiking in the national forest near our house. 1) Transplants with an appreciation for nature who carry water bottles, graphite hiking sticks, and often have a proliferation of bumper stickers on their cars. 2) Locals...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 6, 2014 | Church, Family, Friends, Love, Reading
I was going to review Jan Karon’s latest novel–Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good–but I realized I didn’t want to review it so much as analyze it. The thing is, Jan Karon doesn’t follow the rules. If you go to conferences or classes (which...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 2, 2014 | Appalachian, Family, Food, Friends, Nature, Reading
I’m headed home in October. Ahhhh. My favorite month in my favorite place. And as an added bonus, I’m doing two book-related events while I’m in West Virginia. So excited to take my book back to the place it was born! Thursday, Oct. 16, 5:30 pm...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Sep 25, 2014 | Appalachian, Family, Love, Reading
One of my greatest treasures is a collection of letters from my grandmother. She was from a generation that hadn’t quite given up paper and pen for the telephone and certainly not for e-mail. I doubt she ever sat down in front of a computer, although she...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Sep 18, 2014 | Appalachian, Family, Food
It’s time to put up the garden–canning, preserving, freezing. Of course, I hated it when I was a kid, but now I wish I had the time and cellar space to preserve summer in a Mason jar. Not to mention family close enough to gather on the porch to string...
