Mark Hendry : Blue Ridge Real Estate Pro in the North Georgia Mountains

APRIL 2009 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

April 4 / Mountain Adventure Race Blue Ridge, Ga. 12th annual race. A challenging contest consisting of running, paddling, biking and navigating. Up to 100 co-ed teams of 3 participate yearly. Live music, food and fun at finish line downtown for spectators. (706) 946-6003 chamber@blueridgemountains.com

April 8 & 11 / Gorilla Haven Private, behind the scenes small group walking tours of gorilla facilities. Photography allowed. (706) 851-9440 www.gorilla-haven.org

April 11 / Easter “Egg-spress” Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. Downtown BR Depot. Sat 4:00pm. Ride the Train with the Easter Bunny! (706) 632-9833 www.brscenic.com

April 11 / An Evening of Astronomy Pine Mountain, GA. Roosevelt State Park 9pm – 10pm. Join the Columbus Coca-Cola Space center at the amphitheater for an evening including star talks, star maps, and viewing of the night sky. (706) 633-4858 www.gastateparks.org

April 11 & 18/ Spring Fest Blue Ridge farmers market. 4th annual arts and crafts sale, Sun. 9am-5pm (706) 946-6003

April 17 – Oct. 30 / Pickin’ in the Park Downtown Ellijay/Horseshoe Bend park in McCaysville. Local Musician jam gathering. Bluegrass, country, Gospel and rock-n-Roll 6pm – dark. Free Family Fun! All are Welcome! (706) 635-5961 wilmar225@yahoo.com

April 17 – 18 / Foxfire Living History Days 9am – 4:30pm. Games for children with authentic Appalachian toys. Live Blacksmith demonstrations, quilting bee, open fire cooking, and old time church services. (706) 746-5828 www.foxfire.org

April 18 / Taste of Blue Ridge Riverstone Medical Campus, Blue Ridge. 6pm – 9pm several local restaurants will provide food. Silent auction, wine tasting and music. (706) 633-9847

April 18 / J.D. Crowe & The New South Ellijay Elementary Auditorium. 7:30pm. (706) 635-5605 www.gilmerarts.org

April 18 – 19 / Ellijay spring into Art Fair 1st annual. Historic Downtown Ellijay. Art & food booths, music, magician, storytellers, dancing children’s activities. Raffle Tickets sold to benefit Foster parents assn. (706) 636-5216

April 24 & 25 / Rare Talent Blue Ridge community theatre. Your annual showcase opportunity! Be part of the talent, or just part of the audience! Showcasing everyone from Local bands to dancers and actors.
Contact BRCT for audition dates. (706) 632-9223 www.blueridgecommunitytheater.com

April 25 / Wildflower Walk Vogel State Park, Hwy 129 S. of Blairsville. Guided Wildflower walk through the Appalachian forest, highlighting Jack-in-the-pulpits, trilliums, wild azaleas and many others. (706) 745-2628 www.gastateparks.org

April 25 /Cohutta 100 Ocoee Whitewater Center. 100 mile mtn. bike race on Tanasi Trail system into the Chattahoochee National Forest (404) 217-0041

April 25 & 26 / Plein Aire Days Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Assn. SAAG Artists painting in and around town in the fresh air. A festival of art demonstrations with music, food and fun. (706) 632-2144 www.brmaa.com

I don't know what it is, but there's just something about Spring in the Mountains that rejuvenates my winter weary soul. The dismal colorless winter gives way to the new life and color of Spring in all it's glory. It reminds me of the recent economic seasons we have been experiencing, believe it or not, and I see sign of Spring there, too.

In the winter, things seem bleak and desolate. It's harder to get out of bed in the morning and face the cold relentless weather out there. You just want to pull the covers over your head and stay in bed, and some days you do, but most days you just keep going; facing the gray days. The dark is longer and the daylight is shorter, and it seems like everything is working against your getting anything done. Driving conditions can be dangerous as storms of ice and snow loom on the horizon. The dark days of this economy have been a lot like the long, bleak winter, but nowadays things are changing, if you look for the signs.

Peering out from under the cover of fall leaves, daffodils pop up, spreading their sunny smiles in the cool morning sun. Rich crimson and burgundy buds cover the branches of the hardwood trees, and fruiting trees explode with bright whites, pinks and fuchsia blooms, wafting through the air with a smell that lets you know Spring has arrived. The warming temperatures beckon us outdoors to revel in the scenes and scents of new growth and beauty. The time changes and suddenly, there are more hours of light to enjoy the great outdoors, and there's more time to get on top of things, and still have time for you left over.

Likewise, if you look for them, there are economic signs of Spring, of a season that is recovering from the dark cold times that have befallen us recently. They may not make the front pages of your newspaper, but there are signs that point to things warming up and getting better for everyone, if you look for them. Real estate sales are stabilizing or picking up through most of the country, and opportunities for buyers abound.

There's nothing more eternal in the natural order of things than one season giving way to another. So always remember that nothing lasts forever; not the good times, nor the bad. For me that means we should remember to cherish when things are good, as those times are fleeting. Likewise, we should be tolerant when the tough times hit as they too will pass, like Old Man Winter, who always ends up giving way to Spring.

Someone sent this link to me in an email. They said it reminded them of me. I clicked on it, and I LOVE IT! It is entitled,

"NO RECESSION FOR ME".

Definitely, CLICK THE IMAGE & check it out.

I love the attitude this little info-video takes on staying positive and proactive during a critical time, where the answer is not to give in to the FEAR, but say NO to it, and keep forging ahead, working harder to make a difference (my personal philosophy). It also mentions staying away from overdoses of negativity in the news, which I agree with whole-heartedly.

I once attended a seminar where the host gave the audience an exercise. He asked us to look around the room to find every single thing that was the color GREEN. He prompted us to look carefully, searching all around; up & down, and find every little bit of GREEN we could, and after about a minute he asked us to close our eyes.

He then said, "Now tell me, without opening your eyes: what did you see that was... BROWN? No one really could think of much that was BROWN, we were so busy looking for GREEN, it never entered our awareness.

The lesson was, and still is, you see what you are looking for (whether in a room or in life). If you look for signs of economic decline and failure, you'll manage to find them. If you look for the signs of a recovering economy, and a market on the mend, I can assure you, you'll find that, too. You must make a conscious decision on how to color what you see, and what you hear. You decide to say "No Recession for me", or "Too late, I'm sunk," and you'll find evidence to support either stance; so which do you choose? It is a choice.

I remember a quote from Richard Bach. It said, "Argue for your limitations and they are yours." It makes sense. Think about it; and choose wisely.

If you've ever visited Blue Ridge, Georgia, you've probably been waved to by various members of the local community. There's an old time feel to the Blue Ridge lifestyle that is reminiscent of the days some of us grew up in, before shops stayed open past 7 pm, or opened on Sundays. 10 years ago, there weren't even traffic lights in this sleepy little town. A fun night in Blue Ridge consisted of sitting on your front porch step, watching the sun go down, waving to the neighbors.

Now, let me preface this by saying this lifestyle is not for everyone, but some of us reach an age where we have a new appreciation for the things we grew up with, that we thought were gone for ever, but still exist here in Blue Ridge.

When my family first moved to the Blue Ridge area, I noticed that every other car driver waved to me as I drove by them on the road. Many people out in their yards waved as I drove by, as well. I knew none of them could possibly know who I was yet, so I took it as local custom, and tried waving back, but if the oncoming driver didn't respond, I felt awkward; rejected, like when you go to high-five someone who leaves you hanging, so I never waved for long. I experimented with the wave trend for the first month, on and off, but then I had a thought that changed the way I felt forever.

It was on the way home from Home Depot, I was driving along, contemplating wasting a wave on someone who may possibly not return the gesture, when I had a thought.

"What if you were being paid for every individual car you waved to? How would that change the way you felt about waving to them?"

I decided, if that were the case, I'd wave to absolutley everyone, and I began doing just that. I smiled and laughed out loud, alone in my car, as I waved to every oncoming car on Highway 5, feeling absurd but blissful, and then I had another thought.

"What if you only got paid if the other person waved back?"

My first reaction was to stop waving, because now it mattered to me that the other person responded. I had a reason to be dissappointed if the other person didn't return the gesture...and then I thought,

"Heck, I'd wave more enthusiatically to try and get them to wave back if I got paid for every response", and then I did just that, and it really amused me. I felt really good eagerly waving to the oncoming traffic, and it didn't matter if they responded. Waving was something I did for me, as much as for others, and I did it because it made me feel good to do it. I felt generous of spirit, like I had something to give to others, and indeed, we all do. I waved all the way home.

Since that day, I have joined the ranks of the Blue Ridge wavers. It's automatic now, and sometimes my wife will ask me, "Who's that person you just waved to?", and I just laugh when I tell her, "I have no idea." In fact, my son recently started driving, and I mused at how, without being taught in any formal way, as we drove the streets, he automatically waved to the oncoming traffic, too. It made me smile.

So now, when you visit Blue Ridge, and someone waves to you, you can wave back, or not, and you can even wave to strangers yourself... and you never know, you might be waving to me, and if that's the case, I assure you, I'll wave back.

Lissi Oland is a big part of why I left my old life in the busy city and moved to the mountains in search of a simpler existence.

I have retold in other entries how it was during the first time my wife and I visited downtown Blue Ridge that we started thinking about selling our business and moving to the mountains. We were thinking of options for what we might do in this new life. What I didn’t go into was how I set out on the path to study wood working; wood turning to be exact.

My wife and I were strolling the charming streets of historic olde town Blue Ridge, discussing what we might do for a living if we lived in this quaint community. This is where my mind was focused when we ventured into Turning Leaf Wood Art Gallery.

You can still find Turning Leaf Gallery in downtown Blue Ridge, but it has grown since then. When I first visited the gallery, it was like a hallway of wood bowls of every wood and size. The owner, Sherry Darling greeted every visitor with a plethera of information on the wood turning artists and the art of woodturning. She encouraged touching the works, (very different from most art galleries) as the oil in your hands is actually good for the wood. In the corner of the shop was a video playing, which showed a HGTV special on a local woman who was a master wood turner, living on her own. Her name was Lissi Oland.

I was mesmerized by the image of that woman working on those huge logs of wood, and inquired as to her whereabouts. I learned that she lived in North Carolina, less than an hour away, and she does give lessons to individuals from time to time. I wasted no time in contacting her and within a month I had my first lesson. that was 5 years ago this month.

I took a few lessons with Lissi and got to know her. She became a good friend and sounding board for our ideas of selling our business and relocating to the mountains of North Georgia. She even took me square dancing at the local folk school, (John C. Campbell Folk School), where I later took a few more classes.

I had a stint as an apprentice, but it wasn't long before Lissi encouraged me to set up a workshop of my own. Through all the ups and downs of our family's transition to the country, Lissi proved sound council.

Later, when I became involved in selling real estate, Lissi asked me to list her propety, in hopes of selling it and returning to her homeland of Denmark. Three months later, I did sell her property, and she is finally returning to Europe.

I'm just so glad that for all my friend Lissi has given me, I could finally do something for her. I'd have never guessed when I first met her that I'd be the one to sell her property, but it's funny how things turn out. (no pun intended)