Paul & Diane Boykin

This past Saturday being somewhat rainy, we decided to venture out to town. For awhile we had been meaning to visit the newly restored TRR Cobb House on Hill Street. This home which had been owned by General Thomas Cobb had been sold and moved to Stone Mountain to be restored there, which never took place. A few years ago it was moved back to Athens on a lot on Hill Street, close to it's original site. The docent gave us a complete tour of the house and showed us the improvements and furnishings that they are collecting. If you go to the website, http://www.trrcobbhouse.org you can take a virtual tour and see what has been accomplished thus far.

After touring the Cobb house we stopped by the Scottish Heritage Festival for a bit and were impressed with the many clan displays andexhibits. We'd definitely like to go back next year!

Celebrate your Scottish heritage or simply learn more about it this Saturday, January 24 at the Lyndon House. This FREE event promises a day packed with activities from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be bagpipe performances, Scottish sing-along, demonstrations on the kilt, tartans, ladies' sashes, Scottish country dances and even a workshop on how to make Haggis. (This is a traditional Scottish dish that you don't want to know the ingredients). In the afternoon there will be readings of Robert Burns' poetry. Throughout the day will be Scottish arts and crafts for childred, athletic games for children, demonstrations of weaving tartans and Scottish clans' display of their tartans and history. The highlight of the day may be the "bonniest knees contest" at noon. According to the Athens Banner Herald, kilted men compete and the judges are blindfolded women who judge according to touch. Should be interesting!!

The Lyndon House is located at 293 Hoyt Street off College Ave. in downtown Athens.

Pictured above is the Thistle and Kudzu Pipes and Drums Band who will be performing on Saturday.

Any of us who travel Milledge Ave, Prince Ave. and the Cobb/Hill areas regularly see the beautiful old homes and huge trees that Athens has to offer. Now the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Athens as a top 12 Distinctive Destination. The Trust said of Athens "The vibrant city of Athens, Georgia, is known for its distinct blend of traditional heritage and trendsetting Southern culture, a mix of historic attractions, a dynamic downtown and a lively music scene". This award shows the importance of preserving our historic homes, churches and business buildings as something to be appreciated for the ages. This should attract many visitors to our area as the National Trust promotes its picks on its website, www.preservationnation.org.

Comming up on January 25, 2009 is the Oconee County Middle School Band & Chorus fundraser, A Taste of Oconee. Food from some of the area's best restaurants will be available for sampling and event goers can vote for their favorite places to eat. Restaurants participating this year are Barberito's, Big Easy Cafe, Braxton's Coffeehouse, Brett's Casual American Restaurant, Cactus Cafe, Chick-Fil-A, Coke, Creative Cookies & Creamery, Dickey's BBQ, Fox's Pizza Den, Gourmet BBQ & Catering, Jose's Restaurant, Jennings Mill Country Club, Jittery Joe's, Longhorn, Maison Bleu, Mirko's Pasta, Miss Gail's Southern Cooking, Scoops, Shishka-bobby's, Son's of Italy, Sweet Retreat, The Graneary Whole Grain Bakery & Zaxby's. Also, there will be a raffle of donations from local artists and authors. To entertain everyone, the Oconee Middle School Chorus and Band will perform during the afternoon. We attended last year and found a new favorite place to eat, and you just might too!

You can purchase your tickets at OCMS, Oconee Chamer of Commerce and Oconee County Civic Center. Advance tickets are $20.00 and they will be $25.00 at the door.

For more information about this event, contact Julie Walters at 706-769-8681 or Julie@ClassicCenter.com.

As we celebrated Christmas with our family on Christmas Eve, we were free to spend part of Christmas Day with the Interfaith Hospitality Network guests that our church was hosting this week. (Check out NIHN.org for more information about this program). Many people had sent food for a fabulous Christmas dinner that the guests enjoyed along with several church members. There were a couple of moms there with their several children who seemed to be having fun with new toy and bikes in spite of spending Christmas in a shelter. I especially enjoyed a delightful 16 year old boy who was adjusting to a new school along with trying to remain vegetarian. After dinner another couple took everyone to see a movie for the rest of the afternoon.

Our community has been working with this program for 4 or 5 years now and it has been very satisfying to be able to do a small something about a huge homeless problem. My job is usually to be a van driver pick up person, so I don't always interact with our guests, and I was honored to spend part of this Christmas with them.