December 27, 2012December 27, 2012 by shannonchance

Christmas Presence

We’re never in a hurry to open gifts when we’re at Mom’s for Christmas. Gifts just aren’t the focus of our gathering. This year, we waited until today, December 27, to make our exchanges.

We had a lot of fun, nonetheless. The pictures look much like the past five years (the same five characters, the same house). This year, we’re just a bit older and, hopefully, wiser. You’ll see from my photos that the gifts we give tend to be practical, educational, or cultural….

An ornament I brought Mom from Ireland.

Heather went to Rome and found this ornament for me…

…in the shop where I’d taken the picture behind me in this February 2012 gallery show.

Heather opening a package.

I received many books on teaching/learning and Ireland.

Dave got a book about modern Irish architecture.

Heather with wood carving. (Several years ago, Heather and Leslie were cultural envoys to Zimbabwe.)

Leslie gave many heartfelt gifts, cultural treasures he’s collected during his life.

Heather’s new boots. She really needs these for living in NYC.

Mom received an amazing cotton-picking doll from Leslie. She was deeply touched.

I got a quilter doll, significant to me because Ma quilted and several of my students have studied the connections between quilting and African-American architecture.

Heather Massie and Leslie Lee.

Candle holder from Esther and the rest of the Sterchi family.

Curious kitties!

December 26, 2012 by shannonchance

Heather’s Day-After-Christmas Feast

Heather spent hours and hours preparing a day-after-Christmas feast. She made traditional fixings, as well as special vegetarian dishes for herself, and gluten-and-everything-else free dishes for me. (I got a food allergy test done December 6, and the results have been a real downer for my Christmas meals.)

Christmas feast created by Heather.

Heather’s Tofurkey postcard.

Allergy food test — December reactions.

Allergy food test key.

December 26, 2012December 26, 2012 by shannonchance

Merry Christmas, World!

Thanks for tuning in! It gives me reason to share stories of Ireland and home….

December 26, 2012December 26, 2012 by shannonchance

Irish Lore on the Blue Ridge

Mike Heivly's studio in Charlottesville, Virginia, filled with the essence of Ireland.

Mike Heivly, Kevin Donleavy, and Dave Chance at Mike’s art studio in Charlottesville, Virginia — filled with the essence of Ireland.

The fragile gift bag I toted from Ireland sheltered two vinyl records by Jerry Crilly’s old band, Rakish Paddy. Jerry sent one home as a gift for me and the other for his friend Kevin Donleavy, who we managed to locate in mid-November.

This vinyl record is a collector’s item, Kevin tells me. He played the CD version on his radio show a few weeks back.

Incidentally, he has a new show airing this Saturday, December 29 on the UVA radio station. Click here for directions on how to listen online.

The vinyl records were both a heartfelt gift from Jerry and a plausible excuse for me to find Kevin — who, I’d informed Jerry, Dave and I would be driving right past on our holiday trek across Virginia.

We met Kevin at his colleague’s studio in Charlottesville. Mike Heivly has filled the studio, located in a church’s unused classroom, with fascinating poems and images of Ireland.

Mike is as enamored with Irish lore as the rest of us, as you can see by the images of his work.

It turns out, Kevin has enlisted Mike to help with documenting the railway in Charlottesville that was built in the 1850s by about 2,100 Irish and 90 slaves. A full account is posted by The Blue Ridge Railway Project (at www.clannmhor.org), which explains “Clann Mhór – which in Gaelic means the Great Family – wishes to honor the history of these forgotten railroad workers.”

Mike also has beautiful images of Newgrange and the famine village near Dingle town.

Mike Heivly’s Newgrange series.

Irish musician and historian Kevin Donleavy.

Mike Heivly’s photos of the local railway tunnel that Kevin is working to have formally recognized for its historic significance.

Mike Heivly’s photographs from the famine village near Dingle, Ireland.

Although Dave and I were instrumental in re-connecting Jerry and Kevin, it turns out that Kevin himself is a master at connecting people. Particularly around subjects of Ireland. Here’s an email I received from Kevin after our visit:

Hiya, Shannon agus Dave,

That was a pleasant enough event at Mike’s studio Saturday. You two seemed to enjoy it, too. Pretty neat projects that Mike gets into.

Thanks for bringing the 33 lp of the Rakes. Very kind of you to drag it across the western ocean. Lovely songs on it, just as I had dimly recalled.

Am including some info about Iroid sculptor Mark Connelley. Hope his work interests yiz and catches your eyes. Strange, isn’t it, that everybody who goes to Ireland gets caught up in aspects of its culture ? Mirabile dictu, and that ! (Did you know I taught h.s. Latin for years ?)

All the best, Kevin

Dear Kevin,

I am happy to have made a connection with you. While I hope that a variety of people like my work, I particularly want to make an impression on folks of Irish influence. Much of my work is inspired by the many ancient treasures found in that part of the world. There are some who feel the same connection that I do to this culture, and it is always comforting to hear from them.

The best way to learn about my work is through my website: http://macworks-art.com/. I have images up of most of my work with stories of how each piece was influenced. You can also follow my business page on Facebook (click the ‘F’ below.) I post images there of installations like the one in Charlottesville. I also post discussions and images of other artwork.

I look forward to browsing your links and learning more about your group. I am a big fan too of traditional music. Our local radio station, WNCW, has a show on Saturdays named ‘Celtic Winds.’ They do a fair job, but it consists of too many reels for my wife’s taste. I disagree, but that is the joy of music.

Thanks again for contacting me. I look forward to meeting you in person sometime too.

All the best,

Mark

MARK A. CONNELLEY

Sculpture & Landscape Art | 828.384.8318 | macworks-art.com

On Nov 7, 2012, at 8:22 PM, KEVIN DONLEAVY wrote:

Hi, Mark,

Was driving in the Emmet Street neighborhood here in Charlottesville the other day and saw your sculpture of The Storyteller. Very nice work, and in an a propos siting, too, since the street is named after heroic Robert Emmet’s nephew: John Patten Emmet was chosen by Thomas Jefferson to be on the initial faculty of the new U. Va. in the 1820s.

Several of us will help spread the word about your sculpture within the Irish mini-community here. There is BRIMS, the Blue Ridge Irish Music School; you can google them. I myself do a regular program of Irish trad music on-line and FM on WTJU.org here (next show is Sat., Dec.1, from 10 am till 12 noon). Have a gander at our website, www.clannmhor.org, where our collective is documenting the 2,100 or so Irish and the 90 slaves who built the railway here in the 1850s.

Why don’t you e-mail and tell me more about your ogham-sculpture and other efforts, which will give us some background to this work of yours. If you are ever in Cville, especially on a first Sat any month, I can have you chat on the radio program. How’s that ?

Hope to hear from you,

Kevin

December 26, 2012December 26, 2012 by shannonchance

Phoning Kerry

Ballybunion, where the River Shannon meets the Atlantic Ocean (photo from http://www.irelands-directory.com/photos.php?Image=582)

High Street in Ballybunion, Ireland (image from http://www.seashorebandbballybunion.com/seashore-things-to-do-121.aspx)

Mom decided to phone her cousin Eilish O’Hanlon in Ireland’s County Kerry for Christmas yesterday. Eilish sounded very happy to hear from us… she said the call made her day!

Mom also dug out the family tree that her Aunt Jo researched in the 1980s. What do you know — Eilsih and her husband Con are on it!

Speaking of Aunt Jo, Mom phoned her yesterday as well. She lives in Ocala, Florida and raises race horses. There’s a race horse somewhere out in the world that Aunt Jo named for my mom. (Aunt Jo is my Grandma Zeliff’s sister. Of course, Mom also phoned her two Zeliff siblings, Carolyn and Harry yesterday. She’s a chatty one, my mom.)

So now I know: Eilish is mom’s second cousin. They share two great-grandparents.

And Eilish says that Tom Mulligan (the proprietor of the Cobblestone pub in Dublin) is her husband’s first cousin.

The family tree is starting to make more sense to me now. (As is the nearby Mulligan tree that is, apparently, in the same grove!)

I’ve posted some photos other people have taken of Ballybunion, near where Con and Eilish live. It’s the town where my great-grandmother’s birth is recorded and where some members of our family tree are buried.

December 26, 2012December 28, 2012 by shannonchance

Toasting Joyce Martin with an Alpine Style Christmas

Raclette!

The Star Barn the day after Christmas 2012.

It seems fitting to celebrate Christmas in Pennsylvania Dutch country with traditions imported from the old world.

In this case, we imported some of them ourselves. Every year my mom, sister, husband, friend Leslie, and I celebrate Christmas together with raclette for dinner.

Raclette is a specialty that my Swiss host families introduced me to when I was an exchange student there in 1994. Following that exchange, I returned to Switzerland many times and frequently partook in the cheesy treat.

Dave and I enjoyed raclette together with my former boss’s daughter Simone, in Carona, Switzerland in February 1997. Mom developed the taste for it when the two of us spent Christmas 1996 in Switzerland with the Sterchi and Ehernsperger families.

Before Christmas each year now, Dave and I purchase raclette imported from Switzerland or France by Mandros Foods in Lancaster, PA. Then we pull out the raclette grill that Dave ordered as a gift for me many years ago (he bought it from a place in Minnesota). Once my red raclette grill heats up, we melt the cheese in the little pans and eat it along with potatoes and a variety of pickled vegetables.

The first time I ate raclette I’d been in Switzerland just three weeks. The Land Jugend, which works in collaboration with the International Four-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) program to host exchange students from around the world, invited us “up the Alp” for a weekend adventure. We milked cows, cooked cheese in a huge copper kettle, and celebrated the weekend with a variety of characters who spend their summers on this particular mountaintop.

Our group had assembled in a parking lot in the valley near Wengen, Switzerland. We had hiked up, up, up — emerging above the tree line to a place where streams form from melting snow and tufts of summer grass peek through the rocky terrain.

We had arrived in the land of Heidi.

You may recall that in the children’s storybook, Heidi and her grandpa went up the Alp with the cows. They would have lived in a chalette without electricity — milking the cows and storing the milk as cheese — while folks down in the valleys gathered the summer hay.

The Swiss do this so their cows can eat the grass that grows in un-harvestable places, thus preserving the grass in the flatter (harvestable) lands to cut, dry, and store for use in the cold, winter months.

My first raclette was quite authentic: up on this Alp, in a house where the barn and the living quarters lie under the same roof, we built a roaring August fire. We placed a half wheel of raclette cheese near the open flame. Once the exposed surfaces of the cheese wheel melted, we scraped the gooey part onto plates to eat with red-skinned potatoes, gerkins, baby corn, and the like.

Melt, scrape, repeat… all evening long!

My biological family enjoyed the raclette tradition as much as my hosts. So, we make it part of our Christmas gathering every year now. In addition to raclette, we often celebrate Christmas with the candleholders that the Sterchi family sent Mom some years back. (In Switzerland, many families use real candles with real flames to light their trees. When we have a live tree, we do, too, but with tremendous care.)

I was such a lucky kid to be able to live in Switzerland on a cultural immersion program. I’m incredibly grateful for that five months of 1994 when I had opportunity to live with six wonderful families. I hope to one day find them all again.

My hosts are listed below. I’ve stayed in contact with the first family, but I’ve lost touch with the others. (You’ll recall my November blogs about Esther’s visit to Dublin. )

I’ve temporarily gone blank on a couple of names (I’ll come back and fill them in when they return to my mind). If you can help me locate any of them, please email me at shannonchance (at) wm (dot) edu.

Esther, Erich, Anja, Marcus, and Karin Sterchi who live in Ferenberg near Bern (Swiss-German speaking)
Nigel, Elsbeth, Jan, and Mike Evershed in LaVaux on Lake Geneva (the French-speaking region)
Tommy, Helena, Ramona, and Marion — in Aeschi near Soloturn (Swiss-German speaking)
Vreni, Henier, Sabina, and Peter Ehernsperger in Hegi near Winterthur and Zurich (Swiss-German speaking)
Maurizio, Lucia, Nora, Francesco, and Alice Lorenzetti in Maggia, Ticino (the Italian-speaking region)
Vreni and Alfred Buchi in Boltshausen, canton Thurgau (Swiss-German speaking)

I am so incredibly thankful to each of these families for taking me in, sharing their traditions, and showing me the ropes of being a global citizen.

I am also eternally grateful to my 4-H extension agent, Dr. Joyce Martin, who made many learning opportunities possible for me in my youth. Dr. Martin passed away this very morning after a 14-month bout with pancreatic cancer. She was one of my earliest mentors and she made a world of difference in my life.

Had it not been for Dr. Martin, I might never have been an IFYE.

I have fond memories of traveling with Dr. Martin to the 1985 International Egg and Poultry Convention in Louisville, KY . I was competing in egg cookery demonstration and — with her coaching and encouragement — I garnered third place in the national competition. She was so proud because I was one of the youngest participants, and held my own against a group of contestants ranging from 15-19 years old.

I couldn’t have done so well without her! My parents also helped me prepare (by buying many eggs and by heckling me while I rehearsed so I could learn to ignore distractions).

And, my grandmother (Lillian “Ma” Massie) made huge contributions. Ma hand-sewed my apron and two dresses especially for the trip. I was the height of 4-H fashion in 1985!

Here’s a little tribute to the family traditions around the world, sent out today in honor of Joyce Martin and Lillian Massie:

Christmas dinner with Leslie Lee, Heather Massie, and Cynthia Mara.

The raclette grill Dave gave me many Christmases ago, to remember our friends in Switzerland by.

Heather placing cheese in the raclette grill.

Raclette with Mom.

The fireplace in Mom’s house… not ideal for true raclette.

The Star Barn is just a couple miles form Mom’s house.

Mom’s deck at dusk Christmas evening.

Mom’s deck as the snow began to fall again.

Mom’s sweet cats, Sabrina and Sebastian.

December 26, 2012December 26, 2012 by shannonchance

Dashing from Mennonite to Amish Country

The Christmas trek Dave and I make each year includes Harrisonburg (VA), Middletown (PA), and Salisbury (MD). The drive from our home in the flatlands of Portsmouth (VA) to the mountains of Virginia something I anticipate with enthusiasm. We usually experience snowflakes at points during our trip and we often get to see horses drawing Mennonite and Amish carriages along the way. My aunt Kitty Lee lives in Mennonite country and my mom lives in Amish country.

Arriving in the foothills of Virginia.

I always love the first glimpse of Virginia’s mountains on Interstate 64.

Headed up Afton Mountain.

Sunset off I64.

Almost to the top of Afton Mountain.

Arriving in the Shenandoah Valley. Almost to Harrisonburg on Interstate 81. This is Mennonite country.

Between the Laymans’ and Mom’s we pass through northern Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. I thought this was “THE” Woodstock, but the McClures, upon reading my error, sent a text to let me know THE big music event happened in New York, not Virginia. (I learn something every day!)

Arriving near Mom’s house we love to see The Star Barn.

On December 24 we had to sail past it….

…so we could get to our favorite market in Lancaster before it closed for Christmas.

The anticipation of seeing our favorite cheesemonger!

Dave at Mandros.

Lovely downtown Lancaster…

…in Pennsylvania’s Amish country.

December 25, 2012January 8, 2013 by shannonchance

Friendships Etched in Stone

Cathy Whittington and Dave Chance, fast friends since their days working at Superior Marble and Stone.

Dave met Cathy Whittington when they worked together at Superior Marble and Stone. The two have been fast friends ever since. Dave and I always enjoy getting together with Cathy and her husband Bill. Sometimes we go out, but what we love most is when they invite us over for a home-cooked meal. Cathy Whittington is an extraordinary hostess and cook!

Cathy and Bill Whittington

Her hostessing prowess probably comes from her years of dedicated work as a flight attendant. She knows how to put people at easy and anticipate their every need.

Dave and I visited Cathy and Bill in their Suffolk home before Christmas.

Following that, we also took a trip over to Superior to say “hi” to Dave’s former boss, Mary Thompson.

Seeing my photo hung on the wall reminded me to tell you this story:

Dave Chance and his former boss, Mary Thompson.

Mary keeps everything under control.

Dave Chance and John Baird walking among the granite slabs.

Cathy joined the staff at Superior in the weeks Dave and I were away on two-week trip to Italy (sponsored by Superior). Dave called in to the business several times while we were traveling. One day Buddy and Mary asked if we’d been to Pisa yet.

When Buddy said he’d like a picture of me with the leaning tower, we spun the car around and headed for Tuscany.

A picture Dave took of me hangs in the Superior showroom to this day.

Shannon Chance and John Baird, perusing photos in the Superior Marble and Stone showroom.

In Pisa, Dave and I found that a little nudge wouldn’t quite do the trick…

…so we determined to try a shove!

December 25, 2012December 26, 2012 by shannonchance

Remembering Lillian

Last Christmas with Ma.

My grandmother, Lillian Forsythe Massie (aka, Ma) always loved Christmas and made sure that it was a special day for everyone in her family. She’d plan all year.

This is our first Christmas without her (we lost her on January 26, 2012).

This is the last photo Dave took of Ma. May she rest in peace.

December 25, 2012 by shannonchance

Another Norman Rockwell Christmas at Kitty Lee and Glen’s

Introducing my Massie grandparents — Layton (Pa) and Lillian (Ma) Massie. They are my Dad’s parents, and they used to live in Staunton, Virginia.

Layton McCarthy and Lillian Forsythe Massie.

Heather with Lillian (Ma) and Layton (Pa) Massie.

Amanda and Lilli with Lillian Massie a couple years ago.

Although Ma and Pa are no longer with us, most of their kids and grandkids (as well as their great grand kids and their great great grandkid) gather at my aunt Kitty Lee’s home each year to celebrate Christmas.

I enjoy this outing and the chance to catch up with Kitty Lee and Glen (who live in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley), as well as my Dad and the rest of the Massie tribe.

This is the way we’ve celebrated Massie Christmas since the mid-90s. Before that, we’d all gather at my grandparents’ cozy bungalow at 414 High Street in downtown Staunton, Virginia.

The pictures below were taken December 22-24, 2012.