All Things Considered | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Please join me in welcoming Author Michele Rhem, who presents us with her poignant memoirs of the Rabbit Patch, where her diaries weave tales of a simpler, expressive life lost to many, but gathered together in her most familiar environs - the Rabbit Patch.

    Once again, I left after school on Friday for Elizabeth City. Sometimes, things just work out. We do not have classes Monday or Tuesday , and it just seemed I was destined to see Lyla wear little wings and wave a wand about, on Halloween.

    Saturday

    There was a lot to do on Saturday. Will and Jenny were having a "dinner Party" in the early evening. It would be the first one in the new dining room with the glass chandelier , that I just love. Of course this occasion warranted a thorough house cleaning and the yard tidied up. There was fancy food to prepare -and there is always, Lyla.

    Will set about his tasks in the yard. Lyla was quite interested in this affair. It involved dirt and digging. Children are always drawn to such things. Lyla dug in some potting soil and transferred it to the bird bath with diligence. I did not hinder her great effort, but instead was amused to see her learning about careful movement. She would stop ever so often and watch her dad intently, then remembering her work would dart back to the soil she had claimed.

    Jenny worked in the house, and at lunch we all discussed our progress. Jenny was concerned about the complicated recipe to be prepared and there was still more housework. Will had an agenda that involved errands and a mirror to hang. Lyla and I had our plans to stroll by the river-far away from all of that busyness . So, we went our separate ways in the afternoon.

    The river that laughs, was smooth as glass on this day. Lyla and I stopped to consider that, for awhile. Later, we walked by a small grove of pine trees. I love the smell of pine warmed by sunshine. A flock of blackbirds chattered noisily in a large cypress as we passed it. You could hear them from a good ways off. What a ruckus, I thought, but it was a happy sound. I love blackbirds in spite of their lowly reputation. They are are impressive in the air- a "song and dance" act of sorts-and when blackbirds fly, winter is upon us.

    We did not see one friendly cat on this walk, but we did smell the sweetest rosebush on Raleigh Street and we saw dogwoods turning all shades of red. Against the royal blue October sky, it was a pretty picture.

    In the Evening

    When Lyla and I returned, Jenny was ready to begin the worrisome recipe. I have cooked all of my life and feel quite at home in a kitchen, but I must admit, I was a bit wary of this new concoction of ingredients I wasn't used to. I did not know their nature nor habits in a simmering pot. I was more nervous about Jennys' dinner that I had ever been about any of my own.

    I considered arranging a centerpiece, but Mandy who owns Pansy & Ivy, was invited and has such a gift with flower arranging that I declare her an artist in her own right, and upon that consideration, I abandoned my notions. As it turns out, she brought a sweet arrangement and it was perfect. She also brought a pie and she could probably sell pie, too, I noted, later.

    Another guest, Sarah has a reputation for her cooking skills and proves that frequently -so I sure hoped that the chicken in the heavy sauce would turn out.

    After Dinner

    The table was especially pretty. Everyone said the dinner was perfect. Each family carved a pumpkin afterwards. Lyla played with the masses of seeds while the older children contemplated the fate of their own pumpkin.

    All things considered, this day in Autumn with its' blackbirds singing and fancy dinner was a time to remember- and its' memory may well come in handy on a long night in winter when there's a cold wind blowing.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Disaster Food and Nutrition Services Benefits Approved for Eight Additional North Carolina Counties Rabbit Patch Diaries, Public Perspective, Body & Soul It's the Little Things


HbAD0

Latest Body & Soul

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching a Community Partner Engagement Plan to ensure the voices of North Carolina communities and families continue to be at the center of the department’s work.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live Spanish-language Cafecito and tele-town hall on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how to support and improve heart health as well as prevent and manage heart disease.
Part of ongoing effort to raise awareness and combat rising congenital syphilis cases
Recognition affirms ECU Health’s commitment to providing highly-reliable, human-centered care
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching a new Statewide Peer Warmline on Feb. 20, 2024. The new Peer Warmline will work in tandem with the North Carolina 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by giving callers the option to speak with a Peer Support Specialist.
A subsidiary of one of the largest health insurance agencies in the U.S. was hit by a cyberattack earlier this week from what it believes is a foreign “nation-state” actor, crippling many pharmacies’ ability to process prescriptions across the country.

HbAD1

The John Locke Foundation is supporting a New Bern eye surgeon's legal fight against North Carolina's certificate-of-need restrictions on healthcare providers.
Shia LaBeouf received the Sacrament of Confirmation, completing his conversion to Catholicism, on Sunday, and the actor’s confirmation sponsor suggested LaBeouf may become a deacon “in the future.”
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released the following statement on the Trails Carolina investigation:
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a draft of its 2024-25 Olmstead Plan designed to assist people with disabilities to reside in and experience the full benefit of inclusive communities.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tues., Feb. 20, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how to support and improve heart health as well as prevent and manage heart disease.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is investing $5.5 million into the FIT Wellness program, part of the North Carolina Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program in the UNC School of Medicine, to improve reentry services for the justice-involved population.

HbAD2

As of Feb. 1, 2024, 346,408 newly eligible North Carolinians are enrolled in Medicaid and now have access to comprehensive health care, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard.

HbAD3

 
Back to Top