I'm in...

..Tennessee!

Yes, if you guessed Tennessee, you were right.

This is Lake Watauga in the Appalachian Mountains. Created in 1948 by the TVA, it covers about 10 miles in a very rural part of the state. It's really beautiful.

And, remote. You can only get to it by taking winding mountain roads. We had to take a left by the Baptist church and drive through a Confederate cemetery to get to our friends' house on the shore.

I do find it a little creepy that underneath this lake, there are towns that were flooded when this lake was formed. Apparently they drain the lake every 20 years -- and you can see the towns that lay beneath.

Summer Roundup

It was a full summer...and a beautiful one in the Lowcountry.

I enjoyed the beach, as you can see.

Mostly though, it was a busy summer.

In June, I received my last load of furniture from up North. My parents were able to make the move from Chicago at the end of May and we split up the contents of the home. So, I spent time in June, trying to get moved in all over again.

July marked workshops. I facilitated another round of workshops, 16 to be exact, in the Lowcountry, in the four surrounding counties. This time it was different. The "official" unemployment rate in one of these counties is 22%, and you and I know that the "actual" rate is much higher. I bet it's over 30%. That's 1 in 3 people not working. We are hurting down here.

August was a relief. I had fun in New Hampshire with my sister and her children. It was kind of a poignant time actually. For the first time in 40 years, my parents weren't able to come and I stayed alone in the family cabin. I missed them. But, I sure had fun with Kathy, Emily and Luke. It was a precious time. We hiked, swam, walked, swam, ate, swam...you get the idea.