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“Branson on the Road-Christmas Style” at the Cumming Playhouse
Just because the 25th has passed doesn’t mean the end of the season! This is especially not true if you visit the Cumming Playhouse on the 28th through the 31st where you can see “Branson on the Road-Christmas Style”!
What do you get when you mix up a fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, upright slap bass, lots of glittering costumes, comedy and great country and bluegrass music? You get “Branson on the Road-Christmas Style” to welcome your New Year!
There will be five performances of this fun and funny review: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and two on Saturday.
Branson on the Road has over twenty years of combined performing experience at Branson’s famous theatres. If you have never had the opportunity to visit and be entertained in Branson, here’s your chance!
Visit http://www.playhousecumming.com/Events/Shows/tabid/60/EventID/43/Default.aspx for more information.
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First Day Hikes in Georgia’s State Parks
Start off the New Year in a new way by joining in the fun of a First Day Hike at some of Georgia’s State parks.
On the first, you can start the New Year off right by taking a walk through North Georgia’s (ok, all of Georgia’s!) beautiful scenery, guided by the park rangers who know those areas best.
Here are just a few of the First Day Hikes you can take. The phone numbers for each are listed or you can check http://www.gastateparks.org/FirstDayHikes for availability and more information. For most of the parks, there is a $5 parking fee per vehicle.
Amicalola Falls near Dawsonville: Join in a brisk hike to the top of one of the prettiest waterfalls in North Georgia! Meet at the West Ridge Falls Access Trailhead for a 0.6 of a mile roundtrip. 706-265-1969
Smithgall Woods near Helen: Smithgall Woods is one of the least discovered jewels of Georgia’s State Parks. Start of the New Year by hiking with Smithgalls’ Manager and Interpretive Ranger to their beautiful cottage facility where hot cider will be waiting! 706-878-3087
Unicoi State Park and Lodge near Helen: Enjoy a guided hike on our 2.5 mile Lake Trail with a park naturalist. Hikers can also learn about our “Tons of Fun” Fitness Challenge in Georgia State Parks. Afterwards, participants can sign up for the challenge on site. 706-878-2201 ext. 305
Tallulah Gorge State Park in Tallulah Falls: Join a ranger on a moderate 3.5-mile hike along the rim and through the woods. Bring water and snacks. $5 fee per participant. 706-754-7981
That isn’t all, of course! There are more First Day Hikes in our state parks all over Georgia! Visit http://www.gastateparks.org/FirstDayHikes for more information.
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Super Easy Pickled Peaches
Love picked peaches? This is a super short cut for them! They also look very pretty, so they would make a nice gift, too!2 large cans peach halves in heavy syrup, drained, syrup reserved
Whole cloves
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 cinnamon stickPut one of the whole cloves in middle of each peach half. Pour the reserved liquid into a small sauce pan and add vinegar, sugar and cinnamon stick. Bring to a rolling boil and pour over the peach halves.
Cool, then refrigerate.
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Tips for Saving Your Sanity or How to Get Your Christmas Shopping Done
Christmas doesn’t really have to be made insane by all of the shopping. Here are some tips on helping you keep your cool.
Buy Online
Do we really need to do this one? Shop online when you can. Yes, it is sooooo much easier and if you’re lucky, your gift recipient has a wish list somewhere online. (Like Amazon!) No, it won’t take forever to ship it. If you look at some sites, you’ll discover you can order up to a couple of days before Christmas. (Although, your problem might involve the fact that you might need that service.)
There really isn’t much of anything that you can’t find online and you can get it with just a click or two!
Buy Local
We were over in Spring Place Pottery in Cartersville just last week and there was not a crush of shoppers in any of their wonderful downtown shops. I had the opportunity to meet a very nice potter (Hi, Jim, loved talking to you!) and get the scoop on some of his wonderful wares. I also got to talk with owner Gail Freeman, who is just the sweetest person. Best of all, we got to support a wonderful small, local shop!
How many ways can we say “buy local”? Of course, the best thing about smaller, local stores this time of year is that there just aren’t as many people there. That means that you have the added benefit of better, more personal customer service and no emptied shelves either. The second thing is that you can find some really interesting possibilities that you are going to miss in those big box stores. Go to your downtown and see what’s there. You may find something for your Christmas Shopping Headache that’s better than the biggest bottle of Tylenol!
Buy Gift Certificates
When we were kids, our grandparents gave us two very different kinds of Christmas presents. Our grandmother –Mammy we called her- always gave us something sweet like pajamas or clothes or books. Our grandfather –Papa Kirk- gave us money. He would put it in an envelope, put a Christmas sticker on it, write your name on yours, punch a hole in the envelope and actually tie it on the Christmas tree.
Mammy was always horrified. “Benny!” she would say to him as he was hanging them up. “That is NOT a Christmas present. There’s just no thought behind it at all!”
Of course, while she’s saying that, we’re all thinking ‘hooray, there’s an envelope on the Christmas tree with my name on it and money in it!’
Gift certificates are kind of the same thing. People really love them. You can get them in some really cool places, too. Wildcat on a Wing up in Ball Ground, for example –is a wonderful craft shop with leather purses and handmade candles, jewelry, hand crafted furniture, and a whole host of great items. (Julie and David Boone have the coolest stuff and Boone’s (that’s David) birdhouses would top the list.
Even restaurants do gift certificates nowadays, which is pretty cool if the person on your list has a favorite one. (And restaurants don’t open at 9 am and close at 5 pm, either.) The best part of buying a gift certificate, though, is that you can usually just order it. No trip to the mall, just call them…or visit them online. Our niece loves ones from Chico’s, her husband loves ones from Brooks Brothers. No worry about the price, either, you just choose the amount. If your gift recipient likes a certain store’s merchandise -order a gift certificate from them. They’ll just send it to you in the mail. No trip to the mall, see?
Of course, some people might say there’s no thought behind it at all, but the recipient is probably thinking: “Hooray, there’s a envelope under the tree with my name on it and maybe there’s a gift certificate in it!”
Shop Off Hours
OK, so the grandkid wants something and the only place to find it is WalMart. You have our sympathies, but you can make that trip less insane if you go shopping after midnight. Yes, there really are less people there than there are during the day, even at Christmas. If you can find what you need in a store that is open 24 hours, this time of year those off hours are the only way to fly.
Buy extra
Now this might sound nuts, but it can save your sanity for real. Buy something extra that will be useful as a generic sort of gift. Gloves, a scarf, a pretty one of those blank journals, a set of bath stuff. When you see something like that, buy it and keep it put away for when you realize that its December 23rd and you forgot to buy Aunt Agnes something.
Start Next Month….
Those are my best suggestions for right now, but I’ll let you in on my secret. All during the year I buy stuff for presents. I remember buying a Christmas present for one of our great-nieces on January 5th! I just do it all year long. Last month, I simply pulled down the three big plastic bins full of stuff and voila! I am nearly done.
Next time…buy early. Even better, buy all year long. Then you can have some eggnog while everybody else gets pepper-sprayed on Black Friday…….
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A Wonderful Weekend for Lovers of Historic Homes
This weekend is the very best time of the year for those of us who love historic homes! And if you are a fan of Christmas, you have got something wonderful in store!
A Cherokee Christmas by Candlelight at the Vann House in Chatsworth
The first time that any in the Cherokee Nation celebrated Christmas was probably in North Georgia at the Vann House near Chatsworth.
During the last quarter of the 18th Century, Chief Joseph Vann, a Cherokee leader and businessman became one of the wealthiest men in Georgia with over 1,000 acres of land in what is now Murray County. In 1804 he began construction of what for many is one of the most beautiful Federal homes in Georgia. This elegant brick home sits on a hill, startling many of the unsuspecting driving by with its stark beauty. Now owned by Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources, it is a popular site among Georgia’s State Historic Sites.
In 1805, Moravian Missionaries at nearby Spring Hill were invited by Chief Vann to hold what may be the first Christmas celebration in the Cherokee Nation. In honor of that celebration, each year, the home is opened to the public.
On December 10th and 11th, the Friends of the Chief Vann House Historic Site will once again host a Christmas Tour called “A Cherokee Christmas by Candlelight.” Enjoy the sights and sounds of a 19th Century Christmas in one of the best preserved Cherokee homes. Admission is $3.50 to $5. For more information call 706-695-2598 or visit http://bit.ly/rPDx18
“A Christmas for Travelers” at Travelers Rest
Traveler’s Rest near Toccoa may be one of the most underappreciated and under-visited of our State Historic Sites. Although it is only open on Saturdays, Traveler’s Rest is stunning in its simple beauty and its history is fascinating.
Work on this lovely stage coach inn was begun in 1815 by owner James R. Wyly. It was built on the newly-constructed Unicoi Turnpike, which was the most recent created and busiest highway through the frontier of North Georgia.
In 1833 the inn was sold to Devereaux Jarrett, who was known as the “richest man in the Tugaloo Valley.” Jarrett continued to operate the inn, but doubled its size to make it the home place of his 14,400-acre plantation along the Tugaloo River.
The Jarrett family owned the home until 1955, when the state of Georgia bought the inn and a few remaining acres.
The inn includes some original furnishings. There are several lovely Georgia Piedmont pieces and some furnishing made by Massachusetts cabinetmaker Caleb Shaw while he was visiting there.
On December 10th from 1 pm to 5 pm, Traveler’s Rest will host “A Christmas for Travelers.” Visitors can enjoy live music and period dances performed by the 1860’s Civilian Society. There will also be demonstrations of blacksmithing, knitting, crocheting and more, all done in a seasonal setting of North Georgia in the 1800’s. Cider and tea cakes will also be served. This celebration is provided by the Friends of Travelers Rest. Admission is $2.40 to $4. For more information call 706-356-4362 or visit http://bit.ly/tLUaPb.
A Christmas Open House at Tate House
The Pink Palace is what the Tate House is sometimes called, and the description is fitting. Built of Pink Marble mined from the site where it stands, it was originally the personal home of Colonel Sam Tate, the businessman who made Georgia Marble into a force in American architecture. The house is actually sitting on a huge vein of marble. (The Georgia Marble Company is actually located behind the house, as is its’ enormous quarry. On a tour of the quarry a few years ago, the representative of Polycor, the company that now owns the quarry, told us that the vein of marble is so immense that they can continue to quarry marble there “for years.”)
The quarry contained not only the white marble that it is known for, but a vein of marble of a beautiful pink (that Tate called ‘Etowah Marble’). In the early 1920’s Colonel Sam had the pink marble set aside to use to build his home. By 1926 the Tate House was completed. It is a fabulous home with one of the most beautiful curved staircases and marble appointments found anywhere.
Currently owned by Holbrook Properties, the Christmas Open House at Tate House is a wonderful opportunity to see one of the grandest and loveliest homes in North Georgia at its best.
The Christmas Open House at Tate House is $10 per person with children under 12 free. Light refreshments will be available. Tour time slots are available from 10 am to 6 pm on the 9th, 10th and 11th. Call 770-735-3122 for more information or email tatemansion@earthlink.net to make a reservation. For more information visit: http://www.tatehouse.com
The Candlelight Tour of Homes in Roswell:
OK, this isn’t one, but three historic homes: Bulloch Hall, Barrington Hall and the Archibald Smith Plantation, all located in beautiful Historic Roswell. For a single price you can visit all three on this Saturday and enjoy their decorations by candlelight!
Bulloch Hall
Bulloch Hall was built in 1839 by Major James Stephens Bulloch. Bulloch was one of Roswell’s first settlers and the grandson of Governor Archibald Bulloch. His wife was Martha Stewart Elliott Bulloch, daughter of General Daniel Stewart. Although the Major and his wife were well known at the time, it is their youngest daughter Mittie who is best known today. On December 22, 1853 Mittie married Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. in the dining room at Bulloch Hall. The couple moved to New York City where they raised their family of four children Anna, Corinne, Elliott, and, of course, Theodore, Jr., who became the 26th President of the United States.
There are also those who believe (I happen to be one of them!) that it was Mittie Bulloch who was the inspiration for Scarlett O’Hara. The year before she wrote Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell interviewed Evelyn King, Mittie’s best friend, about her friend Mittie and the wedding of she and Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Mittie was personally a great deal like the character of Scarlett; she also deeply loved Bulloch Hall, as Scarlett did Tara.
Mittie’s son Elliot was the father of Eleanor Roosevelt, making Mittie Bulloch the grandmother of a US President and a First Lady.
This year, Bulloch Hall will be decorated with the theme of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Barrington Hall
Barrington King, co-founder of Roswell, selected the highest point in Roswell for his home. It was built in the Greek Revival style and was completed in 1842. It is listed on the National Register and was selected by Atlanta Magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful Homes in Atlanta.
Barrington Hall was bought in 2005 by the city of Roswell, complete with its original furnishings. This year’s decorative theme is “A Very Southern Christmas.”
Archibald Smith Plantation
Construction on the Archibald Smith Plantation was begun in 1838 by Archibald Smith and his family. Originally from St. Mary’s, on Georgia’s southern coast, the Smiths moved to Roswell to make a new start on approximately 300 acres of cotton farmland north of what is now the Roswell Town Square. Built in the style know as ‘Plantation Plain’ the house may include the most complete of the three homes settings with outbuildings that include slave quarters, a cook house, corn crib, barn, carriage house, well, and spring house.
This year’s decorative theme at the Archibald Smith House is “All I Want for Christmas.”
The Candlelight Tour of Homes will be on Saturday, December 10, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This is a family-friendly event that includes children’s activities, refreshments, and music. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children. For more information visit: http://bit.ly/rum75D
North Georgia Living Magazine Blog
On our blog you will find the latest information about events, the things we are doing, our thoughts on North Georgia and more. Feel free to comment.
