Over the Moon for "Thirteen Moons Restaurant" at Nantahala Village

A few weeks ago I had a fabulous dinner with a group of friends at Thirteen Moons Restaurant at The Nantahala Village Resort and Spa in Nantahala Gorge outside of Bryson City, North Carolina. While dining we sat on the veranda overlooking a lovely valley and the surrounding Nantahala Mountains listening to a guitarist play and sing. The new Feather Stone Lounge at The Village is a fantastic spot for drinks before dining. The full course meal and service were outstanding.

The following from the Village website tells about the chef at Thirteen Moons, Chef James Reaux: "Personal commitment to the procurement of the best ingredients available has brought chef James Reaux to the tables of six Presidents, both President Bushes, Clinton, Reagan, Ford and Carter and is now, along with Executive Chef Karl Engelmann, and Thirteen Moons Restaurant manager Jeff Kemp creating your dining experience in the Thirteen Moons Restaurant at the Nantahala Village Resort & Spa. Chef Reaux is truly regarded as one of the nation’s most highly acclaimed chefs and has lead culinary operation at 19 resort kitchens, restaurants, private dining and all banquet operations for The Boca Raton Resort. He has also cheffed at The Los Angels-Century Plaza Hotel & Towers, Hawaii’s exotic Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, famed Westin Resort in Hilton Head, SC, the distinguished New York landmark and incomparable Plaza Hotel, the famous Victoria Jun-Frau of Interlaken, Switzerland and West Virginia’s own, historic since 1776, pride of the south, Greenbrier Resort. Chef Reaux has also entertained "The Today Show" featuring interpretive dishes he created for The Movie Academy’s famous Oscar Awards."

I find it amazing that a chef of that caliber finds his way to a small area such as ours. Thirteen Moons is offering Sushi night every Wednesday from 5 to 9, has an early bird menu from 5 to 6 nightly and a fantastic Sunday Brunch at a reasonable price. They're now open for lunch in addition to breakfast and dinner on certain days of the week. Nantahala Village is a lovely location with a beautiful lodge, cabins, a fantastic spa, horseback riding, pool and tennis courts. And now, with the addition of Thirteen Moons, Nantahala Village is truly a full service resort.

PAWS Animal Shelter fundraiser at The Cottage Craftsman

I recently attended a fun charitable event in Swain County, North Carolina, a winetasting at the Cottage Craftsman in Bryson City to benefit the PAWS Animal Shelter. PAWS stands for "Placing Animals Within Society". The PAWS Staff and volunteers, lead by fearless Director Ellen Kilgannon, bravely attempt to keep stray animals off the street, providing care in a safe haven until they can be adopted. Every PAWS animal is adopted out.
The PAWS shelter is on Lemons Branch in Bryson City. Their largest funding source is the PAWS Thrift Store on Bryson Walk in downtown Bryson City. Both the shelter and thrift store are manned by many volunteers in Swain County including me. I find volunteering for PAWS to be extremely rewarding, since we're helping to care for beings that can't safely take care of themselves. After spring cleaning, the PAWS Thrift Store is the perfect place to donate gently used items of every kind.
Now let me brag about The Cottage Craftsman (www.thecottagecraftsman.com)located in a little yellow house by the Great Smoky Mountains Railway station. We are so fortunate to have a store in Bryson City that offers unique regional crafts, artwork and food products. The owner, Debbie Mills, a long time PAWS supporter and Swain County resident, takes crafts on consignment from area artisans and artists. I’m proud to say my "Green Girl" Jewelry line can be purchased at The Cottage. If you’re looking for a special Gift, it’s the perfect spot to shop.
The next PAWS fundraiser will be their annual Winetasting and Silent Auction on Saturday, September 5 at Lands Creek Cabins.

Booming and Blooming

We recently returned from a visit to our home on Fort Myers Beach. It is so strange to get in the car in the cold, dreary north and get out of the car in sunny and colorful Florida. And I’ve got to say … it was booming down there. The streets were packed with vacationers and spring breakers. The restaurants and shops were full. There’s construction and remodeling going on. People are spending money. It was a great sight to see.
Then we travel back to North Carolina to find spring is blooming. It’s rained quite a bit lately...thankfully, so the trees had started to leaf out of their new buds. The daffodils in their showy yellow dresses have faded, but tulips, irises and lilies are blooming out to take their place soon. Moving back to seasonal weather after living in Florida, the land of eternal green, for over 20 years makes the spring and fall especially exciting. Every new flower, tree or weed that blooms really does it for me.

And the babies I've seen lately are adorable. There are so many baby cows and colts here and through the hills of Georgia. I saw a young red fox on the ridge behind our house the other morning concentrating on chewing up some breakfast it found. I saw two small Red-bellied (and red headed) woodpeckers chasing each other through the forest. What I'm really looking forward to is May, which brings the glorious pink tinted blooms of the mountain laurel. The recent couple years of drought really contribute to a great show from the laurel, which likes to grow on top of rock anyway. I guess part of the joy of spring is that it's fleeting like a colorful blur that leads to the deep green of summertime. Come to the mountains and catch it while you can!

The 1st Swain County Community Garden

In March I attended my first Swain County Community Garden workday to prep our plot. The Southwest Community College is allowing the Swain County Extension office and volunteer gardeners to plant the garden in a flat spot out back that I heard used to be a baseball field years back when it was the Almond School. Being a city girl, I had no idea what to expect, but I put on my raggediest jeans, boots and sunscreen, filled my water jug and headed over to the garden.

It was a warm sunny day and the smell of the manure was surprisingly fresh and earthy, not unpleasant at all like I kind of expected. I decided to participate, since my dream home on top of the mountain is a nightmare in gardening terms, built on rock surrounded by trees, which allow for little sun. And I want to have more control over what I'm putting on the table. I eat a spinach salad most days. So when they took spinach off the shelves for months, I knew I needed to take matters into my own hands for many reasons. The fresher the vegetables you eat, the more nutrients you're getting. The average produce travels 1,500 miles from dirt to grocery, which greatly contributes to global warming. Not to mention over 50% of our household garbage is food packaging, which can be avoided altogether when picking veggies from your own garden.

There are many proven benefits to community gardens. I'm thrilled to be a part of this trend. And imagine, producing your own food. What a concept! If anyone is interested in being a part of the garden in the future, feel free to email me and I’ll make sure Renee Cassidy and Christine Bredencamp from the extension office put you on the list.

Life in the Slow Lane

I'm blessed to live in the Great Smoky Mountains after vacationing in Nantahala Gorge for almost 10 years. I thought this blog could reach many people who vacation in these hills wishing they could live here and experience the serenity of the Smokies in their daily lives. There's something about the energy from these ancient, tree-covered mountains that have always called to my soul and inspired me. Once the kids left home, we bought property here thinking we’d come part time to get away from the Florida heat, but we quickly found our hearts had moved permanently. Living here is as wonderful as we imagined.

I named this blog "The Appalachian Artisan" referring to a passion I’ve rediscovered with my newly found free time. A few years back my daughter made me a gorgeous bracelet of glass & silver beads & I was hooked. As more & more people complimented my jewelry when I wore it, I decided to start selling in local galleries. After taking some classes at Southwestern Community College, just a few minutes away, I also found I enjoy working with clay & glass. I met my new best friends in class, who were also inspired creatively by the beauty we're surrounded with living in the Smokies.

You know…dreams really can come true. Come visit and start your Smoky Mountain life. What are you waiting for?