Getting UnPlugged in Southern Virgina

August in North Carolina has been hot. So we were looking for ways to beat the heat and unplug before Anna started her new school. I’ve written about the importance of getting ‘unplugged’ before, and frankly, don’t take my own advice often enough. Our trip to Southern Virginia turned out to be just the ticket for beating the heat and getting away from technology, like email, cell phones and the iPod.

How a Purple Elephant gives new life to computers

The purple elephant is on the taller one standing on the right

Although we try not to accumulate too much ‘stuff’, like most folks, things do tend to pile up around our house. “Waste not – want not” was something I heard many times growing up and I use that as my rationalization for not [...]

Sowing seeds of hope

Anna and Debbie put together some personal kits for the people of Haiti

Try as I may, I simply cannot imagine what it must have been like. I’ve been without a home before, but I always found shelter. We lived through hurricane Fran in 1996 and were without power, but still had food, clean [...]

What did you see in 2009?

2009 was a tough year for lots of folks. And unless you are living on Wall Street, where tax payer funded bonuses will hit eight figures this year, you might be feeling a bit somber about 2010. I believe there is a better way to look back at last year.

Do your homework

Did you do your homework?

Someday, I hope that Anna will thank me. It’ll probably take her a while to understand, but the lessons and lectures on homework and discipline I seem to dole out on a regular basis will pay off for her in the future. Like any athlete that expects to reach [...]

Have you ‘unplugged’ lately?

The last time I heard the challenge to ‘unplug’ from technology, it came from one of my favorite sales trainers, John Costigan. In one of his newsletters, he challenged readers to get off all email and cell phones for 24 hours. Sounds easy, but when you run a couple of businesses based on the Internet, it can be challenging.

A look back in time

Tilling the soil from which we eat

I don’t drive a DeLorean, but we did manage to take a short trip back in time last weekend. The North Carolina Work Horse and Mule Association hosted their Annual Corn Planting Day at Indian Ridge Farm in Linden, NC and we headed out for an afternoon of [...]

Could Lagniappe be a Solution?

Instead of focusing on ‘cutting back’, maybe one solution to keeping your employees and customers happy, and attracting new ones, is laniappe. Thanks to one of our customers from New Orleans, it’s become one of my favorite words.

Recycle your cardboard

Our vanilla supplier, Nielsen-Massey, just switched to using all recycled corrugated containers for their shipping. Does that really matter?
Here’s a quick factoid:
For every ton of corrugated cardboard that is recycled, this preserves 17 trees, 463 gallons of oil, and 3 cubic yards of landfill space.
If a ton sounds like a big number [...]

No, we don’t offer fried cookies

If it can be fried – you’ll find it at the NC State Fair.

I have not been to state fairs other than North Carolina and Kentucky, so I can’t speak for what their vendors offer in terms of food variety. If you are from North Carolina and have been to the State Fair, you [...]