Asheville, Blog

Local Business Love: West Asheville

Amber Shehan March 6, 2014

Good day, folks!  I recently spent a lovely day accomplishing wonderful things around West Asheville, like getting my ukulele restrung and tuned, eating Thunderstruck Coffee Porter ice cream in a Cinnamon Waffle Cone (I love you, The Hop!) and culminating in an herbal mead class at Asheville School of Holistic Herbalism.  Yay, local business love!…

Villagers in Asheville

Good day, folks!  I recently spent a lovely day accomplishing wonderful things around West Asheville, like getting my ukulele restrung and tuned, eating Thunderstruck Coffee Porter ice cream in a Cinnamon Waffle Cone (I love you, The Hop!) and culminating in an herbal mead class at Asheville School of Holistic Herbalism.  Yay, local business love!

The Medicinal Meads and Herbal Elixir class by Turtle Turlington was great – we didn’t have the time to cover as much material as I’d hoped, but the discussions packed into the session and the chance to taste of these well-aged herbal meads were fantastic.  We got to try a Nettles & Hemlock mead from 2007, a delicious, dry herbal mead with a definite spring tonic feel to it.  Then there was a bottle brewed with Spruce, Birch, and Rosemary. That was really potent with all of those high note flavors and would make another good tonic mead for early spring.  The Goldenrod & Ginger mead was my favorite of the whole group, which is fantastic since I have a gallon jug of goldenrod & ginger wine sitting on my countertop to be racked right now! Overall, the class served to remind me of why I love to brew meads and wines, to begin with – the act of making a connection with the plants, the bees and their honey, the merry little fermenting fungus that makes it all work.  It is a very deep and spiritual thing to connect with the process and to step into the cycle of transformation right alongside the bubbling jugs – you are working magic when you brew.

It was also nice to run into a former customer of mine from when I was selling infused honey – Katie was in the class as well, and we chatted afterward.  This is the second time I’ve felt a desire to start making honey again, but I’m not able to be a consistent supplier since my days are already quite full.

I also paid a visit to Villagers – a beautiful little homesteading supply store that I finally got the chance to visit! It is so beautiful and made me wish I were rolling in dough. Cheese presses and Weck jars and hive supplies… *sigh*

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Amber Shehan

Hi! I'm Amber Pixie, and this is my site. Enjoy the recipes, information, posts, and please feel free to message me if you have questions!

4 Comments

  1. Robin Wallace on March 9, 2014 at 11:04 pm

    I read that you were getting your ukulele restrung and retuned reminding me of my mom, age 85, who plays a “uke.” She has had the same one for 50 plus years. I always remember her playing “The Little Grass Shack in Honolulu Hawaii ” and “Tiptoe through the Tulips” Her family were quite poor, but very musical. They learner on whatever instrument was available. My mom learned the violin, guitar, piano,

    • Robin Wallace on March 9, 2014 at 11:08 pm

      And of course the uke! She and her sisters sang in parts and the boys joined in also…playing the fiddle, violin, guitar, mouth harp, Jews harp and the spoons. Some of my best memories came from impromptu gatherings for music, food, and family stories and history. Thank you for the memories!

      • amberpixi on March 10, 2014 at 9:45 am

        Oh, that sounds so lovely, Robin! I come from a musical family, too…harmonica, spoons, guitar, drums…and mostly singing! 🙂 Thank YOU for sharing your memories!

    • amberpixi on March 10, 2014 at 9:46 am

      I love the old songs! I’m working on “5’2, Eyes of Blue” and “Side by Side” right now. Does your mom still play? Thanks for sharing, Robin, and you tell her I’ll dedicate my bruised fingertips to her – I’m still just learning and growing those callouses! *wink*

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