In Between Focus.

Good morning from this sleepy head. I'm not sure how my eyes have opened so early but here I am.

My mother has alot of talent when it comes to cookin' ( & many other things) Grilled Pineapple Chicken and Vegetables

My friend took me too a cute little Thai/Asian restaurant and ordered this tea drink for me. It's funny, when tasting food from other culture's sometimes you can hardly describe what you are tasting. This drink was like a mix of southern sweet tea and some kind of smoky aged flavor. So distinct and delicious!!

Ollie the Pup(Great)

Some good friends and their daughters made me a cake for my birthday. It is a "pretty pony" cake according to the two curly headed three-year-olds who decorated it with sugar crystals and sprinkles. The prettiest cake I ever did see.

Currently my compass is pointing toward these blue tinted mountains.  Each fourth of July we trek up here to celebrate with our crazy family and friends. Happy fourth.

Cousins

Apparently today is one of those days where you wake up too early for your own good. My sleeping mind has told my eyes to open but I'm still dreaming. I know many of my family members are thinking of the of the breakfast that will be awaiting our greedy fingers. As soon as Gramma "Ibby" turns on the cook top, people begin to make their way up the stairs to see what will be on the table for the Fourth of July spread this year.  

When my great grandparents began to start their family they decided that they wanted a retreat from their busy world of the early nineteen hundreds. They chose a small home called the "Sally Anne" at good ole Lake Junaluska in the mountains of North Carolina. Every since then, generations of my family have come here to celebrate not only the fourth of July but each other. Every generation except mine has actually spent their entire summers up here as children/teens with the same kids each summer. My grandmother speaks highly of the adventures she shared here when she was growing up. She found her husband in this very place. My father and his buddies rant and rave about their laughter filled summer days and the many lake Junaluska girls they met each summer. It is funny thinking about the history and the community that has been created at this lake. So many memories lie on wooden porches and rickety swings. The food is served the same, the fun is just as innocent and the parades and fireworks light up skies and faces each direction you glance. The faces have gotten older but my families spirits have stayed so alive. I am truly insipired by this Methodist retreat we call Lake Junaluska. Look it up. It's beautiful.

I have to go get dressed right now because I have to help some of my family finish up the float we are riding in the parade. ( we are shooting water at people and throwing candy and tossing water balloons at the people we know in the crowd.. Im excited haha) How crazy do we sound? Afterward we will all head back up to the sally anne for the annual breakfast in our dining room. I am ready for some biscuits and doughnut holes. 

So now that I have made my family to sound like southern country bumpkins, I will bid you farewell. Happy fourth and Good bye. Ps. This post is all over the place. Excuse my mess.

• Taylor