We are like the little branch that quivers during a storm, doubting our strength and forgetting we are the tree—deeply rooted to withstand all life’s upheavals. ~ Dodinsky

This past week I was that weather-beaten little branch (or at least it felt that way) with brutal arctic temperatures and a plumber’s nightmare ice rink in the basement, which is another tale of woe in itself. Today, the sun is out along with River Dog and Pikachu. Those two have had enough of the tundra conditions!

Yesterday, my grandmother would have turned 118 years old. She had no pipes in her country house to worry about. She hauled buckets of ice-cold well water to the house to heat on a wood stove. She had a barn, a smokehouse and a well-house, along with a corn crib. When I reach whining-stage, I have to think how tough others had it. And, admit to relief that I don’t have to go out and milk the cow on a 5-degree morning or skin a rabbit for the stew pot.

Speaking of stew pot, I don’t know what Grandma would say about my attempts at cooking bean soup. Maybe it’s the Saluda water. Maybe it’s dried beans past their prime. The last few times I’ve soaked dried beans overnight, then cooked them all day, they never softened fully like they should. I’ve tossed in a pinch of baking soda, but nothing helps. I think you could cook those beans until hell freezes over (and it did this past week!), and they’d still be tough.

That’s frustrating when you’ve put a recipe together, simmered the pot all day, and then: half-cooked beans in your soup for dinner! A metaphor for life: the ice rink basement, chewy bean soup, and January. Spring will come.

Saluda Welcome Table at Saluda Methodist Church is every Tuesday from 5:30-6:45 p.m.

There’s still time to order an engraved brick/paver for Pace Park in the alley by M.A. Pace Store. Drop off applications and payment to City Hall or mail to City of Saluda, 6 Main Street, Saluda, NC 28773. Proceeds will go toward building public restrooms. For information, contact Catherine Ross at 828-749-3534 or carnc@charter.net.

Learn more about Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT) by visiting saludaclt.org or calling 828-749-1560. Monthly meetings are the first Wednesday each month, 3 p.m. at Saluda Presbyterian Church. Contact SCLT at 828-749-1560 or visit www.saludasclt.org. 

The Saluda Community Singers will perform a winter concert on Jan. 19, 7 p.m. at Saluda Presbyterian Church.

Saluda Center community potluck and bingo night is Jan. 29, 6 p.m.

The Saluda Historic Depot will be open this January on Friday and Saturday each week and the 14th and 15th Holiday Weekend. For more information, visit saludahistoricdepot.com.

Calling all artists: The Saluda Business Association invites you to enter the 15th annual juried Saluda Arts Festival on May 19, 2018. The deadline for entry is mid-March. Visit saluda.com to link to the arts festival page.

Pearson’s Falls is closed through January.

Saluda Sympathy goes to the family of Stephen Pace.

Happy January Birthday to Nora Parks Anderson, Brandy Bradley, Alex Bardos, Carolyn Ashburn, Scott Kinard, Donna Bond, Greer Eargle, Wyatt Alan Pace, Irma Anderson, Paul Aaybe, Phyllis Arrington, Kenneth Justus, Cheryl Harbin, and Avery Lena Mintz. Please add your name to the list; no ages mentioned unless you’re under 2 or over 100!

Thank you, dear readers, for reading this column. You can contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, 828-749-1153, or bonniebardosart.com.