Home Living in North Georgia: November 2018

NOVEMBER 2018

Gift Giving GUIDE

THANKSGIVING TAKEOUT YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS SERVES UP DELICIOUS BOUQUETS

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ON THE COVER: Charlie the Dog

by Nick Bowman

EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS

Treating their guests to the freshest and prettiest fruit possible.

GIFT GUIDE

How to stay local this Christmas.

RECORDS

Find an unexpected gift for those hard-to-please folks on your list.

WALLPAPER RETURNS

12

Modern textures lend elegance to an old-school wall treatment.

GET TO KNOW

North Georgia bees and their keepers.

TASTE OF HOME

Need a break from all day cooking prep of Thanksgiving? Try takeout.

SNOWBOARDING

A Southerner’s take on snowboarding NC.

AROUND TOWN

Photos and recaps of some of the biggest happenings.

CALENDAR

Plan your weekends around your favorite events.

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DIRECTOR OF CONTENT Shannon Casas FEATURES EDITOR Nick Bowman GENERAL MANAGER Norman Baggs DIRECTOR OF REVENUE Leah Nelson ADVERTISING SALES Bernadette Mastracchio Jenna Wellborn Megan Lewis Trent Sexton Debra Cates

20 18 /HOMELivinginNorthGeorgia

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@Homemagazinenorthga

Manuscripts, artwork, photography, inquiries and submitted materials are welcome. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Metro Market Media Inc. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Metro Market Media cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. HOME: Living in North Georgia reserves the right to refuse advertisements for any reason. Acceptance of advertising does not mean or imply the services or product is endorsed or recommended by HOME: Living in North Georgia.

CREATIVE SERVICES Kerri Ivie, Manager Chelsea Sunshine, Magazine Design Indigo Whatley, Ad Design PHOTOGRAPHY Scott Rogers Austin Steele CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joshua Silavent Pamela A. Keene Amber Tyner Layne Saliba HOME MAGAZINE, A DIVISION OF The Times Gainesville, GA A Metro Market Media Inc. property

345 Green St. | Gainesville, GA 30501 | 770-532-1234

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BUSINESS PROFILE

EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS BRINGS A RAINBOW OF FRESH SMILES

By Pamela A. Keene For Home Magazine Salina Momin found the perfect business to own in the summer of 2017. Her mission is to brighten people’s days with Edible Arrangements, bouquets made of fresh handcut fruit.

“I wanted to work in something related to food, but not directly in the restaurant business, like other members of my family are doing,” said the mother of two sons, who purchased an existing store that had opened two years earlier. “My husband Mohammed fully supported my desire to buy the business, which I own with my brother Raza Momin. Edible Arrangements is perfect. It’s really like a retail gift shop, and I love that we can provide an alternative to people giving flowers. And best of all, it’s all fresh fruit.”

Salina and her family live in Norcross, and she does a commute each day to the store in Stonebridge Village near Interstate 985 and Spout Springs Road in Flowery Branch. She generally arrives early each morning to prep for the day, cutting fresh pineapple slices into daisy shapes that are the brand’s trademark, pineapple stars, cantaloupe and honeydew melons into crescent-moon wedges, and skewering juicy grapes and plump red strawberries that will be combined into arrangements.

Photos by Austin Steele Edible Arrangements’ most popular item is the Delicious Daisy, a combination of pineapple daisies, strawberries, cantaloupe and honeydew melon wedges and grapes.

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Members of her staff of five full- and part-time employees arrive to open the store, take orders and greet customers. The store sells much more than Edible Arrangements for pickup and delivery. It offers fresh hand-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries, apple and banana bites, fresh fruit salad and even fruit donuts – Granny Smith apple slices covered in chocolate then decorated – plus an array of smoothies.

The store’s most popular item is an arrangement called Delicious Daisy, a combination of pineapple daisies, strawberries, cantaloupe and honeydew melon wedges and grapes. As with all the specialty items, it’s available in several sizes and can be customized for the occasion. The second-best seller is hand-dipped chocolate strawberries.

Salina sources all her products locally from vendors that include Lanier Produce in Gainesville and others in the area.

“I feel like I’ve become a fruit expert,” she said. “Our fruit comes in every day or every two days, depending on the demand, and I expect everything to be high-quality.”

For Salina and her staff, however, creating a quality gift product is just the beginning. “I really enjoy getting to know people and their stories – why they’re giving the gift, what the person who will be the recipient is like, what they’re celebrating or observing,” she said. “People love to share their stories and I encourage all my staff to get to know our guests – that’s what we call our customers – as well.”

People come to Edible Arrangements for all kinds of “People love to share their stories and occasions from birthdays and I encourage all my staff to get to know graduations to thank-yous and sympathy/condolences. our guests – that’s what we call our Salina, who grew up in customers – as well.”

Houston, Texas, married Mohammed at age 19. He encouraged her to complete her degree in political science from Georgia State University. The couple have two children – Saheim, 8, and Shahan, 3. Mohammed works in software quality assurance.

“Living in Norcross meant that I had a whole new place to learn about,” she said of owning a business in Flowery Branch.

“The store has introduced me to Flowery Branch,” she said, “and the people are just so nice here. I’m enjoying getting to know this area and the people.”

She admits that as a kid, she wasn’t a fan of eating fruit, but she grew to enjoy fruit as she got older. Now, her work life is fruitcentric, and for her, that’s just fine.

“I really like what creating Edible Arrangements does for TOP: Salina Momin is owner at Edible Arrangements in Flowery Branch.

MIDDLE: Brenna Reichart, an employee at Edible Arrangements, our guests and the recipients of the arrangements and our hands a customer an edible arrangement. BOTTOM: Delivery service is other products,” Salina said. “No matter what the occasion, the available at Edible Arrangements. excitement they have is contagious. For me, it’s a dream come true.”

Edible Arrangements is located in Stonebridge Village, 5887 Spout Springs Road, D200, Flowery Branch. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

The phone number is 770-967-3838.

Guests can place orders online through www. ediblearrangements.com/stores and entering your ZIP Code, by phone or by fax at 770-965-5486. The store also has a Facebook page: Edible 1578.

November 2018 | HOME | 9

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Gift Giving GUIDE

12 | HOME | November 2018

LEFT: Photo by Scott Rogers Home Decor at White Dog Interior

By Amber Tyner Halloween is freshly gone, Thanksgiving is most of the month away, Christmas isn’t anywhere close — and yet shopping season is upon us.

From now until the end of December, stores will be filled with people trying to find presents for family and friends.

But awash in pricey electronics, endless online options and friends and relatives who seem to have everything — and have it on their doorstep in two days, free shipping — how do you find that perfect gift?

Below is a guide with gift ideas to help you find a present for everyone on your shopping list.

Howling good gifts

ABOVE: Photos by Nick Bowman TOP: Gus, an 8-year-old Lab, munches on some finger-licking good liver brownies held by Karen Burgess at Pet Pleasers, a pet store and bakery Dawsonville Highway. The shop has a wealth of gift ideas for the dog owner in your life. BOTTOM: Custom dog treats from Pet Pleasers, from gingerbread men to birthday “bones,” make a solid gift for the dog owner in your life — especially if buying for the person can get tricky. Liver, sweet potato and other flavors, not to mention in-store samples, make Christmas shopping easy.

There’s always that one person on your list who is a total pain around Christmas — a metaphorical brick wall standing athwart your gift ideas like writer’s block.

But there’s usually one solid way around that wall, and it’s through the doghouse.

Gainesville and Hall County have what feels like a nonstop supply of gifts and ideas for the dog owners we all know and love.

Over on Dawsonville Highway, few pet stores are getting into the spirit like Pet Pleasers, the all-in-one store offering boutique dog foods, supplies and — most especially — an in-house bakery.

Think your dog buddy might like a liver brownie? How about beefy bones or chicken stars? You could go all-out and pick up a pack of Bark-B-Q ribs. And if you don’t know your dog buddy well enough to shop for him or her, the store offers gift certificates.

If that tricky person on your list doesn’t have dogs, Pet Pleasers also sells its own cat treats and — get this — horse treats.

On Skelton Road, Fido’s World is a one-stop shop for most dog services and equipment. The business and its offshoots (Barkin’ Brews and Rucker Dog Training) offer boarding, grooming, coffee and supplies for the dog owners of the area.

Schedule that athletic dog owner a few agility classes at Rucker Dog Training or get you and your friend (and your dogs) a couple of spots in one of the group training courses.

If you want something a little more lasting, check out Wild Hound Outfitters in Cleveland.

At www.wildhoundoutfitters.com, Bridget Tuckey and her husband sell their handcrafted leather goods for dogs and their people.

From rustic to bejeweled, the leather collars from Wild Hound can get as rough-and-tumble or fancy as you’d like.

The Tuckeys also sell bowls, beds and, for those who travel often with their dogs, waxed leather seat covers, which keep dirt and hair off of the back seats of your vehicle.

November 2018 | HOME | 13

This one goes out to the teens Try sending your daughter, niece or friend back to school with some new accessories this year.

Some of the most popular brands this season include Brighton, Kendra Scott and tried-and-true Pandora.

“Pandora is really popular,” said Carleigh Hulsey, sales associate at Nest Feathers, a gift shop in Oakwood. “There’s something for everyone in Pandora, from the youngest age to the oldest age.

There’s different categories of charms that suit everyone. Lots of people look for something that’s significant to them.”

For the kiddo who has to personalize everything — including that bit of family jewelry you’ve been nervous about her wearing — a bangle bracelet will let her put her own spin on your gift. As a result, Alex and Ani jewelry is also a hit this year.

“They’re little bangle bracelets,” said Deanna Allbright, assistant manager at Nest Feathers. “They’re trending right now on Instagram and Twitter. So they’re a big brand.”

Photo by Autsin Steele Pandora charm bracelet.

Better homes, better gifts

Photo by Scott Rogers White Dog Interiors table display.

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At their heart, the best gifts are reflections of the friendship or the relationship shared between people. A thoughtful gift, especially for the decorator, can last a lifetime.

To help capture the spirit of the season — and the message behind the gift — turn to Willow Tree.

“They all have a meaning behind them,” Hulsey said about the figurines. “And then on the back of the box they explain what the meaning is. Willow Tree is a really cute idea that lots of people like to give whenever they really don’t know what type of gift to give.”

Tricia Meyer, store manager of White Dog Home, a decor shop in Gainesville, said paintings or framed graphic designs also make good and lasting presents for the home.

“We have some art pieces that (are) a nice gift for somebody because a lot of people don’t buy art themselves,” she said.

Hostess gifts — small favors brought by guests to the host of a party — also give your hard-working friend or loved one the chance to put your Christmas gift to use.

“We have some unique cement apples and pears that you can put on a tray that look really nice for the holidays,” she said. “It’s a nice hostess gift. We have a good selection of hostess towels, both Christmas and normal ones.”

And if your pockets are overflowing with Christmas cheer, you can help someone complete their home with a larger piece.

“We specialize in unique lamps that you’re not going to see in a lot of different places,” Meyer said. “They’re unique shapes and unique materials.”

Why not even spring for a piece of furniture?

“We’ll have an entire new upholstery line available at Christmas time,” Meyer said. “We are taking on the Norwalk upholstery line, which is 100 percent made in the U.S.A.,” she said.

Look for chairs, ottomans, sofas and bar stools from the American company before the holiday gets here.

“For a family, we’ll have a selection of recliners,” she said. “That sometimes, particularly for an elderly person, is a wonderful Christmas gift — something they wouldn’t buy themselves.”

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We smell a deal

Photos by Austin Steele.

TOP: Lampe Berger diffusers. BOTTOM: Tyler Candle Company’s High Maintenance candle.

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Candles are always a go-to gift for the new friend or that person who’s a pain to shop for.

Atlanta-based Tyler Candle Co. offers homemade scents in three categories: stature, prestige and exclusives. The company also puts together seasonal scents and gift boxes and baskets that include not only candles, but soaps, lotions and other tidbits.

“They’re probably our No. 1 selling candle,” Hulsey said about the brand. “‘Diva’ and ‘High Maintenance’ are two of the most popular (scents). And there’s a new Christmas one called ‘Seasons Greetings.’”

Have that friend who’s not so wild about wax?

Shopping for a new mom or a family with a newly walking toddler? Try a diffuser, which will save on some stress in a home with little ones.

Nest Feathers sells a brand by the name of Lampe Berger — and unlike candles, scents can be mixed and matched.

“It’s a really popular item that we always have people coming in to ask about.”

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Dishing on dishware The kitchen and dining room offer an endless source of gift ideas, whether you’re buying for the reluctant cook or the at-home masterchef.

But rather than picking up yet another set of plates, try something a little more unique this year.

Along with serving pieces, dishware maker Nora Fleming sells little figurines called “minis” that attach to the plates.

“You can change out the little minis,” Hulsey said, mentioning there is one for every occasion from holidays to sporting events. “They are great for anyone who entertains a lot.”

Not only do they add some personality to the potluck, some charm to the china, they also help your guests keep track of whose plate belongs to whom.

If you’re looking for a little wisdom at the bottom of your bowl, Mud Pie is another unique brand that sells dishes, but these plates “all have a cute saying on them.”

“There’s Thanksgiving (and) there’s just more general sayings and platters,” Hulsey said. “It’s always a really cute idea for a gift.”

If you want to go casual or work some men into your kitchen roundup, consider Corkcicle, which sells drinkware and barware.

“It’s kind of unisex,” Allbright said of the brand, adding that Nest Feathers sells many Corkcicle products that cater to men as well, including Whiskey Wedge glasses.

“It freezes sideways so it keeps your whiskey cold,” she said. “And then we also have the Cigar Glasses now. So it’s a glass for your whiskey but then it has a cigar holder.”

The shop also has Corkcicle tumblers.

“There’s a variety of colors and sizes,” Hulsey said. “You can always put the vinyl monogram on them.”

The weird and the wonderful If you can’t find anything in a store, there are tons of quirky websites that can help in your gift search.

If you’re looking for a one-stop shop online, visit www. uncommongoods.com. This online marketplace sells products designed by independent makers, from toys and games for kids to garden supplies. You can shop by gender, and then you can get even more specific by looking at items for “mom,” “grandma,” “husband,” or “boyfriend.” They also have categories for different products like “home” and “art.” No matter who you’re shopping for, there is bound to be something they would like on this website.

For the macho men on your list, you can also take a look at www. mancrates.com. They offer a selection of gifts for men, from wooden crates filled with personalized whiskey or golf gear to ammo cans with survival tools. You can also choose from their “jerkygrams” for those guys who like meat, or even take a look at some of the site’s do-ityourself project kits, which provide tools and materials for things like knife making and pipe carving.

The best part of these shipments might just be opening the box itself — but leave the scissors in the drawer. The crates come with a small crowbar, and the recipient gets the manly task of prying open his crate.

Photo by Scott Rogers Table decor at White Dog Interior.

Gifts that keep on giving Rather than a traditional present, you can consider getting your family or friends some type of subscription, from a magazine to monthly goodies.

For wine lovers, local wineries are catching onto the wine club phenomenon and offering inside deals and perks for their members. If you find yourself heading to the hills or to Braselton with your girlfriends often enough, look into wine clubs at Chateau Elan, Kaya Vineyard and Winery and Wolf Mountain Vineyards and Winery.

The three wineries offer discounts and perks for members, access to members-only events and, most importantly, wines delivered to your door on a regular basis.

For dog lovers, check out www.barkbox.com. You can surprise your friend with a box of treats for their pet each month. If you’re shopping for a foodie, look at www.snackcrate.com. You can give someone a box of snacks from around the world each month, or just send a one-time present. Another good site for food is www.crowdcow.com, which lets you order sustainable, small-farm beef, chicken, pork and salmon directly from farmers around the country and world.

November 2018 | HOME | 17

GIFT GUIDE

A CLASSIC GIFT

COMES ‘ROUND AGAIN

By Layne Saliba This year, catch the carols and Christmas classics as their creators intended – on vinyl.

It’s easier than ever to hear Sinatra serenade through “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and listen to Nat King Cole snap through “Frosty The Snowman” as they would have sounded when they were recording.

All it takes is a trip to downtown Gainesville – or to just about any of the antique shops dotting North Georgia – to find the equipment you need to either treat yourself or get that elusive gift for the friend or relative who has everything.

Vinyl records have become more and more popular in recent years, and a record player might be the best gift to give – young or old.

“Right now we all carry phones in our pocket where for $10 a month, we can get pretty much get any song that’s ever been recorded on a major label and listen to it streaming, which is insane,” said Brock Johnson, co-owner of Imperial Records in Gainesville. “If you’re on your Spotify or whatever, you’re probably just going to hear one song from one artist and then it goes to another song from another artist. But if you buy a record, you’re going to listen to both sides of that one album.”

Listening to a record front-to-back not only gives you the whole picture of the sound the artist was shooting for at the time 18 | HOME | November 2018

– stuff sounds different mastered for vinyl as opposed to digital – but allows you to relate to the music more. Listeners get to hear an entire album, song-by-song, in the proper order, which he said “kind of facilitates a deeper dive, a deeper connection with an artist’s music.”

But if you’re buying records, you’ll need a record player, and there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to checking this item off your list.

First, you’ll probably see the term turntable thrown around when looking at record players. Don’t fret; it’s used interchangeably and means the same thing as record player.

Johnson said turntable was just the cool name used for it when DJs busted onto the scene in the 1980s.

“There’s no functional difference between those two words,” he said.

You’ll probably see things like a belt-drive and direct-drive record player, too. Now, there is a difference here.

Belt-drive record players have a belt you can see from the outside that wraps around and spins the platter the record sits on. Some people swear by these, saying they provide a crisper, more unique sound, but to the average person, Johnson said they won’t be able to tell the difference.

“If you are a total audiophile and you’re all about the highest fidelity music you can get, the belt drives are preferred,” Johnson

Photos by Nick Bowman LEFT: A turntable needle rests along a spinning 12-inch record on Oct. 12 at Imperial Records in Gainesville. Used records, and even record players, can be found at the Gainesville shop and at antique shops around North Georgia, and they make surprising gifts for the friend or relative who has everything. BELOW: Imperial Records owners, from left, Iris Romero, Edwin Hughs, Joey Summer and Brock Johnson stand outside of their Bradford Street shop on Friday, Oct. 5. The downtown cooperative aims to bring vinyl back to Gainesville.

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said. “The motor that spins the belt is located on the side of the record player, so the idea is there is less vibration, thus creating a higher-quality sound.”

A direct-drive, or automatic, record player is a little simpler. Its motor sits just below the platter, which could cause some unwanted distortion in the music. Unless you have a fine-tuned ear, you won’t be able to pick any of that up, though.

“Most of the budget options and things for a more casual listener would be an automatic drive,” Johnson said.

Record player setups can be had for as little as doubledigit dollars to $1,000 and beyond, depending on the quality you want. Some of the best brands out there are ones like Audio-Technica, ION Audio and Numark. There are also more boutique brands, but they’ll run the cost up significantly and quickly.

Record players aren’t complete without speakers, either.

And this is where you can go new-school or old-school.

Johnson said one of the “best, relatively inexpensive, especially for a millennial” gift ideas are record players with Bluetooth capabilities. That way, it can be connected with the Bluetooth speaker you probably already have. And if you don’t, they’re pretty affordable to pick up.

The old-school way is purchasing a couple of typical stereo speakers and an amplifier to make everything sound just right. Johnson said you don’t have to go all out on these.

A lot of times, speakers can be found at Goodwill or thrift stores around town.

If you’re searching for an all-new setup or have questions, Imperial Records will be stocked up on Audio-Technica record players and plenty of vinyl records for the holiday season.

“We also have a number of older, vintage ones like ones from the ‘70s that are really cool,” Johnson said.

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November 2018 | HOME | 19

HOME & GARDEN

NOT YOUR MOTHER’S WALLS:

WALLPAPER MAKES A COMEBACK Wallpaper is back.

Leave behind any notions of stodgy, it’seasier-than-painting design from the days when TV came out of a tube — with all the new colors and patterns, wallpaper is back from the 1950s and taking on new roles to enhance people’s homes.

20 | HOME | November 2018

Photos by Scott Rogers OPPOSITE, TOP: Today’s wallpapers are bolder than in years past.

BOTTOM: The home of Jim and Robin Mathis features many styles of wall coverings. BELOW, TOP: A bright blue wallpaper decorates the bathroom walls with Asian-inspired scenes. MIDDLE: The colors of the Oriental, English and Netherland pieces owned by the Mathis family lend themselves to a blue and white-cream palette for the design of their Gainesville condo. BOTTOM: A bright blue wallpaper decorates the bathroom walls with Asian-inspired scenes.

By Pamela A. Keene For Home magazine “Today’s wallpaper options are more high-end than ever, and as such, wall coverings are even more versatile,” said Jane Morris, owner of The Great Cover-Up on McEver Road. “Colors are more bold, prints are larger, and embossed and textured wallpapers lend themselves to new ways to use them.”

Interior designer Debbie Puckett often partners with Morris to bring clients’ ideas and visions to life. Recently, Robin Mathis hired Puckett to redecorate the Gainesville condominium she owns with her husband Jim Mathis Jr. “The design focuses on showcasing Robin’s extensive collection of porcelain works from around the world,” Puckett said. “The colors of the Oriental, English and Netherland pieces lent themselves to a blue and whitecream palette, so we used various shades of royal blue and navy, against a background of creams and khakis.

We mixed in some of the new neutral grass cloth wall coverings to add texture allowing the focus to remain on the collections.”

Robin Mathis’ porcelains and ceramics include the familiar Delft pieces that are a signature of the Netherlands.

She owns lids, jars and pots of distinctive blue and white displayed on shelves, on walls and in bookcases.

“It’s a lot to see,” Mathis said. “You really feel like you’re in the Netherlands, especially with our new decor.”

The oriental pieces include large pots, and her English pieces she calls “time-tested.”

“I love all the colors, the depth of blue and white,” Mathis said.

She also owns a large dollhouse that received a makeover.

“I’ve had this dollhouse for years, and we wallpapered the interior. It’s so very warm and welcoming. And I have designed it as a gift to the Smithsonian when I turn 80.”

The attention to detail in the dollhouse — a miniature home that is somehow still sprawling in its own right, with custom paintings in miniature, carved furniture, wallpaper and decorated ceilings — is reflected in the almost-4,000square-foot condo tucked into the back of Candler Street.

“My goal was to bring all the décor together and to make our condo warm and welcoming,” Mathis said. “Now it looks like a home with the textures, the colors and the character. All the elements naturally flow together.”

“Condo” may feel an inadequate term for the Mathis family’s space and its rich, wooden floors, white-washed pine ceilings, custom cream cabinetry (with drawers and storage tucked throughout the home), rolls upon rolls of varied wallpaper, sturdy brass fixtures and high, smooth ceilings.

Both Morris and Puckett agree there’s an art to decorating with wallpaper.

“For a smaller room, such as a powder room, it’s better to paper all four walls,” Morris said. “Larger rooms, such as dens and master bedrooms often feature a single accent wall that’s covered.”

It’s not unusual to cover a ceiling with wallpaper.

“In design school we were taught that the ceiling is the fifth wall of a room,” Puckett said. “Especially in smaller November 2018 | HOME | 21

rooms, it’s very dramatic to only paper the ceiling.”

Incorporating wall coverings into a room goes beyond installing them on walls and ceilings. They can be used behind cabinet spaces or bookshelves, on drawer fronts or as smaller panels that become wall hangings.

“Today’s wall coverings are much easier to install and remove than those in the past,” Morris said. “So many people remember the days when paper was hard to hang and very hard to take down. Now it’s so much simpler to change, plus it’s bolder and edgier than before.”

She said that the technology of the adhesives has improved, and most of the new wall coverings are typically not pre-pasted. She suggests bringing in a professional to hang wall coverings. “Even with YouTube and other online how-tos, because wallpaper is more expensive, most people don’t install it themselves.”

Interior designers may use grass cloth as the textured foundation of a room’s design, especially neutral shades. However, grass cloth is now available in an array of colors. “Grass cloth adds to much warmth and texture,” Puckett said. “It makes much more of a statement than a painted wall.”

When decorating, even with a basic monochromatic design or neutral backdrop, it’s important to consider incorporating color.

“This way, you can personalize your home to reflect your lifestyle and personality. There are no rules; it’s all about personal taste.”

22 | HOME | November 2018

TOP, LEFT: Robin Mathis’ new condo in Gainesville showcases her collected items and features unique wall coverings. TOP, RIGHT: Neutral grass cloth wall coverings add texture and keep the focus on Mathis’ extensive collection of porcelain works from around the world.

BOTTOM: The interior of a dollhouse on display at the Mathis home also includes wallpaper.

TOP: Textured wallpaper adds warmth to rooms inside Jim and Robin Mathis’ Gainesville condo. BOTTOM: Various shades of royal blue and navy were used in the wall coverings throughout the Mathis family’s Gainesville condo.

November 2018 | HOME | 23

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GET TO KNOW

BOBBEE MACBEES

RYAN “MAC” MCDONALD & BOBBY THANEPOHN Photos by Nick Bowman ABOVE: Bobby Thanepohn, co-owner of beekeeping business Bobbee MacBees, shows off a member of his hive while visiting one of the company’s Dahlonega apiaries in October.

28 | HOME | November 2018

By Nick Bowman Ryan “Mac” McDonald and Bobby Thanepohn were pretty chill for a couple of fellows sitting near thousands and thousands of stinging insects.

It was early October. Rain was making quiet threats overhead and a breeze was picking up. On a hillside overlooking a little mountain road near Dahlonega, the pair of beekeepers surveyed their apiary — the name given to a collection of beehives, and which is quite unlike an aviary, where birds are kept — lazing in tailgating chairs parked next to a couple of pickups and waiting for this interview, unconcerned about the honey bees wafting to and fro.

But they wouldn’t be concerned, would they, as a couple of experienced beekeepers who run what is now the award-winning honey company Bobbee MacBees — not to mention they’re military veterans who have seen worse than the business-end of a bug.

Three years of fine-tuning their company paid off this year, as they left the Georgia Beekeepers Association annual conference this September with a first place for their amber honey, creamed honey (which isn’t what you think it is) and their beeswax block (which is exactly what you think it is).

LEFT: Bobby Thanepohn fires up a fogger with wood shavings, which puff smoke into a beehive to make the insects more docile before the hive is inspected. BELOW: Honey bees pore over their honeycomb at a Bobbee MacBees apiary in Dahlonega. The boutique honey maker sells only at the Canton Farmers Market, but that hasn’t stopped it from winning a swarm of awards for its products from the Georgia Beekeepers Association.

The awards are the latest accolades for the business, which has focused on staying small-scale — almost underground, outside of a skinny website and an Instagram account — and making some of the best honey products in North Georgia.

McDonald a custom home builder and Thanepohn a software designer, they have together turned their backyard hobbies into a busy business run almost entirely out of the Canton Farmers Market in Cherokee County, though McDonald lives in Cumming and Thanepohn in Ball Ground.

The pair have hives in a few places around North Georgia, including their Dahlonega site.

In early October, they explained their craft while waiting to inspect their apiary. The site had no address and amounted to a few wooden boxes that would be unassuming were they not surrounded by electrical fence and venom.

It was placed there for its proximity to Etowah Meadery and the sourwood flowers that allow bees to produce the popular

variety of North Georgia honey.

Varietals are a tricky project for beekeepers. Certain locations and setups encourage bees to go for a certain kind of pollen and nectar, and if 50 percent-plus-one of their honey comes from a specific source, it becomes a varietal and often carries a premium.

So, with their Dahlonega location, does Bobbee MacBees sell sourwood honey? “‘No’ is the short answer,” said McDonald, chuckling.

Bees are funny critters — just as you might prefer a plate of fettuccine Alfredo to a steak dinner (if you have terrible tastes) they have their own preferences among flowers, McDonald explained.

“Bees fly up to 3 miles away seeking out nectar, Thanepohn said. “A 3-mile radius means a 6-mile diameter circle.” Or 28 square miles.

“It’s hard for anybody to control 28 square miles of anything,” Thanepohn added.

And so the bees of Bobbee MacBees visit sourwoods, yes, but November 2018 | HOME | 29

TOP: Ryan “Mac” McDonald, left, and Bobby Thanepohn, pictured at one of their apiaries in Dahlonega, started Bobbee MacBees about three years ago. Since then, the pair have won handfuls of awards for their honey products and have a mead made exclusively with their honey coming out from Etowah Meadery. BOTTOM: Bobby Thanepohn, left, used only a shroud over his face and neck when handling bees at a Dahlonega apiary in October while business co-owner Ryan “Mac” McDonald goes for the full coat. Bees are more docile than people think, Thanepohn said, and won’t often sting even while their hive is being inspected.

30 | HOME | November 2018

they also spend time at blackberry bushes and among the clover and dandelions of the Dahlonega hills.

“Local honey is just wildflower honey,” McDonald said. “It’s kind of a catch-all.”

But what makes Bobbee MacBees honey special, and the honey of other small-scale local beekeepers, is the purity of the products, the local pollen that ends up in the honey and the attention to detail.

“Mac and I call the honey that’s in the bear ‘runny honey.’ It doesn’t compare at all — all of our honey is raw and unfiltered,” Thanepohn said. “The honey that you buy at the store has been, for all intents and purposes, pasteurized and filtered. It’s also been put together by a processor that makes blends of honey.

“At large honey processors, there’s someone who’s akin to a sommelier. They take this much clover honey and that much of that honey and that much of that honey, and they blend it together until you get that uniform golden color.”

McDonald added about heating honey: “You’ve removed a lot of what makes local honey great — all the pollen varieties that are in there, and that’s where a lot of the realized health benefits are.”

Nowhere are the differences between well-prepared local honey and store-bought clearer than with creamed honey.

Creamed honey sounds like ambrosia — some decadent mix of honey and heavy cream — but is just simple honey.

It’s about the crystals. If you’ve ever forgotten about a jar or bottle of honey in your kitchen only to find it a year or so in the back of your pantry clouded and grainy, you’ve found crystallized honey.

It was also totally fine to eat, as honey doesn’t spoil, so don’t throw it out next time.

What you saw was a natural process that occurs with almost all honey over time. Creamed honey gets a jump on that process — with a twist.

Creamed honey is created by seeding conventional, liquid honey with powder-fine crystals. Over three to four weeks and a fair bit of handmixing, those crystals prompt the rest of the honey to take their shape.

It might not sound like much, but the end result is the best thing you’ve probably never had.

“It’s spreadable, Thanepohn said. “If you want a peanut butter and honey sandwich, creamed honey is the way to go or else the honey is going to run out of your sandwich. It’s easier to keep on biscuits. It’s also

great for dipping apples into — or pretzels.”

Here the conversation paused for a few moments as the group’s attention turned inward, wishing for pretzels.

Anyway, amber honey, like wildflower honey, is mostly a catchall; it’s the result of a wide mix of pollen sources and is what bees are making most of during the spring, summer and fall.

“If it’s extremely dark or light it’s probably a varietal honey,” McDonald said.

In consistency and look, amber honey is as close as you’re going to get to the gooey, molasses-like honey you’re squeezing from the plastic store-bought bottle.

Beeswax block, meanwhile, is judged on its cleanliness, aroma and plasticity. Like honey, beeswax quality and character changes from season to season and year to year.

Beeswax even changes depending on its purpose in the hive; some sections of a comb are set aside for honey, while others are used for brood — raising new drones to sustain the hive.

At peak season, a queen can lay upward of 2,000 eggs each day.

Those eggs are planted inside a chamber of the comb and become larvae, and those little worms will pupate by forming a cocoon around themselves inside the chamber to later emerge as bees.

If you’re thinking that sounds a little gross — it is. That’s why Thanepohn and McDonald don’t pull wax from that section of the comb. Instead, they only pull wax from the “honey capping,” Thanepohn said, or the wax bees use to cap chambers that have been filled with honey.

This is the good stuff: clean, fresh and fragrant. It can be used in balms, chapstick, lotions, even beard wax — which the goateed Thanepohn does, in fact, use from time to time.

After a while, it was time to inspect the hives. But before suiting up, McDonald and Thanepohn offered a few tips to fans of honey who might not have time to make it to a farmers market but want to try honey in a new way: • In general, don’t spend the money on organic honey. “There is literally no place in the United States that can produce organic honey, Thanepohn said. “The bees will fly 3 — they’ll go up to 7 if they have to — but they’ll typically fly 3 miles away from their hive.

There aren’t a lot of people who control 28 square miles around their hive. They have no way of knowing if their bees have hit a genetically modified nectar source, one that’s been treated with pesticides or one that’s been treated with herbicides.”

• Store-bought raw honey can indeed be raw honey, but check to see if it’s a local supplier to a national chain. Kroger and Publix carry local providers who supply true raw honey.

• For Thanepohn, who is originally from Illinois, honey is best enjoyed on Greek yogurt with bee pollen and bananas, but is excellent on English muffins. Southerners will appreciate honey over biscuits.

• If you want to expand your palate a bit, try a bit of honey drizzled over fried chicken or — and this can only be an excellent idea — try some honey with fried pork skins. “That’s a handful of tasty goodness right there,” McDonald said.

Climbing out of their folding chairs, McDonald threw on a beekeeping jacket, hood and gloves. He reacts to bee stings and opts to avoid the welts.

Thanepohn, meanwhile, was in a T-shirt and jeans. He draped a mesh shroud over his head and called it good. The girls in the hive — and they are almost exclusively female by the end of summer — are most docile in the afternoon. He also prepped a fogger, a hand-held can-and-bellows that slow-burns wood shavings for smoke that’s used to mellow the bees.

Tools in hand, the pair pried open the hive boxes, lifting racks of November 2018 | HOME | 31

comb and bees out for inspection.

Ungloved and unprotected, Thanepohn lifted one rack after another, each thick with bees, out of the hives.

The whole process took only a few minutes — extended to allow for the pictures you’re seeing in this magazine — and not a stinger was felt among the group. Bees swarmed and buzzed, angling to get back into the hives as rain spattered around the hillside.

Even with most of the honey either harvested or stored away for winter inside their combs, the smell from the hives was the rich, warm scent of wax and honey.

The hives were sealed, coats were removed. The electric fence was closed and powered on. It’s used to prevent bears from getting into the hives.

If you’re hoping to get a taste of the honey from those Dahlonega hives, you’re sort of out of luck.

The site is promised to Etowah Meadery, which also uses the hillside to grow pawpaws — a story of their own for another day — and figs.

The honey produced there is going to become Georgia’s first homegrown batch of mead. The beekeepers said the meadery is using the honey to brew session mead — a lightly carbonated beverage with a lower alcohol content more like beer than wine.

As of early October, the Bobbee MacBees batch was due in a few weeks.

If it’s anything like the rest of the honey churned out by the backyard beekeepers, better try to get your hands on it sooner rather than later.

LEFT: Bobby Thanepohn, co-owner of Bobbee MacBees, holds up a honeycomb rack at one of the company’s Dahlonega apiaries in October. RIGHT: Bobbee MacBees won awards this fall from the Georgia Beekeepers Association for its creamed honey, pictured in the small jar at center, amber honey and beeswax block.

32 | HOME | November 2018

Want to help local bee populations?

• Build a “bee hotel,” a hibernation house for bees, on your property.

• Use native flowering plants in gardens and around homes. A truly native plant garden will often produce flowers throughout the summer and into fall with varying species.

• Plant flowering trees. Tulip poplars, mulberries, basswood and (though it’s a bush) blackberries are all favored stops for bees.

• This one goes out to the HOAs: Mow your yard less often. Clover and dandelions, favorite flowers of bees, are some of the first plants to poke up among a slightly shaggy yard.

• Be judicious about the use of pesticides and herbicides, which can affect the health of bees and the quality of their hives and honey.

• Think of the other pollinators: Try to avoid killing tomato worms, and instead pull them off and away from your garden. They turn into the hawk moth, which is an important pollinator.

Also research the other, non-honey producing bees that are also important pollinators.

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• Water, Water Everywhere • More Bridge – A Follow-Up • Enhance Your Drawing: Combining Drawing and Mixed Media • The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Hits

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brenau.edu/lifetimestudy November 2018 | HOME | 33

TASTE OF HOME

THREE KNOCKOUT PLATES FOR TAKEOUT FOR THANKSGIVING

By Nick Bowman Turkey, shmurkey — Thanksgiving is about the sides.

That big ol’ bird is all well and good, even if it’s a bit finicky — the details over which people will agonize is never-ending, with garlic-butter injections, salting under the skin, baking tents, deep fryers, dry and wet brines, whether to stuff the bird or not (hint: don’t), big turkeys, small turkeys, cooking timers and resting methods.

A bit of white meat, dark meat or crispy skin is never going to be unwelcome, but the not-so-subtle secret of the Thanksgiving table is that the sides steal the show.

Every. Single. Year.

Mashed potatoes and their buttery, garlicky goodness (both with and without skins), steaming Southern dressing, creamed corn, corn souffle and green beans (both in casserole form and cooked down in an ocean of butter and onions).

This list need not continue further — but it will!

Collard or mustard greens and their earthy warmth, cornbread, biscuits, rolls, sweet potato souffle, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach, fried okra and maybe just a small pile of roasted, crispy Brussels sprouts.

These are where Thanksgiving memories are made.

The ostensible add-ons brought potluck-style by friends and family around the table clearly make the meal.

34 | HOME | November 2018

Photos by Nick Bowman TOP: The dressing from Amanda’s Farm to Fork in Lula is in high demand around Thanksgiving. Made with cornbread, bread crumbs, chicken, onions and celery, the dressing is a lifelong favorite of the Browning family and was first made by Amanda’s grandmother. BOTTOM: A hefty pan of dressing with gravy costs about $25 from Amanda’s Farm to Fork in Lula.

But while you’re laboring over that bird — did you put enough salt in that brine?

Do you have a backup if things go wrong?

— there are some country cooking favorites around Gainesville and Hall County who have you covered this year on those allimportant side dishes.

In no particular order, here are just a few favorites waiting to complete your Thanksgiving dinner.

Grandmother Wilson’s Chicken Dressing

Photo by Scott Rogers Amanda Browning has opened Amanda’s Farm to Fork in downtown Lula for hungry patrons of her popular catering business to enjoy in a sit-down restaurant.

At Amanda’s Farm to Fork in Lula, Amanda Browning and her family are putting in overtime this November churning out whole Thanksgiving dinners for folks who prefer their home-cooked meals from someone else’s home.

But if we’re sticking to sides — and they’ll stick to our sides later, of course — she’s proud of nothing more than her grandmother Sally Wilson’s chicken dressing recipe. And when she wasn’t whipping up trays of mean dressing, Grandma Wilson was running all the local Burger Kings.

“I just think it’s such a tradition for our

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family, because it’s just not Thanksgiving if my grandmother didn’t make a big pan of dressing,” Browning said, fresh from delivering a pan of dressing and cinnamon rolls.

A meal all on its own, the dressing is made with cornbread, celery, onions, chicken and breadcrumbs.

“It’s one of the staples at our restaurant,” Browning said. “Every Friday we always have chicken and dressing and sweet potato souffle.”

Amanda’s Farm to Fork began taking Thanksgiving orders at the start of November.

Reach out on Facebook or call 770-540-1035 to set up your order.

Sides range in price — the dressing is about $25 — and a full-blown Thanksgiving meal costs $165. If you think that’s pricey, it comes with a 30-pound turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, dressing, gravy, souffle, fresh rolls and a pie, and it feeds 10 to 12 people.

Reid’s Cafe buttermilk biscuits Leave the cornbread and the rolls on their plates, because the famous biscuits from Murrayville’s classic country diner is all the bread you need this Thanksgiving.

“They’re homemade from scratch fresh every day,” said Sherry Rundles. “They’re big cathead biscuits like Mama used to make.”

Sherry and Eddie Rundles own and run the restaurant with their daughter, Christy Barker, and son, Reid Rundles. Eddie is the man behind the biscuits, and on a slow day he’ll make 500 of the buttery creations — and as many as 1,000 on a busy Saturday morning.

Sherry prefers biscuits with gravy, while Eddie opts for sausage.

“We’ll serve them any way you want ‘em,” Sherry said. “We have any kind of biscuit: bacon, ham, sausage, smoked ham, country ham, tenderloin, hot links, bologna — even a salmon biscuit.”

And each biscuit is a trip down memory lane — the recipe hasn’t really changed for the whole 22 years Reid’s has been scratching out catheads along Thompson Bridge Road north of Gainesville.

Photos by Nick Bowman TOP: Buttery, fresh biscuits are made each morning at Reid’s Cafe in Murrayville. After 22 years in business, the biscuits at Reid’s have built a reputation around Hall County.

BOTTOM: Christy Barker, left, and Sherry Rundles help sling some of the best buttermilk biscuits in Hall County at Reid’s Cafe in Murrayville. The family business has used the same biscuit recipe for the past 22 years.

36 | HOME | November 2018

Crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, the mac and cheese tray comes with five cheeses...

If you want to get your order in for Thanksgiving, make sure you give yourself at least a day. The restaurant isn’t open on Thanksgiving but can have an order ready the day before.

Plain biscuits can be had for $1.55 a piece, and you can reach Reid’s at 770-535-7744 or stop by at 5337 Thompson Bridge Road in Murrayville.

Photo by Nick Bowman ABOVE: It’s not Thanksgiving without heaping platefuls of macaroni and cheese, and the fellows behind the counter at Green’s Grocery will be busy between now and the holiday churning out platters of the stuff for about $25 each.

Kitchen of Dana macaroni and cheese It wouldn’t be a Gainesville Thanksgiving without something from Green’s. The purveyor of all-things local manages a busy kitchen beginning in November, but getting an order in early will allow you too to secure some mac and cheese this year.

Green’s sells whole Thanksgiving dinners made fresh by Cory, Josh, Douglas, AJ, Jeff, Ed and the rest of the crew behind the counter at the Riverside Drive staple. Armed with a battery of Big Green Eggs, the store sells whole-cooked briskets, turkey breast and hams.

But if you’ve got that covered at home, opt for a tray of some of the store’s golden-brown macaroni and cheese. Crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, the tray comes with five cheeses and costs about $25 a pop.

The dishes come from Cleveland-based Kitchen of Dana and serve between 10 and 12 people.

Green’s started accepting Thanksgiving orders Nov. 1, so get down to the store sooner rather than later to secure your spot on the list.

You can reach Green’s at 770-534-5621 or visit at 971 Riverside Drive in Gainesville. To catch Kitchen of Dana directly, call 706-348-1535 or visit www.kitchenofdana.com.

AMANDA’S FARM TO FORK Reach out on Facebook or call 770-540-1035 to set up your order.

REID’S CAFE 770-535-7744 or stop by at 5337 Thompson Bridge Road in Murrayville.

GREEN’S GROCERY 770-534-5621 or visit at 971 Riverside Drive in Gainesville. To catch Kitchen of Dana directly, call 706-348-1535 or visit kitchenofdana.com.

November 2018 | HOME | 37

RECREATION

IN SEARCH OF A

SOUTHEAST SNOW DAY Cataloochee Ski Area – Maggie Valley, North Carolina Distance from Gainesville: Approx. 123 miles, or 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Lift tickets: Full-day passes begin at $70 for adults, $52 for kids ages 5-12; half-day adult passes available $55 and kids for $40. Rates subject to change.

Website: Visit cataloochee.com for latest information.

Other options: Rental packages with lift tickets and ski/snowboard rental available, as well as ski school and twilight skiing opportunities.

The lighter side: For the fun without all the training, try snow tubing at Cataloochee.

More info available at cataloochee.com/planning/tube-world/ Shopping, sights and attractions in and around Maggie Valley • Maggie Valley Skis and Tees for gear outfitting, skis-and-tees.com • Jelly Belly’s Mountain Gift Shop for ice cream, gifts and other treats, jellybelliesmaggievalley.com • Hike Soco Falls – This .25 mile round-trip hike to waterfalls with an observation deck is located along U.S. Hwy. 19 between Maggie Valley and Cherokee, NC, blueridgemountainlife.com/soco-falls/ • Scenic drive – Drive the beautiful, famous Blue Ridge Parkway between Maggie Valley and Cherokee, NC, blueridgeparkway.org

Photos are courtesy of Tammy Brown, Cataloochee Ski Area.

38 | HOME | November 2018

When snowboarding or skiing, you’ll never forget the times you land the perfect jump or feel the bliss of carving through the smoothest, wavy powder after a fresh layer of snow has fallen.

But you also never forget the times you’ve fallen — and fallen hard.

I’ve had plenty of faceplants trying to Joshua Silavent avoid another skier on the mountain. A few bruised backs and sore ankles, too.

And I’ve even broken a collarbone after getting blindsided by another boarder, which sent me end-over-end and sprawled out on the slope.

Still, I know what I’m doing out there, believe it or not. If you ride or ski long and hard enough, the pain becomes part of the joy, in some ways, because it’s inevitable.

All sports have their risks, after all, and the mountains are meant for those taking the long way home.

Since its birth in the 1960s, and its emergence into the American mainstream in the ‘90s, snowboarding has been seen as one of the quintessential extreme sports along with rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, skydiving and BASE jumping.

Now an Olympic sport, snowboarding’s most accomplished riders also showcase their high-speed, high-flying trickery during the annual Winter X Games, which can give any viewer the rightful notion that snowboarding is indeed radical, even dangerous.

And the sport’s progression has rubbed off on skiing, where mogul-maneuvering, big-air chance takers have developed their own level of Olympic competition.

It’s true that snowboarders and skiers live on the fine edge that characterizes many so-called extreme sports.

But I mean this as much literally as figuratively.

As a 20-year snowboarder, I’ve learned that maintaining your balance, speed and control when riding is all about carving on

the edges of the board, slicing lines through the snow. Slip-ups, spills and crashes, sometimes leaving bruised egos and bruised bodies behind, happen when you lose that edge, or when you “catch” an edge unexpectedly.

Of course, carving on your edges can be easier or harder depending on the snow conditions.

A “powder day,” as it’s called when a fresh dusting of snow hits the slopes, makes for smooth, soft tracking.

But that’s mostly a western delight, more commonplace out across the Rockies and Sierras.

We get the occasional blizzard and inconsistent winter storm here in the Southeast, and those are certainly days to watch for because, if you’re lucky enough to catch a powder day, the travel is worth it.

But, often, winter in these parts brings conditions that can be a little more treacherous, such as icy, hardened slopes when the temperatures dip below freezing, or slushy, unsteady runs when the occasional winter warm spell strikes.

Few sports are as weather dependent, and for the inexperienced, poor conditions can make for a long day.

Even rivers for whitewater kayaking, for instance, are often dam-controlled, with fixed release schedules and water levels.

So, it’s a roll of the dice when it comes to finding that perfect day on the slopes.

Sometimes it’s early in the season, when a fresh, unexpected storm hits and dumps the fluffy white stuff all over.

And sometimes the best conditions don’t emerge until spring — March even — when a recent storm coupled with snowmaking meet a bluebird sunny day and the mountain feels like heaven.

It’s true that even ski resorts in the West make snow to supplement the slopes, but it’s downright necessary in our region.

A groomed snowpack needs a solid base — and a nice, groomed snowpack is about the best us Southerners can dream November 2018 | HOME | 39

of when it comes to riding or skiing near home.

Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, is my favorite “local” resort.

At just a little more than two hours away, its proximity to Gainesville makes for an easy long weekend or even a single day’s getaway.

Cataloochee has 18 runs of various difficulty, with 44 percent considered beginner, 39 percent intermediate and 17 percent advanced to expert.

The typical green circles, blue squares and black diamonds that delineate a slope’s level of difficulty are not a standard unit of measurement, and so trails with these markers can indicate a different set of hazards at other ski resorts.

There are also high concentration areas, typically where trails converge near the base of the mountain, that snowboarders and skiers need to be cautious about. It’s considered good manners, and it’s the rules, to slow down when hitting these high-traffic areas just as you would in the busy spots of Lake Lanier.

Isn’t that right, summer boaters?

The mountain’s top elevation is 5,400 feet, with a base elevation of 4,660 feet.

There is a rental shop at the resort for all your gear needs, as well as ski school for beginner lessons, a restaurant and patio area when you need a break.

Be sure to pack a bottle of water and a light snack in your jacket — and don’t overdress.

Cold winter days have a way of fooling us into thinking we’re not dehydrated when outside playing in the snow, but the first time your jacket unzips you’ll see the gout of steam and heat that’s built up on the slopes.

You’ll see plenty of young, hard-charging hipster kids jamming to their favorite tunes with headphones in their ears, but leave yours behind. The beauty all around is enough to make music in the mind, plus it’s a lot safer being able to hear the commotion of other snowboarders and skiers around you.

If it’s your first time up on the slopes, remember it’s the job of those at higher elevations to watch for skiers and snowboarders below.

Cataloochee typically opens for the season in the first or second week of November depending on snow conditions.

And if you’re looking for a mountain getaway but aren’t that interested in the slopes, the resort town might still be what you need. Take in a drive along the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, a hike to Soco Falls or shop along the main strip in Maggie Valley.

Essential winter snowboarding/skiing gear: • Two pairs wool socks • Gloves • Goggles • Helmet • Boots • Bindings • Board/Skis • Jacket • Pants • Mid-layers

40 | HOME | November 2018

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AROUND TOWN JOHN JARRARD FOUNDATION CONCERT

The annual concert held Sept. 22 helps raise money for Northeast Georgia charities, including Good News at Noon Clinic and Georgia Mountain Food Bank. The foundation’s namesake, John Jarrard, was a Gainesvilleborn country music songwriter who wrote 11 No. 1 hits. He died in 2001 from diabetes after raising over $100,000 for the American Diabetes Association.

MELANOMO’!

The MelaNoMo’! gathering was held for its 10th and final year Oct. 6. The event, held at Neil Gaines’ family cabin on the Chattahoochee River in Cleveland, was started by Gaines following his melanoma diagnosis. Funds raised at the event benefit the Emory Winship Cancer Institute, where Gaines was treated and beat his cancer.

42 | HOME | November 2018

EMPTY BOWL LUNCH

The Georgia Mountain Food Bank’s annual Empty Bowl Lunch was held Sept. 25 at First Baptist Church in Gainesville. The event, which features a live auction and hand-painted rice bowls for attendees, celebrated its 10th year.

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November 2018 | HOME | 43

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1 2-4

Gesture and Feeling – Painting Studies of the Figure

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, paula@qvac.org. $425.

Mosaic Glass Slippers

1-4 p.m. Nov. 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 3 and noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 4. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, paula@qvac.org. $420.

3

Children’s Class: Creating Art with Leaves

3

Suwanee Wine Fest

3

Monthly Multi-Use Trail Improvement Day

3

The Nutcracker Ballet Mini-Camp

7

Learn the Basics of Photography

9

The Band Lovett

10

Holiday Bazaar

11

Brenau Galleries: Fall Open House

12-14 13 13-15 15 15-16

10-11 a.m. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1911 Sweetbay Drive, Gainesville. 404-888-4763, wcannon@atlantabg.org. $24-29.

Noon to 4:30 p.m. Town Center Park, 330 Town Center Ave., Suwanee. www.facebook.com/suwaneewinefest. $49-99.

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jake Mountain Parking Lot, Chattahoochee National Forest, Nimblewill Church Road, Dahlonega.

404-316-7956, georgiacrowes22@bellsouth.net. Free.

10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Brenau University Fitness Center/GSB Studios, 800 Brenau Lane NE, Gainesville.

770-532-4241, gbcinfo@gainesvilleballet.org. $30.

Focus on landscapes. 6-8:30 p.m. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, paula@qvac.org. $125-150.

9-11:30 p.m. Wild Wing Cafe, 311 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Gainesville. Kristyi@ymail.com. Free.

Holiday gifts, crafts, food and fun. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cornerstone of Faith, 3485 McEver Road, Gainesville. cornerstoneoffaith@gmail.com.

1-4 p.m. Brenau University Galleries, 200 Blvd., Gainesville. 770-534-6263, alauricella@brenau.edu. Free.

Basics of Still Life Painting in Oils with Qiang Huang

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, paula.lindner@quinlanartscenter.org. $450.

Elachee Science Nights at Recess

Purchase food and drinks then join discussions. 6:30-8 p.m. Recess Southern Gastro-Pub, 118 Bradford St. NE, Gainesville. 770-535-1976, elachee@elachee.org. Free.

“The Spitfire Grill”

7:30-9:30 p.m. Gainesville High School, Pam Ware Performing Arts Center, 830 Century Place, Gainesville. lettsani@gmail.com. $5-10.

Jingle Mingle

5-8 p.m. Downtown Gainesville Square.

Adult Two-Day Workshop: Drawing Trees in the Winter Garden

10 a.m. to noon. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1911 Sweetbay Drive, Gainesville. 404-888-4763, wcannon@atlantabg.org. $74-79.

44 | HOME | November 2018

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

15 16-17

Thanksgiving Day Craft

10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hall County Library System, Murrayville Branch, 4796 Thompson Bridge Road, Gainesville.

770-532-3311, ext. 171, bhood@hallcountylibrary.org. Free.

2nd Annual Brenau Holiday Arts and Crafts Market

4-6 p.m. Nov. 16 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 17. Brenau University, Simmons Visual Arts Center, Sellars Gallery, 200 Blvd., Gainesville. 770-534-6263, alauricella@brenau.edu. Free.

17

Celebrate the Holidays

17

Embellished Watercolor for Not Quite Normal People with Sara Oakley

29

Harlem Globetrotters

1 1-2

10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Downtown Braselton. Parade, Holiday Marketplace, Music & performances and Tree Lighting Ceremony. www.braseltonfestivals.com Painting class. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, paula.lindner@quinlanartscenter.org. $125-150.

7 p.m. University of North Georgia, Convocation Center, 180 Alumni Drive, Dahlonega. www.ticketweb.com.

Children’s Holiday Ornaments Botanical Style

10-11 a.m. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1911 Sweetbay Drive, Gainesville. 404-888-4763, wcannon@atlantabg.org. $24-29.

Handcrafted for the Holidays

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 1 and 3-7 p.m. Dec. 2. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, paula.lindner@quinlanartscenter.org. Free.

2

Christmas on Green Street

2

North Georgia Chamber Symphony Holiday Concert

4:30 p.m. Green Street, downtown Gainesville.

3-5 p.m. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1397 Thompson Bridge Road, Gainesville. 706-867-9444, Bettyflorence@windstream.net. Free.

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November 2018 | HOME | 45

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