Pasture Talk

NEW RIVER VALLEY

M A G A Z I N E

P. O. Box 11816 Blacksburg, VA 24062 o: 540-961-2015 nrvmagazine@msn.com www.nrvmagazine.com

PUBLISHER Country Media, Inc. Phillip Vaught

MANAGING EDITOR Joanne Anderson

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Kim Walsh

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Dennis Shelor

WRITERS Joanne Anderson Emily Alberts Jo Clark Becky Hepler Nancy Moseley Kameron Bryant

PHOTOGRAPHERS Kristie Lea Photography Kevin Riley Tom Wallace Billy Bowling Photography Nathan Cooke Photography

COVER PHOTO Photo by Tom and Christy Wallace RealPixs LLC

© 2023 Country Media, Inc. Country Media, Inc. will not knowingly publish any advertisement that is illegal or misleading to its readers. Neither the advertiser nor Country Media, Inc. will be responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors. The publisher assumes no financial liability for copy omissions by Country Media, Inc. other than the cost of the space occupied by the error. Corrections or cancellations to be made by an advertiser shall be received no later than 5 p.m. the 20th of each publishing month. No claim shall be allowed for errors not affecting the value of the advertisement. Paid advertising does not represent an endorsement by this publication. Content cannot be reproduced without written consent from Country Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Real Estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968. WWhen a contractor digging a trench (with a “clean ticket” to dig) alongside my driveway for a neighbor’s new high-speed fiber managed to chop my Verizon cable underground, I found myself without a phone (landline) or internet for a few days. To the rescue? The public library. I shared this little fact with Ryan, a freelance client in New York City. When you write for someone for years, a virtual friendship develops. I’ve written all the blogs for paintworks.nyc and emergencyworks.nyc and think he is brilliant using this blog space as a superior sales and marketing tool. [Hint to local painters and contractors.] Here is his response when I told him as soon as I got my home internet back, I’d write, download and shrink the photos and post to squarespace.com the five assignments he recently sent. He never reads my work first. He sends me as much as a whole dozen words, sometimes less, a couple photos, and I take it from there. His response: Sorry to hear about the cut cable. Enjoy the library. Libraries never get enough love. I enjoyed my internet time so much that I’m going to go to the library when I don’t need to, just to be among the books, the very kind and knowledgeable librarians and the large, bright, nicely furnished spaces. The rolling chairs at the computer stations are ergonomically-comfy. I can work or read there peacefully, and I like giving the library a little love, too. A couple decades ago, my late husband John, second generation Swedish, called me from a business trip to Sweden. “Guess what?” he began over a broken-up, long distance call. “I

Pasture Talk

now know why I love everything white and simple with all clean lines.” The memory was like yesterday when I took a look at Pinakin and Michelle Gandhi’s new house outside Fairlawn. It embodies the Scandinavians’ love for “everything white and simple with all clean lines.” One of our other publications, “See & Do New River Valley 2023” is out, despite a few printer glitches. It was supposed to have a more hard card stock cover and be “perfect bound” with a square edge, not stapled like the magazine. Well, these things happen when you deal with mere mortals, and we are distributing it to hotel rooms and in our magazine racks across the New River Valley. A new, regular, 2-page spread in each magazine in 2023 will feature a few seasonal suggestions and spotlight the advertisers in the See & Do book. You can find it online at nrvbook.com. For those who may not revel in winter, remember that “if you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life, but still the same amount of snow.” Personally, it’s my second favorite season after autumn and a very cool way to usher in a new year. Happy New Year! Joanne Anderson ManagingEditor jmawriter@aol.com