Be Open

Ladonna Armstrong

August 6, 2020

“If we open our eyes, our minds and our hearts, we will find that this world is a magical place.”

ChÕgyam Trungpa

The August issue of Bella magazine is the second annual “Back to…” issue. We first published the Back to Bella issue in 2019 with thoughts of back to school, back to business, back to life — a return from the summer. This year everything is different. Yes, there is a back to, a return to these mile markers; however, back to normal is not on the horizon. We have a new normal that we will be returning to. Schools are finalizing their schedules. Some students will be returning to their schools full-time, some only part-time, and some not at all. Some students will do their schooling online. At first this seemed discouraging, especially with so many different options, but then came the realization that this offers freedom of choice. It is a very comforting thing to have the freedom to choose the option that fits the needs of your family the best. It gives us the feeling of having just a bit more control.

The same can be said for the two separate issues of Bella. We announced earlier this year that we would be creating a sister magazine to Aiken Bella Magazine. She made appearances in June and July as an insert within the folds of Aiken Bella. This month she stands by herself, our Palmetto Bella Magazine. With such anticipation of a sister magazine, we were saddened when COVID-19 hit. It set our plans back a bit, but we did not sit idle. We built relationships with our readers, advertisers, and contributors, and grew to the point where we can now offer both editions. The pandemic gave us the freedom to slow down and reevaluate the best path for Bella. We concentrated on our foundations.

We have expanded our distribution across the state of South Carolina. Palmetto Bella can be found in Lexington, Columbia, Camden, Charleston, Summerville, Isle of Palms, Mt. Pleasant, Greenville, Spartanburg, Traveler’s Rest, Anderson, Clemson, Maudlin, Powdersville, Inman, and Easley.

Aiken Bella Magazine is available in Aiken, North Augusta, Johnston, Barnwell, Augusta, Evans, Grovetown, Edgefield, Greensboro, and Lake Oconee.

Some content varies between the editions. Aiken Bella contains content and events of interest to the local CSRA area, while Palmetto Bella is more inclusive of all of South Carolina and large cities bordering the state lines. All Bella content will also be added to the website and posted in social media. And if you would like each issue to arrive right at your doorstep, we offer a subscription service as well.

This month be sure to check out Marti Healy’s article on Hatching Stones as well as Jane Herlong’s article on Humble Pie. My personal favorite this month, located in Palmetto Bella, is LaRahna Hughes’s article Forces of Nature. Aikenites can find the article online at AikenBellaMagazine.com.
We had an opportunity to join LaRhana out at her farm recently and were able to soak up some of her knowledge and wisdom in person.

Thank you again to all the Bella supporters and contributors. It has been quite a journey. We are looking forward to the coming fall season and the new normal it will bring.

“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now, and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.”

Maseru Emoto

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Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

In the know

The Case for Chocolate

How is it mothers always know what’s going on behind their backs, especially when it’s something naughty? I loved sugar as a small child. When no one was looking, I’d get into the sugar bowl. There usually wasn’t much activity or supervision in the dining room, and the sugar bowl tempted me. I would use the spoon in the bowl to scoop up the sugar and put it in my mouth, and then wait in bliss while it slowly dissolved on my tongue. Evidently this was very naughty, and my mother always knew. It took me a long time to find out how. The spoon was sterling silver, a souvenir

Taking Action

“Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long,you miss them.” ~ William Arthur Ward This year has me wondering — is there more? More to life perhaps? More I can do? More I want to do? Many of us have had more downtime in the past year that we’ve ever had before. Lots of thinking time, lots of planning time. We all know that time is not finite, but when life comes to a jarring halt as it did in 2020, maybe it’s time to reassess what we want the rest of our lives to be. Most will probably want more travel, more family, more normal. This time of

Dogs Riding in Cars

I suspect it may be the reason most dogs keep us around. We can drive cars … and trucks and motorhomes and motorcycles. And, as a result, we can seemingly create the very wind itself. To the senses of dogs riding in cars, I suspect it seems we can also somehow make all the best smells float on the air at once, with a cacophony of new and familiar sounds intertwined and changing every few seconds. We magically bring farms with fields of horses into view before they dash past us with glorious speed. We find new people to watch walking and riding bikes, and other dogs to call out

Why I Love Daffodils

There is something magical about daffodils. The mere shape of the flower seems to trumpet the arrival of spring, announcing something new and exciting. Imagine March in the Lowcountry with a sea of yellow daffodils covering a yard that stretches all the way down to the banks of Abbapoola Creek. My grandmother Lou would sit on the green porch swing and watch her grandchildren de-daffodil her yard. I can still hear the rhythmic creaking of the chains from the old swing — it almost sounded like a familiar song. She loved watching us pick every flower but there was always another prized daffodil hidden in her yard. The goal was