I spent last weekend, Aug. 22, reacquainting with my old friends Jodi and Duncan, of the storied Asheville JodiDuncans. And there's no better way to catch up on the fly than holding a dance party in some stranger's den and slinging a few George Dickel on the rocks around the room. 

Despite being able to rule a dance floor without spilling a drop of whiskey, which is talent worthy of a six figure salary, Jodi also runs cakery out of her Asheville, N.C., home.

Jodi cooks up delicious baked good using local, organic ingredients, as well as offering vegan options to her super healthy clients. 

Not only does she bake like the mother of a boisterous three-year-old, Jodi's Short Street business model is a great example of the type of entrepreneurship that makes me excited. Short Street Cakes is a small, run from home bakery that's concerned with good food and lifestyle rather than profit and franchise.

Kudos to Jodi, Duncan and their son, Jasper.

A click on the above logo will take you the website; you can also read Jodi's baking blog here.

Troubled Cajuns: My Distant Cousins Face Difficult Decisions

Holding Out, to Last Tiny Isle, as Cajun Land Sinks Into Gulf (New York Times)

Much like their forefathers, Cajuns down in southwest Louisiana are being forced from their homes. But this time its not the British army doing the pushing. 

I've written here before about foreign shrimp markets, namely Taiwan and Thailand, flooding U.S. supermarkets with cheap foreign seafood and the devastating effect that its had on North American fishing communities. 

And the above link to the New York Times article tells the same story, only this time the specter of an eroding homestead is added to the economic woes.

The Mississippi Delta, home to generations of families of French descent after their expulsion from Canada by the British, is eroding away due to the effects of levees and other shrapnel from the battle between man and nature.

If anyone reading would like to share their stories of life in fishing communities or any similar stories of hometown upheaval due to economic or environmental changes, I'd love to hear them.