The blossoms are coming, the blossoms are coming!

Spring St., Charleston, S.C.

Hello sunshine! I spotted this color on the side of Innovative Interiors on Spring St. this morning. Hold on to your hats, kids! Charleston is about to turn into a garden.

And the gator shall lie down with the turtles...

Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

Blogging, the internet and photography. It's a perfect match, isn't it? We are all out with our cameras finding treasures to bring back to present to you. Paul Lester went to Beidler Forest, Leah Sparks went to Hunting Island and Old Sheldon and I walked the Audubon Swamp Walk at Magnolia Plantation.

It was a bright day and all the swamp creatures were enjoying the sunshine. I had to smile at the way the gator was so relaxed that his jaw drooped right off the ramp. The turtles appear to feel quite safe. They must realize they are a crunchy treat rather than an everyday meal.

I'm watching the Olympic closing ceremonies. It's a good day to have shared Canadian/US loyalties.

Through the glass window

King St., Charleston, S.C.

I've been on a "through the glass window" kick lately. This little gal lives in the window of Golden & Associates on King St. along with her horses and a giant duck. It appears to be a peaceful pastoral life.

I am officially old. I love falling to sleep in my corner of the couch and then waking up all wide eyed when it's time to go to bed.

Cruise ship passengers wander Charleston

Celebrity Mercury, Waterfront Park, Charleston, S.C.

Ugghh. Not sure I'd be wanting to be first back on the ship after so many people got sick on its recent voyage. Charleston was swarming with passengers who had an unexpected day to wander the city while the ship was being cleaned. I knew at least three couples who were on the ship although I haven't heard if they were among the sick.

Celebrity Mercury Sailing Postponed:

After a widespread outbreak of stomach illness aboard Celebrity Cruises Mercury sailing from Charleston, South Carolina, the cruise liner will depart a day late as unscheduled deep-cleaning is performed.

The ship arrived in Charleston after an 11-night sailing on which an estimated 419 of the 1,830 passengers on board were afflicted with a suspected Norovirus. Delayed until 5PM Saturday, the ship and cruise terminal are being cleaned in close coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Joan's Charleston Doors

Rutledge Ave, Charleston, S.C.

Someone has been googling for Charleston doors, so let's take care of that this evening. Larger images found here. This is my alternative to the traditional Charleston Door poster. Enjoy!

S. C. in the news again

Folly Beach, S.C.
Governor and Jenny Sanford got divorced today. Long overdue I expect. Good luck to them both. I probably should have made it simpler and taken the family silver when I had the chance.

What was I doing at the Governor's Mansion? I was being honored for my heart healthy fake crab cake recipe. Naturally. :) She was snapping at him and and treating him like a stupid child, he was forced to hula hoop for a healthy photo op and I made fake crab cakes out of zucchini and tried to steal the silver. It was a South Carolina short story morning.

Damn Yankees

Old Sheldon Church Ruins, S.C.

I won't the the first, last or best photographer to take pictures at the ruins of Old Sheldon Church near Beaufort, S.C. The church has lain in ruins for over 120 years. The original church was built in 1745, Patriots stored gun powder in it during the revolution, the British burned it in 1779, and it was rebuilt only to be burned again by Sherman's men in 1865.

Googling around will bring up incredible photographs of this beautiful site. Look at these. I am here this evening to show you an angle you probably haven't seen, the "Damn Yankee" and "To Hell With Sherman" graffiti inscribed in the brick.

I know, I know. Graffiti is vandalism but I can't think of any more appropriate sentiment in this case.

G'night kids. Don't stay up too late. Tomorrow is Friday, hip hip hurrah!

Blog Hopping!

Rutledge Ave., Charleston, S.C.

This is a bit of religiously diverse symbolism found in the pavement in front of the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim temple on Rutledge Ave.

Ooooh......purty necklace. How good have I been?

Charleston Moves says our chairs are our enemies and making us fat. I know I sit in mine too much. I spend my life writing and responding to emails and I have a "people" job. Sad to think I am just going to get fat unless I quit working.

Local blog buddy Heather of Home Ec 101 was on Lowcountry Live. Naturally I was sitting in my chair at work getting fat and missed it but happily someone recorded it. Go Heather!

Hugging the Coast has a ridiculously multi-ingredient recipe for Mulligatawny Soup but think how much fun it is to say Mulligatawny. Mulligatawny. Mulligatawny. Mulligatawny. Makes it all worth it. I had my first bowl of steaming Mulligatawny soup on a foggy evening in the Hotel Windamere on Observatory Hill in Darjeeling.

I definitely have to start getting up earlier or staying up later. Cedar Posts caught this beautiful sunrise. Wow.

Helen Rice of Fuzzco had a successful art show at Hope and Union Coffee Shop. Helen went to school with my kids so I bask in the reflected glory of friends of kid's thing whenever she does something cool. I've been doing a lot of basking.

Caroline Nutall, Publisher of CHARLIE invites everyone to join in to create the largest possible team for the Walk for Water on March 20th. Sign up or make a donation here.

What else is going on?

Dock St. Theater

Dock St. Theater, Charleston, S.C.

People are still googling for images of the historic Dock St. theater so I went through my files to see what other pictures I had and found this one with the crepe myrtle trees in bloom taken before the renovation. The repairs are almost finished and it will be open for this year's Spoleto Festival.

For a minimum of $250 you can even go to the opening reception.

I've had such a nice evening. I invited my upstairs and downstairs tenants (how did you think I paid my property taxes?) and my son to dinner, set the table and actually cooked dinner. I do this so infrequently now that I feel like I am playing grown up. We each do such completely different things it was fascinating to listen to them talk about their jobs and interests. Now, if they just stay put forever I'll be all set. I bribed them with gumbo and sent them home with leftover pear tart.

Wednesday Funny

Coming St., Charleston, S.C.

Starting my day a little late since I begin with meetings in town. Just enough time to share a naughty funny from Misscellania. Heheh.

Three old ladies were sitting side by side in their retirement home, reminiscing.

The first lady recalled shopping at the green grocers, and demonstrated with her hands the length and thickness of a cucumber she could buy for a penny.

The second old lady nodded, adding that onions used to be much bigger and cheaper also, then demonstrated the size of two big onions she could buy for a penny a piece.

Then the third old lady chipped in with: "I can't hear a word you're saying, but I remember the guy you're talking about."

Camellia season in the south

Camellia Garden, Charleston, S.C.

It's camellia season in the lowcountry. What a treat it is to have this splash of color on the evergreen bushes in the winter. There are over 1,000 varieties of camellias with shades of pinks, reds and white. I love the rusty edged pile of fallen petals that lay under the bushes as much as the rare perfect flowers.

A hospital donor (the Molony family) bought this garden of camellias for us. Can you imagine? What a perfect gift for a hospital. I took a detour this morning in the fog to see if they were in bloom and took these pictures.

I invited my tenants and my son to dinner tomorrow night and now I have to see if I remember how to cook. I have a giant pot of chicken and sausage gumbo simmering.

Social media pay off

New Dream Catering, Savannah Highway, Charleston, S.C.

Social media for business purposes can annoy the heck out of me or it can pay off. In my opinion, it pays off if it give the impression that there is a real person behind it who isn't just doing it because they have been told "every small business needs to be using social media."

Eric Gaffin had "friended" me on Facebook and posted comments about what he was doing and cooking. I go out to dinner with a group of old friends every month or so and he said he was willing to cook for groups of six in his kitchen if he wasn't busy catering an event.

So, we did it! For $35 he sent us a menu to pick from, told us we could bring a bottle (or two) of wine and he cooked us up a feast. By the time we got to the potato and pancetta encrusted grouper with wild mushroom risotto and roasted vegetable stack we weren't sure we would be able to manage our molten double chocolate cake. Lordy.

Not only did we have a great evening in a chef's kitchen but I booked him to cater my annual volunteer recognition luncheon in April. Not bad for a Facebook "friend" and it's all because he wasn't pushing advertising at us, but talking about what he does best - being a chef and posting glorious pictures of his dishes.

Thanks for a fun evening, Eric and Laurie! You took good care of us.

Hmmmmph......

White Point Gardens, Charleston, S.C.

It's a bright and sunny lowcountry day and I woke to learn I'd been vandalized. Grrrr. Someone smashed through the wooden fence at the back of my property and completely trashed my backyard. Truth is I heard noise in the night and assumed it was the usual tipsy college students in the yard next to mine.

I've had things stolen from my yard through the years but having someone destroy my property for the pleasure of it is new and unpleasant.

Happy pictures unrelated to entry as usual.

Terrace Theater Sold. Sob.

Terrace Theater, Charleston, S.C.

I finally got back on track and pulled off one of my favorite rituals yesterday, rushing from work to pull up at the Terrace Theater in time for the matinee. It is the perfect end to my work week - sitting alone in the dark, sipping a cuppa hot tea and letting the busy week melt away.

It was not the perfect end to the day to be greeted by Mike, the owner telling me he had sold the theater.

Aaaaack! Is this allowed? Am I not to be consulted? I'm practically a weekly investor. Will the new owners keep it the same? Will they be able to make me hot tea that doesn't taste like coffee?

Any idea......

Charleston, S.C.

Any idea what this picture is of? Might surprise you.........

Edit:
Dang, you guys are good. I don't think I would have guessed it if I hadn't taken it with my little pocket camera. It looks like some kind of painted mural to me. Chef Sean Brock had just finished five hours of art work having his favorite vegetables tattooed on his arm. Ouch. Chef Brock was also just listed as a semi finalist as a James Beard nominee for Best Chef South East. If there was an award for Best Decorated he'd already own it. Congrats Sean!

Now, what would your arm look like if you had all of your favorite things on it?

I'm with Stupid

Waterfront Park, Charleston, S.C.

Uhoh, Charleston boy Stephen Colbert is getting some attention at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The comments fall into two main categories:

Stephen is a comedian, if you don't think he is funny then you must be stupid.

If you think Stephen Colbert is funny, you must be stupid.

I'm with Stupid. I think Stephen is very funny.

Video camera envy

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

Queen St. is one of the prettiest streets in Charleston in my opinion. There is always some sweet new/old feature to notice and I never tire of walking it.
________

Last year when I went to Kenya I bought a video camera. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and seemed the right thing to splurge on. It was compact and handy and even though I wasn't used to using it I took some very effective film that was included in a documentary video of the trip.

When I came back I was having work done in my home with people I didn't know coming and going while I was at work. I scrambled around tucking away the small tempting easy to take items like my ipod, camera lens and the video camera. I am ashamed to say that I haven't laid eyes on the video camera since then. Aaaaargh. I am an idiot. I've hidden a brand new camera from myself for over six months. I can't buy a new one because I don't deserve it.

Someday when all it's features are completely out of date, I'll find it tucked behind a book or in a scarf drawer but I'll be damned if I have any idea where it is. Did I mention "Aaaaaaargh!" I wanna, I wanna, I wanna video camera.

Guess What SC Town?

Somewhere, S.C.

This one may be too easy if you live in the Lowcountry. Can you guess what South Carolina town it is?

Easily Entertained

Francis Beidler Forest, S.C.

Easily entertained, that's me. I spent a half hour that day enchanted by the way the reflection of my hand looked like a branch. :)

In other news, I found some purty pictures for you to admire: CharlestonSCPhotoBlog.com. He has cute kids in tutus as well as beautiful wildlife and scenery.

Clearly a gentleman who likes to get up earlier than I do to catch the sunrise. I however have a hand that looks like a branch to take pictures of so I don't need to get up at the crack of dawn, do I?

Lucky me! I am going to dinner at Fish this evening.

Not Invited

State St., Charleston, S.C.

Funny how Charleston Fashion week is one festival
I have absolutely no connection with.
Is it my dansko shoes?
The fact that I cut my own hair?
The ex-officio quick dry travel underwear?

God See

Charleston, S.C.

I've been hearing from people disappointed that I didn't get an overload of winter wonderland pictures in Charleston's recent snow, but c'mon people....you have to appreciate the gift I gave you in this shot. Marcheline was the only one who admitted it was going to cause sleepless nights.

"God See".

I went back the next day and pulled the board up to see if there was a hidden part of the message buried in the melted belly of the snowman, but no, that was it. God See.

I have no trouble padding the Quirky S.C. file. It will be my masterpiece.

Meanwhile, late walk around town. Black hat, black jacket, black pants, blacks sneaks. I look like a cat burglar in the dark. Don't stay up too late kids.

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Chalmers St., Charleston, S.C.

This is Random Acts of Kindness Week, kids. What shall we do to celebrate?

Random Acts of Kindness Week focuses on the spirit of hope and goodness. It is a springboard for action. A time to be open, to act upon thoughts of generosity that arise spontaneously from your heart. Just notice what happens as kindness ripples out!

A kind act is "random" when it is unexpected-done simply out of the will to extend goodness, person to person, without expecting anything in return.

Here is one that sent me off to work smiling! Many thanks to Pam and Pamela.

Window in the Alley

Faber St., Charleston, S.C.

The window is on Faber St. It is actually a side window of SNOB.

From the TED Ideas Worth Spreading is Dr. William Li's list of antiangiogenic foods. Not all bad, eh? Blackberries, licorice, cherries, artichokes...mmmmmmm. I can do this. I don't see bacon mentioned but you can only fit so much on a slide.

Real snow, fake snow!

Gillon St., Charleston, S.C.

Real snow, fake snow! Sadly in this picture, the most impressive snow is fake. I took it years ago on a lovely warm day. If you look closely you can see the hose. The second picture (below) I took on Saturday morning with just a trace of the real white stuff left.

The fun coincidence is that a gentleman was googling "snow in Charleston" and came across the fake snow scene that I had posted some time ago. He had worked on the set! He explains in comments that they were shooting a Lands End catalog scene. He recognized the camera man from years ago. I love, love, love these fun internet connections.

I have had such a good day. Wow. I have been so overwhelmed lately never feeling like I was finishing up anything. Today the one appointment I had called to cancel, the phone barely rang, email was light and hardly anyone came by my office unexpectedly. Mid day it dawned on me that it was President's Day. What a break. It was like a gift. I actually got some things done. Can we have President's Week? Y'all can take the week off and I can catch up.

Sunday Funny

King St., Charleston, S.C.

From the Ten Best Bicycle Jokes: Pig! Pig!

The other day on a ride, I was speeding down a narrow, twisting, mountain road. Then along comes a woman who was driving very slowly uphill toward me, honking her horn and shouting at me.

"PIG! PIG!!" she yelled. "PIG! PIG!!"

So I flipped her the finger and shouted back some things I dare not repeat as I buzzed by her.

Still thinking about this awful woman and her shouting, I turned the corner and promptly collided with a pig.

Lowcountry Valentine

Charleston, S.C.

You are more likely to be stopped by a boy on the streets of Charleston trying to sell you a rose made of Palmetto fronds than a heart but it made the perfect picture to feature for Valentine's Day. I hope all the sweethearts in my corner of the internet have had a perfect day. Picture me blowing kisses.

Now, according to tradition I have to do all the weekend chores in the last hour of my weekend. Blah.

More melting snow in Charleston

Charleston Snow!, S.C.

A few more shots of things we aren't used to seeing in the lowcountry. What fun this day has been. The Southeastern Wildlife Festival is in town and added camels to the mix.

By the time I was on my way home this morning the snow was almost gone so I scooped up a handful and made my own wee snowman just like all the other kids.