Charleston Doors at Christmas

Queen St. Charleston, SC 

 Festive Charleston doors at Christmas time. Queen St. 

Charleston at Christmas

Charleston at Christmas, Queen St., Charleston, SC

It has been a busy stretch and I have a back log of pictures. It is often easier to quickly post a few to facebook and the blog gets neglected. 

I have been busy, I broke my toe which took a full six week (allowed by medical text books) to heal. My daughter visited for Thanksgiving. I've celebrated hospital volunteers in four different hospitals. Lots going on. We anticipate twenty four hours of rain and storms on the east coast so a little enforced laziness is welcome! 

These shots are from a recent walk down Queen St. to see the holiday decor. 

Queen St.

Queen St., Charleston, SC 

Their car is tucked in safely under the shed. 

How many folks could gather in the screened in room above before it all 

came tumbling down, do you think? The house at 92 Queen was built in 1870. 

Queen St.

Queen St., Charleston, SC

High five to the architects of this new home on Queen St. Elevated, stylish and masonry. I'll take it! It looks like it would be about 151 Queen. I can't wait to see what it looks like finished.

Walking Quotes

Queen St., Charleston, SC   

The last Friday of the year and a pay day. Bingo! I came home from work, ordered pizza and crashed. This a delicious no-man's land week in between Christmas and New Years with no meetings scheduled and time to catch up, close out and get ready for the new year. I interviewed three terrific new hospital volunteer applicants today so it was well worth being in the office.

I did not go for one of my long walks this evening but fully intend to keep up the practice in 2018 as long as my legs will carry me. I am sharing this quote about walking:

Floral fountain

Queen St. fountain, Charleston, SC 

We can't complain about losing our blossoms to the season just yet. This beautiful floral fountain is in the yard at Husk Restaurant on Queen St.

Until I clicked on the website to add the link I hadn't realized there will soon be four Husk locations - Charleston, Nashville and soon to come in Savannah and Greenville, Well done Chef Sean Brock.

The Husk building on Queen St. used to be used for art classes for the Gibbes museum of art. I once took a calligraphy class in the same room I have since licked tasty sauce off my fingers and eaten crispy pigs ears in.  

Porgy Houses tour continued.....

Philip Simmons House, 30 Blake St., Charleston, SC   

 I did part two of my tour of the decorated Porgy Houses (part one here) and thought I had them all but I realize I still need to get to 103 Church St. Some of these are in neighborhoods that are outside of my usual walking routes. Tonight is the night they were to live broadcast Porgy & Bess at Marion Square but the weather has been so unpredictable. I hope they are able to hold the event.  

The Porgy Houses are a series of Charleston residencies that have been enhanced by West-African design motifs seen in the final act of the Festival’s Porgy and Bess. The featured homes have been chosen for their significance in African-American history. Each installation is site-specific and seeks to draw attention to their importance in the history of this city.

Phili Simmons House, 30 Blake St., Charleston, SC   

 Philip Simmons Museum & House

30 & 30 ½ Blake Street

built ca. 1890s

193-199 Jackson St., Charleston, SC   

Jackson Street Cottages

193-199 Jackson Street

built ca. 1890

100 Queen St, Charleston, SC

 Home of Nathalie Dupree and Jack Bass

100 Queen St

built ca. 1870

New street art - Queen St. Grocery

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

I spotted a picture of this new bit of street art on the side of the Queen St. Grocery last night and had to go down to pay a visit myself this morning.

What a dreary day! The wind is wild. I think they actually closed the Farmer's Market this morning and folks in the upstate are posting pictures of snow. I had a good morning walk in town but it feels like a soup day for lunch.

David Boatwright's mural on Queen St.

David Boatwright's mural on Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

I am always tickled to find new work by artist David Boatwright and this work inspired by a Renoir painting certainly brightens up Queen St. and the view for the brunch diners at Poogan's Porch restaurant. I've watching the work in progress but this was the first time I got to see the completed mural. Oddly I still haven't found my face yet but I am sure it is tucked away in there somewhere. Harhar.

Thanks to Eater Charleston for the directory matching up the personalities with the faces in the mural. Check their site to match the faces with the names:

Here's who made the wall: 1) GrowFood Carolina general manager Sara Clow , 2) Cypress chef and meat maestro Craig Deihl, 3) Gullah Cuisine chef/owner Charlotte Jenkins, 4) Hominy Grill chef Robert Stehling, 5) chef/writer Nathalie Dupree, 6) cookbook author Matt Lee, 7) Bowen's Island oyster picker Victor "Goat" Lafayette, 8) Hall's Chophouse chef Matthew Niessner, 9) Hank's Seafood/Brasserie Gigi chef Frank McMahon, 10) Charleston Grill maître d' Mickey Bakst, 11) Charleston Grill chef Michelle Weaver, 12) FIG/The Ordinary chef Mike Lata, 13) Slightly North of Broad chef Frank Lee, and 14) restaurateur Karalee Nielsen Fallert.

Fancy Pants Posts & Alternative Spindles

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

There are at least three houses with this style of pillars and posts instead of turned spindles that I am aware of. These are two of them. I believe the other is on Charlotte St. and tucked away in an earlier album. It is an expensive project replacing hand turned wooden spindles in an old house but this is a pretty neat style.

Sadly, whenever you have an old house in your past you look at this and think, "pretty, but I wouldn't want to paint it." Heheh.

New mural on Queen St.

Mural, Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

There is a new mural in progress on Queen St. in between King and Meeting. Anyone know who the artist is?

While we are on the mural topic, with all the mural artists in Avondale, can't someone spruce up Captain Dan's Seafood? Pretty please. It would be so much easier to believe it was fresh local seafood with a new mural on the building.

Vote for your favorite Charleston creative:

Have you voted for your Favorite Charleston Creatives yet?! Those with the most nominations will appear in the summer issue of Art Mag so be sure to cast your votes and help us by sharing the survey. It's a super quick one and those participating get a chance to win a custom, handmade "Art Lovers are the Best Lovers" t-shirt!

 

Raised bed garden on Queen St.

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

These folks made such good use of their little front yard on Queen St. that I check on it every summer hoping that they do it again and they haven't disappointed me yet. Ya think maybe if I knock on their door with a little dessert they would invite me in to a tasty fresh veggie dinner?

The entire peninsula smells of confederate jasmine right now. In fact hopefully I still carry the scent from walking through it. Horticulturists ought to be able to issue tickets to people in Charleston if they don't have one of three plants in their yards: 1) Azaleas, 2) Confederate Jasmine and/or 3) Hydrangeas. I am hanging in there with two out of three but my jasmine hasn't done much of anything on my new property. Too much shade perhaps.

Blossoms on Queen

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

Charleston is a garden right now. The plants are glorying in our daily rainstorms. Yep, it is raining again. I parked at Colonial Lake this morning and walked down one of my favorite streets - Queen St.

My house is muggy and I have all the ceiling fans spinning at high speed. My air-conditioning gentleman (thanks Charles!) arrived promptly this morning but I am to wait until 4 p.m. to turn things back on and hope for the best. It sounded like the perfect time to escape to the coolness of the Terrace Theater for an early movie. Wish me luck!

History Fair tomorrow at Magnolia Plantation if you are looking for something to do.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - French Huguenot Church

French Huguenot Church, Charleston, S.C.

Hello - something is different here. The beautiful French Huguenot Church used to be a brilliant white and now it is pink. Apparently it was damaged enough during the restoration of the Dock St. Theater across the street that is went through an entire renovation and while they were at it they went back to match the original shade of pink. I was not consulted.

Restoration in Progress: The current restoration project began due to damage caused to the church by other construction done in the area, namely from the Dock Street Theatre, which underwent a multi-million dollar renovation, completed in 2010. While work has been going on for quite some time now, a major change just took place. The color of the exterior stucco, which as most of you will remember, used to be white, has been reverted back to its original pale pink.

Brunching around town

Queen St. Grocery, Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

This scene at the Queen St. Grocery looks just about right. Comfortable but not packed. So many brunchie places I walk by have long waiting lines curling around the corner. Hominy Grill, Jestine's Kitchen, Triangle Char & Bar. I can't do it. I don't mind waiting a while for a special dinner with complicated ingredients and cooking skills but I can't stand in line for breakfast. I can make decent pancakes myself and even mimosas are a breeze. When my kids were little that was family eat out time and we knew every good brunch place in town.

Are you a brunch eater? Where do you like to go and what do you like to order?

New Year's Eve at Husk

New Year's Eve, Husk, Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

This first picture makes me laugh! I do have tall friends and for a change we didn't make them hide at the back of the group shot. Heheh. Thanks to everyone at Husk for making our New Year's Eve so special.

It was a grand way to end the year feasting at the "best new restaurant in American" according to Bon Appetite Magazine. None of us argued with that title last night as we licked our plates clean. So many lovely platters of taste treats - fried chicken skins, crispy pigs ears to wrap in lettuce were sent out for us to try  before our chosen entrees arrived  that we could have proceeded directly to desert. But. We didn't. Thanks to Chef de Cuisine Travis Grimes and the staff for a wonderful evening and my friend Andre' for his connections to these talented folk.

Look at that catfish! I ordered the pork chop and I just remembered that I didn't lick that plate clean - I brought some of it home so I could enjoy my Maple Pana Cotta desert. I am off to take care of those leftovers right now.  The menu is still posted today if you are inclined to drool on your keyboard. Happy New Year, kids!

Chef Travis Grimes & Andre' Guillet

Tea Time

French Huguenot Church, Queen St., Charleston. S.C.

The French Huguenot Church is one of the most beautiful churches in Charleston. Even the roof looks like an elaborate wedding cake. I feel like I should take a pictures every time I go by, so I almost do.

Long day. After work I was invited to tea - a proper British Tea hosted by the tiniest little Scottish lady who cracks me up every time she opens her mouth. It was absolutely perfect. We had cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and mincemeat tarts. It was BRILLIANT.

I mentioned that when I was a kid, an aunt in Scotland used to send us the "Oor Wullie" cartoons and she pulled one of the annuals off her bookshelf. Wow....talk about a trip down memory lane. Oor Wullie is the Scottish version of Denise the Menace and the cartoon dialect is in Scottish.

Wullie's adventures consist mostly of unrealistic get-rich-quick schemes that lead to mischief, to the despair of his parents Ma and Pa (Dave), and the local policeman, P.C. Joe Murdoch. Wullie's friends are Fat Boab (Eng: Fat Bob), Wee Eck (Eng: Little Alec), and Soapy Soutar, and he is the leader of their gang, a position which is frequently disputed by the others. He used to have another friend called Ezzy, who stopped appearing in the strips, along with Wullie's little brother. He owns a pet mouse named Jeemy and a pet hedgehog named Hamish, and in later years has gained a Highland Terrier named Harry and a "sometime-girlfriend", Primrose Patterson. Characters from The Broons occasionally feature, particularly Granpaw and the seductive Maggie Broon. Noticeably, in the change of artist, Wullie likes Primrose more and Harry and Jeemy are rarely seen. Wullie is nine years old, and his height has been specified at four feet, six inches tall. His catchphrases consist of "Jings", "Crivvens","braw"and "Help ma Boab".

 Anyone else familiar with the series?

Through the glass window

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

Rain, rain and I walked for over an hour in it. My house is for sale. Friends know that although I haven't spoken of it here. It's time for me to find foster parents for my tenants and downsize to something more suitable for the lazy, little old lady I aspire to become.

My house is a quirky Charleston house though and not suitable for everyone so I'll wait for the right person and it's not a bad place to do my waiting. I got an email this morning saying someone wanted to traipse through the house from 5:30 to 6 pm. I was at work of course and couldn't magically and remotely whisk piles of papers away or cram any unfolded laundry back into the dryer. So, I squeaked home just early enough for a fifteen minute spit and polish and then headed out into the rain.

I walked in and out of shops to stay dry, drooled on jackets at Half Moon Outfitters. I turned off East Bay onto Queen and spotted this face looking at me from the RLS Gallery. Ending up at Caviar & Bananas I took advantage of their salad sampler deal and got a tiny dab of almost everything in the deli case to finish putting in my time. There is no sign of anyone being in the house, no agent's card left. My guess is that they cancelled but I'll probably never know.