CREATE South 2009

Create South, Myrtle Beach, SC

All the cool kids in town will be there. Except me. I'll be taking pictures for Youth Service Day in Charleston. Don't let that spoil your fun. Sniff. Go ahead. It's free. You will learn a lot. Meet new people. Eat good food.

Technology and Creativity Conference in Myrtle Beach
Saturday April 25th, 2009 we will be holding the second annual CREATE South conference. It will be held at the Horry Georgetown Technical College, Grand Strand Campus in lovely Myrtle Beach. It is a meeting for those interested in blogging, podcasting, video, social networking or any other form of self-expression. Serving the residents of the Grand Strand and beyond, it is a venue to bring together like minded people to network, to teach and to learn. If you would like to get involved in these arenas but don't know how to start, this is the place to be. With introductory presentations and hands-on detailed demos, the beginners and the experts alike will have plenty to learn.

The shirts pictured are from last year.

National Start! Walking Day

Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, SC

My earlier blog was called Walk this Way. I don't do much preaching but clearly walking works for me. I walk a couple of brisk miles almost every day. I walk to the grocery store, library and bank. Feeling good and staying healthy works for me but if research is your thing there is plenty of it.

Walk Your Way to a Healthier You
Walking has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity. It’s the simplest positive change you can make to effectively improve your heart health.

And it's free!

Tomorrow is National Start! Walking Day. Wear your walking shoes to work. Try to get out and walk. Make someone walk with you.

I bought a couple of pairs of discounted Cirque de Soleil tickets to motivate walking at the hospital tomorrow. Employees have to walk the block or path circling the campus on Wednesday to be eligible to enter. As soon as I sent the email out I had entries returned. People were promising that they had walked on Wednesday when it was still Tuesday. Hmmmm. That is some fast walking.

Achy Arm

Charleston, SC

Achy brachy arm. I dashed from work to Ritz Camera to get rush visa pictures taken yesterday and this morning to Dr. Tim West's office to get my travel shots for Kenya. He had promised to take care of me but looked downright disappointed that I only needed Hep A and Typhoid since I went to Peru just a couple of years ago. I took both in the left arm figuring I might as well have one arm that didn't ache.

By the way, Ritz Camera is going out of business West Ashley. Sob. Everything is at least 10% and may go lower. Time for camera buffs to stock up.

Isn't odd that the visa application specifies "no computer generated pictures" when the sales clerk takes my picture with his digital camera and prints it right out? With help like that Ritz Camera should have been able to stay in business.

I've been too busy for it to really sink in but I am going to Kenya on May 4th to be present for the commissioning of the Water Purification System that our health system bought for a little hospital and surrounding community. Wow.

April = March + Optimism

Warren St., Charleston, SC

Click on the Random New Math site to get a new equation each time.

I liked:

April = March + Optimism
Laughter = HA x 3
Brunch = Breakfast + Lunch + Cantaloupe.

Lots of fun stuff here.

Bedtime kids. Don't stay up too late. No more water. No more stories. Y'all turn the lights out.

Blossom time at Middleton Place

Middleton Place, Charleston, SC

I keep an annual pass to Magnolia Gardens but at this time of year it is worth sneaking in Middleton Place as well and I walked through the garden on Sunday morning. The azaleas are bordering on gaudy right now. It is glorious.

Work has been such a roller coaster ride lately I needed to look at some pretty scenery. I could have stayed until 10 p.m. this evening and not caught up and that ain't healthy.

Take your butts with you

Charleston, SC

I have an album full of the quirky signs I find on my walks and it is the spontaneous handwritten ones that tend to catch my eye. When I saw the Presurfer's entry on Kick the Habit socks it made me go look for this photo. Note the double "thank you" on the sign. We are the best mannered city.

No additives or chemicals in these cigarettes, but they’re still pretty addictive. Maybe you should get two pairs. Or a whole pack’s worth!

Get outside today, kids! It is a beautiful day.

Sunset on Folly

Folly Beach, SC

Tonight is the last night before I pack my dad and his wife back up north to Canada. I took them out to work to help serve at the phenomenon that is an ice cream social at the hospital this afternoon and then to on dinner on Locklear's on the Folly Beach pier. The light was glorious on the water and we walked out on the pier watching the surfers.

Bedtime for me after a busy week. I'll have more time to get around to visit everyone's blog soon. Meanwhile thanks for all the lovely comments.

Thursday Funny

Charleston, SC

Thursday funny:

A very shy guy goes into a pub on Valentine’s Day night and sees a beautiful young woman sitting alone at the bar. After an hour of gathering up his courage he finally goes over to her and asks tentatively, “Um, would you mind if I brought you a drink?”

She responds by yelling, at the top of her lungs, “No, I won’t sleep with you tonight!”

Everyone in the pub started staring at them. Naturally, the guy was terribly and completely embarrassed and he slinks back to his table totally red faced.

After a few minutes, the woman walks over to him and apologizes. She smiles at him and says, “I’m really sorry if I embarrassed you just then. You see, I’m a graduate student in psychology and I’m studying how people respond to embarrassing situations.”

At this the guy responds, at the top of his lungs, “What do you mean? $300?”

Joseph is going to Egypt

Charleston Harbor, Charleston, SC

Photo unrelated to entry, as usual.

If you are a facebook member you will get a kick out of this site. It is A Facebook Haggadah

The Passover Seder, the oldest continuously observed religious ceremony in the world, tells the story of the Jews' Exodus from Egypt. Jewish tradition says that people of each generation must imagine that they personally had departed from Egypt, and the sages say that each generation must tell the story in its own terms.

The sages probably did not intend this.

Moses is Departing Egypt: A Facebook Haggadah

Joseph is going to Egypt.

Joseph and Pharaoh are now friends.

Elijah is a bit tipsy, but off to a good start. 30,000 households down, and it's only 6:30!

Pharaoh is sad to report that my father has entered immortality. I have taken his place in government and will do my best to honor his name.

Joseph Congratulations to you, my master.

Pharaoh Who are you, and why are you writing on my wall?

Joseph I meant no disrespect, my master.

Cemetery Walking

Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC

Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have.
Benjamin Franklin

Clearly we have the kind of people who love children. Although this child died in 1882 I have never walked through Magnolia Cemetery without seeing flowers or trinkets placed on this little one's grave. It touches my heart every time.

Tourist Route

Charleston, SC

With my folks visiting from Canada this week there are certain things that must be done and one is walking along the Battery and White Point Gardens. It has been dark and gloomy the last few days but no less beautiful here. We all need to do this once and a while to remember what a wonderful place this is.

Another thing that must enjoyed with visitors from the north is pulled pork BBQ and tonight was the night. Sticky Fingers meals to go did the job and my son went home loaded with leftovers.

Back to School - Blogging 101

Lowcountry Senior Center, James Island, SC

I may not have been a star pupil as a child and my high school teachers could have trouble picturing it, but I taught a lively class today. The topic was "Blogging" and these were my star students.

The Lowcountry Senior Center had suggested I teach an Introduction to Blogging class. They didn't have internet access in their main classrooms so we snuggled up close in the computer training room and I had a great time telling stories of all the fun connections I've made through blogging. Many of them will check here so I am going to include the addresses to a few of the lowcountry sites we talked about:

http://lowcountrybloggers.com/

http://lowcountrybloggers.com/the-big-blogroll/

http://www.home-ec101.com/

http://jannye.blogspot.com/

http://chuckography.blogspot.com/

http://uniquelytea.blogspot.com/

http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/

http://geneglave.livejournal.com/

http://mustangrolling.blogspot.com/

http://paintcharlestondaily.blogspot.com/

http://patandkathie.blogspot.com/

http://mike.typepad.com/

http://seanbrock.wordpress.com/

http://talesfromthelaboratory.typepad.com/tales_from_the_microbial_/

http://sunpoursdownlikehoney.blogspot.com/

http://tartelette.blogspot.com/

http://vhanna26.typepad.com/verascraftyblog/

http://xark.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Click around and enjoy yourselves! Leave a comment here and there. If you decide to start your own blog let me know so I can drop by! Thanks for coming to the class.

Yep. That's my Dad in the very back. I sat through years of his classes and sermons. It was high time he sat in one of mine. Heheh :)).

Air in those tires?

George St., Charleston, SC

I am such a ninny. I've posted pictures of this before assuming it was just a wacky art object. It took my dad to pick up the air hose and show me it was an active working air pump for bike tires. Duh.

I was at this birthday party last night. It was perfect. We sat on the deck of the Harbor Grill overlooking the harbor and the bridge. Wow.

Skipped out of work a bit early and took my folks to see Slumdog Millionaire at the Terrace Theater. We were the only ones in the 4:30 show. Lovely to have the place to ourselves.

Trip of a lifetime

Walk for Water, Charleston, SC

The hospital I work at decided to try to raise enough money to build a water purification treatment system for a little hospital in Kenya. We did it! They were able to announce today that we have raised more than our goal in the last few months. We have been working with Water Missions International and in touch with the Plateau Mission Hospital.

The unit we build will provide clean water for a community of 6,000, including the 89-bed hospital and a primary school that serves 600 children.

Here is the part that stunned me - they called to see if I wanted to go over and be there when the unit is dedicated and functioning. I haven't been able to talk about this until it was certain but at the moment it looks like I may be going to Kenya in May. What an incredible opportunity. Wow.

Tell me about the time.....

Charleston, SC

I've had the most interesting afternoon.

My dad and his wife Dianne are visiting from Canada this week. My father is 83 and has led a fascinating life. From growing up on a farm in rural Canada, he traveled all over the world, raised eight children and served as headmaster of a school in north east India for fifteen years. I had the idea that while he was visiting me it might be nice to have someone interview him so we would have some of his adventures recorded.

Luckily I knew the right people for the project! Dan Conover, journalist/writer and Don Lewis, videographer came over last weekend and got the basic layout of his life story and reviewed pictures. They returned this afternoon ready to get to work.

Dan was wonderful, asked all the right questions to get my Dad talking while Don kept the cameras rolling. It was a great idea to have someone outside the family ask the questions and to know how to encourage someone to talk.

I can't wait to see what they come up with! Thank you gentlemen!

Sad but True

AIG Retirement, Charleston, SC

Yep. This is my mail. You can discuss amongst yourselves as to who is going to adopt me when I retire.

The gentleman who manages retirement accounts has the office next to mine. He assures me that our money is held in a separate holding and not actually controlled by AIG. Hmmmm.

I'd like to still be able to go to the movies on Friday afternoons when I retire. but it's looking like I won't be able to buy popcorn.

Chasing the Black Cab - Jail

"You want me to park where, Joan?" :)))

Not a scene you see everyday. A British Black Taxi in front of the old Charleston Jail.

Even the mountains will fade

North Charleston, SC

Do not put your faith in the tangible my son, for even the mountains will fade away...

I took this picture a couple of years ago when artists took over a group of houses just before they were demolished in North Charleston.

My Dad and his wife arrive for a lowcountry break after a long cold Canadian winter tomorrow afternoon. Sadly I've discovered that I've forgotten how to throw regular meals together. I eat so simply by myself that I am long out the routine of putting together a week of meals with different courses. Sorry Dad.

I made a pot of beef stew last night and the makings for chicken pot pie. I'll see if I can throw together a key lime pie tonight but what about the rest of the week? How many days can I respectably serve them grilled cheese sandwiches?

Sure, I have eggs but they are Cadbury's. :)

My Little Tiny Bottle Tree Plan

Cypress Gardens, Moncks Corner, SC

I've been wanting to make a bottle tree for some time but decided not to after picturing shreds of glass all over my yard after one of our wild windstorms.

My idea then was to make a mini-bottle tree ............cool, eh! Until a few years ago all of our SC bars sold liquor in mini bottles. Now, not so much. I've considered being a bar dumpster diver looking for wee blue bottles. Stinky job that would be.

One of my volunteers listened to my plea and came to work the other day with a brown paper bag - for me. Yep, it was full of little blue bottles. Even better, they are full of vodka! Full of vodka that I have to drink before I can go ahead with my project. This might be my most fun craft project ever.

History of the Bottle Tree
The bottle tree is based on the belief that the shiny, colored glass can attract and then trap the evil spirits. It is a beautiful addition to any garden. The colorful glass adorning the “limbs” will catch the light of the sun and will display a dazzling light show.

A peak at the future

Unveiling the Sixth Sense

Wow, wow, wow. This is like a sneak peak at the future from Pattie Maes TED presentation. I snitched it from Amplesanity.