Handsome Furs on CNN.com

Handsome Furs, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

I took this picture at the Handsome Furs show at the Village Tavern a couple of years ago. I have to use it again, since it was actually taken here in Charleston but this evening's entry is to steer you to CNN.com where they are doing a feature on Dan & Alexei and their Indie Asia tour.

Today is the first episode and it is crammed full of photos, video and Alexei's travel notes. Click here to see: CNN.com

Why do I care about Indie rock, you ask? Because, Alexei is my niece and she and Dan can rock! Go, quick. Go, check them out. Friend them on Facebook at Indie Asia.

Pants in the Harbor

Male Version of Statue of Liberty, Charleston, S.C.

If we had a male version of the Statue of Liberty in the Charleston harbor what would he look like?

The clever folks at Blue Ion leaked the art work above on their web site. He looks oddly familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it. Can you?

Heheh. Priceless.

A Final Bow. Wow.

Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, Charleston, S.C.

I knew I had one more sign for the dog related sign photo series. Check out the translation at the bottom of the sign. Heheh. I love people with a sense of humor.

Dock Street Theater

Dock St. Theater, Church St., Charleston, S.C.

The renovation of the historic Dock Street Theater is nearly done and the almost 300 year old theater will be open for business during the Spoleto Festival this spring, featuring a production of "Flora" the first opera ever performed in the American colonies in Charleston in 1735. Flora was one of the first shows at the Dock St. Theater.

Can we do history or what?

Dock Street Theater: The main portion of the building was constructed around 1809 as Planter's Hotel. The hotel was built by Alexander Calder and his wife, who did so by renovating several pre-existing buildings at the site. The main entrance may not have been built until 1855 by J.W. Gamble.

The hotel was used extensively by planters from the midlands of South Carolina, who traveled to Charleston during horse-racing season. It was noted for its wonderful food and drinks during this era, and the South's famous Planter's Punch may have originated here.

I can't wait to get in and snoop around.

For Dog's Sake!

Who should wear the pants in the Charleston Habour?

Charleston Harbor, Charleston, S.C.

What is missing from this picture? A boyfriend for the Statue of Liberty - that's what!

I couldn't have made this up: Here is a report from the Charleston Business Journal on a proposal to build a male counterpart to the Statue of Liberty in the Charleston harbor.

Everybody needs somebody to love..... :) He certainly would be an attention getter! I love wacky fun ideas.

Wash this Way

College Laundromat, Calhoun & Smith St., Charleston, S.C.

This may not be the historically significant building in Charleston but I bet it holds a place in the memories of many a College of Charleston student. It's name is simply "College Laundromat". I used to think I'd like to own it and be the grand matriarch of laundry.

I am home a bit early and walked back from a meeting at Roper Hospital after doing a telephone interview with a Nursing Magazine about my SCRUBS student mentoring program. Coolness. They plan to write a story on it which tickles me to no end.

Shell House

Shell House, Ashley Hall, Rutledge Ave., Charleston, S.C.

I googled for more information on the Shell Cottage at Ashley Hall and discovered that Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporter got married there and was featured in In Style Weddings. Check this out. How cool is that! I've been watching him endlessly as he reports in this disaster in Haiti. Dr. Gupta is scheduled to be in Charleston as the presenter at the Roper St. Francis Healthcare gala on Saturday but I suspect he may be preoccupied with more important business.

More photos on this blog: Accidental Mysteries and the history of the neat little cottage here.

Blue skies and sunshine!

Calhoun St., Charleston, S.C.

This sunshine is like magic after the cold dreary days we've been having. These grand old houses on Calhoun St. are usually divided into student apartments or condos these days.

I will miss the MLK parade this year but had so much fun taking pictures at it last year at inauguration time. The happy energy was flying that day.

Have a good day, kids. I am going climb up to my ancient attic in search of an old keyboard to pass on to a friend's daughter. It is old but only used when my daughter thought she wanted to learn to play the piano for exactly two months. If rats haven't chewed on it it should be just fine. Send a search party for me if I don't come back.

Puddles in the Park

Cannon Park, Rutledge & Calhoun St., Charleston, S.C.

I've been on a puddle kick today. It must have rained a lot last night.

Tired Old Fence

Tire fence, S.C.

Trying to find something to post with this picture I took yesterday (some folks seem to think there should be a connection between the photo and the entry...harhar) I was pleased to discover there is a web site specifically for tire jokes. It is called Badyear.com.

The Hillbilly and the Flat Tire
A hillbilly with a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road. He proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it and then got back in the car to wait.

A passerby studied the scene as he drove by and was so curious he turned around and go back. He asked the fellow what the problem was. The man replied, "I have a flat tire."

The passerby asked, "But what's with the flowers?"

The man responded, "When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back! I never did understand it neither."

And of course, this one:

TIRES & SEX
What's the difference between a tire and 365 used condoms?

One is a Goodyear and the other is a great year!

I also discovered there was a lot of controversy about tire fences. The fellow at the Tired Out Ranch has an entire web site dedicated to keeping thousands of tires on his ranch in North Dakota.

What's the word, kids? Who is taking a three day weekend?

Guess what S.C. town - Ridgeway

Ridgeway, S.C.

Caroline in the City correctly identified the location of the tiny Police Station in the "Guess what S.C.?" entry on the blog and Frankie on Facebook. My entries roll over to Facebook and there was a separate discussion there. The Police Station is billed as the world's smallest Police Station and was in use until the 1990's.

Larger resolution files here. Ridgeway, S.C. is in Fairfield County and I was tickled to see they are using my pictures on their web site.

Originally known as New Town, Ridgeway obtained its present name when the owners of the Charlotte and South Carolina Railway decided not to build the railroad on the Camden route, but rather to use the "ridge way." The railroad spurred growth of the town.

The first telegraph line was completed in the Ridgeway area in 1855 with wires being stretched from tree to tree. The telegraph played an important role in the civil war as did the town itself.

The earliest settlers of the Ridgeway area came south in the late 1700's from Virginia after the Revolutionary War. Others came north from Charleston in the early 1800's.

The light colored building houses a wonderful gift shop and upstairs Laura's Tearoom, which I was told you'd best have reservations for. Thanks to Caroline in the City whose original entry on Ridgeway sparked my interest in the first place and prompted the day trip last fall. I had a good meal in the Old Town Hall, bottom photo. It is a neat little historic town and made a worthwhile drive in the country.

Clean Water for Haiti

Water Missions International, Charleston, S.C.

This is the warehouse on Savannah Highway where volunteers put together the units being shipped to Haiti for water purification. Water Missions International is being featured regularly on CNN and I am proud to say is based here in Charleston.

Link for Online Donations

The hospital I work for, Roper St. Francis Healthcare called WMI yesterday offering a corporate donation of $15,000. People kept bringing me checks and handing me dollar bills yesterday so I have extra to add. We are familiar with this organization because we funded a water purification system for a little hospital in Kenya last year and feel they are a good and honorable group. It's such a sensible solution to me - the units can turn mud into pure clean water.

Thanks to Waldo, The Cotton Boll Conspiracy, Kittens on the Keyboard and Beach Bum for spreading the word. (Picture me blowing kisses!)

Not everyone can make a donation these days, but if you live locally I suspect they could use extra volunteer hands as they deal with this disaster.

Tree Huggers

Tree Hugger, Cypress Methodist Campground, Ridgeville, S.C.

These are two of my favorite trees. To my eyes they look like one has it's arm wrapped around the other. I spotted them at the Cypress Methodist Campground in Ridgeville, SC. Little wooden tent cabins are built in a circle with the worship hall in the center. Outside the circle of cabins is a wider circle of outhouses.

The campground is on the National Register Properties for South Carolina and they have been holding annual week long worship camps since 1794. It is a lovely peaceful spot but I suspect I am the only one who cares about the hugging trees.

Guess What SC Town?

S.C.

Put on your thinking caps, kids. It's time to play "Guess what South Carolina town this is in...?" It used to be the police station and has been billed as the world's smallest. Now it houses visitor information brochures.

I am going for a walk while you figure it out. It's been a heck of a day.

Teeny, tiny houses of Charleston

Society St., Charleston, S.C.

This is another one of my favorite teeny, tiny little houses in Charleston. This one probably isn't as small as it looks since it has an extra wing added on the back.

Isn't this Haiti business a sad mess? I donated a bit to Water Missions International in their name. At least I know and trust the organization and they have water purification systems made and ready to be shipped. They shipped two systems to Haiti Wednesday. Ten more go tonight and another ten more this weekend. If you are looking for a place to donate - you can't go wrong with clean water.

Joan's truancy program

Rutledge Ave., Charleston, S.C.

I love the gracefulness of Weeping Willow trees. We do still have green in Charleston even though it's been so cold. My plants have been covered and wrapped for over a week now. The poor sad hibiscus were tucked still blooming inside my good pillowcases before the freeze and I haven't been brave enough to check for signs of life.

What a fun evening I've had. I posted a sign at work saying that I was skipping out early to go to see Avatar at the 3D IMAX at Citadel Mall and invited anyone to join me. We felt like kids skipping out of school and sixteen of us sat in almost the back row with our 3D glasses on to see this movie we'd heard so much about. I figure if enough of my volunteers join me I can call it a "morale boosting event" right? ;)

I'd warned the folks at Sesame that I "knew people" and had been boasting about their Blues Grilled Corn on the Cob. We pushed their little tables together after the movie and had a great time. I work with a great bunch of folks, I do.

G'night kids. I have a meeting with a group of Eucharistic Ministers in the morning and need to be on my most gracious behavior for these lovely people who visit our patients. Word is out that I ticked off a nun enough to make her hang up on me yesterday. Ouch.

One, one thousand, two one thousand, three.....

Charleston, S.C.

Yawn.

Tonight was one of my SCRUBS "U" career evening sessions for teenagers and this evening a great team of nurses at Roper Hospital hosted my energetic gang of forty students and presented Nursing as a career.

It is such a great program but my success is going to be the end of me. Every evaluation said, "We want more, we want longer sessions, we want them more often."

Meanwhile, I want sleep, I want more of it, I want it now. :))

G'night kids. Don't stay up too late. Someone turn the lights out. But leave the tap dripping, it's still cold out there.

Caterpillar Water Skiing

Water Skiing - South Carolina style!

You are feeling sleepy, very sleepy......

Closed for Business, King St., Charleston, S.C.

Don't feel badly about the sign in the window in this case. Closed for Business is the name of the new neighborhood bar on upper King St.

The 2010 Charleston Comedy Festival starts next week and I am going to suggest that you get tickets to the Peter Gross Hypnotism show on Thursday night if you can.

I am a hypnotism show junkie from a line line of hypnotism show junkies but lord, these things make me laugh and he is very good. I went last year and plan to get my tickets first thing in the morning (I keep forgetting my printer doesn't work). You can buy your tickets, right after I get mine or enter at the Charleston City Paper site for a chance to win free tickets. He is so good people in the audience kept falling to sleep in their seats.

Let me know if you are going. I'll try to stay awake to look for you.