Gone Fishin'

Avondale Murals, Charleston, S.C.

Here is a sweet one about Going Fishin':



Meanwhile if I am sitting here posting fishin' tunes I'm not out walking like I should be, am I?

Travel Tuesdays - What's cooking in the Monastery kitchen?

Tawang Monastery Kitchen, Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India

I've been lucky to have had the opportunity to take pictures of some of our best known chefs in the kitchens of Charleston's best restaurants. Maybe that is why, when I am traveling I look for a chance to snoop around the kitchens.When my brother took me far north into the mountains close to the Chinese border to visit the Tawang Monastery I was in awe. The monastery is the largest in India and is at an elevation on 10,000 feet and can house 700 monks. This was my glimpse into the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

Leaving the Monastery we drove on and walked down the mountain to the Buddhist Nun's Monastery where we were invited to spend the night. Snug in a tiny cottage where a group of three nuns lived, we got a lesson in making Momo dumplings and sipped on yak milk tea. More photos from this trip here.

*Travel Tuesdays will feature photos taken out of Charleston and the Lowcountry.  Join me for Travel Tuesday field trips!

Fight for Air Walk/Run

Fight for Air Walk/Run

5K Event: Folly Beach, SC

October 27, 2012
Folly Beach Pier

My friend Mindy Cate is a talented and drop dead gorgeous Respiratory Therapist and at the moment is the leading fundraiser for the upcoming Fight for Air Walk/Run. Yeah Mindy! In the last Facebook message I read she was recruiting participants encouraging them to wear black and a colorful tutu. Should be fun! I can't go to this one but as I live and breath it sounds like fun. AND it is on Folly and Locklears is serving breakfast. Tutus optional!

If you can't go and want to support the efforts of the American Lung Association consider supporting Mindy. Her goal was to raise $500 and she has already raised $1,400.  Donate here. I take the camp pictures each summer for Camp Breathe Easy so it is a cause I believe in.

Little Bits of Famous Hits

Little Bits of Famous Hits, Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

When I was at the Autumn Festival at Magnolia Plantation on Sunday afternoon I noticed what looked like a low deck with paper strewn on it. On closer inspection it appeared to be a low stage area. They had spread out an assortment of sheet music and glued and sealed them onto the wooden deck. It made a creative photo op.

I've taken to cooking dinner for friends on Monday nights. I can prep and cook dishes over the weekend that I can warm up when I come home from work. I sometimes cheat and stop by Sesame for a quick and delicious salad (apple & brie today).

This evening's menu was pot roast and scalloped potatoes for my son. I've been having fun in my new little nest. As I cook for company lately I've eaten more meat than I've cooked for myself all year long. Normally I am a "lazy vegetarian" - not opposed to eating a little meat when I am out but rarely cook it for myself. Now I cook it for guests and live on the leftovers all week log. Who shall I cook for next and what shall I make?

 

Palmetto Rose Hood Ornament

Palmetto Rose Hood Ornament, Charleston, S.C.

This suited the setting. I spotted the Palmetto Rose wrapped around the hood ornament in the parking lot at Magnolia Plantation when I was leaving the Autumn Festival. Master Gardeners were in attendance to give advice about Lowcountry plants and I came home with arms full of $2 azaleas cuttings. This was the perfect last picture of the afternoon.

The Bee Whisperer

Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

Who knows the name of the plant? Each year at this time I decide I have to have one but I've never done anything about it. They were swarming with bees and butterflies at the Autumn Festival at Magnolia Plantation.

Everyone having a good weekend? It is so beautiful outside. I just got back from the lakes and helped my handyman collect all the building repair debris into his truck. I got a new fence this weekend. Happy me!

In the artist's studio - Mary Edna Fraser

Mary Edna Fraser, Charleston, S.C.

I had an extraordinary evening last night, meeting up with my friend Susan to visit artist Mary Edna Fraser's studio on the marsh. We sat on the dock at dusk before exploring her studio and I came home feeling incredibly lucky. Mary Edna takes pictures from airplanes and makes the most amazing batik designs from them.

My life’s work is from an aerial perspective, a view of the earth I choose to transcribe onto silk using dyes in the ancient medium of batik. The art comprises a series of narrative landscapes inspired by the terraqueous reaches of the continent, where realms of earth, sea and sky converge. Each area is carefully researched, often by hiking the terrain, exploring the waterways by boat, and painting studies on location. Geology, topography, maps, charts, and satellite images are studied to identify features of visual interest.

I have a special fondness for Mary Edna's husband Dr. John Sperry as well since he was my children's Pediatrician. How many hundreds of lowcountry children has he shepherded through childhood? I try to jump the gun by asking "How are YOUR children?" but he is always a step ahead of me asking me about mine. It's a sweet thing seeing this couple so in love with each other. Medicine and science has been a perfect mix in this relationship. What a treat this evening was.

Hello from G-Town!

Georgetown, S.C.

Historic Georgetown by the sea. How can you not take a picture of shrimp boats? They are so picturesque. It has been sad to see them gradually dwindle in numbers.

Do y'all follow my fellow blogger's US 17 Coastal Highway blog?  If you drive up and down the coast you should check it out. She finds and features the unusual and quaint roadside spots along the old highway and makes you want to hit the road. There is even a Highway Music label so you can line up your road trip play list and she takes submissions if you find something worth sharing.

Georgetown was featured recently and left me meaning to try to catch the Maritime Museum but just got to peak in the window. It's always nice to sit outside at one of the boardwalk restaurants and nibble on crab cakes while you watch the boats go by.

Cotton Pickin' Cotton

Eutawville, S.C.

Pick A Bale Of Cotton lyrics

We’re gonna jump down turn around
pick a bale of cotton,
jump down turn around pick a bale a day.
Jump down turn around
pick a bale of cotton,
jump down turn around pick a bale a day.

I’m gonna get on my knees and
pick a bale of cotton,
get on my knees and pick a bale a day.
Get on my knees and
pick a bale of cotton,
get on my knees and pick a bale a day.

Veggie Treats

Tomato Pie, Oh me, Oh my.

Waaaa....what will we do when we get the last decent tomato of the season? Sniff. This may be my last tomato pie of the summer.

I had a couple of friends over for a bite to eat...roasted butternut squash soup, beet and goat cheese salad and tomato pie. It didn't dawn on me until I served that I'd made a vegetarian dinner.

Someone always asks for a recipe and I've become pretty useless for that. I google all recipes and mix and match the ingredients and instructions. I'd say mine is based closely on this one with much less mayo and cheese.  You can't really hurt fresh tomatoes and cheese can you? Yum.

Goodness, I am watching the new show "Call the Midwife" on PBS and felt another hair go gray watching a breech birth. I've always said I had a story for every gray hair and many of them were from those few moments waiting for a head to be born after the body in a breech delivery and from the minutes between twins.

The end of the weekend

P.I.E. Bake Shoppe, Warren St., Charleston, S.C.

How cute is this little bake shop on Warren St.? It is called P.I.E. Bake Shoppe which doesn't stand for Pie or for Prince Edward Island (sorry, I am Canadian) but for Paige's Incredible Edibles. I was on the run and didn't have time to go in but it went on the list. Fast tracked. Their sandwich menu looks worth visiting as well. Has anyone tried them yet?

Yummy baked pies might explain the puzzling pie related sidewalk inscription I saw recently in front of the Italian Restaurnat Pane e Vino - next door. Maybe complimenting the wrong place?

I was also pleased to see that our new shiny bike corral was full of bikes! If you build it they will come.

Holy cow, kids, are we ready for another week? Can we discuss three day weekends in the next Presidential debate?

Stretch & Smile

Yoga Marathon, Marion Square, Charleston, S.C.

I was walking downtown this morning and tried to time my walk to coincide with the Yoga Marathon at Marion Square thinking it might be a fun photo op. It was but my timing was off and I had to leave before the actual event started. No worries, I think I got the relaxed and fun part of the event.

This is the 9th Annual Yoga Marathon benefiting Louie's Kids. 

 

Charleston Birdwatching

George St., Charleston, S.C.

I'm not going to apologise for being too good at bird calling.

Heheh. This bright fella is snuggled in a College of Charleston campus garden on George St. Here birdie, birdie!

Friday Night Hodge Podge

Ride 'em! Charleston, S.C.

Crystal Light Bulbs....aren't these cool?!

Photographer Leigh Webber took the most beautiful pictures of the Ultimate Critic's Dinner location at Ashem Farm before the event. Ooooh....why did it have to be so expensive to go?

I was randomly googling for Elephant Plates...I don't know why, and came across this fun Etsy shop called The Mad Platters. Fun stuff!

I had 900 hits in one day on Charleston Daily Photo from people looking for halloween pumpkin decorating ideas because WE ARE SO DARNED GOOD AT IT. Last year we didn't even have a contest but after all the search hits I've been getting I called and suggested we announce a pumpkin decorating contest again because it is earning us national attention. :) Boo! There are worse things to be known for. This is cool.

I ended my day at a rather odd movie this evening. I saw The Master at the Terrace and scratched my head a little. Then I stopped by JPaulz for a tasty snack on the way home. Nice way to end the week.

Let the weekend begin!

Wounded Senior

Oak tree, Charleston, S.C.

We love this grand and ancient split oak tree on the campus of Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital. I was startled to see a huge limb broken off and laying in the parking lot this morning. Poor wounded tree.

They already had an arborist making a house call offering advice on the best way to take care of the damage with the least harm to the tree. By afternoon there was a large pile of cut wood laying in the shade of the tree.

Below is a photo taken earlier this year before the limb loss.

Travel Tuesdays - Savannah, GA

Forever running, Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, GA

I've given myself the liberty of dipping into albums of photos that aren't limited to the Lowcountry on Tuesdays. This evening's photo isn't from too far down the coast - Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. It is an incredible cemetery and should be on the list for anyone who enjoys wandering in historic cemeteries. This statue of a joyful runner struck me as particularly unusual. Run on Julie! It's refreshing to see such a happy face running between the tombstones.

The tomb isn't as old as most are at Bonaventure and I easily found the obituary: 

Julie Backus Smith: She was a founding member of the Savannah Striders and promoted running in the Savannah area. She ran in the Boston, New York and Grandfather Mountain Marathons on numerous occasions and at the age of 55 she also participated in the Disney World Marathon. At one time in her career she earned the title of fastest female runner in the Savannah area.

*Travel Tuesdays will feature photos taken out of Charleston and the Lowcountry.  Join me for Travel Tuesday field trips!

Dinner at the Jolly Rancher

Nothing makes you look like a better baker than you are than a tart pan! Amazing what those little ridge edges can do for a simple pear tart. Yummers.

I had some good friends over for dinner this evening and asked them to demonstrate how the joggling board is supposed to work. Bobby and Dianna are newlyweds so they had no problem with the joggle until you snuggle part. Heheh.