White Point Gardens in the mist

White Point Gardens, Charleston, SC  

Break time! I'll be offline for a bit but you know I will miss you and you and you. Behave. Read past entries. Help yourself to a snack. Keep your feet off the coffee tables and use a coaster for Pete's sake. I'll be back before you know it with tales to tell and pictures to share.

Before & After Sadness - Spring St.

1st Class Cuts, Spring St., Charleston

Oh boo hiss. This was one of my favorite little buildings. I want my own Board of Quirky review board so I have to give permission before this kind of destruction is allowed.

Model Railroad Club

Charleston Area Model Railroad Club, Citadel Mall, Charleston, SC   

It is sad to see empty shop space in a mall and Citadel Mall does have some turnover. This is good use of the space though - the Charleston Area Model Railroad Club is set up right inside the mall next to Dillards. They have limited hours so check that before you take the kiddies. Who doesn't like model trains? We all do!

Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 9 PM

Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 PM

Patriotic Hospitality

Pineapple welcome, Charleston, SC  

I was reading back through past blog entries recently and noticed that I used to post a lot more jokes. It's hard to come up with new good jokes but some of them were pretty funny. One of my sources was a blogging buddy who went by the name of Old Horsetail Snake. Great name, eh?!

If I remember the story Old Horsetail Snake was in his late 70's turning 80 and as he described it he was rescued from his retirement home by his sweetheart he named "Scamp". He was such a treat that I clicked old links and amazingly although he passed away in 2009, his blog still exists with joke after joke and little snippets of his life. Leaving a long trails of smiles isn't a bad legacy. Go visit if you need a smile! Old Horsetail Snake.

The Washington Post has asked its readers for their pet peeves (good or bad): 
Total strangers telling me what to do, especially square-dancer callers.
When a woman stands near me and people think her ugly baby is mine, and it is.
Big conceited bodies of water, especially Lake Superior.
I've been all over the world and have lived among every kind of culture and I can say, without any hesitation, that the most ignorant, rude, selfish and self-centered people on Earth are babies.

Fountain water with a taste of mystery

Fountain, White Point Gardens, Charleston, SC   

It has to be pure! What germ would dare come out of that mouth? Our serpent dragon fountain friend is at the upper part of White Point Gardens offering fresh water with a taste of mystery.

Lemon Trees

Lemon trees, Charleston, SC  

Look at these lovely lemon trees! I want one. I hope they have them protected tonight. It is cold enough this evening that I just carried in all my hibiscus plants and my sun room looks like a crowded tropical jungle. Some of them still had blossoms on them.

Here is the lemon recipe that tickles me - Whole Lemon Tart. Something about tossing the entire lemon it, rind and all makes me smile and it is tart and delicious. Sadly I can't recall where I got the recipe so I can't give credit but it has worked for me.

Whole Lemon Tart

1 partially baked 9-inch tart shell

1 average-sized lemon rinsed

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 stick unsalted butter cut into chunks

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon table salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven.

Slice the lemon into thin wheels, remove any seeds, and toss the rounds — lemon flesh and peel — sugar and chunks of butter into the container of a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, until the lemon is thoroughly pureed. Add the eggs, cornstarch and salt and pulse until the batter is smooth.

Pour into prepared tart shell. It will fill it completely but if due to slight variances in tart pans, egg sizes, lemon sizes or crust thickness, you have too much, do not pour it past the top of of your crust or it will become difficult to unmold later.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the filling is set. You can test this by bumping the pan a little; it should only jiggle slightly. The filling is set is also when it starts to get very light brown on top. Let cool on rack, unmold tart pan and serve. I actually prefer this tart completely chilled, which makes it a great dessert to make ahead.

I definitely need to buy a lemon tree.

What a busy day. Everyone who had the long weekend off was waiting to gang up on me today. Whew.

Talented friends - Mary Edna Fraser

Silks & Oils, Mary Edna Fraser, Charleston, SC  

Silks & Oils. Even the name of the show at Jericho, Inc. in Avondale is beautiful. I've always loved Mary Edna Fraser's batiks on silk that are based on images taken of our coastline other parts of the world from airplanes but now she is painting as well. I thought I had missed the exhibition but Mary Edna opened her gallery this afternoon for a few of us admiring stragglers and I got word!

My little pocket camera does not do her work justice so be sure to explore the website gallery.

I didn't buy an actual painting yet but we all treated ourselves to handfuls of these colorful magnets.
The two I got are based on batiks of Botany Bay. Gorgeous!

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Karpeles Manuscript Museum

Karpeles Manuscript Museum, Charleston, SC    

I love to hear about wealthy people who do incredibly cool things with their resources. I bought a power ball ticket myself fifteen minutes before the drawing last night since it is currently over $300 million. I promise I would do something cool with the money but apparently that isn't the case, yet. This former church is now the Karpeles Manuscript Library and is the world’s largest private collection of original manuscripts and documents. The library was founded in 1983 by real estate magnates David and Marsha Karpeles, with the goal of stimulating interest in learning, especially in children. All of the Karpeles Manuscript Library services are free. Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Karpeles and thanks for selecting Charleston for one of your museums!

The Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, is housed in a grand and bold Greek Revival structure of the Corinthian order after the Temple of Jupiter in Rome. The history of the building dates back to 1791 when William Hammet and a group of Methodist dissenters decided to form their own Methodist congregation. The new congregation grew over the period of 65 years until 1856 when a larger sanctuary was needed. Property was purchased and the cornerstone was laid on June 24, 1856. The church was called St. James¹ Chapel, "as he was the great Apostle of practical piety". During the Civil War the Confederate forces in Charleston used the building as a medical storehouse and hospital until the Union Army attacked and Charleston was evacuated. The building was one of the first attacked in an effort to capture the water supply held in the large cisterns on the ground floor. On the night of September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo passed through Charleston leaving the building severely damaged. The roof was torn off and the interior was destroyed. After a major renovation, the building was again opened on November 11, 1990. 

Now, I believe I will go to Home Depot and treat my yard to a couple bales of pine straw for the new year.

Shell Art

Shell Art, Charleston, SC   

I walked the upper peninsula this morning - Percy, Sires, Ashe, Rose Lane and Bogard St. It's been a while since I wandered that route and things are changing at neck-breaking speed but there is always some new quirky feature to catch my eye.

My days are so confused. As much as it feels like Sunday night, it is just Saturday. Yipee! One more day off for you, and you, and YOU.

Reflections

Reflections, Charleston, SC

Happy New Year! Today's image has nothing to do with Charleston but I had a puddle to play with and a miniature ship on hand. That lead me to google Reflections and I came up with a list of Year-end questions thanks to Michael Angier at appleseed.com. 

1. What did I learn?
2. What did I accomplish? A list of my wins and achievements.
3. What would I have done differently? Why?
4. What did I complete or release? What still feels incomplete to me?
5. What were the most significant events of the year past? 
6. What did I do right? What do I feel especially good about? 
7. What were the fun things I did? What were the not-so-fun?
8. What were my biggest challenges/roadblocks/difficulties?
9. How am I different this year than last?
10. For what am I particularly grateful?

I had a lovely early dinner out with friends at Angel Oak restaurant last night. Everything was delicious and I felt fortunate to share the evening with good friends. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by the Charleston Daily Photo blog this year and especially those of you who take the time to leave a comment. Happy New Year!

Resurrection Fern

Resurrection Fern on a live oak branch, Charleston, SC  

I googled Resurrection Fern to see what words of wisdom I could share about this lovely green treat that springs to life on the branches of the live oak trees and discovered it had it's own song by Iron & Wine:

Resurrection Fern

Iron & Wine
In our days we will live
Like our ghosts will live...
Pitching glass at the cornfield crows
And folding clothes
Like stubborn boys across the road
We'll keep everything...
Grandma's gun and the black bear claw
That took her dog
When sister Laurie says, "Amen"
We won't hear anything...
The ten-car trains will take that word
That fledgling bird
And the fallen house across the way
It'll keep everything...
The baby's breath
Our bravery wasted and our shame
And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire
Both our tender bellies wound in baling wire
All the more a pair of underwater pearls
Than the oak tree and its resurrection fern
In our days we will say
What our ghosts will say...
We gave the world what it saw fit
And what'd we get?

This little Piggy

Piggy holiday decor, Charleston, SC 

This little piggy dresses up for Christmas! So does his partner on the other side of the steps.

My understanding is that the home belongs to the owners of the former Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain and I always know they will do something fun with the guard pigs for the holidays.

Freshly painted & gift wrapped

4 South Battery, Charleston, SC  

One of Charleston's most beautifully renovated homes looks pretty as a picture gift wrapped for the holidays.

The Villa Margherita is an Italian Renaissance house at 4 South Battery, Charleston, South Carolina. It was built in 1892 and early 1893 for Andrew Simonds. The house is of brick with a Portland cement coating according to the plans by the architect, Frederick P. Dinkelberg. The decorative work on the four Corinthian columns and frieze on the front was executed by Morrison Brothers of New York City. The entrance of the house features a large atrium with a fountain.^[1]Between 1905 and 1953, the house served as a hotel. During that use, guests included William Howard Taft, Grover Cleveland, andTheodore Roosevelt.^[2] Sinclair Lewis was a guest at the hotel, where he completed the manuscript for Main Street.^[3] From 1943 to 1946, the United Seaman's Service leased the hotel and rented rooms to seamen and their families.^[4] In 1961, James and Mary Wilson bought the house. Their daughter, Mary Wilson, sold it for $3 million to Stephen and Mary Hammond in September 2012.^[5]

I love this no-man's land of a week between Christmas and New Years and I'd like to have a couple more please. No meetings, few phone calls, a chance to finish up projects for the year and get things ready for the next. I met friends at Sesame for their half price burger night on the way home.

Dressed for the holidays

Citadel Bulldog, Charleston, SC 

I don't do very well with festive-wear which is unfortunate since I participate in so many holiday luncheons and festive events. I don't have much red and/or green in my closet. I should take some wardrobe lessons from our neighborhood bulldog. A cheery wreath around my neck with bells dangling might be just the ticket!

Picnic in the park

Hampton Park, Charleston, SC  

I come from a picnic packing family. My grandmother always had a hamper half packed and ready to go. We'd go to parks and rivers and as a child I have fond memories of packed lunches at Niagara Falls and on the other side of the world Ward's Lake. 

I asked for suggestions on Facebook for picnic location ideas and this is what was offered. I think I've been to each place even if I haven't spread a blanket and eaten at each of them. 

Angel Oak

Morris island Lighthouse

Cypress Gardens

Mepkin Abbey

Edisto Island

Cannon Park

Magnolia Plantation

Under the Ravenel Bridge

Old Santee Canal State Park

White Point Gardens and walk the Battery

Today we went to Hampton Park and it was fun to listen to everyone's memories of the park - from when it had a zoo to childhood birthday parties this lovely park has happy memories for so many. Great friends, good food, lovely weather and a beautiful spot. I am making the most of the last few days of 2015. 

Thanks for the Christmas smile!

Santa Hat, Tradd & Meeting St., Charleston, SC  

I loooooooove people who go to so much trouble just to make us smile. The Santa hat is made by sail makers and put up every year after the Halloween witch's hat has been taken down. Thanks to the homeowner for the delightful moment she creates for so many as they pass by. 

Fogscape Charleston

Broad St., Charleston, SC 

Fog does funny things to camera buffs. I was tortured by the choice of places to go in this morning's mist. Magnolia Cemetery, beach, downtown? I settled on the peninsula because I've been tardy this year in capturing Charleston's Christmas festive wear. I made the right decision. Each corner I turned I got more excited with the scene.  What a beautiful city we live in.

Home to a refrigerator full of tasty holiday left-overs just the way I like it. I settled in with Moroccan chicken, roasted cauliflower and the Call the Midwife Holiday special.

Merry Christmas!

Midnight, Christmas Eve, Charleston, SC 

I admit I didn't take this picture. I was sleeping tucked away in a cabin on Lake Marion at midnight and my friend Leah Sparks stayed up late and did the honors.

Our hospital has a lovely nativity scene but the manger lays empty until Christmas eve. Baby Jesus waits in the nursery with the rest of the Christmas babies until midnight when the nursing staff escorts Him outside and lays Him in the manger. It is a sweet tradition.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter in the Meditation Garden

Meditation Garden, Charleston, SC  

I hate to boast but I walk past this scene every day as I was from my car to my office. The light was perfect this morning and I took a detour through the garden. I do have a picture of a layer of snow in this garden but that won't be happening this year. We have unseasonably warm weather.

Is everyone ready for Christmas? I am taking a holiday mid January so I have been working like a fiend to get things done ahead of time. Check, check, checking off my list. I couldn't find a receipt for reimbursement this morning and almost had to stoop to cleaning off my desk.

Hand-painted signs

D & D Restaurant, Spring St., Charleston, SC  

I am a sucker for hand-painted signs. I love any place that has hired a sign painter rather than using computer generated signs. Thank you D & D Restaurant.

I'd never been in but googling for information I came up with this referral from Chef Joshua Walker:

Favorite under-the-radar spot: D&D Restaurant & Catering (114 Spring St, 843-722-2205)Walker says: “It’s an old-school, traditional neighborhood hangout, with nice folks drinking beer and listening to good music. Get the fried shrimp or ask for the ribs.”