Traveling manhole covers

College of Charleston campus, Charleston, SC  

I've had my eye on manhole and storm sewer covers lately, some decorative, some plain. I noticed that this one was made in India. That is a long way for a manhole cover to travel. After a photographer documented the process and factory the New York Times did an article on it and put factory safety measures in place. A picture can be worth a thousand words. 

Springing forward

College of Charleston, Charleston, SC   

Sunday night we turn the clocks forward and lose a precious hour of our weekends. I read a suggestion that the change time be moved to Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Bingo - early out on a work day!

Herding up the cattle!

Westie Awards 2016, Charleston, SC  

The part of town I live in is called West Ashley - for west of the Ashley river. One of our landmarks is an old dairy sign that includes a rotating cow on a pedestal. It's quirky, it's cool, it's us! So when the West Of newspaper wanted to come up with an neighborhood award, what made more sense than winning a cow? We love it! It's our local version of the Oscars. I won one a few years ago and it still tickles me.

This evening the 2016 Westie Awards were held at Gala Desserts in Avondale and a group of worthy individuals were honored. Congratulations to all our honorees! Pick up this week's newspaper to learn all about them. We were delighted to have our new mayor John Tecklenburg and his wife Sandy come by to receive his award.

Doors of Charleston - Bull St.

12 Bull St., Charleston, SC 

This appears to be a door upon a door that is being used as a message chalkboard for the College of Charleston's Department of Art and Architectural History Albert Simons, Jr. Center for Historic Preservation. This building at 12 Bull St. is called the Cameron House after builder Hugh P. Cameron built it in 1851. Here is a slideshow of the property showing the interior.

12 Bull St c.1851

Built in 1851 by Hugh P. Cameron, a crockery merchant, this house has an unusual plan, with two parlors in front, a small room and stairhall at the rear and the entrance in a pavillion on the east side. The interior was remodeled in the 1890s in the Colonial Revival style. The initials of one owner, David Bentschner, a clothing merchant, appear in the cast iron gate.

Magnolia Plantation walking

Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, SC  

Everyone seemed to be out enjoying the sunshine today and the parking lot at Magnolia Plantation was packed full. I intended to walk the bike trail but there is a lot going on and some of the paths are barricaded and swamps drained. A three year project improvement is in progress to improve the wildlife habitat along the Ashley River. I was able to get around the blocked paths and enjoyed a good hike.

The impoundment will be drained and the nature boat channel will be dredged deeper. Three more water control devices will be installed to allow for improved water exchange between an adjacent 20-acre impoundment and the Ashley River.
The spoil from the dredging will be used to create additional islands in the larger impoundment, Strange said. These islands will create new opportunities for birds to build nests and roost in the coming years.
The work will not chase away the alligators. "The gators will stick around, and they will be fine," Strange added. "Magnolia has enough swamp, and they will go out in the river. They come, and they go."

King St. serenade

King St., Charleston, SC  

I paid my $2 not for a song but for a photo. 

It's a bright and sunny day, kids! What shall we do with it?

Charleston Food & Wine Festival

Marion Square, Charleston, SC   

The Charleston Food & Wine Festival is in full swing with participants wining and dining all over town this weekend and all the booths were getting set up for action as I walked through Marion Square this morning.  I spotted John C. Calhoun posing on top of the directional sign but no one tossed any food my way.

Fresh & Above Da' Rest

Seafood Alley, Spring St., Charleston, SC   

Sitting in the hospital cafeteria today someone walked by and asked what soup was on the menu. Ummm....it's a Catholic hospital, it's a Friday - bingo, seafood chowder or lobster bisque. Besides, we live in Charleston, right! Where better to have seafood?

Happy weekend kids! I finished a big project and slipped out in time for my Friday matinee and saw Race about Jesse Owens winning four gold medals at the Olympics in Germany. What an amazing story. Many thanks to the movie theater at Citadel Mall for playing decent movies and letting me buy the kiddie combo. 

Train weather-vane for a train station

From my country roads album - a train weather-vane for a train station. Pretty cool I thought. I spotted this in Branchville, SC.

I think I found the train weather-vane here although it would need to be painted black.

No bones about it - Charleston murals

I should have saved this one for Halloween! The artist was having fun with skeletons. I was in behind Rogue Motion on Folly Rd. checking on the old murals this weekend and discovered these more recent ones.

It looks like I've missed a few days here...oooops. Sometimes I throw a few pictures on facebook and miss featuring them on the blog. I have been busy - started going to zumba again, not easy for the world's least rhythmically coordinated woman. We don't need any pictures of that. Just got back from a fundraising bowling tournament at the Alley raising money for the Walk for Water on 3/12. Join the fun for a good cause if you are inclined!

Seashore Farmer's Lodge

Sol Legare Seashore Farmer's Lodge, James Island, SC   

This is one of those unique places that has been on my radar but took me forever to get out there to see it in person and today was the day. Freed slaves settled Sol Legare and their descendants never left. The Charleston City Paper had a great article on it's history when the building was renovated and reopened.

The original settlers of Sol Legare were freed slaves who came to the island in the late 1800s to farm and fish. The community they created embodied the very opposite of slavery. It was autonomous, free, and mutually supportive. The symbol of all that is the Seashore Farmers Lodge, a circa 1915 community center which, thanks to concerned local residents and the help of an exceptionally dedicated genealogist, was recently transformed from a decrepit, hurricane-devastated building to a living museum. "Seashore embodies freedom," Parks says. "We would plant our seeds, farm the land, and we would take it and sell it down on the market. For the longest time, we never worked for anybody but ourselves."

Through the years and off the shelf

Ruff & Co. Hardware, Ridgeway, SC   

We have a few country hardware stores in South Carolina that sell all the regular things - parts, tools, bits and pieces but they have been in operation for so many years that they still have all the vintage items from years gone by on the dusty shelves and they serve as functioning museums. This particular one is Ruff & Co. Hardware in Ridgeway, SC which opened in 1840. I thought they were selling firewood but I discovered a gigantic wood burning stove in the center of the building with a couple of chairs to pull up cozy.

One of the gentlemen laughed when I was leaving and said he should charge me for taking pictures. I told he should put a tip jar out - I'd be happy to contribute! It was well worth it. See below the images for a video clip with more info on this character spot.

These boots were made for flying

Boots made for flying, Charleston, SC   

One of my volunteer gentlemen came to my meeting wearing these boots he had had handmade for him in India seventy years ago. Wow. What a piece of history. He had been flying planes into China as part of the China, Burma, India theater as a Flying Tiger pilot. The boots might not fit me but I told him not to take off his leather jacket or he might lose it. Thanks Mr. Cobert!

Mothers. Daughters. Rebels.

The current political unrest reminds me how recently women were arrested and 

beaten for even trying to vote. Let's make a difference.

I took my hat and scarf to work this morning and we quickly posed the picture and antiqued it to 

model after the Suffragette movie poster. Don't look too closely. The ribbon on my coat is from 

the recent cupcake contest and the hats are from Go Red day! Thanks to my friends Amanda 

and Rebecca for playing along. 

What ship?

Don't give up the ship, Charleston, SC    

What ship? Where is it? What's on it? Has my ship come in? I'll hang on!

Storm sewer designs

Storm Sewer, Charleston, SC  

I thought this was a pretty decorative storm sewer drain until I googled Storm Sewer Cover designs. The things I learn down the google rabbit hole are amazing and time consuming. Did you know some cities have storm sewer design contests and use the winning designs all over the city? Kansas City, Vancouver and North East Ohio had design contests as well. It looks like storm sewer design contests were a big thing in 2014, 2015. Sadly the web sites haven't been updated to showcase the winning entries.

I had the urge to learn how to cook some Cuban dishes after my recent trip. I thought I should test a few before I shared them with friends so I just took a roast pork out of the oven and finished simmering rice and beans. Smells darn good in there. I hope it all warms up nicely when I am actually hungry. 

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - St. Stephen's Episcopal, Ridgeway, SC

St Stephen's Episcopal Church, Ridgeway, S.C.    

Here is your church photo in lieu of attendance for this weekend. I discovered this beautiful chapel while on a day trip to Ridgeway, SC and had to take a photo op break. Here is what wikipedia has to stay about it's history:

Stephen's Episcopal Church is an historic Episcopal church building located northeast of Ridgeway, South Carolina, on County Road 106. Built of wood in 1854 in the Carpenter Gothic style, it was designed by the Rev. John Dewitt McCollough, who later became its rector. The exterior was painted a maroon color. In 1920, its exterior wood was covered by brick veneer, so that it appears today as a brick Gothic Revival style building on the outside while the interior retains its Carpenter Gothic features. A wing was added in the 1940s to create space for a parish hall and Sunday school. St. Stephen's was founded in 1839 as a chapel of ease for St. John's Parish, Fairfield, and remained such until 1889 when it became a separate parish. Among its early rectors was the Rev. William Porcher DuBose, who served from 1865-1868.

On the road - Ridgeway, S.C.

Ridgeway, S.C   

With all the political chaos of the primaries going on in town I hit the road on a day trip and found myself in sweet little Ridgeway, S.C. We arrived in time for lunch at the former Town Hall restaurant but the other option for lunch was Laura's Tea Room and  caught these ladies leaving after their formal tea. Luckily they had an assortment of antique shops and I was able to type up this blog entry on the road.

World's smallest Police Station!

Let it bleed

Scarifator Bloodletting Tool

What the heck? I spotted this on Craigslist antique section and couldn't figure it out. Bloodletting was certainly a popular medical treatment but how and what does this do? It may or may not be a Charleston related item but it is being sold from North Charleston.

It is described as:

Scarifator Bloodletting Tool:  19th century bloodletting tool. 12 blade. Perfect working condition. Has a box but missing lid.

I found more here: From Medical Antiques

Why bleed with one spring-loaded blade when you could have 4, 12, or even 20? As long ago as the 17th century there were multi-bladed bleeders called scarificators.  These became very popular in shown a basic octagonal English scarificator.The case is brass and the mechanism and blades are steel. There is a depth adjuster for the blades on the top and the blades are cocked by the lever on top. The release switch is on the side. This allowed the blades to swing around, making multiple cuts at once. *Approximate values -- a similar piece was found for sale, condition was not quite as good, for $450.

Asssck@! I just found a YouTube video showing how it works. Yikes.

Sounds like the local item is a good deal for a medical collector since it is selling for $275.

Happy weekend kids!

Turkish Delight

Kissmet, King St., Charleston, SC  

Did you know we had a Turkish shop on King St. How have I missed it? The jewelry in the window of Kissmet lured me in and then I was dazzled by the explosion of textures and color. Rugs, lamps, purses and boots. Visit their online shop here. Many, many years ago as a sixteen year old I bought a treasured embroidered leather belt in a market in Istanbul and for a moment this took me back in time.