Bastille Day at Fish Restaurant

Bastille Day at Fish Restaurant, Charleston, S.C.

Bastille Day at Fish Restaurant - I think it is a bigger affair each year. This year the costumed crowd gathered at Marion Square and marched up King St. and it seems more and more people were wearing costumes. The only suitable costume I have is Joan of Arc and the chain mail is simply too heavy to enjoy wearing for dinner. I shrink a quarter inch each time I wear it.

Magnolia Plantation - Rain Walking

Hydrangeas at Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

Every season is beautiful at Magnolia Plantation Gardens even when you are dodging rain clouds. I usually find somewhere interesting to walk on weekend mornings and since I have an annual pass to the gardens that seemed like a logical choice today.

Alright, I know the word verification requirement in comments drives people crazy. I hate it myself. I took it off last night just to see if it was still a problem and I've already been receiving ridiculous spam comments. Hate it. Hate it. I will set the word verification back on. Meanwhile, feel free to join me on Facebook where commenting is easier.

Note: On advice received in comments I have changed the comments option to registered users. Not sure exactly what that means so if it is too terribly in convenient let me know. I think the goal is to prevent spam commentators who tend to be anonymous.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Church of the Epiphany

Church of the Epiphany - Eutawville, S.C.

Today's Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance is the Historic Church of the Epiphany in Eutawille, S.C. It is a lovely church and grounds and the good humor in the maintenance sign makes me smile each time. I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

As the Eutaw village grew (later named Eutawville),the people felt the need for a church that was conveniently located; so, in 1849 the present church building was built as a community chapel. It was not consecrated so that services could be held by any denomination in the area. The original building had a slave gallery. It was later removed and a small fenced area provided for the few African Americans who wanted to attend. For many years, this chapel was used for a chapel of ease for the Rocks Church, also called the Church of the Epiphany. The first Rocks Church was built in 1804 near the entrance gate of the Rocks Plantation and for some time was a chapel of ease for St. Stephen’s Church. The congregation of the Rocks Church was composed mainly of families who had migrated westward from St. Stephen’s Parish. The Rocks Church was separated from St. Stephen’s Church in 1864 and became the Parish Church of Upper-St. John’s. The chapel in Eutawville was enlarged and improved at this time (1864). In 1880, a chancel and vestry room were added and the roof re-shingled. In 1899, the carved rood screen was put up. It was reportedly made by Dr. Edmonds, a medical doctor whose hobby was woodcarving, to disguise the fact that the ceiling in the sanctuary was lower than that of the church.

 

Awakening - 1600 Meeting St.

Patch Whisky, 1600 Meeting St., Charleston

Here are a couple shots of the Awakening art installations at 1600 Meeting St. today sponsored by Enough Pie.  One little snag - there was no airconditioning in the building and the heat and humidity had my camera lens so fogged up I had a hard time using my camera during the time I was there. Maybe it will impart a mysterious mood to my pictures. Heheh.

I was pleased to meet photographer Jared Bramlett who was showing photographs of many back-road scenes that looked familiar to me. Check out his site at: jaredbramlett.com

Green Tea at 1600 Meeting St.

Green tea - it's good for you!

More later but wanted to stop by to remind local folks of the one day art installations at 1600 Meeting St. It is another dreary, humid weekend but I knew it was a good sign when they had a gentleman out directing traffic. Check it out - art, murals, photography for one day only until the building is renovated and settled with creative tenants. It was a good chance to explore the space.The event is open until 6 p.m.

Enough Pie has announced the date for Awakening: a one- day art and performance event designed to breathe new life into 1600 Meeting and usher in an era of arts-driven community collaboration for the upper peninsula. The event is free and open to the public.
The rooms and hallways of 1600 Meeting, an 86-year-old vacant building on upper Meeting Street, will be open for creative reinterpretation during the 3-day window between cleanup and renovation. Awakening is a temporary and site-specific event, never to take place in 1600 Meeting again.
Awakening includes a wide range of art forms and mediums from over 20 participants, such as dance, sculpture, photography, interactive installations, textile art and more. A current list of participants will be maintained on the Enough Pie blog.

It is so humid I had trouble taking pictures through my fogged up lens.

Yikes Kingstree!

Kingstree, S.C.

Yikes! Poor Kingstree. I didn't even know this happened mid June until I happened to be driving by Kingstree and saw the back of a building that had collapsed. It sounds like it was a tornado. It happened on a quiet Sunday afternoon and amazingly, no one was hurt.

Freak storm in Kingstree: What may have been a tornado wrecked havoc on a portion of Kingstree and may be to blame for the collapse of the former Belk building. Around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, a brief but powerful storm cut a three-block wide path of destruction leaving debris-strewn streets, downed trees and power lines in its wake. The majority of destruction was concentrated within a three-block radius from Hampton Avenue to Jackson Street and north to Gilland Avenue.

 

 

Travel Tuesdays - Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall, UK

On Travel Tuesdays we take a trip off the Charleston peninsula and dip into past travel albums. Join me on a field trip!

In 2008 my friend Pat swooped into my office and asked if I wanted to walk across England. Of course I did! We flew to Edinburgh, took the train to the starting point of the excavation of Emperor Hadrian's wall and hiked along the remnants of the wall all the way to the coast staying in Bed & Breakfasts and farmhouses along the way. I am the only person who can walk over 100 miles and weigh to the dot exactly what I started at because I gobbled down full English breakfasts every morning.

Check Pat & Kathie's blog for a great write up of our hike. Oh, and the bottom picture? Yes, I bought a kid's Roman helmet to wear. When marching in the footprints of Romans, eh?

 

 

How much rain is too much?

Highly offended at Lake Marion

The wildlife crowd at Lake Marion has voted with lively and offended squawks that the water level is simply TOO high when kayakers can paddle up to peer in their nests. This fella was in the upper nest. I got the message!

These dock lights are so low the only boat you could get under them would be a kayak. That wasn't the intention!

Eutawville Village Festival

Eutawville Village Festival, Eutawville, S.C.

How cute is this!? Eutawville is a small town on the banks of Lake Marion and since I was up in that neck of the woods kayaking this weekend I made a point of being in town for the parade. I was checking out the porch sale at the Parish House when I heard ladies saying they had to get out because they didn't want to get caught in the parade traffic. Heheh.

I could guess that there is a higher percentage of golf carts per household in Eutawville than almost anywhere else. They should be able to break a record in decorated golf cart parades. The horses were a nice touch but there should be a lot more of them as well. Eutawville had their Village Festival on the weekend after July 4th so everything was decorated in a patriotic theme.

Blossoms on Queen

Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

Charleston is a garden right now. The plants are glorying in our daily rainstorms. Yep, it is raining again. I parked at Colonial Lake this morning and walked down one of my favorite streets - Queen St.

My house is muggy and I have all the ceiling fans spinning at high speed. My air-conditioning gentleman (thanks Charles!) arrived promptly this morning but I am to wait until 4 p.m. to turn things back on and hope for the best. It sounded like the perfect time to escape to the coolness of the Terrace Theater for an early movie. Wish me luck!

History Fair tomorrow at Magnolia Plantation if you are looking for something to do.

Happy July 4th

Lockwood Blvd., Charleston, S.C.

I watched the fireworks on tv with surround sound of live fireworks in the neighborhood this year. Sidetracked by a nasty head cold I've been content reading and puttering around the house today. I hardly ever get colds so can't complain but.....achoo. Happy July 4th!

Coming to America

Rutledge Ave., Charleston, S.C.

Repost of 7/4/2009 entry:

For much of my life I felt like what my brother Jim likes to call a "Cultural Nomad". Each time I moved I started over completely with little overlap of friends or family. I had finished high school in India and my family had returned there. I was alone in Canada and by some happy stroke of good fortune was accepted into the Nursing program at Ryerson University in Toronto. It was during the time nursing schools were being absorbed into universities but I found a room in the old dorm at the Hospital for Sick Children.

I'd never had a room or bed of my own, worn any clothes but hand me downs, hadn't eaten a whole candy bar, never been in a bank or driven a car. I had braids down to my waist, dorky glasses and had seen three movies in my life. I was alone in Toronto after being part of a family of ten and I was in heaven. I loved it. I cut my hair, bought a pair of jeans, ate my first pizza and squeezed a lifetime of new experiences into two years.

It was a nasty wake up call to discover there was a freeze on hiring nurses when I graduated. Nothing. I applied everywhere, but nurses were working in book stores and as waitresses that year and half of my class left the country. US hospitals crossed the border to recruit us. We were considered good catches for foreign nurses since we already spoke English, eh.

I naively accepted the first job I was offered, packed everything I owned in a single suitcase and one small cardboard box and ended up in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was immediately assigned to be Charge Nurse on a Medical Surgical Floor. Poor souls.

That was 1977. I married my hippie from Philadelphia and moved into his half built cabin on a mountain in West Virginia. I worked in community hospitals and large medical centers. I had two children, ran a free- standing birthing center in Hurricane, W.Va. and eventually settled in the lowcountry arriving the year before hurricane Hugo.

I've been welcomed, respected, taught by experts and loved in this country. After my divorce I finally went through the process of becoming a citizen and every year on July the 4th I feel gratitude to the friends I've made in this country and for the home I found in Charleston.

Hurrah for short work weeks!

King & Broad St., Charleston, S.C.

This evening's photos are a couple that I grabbed on a recent walk downtown in between rain showers. I looked back at a dark threatening cloud and made it West Ashley just in time. It rained again most of the morning today but I had bright skies for my quick march around the hood just now. You wouldn't think I grew up in the rainiest place in the world, would you? But I did.

Bad news, kids. My air-conditioner is struggling. We never plan ahead for that, do we? It is cooler than outside but not by much. Do you think a stern talking to will make a difference? I've been talking to the thermostat but I may need to go outside and cuss at the unit.

Can't hurt my mood though as we head into a long weekend. Enjoy!

Cattle herding on Maybank Highway

Moo! More cow pictures. These were resting comfortably in front of the A World Apart antique store on Wappoo Rd.

We have a four day weekend coming up let's hope the rain lets up a little so we don't float away. The frogs in the full ditches are so loud they sound like goats bleating and the mosquitoes are like attaching mini helicopters. Stay dry kids!