Before & After - Broad St.

Broad St., Charleston, S.C.

I printed off a set of these old photos taken after the earthquake of 1886 and stuffed them in my trusty backpack. When I am out walking I pull them out and try to find the spot they were taken from. Some of them I can't match up but this one was easy.

Thanks to the Librarian who linked me to these treasures in a comment. This one is labeled: Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake August 31, 1886. Thrown gable and twisted chimney at the residence of Bishop Lynchat on Broad Street opposite Orange, looking northeast.

It's after bed time again and my weekend is over. Sniff. You can't say I don't make the most of my days off. Now, get to bed kids. No more stories. No more glasses of water. Someone turn the lights out.

Dock St. Theater color matching

Dock St. Theater, Charleston, S.C.

One of these days I'm going to get down on my belly to take a picture and I won't be able to get up. Groan. It's going to be a sad, sad thing. Check out the matching paint trim on the doors at the Dock St. Theater and the bike. Coolness!

Have a good Sunday kids.

Bull St. Gourmet opens on King St.

Bull St. Gourmet, King St., Charleston, S.C.

Bull St. Gourmet has been open on Bull St. since 2006 and today they expanded to a second larger location on King St. just above Broad. This evening was their opening for friends, family and apparently the wandering neighborhood blogger - me! Yipee!

The restaurant was packed with people exploring the goodies on the shelves and tasty treats were served at stations as well as by wandering servers - sushi, braised short ribs, cheese and lamb meat balls. It was all delicious and the location is happily on my regular walking route. We are so lucky to have yet another great choice for food in Charleston.

Thanks for inviting me gentlemen! I wish you all the best.

Curiosity

Thomas Elfe House, Queen St., Charleston, S.C.

Curiosity. I didn't go in. I was afraid it would be full of dead cats.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - St. Philip's Church

St. Philips, Charleston, S.C.

Yeah! Look what I got! I went garage roof top hopping in the drizzle with an umbrella that kept blowing inside out to see what I could see. I'm not the first to get this view of St. Philip's Church but it tickled me.

Dinner for one

Caviar & Bananas, Charleston, S.C.

Long walk in the rain and dinner for one. I love the three salad option at Caviar & Bananas on George St. Yum. Hello my sweet weekend.

Toilet Art

Don't throw away those old toilets - use them for original white porcelain planters. Yep. One on each side of the drive. I was up around Cross, S.C. although I didn't jot down the exact location of these fine specimens of yard art.

A message from my mother

Hoya Blossom, Charleston, S.C.

I don't bother with many plants anymore but I have a few hanging pots in my living room windows and always try to have a hoya plant. My Scottish grandmother was famous for the hoya that grew all the way along an arched opening between her sitting room and library and was heavy with blossoms every year. My mother had cuttings of her plant and when I went up for her funeral many years ago, I was handed a cutting of the original that she had been rooting for me. And, yes, I smuggled my third generation cutting across the border and home to Charleston.

The plants don't bloom very often but when they do they are amazing little bouquets of waxy blossoms. Check out the google image gallery of Hoya blossoms.

My original cutting bloomed for the first time on Mother's Day - the anniversary of my mother's death and for many years after on that date. I had a bad panicky time when that plant died after trying my best to nurse it back to health. Eventually I got another and this week I have a happy bloom. Hi mom! :)))

A Chip off the old china

Mosaic at Vickery's, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

I've often thought of saving broken china imagining that I could get creative but this is cooler than anything I could have dreamed up! Neato! It is on the wall above your head at Vickery's in Mt. Pleasant. Check it out!

Up the Creek

Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

I thought I was staying one step ahead of the rain storm but it had already poured in town and I had to dodge flooded streets. I need some gadget to elevate my car above the water....zoom, zoom, zoom.

These are a few more shots from the weekend along Shem Creek when the skies were a little brighter.

Hang on kids, we are already half way through the week!

Guess where?

Isn't it beautiful? The inlays are mostly food related - spoons, bottle ends etc. Any one know where it is?

Walking on Water

Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Isn't this just freaky? It looks like they are walking on water. This paddle boarding amazes me and I got to see it close up when I was kayaking on Shem Creek this weekend. It doesn't look very relaxing since I like to lay back and put my paddle up and enjoy the scenery but they say they can sit down if they want to. I have no idea who these folks are but they look like they were having a good time.

I've been in meetings all day at Trident Technical College and not only got home early but had leftover Thai green curry in the frig waiting for me. Happy day!

Graffiti Walls

Spring St., Charleston, S.C.

There is some wild color on the walls behind Read Brother's store on King St. I didn't get any closer because the yellow door told me not to. That and I was afraid it might be an unauthorized homeless shelter and I didn't want to step on anyone.

Shem Creek kayak trip

Shem Creek, S.C.

Last Sunday morning I logged on to Facebook as usual in the morning and happened to answer a trivia question that won me a half-a-day kayak trip from Coastal Expeditions. I sweet talked them into giving me two and my friend Leah and I went out this morning. Too fun! I used to canoe but am new to kayaking and Leah had never done it at all but we did just fine.

We picked up our sit-on-top ocean kayaks at the Coastal Expedition office at Shem Creek and went out through one of the most picturesque creeks in Charleston passing shrimp boats and paddle boarders. We went over to crab island and did the best we could with our point and shoot cameras. There were so many squawking birds and dolphin sightings we were in our glory. We left the harbor and explored some of the marshy creeks before heading back. We ended our morning with a scrumptious brunch at the bar at Vickery's. Love their grilled salmon caesar salad and a mimosa didn't hurt. Yum.

Thanks Leah and Coastal Expeditions! I'll never drive over Shem Creek without thinking about this delightful morning again. I think I'll sleep well tonight. Zzzzz...

More photos here: Shem Creek & Coastal Expeditions.

Monkeying around with photography

Cross, S.C.

Talk about yard art! This looks like something that might have started life in a miniature golf spot. Now he has found a home in the rural countryside near Cross, S.C.

My baby luvin' peeps

Charleston, S.C.

When I moved to Charleston many years ago, not knowing a soul, I went to every hospital in town and asked to see their labor & delivery unit. I was an experienced nurse. I'd worked in community hospitals, huge medical universities and ran a free standing birthing center for a few years.

St. Francis Hospital was downtown at Rutledge and Calhoun St. at that time and the Birthing Suite was on the back of the third floor facing Calhoun St. The nurse on duty gave me a tour but was bewildered. She said there were no positions open, there never were. Their nurses didn't leave. Bingo! I knew exactly where I was going to work.

I eventually joined this gang of wacky loving southern women who made me feel welcome and became my family. We worked our butts off on evening shift, delivering babies left and right. We worked double shifts when necessary, came in early and stayed late. We worked hard and laughed until we cried. We caught the babies the doctors didn't make it for and cried with the parents who suffered losses. The Birth Suite has won every "Best Place to Have a Baby" award that Charleston City Paper has ever awarded. Years later people still proudly parade their growing children past the labor unit hoping to see the nurse whose picture is in their baby book.

I left bedside nursing long ago and it seems I keep going to retirement parties or farewell parties of some of the old gang. I'm not sure you can get a closer bond than this - we delivered each others babies and watching each others children grow up.

Miss Elnora Hazel retired this week. She used to sneak in to all my new mothers behind me with extra snacks at bedtime worried that "skinny nurses didn't feed you enough". She was known for giving her patients a real back rub before she "shut" the light. Countless lowcountry mothers and babies have been sent home well loved because of Miss Hazel. It feels like the end of an era.

Sleep in on Monday Miss Hazel. You deserve it!

Sue Veon, Ginger Ballentine, Elnora Hazel and me.

Yoga Pose

King St., Charleston, S.C.

For the commenter who wondered what was in the window in the last post. I did a Piggly Wiggly run this morning and checked. It is an image of a yoga pose at Charleston Power Yoga. There ya go. Don't say I don't do anything for ya!

Stay cool kids! Seriously. I should have weighed myself before and after my walk to see how much I lost.

King St. walking

King St., Charleston, S.C.

Waawaaawaa....I'm hot, you're hot, we're all too hot. I look out the window to see lush green grass and blossoming crepe myrtles trees and think, "oh, it looks so lovely, I wish I could be out in it" but it's simply too darned hot. It's 9:30 p.m. and I just got back from my walk. Luckily there are still lots of sweaty tourists on the streets. I had to dodge them but it felt safe to be out marching.

Two Boroughs Larder should be opening just around the corner from me soon. More tasty treats coming to me.

I won a kayak rental from Coastal Expeditions on Facebook the other day so my friend Leah and I are going out from their Shem Creek location on Sunday at 9 a.m. I'm new to it and Leah has never done it so we should be quite a team! Join us if you like.

Random photos from King St. walks for you today. Stay cool kids!http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif


Peking Gourmet, Charleston, S.C.

Travel Plans

Rutledge Ave., Charleston, S.C.

This is one of my favorite houses on Rutledge Ave. draped in spanish moss. I am getting used to making do with my little pocket canon camera on most of my evening walks now rather than the heavier DSLR. I was beginning to walk lopsided from the weight.

I got on the phone with my daughter in Portland last night and we coordinated booking tickets to India for November. Woohoo! First off - how wonderful to have a daughter who is able to pay for her own ticket. Although I have been back to India, this will be the first time I go back to the hills in the far north east where I grew up since I graduated from high school. It's is going to be a sentimental journey indeed. Now, shall I make any effort to refresh a language I haven't spoken since I was seventeen? Yikes.

I had to be at work bright and early to sell some pot. Pots. I sponsored a fundraising cookware sale in this heat and did very well, thank you. The profits allow me to play lady bountiful and buy wheelchairs, blanket warmers and training mannequins for the hospital.

Thanks for all your great comments. It takes great self discipline not to respond to them while I am at work but they do delight me!

Before & After - East Bay St.

Before & After - East Bay St., Charleston, S.C.

I found the original on Civil War Photos: Charleston, SC Siege of Charleston 1865.

I am always impressed by how many more trees we have in the city streets than there used to be. It can make it hard to compare the buildings because they are so hidden by foliage.