An egg in the hand is worth two in the pan

Fresh farmer's market eggs, Charleston, SC    

Oh noooooo, half of my precious weekend has already slipped away. I read that there was a new Farmer's Market open on upper King St. where the new Workshop restaurant is and since I wanted to check it out anyway I went to market this morning. There was a long stretch of vendors set up and lots of cheerful activity and children running about. I bought fresh eggs and as the farmer was packing them up I noticed the size of the eggs on display. Huge! There were chicken eggs but must have been at least double yolks.

It was a lovely space and market and plenty of parking. So nice in fact I hope to go back tomorrow to eat at the Workshop.

Pacific & Crate Farmer's Market: The Upper King multi-use space is entering the farmers market game beginning Sat. Sept. 30 and running through November. According to a press release, the new event is the work of Michael Shemtov's Butcher & Bee team. Shemtov owns and operates Pacific Box & Crate's food court, Workshop and the farmers market is all a part of his brand's "commitment to working with 'Honest to Goodness' local purveyors." 
The Saturday market will run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and include Lowland Farms, Spade & Clover, Green Grocer, Storey Farms, Dalai Sofia Kombucha, Counter Cheese Caves, Butcher & Bee, Tarvin Seafood, Lowcountry Flower Growers to get things started.

Going, going, gone.

My companion for so many of my pictured travels has packed up and gone. Boo. 

The boxes were packed, the cake has been eaten. Sadness.

Rosie has been the best of friends. We have explored the quirkiest bits of the lowcountry - checked all the lighthouses off our list, taste tested pralines, visited the Button Museum, met Pearl Fryer in his topiary garden, explored cemeteries and sat quietly in historic churches. We've eaten the best bbq, enjoyed boat rides, laughed and talked all over the state. It's been a wild ride and joyful friendship. 

For those of you who didn't know who I was riding the roads with, my friend Rosemary is a nun. A religious sister. It's been an unusual and wonderful friendship. I have been blessed with a compatible and joyful sidekick for over ten years. When she retired from working at the hospital, the expectation was that she return to her religious community in St. Louis. 

We had the most wonderful goodbye party. Live music, singing, dancing. The room was filled with people wanting to say goodbye and let her know how much she meant to them. She packed up this morning. Rosie and her twin Rita hit the road and this time I am not with them. They are heading to St. Louis with the well wishes of so many of us in Charleston. All of us, but especially me. God speed my friend. 

On the road - Phoenix, Arizona

Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona

Good morning! It is good to go away and good to be back in my own bed. I whisked directly from an action packed day at work on Friday to hop on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the gathering of the clans of managers of volunteer programs in healthcare. It is an annual conference which I missed last year because of hurricane Matthew. Luckily my tuition rolled over to this year's event and saved a few bucks.

My meetings were held at the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass so it was more of a conference center setting. Normally I like to dash out between meetings and see new sights and the setting made that impossible. My daughter had given me the heads up on the Desert Botanical Gardens so I rallied a few companions and caught an Uber cab. It was such a treat! We were there for sunset with desert mountains around us walking along paths with giant cactus and desert flowers.

The final night (last night) we moved into a hotel next to the airport and luckily landed near the cool Tempe neighborhood. We were able to walk around and sit outside enjoying the wonderful weather.

The conference was worthwhile and I am bringing home some creative ideas although the general impression is that nothing, I tell ya, nothing, gets easier. Everything requires more paperwork, more documentation, more meetings to document safety of volunteers in healthcare. I am grateful that I have such a wonderful team of dedicate volunteers who have been willing to jump through the required hoops to offer the service that they are so known for.

I am off to today to catch my breath and back on the bandwagon tomorrow.

Orange you pretty

Exchange & Prioleau St., Charleston, SC    

I am on a busy stretch, kids so you will make do with a pretty Charleston picture - but then, that is the point of the entire project, right? Enjoy! I caught a rare moment without any vehicles at Exchange & Prioleau St. 

Colorful wheels

Bikes, Vendue Range, Charleston, SC   

I expect these are rental bikes available for use for the hotel guests. The Charleston County Library has a wonderful history of Vendue Range on the Charleston Time Machine. I enjoyed this bit:

This ground at the east end of Queen Street was originally a tidal mudflat, however, and had been filled with trash and hundreds of cords of wood in a series of efforts between the early 1770s and 1809.  So was the first effort to pave Vendue Range around the year 1820 successful?  Such details are hard to find, so we’ll have to take the word of a correspondent who called himself simply “a Sailor” when he wrote the following brief communication to the Charleston Courier on 9 October 1829: 

“If any man wants a pair of broken shins, I would advise him to walk down the North side of Vendue Range, on a dark night—and if he don’t get a pair, I will agree to break them for him for nothing.”

Violators will be dealt with accordingly

Parking sign, Meeting St., SC  

These folks are exceptionally gracious about parking violations. "Violators will be dealt with accordingly". Hmmm. I wonder what accordingly is? I tend to collect No Parking signs. 

Farmers' & Exchange Building

141 East Bay St., Charleston, SC   

The beautiful Farmers' & Exchange Bank building at 141 East Bay St. was almost torn down (my heart be still) around 1970 to make space for a parking lot. It had been Senator Fritz Hollings office for a while and then reincarnated as Saracen restaurant with Charlie's Little Bar upstairs in the back. Sadly it has been empty for years. The last mention I could find of any hope of it reopening was in 2014 in the Charleston City paper. It would be lovely to see it in use again. 

The inside was painted like an ornate jewel-box. This image isn't mine but found on pinterest. More info here. 

She Made Good Gravy

She Made Good Gravy, All Saint, Pawley's Island, SC    

I had been to All Saint's Church near Pawley's Island before but learned later I had missed this tombstone and had to go back. My friend Rosie and I each started at opposite ends of the cemetery and although I spotted a few other interesting ones, she hit the jackpot. This lady was clearly well known for her gravy!

Beyond the Big House

Charleston, SC   

Charleston House tours are well known annual events. Visitors love to tour the beautiful mansions and gardens. Today I participated in a unique tour. We went behind the mansions into the kitchen houses, laundry rooms, stables and back gardens. It was an amazing glimpse into the world of the enslaved population of Charleston. The people living in the back often outnumbered the few in the mansions whose lived they supported. Sadly I wasn't allowed to take pictures on private property so had to make do with a few shots from the street.

Many thanks to everyone who made the Beyond the Big House tour possible including my friends English and Joe. The tour was sold out!

Blossoms in the breeze

Charleston, SC   

One of the most shocking videos of the islands after hurricane Irma show all of the leaves blown off the trees. It was terrible. I can't even imagine. We were so disoriented years ago after hurricane Hugo blew all the Spanish Moss from the oak trees. I have not been back downtown but took these pictures the day before Irma hit. I hope we still have some blossoms.

I feel like I have been in a hurricane time warp of worry and relief. Whew. I had water to my front and back steps but none in the house thank goodness. I have a fan running to dry my shed but I can deal with that. I feel so fortunate compared to so many.

Hurricane snacking

I couldn't resist laughing and sharing between nibbling on my own snacks. 

Hurricanes seem to give general permission to buy and eat all kinds of treats that 

we never normally consume. When my kids were little and a storm ended not as 

severe as feared the gang of children took advantage of the school closing 

to go from home to home eating storm supplies. Stay safe kids! I am carefully 

watching the news from Florida and hoping for the winds to subside. 

Hurricane Irma prep

Charleston, SC    

It's been a roller coaster of a week. Hurricane Irma has had us at her mercy. It initially appeared that Charleston was in the direct path and I have had my house prepped, yard cleared and clothes washed for a quick get-away. As the storm turned west it made less and less sense to leave and looked like most evacuation routes from Charleston could steer us even closer to the eye of the storm.

Now we are predicted to have tropical storm winds and a storm surge beginning tomorrow but nothing like poor Florida is anticipating. I worry so for everyone in it's path and folks who are in their vehicles searching for shelter. I've kept busy with work which has helped and this morning walked the peninsula which was oddly quiet but already windy. Hang in there kids.

Tiny home option

Summerton, SC   

Downsize to a tiny home! Don't mind the neighbors. It's a bit run down and yet something still charming about the blue door, window trim and the curtain drawn back. Not quite move in ready, I admit.

We are all a turmoil stressing about Hurricane Irma. It's hard to know what to plan for on the South Carolina coast so holding tight and hoping for the best for the time being. I need to stay busy and distracted since there isn't really much to be done about it except watch and wait. Meanwhile I have my fingers, toes and eyes crossed. 

Mounds of History

Santee Indian Mound, Clarendon County, SC 

When we pulled into the park to see the Indian Mound at Fort Watson across the bridge from Santee, the first thing I noticed was a small mound of dirt piled to display the historical plaques and I was NOT impressed. What the heck? Happily beyond the trees and field I spotted actual stairs built to climb a very impressive mound over looking Lake Marion.

The interesting thing about this particular mound is that it was used for numerous burials over time and grew higher and higher with the burial of different chiefs of the Santee Indian tribe between 1200 - 1500.

During the Revolutionary War, the British took advantage of the elevation and built Fort Jackson on top adding 30 - 50 feet in height to the mound. Our hero Francis Marion captured the fort by building a tower even higher in the woods in the dead of night and dealing with them from above. It is a beautiful and historic spot, peaceful, lush and green now with no evidence of the Fort.

Santee Indian Mound was part of a mound village complex; it was probably a burial and/or temple mound, likely constructed in some cultural period between 1200-1500 AD. Santee Indian Mound and a probable low earthwork remain intact except for the superposition of eighteenth- century fortifications on top of the mound. The fortification, British Revolutionary War post Fort Watson, was built from 30 to 50 feet high atop the mound. In 1780, Francis Marion and Light Horse Harry Lee decided to capture the fort. Bombardment was out of the question, for the Americans were without artillery, but Colonel Maham, one of Marion’s officers, proposed building a log tower higher than Fort Watson. Hidden by trees, men hewed logs and the tower was erected in a single night. At dawn a shower of lead poured down into the enemy enclosure, effecting a quick victory. Fort Watson was the first fortified British military outpost in South Carolina recaptured by patriot forces after the British occupation of 1780. There are no remains of Fort Watson on the site. Listed in the National Register July 29, 1969.

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - St. Mary Catholic Church, Summerton

St. Mary Catholic Church, Summerton, SC   

Our featured church this Sunday is the oldest Catholic Church in Clarendon County and was built in 1914 to serve Lebanese immigrants. I learn something new every day! In 2014 it was relegated to a be mission of St. Mary, Our Lady of Hope, Manning but mass is still held twice a week. What a lovely historic chapel. I did get extra brownie point for finding a Catholic church since my sidekick traveling companion for the day was Sr. Rosie :). 

St. Mary Catholic Church -  In 1913, the Catholic Diocese of Charleston purchased the property where the church was to be located. The Lebanese people from Georgetown, Camden, Kingstree and Greeleyville, along with the Catholic Extension Society, helped the Catholics in Summerton. In 1914, the church was completed and dedicated. Over time, the columned front porch was enclosed to form the vestibule, a stained glass window was added, the sacristy was enlarged, and a rectory was built on the property behind the church. In 1993, the house next door was purchased and renovated as a recreational center with classrooms. It is the only Catholic Church in Clarendon county and provides Mass for travelers.

Swamp Fox Murals - Summerton, SC

Swamp Fox Mural, Summerton, SC    

After Friday night lazing at on the banks of Lake Marion, Summerton was an easy day trip. Summerton is one of the towns on the Swamp Fox mural trail and we spotted quite a few of them in town each telling a part of the American Revolution fought in South Carolina with our hero Francis Marion the Swamp Fox. Please do click on the link for more information and listen to the Swamp Fox song while you do!

Swamp Fox Murals Trail Society in Clarendon County, SC: The Swamp Fox, General Francis 
Marion and his engagements with the British in 1780-81 in St. Mark's Parish,  now Clarendon County,  depicting history on Historic murals in Manning, Paxville, Summerton & Turbeville.  
Every mural tells a story of the events of the American Revolution in South Carolina.