Before and almost after - Thomas St.

Thomas St., Charleston, SC 

15 Thomas St. is getting a new look. It's nice to see a home I have walked by for so many years getting love and attention. Since it changed hands last year we still get to look at the interior shots from the real estate web site - tour.

Listed as valuable in ''This Is Charleston'' and also noted as one of the 70 properties that defined the Historic District when it was defined in the 1960s, The Samuel S. Mills House was built by a Massachusetts ship captain as a New England double house in 1839. This home sits high on a large corner lot in one of Charleston's most sought after historic neighborhoods. Grand scale rooms on both floors feature high ceilings, large windows, wide doorways and beautiful wooden floors. 

Before

Renovation in progress

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance

St. Mark's, Thomas St., Charleston, S.C. 

In this case I actually did go to church - for the very best part, amazing singing. I went to hear the Lowcountry Voices Choir perform Robert Ray's Gospel Mass yesterday evening and they did almost lift the roof off the old church. This was a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the St. Mark's Episcopal and I am so glad I went. It was even more meaningful because a friend and co-worker was in the choir.

Check the Lowcountry Voices web site for other performances scheduled for this year. You won't be sorry.

 

And the gates shall remain closed

6 Thomas St., Charleston, S.C.

I used to live on Vanderhorst St. and had always been aware that Robert Barnwell Rhett the Father of Secession lived in my house. He is listed as the occupant of 42 Vanderhorst in the 1851 census directory. Googling his name came up with his name attached to the much more impressive home on the corner of Vanderhorst and 6 Thomas St. He must have come down in life to have moved from this mansion to my old home.

I've always loved the beautiful home but was unfamiliar with the story behind the massive iron gates I have walked past hundreds of times. Here is an old Post & Courier story about the house.

The house has an enduring bit of Charleston lore associated with it. Along Vanderhorst St. (bordering the property to the south) are large and very decorative iron gates. The set of gates to the west is said to have been the spot where a woman bid farewell to her fiance, telling him as he left that she would not reopen the gates until he returned. The man was killed in the Civil War, and no subsequent occupant of the house has reopened the gates to this day; they remain locked shut.

 

 

Thomas St. corner

Thomas St., Charleston, S.C.

This sweet scene it just around the block from my house.

Seems like I've been scrambling home from work and dashing out to dinner this week but it has all been wonderful. I love restaurant week in Charleston!  Luckily we do it twice a year now and it makes the pricier restaurants more manageable. I met my friend Jo at Macintosh this evening and I'll be thinking about their melt-in-the-mouth ricotta gnudi until the next time I get to go back. We were very well taken care of thanks to chef de cuisine Chris Delaney. Thanks folks! Back to salad eating next week.

My phone is still ringing off the hook with campaign call. Yawn. It looks like Stephen Colbert is going to be at the College of Charleston Cistern tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Too bad I'll be at work, eh.

Dad's little helper

Thomas St., Charleston, S.C.

Dad's little helper. Learning recycling early.

I am on a peanut butter toast kick and I think it's time for a cuppa tea and toast. I am such a natural little old lady. G'night kids.

Happy Mother's Day Ladies!

Thomas St., Charleston, S.C.

Happy Mother's Day ladies! I took this photo on Mother's Day years ago around the corner from my house but I imagined the lady of the house in bed waiting for someone to bring her up the flowers and newspapers with her breakfast.

The Shoebox Blog - which always cracks me up, has: Advice From Their Moms

NEIL ARMSTRONG: “Take a jacket. It gets chilly up there on the moon at night.”

GEORGE CUSTER: “Wear clean underwear, just in case you have to get treated for sudden arrow holes.”

BARACK OBAMA: “Keep that birth certificate in a safe place. You never know when you might need it.”

LADY GODIVA: “Leave it long.”

COLUMBUS: “Sit down. Your friends can wait until you finish your geography.”

Unfortunately, my kids are out of town and I have to clean up and paint an apartment for a new tenant. Blah. Scrubbing a toilet and spackling nail holes are not my preferred way to celebrate.

Tiny people enter here

Thomas & Warren St., Charleston, S.C.

The size of this entry door appears to be an optical illusion. It seems shorter than it should be in comparison to the rest of the house. Perhaps it is the height of the large door frame, especially above the door that makes it appear shorter. Every time I walk by, I think to myself, "Hmmmm.....that looks like a door for tiny people."

I mentioned that on the off chance you ever see me deep in thought at the corner of Thomas & Warren and wonder what I have on my mind. I'm not very deep.

Trailing through Tuesday

Thomas St., Charleston, S.C.

These folks probably think I am spying on them, I am so tempted to take a picture every time I pass their home. I try to be discreet and then, CLICK!

What a crazy day. Weirdness abounds, my friends. It's too bad I can't talk about work stuff here since I work in a hospital or this wouldn't primarily be a photo blog. Sometimes I do have to bite my tongue not to talk about my day.

I am going up to Hanahan to pick up my little canoe shortly. It's time for my sweet baby to come home.

Here is a new blog for my stylish friends to check out: I Like What You're Wearing. Oddly, I am not featured. Heheh. Do you think it is my ratty, scuffed "dansko shoes for life"?

Famous Mom Quotes

Thomas St., Charleston, S.C.

I took this picture around the corner from my house on Mother's Day a couple of years ago and always liked it. I hope she got breakfast in bed as well as her flowers and newspaper. Have a good day. Enjoy your little ones. Before you know it they are across the country getting their Masters Degree.

Here are a few Famous Mom Quotes...

MONA LISA'S MOTHER: "After all that money your father and I spent on braces, Mona, that's the biggest smile you can give us?"

COLUMBUS' MOTHER: "I don't care what you've discovered, Christopher. You still could have written!"

BABE RUTH'S MOTHER: "Babe, how many times have I told you to quit playing ball in the house! That's the third broken window this week!"

MICHELANGELO'S MOTHER: "Mike, can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"

NAPOLEON'S MOTHER: "All right, Napoleon. If you aren't hiding your report card inside your jacket, then take your hand out of there and prove it!"

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S MOTHER: "Again with the stovepipe hat, Abe? Can't you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?"