Peachy Keen

Each Saturday Dave and I head downtown to the Charleston Farmer's Market. I look forward to it all week--it's so much fun. It's right downtown--in Marion Square--and features fresh produce, local artists, bands, and even a crepe maker! Dave and I love the strawberry and nutella crepes.

We took our friend Courtney with us when she visited back in September. She's an amazing cook/baker, so we picked out some wonderful peaches and she showed me how to make peach cobbler.

This past Saturday, Dave and I bought some more peaches at the farmer's market. While the peaches weren't as good as they were back in September, they were still amazing. Peach season is coming to a close, so we decided to pay tribute to the 2008 peach season with another cobbler. Dave and I worked on it together on Sunday and we're still enjoying it! Here's to southern peaches! :) We can't wait until peach season 2009.

The beach is back!

Elton John's song should be renamed "The Beach is Back." That's what I was singing yesterday when Dave and I ventured out to the Isle of Palms after he got home from work.

Since May, "our" beach has been packed with vacationers. That was sad for us because we couldn't take Nomini for walks on the beach (anyone who knows our dog knows how much she likes is absolutely terrified of people). We've tried to socialize her and get her used to people, but she has been very stubborn about it. And now that she's close to seven years old, we figure there's no changing her. Since mid-spring, Nomini hasn't been to the beach and we haven't gone as much because it was just too crowded.

So yesterday, Dave, Nomini, and I decided to test the waters and see if the crowds left after Labor Day. We were delighted to find we had the beach to ourselves again!! It was awesome!!! It was breezy and warm and just like heaven. Nomini was super thrilled and I'm happy that we once again have "our" beach back (at least until next May).

Welcoming Hanna

Disaster Relief

This week has been a bit challenging for us. Over the weekend water began dripping from one of our bedroom ceilings. At first we thought it was from a roof leak due to the ten million gallons of water that Tropical Storm Fay dumped on Charleston (I've never seen so much rain in my life). But when Fay left us, the dripping continued and after further investigation it turned out to be a leak in the A/C unit, which is in our attic. We turned the A/C off immediately.

On Monday, after we had contacted our insurance company, the entire ceiling in the room decided to collapse from the weight of the waterlogged insulation. We were out at the time and I can only imagine what Nomini must have thought when that happened (her poor nerves!). Luckily she wasn't in the room and we didn't have a ton of stuff in that room anyway. But it turned out to be a huge mess.

So all week we've been dealing with our insurance company and disaster relief specialists and contractors and adjusters. I've learned a ton about all of these things. It's strange, though, to see a huge Disaster Relief truck in your driveway (they're the folks responsible for cleaning up all the insulation and drying out the room, insulation, carpet, etc.). I can only imagine what the neighbors must think!

This has gotten me thinking about hurricanes and tornadoes and all of those horrible weather events that I'm already so scared of. Down here hurricane preparation is a way of life and folks think nothing of it. But not me. I think a lot of it! :)

Before the weather gurus knew what direction Fay was going to take, Dave and I decided we should probably get prepared. So the first thing we did was buy a crank weather radio. This thing is awesome. If we have to ride out a storm we'll at least be able to know when it's coming to destroy our home. We set up the radio and have it sitting in our living room.

The other night as we sat down for a quiet dinner, we were suddenly startled by a loud, ominous alarm. I almost fell off my chair and my hands and legs flailed in all directions as I ran through the house tracking the source of the alarm. Turns out if you have the weather radio tuned to the NOAA weather station, it sounds an alarm when a severe weather situation is occurring. That alarm sounds a lot because each time there's a storm here (which is pretty much every day) there is some tornado or risk of tornado that occurs somewhere in the tri-county area.

We decided the other day that the radio wasn't helping my weather nerves. We turned it off. At least we still have the radio in case of an emergency. But that alarm was totally stressing me out! I just hope I can make it through hurricane season with my nerves still in tact. Let's hope, too, that Gustav doesn't hit New Orleans and Mississippi too badly.

Iron Gates

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my favorite things down here is the architecture. It's absolutely amazing and takes my breath away each time I'm downtown. All spring I volunteered as a tour guide for the Charleston Historical Society and I'm volunteering for a candlelight garden tour in October. I learned so much during my volunteering...about gardening and artwork and architecture. It was like a free education and I can't wait to do it again in the fall. What catches my eye the most are the intricate details of the ironwork all around town—on windows and gates primarily.

Dave and I recently bought a house and needed bedroom furniture. When I volunteered I kept thinking it would be neat to buy an iron gate grille and put it above our bed instead of buying a headboard. So a few weeks ago we were downtown and I found an old iron grille in an antique shop. We bought it and hung it above our bed.

The grille has rust on it (so I'm hoping it's truly authentic) and I love the two fleur-de-lis designs found at its center. Sometimes I stare at it and try to imagine where it was before it came into our home. I like to imagine it was handmade by an ironworker and anchored the front of a gate in an old house downtown that opened only for horse and buggies. With my luck, though, it probably is a replica that was just waiting for a sucker like me to buy it :). In any event, I like not knowing its history...my daydreamed scenarios of where it came from are probably much better than the grille's reality :).

Traffic Jam

The other morning I encountered a traffic jam here in Mt. Pleasant. I couldn't figure out what was going on because traffic jams don't occur very often around here. So I rolled down my window, which takes a lot of courage in this oppressive heat, and leaned my head out the side of the car to get a better look. Just then I saw three geese slowly making their way across the street. Then a whole group of geese followed. It was hilarious--these geese literally stopped traffic and wouldn't move out of the way! We sat there for awhile as the geese leisurely strolled across the street. They finally made it to the other side, and traffic continued on as usual.

Later on as I headed home, the ugliest bird on the planet decided to hang out in the street...directly in my path. I don't know the name of this bird, but he hangs out around our house. He looks like a mix between a turkey and a swan (and that's being kind to the poor guy). He wouldn't leave the street and just stood there. I couldn't pass because I was too close to him and didn't want him to freak out and run directly into my car (he doesn't look like a very smart bird, but I may be stereotyping here . . . what birds do look smart?). I would feel really bad if I killed the ugliest bird on the planet. So I sat there and tried to talk him out of the street. He didn't listen. Finally he decided he was bored with me and went on his merry way.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

Earlier this spring Dave and I went to a performance of "Arabian Nights" by the College of Charleston's theater group. The students were amazingly talented as they performed adaptations of One Thousand and One Nights, tales from Arabic storytellers and authors handed down through the years.

As we sat in the audience I watched as students made their way into the theater. In front of us a group of four students plopped down in their seats. During intermission I eavesdropped as they joked about the play's sexual references, teased a member of the group for sneaking out for a cigarette, and worried out loud about work they had to do. It was so much fun listening to their comfortable banter and you could tell they were close friends. I imagine they were seniors who had roomed together throughout college and at the end of the play I found myself wondering if these students would stay friends. Where would their paths lead? What would they accomplish in their careers? In life? And then I thought of my own college friends--still some of the most important people in my life.

I smiled to myself as the students walked away.

As Dave and I walked out of the theater I ran into a woman I had met the day before at a volunteer job. I really liked her because she took the time to teach me about the plants in the garden we both worked in. It was so neat to run into her at the play so that I could introduce her to Dave. She introduced me to her husband and then explained that he is a retired professor at the College of Charleston. They had moved to Charleston early in their married life in the 1950s for his job as a professor. They both were very interested in our new life in Charleston and our life at the College and asked us about the courses Dave teaches and what I do for a living. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them.

And as we said goodbye and walked away, I could feel their smiles follow us out of the room.

Where are Scully and Mulder when you need them?

The local Fox news came on tonight after American Idol. About ten minutes into the program the newscaster mentioned a possible Bigfoot sighting not too far from Charleston. Dave and I immediately stopped what we were doing--I put down my laptop and he put down his book--to hear if Sasquatch really had made an appearance in the lowcountry. Perhaps he heard that spring was a nice time to visit?

What got me about the report was not the Bigfoot sighting or even that the local news was reporting it.

What really got me was that the newscaster casually mentioned that some people think that it wasn't Bigfoot, but instead the "legendary Lizard Man." I couldn't believe my ears. I looked at Dave and said, "Did she just say 'legendary Lizard Man'?" Dave nodded, thrilled at the prospect of a green monster roaming the area.

I picked up my laptop and went straight to Google. Sure enough, there have been "sightings" of a green, scaly monster with glowing red eyes. Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

"The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp (also known as The Lizard Man Of Lee County), is a humanoid cryptid which is said to inhabit areas of swampland in and around Lee County, South Carolina. The Lizard Man is described as being seven feet tall, bipedal, and well built, with green scaly skin and glowing red eyes. It is said to have three toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand which end in long black claw-like nails."

Great. Now on top of alligators, snakes, and the ginormous roaches palmetto bugs that fly around here, I have to worry about a bipedal humanoid cryptid. Is there no justice in this world?

This made me laugh and laugh and laugh and . . .

Dave and I really have noticed that Charleston is a laid-back kind of town. You should see the bars on a Sunday afternoon--packed! People down here really do seem to enjoy life. That laid-back attitude crops up in the funniest places. Our street name, for instance, is Vagabond Lane. Right next to us is Gypsy Court. And I keep seeing signs around town that make me laugh out loud. Like this one. I think I laughed for 20 minutes straight.

Long time gone

It's so good to be posting back on this blog! A confluence of events prevented me from updating the blog this past month...

1) My desktop computer decided to go on strike. I've now gotten a new laptop that I love! I'm no longer chained to a computer that only works when it wants to.

2) Spring has sprung here in Charleston. I am easily distracted and this spring fever I have caught hasn't helped!

3) I've been volunteering for the Historic Charleston Foundation as a docent for historic home tours and garden tours around Charleston. It has been amazing and I'm treating it like a free education. I'm learning a lot (but have so much more to learn). I've decided to enroll in a Master Gardener program (Clemson has an extension in Charleston).

On top of freelance work and some travel mixed in (I took an amazing trip to Nashville with my sister-in-law in February) it's been a busy month or so. We love Charleston, although I still get homesick once in awhile. But this city right now is absolutely beautiful. Spring here is like paradise...but I know the cruel heat of summer awaits!

Spring in Charleston:

The sea lion that wasn't

Tonight Dave got home from work a little early so he, Nomini, and I headed to the beach for an evening walk.

As I've said before, Nomini absolutely loves the beach. She runs and plays and wags her tail and, most importantly, wears herself out. Tonight was no different. She had a blast investigating the seashells and digging in the sand.

As we were walking, a thick fog rolled in and we could barely see anything ahead of us. It reminded me of the beach scenes in The Goonies. It was eerie being out on the beach and we almost expected a pirate ghost ship to make its way inland (wouldn't Dave have loved that!).

Up ahead of us at one point I saw a weird shape. At first I thought it was a large dog running around, but as we got closer it didn't look like a dog. Instead, it looked like a huge sea lion coming in out of the ocean. It was really hard to see through the fog and I immediately began an internal debate in my brain. I flip-flopped between That's not a sea lion--they don't live on the S.C. coast to That IS a sea lion and it's huge! to There is NO way that's a sea lion to OH MY GOD, IT'S A SEA LION AND HE'S COMING TO ATTACK US--RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At which point, I proceeded to scream and take off with Nomini in the opposite direction. We left Dave in the dust, or I should say, sand.

After a few minutes of calming down and listening to Dave laugh and laugh at me, we realized it was two people who were wrestling and running around. I made Dave admit that to him, too, it looked like a sea lion. I guess walking in the misty light of the fog made my imagination run wild and my legs run fast!

Follow that bird

Dave and I were standing in our yard recently when what seemed like a T-Rex with wings flew overhead. This bird was huge and Dave and I instinctively ducked as its wingspan cast a shadow over our entire backyard. Since then I've wanted to learn more about wildlife in our area.

So this past week Nomini and I set out on a journey to discover what types of birds inhabit the lakes and creeks that flow through our neighborhood. I put on Nomini's leash and the two of us took off. Much to my surprise we immediately came upon three huge turtles and a ton of egrets and pelicans basking in the Sun. I was so excited and then I realized I had forgotten my camera. We ran back to the house, got the camera, and ran back to the site to find the turtles had slipped into the lake and the birds had flown off.

So Nomini and I sat and waited. Nomini was a bit impatient but suddenly some wildlife returned. I tried to capture some of the birds on my camera, but the photos didn't turn out as great as I wanted. It was a peaceful and beautiful afternoon, though, and I can't wait to do it again.

From the bird book I bought, I think this is a Snowy Egret.

A pelican and a Double-crested Cromorant just hanging out:

A Double-crested Cromorant drying its wings. These birds lack the oil gland that keeps its feathers from becoming waterlogged. So the bird has to dry off with its wings outstretched, facing the Sun:

Obama!

I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for yet in the upcoming SC primary. So yesterday I went to a rally at the College of Charleston for Barack Obama. It was packed with students, faculty, people from the community like me, Secret Service (all over the place), and local and national media. I stood next to a group of med students from the Medical University of South Carolina who were very interested in hearing what Senator Obama had to say.

What was so exciting is that Senator John Kerry showed up to announce his endorsement of Senator Obama. None of us expected him to be there and to make this major announcement (we had all been waiting in line for hours before the rally so we didn't catch the news about Kerry's endorsement). Because of this endorsement, the event was made even more significant--everyone in the crowd was buzzing about what this meant for John Edwards. More than anything it was exciting to see all of the students so involved in this election. Many of the students volunteered and were very optimistic about the future (which made me smile because at times I caught myself reacting cynically to some of the promises made by both politicians).

I'm still not sure who I'm going to vote for, but yesterday's rally made me feel glad to be a citizen of the United States of America who has a choice in the matter.

Senators Obama and Kerry on stage:

Both men greeting supporters:

En français

This morning Dave and I went downtown to the Gaulart and Maliclet Cafe (G&M Cafe) also known as Fast & French: www.fastandfrench.org/G&M/G&M_index.html. When we visted Charleston back in February a friend at work who is from Charleston recommended we stop by G&M. I was anxious to return so I was excited to go back there this morning. The breakfast was terrifique. (That's about the extent of my french vocabulary even though I took it in high school! Hee hee.)

Downtown Charleston reminds us a lot of Europe, which makes sense because the English settled in Charleston in the 1600s. Huguenots from western and northern France also settled in Charleston in the 1680s. Each time Dave and I are downtown we notice the french influence, especially.

That's why G&M cafe fits in so well downtown. The coffee (made in a french press) is delicious. It was a nice way to start off our Saturday morning. Bonne Année 2008!!

Time passages

I spent most of 2007 trying to slow time. I was unsuccessful.

Each day as we approached our move to South Carolina, I felt panic as time slipped away. Why did it have to go so fast? Couldn't I have just one more day in the townhouse we loved? Or another fun evening with friends we cherish?

I wanted more time at my job. I wanted more time in the DC area. I wanted more time to watch the Redskins play. I wanted more time with my family. I just wanted more time and I wanted things to stay the same.

Now that we're in Charleston, I know time will still fly. But in 2008 I will be trying to slow time for a different reason--I have so much I want to do. Each year as the calendar flips to January 1st, it's exciting to look ahead to the future. I can't wait to see what is in store for me and Dave, our friends, and our family. Here's to a happy and healthy 2008!!!!

A happy day

A candlelight dinner

Dave and I went to a concert at the College of Charleston tonight that was amazing. The College of Charleston's madrigal choir put on a Christmas show and dinner--a Renaissance menu of French pork chops, potatoes, and asparagus. They even served wassail. In addition to the incredible music (hopefully my video above works ok), the students performed a play based on Macbeth that was written by one of the students (the skit even referenced Monty Python, Blazing Saddles, and ended with a tribute to Star Wars). All of the students performing tonight were extremely talented and Dave and I hope to make this an annual tradition.

O Christmas Tree

This past weekend we drove to Savannah to visit with Dave's sister Nancy and her husband Ed. We had a great time as always and it's really cool because Savannah is only about 2 hours from Charleston. We are happy that we live so close to them.

No one loves Christmas more than Nancy. While in Savannah, we went with Nancy and Ed to cut down a Christmas tree. We had a lot of fun and drank warm apple cider. Dave and I aren't putting up a Christmas tree this year because we won't be here for Christmas and all of our Christmas stuff is still packed away, but helping Nancy and Ed get their tree definitely helped put us in the holiday spirit!

Nancy, Ed, and Brady with their tree:

It's Fall, Y'all!

For some strange reason I was worried before we moved down here that seasons wouldn't change in Charleston and that we wouldn't experience my favorite season--fall. I didn't want to miss that crisp November breeze or the golden vibrant hues of leaves changing their colors.

Luckily, all of my worrying was a waste of time (which is usually the case).

While the seasonal change isn't as distinct as what we experience in Virginia, Charleston definitely has a fall. We learned that firsthand yesterday when we raked over 20 trash bags full of FALL LEAVES! It was a beautiful day to rake leaves, but it took us a long time! By the time we finished bagging the leaves it was dark outside. I snapped these two pictures at dusk. Dave and I were pretty wiped out and are very sore this morning. But we actually had fun raking the leaves...probably because in some way we were grateful for them.

It's a wonderful Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe it's almost December. Everywhere you go around here is decorated for the holidays. It's a little strange to see Christmas lights when it's 70 degrees outside, but I'm sure we'll get used to that :).

The lights went up before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving always seems to get overlooked! It's the best holiday, though. A day that is simple--when you give thanks, gather with family and friends, eat good food, and watch football. That's my kind of day!

We had a nice Thanksgiving...my mom and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner and we watched all of the football games. Our dinner turned out ok, but the best part were the pies! My mom made apple (and put a smiley face on the crust just like my grandmother used to do).

And I made pecan pie from the pecans in our front yard! It took my Dad and I forever to crack all of the pecans, but we did it and the pie turned out well. This year I used the pecan pie recipe from the Joy of Cooking--Dave loved it :).