Red Cross Donations

Smith St., Charleston, S.C.

Red Cross donation site for the Oklahoma recovery relief.

Today's bit of history: this Smith St. house that has the red cross painted on it was actually the local headquarters of the American Red Cross during World War I. It housed the administrative services of the Red Cross as well as the Blood Bank until 1989 until it returned to being a family residence.

Iron Gate

Governor's Mansion, Columbia, S.C.

Waaaaa....I have a mess of poison ivy. Poor, poor pitiful me. I moved a tv into the bathroom and played one of the Doc Martin DVDs while I took a long soak to keep myself from scratching my skin off. Wish me luck. I keep telling myself, "at least it isn't smallpox."

Today's picture is not from Charleston but was taken at the Governor's Mansion in Columbia. What beautiful delicate iron work.

Perlow Rice & Cold Slaw

Mack's Bar B Que, Lake City, S.C.

I took the picture for the Perlow Rice and then spotted the rest of the quirky spelling. I spotted this at Mack's Bar-B-Que when I was in Lake City a few weeks ago.

Perlow Rice

Lime Beam

Pota Sald

Cold Slaw

Is it pilau, perloo. perlau, plaw, pilaw, pilaf, or pilaff? The word comes from the Turkish pilaw, from the Persian pilaw, and from the Osmanli pilav, "rice porridge."  Pronunciation is just as varied, as in PER-lo, PEELaf, or per-LO. According to Bill Neal, Charlestonians, no matter how they spell it, all pronounce it PER-low.

English writers spoke of the dish in the seventeenth century, and by the eighteenth century it had taken hold in Britain, especially after the empire spread through the Middle East and into India. In America, the Southern rice crops and the influence of the spice trade made the dish popular. Pilau has been a popular dish in many Southern states for 300 years, particularly South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana.

 

Swamp Stylin' Charleston Fashion

Audubon Swamp, Charleston, S.C.

It is the spring statement fashion Charleston style - stylish boots and short shorts. It was a bright sunny day, a bit warm for boots but considering all the little bites I have on my sandaled tootsies, she was dressed the smarter of us for stomping through the swamp paths.

Thanks to Sheryl for posing for me as we passed on our hikes around the lake. 

New favorite tree

A tree grows West Ashley, South Windermere, Charleston

This may be my new favorite tree. Wow. The trunk is quite thick and sturdy so it hasn't just popped up. This is quite amazing.

I found it in behind South Windermere when I walked down the greenway to try out the newly opened YoBo Cantina Fresca. You know my theory, if you walk to and from dinner there are no calories to consider. Yummy dinner by the way.

Congratulations to SC Governor's Volunteer Award Winners

SC Governor's Volunteer Award Winners - 2013

Thanks to the South Carolina Association for Volunteer Administration for coordinating the presentation of the 2013 Governor's Awards for Volunteerism at the Statehouse yesterday. I had three nominees being honored so we took a happy gang to Columbia for the festivities. The awards presentation was held at the Statehouse with Governor Nikki Haley and then we went to the Lace House on the Governor's Mansion grounds for a luncheon.

My winners from Charleston pictured below with the Governor are Charles & Marlene Williamon and Betty Saulisbury. Charles and Marlene volunteer for almost every non-profit in town (seriously!) and Betty has served close to 30,000 hours at Roper Hospital. I've been going to this event for quite a few years and am so appreciative of Governor Haley for taking the time to make it such a special event. In the past, our Governors never even bothered to show up for the event.

I served as photographer and handed my pocket camera over to a friend as I did my presentation. That is how I got in the final shot! Heheh.

Happy Hospital Week!

Roper Hospital, Charleston, S.C.

In recognition of Hospital Week I've pulled up a few pictures from a couple years ago. The Roper Hospital shot is from 1962. I love how the cars date the photo. So often I try to avoid having cars in a picture but they are an important feature of the period.

The shot below is St. Francis Xavier Hospital at Calhoun and Ashley. The facade still appears to be there today covered by yellow brick. It was an attractive building. I used to help deliver babies in the third floor of that building - after it had been uglified.

St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Charleston, S.C.

Pecha Kucha 18

They couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect evening for the spring outdoors Pecha Kucha event.This session was held at Wragg Square in front of Second Presbterian Church. It was a glorious and perfect Charleston evening. I wasn't too sure about how long the lines might be for the pizza so I stopped at Publix and picked up picnic goodies.

Pecha Kucha, Japanese for the sound of conversation, is a mix of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour that has become a forum for ideas on design, architecture and other forms of creativity. Devised in 2003 in Tokyo, Pecha Kucha Night has spread virally to over 135 cities around the world as an informal forum for creative people to meet, network and show their work in public.For more about Pecha Kucha you can visit the global website. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for just 20 seconds, giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

Check here for this evening's presenters and sign up to be notified of the ticket sales and event schedule. Thanks to our event coordinators for rallying the creative side of the lowcountry!

This old house - before & now

Wells, S.C.

This beautiful old home is at the intersection in the unincorporated community of Wells, S.C. Everytime I pass that way I check on the renovation progress. I'd say it is slooooooow but steady. The picture below was taken in 2009.

As I googled to see if I was the only person taking pictures of this home, I came across this site of Historic Homes for Sale in South Carolina. There are some real deals here if you don't mind living in tiny town, South Carolina. Check out this home in Clio, S.C.

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