Happy Mother’s Day!

Let me start of by saying how thankful I am for having such an awesome mom. She’s the coolest of all moms, funny, sweet, loving and strong. Very, very strong. I bet she doesn’t realize that (do you mom?)… Anyone that can get through cancer is a tough cookie, and to go through it with a great attitude is a big accomplishment, as well as being such an inspiration. I think I’m going to start calling my mom “Grace”… she’s got lots of it!

I’m also thankful for my mother-in-law. I know there are the standard jokes about mother-in-laws being dragon ladies… I lucked out (again) and got a super sweet lady, just like me, hee…

I know some of you no longer have your moms… I’m so sorry, holidays can be so tough. I hope you are able to keep your mom in all your good thoughts. You do know she can still hear you when you talk to her, right? That’s a small comfort…

Lots of you are mom’s… hard work no doubt. Personally, I’m a dog mom. The cards didn’t fall in my favor with the ‘having a kid’ thing, so Mother’s Day has it’s moments for me as well… But I am Charlie’s mom (woof)… and I’m a good dog mom, ha ha… (PSSST, Charlie you’re a lucky dog!)

H A P P Y  M O T H E R’ S  D A Y ! ! !

Come on Charlie, lets go play in the sprinkler! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Vintage Image via: VintageScrapbooking.blogspot.com

Blessing of the fleet… a Charleston area event… this year held at Memorial Waterfront Park in Mt. Pleasant!

Isn’t this a fabulous photo I took… hee hee, (pat on the back)… looks like it should be in an advertisement! Well, this Sunday there is a festival event happening here in town… It will take place at the Memorial Waterfront Park in Mt. Pleasant. Shrimp, food, fun and a blessing for the fleet! If you’re in town you must check it out!

A blip from the CharlestonCocktail.com website..

Blessing of the Fleet & Seafood Festival
Sunday, April 29, 2012
11:30-6:00PM

The Blesssing of The Fleet and Seafood Festival at Memorial Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant, SC

  Why not give our local shrimp and fisherman a bit extra this year?!  Join others in local tradition for this year’s Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival.  This Charleston area event will be held at Memorial Waterfront Park under the bridge, on the Mt. Pleasant side. 

  The line-up for the festival this year has been beefed up with more maritime themed events including the main event, a boat parade and the official Blessing Of The Fleet.  It’s all held in an almost panoramic setting on the park’s pier, which jets out into the Charleston Harbor. 

  Also, at this year’s Blessing Of The Fleet and Seafood Festival, there is a shrimp eating and shag contest,  seafood “tastes” from local Mt. Pleasant restaurants, live music and children’s activities.  Bring the kiddies! 

With the main blessing held at 1PM, each individual shrimp and fishing vessel, that passes Mt Pleasant’s Waterfront Park, will get a kind reinforcement that the upcoming season will be a prosperous and safe one!

2012 Mt Pleasant Blessing Of The Fleet and Seafood Festival.  The clergymen give the local shrimp vessels and crew prayers of safety and prosperity in the 2012 shrimp season ahead.  Its not all business though. There will be plenty of South Carolina’s freshest juiciest shrimp and seafood!!  Make sure to bring your appetite with you!

You will get your fair share of shrimp and seafood at this year’s festival!  That’s for sure!  But, there is more fine restaurants and bars to sample on that side of the bridge!  Make sure to visit some of  Mt. Pleasant’s restaurants and bars, while you are in the area!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo: Charleston, SC – Turtles in a downtown Charleston fountain…

Another photo I took on Easter while out and about downtown Charleston, SC. Some of the yards are absolutely gorgeous, I got my lens through the gate to get a photo of the fountain and turtles… once I got home I’m not sure if they were real or not, ha ha… I need to go back and if they’re still there I guess I have my answer. I swear they looked real when I snapped this picture? Hmmm. Look at all that beautiful green grass! A rarity for downtown!

Hey… Happy Earth Day… do something green and environmentally friendly (like lose the gas blower and use electricity or rake and sweep… you burn calories at the same time, lots of them, then you get skinny and can eat forbidden foods, hee… at least that’s what I tell myself!)

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo: Sun streaming through a downtown Charleston gate…

Easter was a nice day. Ate too much. Got home and needed to move, otherwise I was going to fall into a coma. Fred and I went downtown and walked around and took photos. I was lost in the photo-taking moments, and we walked for over an hour, it was nice! Felt good to move AND we got a few neat shots. This photo of a gate on Legare Street reminds me of Heaven’s gate, although I always pictured it would be bigger, ha ha…

Have a good day, catch you back here tomorrow!

See… it IS possible… it CAN be good!

Look at this happy couple… this is Fred’s parents, Bobbie and Carlisle Stroud. Today my friends… is their 55th wedding anniversary. So you see, it IS possible to be married for a lot of years and still be happy! IT IS possible that life can be good when married to the same person for a number of years. We wish them the happiest anniversary day ever!

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

~Marcel Proust

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Cooper River Bridge Run… March 31, 2012. Inspiration and Registration… (& Bridge Run RESULTS!)

Bridge Run 2011 {Image}

Hello again… Here’s an update to this post… the bridge run is over… click HERE to get the results. It’s a searchable site, so you don’t have to scroll through 43,00+++++++ names!  Just click whether you want to see the wheelchair results or the Searchable site to check results… Great job everyone!

Yes. The March 31, 2012 Bridge Run in Charleston, SC IS. SOLD. OUT. Well… almost… you still have a chance for a ticket, but it’ll cost you! The flip side of that is that it’s for a good cause… the money goes to charity. This year they capped the regular registration at 43,000 people (good grief that’s a lot of people!), it sold out 23 days before the race (according to an article in the Post and Courier). I went to the Bridge Run’s website and indeed they have sold out, BUT for $150 (that you can raise for a charity) you can buy a Charity Connection Registration (mail/fax or in person only). There is a cap on the number of Charity Connection Registrations, it’s set at 1200! So it’s still possible to participate! From the BridgeRun.com website… this is the info on the Charity Connection Registration:

Charity Connection 

Along with registration, the Bridge Run offers participants the opportunity to help raise money for 12 charities.  It can be scary choosing a charity to donate to.  In this economy, every dollar counts. You want to be sure your hard earned donations are going to the cause described, and not squandered.  The bridge run has done the research for you.  We’ve found, among many, 12 well deserving charities.  Along with the larger, more reputable non-profits, we’ve found other smaller less exposed ones, that also, need and deserve your help. Just one dollar can make a difference!  What do you get with your donation, large or small?  Each participant who donates to one of our charities receives an additional, specialized bib, showing your support, of a good cause. Here’s how… click HERE for a list of charities, visit the Bridge Run website for details…

  • Now, you can leverage your run to raise money via crowdrise.  It’s super easy to join and all the money you raise will contribute the charity.
  • Choose your donation amount with regular registration. Register online or via paper registration, for $30 (before 2/01/12) and donate any amount from $1 up.  You may also donate separate amounts to multiple charities. For example, you may choose to donate $1 to charity x, and $20 to charity y. 
  • Register through a specific charity, for $150, set fee.   When donating $150 or more to the Charity of your choice you will not only get the delight of making an impact, but you will also receive a specialized Cooper River Bridge Run Charity Bib, free entry into the Race, and free packet mailing before 2/23/12.
 There was another article in the Post and Courier (newspaper) that told an inspirational story of two men who lost weight the hard way. Exercise and healthy eating. It’s a must read, if that won’t get you off your duff nothing will! These two guys are doing the bridge run… Clinton Terrill who started at 500 pounds and is now down to 238 (and still dropping) and Bryan Ganey who started at 577 pounds and is at 287 and still dropping… KUDOS TO YOU GUYS! If nothing else the bridge and the bridge run inspires people to M O V E! You’ve got to admire hard work!
Catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo: a balcony at the Island Inn, Monhegan Island, Maine…

Several years ago we stayed in a room at the Island Inn that had a balcony… it was a delight, sitting out there in your own chairs overlooking the most gorgeous view EVER! The room was nice, but much smaller (which is fine, we don’t spend much time in our room at all). We’ve tried all different rooms and all seem to be fabulous! This year we’ll be on the third floor, so that will be nice and quiet… and you get a bonus workout each time you walk the three flights to your room, ha ha… helps burn off all the tasty food… although it seems like all we do is hike, walk, well… and  e a t! This surprise shot showcases our little bag of treats on our porch… can’t remember what it was but i’m sure it was good!

Enjoy your Sunday… catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo: Azalea’s in Charleston… Happy Spring!

H A P P Y  S P R I N G ! Can you believe it’s SPRING already?? Time flies… I mean it’s whizzing by at such a pace I can barely believe it… Maybe because it’s been like spring in Charleston most of the winter. It still comes as a shock that today is the first day of spring, or should I say… one season closer to summer, ahhh! Like those of you in cool climates dread winter, I dread summer… here’s hoping that this will be an unusually cool summer (woohoo! That hasn’t happened since 1989 when I moved here, but winter has never been so mild either, so… there’s hope)!

It’s a beautiful time here in Charleston, everything is blooming. It seems that everyone has azaleas, and the street is lined in pink blooms. Very pretty indeed!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Spring ahead and check your smoke alarm batteries! TONIGHT…

Image: Voices.Yahoo.com

This is the time of year to S P R I N G  A H E A D  ! Don’t forget to set your clocks AHEAD one hour before you go to bed…  It’s strange getting used to a new time. My body is on auto pilot. Most days I wake up at the same time each morning, and am ready to turn in around the same time each night… now everything will be screwy… Do YOU like this time change? Here in Charleston it seems like we’ve had Spring for the last few months now… so it’s not like getting excited once the time changes that Spring is near… it’s been here!

Hey, after you set your clocks, change the batteries in your smoke alarms… it could save a life!

AND… if you’re one of the slick few that noticed that I already did a post today that mentioned that the time changes tomorrow PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK! Because… oops! It just hit me… it’s T O D A Y !

Have a great day, catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo taken from Shem Creek dock, Mt Pleasant, SC… what a bizarre sky!

Fascinating sky, isn’t it?? Mother nature is full of mystery, you never know what you’re going to see! There is beauty all around us, especially here in the coastal Charleston area… gorgeous. The sky is different every evening… it’s amazing! Well my friends, tonight is the big time change… Remember… we change the clocks… S P R I N G  F O R W A R D ! ! ! So tomorrow’s 5 will be 6…

If you read this post earlier and are coming back to it and it seems different… you are not crazy. I sat down to read a book and for some reason it hit me… B A M ! I was thinking clocks changed on Sunday when I wrote this, but really they change Sat PM before you go to bed (unless you stay up until 2am on Sunday when it’s technically the correct time to change the clocks)… oh boy, this time change thing is confusing… sigh…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Hard to believe she would have been 12… a painting and a memory…

Streamers After by Tollef Runquist / Image: Dowling Walsh

This painting is special to us. It isn’t ours, it’s for sale at the Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, Maine.  Today is a special day… Isabelle would have been 12… hard to imagine. This painting is what Fred and I both imagine Isabelle would have been like if everything went OK. Unfortunately, things with the pregnancy didn’t go well… You have to figure that things work out for a reason, although it’s hard to understand “why” at that moment…  We’re so fortunate to have each other and for that we are extremely thankful!

This painting is so happy and bright. Just like a little girl after her birthday party. See how paintings can evoke memories? Every painting that we have has a great memory attached to it. Hope yours do too!

Happy 12 years Isabelle… We love you…

Ahhh, the history of leap year… explained here!

Haven’t you wondered what leap year was all about? I never really thought much about it, but I can say I’m a better person for having read this… after you read it you will be fully informed and will never have to wonder again!

Found this great info from Inventor.About.com (click HERE to see the full page)
THE HISTORY OF LEAP YEAR…
Leap years are years with 366 days, instead of the usual 365. Leap years are necessary because the actual length of a year is 365.242 days, not 365 days, as commonly stated. Basically, leap years occur every 4 years, and years that are evenly divisible by 4 (2004, for example) have 366 days. This extra day is added to the calendar on February 29th.

However, there is one exception to the leap year rule involving century years, like the year 1900. Since the year is slightly less than 365.25 days long, adding an extra day every 4 years results in about 3 extra days being added over a period of 400 years. For this reason, only 1 out of every 4 century years is considered as a leap year. Century years are only considered as leap years if they are evenly divisible by 400. Therefore, 1700, 1800, 1900 were not leap years, and 2100 will not be a leap year. But 1600 and 2000 were leap years, because those year numbers are evenly divisible by 400.

 Julius Caesar, Father of Leap Year… read more HERE

So now you know! Catch you back here tomorrow!

[Image: ThemesBank]

Does it feel like spring where you’re at?? This weather is heaven!

This has been the craziest winter that I can ever remember in all my life. I grew up in Michigan, where (at least in my memories) it snowed in the winter, and snow pretty much stayed around until spring. Now it comes and goes, and this year??? Lots of places are without their regular amounts of snow. Wonder why the big change all of a sudden? Here in Charleston, SC it was downright freezing last winter (well, to our standards it was freezing)… this year it’s been so nice. Lots of days in 60’s and 70’s. A few in the 80’s! We slept with the windows open recently… I love that! I’m wondering what that means come summer? It certainly can’t be any warmer than it normally is here in Charleston! Heat index in the 120’s. It’s barely tolerable, and makes me want to pack and move to the Antarctic! We were talking to a woman in a store yesterday, she said many customers were telling her that if we have a warm winter that means our summer will be cooler… OH YAY! HAS ANYONE ELSE HEARD THAT? Personally I don’t think there is any science behind it… it’ll be what it’ll be and we’ll just have to go with it… Dump a few bags of ice in the pool and move on, ha ha… Hope the weather is lovely where you are!

Catch you back here tomorrow!