Emmy's Birthday

 Our granddaughter Emily turned SIX last week!

I know that seems impossible, but here's proof.

Her party was at Zachary's Pizza and it was non-stop fun.  Mom Rachel made a gorgeous and delicious cake, her specialty.

It seems like grandparents Dan, Mary, Ed and I ate the pizza while the kids played arcade games and air hockey!

 But they all came back to the table for cake, though.  I'm sure you can imagine all the fun gifts Emily received from her friends and family.

LOTS of princess stuff, along with sports equipment - she's really one of those athletic princesses.  Grandpa Ed is building her a sandbox to play in at home.

Emily has always been a happy, active kid and enjoys school.  She's a good reader, always loves a board game, will play and draw inside or play outside with the dogs for hours.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMY!

Philly Cheese

We drove to Vermont on Tuesday, with a slight detour to Philadelphia.  My bother and nephew came along for the ride (and to see my Dad and Mother), but primarily, I think, to get a cheese steak at Pat's, home of the original.

We drove through Little Italy to Pat's on Passyunk Street (right across from the celebrity tribute wall - how many of these Philly guys do you remember?)

My nephew Richard told me you need to know what to order, no hemming anf hawing at the window or they'll send you to the back of the line, so I was ready and ordered a "whiz wit'", the favorite.

Delish, worth the stopover and boy, were Dick and Richard happy!  And I have to go on a serious diet.

Last day in Durham

We didn't do too much on Sunday, a couple of strolls around Barbara's neighborhood, sorting stuff, hanging a few things up in the condo.  I did get to wear my fab new hat.  It's called a San Diego hat and I found it in a little shop on 9th Street.  I know old ladies like it because they keep stopping me to say so.  And the important thing is, I like it and it does the trick ~ keeping the sun OFF!

Sunday evening we met my brother Dick's family and my Mother's cousin Paul and his wife Linda for some Eastern North Carolina barbecue at The Pit in Raleigh.  I learned something about this:  Eastern NC barbecue is made with vinegar based sauce and Western NC is made with a sweeter tomato based sauce.  Well, we were kind of in the middle of the state, but we chose Eastern "chopped pork barbecue".  I have to get out of the South.  I am sure I've gained five pounds down here!  These are some of the sides we had to choose from to go with the BBQ plates:  mashed potatoes & gravy, hush puppies, cheesy bacon grits, sweet potato fries, black-eyed peas, mac and cheese (considered a vegetable down here, my nephews tell me), fried okra, coleslaw, cabbage & collard greens, pumpkin skillet cornbread...believe me, I could go on.  I may not eat again until Monday night.  To tell the truth, I am getting tired of talking about food.  Southern food is so good, so decadent - I think they've won the war.

My family is so used to me rounding them up for photos, they barely protest anymore.  I've said before how much I love my little travel camera the Canon G11 ~ well, I don't love the crappy on-camera flash which we had to use in the restaurant, but there you go.  It wouldn't be tiny and portable with anything else.  We pressed a waiter into service to take this group shot:  Linda, Paul, Richard, Dick and me standing, then Ginny, Barbara and Henry in front.

On to Fredericksburg this morning.  Dick and Richard will be riding up to Vermont with me so they can see Dad in Virginia and Mother in VT, flying home later in the week.  Road trip, whoo-hoo!

Back to Durham

The practically perfect weather continued and the drive from Charleston to Durham was easy and cool   I always feel like it's a victory when I drive in the sunshine without having to resort to AC.

We laughed at this sign in Durham (which was built on tobacco).  There are fading signs on building after building advertising old and new cigarette brands.

It's an odd place; very hip and arty, lots of great restaurants and outdoor spaces, students everywhere, of course because of Duke U, but with lots of remnants of past tobacco glory.

When Barbara got off work we went to visit Anthony her favorite bartender at Whiskey, a (gulp!) cigar bar down the street from her place.  It's a nice place to sit around, in its dark paneled, leathery sort of way.  Since it was only 5:00 PM and no cigar smokers had appeared, or drinkers either, for that matter, we had a long relaxed chat with Anthony over a couple of Sazeracs - I'd never heard of those, but they were interesting and tasty.

Friday we strolled, shopped and ate delicious Cuban food, which I neglected to photograph, alas.  I also got a fabulous hat - a real sun hat that looks like it could lift me into the wind like the Flying Nun!  You'll have to wait to see it.

And then, guess what???  We walked two blocks from Barbara's place to the Durham Preforming Arts Center to see, yes, Lewis Black in concert with his new show Running On Empty.

The theater was packed, very nicely laid out and we had great seats.  John Bowman opened the show and we were laughing from start to finish.

I always worry Lewis Black will have a stroke while performing, but he never does.  He's hilarious while being dead serious.  Amazing.




 OK.  On Saturday we walked (three blocks) to the Farmers' Market where, along with the gorgeous veggies, buffalo steaks and baked treats, we got to watch the Cane Creek Cloggers!  I love that stuff and so did the rest of the crowd!  We ate a pint of strawberries, some spicy chicken-rice empanadas and watched the dancers.

 

There were lots of artisans in and around the Farmers' Market.  It's in an area with little shops with groups of artists.  We found some great jewelry and plenty of things we'd buy if our budgets were not restricted.  Wait, I am supposed to be getting rid of stuff, now collecting it.  Whew!

This performer was in front of one of the little shops we visited - I didn't get his name, but he had a delicious voice and a dancing James Brown doll.

We went back to Barbara's place to straighten pictures on the walls - she had lots of art and photos and I'd brought some of those rubber thingys to put on the backs to keep the frames from shifting and getting crooked.  Ed and Josh did the real work when they helped her hang them all last month, but they didn't have the rubber thingys.

After going to the movies (Mirror, Mirror - fun) we had dinner on one of downtown Durham's many restaurant patios.  I don't think Barbara could have found a better place to live.  She is right in the center of town and everything you'd want to visit is just steps away.  We had great calamari, a warm lobster and spinach salad and ravioli stuffed with shrimp and crab with a lobster sauce on top.  I'm eating my way through the South!

Goodbye to all that

 We reluctantly left Charleston on Thursday.  We spent the morning Wednesday poking around in some of the wonderful antique and curiosity shops on King Street.  I was thrilled to find a book we had as children: The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, which I am pretty certain Anthony and Lucy will enjoy.  We have a great time reading and I can't wait!  This book was published by a Charleston woman whose father made up the story to tell her at bedtime.

A word about food: fun to eat and fun to photograph.  I overheard someone (who shall remain nameless) saying "Can you imagine all these people photographing their food??"  With the advent of camera in phones it's become kind of a hobby, I guess.  So I decided to take pictures of memorable meals and they have taken on a life of their own.  The food in Charleston has been pretty unforgettable.  So here's our lunch on our last day at the historic 82 Queen ~ shrimpngrits with fried green tomatoes and a scallop po'boy.  Mmmmm.




 We took a short boat tour of the harbor in the afternoon, nice in the cool breeze.  Ft. Sumpter was not much to look at so I am omitting photos, but here are a few images:

And finally, back to The Mustard Seed for another great dinner that says it all: shrimp potstickers, PEI mussels, sauteed spinach, and asparagus, cocoanut cake and Key Lime pie.  Whoo-doggies!

After our wonderful week, Mrs. B and I said goodbye at the airport, vowing not to let another 9 years (!) go by without getting together.  She flew off to Albuquerque and I drove back to Durham for the weekend with Barbara.

Magnolia Planation

Are you tired of Southern food yet?  Well, we are not!  One of the craftsmen we met at the farmers' market recommended The Early Bird Diner for breakfast, so off we went.

We didn't try the Oreo pancakes, but we can imagine them.  I had Corn Cakes Benedict and Mrs. B tried the Chicken  & Waffles.  It's a good thing we don't eat like this at home.

On to Magnolia, one of the several plantations in the area where tourists can visit.  This one was a rice plantation before the Civil War and has an interesting history, including two abolitionist aunts in the family who were banned from Charleston for their outspokenness about slavery and women's rights.  (The Grimke Sisters)

Founded in 1679, Magnolia Plantation remains in the possession of the founding family who opened the gardens to visitors in 1870 making it the country's oldest public gardens.  For a brief history, click here.

The plantation property includes the Audubon Swamp Garden, home to thousands of species and accessible by raised walkways and footbridges.  It's quite eerie, quiet and thought-provoking.  We saw a good number of birds and other critters moving through the water and hunting in the duck weed which looks like a green carpet in the surface.

Wednesday is our last full day in Charleston.  Even though we've been relaxing it seems the week has flown by.  I thought it would be years before I got the chance to catch up with Mrs. B again.  She reminded me of the year we last saw each other - 2003 - right before Ed's heart attack and bypass surgery.  Too long!  She'd never seen the Atlantic Ocean and never been to the northeast so I think a trip to New England, specifically Vermont and maybe Maine is overdue.

The Beach

During a conversation with Donna yesterday I got the distinct impression my friends think I am incapable of enjoying a beach!  Well, I do slink from shade to shade, it's true, and slather myself with sunscreen and my favorite chair is the one Dineen gave me with a fabulous cobra-like hood to keep me out of the S-U-N, BUT  Mrs. B and I ventured to the beach yesterday and I loved it, dammit!

Blame it on the Bloody Marys we started out with!  From the deck of The Tides on Folly Beach, we sipped and enjoyed the gentle surf and people-watched from the pier before heading over to Locklear's for lunch.

My nephew Richard told me I had to try the Shrimp & Grits - it's one word here, shrimpngrits.  I was leery.  I've watched My Cousin Vinny, but that's as close as I had ever come to actual grits.

So, here they are at Locklear's Beach City Grill.  With bacon, bell peppers, garlic, mushrooms and cheddar ~ what's not to like?  Served with cornmeal cakes and tomato jelly, this dish was a delight and I'm sure it was calorie-free.

Mrs. B says she really feels like she's on vacation when she's walking on a beach looking for shells.  So we walked off the shrimpngrits on a nice stretch a couple of miles down the road from the Folly Beach hotels.

We spent about an hour just strolling, then reclined on deck chairs for a while in the beautiful cool breeze off the water.  I had thought I might read (or listen to) a book, but the sound of the waves was too enchanting.  I wish Vermont had an ocean (and one big city), then I'd never have to leave.

Yes, we're tourists!

I don't know how we've had such luck in the weather on this trip.  As a confirmed Northern climate girl, I felt real trepidation about the South in April.  For any lesser reward than seeing Mrs. B again, I might have declined to venture down here.

We set out for our carriage tour, stopping for lunch at Henry's House Restaurant where, besides the yummy pulled pork sandwich and Greek burger we enjoyed, they also have side by side paintings of Washington crossing the Delaware and Jimi Hendrix!

We moseyed over to Palmetto Carriage Tours to await our scheduled tour and visited the barn.  There are any number of carriage tour companies in town and they all have their stables within about two blocks of each other.  It's huge business here.

They use mostly mules, it appears, along with some horses.  Mules are stronger and more sure-footed than horses, have smaller hooves and are more adaptive to sever weather conditions, says Mrs. B, who should know.  Her grandfather in northeast Texas never drove a car in his life - only a wagon (by choice) and preferred mules to horses for plowing.  She says, "The definition of a horse show is a bunch of horses showing their asses to a bunch of horses' asses showing their horses."

Our tour guide/driver was Edward, an Ohio transplant to Charleston was amusing and informative and we saw so many beautiful houses and buildings.  We clambered "uphill" to 14 feet above sea level, the highest point in the city where a fort was built to guard against the Spanish, who also claimed the area in the 1690s.  Here are a few of the sights:

After the ride we  had some mango/strawberry/pina colada Italian ices and visited the market full of a weird mix of local artists' work and stuff from China.  Fun and nice and cool inside the long brick buildings with open side windows.  Next stop was Waterfront Park on the harbor.  It was late afternoon and after strolling down the pier and admiring the view, we stretched out on benches for a relaxing siesta - not asleep, but basking in the late sun and cool breeze.

This low country is so different from most of the seaside places I have visited as it is generally calm and marshy.  We plan to visit some beach areas on Monday and a tea plantation later in the week.

We went up to a rooftop bar for a cocktail (no pictures, alas, my battery was dead so I charged it while we were there) and then met Erin, Barbara's niece on her husband's side, who went to school here and works at Jazz Artists of Charleston, a non-profit organization incorporated to foster a solid and professional environment for jazz musicians, artists, students and enthusiasts in the Charleston area.

It was lovely to have dinner and connect with her - I hadn't seen her, except in pictures since Barbara and Peter's wedding in 1989 when she was two!  We ate at Amen Street and all ended up ordering the same thing:  berry salad and enormous Calamari with cream cheese, tomatoes, peppers and what-not.

Mrs. B and I plan to roll back home - the food is so good here.

April 7 ~ Market & Garden Tour

 CHARLESTON

The nippy (or 'frigid', as Lucy likes to say) weather of yesterday blew out to sea, I guess, and we had a nearly perfect day.  Perfect, you understand is weather in which I don't get hot.

So the bright sun and cool breezes were close to perfect.






We first ventured to the Farmers' Market in Marion Square.  This was a happily bustling affair with gorgeous veggies and booth after booth of South Carolina craftspeople and their wares.  "Don't bring home any junk", Ed said this morning on the phone this morning.  Junk?  Would he know it if he saw it?  Having seen the stuff he treasures, I would guess not.

We strolled and shopped, "Oozing contentment," as Mrs. B put it, then sat down for a delicious lunch of homemade black bean burger and pulled pork sandwich with Carolina slaw.  This slaw is made with red cabbage, vinegar, mustard and a little mayo - refreshing and not too sweet.

After lunch we took a walking (and walking, and walking) tour of eight of Charleston's Hidden Gardens, some begun in the Colonial period, sponsored by the Historic Charleston Foundation and their Festival of Houses and Gardens.  No photography was allowed in the actual gardens which are in private homes, alas, so I guess you'll just have to mosey down here to see them yourself!

Notice the cute dog?  Mrs. B asked when I had become a dog person.  I am not, technically a dog person, but a cat person who has learned to appreciate some dogs.

After the our we dragged our tired dogs to the grand and comfortable Mills House Hotel for some refreshment in their old world Barbados Room.  We could have been in a novel.  I just love a big city old hotel - so civilized.  We had sweet tea (we're in the South, ya know) and a cup of she-crab soup that was such a delight.  I'd never had it before and couldn't stop raving.

April 6 ~ Charleston

First day in Charleston.  Mrs. B and I stayed up talking til 1:30 AM, so the morning was leisurely.  Some background.  Pat Bigham and I worked together in Albuquerque in 1969 and 1970 at the JC Penney Portrait Studio.  We became life friends.  She's funny, thoughtful, insightful and generally a peach.  The opportunity to meet in Charleston was too good to pass up.

Does your computer spazz out every time you have an important deadline or go on a trip?  Mine do!  So I found myself at the Apple Store downtown this morning consulting with The Geniuses.  Mind you, Vermont does not even have an Apple Store (or a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Target, on and on), so I felt I was ahead of the game.  After a lot of time and angst with The Geniuses, we asked for a recommendation for a place to eat breakfast and ended up at a diner that shall remain nameless.  Oops, I put the sign in the photo - oh, well.

The place was jammed the whole time we were there which we took as a good sign, initially.  And therre was a big pile of bacon in plain sight by the grill.  What could go wrong?  When the home made biscuits were served with Country Crock margarine, we began to doubt.  We asked for butter and got a whole stick, delivered in a plastic butter-sized box.  While the waitress was pleasant, if harried,  the food was nondescript, even the bacon!  Mrs. B remarked with a big smile that she thought she'd had "the worst breakfast of my entire life".  Nothing is dampening our spirits, though.

Except maybe the weather.  It was nippy enough today to send us to buy jackets at the grocery store!  And just think, yesterday I was congratulating myself about hitting the cool weather lottery.

We had really lovely, relaxing massages in the afternoon and feel like we're really on vacation.  You know how I love to snap pictures of food, so here's dinner at the Mustard Seed:

All just fabulous.  BEK, I wish you were here.  House and Garden tours tomorrow.

April 4 ~ Durham

DURHAM, NC

I got to Durham about 5:00 PM after driving through lots of thunderstorms.  It was cooling off, thank heavens as I am a known hot weather wimp.  Barbara arrived from work and we had some wine and chat before heading to her place.  It's a great 'loft' condo.  I will post some photos later - the light was going and she had to go to work early today.  BUT, fun never ends, as you know.  Here's the gentlemen's club in the rear of her building:

CHICKEN & WAFFLES

Eat your heart out, Northerners.  Ed told me about this place right downstairs from Barbara's condo, so I had to try it out, of course.  Dee-licious!  Who knew???  Real maple syrup (though not from VT and blander than ours), but the food was, shall I say exotic?  Yep.

I read an interesting article this morning about perceptions about the South.  After "Wolf Hall" I plan to listen to  "American Nations; A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America" by Colin Woodward.

It looks like I won the lottery in the weather department.  Sources say that after 85°F and thunderstorms this afternoon, the temperature in Charleston will be between 65 and 80 during my stay.  Even I can live happily with that, considering the alternatives.  I got a pedicure before I left VT, the first one in nearly a year - aren't you proud of me?

Before setting out I went over to visit my brother Dick, his wife Ginny and my two handsome nephews Henry and Richard in Raleigh.  We had fun catching then went over to the deli where Richard works for lunch.  If I roll back into Vermont weighing 300 pounds, don't blame me!  Everywhere I go people press regional favorite foods on me.  This time it was a fried green tomato BLT which included pimiento cheese.  Yum!

Waddling to the car now, headed south.  So, why Charleston, you ask?  Why in April instead of January, a far safer month for a heat-phobe like myself?  Well, my dear friend Pat (henceforth known in this blog as "Mrs. B") was coming the SC from Albuquerque.  We've been friends since 1969 and rarely get to see each other since I moved back to New England from the Southwest.  She's flying in tonight and we'll meet up at the condo we've rented.  More tomorrow!

April Road Trip 1

Ready or not, here I come.  Well, the fact is I am the unready one.  I don't know why getting out of town is such a trial, but I am always a basket case before leaving for any trip.  Tuesday was not different, but once on the road my mood lifts.  Anyway, it was 25°F in Vermont at 6:30 AM when I headed out.

I just love driving through the North Country, as they call upstate New York.  The beautiful drive through Paradox, Schroon Lake, past all the little lakes, high up in the Adirondacks.

With a good book I could drive all day with a good book in on the iPod.  I finished Gail Collins' "When Everything Changed" about the womens' movement starting in the 1960s.  Having lived through a lot of it, it was both nostalgic, hilarious and thought-provoking.  Read it, ladies!  (And gents, too, of course).

OK.  It got warmer and warmer as I headed South, peeling off clothing, opening windows.  Those of you who know me can congratulate me for venturing to SOUTH CAROLINA in April, rather than January.

It was gorgeous, though, that bright spring green, overgrown, that you see in Virgina.  I stopped in Fredericksburg to visit my father, step-mother and sister Miriam.  Dad had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago and is in a nursing home until Friday having PT, etc.  He's raring to go home, though, navigating to the gym with a walker.  He's 87, so this is a pretty big deal.  I'll drop in again in two weeks on my way home.  I only took on photo of him this time (my father is very photogenic) as I thought he might not like to be seen in a convalescent state.  I'll get some more shots later this month.

On the way out of Fredericksburg, the mercury read 86°F.  Yikes!  I admit it - I put on the AC.  The drive to Durham, NC was fine - new book "Wolf Hall" by Hillary Mantel, a novel about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's minister.  All about the Reformation in England brought on, in part by the Anne Boleyn business.  I don't always have patience with historical novels, but this one I find gripping. 

There were thunderstorms on and off all the way to Durham and the temperature bounced back and forth between the mid-80's and 66°F.  Pretty interesting.

Spending tonight with my sister Barbara, then off to Charleston in the morning!