Photo courtesy of Imbug

Eugene shows off photos of birds coming to the South Carolina Aquarium soon.

I like Laws 3,4,6,7,8,&15.

Hugging the Coast has some good tips and video on brining your Thanksgiving Turkey.

Camera obscura?

Our Heather may be nervous, but I have every confidence that she is going to be a star.

Lovely garden treasures from Compost in my Shoe.

The Mount Pleasant Regional Library is collecting items for vets.

At the end of November, donated items will be taken to the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston.

Suggested donations include T-shirts, over-the-counter reading glasses, deodorant, combs, brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, twin blade razors, talcum body powder, foot powder, mouthwash, denture cleaner, denture adhesive, aftershave, shampoo, conditioner, soap, hand lotion, fingernail clippers and toenail clippers

Sean lists 10 Reasons Why Most Blogs Suck.  Reason #8 is SHOUTING AT ME, and I’ve managed to take my fingers out my ears and listen.

Boeing breaks ground on North Charleston assembly plant.

The Remount Road Interchange at 1-26 is to reopen today.

Alison’s Girl Zines takes  a blog tour.

Going Bollywood, Y’all.

Fine art in the park.

Holiday events in the city of North Charleston.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?  Wendy shares her New Moon experience.  Josh has video.

If you ever doubt the beauty of the South Carolina Lowcountry, or want just want to drink in the  loveliness, take a look at this stunning video shared by Sam 101.

If happy little bluebirds fly/Beyond the rainbow/Why, oh why can’t I?

Vera Thomas-Hannaford is maniac knitter, crocheter, and fan of the National Football League.  She is very proud of the items that she’s knitted for the 10 babies her friends have had over the past few months, and plans to make a return to cooking with Heather’s Apple, Cranberry, Sage Dressing this Thanksgiving.

Photo Credit: James & Katy Moffit

Since I can’t think of a snazzy post title so early on a Sunday morning, let’s just take a trip ’round and ’round again to see what bloggers in the Lowcountry are writing about.

Is impeachment in Gov Sanford’s future?

The Master’s programs  of the Citadel and the College of Charleston receive national recognition.

Cool images from Pink Wallpaper.

Jason and his family are back in the Lowcountry for a visit, and he shares his Free Music Fridays-Burgers for Lunch Edition.

Beautiful batik from Noisette artist Arianne King Comer.

Is Twitter at the center of it all?

World leader pretend? But just where DOES he gets those outfits? BTW, I’ve always wondered why Muammar Khadaffi is merely a colonel too.

Vulture Awareness Day is September 5th, and a time to consider how these birds contribute to the ecosystem.

Spelling has always been a weakness for me, and my tweets show it . What is your tolerance for typer typos on the web?

Geoff was less than impressed with Vegas–and no pictures to boot.

I think if you’ve saved up money, if you’ve made it your destination, and you know you’re going to lose (or maybe make) money on gambling, and are going to get drunk and party – and that’s your intent – then it’s fine. But for me it was a stopping off point – a chance to rest up, do a blog catch up, do some video editing and take it easy. Instead, it felt like everyone else was FORCING to me to party it up, and have a good time in the way that they were dictating, and I didn’t like it at all.

He’s made his final destination West, and is resting up for the trip back to the East Coast.  Here are some final stats.

The BarcampCHS website is live.  What can you share/suggest?

Syd shares this Senility Prayer

Grant me the senility to forget the people
I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and
The eyesight to tell the difference.

Just who are the real people behind social media?

Wine tasting round up. I’ll have to catch the one at Caviar and Bananas after Knit Night some evening.

Eugene catches the roller derby from the suicide seats.

Courage!

Vera Thomas-Hannaford is the author of the oft neglected Vera’s Crafty Blog but is often on Twitter as vhanna26, where she will tweet how about her football fantasy team, Kitty Power! will dominate the Charleston Twitter League.

Image Source:NOAA/NHC via Lowcountywx.com

Active Days Ahead in the Tropics.

Of course, Jared is watching.

Eugene blogs about the storm train.

Three named storms the Atlantic (so far).  According to Josh…

…We have Ana, a wimpy little system headed toward the Leeward Islands.  But don’t give up on her just yet, she may come back in a big way once she makes it to the Gulf of Mexico later in the week.  Claudette-to-be will make landfall later today or tonight along the Florida Panhandle and likely dump buckets of rain for days across portions of the Deep South.  Bill will likely be a monster by Tuesday or Wednesday, and then another system looks to develop behind Bill from a wave that will rocket off of Africa over the next day or two.

Lets go back to Bill.  This one needs the most attention for two reasons.  Number one, it will become a monster storm and number two because it is in an area with a favorable track to POSSIBLY affect the US.  Right now, a good bit of the track guidance is swinging the storm harmlessly out to sea.  That is the solution I’m rooting for and I hope the guidance is correct…

A Pandemic Chronicle sees a connection between hurricanes and pandemics.  Preparation is the key.

Yes, hurricanes and pandemics have a lot in common, right up to and including all the messy and unnecessary burdens inflicted upon those trying to do their jobs by those who did not do theirs.

For our approaching flu season we have all been asked to minimally prepare with an in-hand stock of what we will need to care for our families and ourselves for a minimum of three days and optimally for two weeks. How many have already done so? Probably roughly the same proportion that prepares for a hurricane before one is a threat knocking at their door. In other words, about 10% [rough estimate].  The rest will either do nothing or they will be out fighting the crowds over the limited supplies on store shelves, and many of those will walk away empty handed because of stock depletion or sheer frustration over long lines and unruly competing shoppers.

It takes so little to prepare in advance….

Lisa has made it to 31 weeks with the quads!

Ian’s paternal grandfather would have been 100 years old yesterday, and he has a lovely tribute to him

Some cool steampunky photos of the old Navy base power plant.

Last week, I attempted to re-heat a boiled egg in the microwave, took it out, and it exploded in my face.  What do you have to confess?

Yellow Pages, Post Office, and a Tale of Customer Service. It’s been awhile since I’ve been to the post office or looked in the Yellow Pages.

Geoff’s no Utah Saint.

Birds, snakes, and moths spotted from the boardwalk at the Audubon’s Francis Belder Forest.

Kevin’s got the handwriting blues.

Remembering guitar pioneer Les Paul.

Coming next month–Green-Flix–The South Carolina Green Fair Movie Night

Yes, there’s a lot going on, but try to take time to be silent and still.

Photo Courtesy of The Charleston Observer

A simple stone bench in a private Charleston garden. Just waiting for someone to approach gently, sit quietly, and do nothing but take in a moment of existence. Even from the street, gazing at this scene through the garden fence, a passerby can realize that there is a quiet place within where nothing touches you. No event. No person. No thought or feeling or worry. Nothing at all…

Vera Thomas-Hannford is the author of Vera’s Crafty Blog.  She also can be found on Twitter as vhanna26.  She’s not certain that be banned from microwaving hard-boiled eggs is necessarily a bad thing.

Julie and Julia at The Terrace

Come to the LCB Movie Meetup Night at The Terrace on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 7:30 pm to see Julie and Julia.

From Wikipedia…

Julie & Julia is an upcoming 2009 comedy-drama film, written and directed by Nora Ephron. The film depicts events in the life of famed chef Julia Child, contrasting her life with Julie Powell, a woman who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child’s autobiography.

Ephron’s screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child’s autobiography, written with Alex Prud’homme, and a memoir by Julie Powell. In August 2002, Powell started documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog, The Julie/Julia Project, into a book, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (Little, Brown, 2005). The paperback was retitled Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously (Back Bay Books, 2006). Both books adapted by Ephron were written and published in the same time frame of 2004 to 2006.

Ephron began filming Julie & Julia in March 2008. In the first major motion picture based on a blog^{[citation needed]}, Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child, and Amy Adams appears as Julie Powell. The film officially premiered on July 30, 2009 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City and is scheduled to be released throughout North America on August 7, 2009. ^[2]

A movie about a blogger, a legend, and food! Should make for a fun meetup.

Vera Thomas Hannaford chronicles her knitting and crocheting (but never cooking) in Vera’s Crafty Blog.  Her husband, Patrick, consults Child’s masterpiece Mastering the Art of French Cooking quite a bit, so while watching the movie, she plans to look for recipes for him to make.

Photo courtesy of Leslie Walker Photography

It’s been no surprise that July, 2009 was a wet one.  Can we hope for a peaceful hurricane season? According to Brad.

It has been a very stormy finish to the month of July.  Several rounds of thunderstorms have been effecting the area since Wednesday and it has been a very wet month across the area as well.  Officially 8.16 inches of rain fell in July at the Charleston International Airport which is over 2 inches above normal for the month.  Total rain for the year is just over 30 inches which is slightly above normal.  Now that we are heading into August, out attention turns to the tropics.  Good news is that things are rather quiet and not expecting any development over the next few days.  We’ll continue to monitor and cross our fingers for an uneventful hurricane season…

Leslie and Bean take a walk on the beach.

I didn’t attend church today, so here’s Joan’s church photo in lieu of attendance and the simple splendor of the French Huguenot Church.  Great information on two beautiful and historic landmarks.

Jam on it!  Vinegar too.

I had a birthday last Sunday, and I’m becoming increasingly aware that I’m no longer young, so  I found Nikki’s post on aging particularly apropos.

Yes, Jessica Lange and Demi Moore are seemingly ageless, but is old really, truly cool in our culture… But I don’t think old is cool when I watch Lou Dobbs or Pat Buchanan being crotchety, hateful and — old. I don’t think old is cool when life becomes more about conserving than creating. I don’t think old is cool if it means living in a gated retirement community with people who look just like me. I don’t think old is cool when I read about nursing home residents being abused and neglected, because they’re not only old but poor–a double mark of shame in our society. I don’t want to join a Crone circle or wear a Cougar tshirt or go on an elder cruise, but my friends and I don’t have enough role models or reliable road maps for a next act that doesn’t look like the one our mothers lived… Maybe someone is waiting for us to do it ourselves.

Don’t know why bridal dresses qualify for the the no sales tax weekend (next weekend), but it’s a good time for a trunk show.

Emily shows off her mad skillz with invisible zippers.

Eat local with the Saturday Farmers Market Menu.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl.

“Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed! –tear up the planks! here, here! –It is the beating of his hideous heart! The stories of Edgar Allen Poe are so cool–especially interpreted by the awesome Vincent Price. Do watch the videos. He’s still amazing.

Lovely birds at the Audubon Center.

Geoff hits Big Sky country.

Dr. Eugene Mah is one step closer to reality.

Dave Earley wins the Charleston portion of July’s World Wide Photo Walk with a wonderful photo. Congrats!

Vera Thomas Hannaford blogs about her knitting, crocheting and Hello Kitty obsessions in Vera’s Crafty Blog and tweets about other obsessions–especially music–on Twitter as vhanna26, and thinks no one does horror like Vincent Price does horror.

The Summer of 2009 is turning out to be dangerous for American icons. Walter Cronkite passed away Friday evening.

Some takes on “Uncle Walter” from around the Lowcountry.

From Francis X Archibald…

…It is as if an old friend died. Walter Cronkite was that friend to millions of Americans. It has been written many, many times how he was ‘Mr. Believable’ and it sounds almost trite to write it here but no greater accolade could be laid on a newsman. I don’t know of anyone doing the news today in whom I have as much confidence as I had in Mr. Cronkite…

And The Blogland of Earl Capps..

…While we no longer have to rely upon the judgment of a few celebrity journalists channeled what they believed we needed to know, we now face questions about the fairness and accuracy of news media, both traditional and new media outlets. The likes of Cronkite prided themselves on their integrity and if it was presented, it had been vetted thoroughly before it hit the news. It’s hard to find similar standards among many who present news and opinions…

And The Owens Blog…

…Imagine all of the things Mr. Cronkite did.  He was married more than 60 years. He had several lovely children.  He spoke to every current President of the United States during his time at the anchor desk at CBS.  He covered D-Day in Normandy. He was in the courtroom during the Nuremburg trials.  He traveled the world visiting almost every city of note.  He spent time talking foreign policy with the current heads of state of the world’s most notable countries…

Denise profiles Joan’s recent Africa trip in Tea in Kenya. I love it when two bloggers come together.

The Mustang Rolls in Berkeley county.

Tom Watson is awesome all over again.

Baby photos! Here, here, and here.

Who doesn’t love George Hincapie? Lots of drama surrounding him at yesterday’s Tour de France Stage, but he’s one of the best.

Charleston area photographers take a walk. Photo courtesy of Chuck.

As you can see, Nature is respected in the Holy City and this wall obviously was built to accommodate the tree.

Even though I am a native Charlestonian, I was amazed to see so many cobble stone streets just off East Bay and around the foot of Broad St.

I’m sure they have always been there but I have not been riding a bike in that area for many, many years.

A bike reminds you of such streets.

Geoff is super–thanks for asking.

No named storms in the tropics–yet.

On July 17, 1902, William Haviland Carrier invented the air conditioner, and JT is [and all Lowcountry residents should be] grateful.

Thank you, Mr. Carrier. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

There’s a bit in Bill Bryson’s book A Walk in the Woods that expresses the significance of air conditioning nicely. I’ll paraphrase, as I don’t have the book to hand and I don’t remember exactly how he put it.
If there is a better reason to be glad to be alive in the twentieth century than the ability to walk from the dog’s breath heat of an August afternoon into the surgical chill of an air conditioned establishment, I don’t know what it is.

Vera Hannaford blogs about her knitting and crocheting in Vera’s Crafty Blog, but mostly tweets under vhanna26, and spends too much time on facebook.  She’s totally pulling for Tom Watson in the British Open and freely admits to having a crush on him back in the day.

Photo courtesy of Patrick L Archibald.

Yesterday wasn’t just your typical summer Saturday in the Lowcountry.  It was July 4th.

Hope you enjoyed the day and relaxed and kept it safe with the fireworks.

Remembering what the fourth is all about.

Some history on John Hancock and the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Here are some of Chuckles thoughts.

…I’m so thankful that every year we are able to celebrate the sacrifice that was made to make this country great. Sure, there are things that are messed up. Sure there are things I don’t agree with. But for all the mistakes and trouble and problems this is still the “Land of the Free and the home of the Brave..

Even though yesterday was Independence Day, Sherry notes how much we depend on others.

…We depend on other drivers to travel with care.

Generally, we depend on teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers. We depend on farmers, wholesalers, retailers.

We depend on friends and family to be there for us, in good times and in bad. We rely on doctors, nurses, hospital personnel; cooks and chefs in restaurants; employers and fellow employees.

We depend on architects to design and engineers to build safe buildings, bridges and roads. We rely on inspectors to look out for consumers. We depend on bus drivers, pilots, train conductors.

We trust and depend on counselors and religious leaders…

Let’s not forget our troops.

A fireworks slideshow from Patrick.

Did you celebrate with any of these recipes?

Hmmm…chocolate chess pie!

We’re #5 (in obesity)! Should we South Carolinians try harder?

I’ll have tea with that calendar, please.

David Farrow relates a tragic case of crime and mistaken identity in our midst. How can we break this vicious circle of violence?

Waterfront Park in Mt. Pleasant opens. More photos.

War memorial statue unveiling in Mount Pleasant this evening.

Man Foul.  What an interesting concept.

Welcome back to Twitter,  Jason!

Social media is actually ran by cats. That answers so many questions.

Vera Hannaford spent July 4th watching the Tour de France and wonders if she is the only one in the Lowcountry watching.

Image courtesy of Pam

The news has been filled with death and drama lately between Gov. Sanford’s revelations and the passings of Ed McMahon,  Phillip Simmons, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson.

Whew!  How about some shrimp and grits, tomato soup,  cherry tarts and a milkshake,

A walk through the Majorelle Gardens sounds lovely.

Look at something old or common in a new way.  Examples from Joan and Leslie Walker Photography.

Where is Geoff? In  West Virginia,  Columbus, Ohio and Detroit.

Yesterday evening, Eugene took the short drive to Ridgeville for the Lowcountry BBQ Meatup.

A white ribbon tribute for Phillip Simmons.

D’ou est-ce que l’inspiration vient? (Where does the inspiration come from?)

Lisa had a scare with the quads, but things are fine now, and she’s in her 24th week.  I’ve still haven’t decided what to knit for them just yet…

Consider the the tiger lily.

Karen Chandler: The Jazzastorian.

Enjoy the summer.

Today is Flag Day and a time for patriotism.

Here’s some flag etiquette.

–The flag should never touch anything beneath it — including water, merchandise and the floor.
–Unless the flag is illuminated at night, it should be flown only between sunrise and sunset.
–When hanging the flag on a wall or in a window, the stars always should be at the observer’s upper left.
–A worn-out flag should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning, although disassembly of the stars and stripes also is acceptable.
–All civilians present at the hoisting, lowering or procession of a U.S. flag should stand at attention with hat removed and right hand over the heart.
–The flag should be raised quickly and lowered ceremoniously.
–On election days, the flag should be displayed in or near every polling place.
–The flag should be displayed in or near every school while it is in session.

This is the funniest video I seen all week.  Makes me want to grab some gold genie pants and dance, dance, dance!

Sandy’s mother has created a beautiful view for her neighbors and herself.

Sherry notes that June is both National Celibacy Awareness Month and the biggest month for weddings. Hmmmm…

Why dogs are our best friends.

Phobias of the Rich and Famous.

Syd visits Morris Island.

Brian heads up to Asheville to catch the Beastie Boys.  I so want to see them in concert someday. Not for nothing the tag line of my blog is She’s crafty, and she’s just my type.

Has your television set made the switch to digital?  Do you remember the days of test patterns?  Chuck remembers, and so do I.

Where you on Saturday, June 13, 2009 at 12:01 am?

Most awesome use of teacups ever!

Timely (for me) information from Home-Ec 101–bathroom cleaning tips. It’s how I plan to spend my evening.

Vera Hannaford was wide awake at 12:01 am on June 13, 2009, grabbing her username just like all her fellow geeks.  She also wishes her Uncle Neil a very Happy Flag Day Birthday.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Photo Courtesy of Tales of the Microbial Laboratory

Some Mother’s Day history from Jeane.

Wendy waxes poetic about her mother.

My mom is:
loving
cute
fun
funny
a great mom
an even greater grandma
very grammatically correct
my best friend

My mom can:
cook like you wouldn’t believe
do taxes
grow stuff
cross stitch (she won ‘Best of Show” at the county fair one year)
type really fast

My mom has:
stamina
a very clean house
mad care taking skillz
great kids
even greater grandkids
She is the glue that holds our family together
Happy Mother’s Day, mama.
I love you

Syd remembers her mother.

You don’t have a Mom like Sherry’s Mom.

Kristin and her Mom

Richard Bell’s Mom

Dave has a touching tribute to his mother.

The greatest thing my mother ever did for me was to boast about my achievements to other people while I was present. She would always say things like, “David is so good at drawing,” or “He is so good with his hands, he is always making things.” She would show people my creative endeavors…

More Mother’s Day wishes from Heather and The Bradburns

Misc

Honestly, I haven’t been up to speed on the Swine Flu outbreak that much.  As a matter of fact, I’ve been avoiding it, but A Pandemic Chronicle explores two questions that I have: Did the World Health Organization overdo it? and Do hand sanitizers really work?

This t-shirt is way awesome.

Yesterday, Katherine attended the McClellanville Arts Center Youth Art Exhibition.

The Charleston Ballet Theater’s Piccolo Spoleto schedule.

The Charleston Greek Fest.

The Mt. Pleasant Farmer’s Market reopens Tuesday.

Yummy, yummy! Pesto Chicken with Spaghetti Squash and Snow Peas.  How about some Lemon Basil Tartlettes for desert?

Take it from me, crocheting is such a blessing.

The Stuckey family is on the move.

Denise will take a temporary break from blogging due to her father passing away last night.  Please remember her in your thoughts and prayers.

Vera Hannaford documents her knitting and crocheting life in Vera’s Crafty Blog, remembers her mother’s tolerance and courage, and misses her very much.