Charleston Real Estate Market

It’s a beautiful day for a hurricane! Earl is far enough off the coast that all we are getting (thank God) is great breezes and waves. Here are some shots from Folly. Keep you fingers crossed…Foster is at our Nova Scotia house and they are calling for 29′ waves on Saturday and Sunday. Tropical storm warnings went up there this morning. He’s just finishing the main part of the renovation, let’s hope Earl isn’t going to do any rearranging!

Filed under: Lowcountry Today on September 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »

Our friend Chip sent these beautiful sky shots from the marina in Hilton Head. Enjoy them.

Filed under: Lowcountry Today on September 1st, 2010 | No Comments »

It’s a hot and steamy Saturday with rain showers popping in and out raising the humidity…yes, it’s August in the Lowcountry.

School is back in session and the crowds at the College of Charleston this morning were something, so was the line of cars heading to Folly. I did see a great bumper sticker, I’d love to have one…it said “Only idiots litter”. Now I dare someone to put the matter more succinctly.

I was at the Framers Market with my friend, Bev, from the Half Moon Cafe days. We loaded up on heirloom tomatoes from Fields Farm, grass fed hot dogs from the Meathouse and beautiful brown eggs from Chucktown Chicken. Then, it was off to the Glass Onion for grilled pimento cheese and tomato sandwiches with iced tea and mint syrup. Then…that was it for me…siesta time. 

Filed under: Lowcountry Lifestyle, Lowcountry Today, Uncategorized on August 21st, 2010 | No Comments »

      The small portion of James Islanders who actually put their money where there mouth is has voted in a new administration in the Town of James Island.  Congratulations and good luck to them!  Hats off to those that put themselves, their money and their time on the line and ran for the openings on council and the mayors office. Remember if you didn’t vote you can’t whine.

      On the whole, we live in a pretty special place.  According to CNN.com, Mount Pleasant is in the Top 100 Best Places to live in the US, coming in at number 100.

     Charleston has made it to the Top Three Best Tennis Towns, the winner will be announced at the US Open.  At stake is a cash prize to add to tennis programs in the area.

     Charleston has moved up from number 18 to number 4 in the Most Vibrant Metro Areas for businesses with 99 employees or less, according to online magazine Portfolio.com. Columbia at #12 is up from 59, Greenville #16 up from 28. To compare, Atlanta dropped from 31 to 60. Kind of puts what’s happening in perspective, huh?

    When looking at the density and growth of the 65+ population, Hilton Head /Beaufort is in the Top Ten of the Retirement sector. I guess Sun City helped that figure along. This was a Portfolio.com statistic also.

     I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Mt Pleasant has scored the Top Ten All American Cities honor. The other nine named are: Chandler, AZ; Lynwood,CA; Rancho Cordova, CA; North Miami, FL; Acworth, GA; Des Moines,IA; Salisbury, MD; Gastonia, NC; and El Paso, Tx.

     Congratulations to all of our fine towns!

Filed under: Lowcountry Lifestyle, Lowcountry Today, Uncategorized on August 4th, 2010 | No Comments »

It’s voting day on James Island. The “ Town that tried so hard to be”  is poised to keep or clean house of its elected officials. The entire slate of council members and the mayor are all up for reelection.

It’s heartening to see how many people came out for the various meet and greet events. The evening debate at Fort Johnson auditorium moderated by Warren Peper was packed!

I ran into neighbor Jimmy Dowds who had just finished voting and JoAnne Fosberg (I’ve known her from the bus going to kindergatern all the way to college). She was a poll watcher, checking my creds so I could cast my vote.

Remember…if you don’t vote…you can’t complain.

Filed under: Lowcountry Today on August 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »

Happy Birthday Elaine Holst Wilson…grammar school friend’s birthdays are hard to forget…

Filed under: Lowcountry Lifestyle, Lowcountry Today, Uncategorized on August 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »

Great morning for the Farmer’s Market…warm but comfortable enough to sit, drink iced chicory coffee with my friend Joanne and visit with folks joining our table. Met some nice people..she from Alexandria and he from Augusta by way of Roebling NJ. An interesting tie-in there. Roebling, NJ was the company town that produced the suspension cable for the Brooklyn Bridge and that ties right in with the new Ravenel Bridge here.

The Roebling heir, his wife and son, moved to an island outside of Savannah called Modena during the fear following the Charles Lindbergh baby’s kidnapping. I lived in the Modena ferry keeper’s house at Isle of Hope for a few years. And I have seen the photograph of Charles Lindbergh when he landed his airplane on the Charleston City Golf Course in Riverland Terrace.  It’s a small world after all, Walt Disney.

Highlighting this week: Kate Rothra Fleming and her beautiful hand spun glass jewelry. Intricate and in the most wonderful colors!! It’s a must visit.

Then there’s Thackeray Farms from Wadmalaw Island. I couldn’t resist their Fugly Tomato t-shirt. The baskets of peppers and tomatoes win the beauty pick of the week!

Filed under: Lowcountry Today on July 31st, 2010 | No Comments »

It’s hard to believe it’s as hot as it is and we’re only at the beginning of August. But with August comes the inevitable…first day of school. Students can take solace in the fact that some Georgia schools reopened in July.      

     We are scheduled in the Lowcountry to return on the 16th in Dorchester County, the 17th in Berkeley County and on the 18th in Charleston County.

     To help with the burden of purchasing items needed for the school year, we’re having another Tax-Free Weekend.  Beginning at 12:01 am on the 6th and ending at midnight on Sunday, the 8th, clothing, shoes, school supplies, computers and some bed and bath items will be sold without tax. This doesn’t apply if you are using layaway or planning to resell the items.

So here’s to celebrating the last few weeks of summer vacation. Even for those of us not going to school, it’s a vacation from the rush hour traffic.

Filed under: Lowcountry Today on July 31st, 2010 | No Comments »

If you’ve been checking in on this blog, you’ll know about the dolphins that come to visit in the creek. They had id numbers on their fins. After asking for a way to check them in for a sighting, I got an email from Eric Zolman who works with NOAA. He says the 2 males were first spotted east of Ft Sumter in August of 2003.  So I have added my dates and location to the file.

These are such intelligent creatures. My brother, Tom, sent me a link to something pretty interesting from Sea World’s dolphins. It really amazing! Take a look. http://wimp.com/dolphinbubbles/

Filed under: Lowcountry Today on July 28th, 2010 | No Comments »

Want a fun place to spend an early (not so hot and humid) Saturday morning with friends, family or a just a good cup of coffee? I’ve been hitting the Farmer’s Market downtown and it’s a wonderful way to start the day. Great fresh pastas, (Crab and avocado ravioili, yum!); Locally raised all natural meat from the Meathouse (happy animals, happy food, happy people); Tasty just picked fruits and vegetables, my favorite is Owls Head Farms in Cross SC. Just look at these heirloom tomaotes and the berries are gorgeous! The Chucktown Chicken man is my stop for chicken and eggs. The Giddy Yup goat cheese lady is there too. Lots more farms are represented including the Kennerty, Fields and Thackery groups.

The craft section isn’t the “loving hands at home” potholder versions from our childhood, but quality handmade goods that reflect the area or a fertile imagination. And to top it off…a pony to give a wee one a quick ride.  All alot of fun and the groceries for the week are already bought!  Remember: Shop local-Eat Local-Be Local.

Filed under: Lowcountry Today on July 25th, 2010 | No Comments »