Author Archives: Cindy

About Cindy

Married, Female, Empty Nester Love to garden, cook, read.

Ken and Bonnie come to visit

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Carrie, Brian, Ken and Bonnie in front of Pineapple Fountain at Waterfront Park, Charleston.

Carrie, Brian, Ken and Bonnie in front of Pineapple Fountain at Waterfront Park, Charleston.

My sister, Bonnie, and her husband, Ken, came to our house for a visit last week. Now, for those of you that read my blog, this was not the Yearly Sister Vacation. (That fun get together will take place in August this year at oldest sister Linda’s house.)  

No, this was a spouse vacation; Bon and Ken’s vacation together. I had a wonderful time and hope they did, too.  

On Sunday, we went to Charleston for the day.  The Spoleto Festival was just getting underway. This 17 day event, held each spring in the city, celebrates performing and visual arts. People from all over the world come for this event and the streets were more crowded than usual with tourists, although it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was easy to find parking and no wait for lunch at our favorite Charleston Greek Restaurant, Old Towne Grille on King Street.  

Carrie and Bonnie at the market, Charleston.

Carrie and Bonnie at the market, Charleston.

After lunch, we strolled through the market. I bought a new paring knife from the knife guy I discovered several years ago when my brother, Dennis, helped me pick out my first pocket knife from him. He also carries great kitchen knives and when I am in the market on a Sunday (the only day he sells there), I stock up on whatever kitchen cutlery I have a need for.

We walked King Street and Market Street and Meeting Street. We walked through St. Philip’s Cemetery, full of famous South Carolinians such as John C. Calhoun, Charles Pinckney, Edward Rutledge and more! We heard The College of Charleston Choir practicing inside the church while we contemplated the old bones of the dead. We had a little respite at Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub on Church Street.

Getting a llittle refreshment at Tommy Condon's Irish Pub.

Getting a little refreshment at Tommy Condon's Irish Pub.

Then we hoofed it to a little crafts fair, where Carrie found a wooden spoon and Bonnie found an Appalachian Bow Saw bread knife.

 

On Monday, Memorial Day, we took the boat out to Lake Marion. Bonnie wore a life vest at first, since she is a little afraid of the water. It was a beautiful day.

It was after she took the vest off that she almost went overboard!

It was after she took the vest off that she almost went overboard!

This was a bucket list item for her. Woohoo! We watched a movie, Big Fish, with Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Steve Bucemi, et al. Every time I watch this movie, I like it more.

Ken's big fish!

Ken's big fish! Look very closely!

And, on another day, we took the boat to Folly Island and did a little salt water fishing. We saw a few dolphins and a shrimp boat head out to sea.

The guys went golfing a few times during the course of the week. One day, while the boys hit the little white bugger, Bon and I went to Elloree. Elloree is a bucolic, quaint little town not far from here. We shopped and had lunch at Amporn’s, a Thai restaurant with the absolute best soups. Bon loves the soup so much there that we had to go back on another day for her to have it again. Matter of fact, that day, she ordered two bowls!

Here are a few other pics that tell the rest of our story!

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I’m a Palmettovore

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melonYes, I’m a Palmettovore. I guess I’ve been one for a while and never knew it! In order to explain what it means, I need to go back a little in time.

There has been a movement in recent years, mostly in conjunction with getting us to live greener, encouraging people to eat locally grown foods. A new word was coined to describe people that go out of their way to consume locally grown – localvores or locavores.

corn-0081There are a few good reasons to aspire to be a localvore. One is that we are supporting our local farmers, our neighbors. Two, is that we are reducing our carbon footprint on the earth by reducing a long chain of intervention from processors, manufacturers, shippers and retailers in getting our food to the table. Three, fresh local products are fresher, more nutritious and taste better.

Basically, a localvore encourages consumers to buy from farm markets or to produce their own food because it is better quality and environmentally friendly since supermarkets import foods using more fossil fuels and non-renewable sources.

veggiesHugh Weathers, Commissioner of The South Carolina Department of Agriculture, says that South Carolinians spend $6 billion a year on food, yet everyone from every facet of the food business in South Carolina gets less than six percent of those dollars.

So, our Department of Agriculture has started a huge campaign to educate people of the benefits of  “home grown” and to get everyone on board.  When consumers see “Fresh on the Menu, Certified SC Grown” on a restaurant menu, they know that at least 25 percent of the product comes from South Carolina. We also see this sign on certain foods in grocery stores: “Certified South Carolina.”  We see billboards that say  “Locally Grown. It’s to dine for,” and “Nothing’s Fresher, Nothing’s Finer: Buy South Carolina.”

The latest is a video. My friend Randolph is in it. He is the ear of corn. You can watch it on You Tube. Yeah, I know, but please watch it for me.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCnh5iPE5t4

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The story of the five balls

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jugglerI have been asked numerous times over the last several years why I quit my job as a newspaper editor to become a bookkeeper.

In order to give you an answer, I must tell you the story of the five balls.

The story of the five balls comes from the book, Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, by James Patterson

This is the storyof the five balls:

Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls-family, health, friends, integrity-are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.

I truly loved my job as editor of two community newspapers. I thought what I did was important. You see, newspapers are vital to the life of the community. They provide useful information to their readers such as when highway repairs will be completed, or what time the band concert will be, or what day the library is holding its story time, or when the community will be holding its craft show, yada, yada.

Newspapers are also the official record for births, deaths, graduations, engagements, weddings, business openings and closings, etc.

Newspapers cover governmental meetings and police beats. Newspapers write about the crime in the area and about the little old lady down the street that skydived for her 80th birthday.

So, I loved my job. The problem was that I had a super small staff, so I was constantly on the go attending events, writing stories, laying out pages, selling advertising, etc. I typically worked 70+ hours a week.  Oh, I realized I shouldn’t have, but I believed the job was that important. I had to give it  my absolute best to make it the wealth of accurate information that I thought it should be.

So, even though I knew the story of the five balls, even though Brian and I gave up corporate jobs earlier and moved to the country to get some sanity back in our lives, I neglected to heed the lesson because I loved my job. And, the harder I worked to keep that work ball in the air, the worse my health became. And, I had no time for family or friends. I neglected the people most important to me and I ignored the house and ignored the garden and rarely had any fun living.

So, after much consideration and cajoling from those who loved me, I finally quit.

 And, although I still stay very busy, my life finally has balance.

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