Giving Thanks in the Holy City

My Thanksgiving this year was one of those days that will likely stick in my mind forever.  The day was stunning, and we spent the bulk of it in Charleston.  Temperatures were in the 60s, and the skies were clear and blue.  After 3 or 4 straight days of cold, gray rain in Maryland, 60s and the sun were rather welcome!

We started the day with a walking tour based on Pat Conroy's novel, South of Broad.  I finished the audiobook this weekend while roasting my turkey breast.  The tour was fantastic and hit a lot of the sites mentioned in the novel such as St Michael's church, the four corners of law, some of the residential areas "South of Broad", the Battery, and more.  Here are a few photos I snapped that show how gorgeous the day was:

St. Michael's

Four Corners of Law at Broad and Meeting St

Looking down the Battery on East Battery St

Me in Battery Park in front of the Cooper River

After the tour and a little more wandering around, we headed to Magnolia's for Thanksgiving dinner.  We met my Godmother and her travel friends, and we proceeded to have a lovely meal.  My Dad and I split a bottle of Pinot Noir...and then had some Fried Green tomatoes.  I had the "Carolina Carpetbagger", twin filets topped with fried oysters and madeira sauce.  Yummy!  Creme Brulee was dessert.

As the sun was setting, we were headed out of the city headed towards Columbia.  I felt so at peace after such a lovely day.  I highly recommend visiting Charleston for Thanksgiving!

Back From Jacksonville

Last week I trepidatiously got in the car with J and drove to Jacksonville to meet his parents and siblings. All 4 of his siblings. Including his sister from France. And most of their spouses and kids. It was wild! And fun! Ok, so I was kinda excited...not really "trepidatious" at all. Being an only child, I've always thought it would be fun to be a part of a large family as an adult. While things were somewhat chaotic (imagine hyper dogs, tender-hearted children, many independent, headstrong folk...and you get the picture), it was still a lot of fun. One of my favorite moments of the visit was the family dinner in a gorgeous room overlooking the ocean. The kids went down to walk on the beach at one point, and the youngest boy got his pants sandy and wet in the ocean. I looked down and saw him running around with just his shirt on...giggling, perfectly content, and totally enjoying himself. That memory definitely makes me smile!

On the home front, we officially named the kitten Marcello. It's from La Boheme, and seems to fit his personality. His nickname will likely be "Cello". He seems to like it, so it stuck. Marcello in Boheme is a bit of a ladies' man, and since our Marcello is cuddly and the only male in the Home for Wayward Chorus Girls, I think it's appropriate. :)

This week I need to get back into tri-training routine...only 3 weeks or so of training left! I think I'm ready to at least finish the race, but my goal is to improve last year's time by 7 minutes. We'll see...

Re-defining Myself as a Blogger

It's hard to believe that my last post was almost a month ago! It seems that all of my "update" blogs are always at the beginning of a promise to "be a better blogger". But really, I don't think I know what that looks like for me. There are so many different aspects to blogging for different people. For me, I think the part I enjoy most is the writing, and the chronicle I have of my life from the blog. I can go back and reread what I was thinking and feeling at a particular time, and it lets me sort of re-live that experience. I hate turning my computer on in the morning and looking at my blog site...wishing I had the inspiration and discipline to write something. I'm such an all or nothing person, that not blogging every day doesn't quite feel like blogging to me. But since my blog IS for ME, it can be anything I want, right? In any case, I guess I have been busy living my life instead of blogging about it. I miss the chronicle aspect though, which is why I'm going to buckle down and try to be more consistent. Not sure who is still out there reading this...but if you're still around, thanks for sticking with me!

So what have I been up to? Well, my vacation at the beach was much needed and a great relaxing time with my family. While there, my phone died, and I got a Blackberry. I'm enjoying learning how to use it and loving the "all-the-time" internet access it provides. I spent the July 4th weekend with J in Baltimore at a cookout and on a long bike ride. Last week/weekend, my parents were here and we ate lots of yummy food and went to see Pirates of Penzance (great show...catch it this weekend if you can!) This week is full of cultural activities- 2 rehearsals, watching American Idol like Opera Auditions at the Engineer's Club last night, the BSO performing Disney tunes at Strathmore tomorrow night, singing a concert at Gibson Island on Saturday night, and going to see Spring Awakening at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. I'll probably have the opportunity to see another show on Friday, but it will depend on how I feel. I guess I am doing my part at supporting the arts!

After that update, I think one way I might be able to chronicle bits of my life is by attempting to take a picture that captures the spirit of the day and post it on the blog. Now that I have a cameraphone that takes good pics, it seems that might not be too difficult. We'll see...it will take discipline for me! On that note, here are a few photos I took on vacation:

Sunset during dinner at the Old Fort Pub Restaurant

These signs were all over lowcountry SC...you'd think it would be obvious not to!

My tootsies enjoying an afternoon on the beach

My parents after an evening walk on the beach...married 40 years and they still hold hands!

One is listening to audio on the computer, the other is reading...

Sand castle we found during an evening beach walk

That's all for now...hopefully I'll be back tomorrow!

Away I Go to an Island Fair that Lies in a Southern Sea

***Kudos to anyone who gets the title reference!***

Saturday morning, bright and early, I'm getting in my little Saturn, complete with bike rack and bike, and heading to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. I've been looking forward to this vacation...oh....since February, I think. A whole week at the beach with nothing pressing to do...divine. Well, I do have to keep up with tri-training, hence the bike on my Saturn...but Hilton Head has so many lovely bike paths that I think that won't be too taxing.

My family has been going to Hilton Head for as long as I can remember. Until I left for college, it was an annual event in June. I have so many fun memories...for me, going to "the beach" always meant Hilton Head. I spent countless hours on the beach, in the ocean, and particularly looking for shells. Most of my beach trips contained quintessential childhood beach memories...here are just a few of my favorites:

• Shelling
• Crabbing
• Watching the shrimp boats come by as we were swimming
• Peering into tidal pools to see the creatures (I had a stage where I desperately wanted to be a marine biologist)
• Watching schools of porpoises come by as we were swimming
• Floating and riding the waves on a canvas raft
• Biking (gonna definitely re-live this one this year...but to the tune of 20 miles at a time!)
• The joy of taking a shower after a long day on the beach
• Eating seafood out (we didn't eat out much when I was growing up, so it was always a special treat!)
• Spending time with my family
• Shopping!
• Playing hide and go seek in the house (I can still remember the time my Dad took the mattress out of the sleeper sofa and hid one of my friends in the sofa!)
• Sitting on the screened in porch for hours...reading, watching people, and playing Crazy 8s with my Grandma
• Feeding the turtles in the lagoon off the porch
• Running away from the alligator in the lagoon!
• Eating ham and turkey sandwiches for lunch (inside family joke)
• Having a TV in my bedroom! (I never, never had this growing up...probably would have never passed any class!)
• Afternoon naps to escape the heat of the day
• Kayaking at Shelter Cove

And many more. Decided I had to end the list, though! In any case, I will be doing some of these things while I'm at Hilton Head, and I can't wait! See you in a week or so!

Thoughts on Turning 30, The Big Three-oh, Getting Old, Etc

***This post was written prior to my actual birthday, but since I'm in New York City I thought I'd schedule it to post on the appropriate day.***

It's interesting to think that I'm turning 30. Thirty years of living on this earth. I'm actually quite excited to be reaching this milestone. All of my older friends say that their thirties were truly the best years of their life. I've had friends who had a crisis about turning 30. I had a "quarter-life crisis" at 25, so I don't plan on having one now!

When I was 15, 30 seemed so old! I imagined myself married with kids by the time I hit this age. Who would have thought I'd actually be thankful to not be married at my age? But, I am. I've had such fun being a single gal for the past three years or so. I've been able to do so many things and have so many opportunities. Not that I want to stay single forever, mind you...but it sure has been a fun ride recently!

When I was thinking back over where my life has taken me in the past 15 years or so, there was one thing that really stood out. You see, when I used to imagine myself as a "grown-up" single woman...I had this vision of myself in a high-powered job, living in a fancy apartment all by myself...but I never imagined myself with friends. I'm not sure why that is...maybe I was still in my introverted stage at that point in my life and thought I wouldn't need friends or people around me? But the thing is, when I think about all of the fun experiences and memories that I have from the last half of my life (and really the first, too) the things that really stand out to me are the people I've known and loved. My friends and family. As cheesy as it sounds, they have helped shape me into the person that I am, and I think without people, my life would be sad and boring. Because of that, I think the fact that 6 of my close friends are traveling to New York with me to celebrate is a fitting way to celebrate my 30 years on this earth.

And really, how bad can 30 be? I have fabulous friends, a good job, enough financial security to buy myself diamond earrings, a great guy in my life...shoot, 30 seems to be shaping itself up to be one of my best birthdays yet! At least, I'm not complaining...:)

The Magic of Cheese Straws

For the past 3 years, part of my Thanksgiving vacation at home has involved what my family and I have dubbed "The Cheese Straw Factory". I wrote about the Southern art of cheese straws a few years ago, in this post. In short, cheese straws are like a flaky cheese biscuit. Yummy, flaky, spicy, cheesy goodness. And they are considered a Southern delicacy...served anytime...but especially at events such as weddings, funerals, showers, etc. I like to give tins of them away as Christmas gifts. This year, the factory opened just like any other year:

With cheese grating.

Even my Daddy had a job in the factory this year.

After grating, the next annoying part is to mix the dough...which can really only be done by hand. It takes quite awhile to incorporate the flour, butter, cheese and other secret ingredients into each other (you didn't think I was actually going to give my recipe away, did you?)

In years past, we've made the cheese straws fancy by pushing the dough through a cookie press. Unfortunately, the cookie press we used last year got worn out. My mom bought a new one...but it was way too big to actually get any dough through. My poor hands would never have made it through 5 batches of squeezing out cheese straws! Instead, we made them the old fashioned way... with our thumbs!

After they get smashed...we added a stylish touch by imprinting the tops with a fork.

I bet you want to see the finished product, huh? Well, I don't happen to have a picture of the finished product yet. However, some of you will be receiving your own lovingly cared for and created tin of cheese straws soon. Enjoy with port, madeira, or just as a yummy snack. Bon Appetit!

Homeland Thanksgiving 2008

Well, I had a very relaxing and typical Thanksgiving. When I got up this morning, my Daddy had coffee ready...as well as ham biscuits and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Since I'm the turkey expert at the house, I spent the morning basting and roasting our turkey. As usual, it was moist and perfect. :)


My Godmother came to join us and brought the McCulloch special...Broccoli Spinach casserole. Yum!


Dinner was delicious, and my Mama set a beautiful table, as always.









Dessert was fantastic, as well. It's her secret recipe for chocolate mousse with my Daddy's yummy chocolate chip cookies.





After eating we sat around and chatted for a bit until all the food settled and we could go for a quick walk around the neighborhood. The high today was about 65...quite a change from last Thursday in Annapolis when I don't think we got above freezing!


Once we got back, the four of us turned the gas logs on in the living room and played a fun round of Scrabble...which eventually led to Round 2 of the food. Magnificat had 4 rounds of turkey...his favorite. All in all, a successful Thanksgiving for everyone!

You Know You're a Southern Belle When...

...you celebrate the 100th anniversary of your sterling silver. Of course, I haven't had it for 100 years, but this set of sterling has an interesting story.

A few years ago, I complained that it wasn't fair that you have to get married to have fine china, sterling, and crystal. My Southern Mama agreed, so she spent 6 months searching antique malls and auctions for affordable fine tableware. So, my Christmas present that year was a set of crystal, 2 sets of fine china, and 4 place settings of sterling. The sterling had an interesting story...my mom bought it for almost nothing at an estate auction of a 100 year old friend of ours from church. It was such a unique pattern, no one seemed to realize it was sterling. The pattern is Cairo, and was inspired by the fact that Egyptology was all the rage at the turn of the century. The motif engraved into the silver is quite Egyptian.

One of the neat things about Ms. Huggins' set is that the knives are engraved with "Thanksgiving '08". Obviously, that is 1908!

Unfortunately, we didn't know to ask Ms. Huggins about the story of the silver before she passed away, but the pattern came out in 1908, so I imagine it was a Thanksgiving gift to her parents. I used the silver at one of the first Thanksgivings I hosted in 2002. Anyway, this was the 100th anniversary of the silver, so of course, we had to use it for this year's Thanksgiving dinner!

Weekend Photos

Well, I finally managed to upload my photos from the weekend in the mountains. On Saturday, Jeff, Sara and I drove South towards Brevard, and on our way to the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped off at Looking Glass Falls.

The Falls

Jeff and I in front of the Falls (it was cold!)

Another view

View of the mountains from the Parkway
One of the few red trees on the East side of the Parkway

Stunning!
One of the ridge passes on the Parkway

Red tree and blue mountains

Me in front of the mountains

View from the waterfall where we hiked
Jeff and Sara on the way down to the trail
More pretty trees
Sara taking a picture of the plants

The Upper Falls
Pretty trees
Me at the top of the waterfall

Jeff and Sara at the top of the waterfall

The delightful screened in porch and woodstove at the house

Orbit the cat on the deck

Jin playing

Uncle Jeff and Jin

Family Dinner

Perfect Fall Mountain Saturday

Imagine waking up in a gorgeous house to a beautiful sunrise. Birds are chirping outside the open window. A cool breeze is wafting in through the screen. You go upstairs to find that someone is making you a latte from an expensive espresso machine. A precious 3 year old sits in the window with you to find and watch birthday eCards. Breakfast is put on the table, then you take a shower in a fancy European style bathroom with windows that open to the side of a mountain.

Next, your ex-pat cousin who now lives in Spain with his Spanish wife take some time to spend with you driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway (one of your favorite drives), hiking to waterfalls, and generally enjoying yourself. While driving on the parkway, you indugle in dark-chocolate covered pretzels and some chex mix. The hike is stunning (even after you get a bit cranky about the time...sorry Jeff!), and the western side of the Parkway has fall color a-plenty! Beautiful reds and a few oranges.

After arriving back at the amazing house on the side of the mountain, you get your book and sit on both the deck and the screened porch reading. As it gets cooler, you get a blanket and fall asleep on the sofa for 30 minutes. When you wake up, dinner is cooking- asparagus and mushroom risotto, oven-fried chicken, and fried green tomatoes. Another evening of sitting in the cool mountain air on the screened porch with a fire blazing and a glass or two of wine seems to be in the works.

As you can tell, my day was terrible! Don't think I'll be coming back here eve again...:) Pictures to come when I get back to Annapolis and my USB camera cord.

NC Mountains

I'm currently sitting in the "reading nook" at my cousin's Mountain house in Asheville, NC. The sun is beginning to set in the window behind me, the trees are green with a tiny bit of color at the tips and near the top of the mountain, and my little cousin Jin is playing in the background. Life is good. :)

I'm here visiting my cousin Claire, her son Jin, her husband Aris, and soon my cousin Jeff will arrive with his wife Sara. Jeff and Sara live in Spain, and I haven't seen them since their wedding in March '07.

It should be a great weekend...hopefully I'll have some good photos to post on Monday!

Visiting the Homeland

I'm off to South Carolina today for the long weekend. I'll be visiting my parents, attending a family reunion, singing at church, enjoying a dinner party, and seeing an exhibit at the State Museum. While it won't be a "relaxing" weekend, it will be fun, and busy is just what I need right now.

I haven't flown anywhere in about a year, so packing was an interesting project last night! I had to dig out all of my 3oz or smaller liquid containers (3 days is not long enough to go through the hassle of checking a bag), and think about which outfits could do double duty so that all of my stuff would fit into a carryon. I think I was successful...

Well, I plan on having a great Labor Day Weekend, and I hope all of you do, too!

Holy Week and Easter

For some reason, I tend to get homesick for SC every year around Easter. It's the only time of the year that I really get homesick for the state itself. I think part of it is usually that it's been a while since I've seen my family. I also miss the spring-like weather of SC. While it's 70 there in late March and the dogwoods are blooming, it's still 48 and windy here.

When I was growing up, Easter was always one of my favorite holidays. On Easter morning, the Easter bunny would leave a trail of chocolate eggs to my sweetgrass Easter basket filled with yummy and cute things. As I got older, the chocolate became Godiva and the gifts were always pampering things like make-up and perfume and jewelry. I would hunt for eggs in the backyard. We ate Easter dinner in the dining room with the Peter Rabbit china and the sterling silver. In high school, my friend Sallie and I would always trade Easter baskets. Holy week Episcopal church services and a glorious Easter morning service were always a part of the mix as well.

My first Easter in Annapolis snuck up on me quickly and steathily. I hadn't even thought about the fact that it was my first Easter (that I can remember) away from SC and my parents. I'm not sure what I expected, but I went to church, and with the exception of a breakfast and a cross-centered message, the service was no different from any other Sunday. It was also cold, rainy, and cloudy. I got so homesick and emotional during the service that I cried the whole way home! Thankfully, my cousins Claire and Jeff called about 5 minutes after I was home to tell me that Claire and her husband Aris were in Baltimore visiting Jeff and invited me up for the afternoon. I was so thankful for that invitation so I could spend some of my Easter with family!

The next year, I was asked/invited myself to sing at an Episcopal church in Annapolis. That was one of the best moves for me because even though I was away from my family, I had just seen my mom the week before and being at the service really felt like Easter to me. I didn't live at Maureen's house yet, but I went over there for Easter dinner. After that year, I resovled to spend Easter at an Episcopal church no matter what! Last year, I was singing there, and was still overcome by a bout of homesickness. I had not seen my family since Christmas (which was almost 4 months gone at that point) and I really missed them! I kept crying in the middle of the church service! Apparently, my mom was missing me too, so my Dad bought her a ticket to fly up and see me the next weekend.

This year, I think I have the emotions under control. :) I'm singing all of the Holy Week services at an Episcopal church, I saw my Dad a few weeks ago, and I'll be in SC next weekend. Too bad it's taken 4 years to figure out how to combat the homesickness. I suppose I could just plan to go to SC for Easter, but then I'd probably experience the same emotions I had this year at Christmas.

I love Holy Week services at an Episcopal church. Even though I have a different theological perspective than I did when I attended an Episcopal church, I like the reflective attitude that comes from the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. And I love the joyous music and attitude that permeates the Easter morning service. I do truly believe that we should celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection every day, but I also like having a day set apart each year to really celebrate it. It's like a birthday in a sense. We should be thankful for life every day, but it's nice to have a special day each year to celebrate our birth.

So, I'm looking forward to being in church the next 4 days...singing beautiful music in minor keys today and tomorrow....and listening to those keys changing to ethereal and strong major keys on Sunday. Hopefully, the minor keys will cause reflection, and the major keys celebration.

Hiking with the Fire Chief

Aris and Jin. He insisted on wearing his Fire Chief hat on the hike...:)
Sunset
I love my Western NC mountains...one of my favorite places in the world!

Aris' "Rustic Cabin"

From the drive

My new favorite reading/coffee/hang out with Jin nook

Living Room

Kitchen