Shoreline of change

Escaping into solitude with shorelines of sand, pluff mud and reeds...

There are many reasons to visit, live, or linger in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. What I value most is her sultry way of letting me just be...to wonder and wander without limitation.

Port Royal, SC is a small village of almost nothing, but everything at the same time. We've seen a great deal of change in the economy of this small town through the financial market crash to being hit last year with a tropical storm and a hurricane. The village is about to undergo some big change this fall as a port redevelopment project gets underway.

I will mourn the loss of the "sleepy" nature of my village along the coast. The port project will bring commerce and activity as well as a great deal of visual/physical change to the village center. At the same time, I welcome what such a development will offer the community, her people, the market of opportunity, and perhaps maybe even my own endeavors.

Heading into fall I know change is afoot.
My remarks to town council related to the port property during the open public comment period in August 2017:

I served on the redevelopment commission for the Town of Port Royal for eight years and am quite familiar wth the port property, past and present. 

Historically, careful consideration was given to conducting charrettes to “take in” public opinion when the sale of this port was placed on our table to develop.

What seems evident to me in these public forums is that the citizens of Port Royal reflect back to that thoughtful process with great pride.  [As do I] It is a benchmark for many and a healthy one to leverage in the discourse or discussions related to the port.

However, even then we did not all agree about the future of the port nor will we all agree today in what is to come. It’s healthy discourse to disagree with so many diverse interests in one small town like ours, ONE THAT IS COOL.

In making decisions connected to this port as our designated body of decision makers, our council members have to make choices that serve those who will come along long after they and many of us are gone.

Please keep in mind that access is not only a public right of way but also in the opportunity to participate in the commerce and activity of this port. The jobs and commercial activity of what is to grow and thrive inside this port and in close proximity will have positive economic impact on our ability to enjoy both the land and sea of our community, ONE THAT IS COASTAL.

In terms of any land swap...

• don’t give away what improves our quality of life and existing views;
• do enhance what we see.

In terms of the existing dry stack...

• don’t overlook what could be done today to create immediate opportunity for economic gain;
• do weigh the future over the past.

The role of our members of council certainly includes sustaining long term growth and viability for our town, its residents and business owners. As such our assets should be configured so that they shine bright in this FAR FROM ORDINARY town.

Thank you.

Lowcountry reflection on Hurricane Matthew

Oct 6: A safe distance from harm's way with a looming hurricane gives rise to a great many thoughts about living. I have prayed a great deal for the safe keeping of the South Carolina Lowcountry this last 24 hours, most especially for its people who are weathering out or working through the storm, its natural landscape and most certainly its humble wildlife. My home will either be there battered, under water or with some luck still standing when I return next week. The realities of living in a hurricane zone are always there but the truth is, after one gets cozy in the lifestyle and good weather the lingering reality of severe weather gets pushed back to a vague recognition of "it could happen but hasn't for a great many years." I adopted #SouthCarolina as my state 13 years ago and while I may not be a native daughter I most certainly call my little Charleston salt box and small plot of pond life along her coast "home."

Oct 8: Recovery. We can do this!

Oct 9: It has been said many times over last 72 hours so worth acknowledging that the social platform of @Facebook played a crucial role in keeping #Lowcountry residents connected, near and far, during #HurricaneMatthew. From media coverage to local citizen reporters to the delivery of simple photographs and messages of hope. These made a difference in the experience. I am tainted by my affection for new media and its relevance in contemporary discourse, but honestly I'd give Mark Zuckerberg a big hug and invite him to sit on my porch to shoot the breeze and talk about pond life right now if presented the opportunity. And we'd be remiss if we didn't also acknowledge Sprint, Verizon and AT&T for giving us the bandwidth to find huge value in cellular communications during a natural disaster. Thank you.

Oct 9: What many outside our area won't connect to the natural disaster otherwise known as #HurricaneMatthew is the fact that jobs are lost as a direct result of the devastation. The longer recovery takes, the economy of the entire community suffers and the individuals connected to the hospitality industry (hotels, resorts, pubs, restaurants, grocery stores, musicians/entertainers, golf courses, tennis courts, marinas, etc) will be hardest hit. We need to make sure we support these folks while they are in transition.

Oct 10: Yep I made it through another year to tell many more tall tales, hug every single one of you at least once virtually (and a few of you in person) and sit on my side porch countless times with a great deal to be thankful for in this life. I am subdued in my celebration this year amid the news of hardship that so many of you are facing in post storm recovery. Your early morning messages and texts are so very heart warming and definitely generated big smiles. I urge you to join me in celebrating by making a donation to your local American Red Cross or Salvation Army and/or volunteer your time to aid someone in need. Do this and I'll celebrate the year ahead knowing we all paid it forward.

Oct 11: We are all grateful for any and all efforts to secure our homes in Beaufort County and to sustain our well-being before, during and after Hurricane Matthew's impact along the South Carolina coast. We'd be remiss if we did not acknowledge there was an intention to do right by the citizens of this county. However, the lesson in post-storm reflection is truly for better and clearer communications between municipalities, county government, local law enforcement, emergency response teams, our governor and state officials. Senator Davis' positive glean on what transpired and his own role in relaying information is commendable. Representative Erickson's authentic response to the lack of a solid crisis communication plan at all levels should get the applause. Let's appreciate the valuable lesson captured in this experience and convey that we expect more if ever faced with this type of natural disaster again.

Oct 13: Finally made it back. A plethora of deer along the roadways, smell of pluff mud is stronger than usual, and tree debris piled up high on curbs. A few obvious structural issues at the house that even the night sky can't mask and it all may certainly look different by the light of day, but for now I'm going to count myself luckier than most and thank the universe for small blessings.

Oct 13: Biggest concern I've heard thus far from the small business owners in the area is loss of revenue, if they did not have 'interruption insurance' what can they do to recoup that loss?

Oct 13: The human stories are worth telling. The gentleman that came to fix my door jam today returned to the Lowcountry yesterday just as I did, only he found his home looted, I did not. What makes his story worth telling isn't the fact that he got robbed. It's that he did not let that define his experience of evacuation and returning home.  He took his tool belt and talent to HIlton Head island this morning and before going home this evening to his own family made a stop at my house at 6p to fix my door. And tomorrow morning he will go back to HIlton Head Island and again stop to see me before going home to tackle my water soaked attic. To witness such resiliency and determination is to know that we are not alone and that each of us matter. More importantly, there are the kindest souls out there willing to bring what they can to any situation.Here's to Aaron for making a difference in my own experience of recovery. Thank you.

Oct 15: Recovery. We got this.  

Day 7: Lowcountry where Other Mothers thrive

Ann-Marie:

We live in very special places. I in Port Royal, you in Beaufort. A world away from so much else and yet close enough to know the universe.

The port of Port Royal, SC

Writing about the area in context of the story naturally translates into that much of the book is about living here. How could one NOT ~ finding oneself surrounded by the simpleness of time bathed in sunlight and coated in the salt tears of a clock standing still. It is the Slowcountry. One I relish for its lack of routine other than the tide, fishing, boating, cocktail hours and natural escapes.

Teresa:

We are jackpot-lucky to live in this place, and I think Bryne felt the same way. She and Duncan were expats in their own country and I think it's important that they chose this place to live and work.  I so connect with that that I wanted to do that justice.   So the Lowcountry, in "The Other Mother" is more than just a location, it's a central character.

Duncan, in particular, so needed to be near water that he was willing to return to the same stretch of coastline where his childhood had been ruined (he was born in Charleston). Byrne probably would have been just as happy to live out her life in Santa Fe, where she actually founded the Byrne Miller Dance Theatre. She found the desert mountains freeling and limitless. It was her daughter Jane that we have to thank for the Bryne Miller Dance Theatre moved to Beaufort.  This daughter of rebellious, Vietnam War protesting bohemian parents joined the Marine Corps! When Jane and her husband at the time were stationed at MCAS Beaufort, Ducan and Byrne followed her here and made it her home.

For me, the water in particular is what makes this place so special.  I first started writing about it in the "Transfer of Grace: Images of the Lowcountry." The way the tides are so reliable, so undefeatable, gives me a sense of perspective. Nothing we stress about in any given moment will be the same six hours from now.
narrative essay that accompanies my husband's photographs in

"Twice a day the waters reverse course and flood the marshy inlets once again.  All that is lost returns."

I still feel the magic and the majesty of the Lowcountry every time I come back from a road trip and drive over the Whale Branch River.  Again from the book ~

"For a brief thrilling moment, the Whale Branch River Bridge releases all who travel over it from gravity.  You look down from an Osprey's eye view into a fish-full ribbon of life.  the water is a shimmering membrane, wide and porous.  Salt and sweet, past and present glid in opposite directions."


The Other Mother: a rememoir by Teresa Bruce

Tell us about what surrounds you...

Day 1: Crossing Paths with "The Other Mother"

And so it begins...the "10 Days with The Other Mother" blog tour.  Starting today and continuing through December 10th this blog will host a public conversation with author Teresa Bruce that provides readers with an opportunity to gain insight and reflect on Bruce's recently published rememoir "The Other Mother." 

There are several ways you can participate in the conversation:

1. Join the conversation! Enter comments and/or respond to entries in the comments section at the end of each blog entry. The author and blogger will actively monitor and engage in a virtual dialogue during the ten day tour.

2. Share a link! Copy and paste a link to each blog entry on your FaceBook page, your Google+ account, your Twitter feed or cite an entry on Pinterest, Tumblr or your own blog...wherever you find yourself socially networking.

3. Buy the book! The author and blogger will provide a great many reference points over the next ten days but to fully appreciate the beauty of the book one must really dive into the text. Available on Amazon at: The Other Mother

Blog Tour Day 1: Crossing Paths

Ann-Marie: 

I have always marveled at how our lives interweave with the people, places and experiences necessary to propel us in one direction or another. Chance meetings. Serendipity. Work assignments. Blind dates. Coffee shops. Network referrals and the like. Each built around a stated opportunity whose purpose we may or may not be fully aware of in the immediate.

In fact Teresa, our becoming acquainted two years ago at the Beaufort International Film Festival was very much like that. I have always relished "table readings" so when the festival schedule included the opportunity to hear some of Beaufort's local thespians reading the screenplays entered for competition, I was quick to secure a ticket for the occasion. And with that attendance I became acquainted with you. That first encounter, listening to your screen play being read, set in motion an appreciation for your brand of storytelling. Most especially for your knack in bringing to the page the good, bad and sometimes comical way life has a tendency to flow and unfold.

Chapter 8 of "The Other Mother" presents readers with your first encounter with Byrne and Duncan Miller while on assignment with a local public television affiliate. Initially you take a journalistic approach upon meeting the Millers, to design a story of "worthiness and drawing out empathy" for a man with Alzheimers and a wife eager to bring public attention to their plight, by the conclusion of that chapter your approach quickly shifts to an admiration for the reflected love you witnessed in meeting them.

Thus, my volley to you, Teresa on Day 1 in our "10 Days with The Other Mother" conversation starts with our crossing paths at the film festival and you crossing paths with Byrne Miller....

Teresa:

I remember it well...Our paths crossed on the auspicious occasion of the first ever screenplay table read in Beaufort, South Carolina! That was two years before MovieMaker Magazine would name the Beaufort International Film Festival one of the coolest 25 film fests in the country ~ I guess we were BIFF before it was the film world's BFF! I was so nervous and it was great to look out into the audience and see your smiling, exuberant face in the audience. I didn't even know you but I could feel your encouragement and support for the creative process. 

I love it when that happens ~ paths crossling like two dancers on stage at the same time, hooking arms and spinning off in new directions.

I was like that meeting Bryne Miller, the Other Mother in the title of my memoir. I was 22 at the time, a rookie TV reporter at WJWJ-TV in Beaufort, SC and she was an 82 force of nature. I never set out to find an Other Mother but she folded me into her world before I knew what was happening. 

She always said "The family you're born with is not the one you're stuck with" and that was the genesis of a word I invented to describe her pearls of wisdom: womenisms. And now, years later, our dance together has spun off into so many directions. I have a blog called "womenismsm" on wordpress and a whole book worth of chapter headings in "The Other Mother: a rememoir."

What a great position to open the tour with Ann-Marie!

The Other Mother: A Rememoir by Teresa Bruce

Tell us about your experience in crossing paths with people who made an impact on your life...

From hiatus to 10 days with The Other Mother

An extended hiatus from this blog focused on an elder care experience was a conscious choice, one that made the greatest difference to the people right in front of me. Now don't leap into thoughts of the long-term care process here, it was more like connecting before the memory and physical well-being of a parent would make such an endeavor even more difficult than it had already become. Never did I dream I would look up six months later with a more relaxed impression of senior living realizing I was missing the very thing that provided fulfillment to me personally (and on so many levels).

In my initial attempt to re-enter the blogging sphere I watched my heroic "Wednesday HodgePodge" crowd continue their ritual of once weekly tandem entries,  I relished the family news and pulling up recipes from Chef Richard Wilson's newswire, I witnessed "The Goddess Blogs" giving me all sorts of reasons to find romance alive, I read as "Olives & Alzheimers" relayed her own personal journey with a parent suffering from Alzheimers, I swooned to the poetry of James Goertel in Yareah Magazine, I drooled in virtual desire for the food in Travel Bite's worldwide adventures,  I clapped every feature in author Kami Kinard's Nerdy Chicks Rule, I watched "The Outdoor Yogini" blossom in self discovery, I relished the musings and thoughtful appreciation for life in pictures and video from a high school chum David Cate and yet couldn't muster a way to jump back in. Writers block? Maybe. Lack of focus? Maybe. Finding my place in this sphere of words after an absence? Most definitely.

Finally, without even realizing it, an author, wine and food provided the triple shot of enlightenment needed to gear back up confidently. So it is through an RSVP to a local event celebrating a book launch (a book I might add that got an approving nod from Pat Conroy) that I found my comfort zone again. And with that bit of an introduction you are invited to 10 Days with The Other Mother!

10 Days with The Other Mother


When: Begins December 1, 2013 and concludes on December 10, 2013 (then its on to the next blog stop)


Who: Teresa Bruce, author of The Other Mother & SCMornings contributor Ann-Marie Adams


What: An online conversation posted daily for ten days between two "Other Mothers" (Bruce and Adams) sharing wisdom, humor, revelation and womenisms. Expect musings to include Q&A, visual stimulation and expect the unexpected.


Where: Playing in multiple social media outlets near you! Originating here at SCMornings and intended to be shared, reposted, retweeted and favorited. #TheOtherMother (official hashtag) AND You the reader of course, you ARE the "+1" on this multi-day blog tour stop!


How: Mark your calendars to stalk our posts, chime in with your comments or simply tune in because you can in the comfort of your own time and space. 

Note: Engagement by readers each of the ten days nets one (1) lucky contributor a free copy of the book! 

People sway my vote

Julie Markey and Teddy Turner
Farmers Market of  Bluffton 2013

I marvel at the number of "best/worst of" lists that exist regionally and nationally.  We've gradually become a society with an insatiable thirst for immediate access to rankings, i.e. Trip Advisor; listings, i.e. Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chef; and polling, i.e. the plethora of notations made regarding the candidates running in South Carolina's Congressional District 1 primary. It's not that I disagree with the application of these tools. It just seems that they have become the norm.  

Do we like the fact that one bad or inaccurate review can taint a really great restaurant?  What about the chefs who don't appear on some "best of" list? Does polling really provide the pulse of a community anymore? There are as many outlets extolling opinion as there are stars in the sky thanks to the immediacy and convenience of current technology. For the better part of the last ten years a slurry of authorities and influencers have burst out on the scene to direct public opinion in one fashion or another.

A vote is a very personal endeavor. In my opinion the most reliable and accurate perspectives come from those whose bottom lines are directly impacted by the decision making of officials operating in the public domain. People like Julie Markey of Savannah Hydroponics & Organics, Mike Wilson of Affairs to Remember, or Orchid Paulmeier of One Hot Mamas/The Lodge Hilton Head. They live here, create economic growth here, and sustain a way of life here for themselves and others. I look to them to share their experiences so that my vote is connected to the greater needs of my community. If "we" need a better voice in the rule making process of our economy then I'm going with the candidate that has the best chance of carrying messages to and from the process, who understands the model of service, who sets out to protect the interests of future generations, who can manage the hard truth of what has to be done and convey that to constituents, who knows what success and failure looks like first hand, and who will align his agenda with the elected colleagues whose same aim is to represent the interests of my district.

I have found that Teddy Turner meets the needs of the people I live, work and play with here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. We are a coastal community that encompasses some of the most exceptional natural vistas along the East Coast with a diverse population of strong-willed and remarkable people. We need change and it's not the cookie cutter cut out of an elected official that's been baked up for the masses time and time again. We need change and we need it now.

Body Double at a Wine Tasting

Once in a while I get lucky.  That was never truer than this past Monday when a good friend rang me up to say she had the flu and that she needed a "body double" to stand in for her at a local wine dinner.  Essentially I was being asked to attend the event with her husband because she was sick and wouldn't be able to taste the wines.  (I was sorry to hear she was feeling poorly, but I may have in my own elation on the prospect of attending fail to tell her that in the course of the conversation. I'll be sure to mention that in my follow up note to thank her!)

Needless to say in a small town such a switch up could create quite the buzz, but when it comes to my "standing in" at a wine, beer, or liquor pairing dinner no one's going to question the logic behind that call (I'm the right gal for the job).  I was requested to arrive promptly at 7:00 o'clock for the occasion held at Saltus River Grill in Beaufort, SC and told that my "date" would meet me there.  It is important to note that I didn't even ask what wines were being poured.  First of all, the restaurant rallies beautifully with a new executive chef so the food is going to be divine and second, this friend would never lead me astray, especially when it comes to wine from California.  It is appropriate for me to point out that the spouse of my requester is also truly entertaining, knowledgeable about wines and fun to hang out with (just like his wife)!

I arrive 15 minutes early and watch as the obvious couples attending the dinner make their way toward the seating area designated for the wine tasting.  At this point I'm solo, standing out like a sore thumb waiting for my "other half" to arrive. The house wine buyer does everything she can to ignore me standing there. She loathes me, is most likely confounded by my presence as I don't appear on her guest list...she goes out of her way to simply cast aside my presence, but I'm not deterred. I eventually present myself as a substitute for one member of the Jenkins party to which she seemed to take a deep sigh of reluctance. Lucky for me the winery representative notes that I've not been introduced to her as the other couples had been and quickly makes her way to me as I join the group (I immediately like my new friend, Tracy Smith, Marketing Wine Club Manager from Terra Valentine Winery, Napa, California, but later in the evening when I learned she was 27 years old doing what she loved for a living I fell in love with her).  Several minutes go by, still no date, the house wine buyer now irritated because my better half's late arrival implies holding up a timely start to the occasion, "When will "he" be arriving?" she asks. Noting her irritation I indicate it would be alright to pour the first wine without him.  At this stage I just want the first wine poured so I can get past this awkward solo moment and the disdain seething from the wine buyer.

And no sooner did the first wine go down, my date arrives. The courses flowed with exquisite service throughout the evening.  A first course crab bisque with the Sauvignon Blanc was perfect.  My favorite course, the second, a skillet browned crab cake, house-made chow chow, pickled mustard, chives and buerre blanc paired with a lovely Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and a Cab Franc. The entree course a sirloin cooked sous vide and wood grilled, creamed spinach, truffle parmesan pomme frites, natural demi glaze paired with two lovely Cabernet Sauvignons, Spring Mountain and a Yverdon.  Memorable, best word to describe what I mention here, both the wine and the food, but also the people who sat in close proximity.

That's the thing about wine tastings, no one's a stranger by the time its all over, wine being the elixir for merriment, but also the common denominator for discussion (no small talk in other words). No luck needed.

Rewriting Background Noise, Lowcountry Produce Market & Cafe

Hum & Sizzle of a Busy Night
Back: Victor Varner & Fellow Musicians
Front: A very intriguing story
Lowcountry Produce Market & Cafe

Background noise in some incidents may be defined as a necessary physical element inserted into time. Much like the five physical elements of the environment~Air, Flora/Fauna, Soil, Solar Energy, and Water~it resides in a moment to create harmony. 

It may be a favorite iTunes playlist, the topical stimulus of a cable television show, the rotations of an oscillating fan in motion, the purr of a kitten or slumbering cat, the home fountain mimicking a trickling brook or cascading water fall, the hum or sizzle of a restaurant hive on a busy night, the air pressure stream of a CPAP machine or perhaps even the giggles of children playing over a baby monitor.

No matter the source we each have a tendency to fill air space with noise either on an intermittent basis or for an extended period of time. Individual preference dictates the application. The net result the same, when inserted one finds accord with the world around them.

I happen to apply it every waking hour. Don't get me wrong, silence cut by mother nature's hiccups, birds singing, insects clicking, frogs chirping, wind whipping, tidal water lapping, rain falling, it is ALL all right by me.  

My first recollection in the application of background noise was in college with a floor style oscillating fan to drown out the high pitch craze of my sorority suite mates in the wee hours of the morning.  The next, an occupational hazard of working in government affairs where CSPAN prevailed as king of the airwaves.  After that, a sequence of partners each with their respective snoring and sleep apnea disorders claiming the overnight hours. 

Fast forward to present day where National Public Radio with its wide variety of programming fills the space once dominated by legislative affairs, the evening hours are now shared in the comforting hum of a regular stint at a local restaurant where the music is grand, the conversations always aflutter, and the visual cues aplenty...and those delightfully quiet overnight moments...now shared with starry nights, prophetic dreams, pond frogs, a snoring dog and two resident felines.  

Background noise has slid into the role of a treasured constant companion.

Wine Tasting, Plums Restaurant Bluffton

Found the time to slip over to Bluffton for an early hour wine tasting hosted by Plums Restaurant, featuring several of the wines in the portfolio of Advintage South Carolina.  

Wine Tasting, Plums Restaurant 10/22

I've always enjoyed Advintage's portfolio of product (wine and craft beer) as the company continues to represent an outstanding portfolio of boutique offerings, little known wineries and brewers (to me anyway) and foreign made brands (that I'd never discover on my own).  Add to that, the fact that the Advintage corporate culture oozes fresh insight much like the youthfulness of its demeanor.  Something about that, against the back drop of larger companies, just immediately earns my respect.  

What made this tasting unique is that these wines are featured in three venues run by the same restaurant group, Plums, Beaufort; Plums, Bluffton; and Saltus River Grill, Beaufort. Celia Strong (Bill's Liquor's & Fine Wines) who orders the wine for all three businesses poured for the tasting. The ten wine offering included: Urban Riesling, Alverdi Pinot Gris, Eidosela Albarino, Catena Tahuan Malbec, Peirano Merlot, The Guilty Shiraz, Simple Life Chardonnay, The Prisoner, Rombauer Chardonnay, Milton Park Shiraz. (I tweeted some comments during the tasting, you can check out that feed over at @HHI_FandB if inclined)

The Guilty, Vine Street Imports

Three wines (all reasonably priced) could very well make their way to my holiday table this year.  The three:  Urban Riesling (Germany), Catena Tahuan Malbec (Argentina), The Guilty Shiraz (Australia).  The last being my favorite of the evening. This post lacks food pairing notes.  Yes, that is indeed the case. The price to taste was reasonable and the event not promoted as a pairing function; thus, only a light nosh was provided to taste along with these wines.  I have no doubt that when next I dine at Plums or Saltus I'll find that perfecting pairing from their menus to accompany the luscious shiraz.  Or with my brisket at Christmas.

Food Art, Maggie's Pub & Eatery

A remarkable evening at Maggies Pub & Eatery located in the serene setting of  Habersham.  Chef Richard Wilson and the restaurant team are tremendous hosts when celebrations call for fine food, friends and tunes on a Wednesday evening! A few courses to tease your palate...

Wasabi Peas & Carrot Foam

Quail Egg, Arugula, Ginger Saffron Cream

Smoked Caprese Salad

Leisure Settings and Sipping

One of my greatest pleasures in life was to spend some work related time in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The experience so grand that I ventured back to Holland in my personal travel, spending a great deal of time in Utrecht with friends.

The people, food, and lifestyle of the country simply relaxing, green (literally and figuratively), filled with water recreation, artistic and cultural diversity and divinely blessed with beautiful citizens inside and out.  Much of what one "likes" when visiting a place is for what one can find to do there, but I would also add "for what one can NOT do there."  That is, the art of living a moment unencumbered. A moment enjoyed just long enough to have escaped a routine or relished briefly as an interlude far and away from more taxing times of the day.

I found ample space in my itinerary among the Dutch for ventures to the cafes to sip on hot beverages~and consume an inordinate amount of stroopwaffles.  To this day, one of my all time favorite simple pleasures in life is to enjoy leisure moments sipping. That simple act, sipping, may transpire alone, with a good read or a friend in deep conversation.  Cold or hot, sipping is my leisure habit of choice.

There was a point in my coastal life when "cafe time" was a simple two block walk away from my home office.  During that time I found a place to collect my thoughts, share space with others and become an active participant in a subset of my local community. Sadly that local coffee house closed and has yet to be replaced (there are two delightful coffee shops~City Java and Common Ground available in nearby Beaufort, but require a little more effort than a stroll down the block). Thus, from there grew my house made adventures in concoctions of all sorts.

House made Chai or more descriptively spiced milk tea has become my afternoon escape in the absence of my local coffee shop. I have experimented with a wide variety of recipes (and trust me when I say many abound across the internet~varying slightly in the components, i.e., the type of tea, the spice inclusions and/or the choice of sweetener). But my preferred version at this time continues to be an Epicurious version of Masala Chai that includes white peppercorns and fennel seeds.

Travel to escape or visit other climes continues to appeal, but sipping never goes asunder at home in a locale that abounds with many an unencumbered moment.

So long oysters. Hello Soft Shell Crab!

By this point in the year those of us living in the Lowcountry have had our fill of oysters (well, maybe not everyone) so the inclusion of a new item on many local restaurant menus in April is cause for some celebration. During what I would call a short lived period there is a delicacy that is coveted by many coastal dwellers. Actually we are simply taking advantage of a reoccurring phenomena found in nature. That is, the period of time when crabs have molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft...Soft Shell Crab. Just this past week I noted that Plums and Saltus in Beaufort and Pour Richards in Bluffton have shouted out they are serving the softies. The Town of Port Royal actually takes the celebration to the old village streets every year (this year, April 23), brings the music (featured this year are the Headliners) and food frolic for it's 8th Annual Soft Shell Crab Festival. Believe it or not I've never prepared soft shell crab at home, I've done many a preparation with the hard shell version, but never ventured here. I went for the cookbook authored by the woman who introduced me to my first soft shell crab entree...Elizabeth Terry. Specifically the cookbook authored by Elizabeth and Alexis Terry in 1996 called Savannah Seasons. I believe Elizabeth Terry retired from her restaurant Elizabeth's on 37th the year the book was published, but I suspect the next generation of cuisine at the locale includes soft shell as a seasonal item.

Tips for dressing(cleaning and preparing)soft shell crab: http://www.ehow.com/video_2339408_clean-soft-shell-crab.html