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.  

Worker problem on Hilton Head Island and the Lowcountry region via The Island Packet

I would like to publicly applaud The Island Packet for its advocacy on behalf of the hospitality industry on Hilton Head Island and the surrounding region. The newspaper's journalistic efforts (in publishing a series of articles) to address systematic problems in sustaining a quality workforce long term makes plain that change is needed to sustain such a critical industry to the economic stability of the area.

Far too long has economic development in the region been skewed towards dead end investment. Tourism and hospitality are viable avenues to create stability in the long term, while other industries have a tendency to lag. 

The strength of the region's efforts in this regard is very much determinate on building resources...human performance, infrastructure, capital projects, education (at all levels: high school, certificate programs, technical college and 4yr). The voices of those working to fulfill every imaginable service have consistently remained absent and should be considered necessary. Bolstering the industry with resources won't remain viable without active representation or advocacy from the workforce itself. That is, the voices of those that serve on the front line sitting at the table to lend experience when visioning the island's future.

As such, I will continue to lend my praise to the newspaper's editorial board and its reporters for standing with the people and not the system in this series.

Stormy skies

The landscape of the coast shifts greatly with a change in the weather. Sitting on the enclosed porch at 11th Street Dockside in Port Royal, SC we captured a glimpse of this inland storm moving off the coast.

Skate or Ray?

The Lowcountry is beaming with natural wonders and low tide provides for a glimpse at some of what we may not capture when the shoreline is flush at high tide. Walking along the boardwalk at the port of Port Royal, South Carolina we got a glimpse of what is either a skate or ray. The big debate, which is it?! One onlooker said a "Southern Ray," another indicated the fins at the end of the tail discern the difference. Seems fitting to use #WorldOceansDay to make a trip to the Port Royal Sound Foundation to get a final say on the matter of designation.

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! 

They go hungry and can't read

Forty percent of all food produced in the United States ends up in the garbage. A statistic that I found shocking, but given the nature of American consumption I was not taken aback when it was relayed during a presentation by Dana Mitchel, Nutrition Coordinator with the Lowcountry Food Bank  during a Cooking Matters orientation for Eat Smart Move More Colleton County.

It was when she relayed  that one in four Lowcountry children go hungry that startled me.  The national average is one in six according to the nonprofit No Kid Hungry. For those of us that have even a bit of experience in educational  environments the impact that nutrition has in the overall well being of the young (as well as the young at heart), is huge. 

The same day I learn from the South Carolina EOC that the percentage of students reading on grade level has remained flat in our state and that the ability continues to decline as they move forward in school.  A wake-up call? That's more like a hurricane siren heralding certain disaster to follow.

A little over twenty-seven percent of our children are going hungry and they can't read.  There's a mix of disappointing news.   

Add to that a recent article by Bill Davis with the Statehouse Report that indicates no matter how grave an error it was to pass and implement a piece of legislation intended to support our school operating budgets in the state, it seems unlikely to get resolved at the hands of those responsible. "Vexing" was Mr. Davis' term, but in the body of this article it speaks more plainly with a quote from Wes Hayes (R-Rock Hill), who chairs the Finance subcommittee on K-12 education. "Simply put, there is no political will in the Statehouse to get rid of Act 388,” said Hayes. Why? He said the political toll would be too high for legislators who want to stay in office to take away a tax break from homeowners, the majority of voters. More importantly, he said there were few options outside of changing Act 388. To rub more salt into education’s wounds, Hayes said he didn't know when, if ever, the state would “catch up” with mandated per pupil funding levels. For the past five years, the legislature has voted for special one-year laws to cut about a third of mandated per-pupil funding levels.      

Very easy for some to say "Not in my back yard. My back yard is clear of under served young people.  My household is well-fed and we all read." Good for you.  In the mean time, your single mindedness has allowed the foundation of what a community thrives on, its people~ALL its people, to go untended and to fall into decay.  

When a quarter of your young people can't read and go hungry ~ and you continue to disregard what happens outside your pristine back yard ~ no amount of success will ever come from that patch of lush green grass in that coveted back yard of yours.

At some point the deplorable state of the lawns surrounding you will dominate the landscape and no amount of turf management you employ in your own back yard will keep the stark reminder of your unwillingness to "step in" from being painfully evident.  Step in, irrigate, weed and seed the landscape of your community.

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.

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.

Choosing Between Two Rubies Or Not

One of life's most difficult moments comes in choosing between two very attractive options.  And in some cases, a multitude of selections which I seem to encounter every time a menu is placed in front of me at a restaurant.  I am "one of those people" that likes to hear the specials recited by the staff so that I can imagine the dish as described in real time or in some cases if I know the chef and the chef knows me to ask the chef to make a selection on my behalf.  (Needless to say some astute staff know how to make such an opportunity worth their effort, while others, usually the greener of waits simply panic and fall into a great pit of sweat). By narrowing the field I avoid the problematic nature of analyzing the choices in front of me and allow my senses or someone else's to guide me. I can say the most generous of gestures ever made from my frame of reference is someone offering to order for me when dining out (requiring the host to know me rather well or extremely willing to take a risk~both gestures equally impressive).  But as we all know, what is true in real life is also true in the culinary arena.  We make choices.  In prior year blog posts I've boasted the attributes of a local "U pick Strawberry" option in my backyard ~Dempsey Farms~which is my "go to" place for the ruby jewels, but I recently had the opportunity to taste off some rather scrumptious berries from another locale, Scott Strawberry and Tomato Farms in Unicoi, Tennessee. And for my Lowcountry brothers and sisters seething at the thought of selecting anything over a South Carolina product, the choice at the time was a direct result of having been in contact with Fred Sauceman.  Though I imagine he'd acknowledge that we worked together or around each other at East Tennessee State University in the 1980's he's less likely to acknowledge I have any authority in the food world.  But his opinion weighs heavy for me in what is to be considered "good food" so I follow his posts on Facebook to gander at his food photos and read about his latest culinary endeavors. While he's the full time East Tennessean and I'm the full time South Carolinian this whole business of tasting off strawberries started when he posted a photo and commented on some Upstate SC strawberries he had acquired. So naturally I felt compelled to try the same in reverse on my recent visit to East Tennessee.  All I can say is the berries from Scott's were super sweet and though I tagged Mr. Sauceman on my FaceBook photo glowing about the attributes of the berries in his back yard he overlooked the gesture and remained quite mute on the point. But then I'm not one to crave acknowledgement and the whole point of the exercise was to try them not to throw them up in the face of a published Southern Food writer. Bottom line, I love the berries in my backyard in South Carolina and when my backyard is East Tennessee I continue to adore the berries in my backyard.  Therefore, I'm not making a choice between two rich jewels at all, am I!? Nor should you.

Prepare more seafood + Respect local seasonal offerings

2010 was a phenomenal year for living in the Lowcountry! I am one to reflect on the past with affection and do so always with great appreciation for the growth and experience gleaned from what has transpired throughout the year. As such a person, I consider it apropos to recognize the all time #1 post from this blog in 2010 (and no surprise for it was truly unique)....the November entry from Bon Appetit for Celery and Pear Bisque . And likewise, to transition into a new year by making at least one resolution to accompany this blog...prepare more seafood in 2011 while respecting the local seasonal offerings found in my backyard. What can you expect from a year comprised of double ones (11)? A weekly recipe insertion, answers to a hodgepodge of questions and a photo or two. Along the way I'll weave a story that hints at humor, celebrates a passion for food and unveils a bit of the saltlife found along our coast of South Carolina. Happy New Year!