Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Wednesday when Donna Rae stopped by she mentioned that her grandson, Tanner, would be playing the organ at Strawberry Chapel the Sunday of November 10. This old historic chapel is only open for worship and visitors four times a year…I mentioned going there once with the Dingles and loving all the history associated with it.

In the early seventies I had a storytelling club that met once a month after school for interested students. Near Halloween one time a Girl Scout Leader came to tell a story…and it was the story of “Little Mistress Chicken.”

She couldn’t believe, since I taught SC History, that I had never heard this haunting story. She gave me a copy of the book by the same title written by a local historian, Mrs. Gordon Rose, in the late sixties. I loved it. (*The first published story about this true, haunting, incident -that befell 7-year-old Catherine Chicken was released in Youth ‘s Companion in 1894.)

Here is the story:

Before Catherine was eight years old her famous father, Colonel George Chicken died, and her beautiful mother remarried, taking Mr. Elias Ball as her husband. In spite of such tragedy Catherine was a happy child and was surrounded by family, her maternal grandfather was the son of Mr. James Child, the founder of Childsbury, and the man who donated the land for the chapel of ease as well as the school in Childsbury. It was here  that these two buildings- the school and the chapel-would leave a permanent mark on little Catherine Chicken.

Sometime after her mother’s marriage to Elias Ball , Catherine was sent away from the Kensington Plantation to Childsbury to board with Monsieur and Madame Dutargue at the Strawberry Chapel school.

One day Catherine vexed the schoolmaster Dutargue by wandering off and enjoying the outdoors. In a rage the schoolmaster decided apt punishment would be to tie her to a tombstone in the graveyard of the chapel.

This might have been severe, but he thought the punishment would bring little harm to the child… except Dutargue forgot about her and Catherine spent the night tied to the tombstone.

During the wee hours of the morning a slave named Money was making his way back to his masters holdings when the whitish figure of Catherine scared him… he initially thought she was a ghost.

Money had a device for scaring people away from him, as his excursions away from his master’s plantation would bring him a flogging if discovered. Money would take a gourd or pumpkin and carve it out cutting two eyes a nose and a mouth in it. He would then set a candle within and when traveling if he heard someone approach would light the candle…producing an eerie sight and causing most travelers to run from him.

It was this trick device that caused the weak and frightful Catherine to faint. Money, though knowing punishment (for leaving without permission) would surely follow, still could not bring himself to leave the beloved  ‘Little Mistress Chicken’ without protection; he stayed close by and in the hours just before dawn scared Dutargue off as he tried to get Catherine in from the graveyard.

As light dawned on Childsbury, it also dawned on the actions of the schoolmaster. He was relieved of his post immediately and literally drummed out of town, a crowd gathering for the event and the drummer boys of the militia providing the accompaniment.

Catherine survived the evening and went on to marry Benjamin Simons.  However a twisted paralysis set in on her young face from the physical and emotional trials of the night. (Resource: Catherine Chicken Simons- Ancestry/Genealogy- Wikitree.com)

Once a happy child…Catherine lived to eighty years of age but fought depression the rest of her life, rarely smiling from the effects of the stroke. She never completely recovered from that frightening night in the graveyard by Strawberry Chapel.

*(Today the Strawberry Chapel graveyard is said to be haunted by a variety of spirits. Many people have been overcome by depression as soon as they enter the graveyard…some see spirits of children playing in among the tombstones…late in the evenings..the sobbing of a child, purported to be the ghost of Little Mistress Chicken, has been heard as well. A tombstone in the section next to the chapel is said to be exceedingly warm to the touch …even in the winter. (Resource: History and Haunting of Strawberry Chapel)

Every Christmas I remember this story when I put up my numbered Berkeley County historical Christmas tree ornament.

So until tomorrow…”History is who we are and why we are the way we are.” David McCullough

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Happy Halloween and Boo Yall!

This year I took pumpkins and Mexican (Day of the Dead) succulent containers to a few neighbors with “You got Booed” signs…Anne got  “You got Booed” Birthday gifts.

Dear Reader:

A couple of days ago…as I walked into my “Happy Room” the late afternoon sun was shining through the storm door window and setting the right side of the hearth aflame with light…leaving the left side in darkness.

Even the word GATHERING was half in the light and half obscured by the light. I was drawn to it like a moth to a back porch ceiling bulb.

I love the word “gathering” – I like to use it in the sense of having a family gathering in a warm and homey atmosphere. In today’s hectic society…finding time to “gather” for birthdays or holidays, vacations… is more precious than ever….a rare treasure of time.

Looking back on family gatherings as a child…I loved listening to the adults tell stories more than anything else. While my cousins were playing at this or that…I usually could be found sitting quietly near the picnic table just listening. It was only as I grew older and then became an adult that I realized so many of my childhood memories were based primarily on feelings…not facts.

It was always a shock to reminisce about a certain episode from my childhood, only to confront a different perception from a grandparent, aunt or uncle on what really happened in that distant memory.

Other surprises from the past surfaced when I realized that the adult generation in my family had lived such different lives and experienced such varied encounters before I came along to see them only as middle-aged aunts or uncles settled into living in the same house in the same town. Everyone at one time had different lives than the ones I witnessed growing up…a whole different life.

Some had experienced traumatic loss in war times or unforeseen accidents or diseases, changes in fortune or direction…but to me they were always just my favorite aunt or uncle or grandparent. I felt their love and protection.

Now having reached the status of grandmother…I realize my own grandchildren don’t know much about my childhood or youth…dreams and ambitions and leaps of faith…it will come with time….it is my hope that time will be on my side to witness this evolve.

Risk-taking…an important role in everyone’s life at some point…we all must make the decision to put our faith in something bigger than ourselves and take the leap….children need to know this…one of the most important lessons we can teach them.

I like this short story I found on-line that re-iterates this same theme… taking risks to find ourselves and our place in life…our passion.

“The Tale of the Sands”

A stream, from its source in far-off mountains, passing through every kind and description of countryside, at last reached the sands of the desert. Just as it had crossed every other barrier, the stream tried to cross this one, but it found that as fast as it ran into the sand, its waters disappeared.

It was convinced, however, that its destiny was to cross this desert, and yet there was no way. Now a hidden voice, coming from the desert itself, whispered: “The Wind crosses the desert, and so can the stream.”

The stream objected that it was dashing itself against the sand, and only getting absorbed: that the wind could fly, and this was why it could cross a desert.

“By hurtling in your own accustomed way you cannot get across. You will either disappear or become a marsh. You must allow the wind to carry you over, to your destination.”

“But how could this happen?”

“By allowing yourself to be absorbed in the wind.”

This idea was not acceptable to the stream. After all, it had never been absorbed before. It did not want to lose its individuality. And, once having lost it, how was one to know that it could ever be regained?

“The wind,” said the sand, “performs this function. It takes up water, carries it over the desert, and then lets it fall again. Falling as rain, the water again becomes a river.”

“How can I know that this is true?”

“It is so, and if you do not believe it, you cannot become more than a quagmire, and even that could take many, many years; and it certainly is not the same as a stream.”

“But can I not remain the same stream that I am today?”

“You cannot in either case remain so,” the whisper said. “Your essential part is carried away and forms a stream again. You are called what you are even today because you do not know which part of you is the essential one.”  (This Sufi spiritual story is from the book Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah.)

So until tomorrow…In everyone’s life don’t we all have to take a different path to get to our final goals…we can no longer straddle the fence or quagmire down… but we must jump off into the winds of change and find the life we were created to live.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I had a wonderful surprise visit from Donna Rae Williams yesterday….she was checking out at a grocery counter when she saw these “Boo” kleenex packages.

*She remembered my post on the problem of growing older with “faucets running”…my nose and eyes! She intuitively knew I needed these “Boo” kleenexes! She was right!

We laughed so hard…I have already used up half a pack! 🙂 *Donna Rae also gave me an idea for my Halloween story this year…! You will have to wait and see! BOO!

My morning glories are going crazy wild…popping up from the ground and traveling underground to appear at the end of the fence…All summer they hardly bloomed at all…and now they are going “blooming crazy”!

I picked up a “whirling butterfly gaura”.…and love it! It is a perennial and the ACE Hardware clerk told me they multiply and are light as a fairy…it really looks like little butterflies at its peak.

Today is Anne’s birthday! She is finishing up her last medical test (CT Scan) today….so our birthday wish for her should all be that results come back with good news and a diagnosis that is easily treatable! That would be the best birthday present today!

Good Health Anne and birthday wishes from all the blog family…even one of our ‘first day of the month’ rabbits! 🙂

Hot Off the Press…this just in from Mandy….

A Big Shout-Out to Eva Cate for making the A and B Honor Roll! She had a 100 on Social Studies…that’s my girl! Eva Cate has had to overcome some learning obstacles to get to where she is today…so proud of her determination and perseverance…and an amazing teacher, this year, who is open and accepting of  diverse ways of learning! A guardian angel teacher!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was First Responders’ Day and what a well-deserved recognition it was and is among our community, state, and regional American heroes! Last summer the bill to recognize first responders was voted into law…choosing October 28 as the day of recognition.

The cost to first responders’ lives comes at a high price.

Few of us normally give much thought to those who dedicate their lives to being on the front lines in the scene of an emergency.

We go about our daily activities secure in the knowledge that, if needed, they will be there ready to help, even at the risk of their own lives. During a crisis, these brave people become the most important people in the world to those in desperate need.

But did you know they suffer ten times the stress rate/PTSD of people in other occupations? 85% report symptoms associated with mental health issues, 34% are diagnosed with a mental health disorder and more than 90% are consistently exposed to daily traumatic events.

What kept coming back to me yesterday wasn’t anything to do with stats… but the famous quote from Mr. Rogers (about first responders) when he said:

“When I was a boy and I would see something scary in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words. I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers- so many caring people in the world.”

As an adult…I still seek comfort in these words and I do exactly as Mr. Rogers suggested…I look for the helpers…because I know they are the ‘good guys.’

When Tom Hanks was first approached to play the part of Mr. Rogers, he initially hesitated. He honestly admitted that as a little boy growing up he watched ” Rocky and Bullwinkle” …not Mr. Rogers. But just as he was about to “bail” on the project…he watched one 7 minute video segment from the popular children’s show that changed his mind.

It was a conversation between Mr. Rogers and Jeff Erlanger, a ten-year-old boy with quadriplegia. The interview ended with the two singing a song together.  (*In fact, Hanks later told one audience at a premiere in Toronto that he bawled his head off after watching the segment and immediately agreed to portray this amazing man.)

https://www.fatherly.com/news/tom-hanks-fred-rogers-jeff-erlanger-welcome-to-the-neighborhood/

The movie is told from the perspective of a cynical reporter asked to interview Mr. Rogers which he begrudgingly does…not realizing the interview will change his life…an amazing “biography” about the relationship between Mr. Rogers and all who came into contact with him throughout all his life.

https://www.focusfeatures.com/wont-you-be-my-neighbor/about

Rumors are spreading that Tom Hanks will be up for an academy award (his third) for his outstanding portrayal of Mr. Rogers in this performance… even the most cynical will leave the movie a better person than they entered. Take kleenex!

A couple of mantras that Mr. Rogers imparted to children over the years were the thoughts that “One day you will realize that you are okay…just the way you are.” (acceptance of ourselves and others as we are) and “You don’t have to be perfect to be good.”

So until tomorrow…”A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” comes out November 22….leading up to Thanksgiving weekend…This movie will make us thankful for men like Mr. Rogers who showed the world that love is more powerful than cynicism.

(*You will find me at the movies this Thanksgiving…because we  all need love more than ever.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Autumn surcies are everywhere….

The second photo on the right comes from Anne’s front steps…(two more medical tests and hopefully identification of Anne’s health problems will be revealed and then healed)

Dear Reader:

It’s been awhile since I have shared any of my personal thoughts about my elevator journey through the rocky path in life marked “Breast Cancer.” Sometimes I am able to almost forget I have it…until the next oncology appointment or test or exploratory procedure…which pop up monthly or in quick intervals.

I rarely give myself more than a quick glance as I shower….it isn’t because of the criss-crossed scars (believe me…I proudly wear scars like badges of honor) …it is simply a reminder of what is missing that once was there… bittersweet  moments of loss and triumph.

The best thing about confronting a challenging health issue is that it makes you dig deeper than you ever imagined. The only time the fight is over is if you give up hope. But if hope is there...you start shoveling the layers away…first doubt and paralyzing fear until you get to the “Little Engine that Could” layer…then on to the “I can” layer and finally the deepest…”Not only can I …but I will…with God by my side!

The best thing of all about having cancer is how our perception of life changes…it is as if someone got out the window cleaner and shined everything until it was sparkling…the world looks so lusciously breathtaking..like after a rain shower…fresh… and even the scent is pure like soap. Life is beautifully white-washed now!

I have told the Ya’s several times I will come back to haunt anyone who ever writes an obituary that says something like “After a long and arduous fight with cancer ‘so-and -so’ lost her battle on ‘such and such’ a date.” It, explicitly, implies that cancer was the victor and the person with cancer was the loser. No siree…cancer is never the victor and it never wins by taking a life.

We,  “little c” thrivers, (never capitalize cancer…it doesn’t deserve the distinction)…always win against cancer, regardless of the final outcome, because cancer can’t kill one’s spirit or soul…and that is who we really are anyway.

These are three of my favorite “pink” quotes…

“Yesterday, I dared to struggle. Today, I dare to win.” –

“We don’t know how strong we are until being strong is the only choice we have.”

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.'”

I was so happy to see the Clemson players in their pink gear and Coach Dabo Swinney in his bright pink jacket for Breast Cancer Awareness Month after the game against Boston University…

I miss our Race for the Cure....not so much the fundraiser, but because we had a reason to get all the family & friends together for one morning of the year to help fight an insidious disease that affects every family in  one way or another.

So until tomorrow…Don’t let October slip away before remembering someone with breast cancer…any cancer…and remind them to keep digging….hope will provide the shovel. Everyone needs to search for their soul throughout intervals in their lives.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Gin-g stopped by yesterday…she had left two notes on my door…not knowing I was at Edisto…normally she takes me to the CT Scan but was working this time…so she was anxious to know how it went. She is having trouble receiving the blog post. She brought sunflowers, soup and muffins….so glad we got caught up. Thank you so much Gin-g for all you do and you do it all.

Sunday we remembered Tommy Cuthbert, my friend Bali’s husband, a wonderful father, husband, and golf mentor. He and his sons helped ‘my Tommy’ when he played golf on the high school team. A prince of a fellow…Tommy tries to play in this memorial golf tournament, in his honor, each year at Miler…just a block from my home.

(Photo) Tommy and Bali…. We had a wonderful buffet supper after the tournament….great crowd! I saw a lot of people I haven’t seen in a long time…even shagged  a little to “I Thank You” (Sam and Dave/Motown)…didn’t know I remembered how… I reckon it is like riding a bike.

Honey…while I waited on Tommy and Fred, his golfing partner, to finish the last hole…I sat down on a bench and saw the plaque was in memory of your brother Tommy Salisbury!

Please keep Anne Peterson in your prayers…her sister Jane flew home Friday night…her specialist wants still more tests so she has a CT Scan and endoscope on Tuesday and Wednesday. She is in the “waiting zone” (which as we all know isn’t easy.) Her stomach is feeling better but she feels like she has been kicked in the ribs and it hurts to take deep breaths. Prayers, please, that her specialist will find the answer in the upcoming tests and Anne can get back on the right path to restored health!

Dear Reader:

There are enough mysteries and wonders galore at Edisto to keep Brooke and me “adventuring” for years to come. (Each time I go I hear about something “fresh” to capture the imagination or simply  take in the sheer beauty of the island anew..

The Mystery Tree has been around for quite a few years now. It never ceases to excite me as I grow closer to its marshy home site (each visit) to see what the “tree” looks like this time. It is usually seasonally decorated…and it was! It looks like ‘Casper, the Friendly Ghost’ is visiting Edisto Island.

“Almost more of a natural coat rack than a tree, the Edisto Mystery Tree has nonetheless become a festive magnet for zany decorations in a tradition that has no clear origin.”  

While the tree is ever-changing, the real mystery behind the tree is that nobody knows just who started the whole thing.. In fact at one point some rebellious youths uprooted the tree and hauled it away, but lo and behold, a mysterious benefactor planted another similar tree in its place.

Whether it was the same person who planted the original tree and started the decorative tradition or just a local who couldn’t stand to see the festive plant disappear, it appears that the Edisto Mystery Tree is not going away any time soon. (Resource: Edisto Mystery Tree-Atlas Obscura)

Brooke told me about a new novelty or road “oddity” (as they used to be called) on our retreat this past week…I had to see it. It is called “The Edisto Mattress Swing.” A funny true “Gullah” story lies behind the site.

“A man named Frank “Tish” Gadsden, whose mother was a direct descendant of the original slaves on the island, lived in a mobile home near this tree and decided to construct the hanging apparatus so he would not have to lie on the ground when he dozed outside in the summertime. It seems his wife would insist upon this arrangement when he was on a drinking binge and neglected to bathe regularly.”

The swing was initially an eyesore to some, but when many visitors to Edisto Beach stopped to photograph or draw the local oddity, Tish decided to start charging five bucks for the “privilege.”  Later the price doubled as the fascination continued…along with a pack of cigarettes. ” Resource: thetandd.com

By 2010 Frank “Tish” sadly had passed.. initially it looked like the mattress swing idea went with him…but then, apparently family members and island homeowners decided it was a fun novelty and benchmark for tourists and annual vacationers who stopped by each time they came to Edisto. By 2013 it had returned…now dressing up for holiday festivities.

As this writer explained:

“Admittedly, it’s not that big of a deal. It’ was just an ordinary mattress on a wood frame, suspended by four ropes under a giant live oak tree. But the idea was pretty novel, and looked to be a fun ride.

Whenever my family traveled to Edisto, we always looked for the Mattress Swing, and usually found it occupied by a little kid or two, swaying gently in the warm breeze, while a handful of adults lounged in chairs nearby.

Dad always joked, “You wanna stop and get your picture taken on it?” and the kids all laughed as we sped by, anxious to reach the beach house. The Mattress Swing was always a prominent reminder that “We’re Almost There!” (Resource: The Edisto Island Mattress Swing: Contributed by misplacedmtnman.)

*It was definitely decorated for Halloween when I took this photo last Thursday. We couldn’t find anyone to pay or leave cigarettes 🙂 but enjoyed the “look!”

What is it about the fresh air on the beach…the salt air mixed with the breezes that just makes us so upbeat? For me one positive universal thought came to my mind on the beach this year…”What is the best that can happen?”

If we turn negative thoughts upside down and instead focus on our best thoughts…any trivial negative happening during the day is dispelled; after all it was just one negative moment…not the whole day! (Thanks Michelle Lee, fellow blogger, for this insight!)

This time of year the autumn marshes on Edisto and the wheat fields on the prairies take on similar imagery.

Thursday when we went to Cypress Trees Brooke took a picture of me on the famous “wedding swing.” As I nostalgically looked back through the wedding album…I saw this photo of Mandy on the wedding swing too. It played a prominent place on the wedding day.

So until tomorrow…”Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” Rachel Carson (Thanks Libby for the quote…Perfect!)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

John and Mandy decided to return from Disney yesterday so they could have one day to relax before back to the school regiment again…this time it was the gondolas that fascinated the children…they loved riding in them.

Last night I couldn’t watch the Clemson game because I didn’t have the ACC network but Tommy commentated on the game  and updated me on the score quarter by quarter.

So without a way to watch it…I pulled out the pints of Clemson ice cream I bought at the King’s Market before I left Edisto Friday and treated myself to the caramel butter pecan. It actually was a wonderful way to pay tribute to my beloved Tigers…slurp slurp! 🙂 Go Tigers!

I believe I ate as many spoonfuls of the ice cream as the Tigers put points on the scoreboard! Both scenarios were equally delightful!

Dear Reader:

There were so many simultaneous celebrations going on this past week at “Rest in Peace” (on so many different levels) that there was scarcely a moment when we weren’t “cele-greating” something related to finally  being together to share our unified benchmark birthdays.

When we arrived Brooke had gone all out….there were 70’s banners, decorated table cloth, mugs with 70’s Herseys in them-even tiaras…it just went on and on…and set the festive mood for the week. The weather was joyous too…no rain…cool and sunny! Perfect!

I, personally, was so happy for having gotten through the CT Contrast/ Scan Monday morning (and keeping that awful drink(s) down.) The only down side to that was I had to leave early Wednesday morning from Edisto to return to Charleston for my oncologist report… to go over the results. I must admit I was a little nervous. It had been over a year since the last CT Scan and the Verzenio I was on had caused numerous stomach problems…among other uncomfortable side effects.

The Ya’s sensed my apprehension and we formed a circle and said a prayer together Tuesday night. It worked…Overall my oncologist was pleased with the results…I texted the Ya’s to tell them and when I drove up early Wednesday afternoon they were dancing and singing to Celebration Time by Kool & the Gang. (I started dancing too at the bottom of the steps coming up)

We’re gonna have a good time tonight …Let’s celebrate, it’s all right! And boy did we celebrate Wednesday night! At Elle’s and Ollie’s…our favorite bi-annual haunt! We had the nicest waiter, James, who joined in the fun with our celebrating…it just made the evening so special.

All dressed up and somewhere to go! 🙂

Thursday Brooke and I returned to some of our favorite spots on Edisto and even explored some new ones…(or actually old ones tenderly remembered.)  Cypress Trees! Breathtakingly beautiful…it is where Mandy, my eldest, married John…(2008) two weeks before my breast cancer diagnosis.

Brooke and I drove over and I rang the doorbell to see if the Murrays were home, the owners of Cypress Trees. Linda had an appointment and was gone… but Joe answered the door and we had the best time talking…they still do weddings and he had me in stitches about some of the “hiccups” that come with such emotional events.

Joe told Brooke and me to wander around at our leisure and take photos…I sent a few to John and Mandy so they could reminisce. He also invited them to return and bring their Eva Cate and Jake… so they could see where mommy and daddy got married.

The actual wedding took place between  two oaks (below)…There were old Victorian lanterns lining the long avenue of oaks coming into the Cypress Trees…the wedding was May 3, 2008…at high tide…cool/sunny…and no mosquitoes…boy were we living right! 🙂

*Actually it was an almost identical day Thursday at Edisto to the wedding day…cool, no humidity…low seventies…perfect! We had come full circle!

Just a sweet sweet wedding! One that will live in my memory forever.

A few years ago we took a tour of Edisto and the young man, Don, who took us around showed us all the “secret” hidden sights on the island. Two were paintings done on oak trees of an alligator and rabbit…  He told us that there were people who live on Edisto all their lives (not counting renters and tourists) and never see what is in literally in front of them….as they busily speed along.

*I wanted to know if the oak paintings were still there…and they were. The thought made me happy that someone (the island secret artist) was keeping the paint coming regularly so the two animals didn’t disappear from sight forever…even if another branch appears to have knocked off part of the alligator’s snout.

Two of the island’s strangest roadside “oddities” were still in place also and the story behind them tomorrow is mysterious and hilarious at the same time. Stay tuned.

I detoured and  went out to the beach to photo the last sunset Thursday night…  as I left to pick up cheeseburgers for our final supper….the peace of a beach as darkness descends provides such a private glorious moment.

So until tomorrow….“Every sunset is an opportunity to reset”-Norton

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

For  a decade and a half the Ya’s have been gathering at Edisto…first it was at the beginning of the summer and that was it. But now… these days… we realize we need two “shots of friendship” annually at Edisto to make it through the year….an early summer and fall retreat. So that is what we did this past week. (And we have also added a winter retreat at Pawleys!)

We have talked numerous times …questioning why we didn’t stay more in touch earlier…through the really hard times…marriages, divorces, crazy life as single parents…We finally concluded we were all in “survival” mode…just trying to make it through the day…too tired to even reach out for help!

It wasn’t until our children were out of the home….(approximately 15 years ago) in college or working…that we found each other again…and  our lives haven’t been the same since. We all need each other’s strengths while accepting our weaknesses…we can finish each other’s sentences and do.  We know each other  well.

This retreat has been special from the start…we each have reached a bench mark birthday….the kind that makes us pause and think…”Wow we really are getting old…how did that happen?” 

(Yes I know Jackson…your birthday is next month…this is preparation time for you! 🙂

So this has been a celebration retreat for all of us from all of us…a retreat to make memories from the past decades and for the ones to come. (very optimistic! )

This weekend I will be returning…and will share the celebration with you…a milestone of friendship… our greatest treasure !

Fortunately, our emotions that define our memories together (as 18 year old freshmen) are easily re-awakened and enjoyed with every opportunity we have of contact.

So until tomorrow…Communicating with “old friends” can enrich our lives by  bringing our pasts into the present, reminding us of who we were and how we became what we are.

A taste of the pictures I will have returning…perfect weather!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

And look at the other treasures in my yard just waiting for me to come home. One moon flower is braving the early morning light to see me and the glass bottle tree is reflecting and sparkling brightly off the morning sun…all waiting on my return.

Dear Reader:

My happiest moments upon arriving back home (after I have gone somewhere)  is my garden, It seems like it senses when I am returning and saves one special photo opt of  itself just for me…a “surcie” if you please! 🙂

Every flower does has it special moment to shine…just like us. We don’t have to spread ourselves too thin trying to do too many things…we need to discover what our passion is…what we can’t live without doing…and do it again and again and again…whatever brings a smile to our faces!

The flowers below did that for me this past week after returning home from Maine and before leaving for Edisto!

The morning glories are happier than they have been all summer..cooler weather and wetter weather…their kind of weather.

I added a little more “fall” by the fence on my side yard.

The tea olive bushes are blooming again and I can’t begin to describe the luscious fragrance emitted from these beautiful bushes.

Sunday…I checked on my two moon flower buds-(these will be the first blooms this year) They both survived the storm and one looked like it could possibly bloom that night… if the sun appeared before the end of the day to give it just a little more light. Time will tell…we can’t hurry Mother Nature. (*the sun did come out 🙂

*** It happened late Sunday afternoon before I left Monday morning for a CT Scan before heading for the beach. As I was typing blogs I happened to glance out and saw one bud was starting to unfurl. I sat on the bench and it felt like watching a birth…so amazing! Nature is miraculous!

Speaking of “surcies” Michael surprised me and fixed my fountain…I accidentally cut the electrical cord one day last summer while cutting back foliage around the oak tree where it was located. Michael said he just spliced the cord and put it back together. “In all things give thanks” and not just things…but wonderful people like Michael! 🙂

So until tomorrow…Now I have my special place to go in the garden…to sit on the bench and listen to the water fall from the fountain…so soothing…perfect way to end the day!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Anne sent this picture of the lupines last July in the secret garden we had the picnic in while touring Maine.

**Anne has been feeling badly…some tests were run and she has cysts on her liver (originally thought it was gallstones). Her wonderful sister Jane has flown in to go with Anne to the doctor and see what their plans are for further treatments. Isn’t family wonderful? So prayers please for Anne while she waits to hear what the diagnosis entails.

Dear Reader:

One of the most endearing children’s stories has got to be Miss Rumphius. The last time I got a copy of this story was from one of my teacher cadets at Charleston Southern University. She gave it to me as a parting gift for being her supervisor one year. So sweet!

The day we had the picnic in Acadia National Park (Maine) at the College of the Atlantic in Anne’s “secret garden”… I asked if there were lupines growing…because suddenly, among all the beautiful plants around the bench where we picnicked, the story of Miss Rumphius came to mind…  she planted lupines in Maine.

Excitedly I started looking around for them but was told that we had missed the season…lupines bloom in spring and early summer. By October they are gone until the next spring season. I was really disappointed. The little story of a fictional character planting lupines throughout the state of Maine always captured my imagination.

If I had known then that the story was based on a real person…it would have just added to the excitement!

In the fictional story…Barbara Cooney, the author and  neighbor to the real lupine lady, starts her book by writing:

“Miss Rumphius, The Lupine Lady lives in a small house overlooking the sea. In between the rocks around her house grow blue and purple and rose-colored flowers. The Lupine Lady is little and old. But she has not always been that way.”

*Today the original artwork from this book is housed in Bowdoin College as a tribute to Barbara Cooney- author and illustrator.

The real Miss Rumphius, Hilda Hamlin, is at least partly responsible for the gorgeous show of lupines throughout Maine’s countryside in early summer. The wildflowers thrive in Maine, but they aren’t native to the state. How they got there and spread in such profusion is a mystery explained only by – well, an old lady who was the real Miss Rumphius.

Hilda Edwards arrived in South Bristol, Maine, from Bristol, England, in 1904, at the age of 15.

There were no roads to Christmas Cove, Maine at the time. Hilda had to take a train to Newcastle and then a mail launch down a nearby river.

She attended Smith college, married and had three sons. In 1929, however she left her husband in Paris, and returned to Smith College to audit classes and live in Christmas Cove, Maine during the summer.

It was during this time (she was now in her sixties) that she began planting lupine seeds imported from her native England. (They are used there primarily to stabilize the soil) Every August she cut bundles of lupine stalks and shook out their seeds over a wider and wider spaces and land.

Soon she began putting seeds in her pocket when she walked to the post office and strewing them along the roadside. She did it in secret, rarely telling anyone about her lupine obsession. Some friends knew.

The real Miss Rumphius didn’t drive, and when friends gave her a ride they’d catch her tossing lupine seeds out the window. They called her ‘Hilda Lupina’ or the ‘Lupine Lady.’

One day a reporter came for an interview and laughed at a sign outside her home. W. Storrs Lee in a 1971 article for Yankee magazine visited Hilda Hamlin for an interview, noting the spectacular display of lupines along Route 129. He also noted a handwritten sign next to a woodpile: “If friends of Hilda Hamlin would tote a few sticks of wood to her cottage, they would be doubly welcome.”

Even though Hilda got a late start planting and spreading lupines in Maine (in her sixties) she lived into her nineties… so she got a lot of planting done! She had a wonderful sense of humor and when a lady stopped her one day and asked if she knew who the “Lupine Lady” was she pointed in one direction and replied:

At the end of this road lives a queer old bird who has so many hundreds of lupines on her land that she has acquired the habit of cultivating the seed when it opens.

The excited lady said she’d like to shake her hand. “Shake,” said Hamlin. “I am Hilda Lupina.”

A picture of her Hilda’s home in Maine and the illustration from the book.

So until tomorrow…the fictional story (like I feel sure the real Hilda Hamlin would say ) ends with these words:

“You must do something to make the world more beautiful.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

A shout-out to Joan Turner…Happy Birthday! I hope you have a fantastic day with many more to come!

Come on down to the lowcountry soon…it’s been a long time since I have seen you!

Dear Reader:

What is it about aging and leaky faucets…especially my eyes and nose! All one has to do at a certain age is start eating and one’s nose starts running. I remember Dee Dee, Mrs. Dingle…my amazing mother-in-law, complained about this unfortunate link to aging…every time she ate.

At the time I idly wondered why anyone’s nose would run simply by eating…now I have been around long enough to, not only understand it, but live it. Dee Dee was right…it is extremely irritating.

And if it isn’t one’s nose…perhaps you, like me, have the drippy eyes. In my case it is more pronounced because (due to all the years of chemo treatments) I have no eyelashes. Eyelashes keep the important natural oil in  eyes to lubricate them. Without lashes the eyes grow dry and ironically water, water, water.

I have gone through several different types of eye lubricants to no avail. So…I need kleenex with me all the time. I buy the pocket size to keep in my purse and am constantly reaching for it. That is why I had to laugh at this personalized pocket kleenex holder (title photo)…I think I might have earned the right to add this expense…it is now part of who I am….faulty faucets and all!

So when I saw where one person had left a package of kleenex in one box at the Philadelphia International Airport… as part of the  personalized “Philadelphia Story” project I just had to read it. Am glad I did…here is Karen’s story.

 Box 038: Karen Handel

Since starting my freshman year of college in Philadelphia and leaving home, I’ve found that I am an extremely emotional person. I never really realized how emotional I was until I left for a few months and couldn’t see the people I adore.

I’m constantly home sick. I cry and I ache for the people I’m used to: my parents, my siblings, my boyfriend. I hate leaving my family behind because I’m afraid maybe one day they won’t be here anymore and I’ll miss out on all the moments I could have had with them. They are the most important people in my life and they are constantly giving me unconditional support while in Philadelphia.

I never realized how many go-pack white Kleenex tissues I go through.  As a person with a weak immune system, I’d say my Philadelphia story includes go-pack Kleenex. My mom always said, “You can never have enough Kleenex tissues. Just throw them in your bag!!” She’s constantly prepared, carrying them in her purse everywhere we go, passing them to anyone who is in need of a tissue.

They wipe my tears, they catch my sneezes after a good cry and they wipe away my sickness, my home sick-ness. My go-pack Kleenex tissues remind me of the support I have, the support that I’ll always have while away. I won’t always need a Kleenex tissue, but I find comfort in knowing I can always grab a tissue.

While getting older, and less emotional, I move on and remember why I am in Philadelphia and the amazing scholarship that put me here. I find myself needing them less and less as time passes and I focus on the life I’m creating for myself. I’m growing into the artist I want to be and I find myself getting stronger.

Who knows, I might need a lot of Kleenex when I graduate and leave Philadelphia, but I can take comfort in the fact that when my family is not around, my Kleenex replaces a job that my family normally would.

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So until tomorrow…“Be kind…everyone is fighting their own personal battle.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

The evening lantern coming on ….Rutledge’s Japanese Maple.