While I have MANY more photos from Charleston and the Isle of Palms, I am ready to move on to some different topics.  So.....I'm just going to post a couple more photos from our trip. 

Here is a picture of a typical cobblestone street in Charleston:

OK...I changed my mind.  That was the last picture from Charleston. 

Tuesday, Greta went to the vet for her 12 year old check up.  She was not happy.  Can you find her in this picture?

She stayed in her carrier the whole time.  The vet just took the top off of the carrier and let her stay inside. 

Greta goes to the 4 Seasons Cat Hospital.  Going to the 4 Seasons Cat Hospital has been a big help to both mine and Greta's nerves.  The hospital is designed specifically for cats and provides a much calmer and more specialized environment for kitties than our previous animal hospital.  The veterinarian at 4 Seasons, Dr. Nan Moses, is also a breeder of Maine Coon cats.  Maine Coons are the largest kitties in all of cat world.  If you visit her cat hospital you will be greeted by the biggest and friendliest cats EVER.  Here is a picture of Marco sitting sleeping in a chair in the waiting room.

 Now he is awake:

And finally, a picture of Dr. Moses holding Marco...

There are several other GIGANTIC kitties that live at the hospital however, they were busy elsewhere when I took Marco's photo. 

That brings me to Greta's check up.  She received a rather good report.  Unfortunately, she will be going in on Wednesday to have all of the teeth behind her canines pulled.  Poor, poor Greta.  I tired to keep it a secret from her but she read about it on twitter.  She tweeted, "WHAT???????????????????" 
 

More Charleston

I know what you are saying.....that's not a snappy title at all.  Well, it's Monday and that is the best I can do. Here are a few more pics from Charleston. 

For my New England friends, this is what you would call a typical Charleston style home.  This home is on the Battery.     

I'm stealing borrowing this from wikipedia:

Battery Park (also known as The Battery), which includes a park known as White Point Gardens, is a landmark promenade in Charleston, South Carolina famous for its stately antebellum homes. First used as a public park in 1837, it became a place for artillery during the American Civil War. It stretches along the shores of the Charleston peninsula, bordered by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Fort Sumter is visible from the Cooper River side and the point, as is Castle Pinckney, the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10), Fort Moultrie, and Sullivan's Island.

To sum it up, this house has a nice view.  BTW, it is for sale.  Here are a couple more Battery homes...

Charleston homes are famous for their side porches or "piazza" as it is called.  These were designed to block off the intense Summer Charleston sun, and provide a way to capture some of the cross-breeze coming in from the shore.

Ok....that is enough pictures of homes on the Battery.  We haven't even gotten to my favorite part of Charleston.  I love the homes on the cobblestone, oak tree lined,  back roads of the city.  I'll share a few of those photos next and then, we will move on!  A few things have happened since our vacation to Charleston 2 weeks ago, #1My birthday.  #2 and the most exciting thing, my niece and nephew went to Spencer, North Carolina to ride Thomas the Train.  Choo Choo! 

Aunt Faye

My Aunt Faye passed away.  I love her so much.  I will post about her in the near future.  For now, here is the obituary that was in the Salisbury Post. 

Faye Grace Bragg

CONROE, Tex. - Faye Grace Bragg, of Conroe, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011.

Faye was born April 10, 1929, to Henry Houston and Maude Helms in Waxhaw, N.C. Faye accepted Christ and received a call to the mission field at a young age. She left home after high school to go to Wingate College, where she met and fell in love with Kenneth Bragg. They married Sept. 3, 1950, and celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary this year.

Faye and Ken worked as house parents in a children's home while Ken attended Southern Seminary. They had three boys, Ken Jr., Mark and John while pastoring churches in Virginia and West Virginia. Faye was a beloved and wonderful wife and mother who loved the Lord and showed Jesus love to all she met.

She and Ken served 10 years in Japan on the mission field and returned to the states to Salisbury, N.C., where Ken became the Director of Missions. Faye and Ken served Jesus and their community in Salisbury for about 30 years. Faye served as a deacon at First Baptist Church in Salisbury. Faye was a popular and greatly loved speaker in many churches over the years. She served on every committee imaginable in different churches and spent her life as an encourager, mentor, loving wife, mother, friend and, most of all, as a servant of Jesus Christ, following Him daily as He directed her, filling her with all the gifts of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Faye's parents, Houston and Maude Helms, along with two of her brothers, Clegg and L.E. Helms, preceded her into Heaven.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 61 years, Ken; her three sons, Ken Jr., of Salisbury, N.C., Mark and wife Debbie and John, all of Texas; and her precious grandchildren, Matthew, Luke, Mary Kathryn and Chloe Bragg, all of Texas. Also she is survived by her wonderful sisters, Jean Wooten and husband Dick of Salisbury, N.C., Sara Jones and husband John, Zell Emory and Charlie, all of South Carolina; her brothers, Henry Helms and wife Isabelle of Mooresville, N.C., Coy Helms and wife Bobbie of South Carolina and Johnny Helms and wife Doris of Waxhaw, N.C.; and many well-loved nieces and nephews.

We the family send our heartfelt thank you to all who prayed for Faye during her fight with cancer. Faye loved her Lord, her family and her church families at First Baptist Church in Salisbury, N.C., and Crossroads Baptist Church in Conroe, Tex. We also very much appreciate Dr. Christine Lee and her staff and Odyssey Hospice. Thank you to all the many wonderful, caring people who lovingly looked after and were blessed by Faye.

Service: Memorial Services were held 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21 at Crossroads Baptist Church located at 5000 College Park Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77384.

Memorials: Memorials may be made to Faye Bragg Women on Mission, 223 N. Fulton St., Salisbury, NC 28144-4223 or to the charity of your choice.

Brooke Funeral Service in Huntsville handled arrangements. An online family register book is available at www.brookefuneralservice.com

Charleston

So...my next few posts are going to be pictures from Charleston.  The problem with that will be trying to come up with snappy titles for these posts.  Today...easy. 

One visit to Charleston's French Quarter and it is obvious the French have a huge history in the city.  The French Hugenot Church in Charleston is "a beautiful Gothic-style church which houses the sole-surviving French Calvinist Congregation in the United States". 

 

Two pictures from Charleston's famous "Rainbow Row":

As you can tell from the pictures, it was a very cloudy day.  For those of you that have been to Charleston, you know that can be a blessing.  Summers in Charleston are very hot and sticky.  This was a very comfortable day for us to explore the city. 

As I am typing this, Greta is trying to get comfortable in my lap.  Poor Greta, she doesn't know that she has to go to the vet on Tuesday.  This will be her "big" yearly check up.  The Dr. is going to let us know if she needs any more teeth pulled.  Poor Greta. 

How Much is that Doggy in the Window?

Charleston is bursting with art galleries.  I saw this pooch sitting in the window of an art gallery....looking bored & beautiful. 

More Vacation

OK.   I still don't have the patience to post all of my vacation photos yet so I will just post a few more today.  These pictures were taken on our last day.  We were blessed with hot and sunny weather at the beginning of our vacation but on the last day, the weather turned cloudy and much cooler.  These pictures were taken on that day....

I'm lucky I had brought a pair of jeans with me.  I wished that I had brought a jacket.  Check out the ginormous band-aid on my arm.  That was there to cover up the big patch of poison ivy allergy that was oozing on my arm all week.  I'd like to send a special "thank you" shout out to my brother's dog, Sophie, for giving me poison ivy AGAIN this year. 

Here's one of Scott...

You can tell by our squinty eyes that although it was very cloudy, it was also very bright.  Well, the people pictures are out of the way.  I'm getting ants in my pants and I'm tired of sitting at the computer (I do that all day at the office) so I'm going to stop here for today.  More to follow....

Vacation

Scott and I just got back from the Isle of Palms/Charleston, South Carolina.  I'm not patient enough to post about the whole trip at once so I will post a little at a time.

Two of my favorite cities are Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia.  The problem is that I HATE riding over bridges and those cities are well known for their bridges.  In Charleston, there are several large (and long) bridges however, the best known is the Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge, or as most people call it, the new Cooper River Bridge.  This bridge is 2.7 miles of sheer terror (that says 2 point 7 not 27.....and maybe "terror" is an exaggeration).  I rode across this bridge numerous times this week.  I have to admit it is like riding on a roller coaster.  You have the nervous anticipation on the way to the "top" and then the second half is a lot of fun.  Here's a picture from redbubble:  

This bridge is WAY better than the old Cooper River bridge.  That bridge was a narrow and rickety.  I'm pretty sure I held my breath while driving across it.  No wonder I always felt like I was going to pass out.

Who knows, maybe some day I'll walk across the new bridge.  A good friend of mine, Reid Davis-Ball, ran in the Cooper River Bridge Run 10K last March.  I'm so proud of her.  I get nervous just thinking about it.

OK....more about our vacation later.

I'd like to wish a belated Happy Birthday to my friend and coworker, Lorraine.  Lorraine lives in New England and writes the blog "As the Resin World Turns".  Happy, Happy Birthday Lorraine!  I'll be back at work tomorrow.....

Daniel

Since I am on vacation this week, I spent the morning with my nephew, Daniel.  We had a blast.  

Too bad Laura was in school.  We missed her.  I'll post some photos of her soon. 

Jackson Park Ministries

This weekend I was honored to volunteer with my church at Jackson Park Ministries and Hope Cancer Center.  I am always amazed at the generous spirit of the people who attend my church.  Even though we had several volunteer opportunities going on at this time, 87 people chose to spend a beautiful Saturday morning serving others at Jackson Park. 

Jackson Park Ministries provides transformational housing for two parent and single mom families while they learn the life skills to ultimately live independently. The apartments house residents in a twelve to fifteen month “real love” program which heals their lives spiritually while teaching them how to become good employees, effective parents, and wise stewards of their finances.

Men At Work

My husband and our nephew spent Labor Day laboring around my house.  Here are a few pictures: