The Boro's Best Bakery.

I mentioned in passing the other day that the Boro got its first Duncan Donut shop, on the outskirts of town. It's right off the Interstate, and I'm sure that lots of folks heading to and from Florida will stop in. I'm glad it's here. Really, I am. I'll probably stop by once in a while, but my first gustatory love (other than the lovely Lady Di, of course) is in the heart of the Boro. I only have to walk a couple of blocks from my office to get a world-class treat in an unlikely-looking venue. Check out the cupcake at left. It's enough to make your smack your granny! Er, what I mean to say is it's really, really good. The cherry icing is fluffy and buttery, and the cake is light and ever so tasty. Her top seller is the red velvet cupcake, but the cinnamon twists and cookies are just as heavenly. The Old Bank Christmas Store and Bakery is tucked away in, well, an old bank building. Cindy's been selling Christmas baubles (ornaments, figurines, and knick-knacks) from a shop in the old Farmer's and Merchant's Bank building for years now, but a few months ago she started baking stuff for the general population (and there's fresh bread most Fridays!). In case you miss the sign on the door, the sandwich board near the corner is unambiguous. Oh, yeah. A lot of time, she'll have sandwiches and soup, too.

Time to Make the Donuts.

I've said it before: some days are diamonds; some days are rocks. My bride, the lovely Lady Di, starts grim-looking days by rolling up her sleeves (figuratively speaking. I've actually never seen her literally roll up her sleeves), setting her jaw, and quoting an old Duncan Donuts commercial, "It's time to make the donuts". Not a bad routine, actually. 'Course, the Boro just got a new Duncan Donuts, and I'm glad someone's making the donuts.

I Want My Baby Bok.

Normally I oppose child labor and imports from China, but I must say this baby bok choy worked well in Lady's Di's most recent stir-fry. For what it's worth, we got a big sackful of produce from the local farmer's market to keep this little fella company. So bok off, m'kay?

Some Days are Diamonds; Some Days are Rocks... or Stone... or Rust.

I got my car, Duke, a nice spot at the Coastal Electric Co-op annual meeting on Saturday. Ah, it's nice to have that "nose out" parking job, when you're the lead car in a stack of two! ...unless, of course, it turns out that you're the middle car- the ONLY middle car- in a single column of three. That, actually, kind of sucks.

Life's like that, though: some days are diamonds; some days are rocks.

Slap, Happy.

Tyler's had a full dance-card, of late. Rather fortuitous that Tyler got his yellow belt, given how the Bishop concluded Tyler's confirmation. Rather reminds one of this classic scene from Airplane!

Racing Along, Redux.

Life's not bad in the Boro, of late. Not perfect, but not bad. After an unseasonably warm Winter and Spring, the mornings have been glorious and cool in June. Go figure. It's got me feeling Celtic. Don't ask me why. Anyway, here's a Chieftains tune I've been digging:

The Play's the Thing, Redux

The Lowcountry Players are putting on "Tales and Fables by Dale and Mable" at the Colleton Center in the Boro. Opening night was last night, with performances scheduled for 7:oo p.m. tonight, Saturday and Monday, and with 2:00 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday. Three directors for five skits, narrated by Dale (Megan Gooding) and Mable (Janet Princess Taylor). Director Heather Tuten has done a fine job with her two segments: "The Dragon Prince" and "To Tell the Truth". I mention these skits in particular because I'm in the inner-circle of one of the actors (well, inner-circle is not exactly right. What word am I hunting for? Hmmm... Ah, yes: Son. That's it. My son, Tyler, is pictured above, in the dragon suit. He's also the chief in "To Tell the Truth"). Heather has worked hard- as have the actors, and I'd imagine the other directors, Christopher Williams ("Jack and the Beanstalk", "The Rabbit Grows a Crop of Money", and Amanda Broderick "Me Wish". The Dragon Prince is a Chinese "Beauty and the Beast". Tyler eventually gets to take off his dragon garb, once actress Brooklyn Thurston's Chee (also above, together with Vaughn Spearman as her fearful Papa) calms him down.

Daniel Mullin plays a tune between skits. He did a fine job with the guitar, and as Devon in the Irish skit "Me Wish".

Vaughn Spearman is the prince, Strong Wind, in a "Cinderella" reimagined as a Native-American skit in "To Tell the Truth". Tyler plays Chief Glaring Hark, a not-very-nice father of three daughters: favorites his favorites, Talking Bird (Kathleen Vassar Richardson) and Swimming Loon (Amanda Broderick), and outcast Diving Swan (Brooklyn Thurston). ). No glass slippers here, but a vision of integrity insures that the best gal wins the prince in this one. The costumes were lovely, and it was fun to watch. 'Course, I may be a bit biased. (Richardson, Tyler, Spearman, and Broderick are pictured above).

A Guy Walks into the Clemson Extension Service...

First, the joke: A dude decides he wants to become a chicken farmer. First he finds a few acres, then he buys a hundred chickens. He's not sure what to do, so he buries them up to the neck, and a week later, they're all dead. He buys another hundred, buries them head-down the next time, but they still died after a few days. Perplexed, he goes to the Clemson_Extension_Service for some advice. The agent asks him to explain the problem. The dude says, "I bought a hundred chickens and buried them up to their necks, but they all died. I tried again a couple of weeks later, but they also died. What's wrong?". The agent pondered for a minute, carefully stroking his chin. "Well", the agent said, "First I'm gonna need a soil sample..."

I'm no farmer. Shoot, I'm having a devil of a time growing grass. The lack of a lush lawn actually, improbably, led me to acquire a soil sample from the front, back and side yards of La Maisson Jeune. We sent them off to the Clemson Extension Service, brought the results to the Flower Barn, where we got some excellent advice, and an invitation to purchase some weed and feed in a week or so. Oh, and our soil is apparently not "chicken grade"...

Performing Death Defying Acts.

I stopped defending the public long enough on Tuesday morning to get my CPR card. Actually, Lady Di, whose Lowcountry Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in partnership with Eat Smart/Move More, sponsored the class, points out that the certification is "Heartsaver, CPR and AED". C.P.R., as you may know, stands for Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation. AED means Automated External Defibrillator. Heartsaver... well, you know what that means.


Our instructor, Richard Harvey, did his best to lighten his load as Colleton County's Coroner. Rich did a fine job, and has begun his quest to have Colleton County approach Seattle's ratio of one CPR certified citizen in three. Lofty, but today's turnout was encouraging.

It was Valentine's Day, and my lovely Lady Di was mouth-to-mouth with this dummy. I'd've torn him limb from limb, but he (or she. You really can't tell), didn't have any.

I got some measure of revenge by compressing the life back into the bum...

We also got to learn how to use an A.E.D. Dana Cheney seemed to take way too much glee in pressing the "Shock" button. Sorry, Dana, these one's aren't live.

More classes are promised for the future. Shoot, if I can do it, you can, too!

World Changers.

When the Israelites cried out for help in Egypt, God sent them Moses; when a local family with a rotten roof and no way to pay to fix it needed help, God sent them 15 teenage kids and three adult chaperons from a couple of churches in North Carolina. The World Changers arrived in the Boro on Tuesday. This crew is spending a good chunk of their Summer vacation camping out in a school gym at night, and battling a heat index of about 124 degrees to strip off the old shingles, replace the rotten wood, and begin to put on new tar paper and shingles on a house in the Boro during the day. The least we could do is feed them.

My church, St. Jude's, has a long tradition of Community Outreach. I've posted our Thanksgiving Feast, and our "Whale of a Sale". Jim, Doug, Lady Di, Gale, Kim and her daughter, and I got lunch going today. We got an assist from Nick Martin, at left, packing apples.


Lady Di resembles neither a Packer nor a (w)rapper, but today, she was both.


After we got the lunches packed up, we left the safe confines of St. Jude's, and headed for the work site.


Jim doled out the food and drinks to a grateful bunch.

We only spent an hour or so for our part. These cool customers don't get off for a few more hours. Thank you, World Changers!

Silly Goose.

Geese have invaded the Boro! Okay, maybe that didn't deserve an exclamation point. Anyway, while I was thrilled to see them, Lady Di informs me that she's watched geese come to and go from her Maison Jaune for years, and for her the thrill is gone. Apparently they leave parting gifts of the less-than-desirable type. Maybe B.B. King and Tracey Chapman were right.



Perhaps the term "silly goose" has become more offensive because of these. Least that's what the folks at South Park seem to think.

A Chard Experience.

Lady Di's big on the Boro's Farmer's Market. That leafy bouquet she's holding is actually Swiss chard. The stalks are tasty and colorful, and leaves are a nice stand-in for fresh spinach in the weekly stir-fry. The carrots and red onions that are plopped down next to her also made the cut, together with some aromatic rice cooked with chicken broth and a little olive oil, four pressed garlic cloves, and chunks of sauteed chicken breast all coated with a lovely sauce of rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, crushed red pepper and just a bit of sugar.

Cheep Trick.

The Chateau d' Otis is a pleasant place. The back porch has a lovely view of the pond which meets the yard. Bugs and frogs have also noticed the nice venue, and sing its praises most nights. The dogs of the palace have not always enjoyed their neighbors. It's understandable, I suppose. The frogs and crickets can get quite boisterous. Here, give it a listen:



The dogs think it's a cheep trick.

The Boro's 2011 Criterium

Walterboro hosted its annual downtown bicycle race last night (a/k/a Criterium). It was a blast. I posted it last year. If you want to take a look, click HERE. I left out the obvious Queen song last year. No such reservations this year.

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

This was the view from my front porch in the morning. Lady Di and I sitting in our red rockers. 63 Degrees. Freshly ground and brewed 8 O' Clock Hazelnut coffee in my favorite mug in one hand; the newspaper in my other. It ain't always like this, but it sure is nice when it is.

Bikes, Bikes, Baby.

It's been awhile since I've been on a bike. I used to bicycle quite a bit, but somewhere along the line my bike came up missing. Lady Di remedied that by buying a bike for my birthday. Now, technically my birthday's still more than a month off, but, well, the weather's been really pretty, and late May's hot... Anyhow, Walterboro's "Eat Smart, Move More" project featured a "Let's Bike" day today.
We got up too late for the festivities, but we decided to take a ride down to the Great Swamp Sanctuary on our own. I bragged about Greenville's lovely park last post, but I do love our own little park (and it's a couple hundred miles closer to home).

Gotta be careful where we ride; there're critters everywhere.

Most of 'em won't bug you, though. This shy little fella could hardly wait to get away from us.

This dude was a good bit less shy, and we beat a hasty retreat after I snapped his pic.

Bye, bye, gator.

Mancke Business.

The Boro is getting another Palmetto State notable: Naturalist Rudy Mancke, is visiting the Boro tomorrow. He'll be giving a tour of the Great Swamp Sanctuary. I love this little piece of wilderness on the edge of town, and I've posted on it several times. I've pointed out a bit of silly signage, and I've featured creatures I've seen along the way, including a hawk that dissed me, and an alligator that just missed me. I've seen lots of deer (including a nesting baby deer that lifted his head up from his hiding place just as I ran by), snakes, squirrels, wild turkeys, lizards, and all sorts of plants. I can't name the plants, but I'm betting Rudy Mancke can. Sadly, I'll have to miss this one, but I'm hoping someone else will be taking pictures.

Jump!

Saturday's Eat Smart, Move more "Let's Go! EXPO" was a blast. Who knew that an expo extolling the benefits of healthier eating and exercise would be such a success- and so much fun! More than 200 people showed up for the one-mile fun walk. Not too shabby for the first year (and more than they'd anticipated: they only procured 200 finishers medals!).




Walterboro Police Department Chief Otis Rhodes was on hand to make sure things were orderly, and to dispatch his troops to make sure the walkers were safe. There were plenty of local dignitaries in the crowd. Mayor Bill Young gave a speech. Council Members Randy Peters and Tom Lohr were also in attendance. Shoot, Town Council might've had a quorum.
Representatives from County Government were there as well: There's Diane with our lovely Clerk of Court, Pat Grant.

There's Lady Di with Chamber of Commerce Director David Smalls, and always effervescent Queen of Colleton County, Alta Mae Marvin.

We assembled downtown at about eight in the morning for the walk.


Local running legend Pat Rhodes was there to make sure the walkers stayed on the right path.


Looky there! We walked right past my church. A mile may not be much of a challenge for my brother or his ultra-marathon mates, but a lot of the folks out there have been flirting with diabetes and other health problems because of inactivity and bad diets. The men, women and children who got up early to walk through the Boro deserve a smile and a pat on the back.


Success!

We finished the walk to sign up for mini-seminars, visit the booths, listen to speakers (including Lady Di, who also got an interview with the local radio station (which was broadcasting live from the site)), and music and watch demonstrations on dancing, competitive jumping (the Lowcountry Jumpers were announce as "the third best competitive jump-rope jumpers" in the Country. I posted a short video of one of them jumping around below). Some of Diane's AHEC students donned fruit and veggie suits to press the point of health snacks. These gals coulda whooped the Fruit of the Loom guys, no problem!



Here they are without their super-suits, and with Kelli, another successful former AHEC student.


You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a health care professional, docs included.


I meant no offense with the "dead cat" reference, Smart Cat, honest!








The sound guy left early, and I had to work the knobs and stuff for the speakers and music. I wasn't very good at it. I guess my knowledge isn't sound. Anyway, the dude with the cables, here, came to help me. The cable guy's name? Larry. Larry, the cable guy. Honest.

I got tons more pictures, a few of which I already posted on FaceBook.