Happy Week-End

It looks like the sun might be coming out to dry out soggy Charleston.

 A visit to Diggity Doughnuts' little blue truck, what could be a better way to start off the week-end!

 The most delicious doughnuts in the world & vegan & wholegrain too!

All fresh ingredients & flavors….we got Margarita, Raspberry & Champaign & Dark Chocolate & Cherry….Yumm

Things are looking up in the low country! Hoping your week-end is filled with sunshine & sweet treats!

Rainbow Row

It is hard to imagine today that the houses in Charleston known as Rainbow Row were once the inspiration for the opera Porgy & Bess. This row of thirteen pastel homes, which were built in the 1700s, has had a very colorful history. Originally constructed by merchants as stores, with family dwellings on the upper levels, they were a part of a larger bustling commercial neighborhood. In 1778, however, there was a fire that distorted all but the buildings that remain today.

 In their heyday they had been the center of Charlestonian life, but after the devastation of the Civil War,  the city of Charleston fell on hard times. This area suffered as well. The buildings, falling into disrepair, were in almost slum like conditions until the late 1930s. At that time the houses  became known as Cabbage Row because the inhabitants, descendants of enslaved people, sold cabbages & other garden vegetables from their windows. 

It was this period in history that inspired the 1925 DuBose Heyward novel Porgy. The book romanticized African American life in the fictitious neighborhood of Catfish Row, which was drawn almost entirely from  Charleston's very real Cabbage Row. It was the musical adaptation of this novel that was the basis for the George Gershwin opera Porgy & Bess.

Now multi-million dollar homes, most of these houses were restored by 1945 & painted the Caribbean pastel colors that you see today.

Second Sunday in Charleston

Every second Sunday of the month, Charleston closes down lower King Street & throws a party.

It is a toe tapping, foot stomping good time.

Businesses open their doors & invite everyone to join in the fun.

There is food

& music

& dancing in the streets.

With outdoor tables lining the street

 a different musician on every corner

& tasty treats to appeal to every pallet

there is simply something for everyone

& no one goes home unhappy.

Charleston, South Carolina

A brief visit to Charleston, South Carolina last week, did the spirits good. If you have never visited Charleston, it should be on your list of places to go. What a beautiful & interesting city!

With its palm trees & beautifully colored, old buildings, dating back to antebellum times & beyond.

I love the long porches & wrought iron gates....

.... the water ways & inlets.....

.... the food, oh my goodness, the food! You must eat grits at least once, while you are in Charleston 

..... & the signs! there are so many lovely old neon signs in Charleston.

.... & the marshes, & the palmettos of the low country....

.... the pastel colors of commercial buildings ....

..... & elegant homes alike.....

..... the beaches ....

.... & oh yes, did I say the porches? Who would not want to while away the time on one of these inviting porches?