My husband, Darren, and I have owned our home for almost three years and I don't regret it in the least but...boy, it's always an adventure! It's much better than renting because 1. You can paint the room whatever you want without getting yelled at for doing it   2. If something breaks, the landlord has to fix it  3. You never have to cut the lawn....aaaahhh, how relaxing that would be right now.  I fight an everyday fight with the weeds in my yard -- it seems the minute I walk down the sidewalk to my door, I notice 10 new weeds that weren't there yesterday! Luckily, Darren cuts the grass so at least my only yard responsibility is the bushes & weeds (flowers too). It's funny how when it's dark & gloomy in February, you dream of plush green grass..but now that it's July & hot, the grass seems to grow an inch an hour and now you're dreaming of it once dormant! I do envy the people in town that have gardeners/landscapers to do their yard but sometimes, there's nothing better than planting something and watching it grow..

Recently, we "solarized" our windows and the difference has been amazing. The setting sun glares into the one side of our yard that doesn't have trees (Murphy's Law) making certain parts of the house boiling hot. We've struggled for two summers with it and finally, we put our foot down and invested in solar film on the windows...and I LOVE IT! You can't even tell there's a film on it and our a/c doesn't have to work overtime to cool off that part of the house. Of course, we had to budget in this expense and eat a little bit more ramen over the past month but at least, I didn't break a sweat at 6pm. Now it's as cool as a cucumber. So if you're contemplating doing something like this--do it--trust me! 

One thing I've learned is that you never can compare your home to your neighbors (or yard for that matter). My one neighbor is an interior designer and her home looks like it was just featured in Charleston Home Magazine. I used to cringe when she would come in, thinking she was checking out every knook & cranny in the house...but now I know that 1. I'm interior design-challenged 2. She does work where she gets everything at cost 3. She will always be the one making dinner because she has more places to sit! 

Owning a home is "America's Dream" and I would have to agree, I wouldn't trade weeds, hot rooms or a meticulous neighbor for anything!

Ryan

 

 

 

 

This is an amazing story about a young girl making a difference. Hopefully, you can help!

"Katie Stagliano is a ten year old Summerville resident who has a big dream. Her dream is that no one goes to bed hungry. She is making her dream a reality by starting vegetable gardens to grow healthy food to donate to people in need in our community. Katies dream started when she grew a 40 pound cabbage that fed 275 people at a soup kitchen in North Charleston . She continues to start gardens and donate the harvest to soup kitchens. Amazing-Kids supported her efforts by selecting her as the winner of their Launch my Dream contest. Katie designed a shirt for the contest with the insignia No Hungry Children…It only Takes a Seedling and 10% of the sales from the shirts will be donated to Katie to grow her gardens.

On Saturday, June 27th she is asking for you to help by bringing vegetables from your home, friends and/or neighbors gardens to Childrens Orchards located at 1580 Old Trolley Road in Summerville to donate to Tri County Family Ministries. A few tomatoes, a zucchini, a pepper or two, any vegetables will greatly help people in our community who are struggling to eat. If you dont have a garden you can still help. Donations of canned vegetables or pork & beans are welcomed. Katie will be at the store from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. but donations will be welcome all day long.

Please stop by Childrens Orchard on Saturday, June 27th with your donations and help people in the Low Country have a healthy meal. Together we can have a huge impact on helping those in need in our community."

It's the day after the Spoleto Finale and I must admit, I'm sad..Spoleto & Piccolo Spoleto have wrapped up all of their beautiful artists, music and events and stored them away until next year. I didn't have mucht time or money to go to many of the Spoleto events, I planned to attend the Flamenco performance but unfortunately, a monsoon (ok, thunderstorm, I exaggerated) dumped on the Cistern at the College of Charleston so I didn't get my chance to feel the passion of this exciting performance. I was impressed by the production of "Don John" and really enjoyed having the lead actor on the show (twice!)...this Icelandic wonder was pleasant and his wife was a doll as well. They travel with their two year old daughter, could you imagine that? That child has seen more of the world than I have! As for Piccolo Spoleto, I love that fact that many of their events are inexpensive or free & it's great that the city keeps this in mind when planning all these events. I saw "La Cage Aux Foilles" during Piccolo Spoleto & it was a blast!!! So much better than "The Birdcage" Movie....hats off to all of the performers & Robert Ivey!

On the final Saturday of Spoleto, my husband and I took his parents (in from D.C.) to dinner at Fulton Five. King Street was buzzing with old and young looking for some fun. At Fulton Five, we sat next to the person who this year's Spoleto is dedicated to...Charles Wadsworth..and I could only think, "wow, he's turning 80 and has more stories to tell that would last a lifetime". When he appeared on Lowcountry Live, he was a barrel of fun...cracking jokes with the production assistants, flirting with all the young ladies around..he truly is an entertainer. And with all of his experience, close ties to celebrities and extensive travels, he was one of the most fun guests we've had in a long while. He has made his mark on Charleston. While at Fulton Five ---by the way, that was the BEST dinner I've had in town--the Manager/Head Server David wowed my in-laws with his food recommendations and his enigmatic interaction with our table and everyone else in the restaurant. If you have a chance to go out to dinner, PLEASE try Fulton Five...this was my first time trying them out, and now I kick myself for waiting so long!

So whether you enjoyed Spoleto or Piccolo Spoleto, just be glad that we are so lucky to live in a town that embraces the arts and introduces us to a side of ourselves we never may see....and hats off to the ladies of Spoleto, Paula Edwards & Caroline Maas (I'm sure there's many more but these ladies helped LCL so much)...they served up everything from the Jazz Beauty Rene Marie, who performed on the show with Quentin Baxter to the lead of the opera "Louise", without their help we couldn't have had such entertainment on our show.

Now it's time for me to enjoy some time off...I will be gone the week of June 15th-19th enjoying a vacation with my husband, Darren. Kristen McFann will be filling in for me. Hopefully LCL helped you learn a little more about your town..that's all we strive to do!

Cheers, Ryan