It Just Keeps Getting Better!

After posting my ER post this morning, I went to wake Seth up. I was standing in his doorway talking to him, and then turned to go back in the living room. I didn't have my contacts in or my glasses on, but as I turned, I saw the end of a snake slithering under the chair. Needless to say, I screamed and ran, hollering at Seth. I ran all the way outside to the front porch. Seth put his boots on, and turned the chair over. I heard him say "It's a huge ring neck" to which I replied with another scream! He managed to pin it behind the couch with a pool stick. He killed it and carried it outside. Needless to say, I called Charlie & Malachi, who were welding at Papaw's, and made them come home and turn over and look under and around every piece of furniture in the house before I would step foot in it again. I can handle lizards, bats, mice, rats, angry goats, dogs, anything except a snake. I CANNOT handle a snake. They freak me out, make me paranoid and give me nightmares. I had a science teacher in Jr. High, Mrs. McQuiddy, who thought she would cure me of my fear of snakes by making me touch a blue racer. All it accomplished was giving me nightmares for months! I can't step a foot on the floor without looking all around me first, and move past furniture very quickly. Not sure when I'll have peace of mind again.

Another Night in the ER

I spent another night in the ER last night with my father-in-law. He mannaged to take 4 days worth of blood pressure meds, blood thinner and pain pills in one day. His neice, who had stopped by to see him called and said that he had the gun out and wanted it loaded. When Malachi and Charlie went to see what he was doing, he was unconscious. That's when they discovered he had taken all those meds. So, the ambulance was called and he was taken to the ER where we spent about 5 hours. They gave him something in the ambulance that brought him around, and he proceeded to cuss out the paramedic. After his blood pressure and heart rate came back up and he was awake, he was sent home. He is very beligerant. They did another CT scan, and the doctor said that the stroke was "evolving". Which after questioning the doctor, we believe means that the results of the stroke are becoming more acute. His eyesight has gotten worse, (he says that he can't even see his feet), he has more weakness on his left side, etc. He is very hard to deal with. My mother-in-law has altzheimer's. She functions well with the day to day activities, cooking, cleaning etc., but her mind is not what it should be. She doesn't know the difference between reality and an idea that she gets in her head. Whatever someone says to her will be her new reality until something else is said. Charlie is an only child, so there is no one else to help but me, Charlie and my kids. We are still trying to figure out the best way to handle it all.

Thanks!

Thanks to all those who prayed for my father in law. He came home from the hospital this evening. Fortunately, the worst of the damage was his eyesight, and maybe a bit of memory. It could have been so much worse! Please continue to pray for him as he has lots of adjustments ahead, both with his sight and allowing others to help him with things, such as his medicine. It's gonna be a rough road ahead! =)

My Father in Law

Please pray for my father in law, JC. He had a stroke yesterday. I spent the night in the ER with him and my mother in law, June. I took June home at 4 a.m. and stayed with her. The stroke has affected JC's vision. He can see straight ahead, and anything to the right. He can see nothing to the left. He is in the hospital where they are watching him and running some tests. They told me last night that once they have one stroke, they usually have another. Please pray for him and June. We will be going back to the hospital in a little while.

Watch Out!

Seth passed his test for his permit on Tuesday. When he came out of the testing room with a big grin on his face, I knew he had. So, the fun has begun! I'm teaching my sixth (and last) child how to drive. This should prove to be an interesting year!

Happy Birthday, Seth!

My "baby" turns 15 today! Wow, time sure flies sometimes. We (me, Charlie, Misty & Pamela) took him to Olive Garden last night for dinner, and then to see "GI Joe". I think he had a pretty good birthday. Even though, to his embarrassment, the Olive Garden waiters and waitresses sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

Guess we'll be heading to Rockwood to get his permit on Tuesday. I've survived 5 teenaged drivers, guess I can survive 1 more.

Happy 15th Birthday, Seth!

I Love You!

Happy Birthday Lucas!

Today is Lucas' 19th birthday.

He's grown up to be a fine young man, and I'm very proud of him.

Happy Birthday Lucas!

I love you!

The Beach at Fort Moultrie/Last of Vacation Pics

After touring Fort Moultrie, we walked down to the beach which faced Fort Sumter.

Fort Sumter

This beach was alot rockier in spots. You weren't allowed to get in the water here, as this is in the shipping lane where the big ships come into Charleston. It was pretty and peaceful here. There probably wasn't 10 people on the beach.

That sign in the distance is the one telling you you'd be fined for getting in the water.

These rocks were covered with shells (that were attached).

This is a ship that passed by while we were on the beach. All of those things that look like boxes were actually containers that look like railroad cars. The ship was HUGE!

Misty picking up shells. We found alot that had crabs in them.

A big crab we saw on the beach.

~

~

Well, that's the last of my vacation pictures. After leaving Fort Moultrie, we headed home. It's always such a good feeling when you cross that state line and know you are once again in the great state of Tennessee. We had a really good time in Charleston, and I'd love to go again. There was still lots to do that we didn't have time for, and I'm always up for the beach!

Fort Moultrie, Sullivan Island, SC

On Monday, after our carriage ride and visit to the Fort Sumter Memorial, we went to Sullivan's Island, to Fort Moultrie.

This is a picture of the Fort from the visitor's center across the road. They had Park Service employees who gave tours, or you could do the tour on your own. We chose to do it on our own.

One of the bunkers.

A view from inside the Fort of the command center that was used during WWII. Women served at Fort Moultrie during WWII. Another bunker. Looking down from the command center at some of the cannons.

A view of the wall from the back side of the Fort. Looking out across the Fort towards the Harbor.

A portion of the Fort that took a direct hit from a cannon. A view of the back side of the Fort.

Walking towards the beach from Fort Moultrie.

Charleston Carriage Ride

We had planned all along to take one of the carriage rides around Charleston. We finally got a chance on Monday morning. I highly recommend them. I didn't make many pictures, as I was way too interested in all of the history. I did learn why the houses are situated the way they are, with the front of one facing the back of the other. Many of the people who came to Charleston came from the Carribbean. There they had found that they could get more houses on the peninsula by situating them like this. They face the direction they do to get the most out of the breezes that blow from the ocean. Most of the older houses have one room that goes across the entire floor, with windows on the ends, so that the breeze will keep the house cooler. The doors from the street to the porch were for privacy reasons, as many would spend their evenings there.

We had planned to take the boat ride to Fort Sumter after the carriage ride. We did visit the Fort Sumter Memorial, but if we had taken the boat ride, it would have put us getting home to Tennessee around midnight. So, instead, we visited Fort Moultrie.

Sunday, The Beach and Waterfront Park at Night

On Sunday, we got up and went back to the Old Market in Charleston. We still have a few gifts to buy for grandkids and others. After that, we went back to Folly Beach. Not long after we got there, a storm blew in. The clouds looked really awesome. I took these pictures with my cell phone. They ran everyone off the beach, and we went back to the Hotel and cleaned up for supper. We ate at the Charleston Crab House.

After supper, we drove around and decided to see how far it was to Sullivan Island. We drove out to Fort Moultrie (which you could not see in the dark) and back. We then decided to go back to Waterfront Park and wander around.

Parking is very hard to find in Charleston, unless you use one of the parking garages. After dark, we would rather park out in the open. We drove around several times before finding a spot, and then Misty had to feed the meter.

This is a view of Waterfront Park from the pier.

This is the Pineapple fountain in Waterfront Park. This is the main fountain in the park. You are allowed to play in this one. We saw many children, teenagers and adults playing here.

Ghost Tour

No matter what you think about ghosts, this tour was very interesting for all of the history that you were told. This was our tour guide, John Gordon Polk. He grew up in the Charleston area and seemed to know the history very well. He, and the ghost tours, had been featured on the Discovery channel's "Ghosts of Charleston". He had a very pronounced "low country" accent (think Alfred Willis), that added to the ambiance.

The tour started at the Circular Congretational Church. Our guide told us that the church was built circular in 1861 because it was the belief that the devil liked to hide in the corners.

These are some of the graves in the churchyard. Because Charleston had burnt so many times, and the ground moved around, and the fact that the peninsula Charleston sits on is mostly manmade, the graves in this graveyard are stacked upon each other. With some, they may be as many as 15 graves stacked on top of each other. They are not sure if the markers actually mark the grave of the person supposedly buried there.

Because the graves are stacked on top of each other, some are actually above the ground.

Do you know the difference between a graveyard and a cemetary? A grave yard is on "hallowed" or church grounds, a cemetary is not. This is St. Philips Epicopal Church. It is said that a photographer caught the image of a woman bending over a grave in this cemetary in the 1980's. Supposedly, her child died shortly after birth and then she died from complications from the birth. The baby was dug up and the two were buried in the same grave. The image was supposedly caught on film of the anniversary of the baby's birth. This is Chalmer's Street. One of the cobblestone streets in Charleston, that was paved with ballast stones from ships that sailed into Charleston. Slaves were bought and sold on this street. Our guide told us that the slaves brought different practices from the places they came from along the way from Africa. He said that they would conjure up "boohags". He went on to describe what the boohags would do to a person. Misty and I just looked at each other as he described to a t an experience that at least two people we know have had. Kind of made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. This is the Mills House Hotel. Although the original hotel had burnt and this one was built in the 60's, it is believed that Robert E. Lee haunts the second floor. General Lee had stayed in a room on the second floor of the original building. They say that he never does anything mean, just moves things around and messes with the lights. This is a room in the hotel that is directly below where the second floor room was. It is a very beautiful hotel, with many antique furnishings.

This is St. Michael's Church (God's Law)

The County Courthouse

The pictures above are from what is called the 4 Corner's of Law. (I only got pictures of 3 of the 4 corners. Missing is the picture of Federal Court, built on the site of the old Town Guardhouse) As we stood outside of the building above, the Old City Hall, our guide told us the story of the first serial killer in Charleston, and actually, the first known serial killer in this country.

As the story goes, Lavinia Fisher and her husband John, ran a boarding house. A man came to the boarding house and fell asleep sitting in a chair. He awoke to Lavinia choking him. He managed to get away and run to the law. When they returned, they found two bodies on the premises. The Fisher's were arrested for murder. It is said that Lavinia had killed and robbed over 40 people. At the time, it was illegal to hang a married woman. So, John was tried first and hanged. Lavinia, who was said to be a very beautiful woman, asked to go to her trial dressed in her wedding dress, hoping someone would marry her. She was allowed to do so, but they placed a cloth bag over her head so no one would be tempted. Right before she was hanged, she asked if anyone had a message for the devil, because she would soon be meeting him. It is said that she haunts the streets of Charleston and often attacks people in the wee hours of the morning. These people reported that they were attacked by a woman in a wedding dress.

These are just a few of the places and stories we were told on the tour. So, whether you believe in ghosts or not, it was a very interesting way to spend the evening.