Tuesday, December 13, 2016

A Tuesday in December

I've been doing what I suppose most people are doing at this time of year: getting ready for Christmas.  Last week we went to Charleston to shop at the outdoor City Market, where shoppers have shopped for over 200 years.  Originally built for plantation owners and farmers to sell their meat, fish, and produce, it's now a registered National Landmark and a place for tourists and local artisans to come together.  
 

It was a very rainy, dark day when we were there, too rainy to take pictures, so this is what it looks like in the summer.


 



 






 On the right above you can see Gullah baskets made by descendants of the slaves brought from Africa 
from local grasses.



It took us two trips up and down the four city blocks of mostly outdoor stalls 
to complete our mission.  

 



By this time, we were looking for a place to sit down, and we weren't the only ones.









 

And this guy ...  sound asleep on his elbows!

Both of the paintings are by Lowcountry Gullah artist, Jonathan Green.  We have prints of this one and several others in our house.

Raised by his grandmother near Beaufort, Green paints Gullah people and traditions that he remembers from his childhood.



I can't show you what I did buy because, you know, Christmas secrets.  
Which I finished wrapping and boxed up to take to the post office to ship off to Minnesota this morning.  
But here is the best one I DIDN'T buy.  
 
Next up: cookie baking!







 

14 comments:

  1. What a great place to shop, the murals were a delight to see.

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  2. What a great place to shop. I did my cooking baking last weekend with youngest daughter here to help. Only did three kinds this year and half went home with her. I didn't take any photos though.

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  3. What a fun place to shop and I am so not a shopper but I think I would like that place:)

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  4. I think I'd like Charleston very much. And I can tolerate a small amount of shopping. Reckon your south is a bit different to ours..! :-)

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  5. Perfect shirt! I love the Gullah baskets, but thought they were a bit over-priced. Charleston is such a pretty little city, it never disappoints us.

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  6. Looks a great place for browsing. Will you be seeing any family over Christmas?

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    1. We won't be able to make it to Minnesota for Christmas this year. Not sure how I'm going to make it through the day without my little boys!

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  7. I'll tell you what, there's a lot of truth on that shirt. :) I would love to visit that market.

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  8. Interesting what's on the T-shirt, gravy and biscuits, can't imagine the taste of that.
    Seems a big market by your description and both my husband and myself would be looking for a chair after the first block, then it depends on how big a block is.

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  9. Rainy and dark? I'll bet it was warm... warmer than my minus 22 for a daytime high.

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  10. How terrible about your husband's nephew. So sad.

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  11. I would love to transport myself to that market - just love a good market. I don't usually buy much, just love the whole experience. If you happen to post lots more photos of it some time I'd be happy.

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    1. I'll take more photos next time we go if the weather is better, Anne. There are lots of neat things to photograph inside. The market also she's The Confederate Museum and we haven't been there yet.

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  12. Hard to resist such places! I do all the local artisan markets before Christmas, and try to pick up something unique and with a local flair. Sometimes, I get so excited that I purchase the same item for everyone on my list! This way a holiday purchase means something to the local economy as well as to the people who receive a one of a kind item, made in a fashion no longer available in many places.

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