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!