The Queen of Seaford

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 19

Welcome back, and Happy Mother's Day! In week 19, we were busy with the Albino Skunk Festival, attending on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We love hearing live music. Skunk Fest is a family-friendly music festival that we have enjoyed going to since we first moved to South Carolina. Glad the event didn't last through Sunday, as we are in the midst of an atmospheric river of rain. After being short on our rainfall for the calendar year, I think Mother Nature is trying to make up for it this weekend! On to the photos of the day.

Day 125-

When we lived in Germany in the early 1980s, we bought a hutch or "shrunk" in German at a bazaar one Christmas. We had it crated for each move. From Germany to Texas, to Florida, to Germany, to Virginia, and finally to South Carolina. The carvings on this lovely piece of furniture are really amazing. It was made in the late 1880s possibly from the Alsace-Lorraine region. It is a treasure. You can see a the entire piece of furniture at the bottom of this post.

Carving

Day 126-

Some days it seems like the skies are especially blue. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the waxing moon was visible during the day.

Blue Skies

Day 127-

The moonlight was pretty bright on this night. The roses seemed to glow in the moonlight. These are Drift roses - Rosa 'Popcorn'.

Roses in Moonlight

Day 128-

The clear skies changed and we had a hailstorm that tattered many of my large leafed plants. This is Weeping Redbud, Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls'. New leaves are emerging, and these tattered leaves will fall off in the autumn. The tree is fine.

Broken Hearts

Day 129-

As I mentioned above, we were at Albino Skunk Festival this weekend. I have a photo a day for the rest of this week's photos from Skunk. These metal chairs are so fun to photograph. My friend Vicki told me that the pattern on the middle chair is called 'Pie Crust' and the other two are either 'Cane' or 'Pinhole'. I would love to find some of these and clean them up and paint them a fun color.

Have a Seat

Day 130-

Another favorite spot at Skunk fest is the place I call 'the brick and mortar'. It is a stand-alone plumbed bathroom. I much prefer this to the port-a-potty line-up they provide in various places around the festival. On the door is a brass plaque that says "Le Pissior". There is a sense of humor at Skunk. To further that sense of humor, the planter outside the door is from an old toilet. Great use of an old tank.

Le Pissior with appropriate planter

Day 131-

Finally, one of the vendors had an ice cream churn powered by a John Deere engine. Here it is cranked up and spinning while he adds ice to the churn!

John Deere Ice Cream Churn

As promised above, here is our shrunk, lovely old oak carvings. Loved by us for over 40 years.

Enjoy your Mother's Day. I am watching the rain come down while relaxing after three days of the music festival.

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 18

Welcome to Week 18 of our Photo a Day challenge. I think the photos have been varied and I look forward to sharing a little more detail about each photo.

Day 118-

I am not sure how many of you are habitual about when laundry is done. I am habitual. Is it because of the nursery rhyme from my childhood? "This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our clothes, wash our clothes, this is the way we wash our clothes on a Monday morning..." Other chores fall to be done whenever. Laundry seems to be cemented in my routine to be done on Monday.

Monday

Day 119-

Monday is also my night to play bridge with the ladies in my neighborhood. We aren't cutthroat about our games, it is mostly for fun. When I moved here there was a woman who liked to play bridge but only a couple others knew how to play. She made up instruction sheets and taught about a dozen of us how to play. After she moved, we "seasoned" players taught other newbies. Our bridge gathering has grown over the years, some nights we have four tables (with four players at each table). There are still times when we get a hand that we aren't sure how to bid. With so many other players, there is always someone at another table you can go to and ask for help. We call that "Phone a Friend". Like I said, it is fun.

Shuffle

Day 120-

We drove to Greenville this past week for a doctor's appointment. The route we take is mostly rural roads. I have looked at this house, or log cabin, always wanting a photo. This week, I was in luck; we were on the lookout for it on our way home, and I was able to take a photo.

A Fine Abode

Day 121-

Another weekly habit is going to the carwash to get the truck washed and vacuumed. The colors and the suds make for interesting images.

Working at the Carwash

Day 122-

While out on the deck, I noticed this tiny Assassin bug on the glass of the sliding door. He was so small it was difficult to get the cell camera to focus on it.

Assassin baby

Day 123-

I have various Peonies in my yard, some blooming earlier than others. I love their fragrance and the blossoms full of petals. It was quite fortuitous that I got this picture when I did. The next day, we had a hailstorm that knocked many of these beauties over.

Peony Time

Day 124-

This is the above-mentioned hailstorm coming to us. There was a lot of thunder and lightening and the wind was quite gusty. I should have gone in sooner, but I was pruning some shrubs and needed to clean up the branches before I went in. Since I was outside I wasn't aware that this storm was carrying the potential of hail.

As The Storm Comes In

This is my deck! We had hail falling for five minutes! Thankfully damage was minimal.

So this ends our weekly roundup on photos, with a couple extras tossed into the mix.

Monday, April 28, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 17

Boy, Sunday slipped by quickly. I am almost into Monday as I write this. The weekly wrap-ups keep me posting regularly, which is good. So, on with the editorializing of this past week's photos.

Day 111-

We had doctor appointments on Monday, which meant an earlier start to the day than our usual leisurely coffee and then breakfast. The skies were full of wispy clouds, and I wanted to get a photo of them.

Sun Up

Day 112-

Sometimes I am at a loss for what to get a photo of for the day's photo. My husband suggested our cabinet pulls would make an interesting photo. We had these made when we renovated our home in Virginia. Moving to South Carolina, we decided to bring them with us. They are fun.

Cabinet Pulls

Day 113-

Spring is really coming on strong, and many plants are blooming. I couldn't resist getting a backlit image of the Evening Primrose, Oenothera speciosa.

Evening Primrose in Sunlight

Day 114-

Spring wildflowers are coming on strong. This one, Toad Flax, is abundant in the fields and meadows, creating a blue hue. Toad Flax, Linaria canadensis, is native from Canada to Texas and all across the South.

Toad Flax

Day 115-

Dirty windshield, hit the washer button and the spray across the unwiped area leaves an interesting pattern. Black and White makes it stand out.

Windshield Wipers On

Day 116-

We went to an event on Friday evening. It was a Celebration of Life for a friend and neighbor. One of the other attendees was telling me how she likes my photo a day posts. I told her that my goal is to get a photo of something that people will say, "That's a cool photo". She was very generous saying I had accomplished that, and I reminded her is it only April! Hoping you find these photos to your liking. This photo is the garden of the place where the event took place. Once part of the Riegel Mill, home to the superintendent of the mill, now serves as place for gatherings, weddings, showers, High Tea, and for our friends- a Celebration of Life. Read more about the home here- Riegel Hall.

Lights

Day 117-

While in our mechanical room looking for something on the shelves in the back hallway, I noticed the cobwebs on a Victorian house that my girls played with when they were little. Our grandkids are about at an age where they may like to play with it when they come to visit. In the meantime, I think it needs to be dusted! It is a Playmobil dollhouse, quite lovely.

That's a Big Cobweb!

That's a quick wrap-up for last week, come again!!

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