That’s the slogan on South Carolina license plates, also the state motto.

Isn’t it amazing?

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Thank you all so much for response to the knitsignal! My most recent update was last evening and there are some glimmers of… hope.

UPDATE: I just had a message that his breathing tube was removed & he said his name!!!

ETA another UPDATE: My source just spoke with him & he identified everyone in the room. He’s joking & laughing… when asked if he wanted to see his brother, he said NO… then laughed. Typical behavior!! He also high-fived the doctor.

To say there’s a feeling of relief is to put it mildly. Keep those good things coming!!

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It’s been a coupla weeks, y’all!

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Thank you, too, for your good wishes on our anniversary! It was a little chilly but sunny that day on Kiawah Island, and we had a nice 3-mile out-and-back walk on the beach.

The sand was very packed… nice to walk on.

I collected a few shells, ID’d some birds (thanks Merlin!), and saw some interesting things…

The sand was hard, but not boring.

I’ve teased Rusty mercilessly over the years regarding… well, predictability, I guess, especially in terms of diet. He has doctored-up eggs & oatmeal for breakfast every morning; tuna salad for lunch 99 days out of every 100; and would happily eat/rotate four or five favorite dishes for supper, too. I.can.not.

He was living/building/working on a little house at Cape Kiwanda on the Oregon Coast when we were dating (eventually, we finished/enlarged the house together & got married there), and he’d invite me over for supper, which, invariably, was ling cod, brown rice & broccoli. Okay, occasionally the ling cod was replaced with a hamburger or a pork chop… but OMG, ling cod. I’d never heard of it before in my life, and now I was (seemingly) having it all.the.time! Obviously, it was readily available at Lew’s Market in Pacific City or from the fish shop a few doors down from the house.

A couple of weeks before our getaway, I discovered Wildfish Cannery (probably via a social media link). I was only mildly interested until I saw WILD LINGCOD among the offerings… and I just had to get some! So, for our anniversary lunch, after our walk on the beach, we had tinned ling cod w/mayo on crackers (in lieu of brown rice) (but not far removed from tuna salad) & broccoli salad from a grocery store deli!

I didn’t really care much for ling cod when we were dating, and nothing has changed in 40 years. That tin will be the last ling cod that I’ll ever buy.

But, OMG, the other fish from Wildfish Cannery?? Let me tell ya, both my dad & my father-in-law smoked & canned fish — my dad as a sportsman’s hobby, my FIL as an entrepreneur — and this is right up there with that. So far, I’ve had the Smoked King & Smoked Coho… absolutely delicious! We/I* have yet to try Smoke Coho in Birch Syrup, and Smoked Herring.

*So far, other than what I’ve shared with Rusty, I haven’t been sharing.

I’m sitting in our hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn. Our original flight was canceled yesterday, which I learned shortly after we stepped into the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, so I really didn’t enjoy that visit as much as I could have. Then came a flurry of rebookings & cancellations… I sort of lost track. There was a lot going on, but I landed one that was to depart this morning & only had one layover at EWR. I could handle that. I extended the rental car and secured our room (which I slightly upgraded, thank god).

Until I stupidly checked my phone in the middle of the night to see what time it was and saw that THAT flight had also been canceled.

Guess what? The Charleston airport is closed. There are NO flights for us tomorrow, so Friday is the best there is. I’ve extended our hotel stay & the rental car (again).

I’ve checked other airlines, Amtrak, and we even considered driving home! Not last night, or even this morning, but now that things are clearing up a bit… but holy cow, it would cost an additional $800+ to return the car to a different airport (even to ORD, which shocked me). The train doesn’t get us there any sooner, and other airlines had little to offer.

Thankfully, things at work are covered, for the most part. And everything is fine at home, despite a polar vortex.

I was fully aware that this was not going to be a tropical getaway, but never in a million years did I think we’d get stuck — and stuck so hard — because of ice & snow in Charleston. I saw on the news (while we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast buffet) that parts of Florida got it even worse!

Anyway, back to the Gibbes…

There’s a permanent exhibit called “Miniature Portraits,” and I saw a face that was familiar — that crooked little mouth & dimpled chin are unforgettable.

This is Mary (Middleton) Shoolbred, who, along with her husband, is buried in the Shoolbred Family Cemetery that I linked to the other day. The plot was very close to our Airbnb and we stopped on Saturday, on our way to the Beaufort Oyster Festival. Mary & I share a birthday — around 160 years apart, and this miniature portrait, watercolor on ivory, was painted by Jean François de la Valée, ca. 1803, only a few years before she died in her early 30s.

We’ve had a great visit — rearranged a few things on Monday after learning the President Biden would be in town — but otherwise according to plan… except for our delayed departure!

Rusty & I got married 40 years ago today.

Forty! Forty!! Forty!!! It boggles my mind.

We’re in South Carolina today, celebrating MLK Jr Day, too. Us & him… the only two things worth acknowledging today.

It’s incredibly cold at home — -6F/feels like -26 — and while it’s not exactly balmy here (there’s a cold weather advisory tomorrow into Wednesday… maybe even some snow), we’re gone while the weather is bad at home instead of good, for once!

Anyway, forty years…

Forty years, a few houses, three kids, four grandkids, lots of happiness, some sadness, good times, bad times…

Together.

Well, almost ready… laundry is done but I haven’t packed yet!

In less than 24 hours, Rusty & I will be winging our way to Charleston, SC, for a long weekend away. We’re checked in & complimentary upgrade seats are secured. Kate’s taking us to O’Hare later today and we’re staying at the O’Hare Hilton tonight (with a runway view, of course)… because I booked a pretty early flight.

We’re celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary on the 20th — in my view, the only important thing happening that day!

Prior to that, I have some very loose plans that include lunch on Friday at Leon’s Fine Poultry & Oyster Shop and a grocery stop at a new-to-me grocery chain called Harris Teeter on our way to our Kiawah Island Airbnb. Once we arrive there, Kiawah Beachwalker Park is a definite must, and possibly an evening run over to Freshfields Village… or maybe that’ll be on one of the other days.

The weather forecast has improved a bit since I started keeping tabs… it might still rain a little on Saturday, but I think we’re going to head over to Beaufort for the Oyster Festival! On the way, we’ll be making stops at Shoolbred Family Cemetery, the Old Sheldon Church Ruins (at the recommendation of my local LYS owner), and whatever else catches our eye.

On Sunday, we’ll head back to Charleston proper for a couple of art gallery/museum visits. City Gallery and The Gibbes Museum of Art are on the list. I’m very excited about the Children of Indigo exhibit at City Gallery. I also want to stop by Rainbow Row. If we visit Fort Sumter, it’ll happen on this day. I’ve made reservations at FortyEight Wine Bar & Kitchen at Freshfields Village for Sunday night — it’s the tail end of Charleston Restaurant Week! That’ll count as our anniversary dinner because…

On Monday, we plan to lay low & relax. Maybe I’ll get some knitting done. (Right now, I have at least four projects packed — a variety of WIPs & stuff that’s not even on the needles yet.) (WHAT?????)

Of course, it’s all subject to change & whimsy.

Tuesday is travel day and, oh boy… there’s SNOW in the forecast! Charleston could see 4″!! Our flight is a little later in the day, so we’ll have plenty of time to leisurely make our way to the airport.