Cercie Love

Spring is for Cercies

2010-05-23T19:53:00.002-04:00

Serendipitous joy when my beloveds and I got together for four days of mountain music fun at Merlefest in North Carolina. A High Country Cercie. Photographer extraordinaire Robert McCartney not pictured.

Pride Cercie, when my brother Billy Love decided to host an art show of his recent works, AND entered the Columbia Museum's Young Artist of the Year show, winning the People's Choice award!

Mittagessen Cercie
My German friend Claudia set up a lunch date for me and all my cohorts from the days at Deutsche Telekom in Germany. While I'm in Germany this summer, we will get to have a little reunion. Her email invitation and all the kind responses popped into my inbox last week and made my day. We love Claudia.

We also love when the little people show up at the pool in the summer. Children are naturals - you just never know what Soul Cercies of joy they will bring just by being themselves. One of my friends brings the kids out to the pool, and they just learned to swim. I get to help them practice. The four-year-old whispered to me today before she took off like a little fish, "You are my coach."

I think my friend Brooke is fantastic. I think she is even more fantastic now that she has sent me a real live Power Frau Cercie in the mail. No occasion; just her infinite niceness. She sent a note and a magnet that I immediately stuck on my fridge. It says:

"I'm fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world."

Ornament. Fruit basket. Bombshell. Hike.

2009-12-29T21:57:00.000-05:00

Holiday Serendipity. LOVE it.

Authentic Trick Cercie
(Do not try this one at home, unless you're a natural). My friend Craig showed up at my house before Christmas and pulled an ornament out of his pocket. It was for my tree! Come on, people.

Fruit Basket Cercie
Tonya the Christmas Fairy left me a fruit basket: pears, apples, cherries! We like healthy cercies.

Bombshell Cercie
Meg the Christmas Bombshell mailed me a cercie from the ATL. Big box stashed under the door mat on my front porch (because the big box is always stashed under the door mat on the front porch). I took said box into the house, set it on my kitchen table, cut away the tape and pulled out the package. It was wrapped in bright blue and turquoise tissue tied with a fantastic purple tinsel knot. And a note:

"I can't tell if this gift is hideous or fabulous, but it's definitely "hellooo, bombshell."

What could it be?! Oh! A headless Maharaja Medussa Hoola Dancing Goddess that holds jewelry. Of course! It is fabulous, and even more so now that it's adorned with my jewelry.

Hiking Cercie
Sunday was road trip to Ceasar's Head in Upstate, South Carolina. Jordan drove us in his new Jeep. Georgie the Traveling Giraffe was along for the ride - his first excursion into the mountains. Little did he know he'd also see his first snow! Though he didn't hike Raven Cliff Trail with us - nor did he get to meet the Germans who were also hiking the trail (ja wohl!) - Georgie did get a view of Table Rock. He was so ecstatic about this that he kissed me right on my wind-chapped cheek. Danke, Georgie!

One last stop in Taylors, South Carolina after the hike, to visit meine Freunde The Starkers. Georgie was given a hearty welcome by Noah and Liam. He has never stayed with two young boys before and is in for 100% action-filled adventure. Have fun, Georgie! Don't forget to report from the field.

G-Cercie

2009-12-07T21:28:00.004-05:00

Just because I haven't posted in nearly half a year (what?!), doesn't mean the Cercie Love has run out. In fact, there has been so much of it that I cannot-cannot contain it all.

But my favorite and immediate Cercies ...

this weekend:

I went to a christmas concert in Red Bank, South Carolina, and Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie showed up.

tonight:

I had my first Instant Cercie.

I got a two-in-one g-chat cercie from Seven and Thirty-Seven (see "Blogs I like")

That means I got to chat with my friend Jen (37) and her daughter (7)- at the same time! Seven and Thirty-Seven are new wave mother-daughter bloggers. Only such duo I know about. They rock it. And tonight on g-chat, I got to waste a full 30 minutes chatting online with them. About WHAT, you ask? You won't believe it.

HAM.

Yes, HAM.

'Tis the season for HAM, right? HAM bones. HAM hocks. HAM lettes ... So c'mon, HAM it up!

Spoleto. Rollerderby. Moonvine. Junebug.

2009-06-14T00:52:00.011-04:00

In 1995 I went on foreign study to England with a band of miscreants from Furman. Dusti was one of them. We took classes in the mornings, played afternoons and evenings, wrote in our journals late at night. One morning during class, Dr. Radel had us on the topic of art and geography or something, and Dusti shot her hand up to make a comment. "You know, Charleston has a sister city called Spoleto." Many laughed, because they had no idea what she was talking about. But I did! Spoleto is a city in Italy, and in many ways, a sister to Charleston. We share a visual and performing arts festival started in Italy, and celebrated yearly now in Charleston since 1977.

I've been going to Spoleto since high school. And now it's a tradition for Dusti and me to go together. I look forward to it every year. This year, we had (nosebleed) tickets at the Galliard for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater's 50th anniversary celebration. Amazing. I got a dance cercie when the company performed Suite Otis (a tribute to Otis Redding). I had never seen that piece. I am always delighted and disappointed all at once with the ephemeral nature of live performance.

Georgie the traveling Giraffe went with me to Spoleto, his first experience in Charleston. He seemed to fit right in at Dusti and Jonathan's house. I think this marks his first experience living with cats. Dusti and Jonathan have three: Faulkner, Whitman, and Titus Bramble. I hope they are all getting along with Georgie, and don't mind him on their hearth for awhile longer.

I got a rollerderby cercie while in Charleston, too. The Lowcountry Highrollers in a bout against the Charlotte Bdazzlers. I was surprised by my own enthusiasm to see the Charleston rollergirls win. By the end of the night, we were all on our feet cheering. Who knew?

That was May. Month of arts and music and festivals and ... moonvines. I soaked last year's seeds and planted them about five weeks ago. By the end of May, there were at least three sprouts, then the heart shaped leaves, then the entwined vines reaching for any possible highpoint. And soon there will be blossoms in the evenings. Big white ones! I will post pictures - they will be your moonlight cercies.

This is June. Month of poolside and sweltering Columbia summer heat and ... LUCK? I was at the garden center this afternoon looking for geraniums and a fern, when ... "Hello!" A ladybug landed right on my chest. I slipped my finger close to her so she would crawl onto it. She did, and went up my arm, then flitted off. My little Junebug luck cercie.

Tulips, bread and a giraffe

2009-05-03T19:53:00.011-04:00

Tulips

Spring has been full of cercies.

Tulips are my favorite flowers, ushering in my favorite time of year. When I came home last month one day after work, I found a pot of tulips stuck artfully in my fern planter at the back door. Bright pink popping out of all that green. Wonderful! Thanks, mom. :)

Bread
My good friend Lisa Ellis and I have been training for the past three months. She was my inspiration after she did her first half marathon this year. I'm not much of a runner, but I like the weight training. And I like my new healthy lifestyle hobby. Most of the time Lisa and I are good at keeping one another accountable. She slipped a few Sundays ago, though, and dropped off a loaf of homemade bread. I won't say if I at the whole thing by myself, but it was sweet and delightful. Best of all, a dear friend just showed up at my door and surprised me with it. Who does that anymore? Awesome.

Giraffe

I can't say I'm glad I have Georgie back, because Amanda and I had to be sneaky about taking him when Stella wasn't at home. And Stella so loved him - even gave him his name! But Amanda felt now was as good a time as any, and Georgie should make a new journey.

So the traveling giraffe enjoyed a road trip with me to Merlefest in North Carolina. His first trip to the Blueridge. He got to watch a thunderstorm roll in to Banner Elk as the Honda wound around the curves, hugging the mountain rock through the rain. I would have stopped for a photo opp were it not for the crashing thunder and lightening. He really loved meeting Rob and Meg, and got lots of fresh air at the Mast Farm Inn where we stayed. The bunnies there on the Mast Farm were caged, so Georgie felt happy to be free to sit outside our door unattended. He didn't make it to Merlefest itself. They allow children at the festival - but not giraffes - so he'll just have to look forward to another road trip soon to Charleston for Spoleto. We are very excited indeed about that. But don't tell Dusti - it will spoil the Cercie.

P.S. I've added new blog links and inspiration links. I discovered some wonderful folk artists at Merlefest in the vendor tents (Periwinkle Pass and Art Farm). And just yesterday at the Columbia Crawfish Festival, I discovered a local artist who reforms trash into treasures (Jen Ann Miner). Delightful.

Just de(s)sert

2009-02-28T20:38:00.007-05:00

I had a play date today with one of my closest girlfriends from Furman. Since she got hitched back in May, it's been a little difficult to get together. But we pulled it off this weekend, and had a full-on day of Girl Fun in Charleston.

It started with pedicures. Next, a fabulous jaunt to Five Loaves in Mt. Pleasant. Not just dessert ... three courses, starting with Asparagus soup with goat cheese, then Tilapia salad with lemon dressing and a glass of wine, topped off by coconut cake with cream cheese dressing. YUM. A little shopping followed by a personal show and tell of Dusti's latest creative endeavor - the Splatter Paint Purse - and call it a perfect day!

Made only better by the invitation to join Dusti, her husband and several other of their friends on a week-long excursion to Arizona this Summer! A REAL vacation, with rented vans and Vegas nights, mud spas, a vacation house and no humidity! Just desert.

"T" Cercie

2009-02-28T20:00:00.003-05:00

My namesake Elizabeth "T" Seabrook Jenkins Love - better known among her beloved grandchildren as Mama "T" - passed away in January. She lived 91 years in South Carolina. I think she left an indelible mark on the state, and on many lives of those who knew and loved her. I think of her and miss her everyday.

It was easy to love Mama "T." She was vivacious and fun and full of generosity. One of the most touching things since her passing is how she is remembered by others, even people who are strangers to me, but whom she knew well.

Take South Carolina House member Lester P. Branham, Jr. of Lake City, for example.

I was making the rounds in conversation at a function after work one evening, and ran into a cohort who introduced me to Representative Branham. "Love," Branham stated as he read my nametag. "Yep," I answered. And so it went until he unraveled the story of how he'd met "T" years ago, pastored her church in Orangeburg, and then again when she moved to Greenwood. How he'd married her daughter Laurie, my Aunt, to George in Orangeburg, and knew my cousin and Uncle's brother very well. "Your grandmother was a sure thing. If there was anyone I knew I could count on to show up and do her part, it was 'T'," he said. I beamed, as if he'd just given me a personal compliment. And so I was fully satisfied, if not a little proud, that my grandmother had set such a reputation before her. And that someone I'd never met, who himself had encountered many faces and personalities in his long career, honored Mama "T" by remembering her so well to me.

It was a "T" Cercie.

---------

Elizabeth T J. Love -- Orangeburg
Friday, January 09, 2009

Elizabeth "T" Jenkins Love, 91, of Orangeburg, died Thursday morning, January 8, 2009, at National Health Care of Greenwood.

Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 10, in the Memorial Park Cemetery, with the Rev. Tony Hopkins officiating.

Mrs. Love was born in Charleston, a daughter of the late Charles Walter Jenkins and Laura Seabrook Jenkins. She was a graduate of Memminger High School, the College of Charleston and received her Masters degree from S.C. State University. Mrs. Love worked for 14 years in the North Charleston and Orangeburg Departments of Recreation. She taught in the public schools of Charleston County and retired from teaching in the Orangeburg City schools in 1979. She was a life member of Delta Kappa Gamma, professional education fraternity.

Mrs. Love resided in Orangeburg for 44 years before making her home in Greenwood to be near her daughter. She was a former deacon, Sunday School teacher and teacher of the International Ministry at First Baptist Church in Orangeburg. In Greenwood, she was a member of First Baptist Church and Benson Sunday School class and the Retired Teachers Organization. She was an avid golfer and tennis player.

Mrs. Love is survived by a son, Baylus Cade Love Jr. and wife, Sandie C. Love of Columbia; a daughter, Laurie Love Cone and husband, Dr. George P. Cone Jr., of Greenwood; four grandchildren, Robert W. Cone and wife, Emily, Charles P. Cone, Amy E. Love and William (Billy) C. Love; one great-grandchild, Preston T. Cone; a brother, Oliver H. Jenkins of Charleston.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday evening in the Parlor of First Baptist Church, Greenwood and following the graveside service in Orangeburg.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 637, Orangeburg, SC 29116, or First Baptist Church, 722 Grace Street, Greenwood, SC 29649.

Dukes-Harley Funeral Home of Orangeburg is in charge of arrangements.

'Ring' in the New Year

2009-01-03T16:49:00.014-05:00

First post of the New Year! So much serendipity in 2008. And 2009 started out with a 'ring' (don't get excited, Mom. I don't mean THAT kind).

Angie and Carly invited me for New Year's Eve. Two very fine parties with very fine friends. The second a bit more raucous than the first, but as it should be.

A good topic for girls at any party is jewelry. And what better piece to discuss as you 'ring' in the New Year than ... well, you guessed it. I wore my hammered gold 'wonder twins' ring New Year's Eve. The setting is raised, and at one time framed a gorgeous piece of green glass, hand-carved with a scene from Italy. Until I wore it out dancing ... I had to replace the broken glass with the best alternative, a piece of green tourmaline that makes it look like something I won at the fair. But it's a party ring, nonetheless, so I wear it when I go to one. Another friend at the party wore her green tourmaline, too, though hers was set inside a swirl of diamonds. Of course we talked about our rings long enough to drink an entire glass of wine.

That was just the warm up for the rowdier party - with the South Americans.

At the second party, it didn't take too much champagne for me to get curious in the guest bathroom and peek into the little wood box next to the sink. It was FULL of amazing rings! All shapes and colors, many of them acrylic, or made of wood with special designs. I snapped it shut. "Don't try one on, Amy. That would be a gaffe." Instead, I went to the hosts and confessed. Lili and Ana laughed when I spilled the beans (not the rings), about discovering their ring treasures. They took me to the room where they kept even more spectacular jewelry from artisans in South America, whose work the two art collectors bring back to sell in the U.S.

Partially due to too much champagne, I gushed and awed at the jewelry, until Lili offered me one of the most spectacular, raspberry-colored acrylic rings. "Here, you take this one," she insisted, and shoved it onto my finger. I was delighted, of course, and got to 'ring' in the New Year with a cercie and smile!

P.S. I gave it back the next morning ... don't drink and 'cercie.'

Traveling giraffe goes to Greenville

2008-12-01T21:30:00.008-05:00

After much protest - not from Tess, but from her Uncle Greg - Traveling Giraffe left its first stop in Columbia, where it had found a loving home at the Maxwell's. I think it really liked the fine view of the lake from their back porch, and the constant little girl sounds echoing throughout their beautiful home. But it was time for a new adventure, and just before Thanksgiving, I went by the Maxwell's to claim Giraffe, promising them that Giraffe would certainly make its way back to a place where it was once so well-loved.

And so we were off - Giraffe and I - on a road trip to Greenville. I think it enjoyed listening to the iTunes mix I made for the trip: an eclectic assembly of Deanna Carter, the Troggs, Calexico and Iron and Wine, Gnarles Barkley ... good tunes make for good travel.

My friend Amanda - the next unawares recipient of Giraffe - met me at the Place of Peace at Furman. If you need renewal, go there. It has magical powers. Much like Traveling Giraffe has powers of spreading cercie love and joy wherever it goes.

First – renewal, second – serendipity ...

After the Place of Peace, Amanda and I headed to downtown Greenville and I surprised her with Traveling Giraffe. We took him to lunch with us. Turned heads. Smiles. Friendly commentary. Envy. "I want a Giraffe!" exclaimed the grown man at the table beside ours.

Amanda took Giraffe home that day and surprised her daughter Stella with it. As you can see from the photo capturing the moment, Stella is quite enamored of Giraffe. So enamored, in fact, that she's given it a name!

Say hello to Georgie Giraffe.

The perfect guy cercie

2008-11-20T23:01:00.002-05:00

I spent time this week at the Museum of Natural History in D.C. The T-Rex replica was particularly exciting. If only my friend's son Noah could have been there with me. He's a two-going-on-twenty-year-old dinosaur buff. Can name 'em all. So I went by the museum shop on my way out and bought Noah the Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs pop-up book by acclaimed pop-up artist Robert Sabuda. When I delivered Noah the book today, I also promised his four-month-old brother Liam that he'd get one, too, some day ... as soon as we figured out exactly what he likes besides breast milk. "A pop-up boob book!" his mother quipped.

The perfect guy cercie [giggle].

Annabelle and Peppercorn

2008-11-07T22:32:00.006-05:00

Annabelle and Peppercorn were all dressed up for Halloween.

Two basset hounds - fat ones. It's hard to tell them apart, and rarely are they. Two peas in a pod you could say. Or in the case of Halloween night, two 'bees' in a pod. Each has black and white spots, droopy ears, short legs, a long tail -- and on October 31st, bumble bee wings. "If Annabelle and Peppercorn could fly ..." we teased later.

My friend Tonya is a true Cercie Lover. Annabelle and Peppercorn are her babies. She dresses them up every year for trick-or-treaters. For the past two years she's had Halloween photos made of the 'kids' dressed as bumble bees. She leaves the photo with a tiny little bag full of candy at my doorstep on Halloween. A little BOO! cercie.

Save the date

2008-10-22T19:32:00.004-04:00

I got a little save-the-date cercie today.

How can a notice about something in the future be serendipitous, you ask? Easy, when you're saving the date for a baby-on-the-way! Two of my dearest friends today sent word that each is expecting her first baby in the Spring of 2009.

Kelly made the announcement by posting a picture on Face Book of a Carolina Gamecocks 'onesie' with a note on it that said: Save the date! May 4, 2009. Karen sent out her daily e-mail poetry snapshot - this time with a special poem attached by Nan Cohen called “A Newborn Girl at Passover" (though she's actually expecting a boy). Congratulations, Kelly and Jeff, and Karen and Jim! And thanks for sharing your joyous surprise news with me. It gave me my cercie rush of the day. I'm starting to get addicted ... more - more - more!

Later Gator

2008-10-14T21:02:00.008-04:00

Lucky for me, my aunt and uncle decided on a coastal retirement. Uncle Bill likes big toys, to boot - RVs, waverunners, motorcycles. His latest: a Hurricane, the one we took out to the marina on Sunday. "Later Gator" is a 300 hp bright and shiny deck boat.

"Want to drive it Little Aimmer?" I couldn't believe he was going to let me behind the wheel of his brand new, very expensive water baby. Pull up on the throttle, adjust the trim, plane out ... watch that wake!! Sharp right around that buoy! Pull into the marina ... are you kidding??

Well, I didn't go all the way into the marina, but I came close enough. And what's better, I got a cercie rush on the intercoastal waterway!

Traveling giraffe

2008-10-04T20:01:00.012-04:00

One of my friends has a little silent auction fetish; she shows up to every fundraiser armed with a blank check and ready to do some bidding.

This night was no exception. We were elbow to elbow with the other guests at the gala, all admiring the options set out on tables inside the auction room ... an authentic Japanese dinner, a hiking weekend getaway, a piece of original art. And a hand-carved and painted GIRAFFE. With unbridled excitement I shrieked, "I love that!"

It was done. Fetish friend had already written in #78 with her bid, and it went unmatched. I tried to talk her into bidding on something for herself, but she insisted. "You got the giraffe!" people shouted after me as we were leaving. Yes, I thought - the perfect cercie - given by a good friend eager to spread some cercielove.

I'd love nothing more than to keep the giraffe all to myself, but if it's going to continue to spread cercielove, then it needs to be circulated among friends. We agreed we would pass it around, surprising friends with it, sending it often on adventures. First stop: Columbia, South Carolina. Giraffe is staying with two of my dear friends, and I'm hoping their little niece will name it, and share with it lots of adventures before it goes on to its next destination.

Keep watch - Traveling Giraffe cercie might end up on your doorstep next!

Cemetery cercies

2008-09-29T21:59:00.009-04:00

I was standing in front of the Arlington Cemetery map and had just located the 'You are here' arrow, when two elderly gentleman walked up to me. "Do you know where you are?" one of them asked. It wasn't a rhetorical question. "We're trying to find our tour." I knew they didn't mean the one from WWII.

Dallas proudly wore his blue VFW hat. He showed me his tan. "I live in Florida," he boasted. Bud was shy; probably not as shy when he was dropping bombs on Okinawa. That's where the two made friends. This visit to Arlington was a reunion of their unit, and they'd wandered off during the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, losing their tour group.

"If you'll go with me to see Arlington House, I'll let you escort me back to the visitor center," I offered. It was a deal. We had a Scottish woman take our picture at Arlington House. Bud to the right of me, Dallas to the left. Little me between two Veterans of War - arms around each others' backs, Arlington vista in the background. Behind us you could see all the way beyond the Potomac to the Capitol. This was the same view Robert E. Lee took in every morning over coffee, before Virginia ratified an alliance with the Confederacy and seceded from the Union, forcing he and Anna from the mansion. We were linked there - Dallas, Bud and I - with our backs to the vast history of America, and our faces to the camera, attempting to preserve the present.

The picture didn't take. But for me, the memory did. I will not forget Bud and Dallas. They are my Cemetery Cercies. Out of a landscape of graves they were sent to bring me a moment's joy. Delightful, cheerful (somewhat forgetful) living Soldiers among the honored dead.

_______________
Bang the drum slowly
My Rhapsody Playlist
- Lyrics by Emmylou Harris

I meant to ask you how to fix that car
I always meant to ask you about the war
And what you saw across a bridge too far
Did it leave a scar

Or how you navigated wings of fire and steel
Up where heaven had no more secrets to conceal
And still you found the ground beneath your wheels
How did it feel

Bang the drum slowly play the pipe lowly
To dust be returning from dust we begin
Bang the drum slowly I'll speak of things holy
Above and below me world without end

I meant to ask you how when everything seemed lost
And your fate was in a game of dice they tossed
There was still that line that you would never cross
At any cost

I meant to ask you how you lived what you believed
With nothing but your heart up your sleeve
And if you ever really were deceived
By the likes of me

Bang the drum slowly play the pipe lowly
To dust be returning from dust we begin
Bang the drum slowly I'll speak of things holy
Above and below me world without end

Gone now is the day and gone the sun
There is peace tonight all over Arlington
But the songs of my life will still be sung
By the light of the moon you hung

I meant to ask you how to plow that field
I meant to bring you water from the well
And be the one beside you when you fell
Could you tell

Bang the drum slowly play the pipe lowly
To dust be returning from dust we begin
Bang the drum slowly I'll speak of things holy
Above and below me world without end

The Mother of all cercies

2008-09-21T16:33:00.003-04:00

The South boasts a long line of cercie creators, whose little bundles of joy have surprised and delighted friends, family, coworkers, customers, clients, caretakers, and fellow creators for generations. But in my mind the Mother of them all is mine - Sandie Love.

Mom has the gift of gifting, an exquisite timing and attention to detail. She has always said that 'presentation is everything,' and she's serious. I used to get 'cercied' often when I was in gradeschool. A little note, a fun napkin, a special drink straw tucked into my Scooby Doo lunch box. My classmates often made fun of me, but even then I knew that was just Cercie Envy. I got cercied all the way through college, too. Even today I'll come home to a fun little package in my mail box for no reason other than to spread a little Cercie Love around.

I say keep the cercies comin' !

Kite-in-the-sky serendipity

2008-09-20T20:35:00.003-04:00

When I caught sight of it, I was floating on my back in the pool. Just floating ... thoughts floating, clouds floating ... ah, a kite! Triangular, with tail trailing. Way up in the sky. Half a mile up. Was it free flying? Look how it silhouetted against the soft blue sky and cotton ball clouds. "A kite!" I shrieked, pointing to the sky. It was a discovery I just couldn't keep to myself. "Wow, that's not something you see every day," said someone sitting by the pool. "Yeah," I thought. "A little Sky Cercie. How delightful."