July 06

We went to church this morning at St. Thomas in North Charleston. The rector is on vacation so one of the retired bishops was on hand, Bishop Bill Skilton. Very open and welcoming. Some praise music but I'm hoping their "winter" choir does a better job. They were few and quiet this morning.

I'm getting re-acclimated to the roads and learning where the stores are. I have to drive to get really used to it and Pete has been doing most of the driving!

Esther, St. Thomas Episcopal is right off Park Circle which, if you haven't been up the way lately is undergoing revitalization. The Winchester and Z-Bar (shipyard workers watering holes) are still open for business but the rest is pretty cleaned up! The Winchester is the bar where I met Pete! I was tending bar there in the summer 1982.

I know it may sound odd to look for furniture on Craigslist but the chances of a great deal are pretty good! And I don't want to buy anything "special" until we're in our own house. We've got the dining furniture in and the hutch works just right. I'm getting Mrs. Finnes' lovely Wedgewood displayed for the first time. And that makes me feel really good. We pick up the living room furniture tomorrow. A really great thing is that our old furniture was quickly snapped up by some of Jesse's friends!

Richard is 29 now. He has a full time job working for Arthur Cordray at the feed store on John's Island. His girlfriend Megan is really nice. She is a farm girl from Michigan and has been working as a wedding planner, which gives Richard a good way to meet more people for his business. Richard and Jesse purchased a business in December, 07. Charleston Coach is their venture; http://www.charlestoncoach.com/Contact.htm. They are staying pretty busy with events most weekends.

That takes care of half of Jesse's update! He moved to this area in December and is working for Island Fresh Seafood, an aquaculture farm owned by Bill Cox. ISF raises clams and oysters used to seed beds up and down the East Coast. Bill has several businesses and keeps Jesse very busy! He really misses his friends in MD but has invited them to visit and was up for a weekend just before I moved to Hanahan. Bill is a friend of Pete's from 1972!

Chris decided to stay in MD for job opportunities and to stay close to his friends. He went to Houston to study collision repair and graduated (top of his class) in September 2008. He worked for Tate BMW in Annapolis until just recently. Mr. Tate sold the dealership and Chris didn't like the new environment. He is working for Dwayne Crawford at Family Auto Care Mercedes Benz Specialist in Calvert County. He is considering some other job options right now, also. He is concerned about the economy's affect on the automotive business.

I've got to get busy with dinner, hope all is well with you.