Good-bye !

I said good- bye to my first space ship today. Pleased to have a Toyota dealer evaluate it and say "like new" after almost 58,000 miles. It was a super car, and I felt it was just getting better and better to drive... why did I sell it? You'll see in a few days!

In the Kitchen

Contrary to popular belief, I do have some domestic skills. Currently working long days, I'm lucky to get a chance to run for a cup of coffee. so I do mass cooking for my take along meals.
Yesterday, it was drizzling so I had to cook in side. The results- roasted veggies and chicken breasts. The vegetables look just georgous in the turquoise ceramic dish.

First

Right now, my tiny yard is just a massive patch of weeds, from all the rain we have had, and the owner who has had no time to work on it! However, this week, the first rose opened, it is always a very special event. It's a Don Juan rose bush that I have had for many years. The first round of blooms are the most fragrant. Too bad I can't post the smell for you to enjoy!

wordless wednesday

Scenes- seen

A bit of play for the eye and mind! It's amazing what the world brings to us if we take a moment to notice.

Domestic Help

Is anyone looking for some domestic help? Sammy will work for food and loves doing the laundry!

Wordless Wednesday

There is always a sight to see!

I just love New York City. I grew up in the area and had to leave upstate New York because I just missed it too much.
There is always something happening, something different, it's a very difficult place to be bored.
I saw this person in a very unique outfit walking down 8th avenue the other week. You can imagine my surprise when the person turned around and I saw a very long gray beard attached to the face!

Snow!

It snowed last night... not too much and not too little. The light kind that sticks in the trees and makes everything just beautiful.
I wouldn't mind this kind of snow more often!

New King of the house!

I wrote previously about my friend Igor, who had been with me for many years.

With winter bearing down, I decided it was time to find a new friend ... and so I went to petfinder.com.  So many cats, all needing good homes.  I found Sammy, he's definitely the new king of the house! Part siamese, he has very exotic looks. 

Sad story, he was found homeless in one of the wealthier suburban towns.  Unfortunately, many people who find they can no longer take care of pets just abandon them. Please contact a shelter or rescue group if you have that problem! There are many caring people who will help you do the right thing.

What do Squirrels want?

The city squirrels here will eat just about anything. But what they really want is bird seed!

I thought I was safe storing my seed in a plastic trash can.

You can see they really tried to get the lid off! Goes to show what kind of taste they have, I can't imagine what the plastic tastes like but I'm sure it's not very good.

I can't really keep the seed inside the house.  Old houses = mouses in the winter!

Today I went and bought a metal can.... last year they chewed the metal rings off my other beautiful birdfeeder! We'll see what happens next....

Ode to Igor

I had to say goodbye to my buddy, Igor today.

He had a good life. He was rescued as a feral kitten, and went from hiding under the couch to running to the door when the doorbell rang to see who was here! How did I name him? Well, when I went to pick him up, he was a tiny runt. but when he got in the car, you would have thought I had 10 cats! He had all kinds of different voices. So I named him after Igor Stravinsky.  He never got over his fear of the car. I dreaded taking him to the vet because he would be so hysterical the minute he saw the carrier.  

He had a carpeted bench on the kitchen radiator by the window which was his favorite place to sit and watch the birds and squirrels in my tiny back yard.  

Last year, he lost and eye due to a condition similar to glaucoma.  A few weeks ago, he started to have trouble with  his left hind leg. A warning to any of you who have cats. They can have blood clots in their groin which cause paralysis in their hind legs.  If your cat starts to have trouble with his hind legs, take him to the vet immediately!  He was a real trooper right to the end.

A good friend , who will be fondly remembered.

My orchids

I have 6 orchid plants. Nothing very exotic, just dendrobiums which seem to be very happy here. I put them out side for the summer. When I bring them in the house for the winter, they start to bloom! They keep me happy by blooming throughout the winter.

Here is the first, it is white and purple with very distinctive veining. 

A surprise resident!

One of my favorite places is the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey.

There is a flock of peacocks there, living richly amidst all the art! On my recent visit last week, I was shocked to see this resident.

Just too funny!

One of my fellow jewelry designers, Emotional Oasis, found some really interesting items. They are tokens from a peep show!  I wrote and she was kind enough to share some with me.  Here is my "miss kitty" necklace.  I have a feeling that it will be mutable, and change with my moods.  Today it has sterling and antique copper chain to give it more of a mixed metal feeling.  I felt the lone biwa pearl gives it some zen balance....

Knockout Lily

It's ironic.  My red lily finally bloomed after waiting a year.  But it was worth waiting for- dozens of fiery red blossoms.  The last bloom appeared on July 12th, the day I went to CT to visit my friends and the daylily farm.

Waterfalls in the big Apple

I saw something about Waterfalls created in NYC. .. I've been working like a jackrabbit so no time to really read up... went to South Street Seaport the other day and saw two of them!

anticipation

My friends in CT are day lily masters. My yard is very tiny, I just really have no room.  However, three years ago, on the visit to the day lily farm, I just had to buy one.  Last year, no blooms. This year I have 7 stems... I'm just waiting for them to burst forth!

Delorenzo's Tomato Pies

One of the reasons I bought my house was the realtor took me out for tomato pie.  Not being from Trenton, I had no idea what I was getting back then.  What a delicious treat!  There are 2 different ones here in town, the best by far is on Hudson street. 

Unfortunately, they have cut back on the hours here because they opened a new place outside of town.  I am hoping that they don't close the original location on Hudson Street. You can read more reviews here at ZAGAT.  If you are in the area please stop and have a wonderful pie!  There is nothing quite the same anywhere.

Lost in the woods!

For those of you who know me, you know I frequently have to drive to Atlantic City to work at the strangest hours.  This morning, I was really in a tough spot.  A lumber yard was burning in Hammonton, and RT 30 was closed..... so I was sent into the dark woods to find my way to work!

About 2 years ago, we had terrible forest fires on another route that I would use, so I finally bought a GARMIN!  It paid for itself this morning!  I would have never found my way except for my captain telling me which way to go.

Roses galore!

My new coc rose is blooming.  It is a burnt orange color and very thorny.  I wanted something for infornt of my house, so it's just perfect!

May flowers

The weather here has been spring like- cold and rainy!

But today I finally moved my orchids outside to their summer home.  Bought a new one a few weeks ago.  It is a very dark purple with vibrant green on the reverse side of the petals.  Sorry the picture really does not do it justice.

spring in NJ

The weather today has been perfectly awful. Cold, rainy- I have the heat on!

But several days ago I was in Milford and saw these beautiful iris blooming! 

Birdbrain!

there's a reason for the expression!

That darn squirrel!

Living in the city, we have some pretty tough squirrels.  In the past I caught a picture of one of them stealing one of my tomatoes right off the plant!

Well, this time he just left a rotten mess of chewed up orange peel on my porch.

More Spring springing

I have daffodils galore and other bulbs blooming!

Travel Day

I had a doctor appointment today in Philadelphia.  The easiest and fastest way for me to get there is to hop a train right to Center City.  The trip down was fine. I shopped a bit at Reading Terminal Market, went for my appointment and then had lunch.

Coming home was not so easy.  There were power problems between Holmesburg Junction and New York City.   having been stuck on the trian more times than I care for, I opted to take the long way home.  I took the PATCO train to Camden, then the River Line light rail which stops 4 blocks from my house.  I could have taken the R3 to West Trenton, but would have no way to get home from there except a cab......How lucky I am to have options!

Wild weather

Saturday we had lots of rain.  I was running the dinky train form Princeton to Princeton Junction all day.  The tracks go over the D&R canal and the tail end of Carnegie Lake.  For somereason, the ducks and geese would hang out under the rr bridge.  Every time the train would go over, they would all swim and flap away , almost all of them heading east.  It was too funny.  Sorry I didn't catch abit of video......

ipod touch arrived

I've been wanting an iphone for a while but I had service from that certain provider in the past and it just was not that great. So I bought an ipod touch. It just arrived and it is so very cool.

My long time friend Chris Browne is very psychic and drew a picture of me - and posted it his blog. Check it out!

Spring preview

This wonter has been the most strange I can remember.  So far, we have had only snow 1 day. Otherwise it's been rain, rain , rain.  My first crocus has peeped out.  many of the bulbs are poping up, too early.

my favorite places

One of my favorite places in NYC is The Gingerman.  I used to work a couple blocks away, and it was a great haven after work to find some interesting beers. They have 60 taps.  The other week I splurged and went twice.  They had 3 Philosophers form Ommegang on tap , which is very hard to find. More happy birthday to me!

A fabulous meal!

A friend treated me to dinner for my birthday. I wanted to go to a restaurant owned by some friends which I had not been to in some time, The Brothers Moon, in Hopewell, New Jersey.  What a wonderful meal. The food is really elegant and the portions are quite hearty. Chef Will had a moment to come out of the kitchen and greet all the diners.  I really can't describe how delicious every tidbit was, you'll just have to go yourself!

Martha's Set

As part of my birthday celebration, I obtained tickets for The Martha Stewart Show.  It was fun. Joey was the best part. The set was impressive, the seats comfortable.  Plus, the show was being broadcast live! Here's a view of the set.

Winter blooms

A friend gave me an amaryllis for Christmas.  I haven't had one for many years, so it was wonderful to watch it emerge from the bulb and flower.

NYC sights

I had a day in NYC to walk around. Spotted a gentleman with 3 Scotties! Here's to my Scottie friends!

A better mouse trap

Second mouse was caught. I took him up the Delaware and let him loose at Bull Island. I bought a TOMCAT live capture trap at Lowes. It's a little tube on a pivot so that when the mouse runs in to the food at the far end, it snaps shut without causing any harm. One of the perils of living in a very old house, it's almost impossible to keep them out in the winter, even with the cat!

Scenes

New Jersey is surprising rural for one of the nation's most populated states. This year I found some of the roads that run through cranberry country. The bogs don't look like much in the summer, but everything changes in the fall. Unfortunately it was a gloomy day and I only had my camera to snap a picture... will have to try for better views next year!

Animal stuff

Igor had his stitches removed on Tuesday , so he spent a good part of the day washing his face.
The first mouse was caught in the trap, and released about 5 miles away. Hopefully he won't find his way back here...

Visitors

I have a mouse who has invaded my kitchen. Living in a very old house, this is a frequent annoyance when cold weather moves in, so does the mouse.
Unfortunately, Igor, my cat had lost an eye so he is not such a great hunter.
I had a bag of carmel soy crisps and discovered that someone had ripped a big hole in the bottom. I was not me. It was not Igor.
That leaves only one suspect.....!

thought for the day

I'm reading Gregory Maguire's "Mirror, Mirror"

a thought to ponder:
"Always kill the fatted calf, lest it grow to become a cow and produce in its time a bull who will gore you"

My Thanksgiving tale

My cat, Igor, has had an eye problem for a while. like glaucoma, it was swollen and had started to become bloody. The only solution was to remove the eye. He had adjusted to losing the eyesight very well and was fine running around the house. He has a heart murmur and is not a young lad , so surgery was a big risk.
Last visit to the vet, I had pretty much decided that surgery was too expensive for such a risky situation, and that I would say goodbye when the situation became too severe.
Saturday morning he did not look too well. I had an important meeting, and said a prayer to make it through the weekend. I had called a very good friend and persuaded them to take me to the Ship Inn, one of my favorite places , for dinner. The food and beer are always very good and I was looking for comfort in the sad situation I was facing.
out of the blue, I spotted some friends I had not seen in almost 2 years at the door! They had stopped 2 other places, and were unable to get dinner, so headed to The Ship. They got a table for dinner, and we joined them for some friendly chat. They told me a story about one of their cats who was almost lost but survived due to an unexplained miracle.
It came to me later that it was divine intervention that brought them to the Ship to save Igor!
He had his surgery Tuesday, is doing very well, and I will bring him home Wednesday.

QUESTIONS THAT HAUNT ME

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered
assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. but it's only a "penny
for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you
were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it
would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake
up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in
binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to
see you naked anyway.

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a
horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song
about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane ?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a
coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours?
They're both dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why
didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from
vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same
tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere,
but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad
at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the
window?

End of summer

I always know when it is the end of summer. I have to bring all my plants that enjoyed the summer out into the house. My orchids, which I bouht as orphans after they had bloomed, surprised me this summer. Three of the 5 have bloomed so far.

Sunsets

Anyone who lives near a body of water knows how marvelous the sunsets can be. I just caught the very end of this on- the hill looked as if it were on fire!

doggy don't!

This funny metal dog on a lawn... wondering where on earth the owner bought it!

New Laws

Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.
Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.
Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.
Law of the Telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.
Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.
Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now. (works every time)
Bath Theorem: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.
Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.
Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will. Law of Bio mechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach. Theatre Rule: At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last. Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your Boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.
Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.
Law of Dirty Rugs/Carpets: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.
Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
Brown's Law: If the shoe fits, it's really ugly.
Oliver's Law: A closed mouth gathers no feet.
Wilson's Law: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

A Day in Cape May

One of my friends had moved to Cape May about 2 years ago. I had not made the jpurney to visit, until last week. Had the grand tour from bay to Wildwood by auto. A wonderful crabcake dinner, walk on the bay for sunset before my trek back to Trenton.

A wonderful day was had by all!

Starbucks encounter

One of my friends met the love of his life at Starbucks...Me? well her's my starbucks story.
I was called to work in Atlantic City. Went to the Starbucks by the convention center for a pick-me up. I had my transit id on because there were many police around the station for some reason. Ahead of me in line was a boy, about 6 with his grandfather. He had a "conductor" hat on and a pocket full of seat checks. He spotted my ID and started pointing and tugging at his Grandpa's hand. He could not believe I was an engineer! I have to wonder if he will be able to grow up and still have his dream of working on the trains......

gifts from nature

Once in a while, my wax plant which I've had for many years, produces a flower. It's unfortunate that you can't smell the chocolate scent that comes with the beautiful blossoms

I have my favorite escape place. Went to dinner Sunday and found this herd right in the middle of "downtown".

visitor

Il ive in the city and have a really tiny garden. Today I was weeding when I noticed this visitor just hanging around.

Herbie Hancock at the Count Basie Theater

Went to Red Bank Tuesday night for the Herbie Hancock concert. I am always amazed by the diversity of his audience- young and old of all nationalities.
The concert was amazing. I have never been disappointed in any of his appearances that I have been able to attend. The whole audience was on their feet and dancing
for the encore.
read more:
www.herbiehancock.com

also be sure to check out Herbie on myspace!

Save the wolves!

I have just learned of the assault on the wolves by the current administration.
Read about it here:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/120490287

outer limits?

Several weeks ago, we had some forest fires in the jersey pinelands. Sometimes I got to work right through the area. Stopped today and took some pictures. Like a scene from another planet....

near perfection

I came home today and inspected my garden- found this almost perfect rose bloom. Too bad you can't smell it as well!

Dave Brubeck concert

Dave Brubeck is coming to the Trenton Patriots Theatre at the War Memorial on June 8th.
I grew up mostly in Wilton , Ct, where Dave lived with his family, and gave concerts yearly to benefit the schools.
Recently, I've seen him at the Newport Jazz Festival. Don't miss this concert! He is still a one of a kind player.

Don Juan

My Don Juan rose this year is just spectacular right now. ... covered with hundreds of blossoms!

gardens

My garden is tiny, but the plants just love it! ( so do the weeds....sigh)

Here are my beautiful iris, which were given to me by a very good friend!

The white petal on the purple and white positively glow. And I have a chaotic riot of columbine, the seeds came for another very good friend. The columbine make their own mutations, here is a strange one this year.

Prius Owners meet!

We had another NJ Prius owners meet last week!

This was at the Blue Rock in Keyport. I dorve round and round because the directions from the computer leave much to br deisred.

The prize goes to finman for coming all the way from Harrisburg PA! Dan came from DC and Trevor & Angel from Staten Island.

I believe a good time was had by all!

new words

For working people or for those who can still remember what it was like to work. NEW WORDS FOR 2007 : Essential vocabulary additions for theworkplace (and elsewhere)!!!
1. BLAMESTORMING : Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
2. SEAGULL MANAGER : A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise,craps on everything, and then leaves.
3. ASSMOSIS : The process by which some people seem to absorbsuccess and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than workinghard.
4. SALMON DAY : The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.
5. CUBE FARM : An office filled with cubicles.
6. PRAIRIE DOGGING : When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm, and people's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on.
7. MOUSE POTATO : The on-line, wired generation's answer to the couch potato.
8. SITCOMs : Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.
9. STRESS PUPPY : A person who seems to thrive on being stressed outand whiny.
10. SWIPEOUT : An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.
11. XEROX SUBSIDY : Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one's workplace.
12. IRRITAINMENT : Entertainment and media spectacles that are Annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them.
13. PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE : The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
14. ADMINISPHERE : The rarefied organizational layers beginning justabove the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
15. 404 : Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web errorMessage "404 Not Found," meaning that the requested site could not belocated.
16. GENERICA : Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.
17. OHNOSECOND : That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake. (Like after hitting send onanemotionally angry email to your boss by mistake).
18. WOOFS : Well-Off Older Folks.
19. CROP DUSTING : Surreptitiously passing gas while passing through a Cube Farm.

A Tale of Two Houses

Whether or not this is true, it is something for us all to consider:
1: The four-bedroom home was planned so that "every room has a relationship with something in the landscape that's different from the room next door. Each of the rooms feels like a slightly different place."
The resulting single-story house is a paragon of environmental planning. The passive-solar house is built of honey-colored nativelimestone and positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the 4,000-square-foot residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground. These waters pass through a heat exchange system that keeps the home warm in winter and cool in summer. A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern.
The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home, (which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to complete the exterior treatment of the home. In addition to its minimal environmental impact, the look and layout of the house reflect one of the paramount priorities: relaxation. A spacious 10-foot porch wraps completely around the residence and beckons the family outdoors. With few hallways to speak of, family and guests make their way from room to room either directly or by way of the porch. "The house doesn't hold you in. Where the porch ends there is grass. There is no step-up at all." This house consumes 25% of the energy of an average American home.
(Source: Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Oct. 2002 and Chicago Tribune April 2001.)
House 2: This 20-room, 8-bathroom house consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year. The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, this house devoured nearly 221,000 kWh, more than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, the house burned through 22,619 kWh, guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of this energy consumption, the average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Also, natural gas bills for this house and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year. In total, this house had nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for 2006.

Belgiium trip- day 1

We flew out in the evening of February 26 from Newark, arriving in Cologne the morning of the 27th. No time was wasted gathering the group and heading to Dusseldorf for beer & lunch.
A few of the brew houses we visited before lunch at Uerige to taste the Alt beer:
Schumacher im Goldenen Kessel

Im Weissen Bären for Frankenheim

Schlussel

Fuchschen
The tour and lunch at Uerige were very interesting. We we quite overwhelmed with the delicious pork that served along with copious amounts or beer!
Then it was off to Cologne, a brief time to settle at the hotel, then time for Kolsch!

Travels with beer!

Just back from the Ale St News trip to Belgium! what a blast- more comments soon!

EVE'S STORY

After three weeks in the Garden of Eden, God came to visit Eve. "So, how is everything going?" inquired God. "It is all so beautiful, God," she replied. "The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking, the smells, the sights, everything is wonderful, but I have just one problem. It's these breasts you have given me. The middle one pushes the other two out and I am constantly knocking them with my arms, catching them on branches and snagging them on bushes. They're a real pain," reported Eve.
And Eve went on to tell God that since many other parts of her body came in pairs, such as her limbs, eyes, ears, etc.......... she felt that having only two breasts might leave her body more "symmetrically balanced."That's a fair point," replied God, "But it was my first shot at this, you know. I gave the animals six breasts, so I figured that you needed only half of those, but I see that you are right. I will fix it up right away."And God reached down, removed the middle breast and tossed it into the bushes.
Three weeks passed and God once again visited Eve in the Garden of Eden "Well, Eve, how is my favorite creation?""Just fantastic," she replied, "But for one oversight. You see, all the animals are paired off. The ewe has a ram and the cow has her bull. All the animals have a mate except me. I feel so alone."God thought for a moment and said, " You know, Eve, you are right. How could I have overlooked this? You do need a mate and I will immediately create a man from a part of you. Now let's see............where did I put the useless boob?"
Now doesn't THAT make more sense than that crap about the rib?