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.....!