I remember dressing up as a playtime activity when I was small. Nothing was more thrilling than putting on my mother’s clothes and shoes to become a princess or a grand lady.
Everyone dressed up in the 1950’s. A Sunday-morning-going-to-church outfit for ladies consisted of high heels, stole, gloves and netted hat.
Here are my sweethearts dressing up for Halloween last year. I wonder what they’ll be this year?
Since June, I have found four predominant themes for weather vanes. In order, the most popular are: eagles, horses, sailboats and cockerels. Today’s challenge entry is another horse, but one quite superior to the normal flattened image I’ve found for other #WVD’s. I didn’t get close enough in person to decide if the horse is silver or spray-painted white, or perhaps even a bit of both, but it certainly is a great piece. It’s three dimensional and larger than the norm. It sits atop a pole at the front of a driveway.
The weather vane is along busy Route 322 near the town of Mullica Hill, New Jersey.
US Route 322 (US 322) is a 494 mi (795.0 km) long, east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 22 and one of the original highways from 1926. A portion of it at one time was concurrent with the Lakes-to-Sea Highway.
~ Wikipedia
Thank you to these blogs for their participation in last week’s Weather Vane Wednesday Photo Challenge:
Exploring Color – Directions at Bluff
The 59 Club – Windward
Priorhouse Blog – A to Z Wednesday (It’s Been A While)
The Photo Challenge: Each Wednesday, I post a photograph of a Weather Vane with a short description of where it can be found and any history connected to it. The main focus of the challenge is the photo of the Weather Vane and the location. The challenge can be Wordless if that is what you choose. If you would like others to see your post leave a link to your blog in the comment box. You can also tag the post #weathervaneweds. If you place a link to my post in your post you will create a pingback that will appear in the comment section. The challenge is open all week for comments and posts. Thanks so much for taking part in my challenge.
Many thanks to Cee, of Cee’s Photography, for including this challenge in her listing of WordPress Challenges. If you love challenges take a look at this page and while you are there check out some of Cee’s terrific posts. Thanks Cee!
“If like many people, you are afraid to try roses in your garden, you need to try the revolutionary Knock Out® Family of Roses. The only rose that doesn’t need special care from you, these shrub roses will reward you with a season long show of blooms from spring to frost.” KnockoutRoses.Com
If you are like me you have some empty spots in your garden that could use a quick fix. There is still time to find amazing bargains as big box stores and garden nurseries slash prices to make room for Christmas trees and outdoor decor. This past weekend, I found Knockout Roses, an almost problem-free shrub rose, for less than 5.00 each. I bought four to plant in an area that needs many plants to fill it. The Knockout Roses should quickly grow and fill in the area with beautiful pink flowers. I was lucky to find the double bloom variety. The bonus is the roses I purchased still have some bloom and buds to enjoy through Autumn.
I also found a flat of succulent plants that I greatly admired in the Spring, but wasn’t willing to spend the asking price at that time. Oh the joy of finding bargains. This flat was a steal at under 4.00. I wonder how many projects and plantings I can squeeze out of it. I’ll post a few of my ideas through the next few weeks.
Before my morning walk I checked the thermometer. It read forty-one degrees. I prefer warmer weather and wonder where Autumn went. New Jersey is supposed to be experiencing average temperatures of 50-55 degrees at this time of year. When I put on my winter coat for the first time this season I felt a little cheated.
My quick plummet of mood immediately lifted when I looked up. The sky was brilliant blue. Leaves in the distance were crowned with a golden luster, and I am sure by week’s end most trees will be producing a bit more color. I spotted a blue jay among the greens and golds and was able to capture him with my zoom lens.
I take my camera with me on most of my walks, it enables me to capture birds from afar and identify them when I download onto my computer. I photographed one more jay and thought I found another to form a nice trio for this post, but when I brought the photo up I saw it was a mockingbird in disguise, its white breast and size fooling me into thinking it another jay. I wish it had sung me its repertoire of songs, but I will have to wait for another day when feeding on the holly berries is not his priority.
““Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” ~ Proverb
“This saying first appeared in the 3rd century BC in Greek. It didn’t appear in its current form in print until the 19th century, but in the meantime there were various written forms that expressed much the same thought.” ~ The Phrase Finder
This post is part of Saturday Snapshot – October 20.
The Negril Lighthouse was built in 1894. You will find a perfect view of this landmark in Jamaica from another landmark, Rick’s Cafe.
We arrived at Rick’s Cafe in minutes from the Samsara, a great hotel in between Rick’s Cafe and Seven Mile Beach, just in time to see a diver prepare to jump from the cliffs.
Ten second video of the jump.
My husband has jumped off the moderate sized cliffs the Samsara is built upon numerous times; I have not. I decided this was my year to jump. I contemplated the sea below, the height, and decided to seize the day and finally jump off the cliffs.
There I go, my hair makes me laugh, it looks as if it wants to stay behind and is yelling, “NO!”
My husband jumped with the underwater camera this year. Here’s a quick glimpse of what you see and hear when you jump in from the cliffs.
I’m glad I did seize the day, the next morning the sea was rough, churned up by Hurricane Michael’s path to the left of Jamaica. If I had waited I would have missed my chance.
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~ George Eliot
This post is part of Skywatch Friday
Today’s Weather Vane Wednesday post is once again a golf theme. The weather vane is quite large in comparison to the first golf vane post. You can find this nattily-dressed golfer atop the Pitman Golf Club in Pitman, New Jersey.
A little closer…
The photo is a bit blurry since I zoomed in from afar, but you can see by the weathered surface the weather vane has been there quite awhile. I like his jaunty cap.
Thanks so much to the 59 Club for two weeks of #weathervaneweds posts.
The 59 Club/Faith During Calm and Turbulent Times
…and…
The 59 Club/Dock Duty
The Photo Challenge: Each Wednesday, I post a photograph of a Weather Vane with a short description of where it can be found and any history connected to it. The main focus of the challenge is the photo of the Weather Vane and the location. The challenge can be Wordless if that is what you choose. If you would like others to see your post leave a link to your blog in the comment box. You can also tag the post #weathervaneweds. If you place a link to my post in your post you will create a pingback that will appear in the comment section. The challenge is open all week for comments and posts. Thanks so much for taking part in my challenge.
Many thanks to Cee, of Cee’s Photography, for including this challenge in her listing of WordPress Challenges. If you love challenges take a look at this page and while you are there check out some of Cee’s terrific posts. Thanks Cee!
This post is part of Skywatch Friday/September 11th Edition.
Here’s a remedy for cleaning stained suede. If you’re like me and forget about cleaning seude boots when flip-flop weather arrives this might be the perfect problem-solving post for you today.
My Ugg Boots were stained by salt last year. I don’t know why I waited a whole year to clean them off, I suppose it is the classic, out of sight, out of mind syndrome. Thankfully, I do know a good way of cleaning them by applying shaving cream and rubbing with a soft cloth. Below you can see my progress. As I write, the boot I treated is sitting beside a heater vent drying. If there is any residue still left I will repeat the steps.
Dampen the entire boot so there is no line of demarcation when they dry. Apply the shaving cream and gently rub the soiled area with a soft cleaning cloth. Spread the shaving cream lightly around the entire boot with the cloth. No need for a heavy coat, just a light touch of the shaving cream will keep the color and texture of the boot uniform. Wipe the excess shaving cream away with a clean damp rag.
The boot on the right was previously treated. You can see the slightest bit of salt stain around arch of the boot, but all in all, unless someone was looking for the problem area, I don’t think it is very noticeable. Give this money saving tip a try. It certainly is a better choice than spending $15.00 or more to have your boots professionally cleaned.
Winging our way home. Hopefully, the clouds will resemble these beauties I photographed on our flight down and not the remains of Hurricane Michael.
Jamaica beachcombing finds: urchins, sea glass, small pebbles and shells. There are amazing coral pieces also, but I am not sure if there are regulations against taking them out of the country.
I consider looking for bits and pieces some of the happiest moments of my life. God is so good to me!
I am soon on my way home from Jamaica…unfortunately, I have found no weather vane to photograph. I also can only do rudimentary editing so I won’t be able to link back to last week’s participants until next Wednesday. Instead of a vane I’m showing a little weather as Hurricane Michael brushing by to the west of Jamaica stirs up the sky a bit. Weather Vane Wednesday will resume next week.
The Photo Challenge: Each Wednesday, I post a photograph of a Weather Vane with a short description of where it can be found and any history connected to it. The main focus of the challenge is the photo of the Weather Vane and the location. The challenge can be Wordless if that is what you choose. If you would like others to see your post leave a link to your blog in the comment box. You can also tag the post #weathervaneweds. If you place a link to my post in your post you will create a pingback that will appear in the comment section. The challenge is open all week for comments and posts. Thanks so much for taking part in my challenge.
Many thanks to Cee, of Cee’s Photography, for including this challenge in her listing of WordPress Challenges. If you love challenges take a look at this page and while you are there check out some of Cee’s terrific posts. Thanks Cee!
In August I took about three dozen cuttings of plants I liked. Oh my! They all took to rooting in water and soil and I soon had them growing under lights in the basement. My success surprised me even though I have rooted cuttings for years. The small plants quickly became another demand of my time.
Where are the plants now? You might cringe and ask ‘why,’ when I tell you they are in the compost heap. I am getting wiser. I am cutting back on things that tie up my time and energy. Do I really need to carry over so many plants? I live in an area with many garden nurseries. My flowering perennials grow larger every year. I don’t really need as many plants as I did in the past.
I’ve decided I must cut away successful endeavors that might kill me. Sounds funny, but those of you with too many projects going on know exactly what I mean. Growing older for me means less really does give me more…and by that I mean TIME. By the way, I also have a glorious compost heap to use next year. Hooray!
We walked atop old telephone poles laid flat as parking lot barriers, balancing, waving our arms when we wavered, laughing at each other as we struggled to keep from falling off. We were pretending we were explorers walking a high, narrow bridge between two mountains. He is six, I am sixty. He is my grandson, I am his grandmother.
He had just told me he has nightmares. A scary guy from a video game called Freddy is in his dream. I told him I would pray he has good dreams. We both began talking about our ‘exploring’ game and what fun we were having playing together when he said, “Nanny, I want to play with God.”
My heart soared. Whenever one of my children or grandchildren has acknowledged the personhood of God I know they have a belief in God. My grandson’s remark, that he wanted to play with God was, to me, a precious example of seeking God.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” ~ Hebrews 11:6
In the evening, after the day spent with family, I remembered my promise and prayed that Dominic would have a good dream, and that God would play with him in his dream. I am so grateful that God gives me these moments with my beloved grandchildren to reinforce my faith in Him and in the coming Eternal Life we will all share together. All praise to our Glorious Father in Heaven. Amen.
“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~ Matthew 19:14
I’ve blogged for years and some of the projects I’ve had fun making and sharing get lost in the archives. Here’s a rerun of reruns!
I came across this terrific display of Jack-O-Lanterns a few years ago and it will remain imprinted on my mind as one of the most creative Halloween decorations I’ve ever seen. If I ever have the time, money and help of many hands perhaps I will try to duplicate it.
I love Jack O’ Lanterns. This big pumpkin devouring a smaller pumpkin was fun to carve and display.
Several years ago after seeing an idea on how to make Oyster Jack O’ Lantern ornaments on Pinterest, I created several. They have held up for years and today I will be decorating my Norfolk Island Pine tree with these adorable pumpkins.
You can find full directions here:
Jack O’ Lantern Tree Part I
Jack O Lantern Tree Part II
These playful glasses were certainly a hit with my grandchildren and trick-or-treaters who came to our door.
My experience and the link to Martha Stewart’s directions for the glasses can be found at Martha’s Halloween Glasses
Finally, although I didn’t make this snarky sign based on the Wizard of Oz, I love the quote. I only wish I could keep a straight face long enough to use it when someone “bugs” me, but I know I would dissolve into laughter before I could get out two words. Enjoy the season, and remember, “I have flying monkeys, don’t make me use them.” Teeheehee!
At this time of year, I often walk around my gardens with pencil and tablet to record what I’ve liked, or even more important, make note of what I don’t want to repeat.
To add a bit of Autumn color to my flowered-out front garden, I transplanted a few bunches of marigolds that were growing in an over-crowded area in the backyard. The marigolds have shallow roots and were easy to move. I thought ahead and chose an overcast day with rain in the forecast to dig them out and replant. The cooler temperatures and rainy weather have helped them adapt to the front gardens. I’ve enjoyed their russet burst of color so much, next year I’m planning to plant a patch of this variety in an out of the way place, expressly for transplanting to the front gardens in Autumn.
My garden keeps me young and full of dreams for each season.
“Garden as though you will live forever.” ~ William Kent
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
In February 2016, I posted about these amazing anthurium hanging baskets I photographed in the Longwood Gardens Conservatory. When I visited the gift shop on my way out, I found single plants for sale at an amazing price and took one home with me. I’ve grown the anthurium in a terracotta pot as a floor plant since then, and although it has done well, it has never wanted to stand upright. After propping it up for years, I decided to let it do what it seemed to be destined to do well and planted it in a hanging basket.
““Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~ Dr. Seuss
The anthurium always looked interesting in its floor pot, but as a hanging basket plant it is unique and will never look common. A good lesson for me to follow too: Always be who I am, and not what others think I should be!
““Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Make new friends,
but keep the old.
One is silver,
the other is gold.”
~ Girl Scout Campfire Song
One of our cousins from Reno, NV, visited last week and brought along a good friend. It was great to meet Jaye; I feel like I have a new friend in her. I had the pleasure of showing them a few of my favorite places, and along with my father, we drove around the Delaware Bay area and had lunch in Fortescue with hundreds of birds for company.
They also visited Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Amish Country while they were here and found this amazing weather vane for me. I’m sharing the photo for this week’s Weather Vane Wednesday. Thanks Myrna and Jaye, I had so much fun on our long drive around the Bay.
Thank you to The 59 Club for their CRABBY weather vane linked to last week’s challenge.
The Photo Challenge: Each Wednesday, I post a photograph of a Weather Vane with a short description of where it can be found and any history connected to it. The main focus of the challenge is the photo of the Weather Vane and the location. The challenge can be Wordless if that is what you choose. If you would like others to see your post leave a link to your blog in the comment box. You can also tag the post #weathervaneweds. If you place a link to my post in your post you will create a pingback that will appear in the comment section. The challenge is open all week for comments and posts. Thanks so much for taking part in my challenge.
Many thanks to Cee, of Cee’s Photography, for including this challenge in her listing of WordPress Challenges. If you love challenges take a look at this page and while you are there check out some of Cee’s terrific posts. Thanks Cee!
