Happy Thanksgiving 2013

A surprise sighting of the Thanksgiving Chipmunk.  I think he was looking for his Thanksgiving dinner.  We've never seen them out and about this late as cold as it's been here.  He makes me smile but I worry about him being scooped up as someone else's dinner.  Hopefully he will settle in to hibernation soon.

Today I am thankful for .................... everything. 

Frost Feathers

Monday morning.  On the windshield.  Feathers of frost.

Can one drive through a pillow fight?

Only until the sun illuminates them and they take on their crystalline sparkle.

Coloring This and That

Oh sure, you look innocent enough trapped there in the corner of the box.  Standing side-by-side looking pretty.

Then someone took you out and look what you did!

And look what happened.

Someone should have used gloves.  

What's going to become of all those leaves?  Can't share just yet.

National Button Day, My Gypsy Rod, And What I'm Thankful For

Saturday was National Button Day.  I happened to have a jar of buttons on the table that contained these buttons that I found at a rummage sale back a few years.  The colors reminded me of fall and had wanted to do something with them rather than look at the in the little jar they were in.  

I played with some patterns and finally decided on this one.  I started with a square of white felt larger than the buttons as they were laid out on the table.  Then I started by finding the center and sewing that first button there.  The buttons were slippery and just a wee bit too small to hold onto and be able to take those stitches in so I decided to turn them all over and one row at a time, I dabbed a tiny bit of glue on the back of each one.  This gave me just enough stability to be able to keep the buttons in a straight line as I sewed them onto the felt.  

When I was done sewing on the buttons, I carefully cut away the excess felt to get the hexagonal shape.  I took another piece of felt (this time in dark yellow) and cut another hexagon from that. Then, using brown floss, I blanket stitched the felt together.  

I'm having mixed feelings about this finished product.  I intend to use it as a coaster, but every time I look at it the colors are taking me back to the 70's.  Gold, olive, and orange were very popular back then.  

The following pictures are of my "gypsy rod" in our kitchen.  It's my excuse for a window treatment.   We have lot's of windows in our house but most of them have very untraditional and sometimes no window treatments.   Our neighbors are far enough away not to be able to see in, and we are quite a distance from the road, and I love having all the natural light.  

So for the kitchen, I had HWNSNBP install a drapery rod complete with hooks and I purchased this beaded garland from the Scandinavian shop in Cape May.  There are three strands of garland loosely wrapped around the rod.  And using the drapery hooks or in some cases green wire, I have hung windchimes, glass ornaments, ceramic birds, and various other pretty things.  

Everything has a story and there's always room for more.  

I'm thankful that HWNSNBP puts up with most of my creative decorating and I have freedom of expression.  It's anything but traditional.  

Today I am Thankful for............ Days 13 & 14

My view from the office window where I work. 

There is a beautiful dogwood tree right outside to the right.  In the spring the flowers are pink and breathtaking.  In the fall the leaves turn the most gorgeous shade of deep red.  We have two bird feeders and one suet feeder and HWNSNBP usually comes by on Sunday to refill everything.

The temperatures have dropped considerably this week and there has been a slew of feathered friends looking for a quick meal.  We've had male and female cardinals, blue jays, wrens, sparrows, and a few types of woodpeckers to name a few.  The dogwood berries are still on this tree, not like the ones at home which the squirrels have busied themselves with.  (I wouldn't mind it if they ate the berries but they just start pinching them off in late August leaving none for the birds in the winter.)  As we get further into the cold weather season, the birds will go for those fatty-rich berries.

Across the horseshoe driveway is the little piece of land that is really not that little as it can hold the population of the school at least times two.  Directly across from me is the school sign that lets the community know what's going on here each month.  It faces the road coming and going so I only see the end view.  There is a nice planting of shrubs surrounding the sign and off to the right we have several young trees that have been planted in memory of a few of our staff members who have passed on.

To the left of the sign and a little closer towards the building is the post with the bluebird nesting box that HWNSNBP and I got permission to install.  I do keep a pair of binoculars at my desk to help me monitor just what kind of birds are hanging around that box. 

Yesterday, even though by the calendar we are still in autumn, we got a taste of winter.  The temperatures were below freezing and the wind, well the wind definitely had a bite.  My eyes were drawn to the nest box as I saw one bluebird sitting atop the post and the other attempting to hover over it.  So I grabbed my binoculars to see what was going on.  There was another bird in the box. I guessed it wasn't a bluebird which was why the blues were so seemingly upset.

This was happening while there was a discussion going on in our office, a gripe session, about the heating system and how cold some of the classrooms were with the air blowing and the temperature registering 69º.

That poor little bird in the box was trying to shelter itself from the cold wind.  The "feels like" temperature had gone well below 32º.  Bluebirds will congregate in nestboxes in the winter to keeping each other warm while avoiding the wind.  My guess is that they were not willing to share their box with another bird species and were trying to coax it out of there.

I bet they all would have been happy in a 69º room.

Today I am Thankful for..........Day 11

Today I am thankful for our veterans, those men and women who have laid everything on the line for our freedoms.

My daughter-in-law posted this link on her facebook page today and it really touched me so I am sharing with you.

Fallen Soldier on My Delta Flight

Today I'm Thankful for............. Days 6-10

A little self-indulgent time off.  

Here in New Jersey the first Thursday and Friday of November are traditionally Teacher's Convention Days which means no school...........for the teachers and students.  We 12-month employees do have to go in unless we use personal time, which I chose to do.  

I don't really have the opportunity during the day to do anything personal at my desk like scheduling appointments or repairwork at for our home so I did some of that one morning.  

Since we brought our oven back into the house after the new floor was put in, the temperature has been screwy and baking has been kind of hit and miss and with Thanksgiving approaching I did not want to have one of those 10-hours-to-cook-a turkey catastrophes.  So, next Friday someone is coming to look at it.  

I also hadn't rehung my "gypsy rod" and took advantage of a sunny afternoon to get that done.  (I'll try to get a picture once the windows are cleaned..... that was something that didn't get done.)  

And after I had some medical tests done early Friday, I spent the next few hours at Walmart transferring pictures off my photo card to disks and doing a little shopping.  I hadn't realized that I had so many pictures on the card and learned a lesson too.  I didn't set the date feature up on the camera probably for about the first year I had it and until I did, all the pictures taken before the date was enabled wound up in one file which caused some problems trying to save them to disks which became multiple disks.  

Because I can't find the disks with the software for my Canon camera I can't seem to transfer directly from the camera to the new computer, and I realized that my new computer doesn't have a card reader, so I had to purchase one of those.  

This transferring of files from one computer to the next is proving to be a bit of a nightmare.  Some of my pictures files have gone missing from the old computer and the guy who I was relying on to do this for me swears that he didn't delete anything.  I probably have them all on disks somewhere.  I think I need a few more days for all of that.  But I don't know when that will be.

We purged a big box of VCR tapes and I've been trying to get Rachel's old room cleaned out so she will come home for Thanksgiving (she's threatened she won't until we get that done and I really can't blame her).  But we seem to be working in the reverse domino effect.   You know when you can't do something because you have to finish something else first, and before you can finish that thing, there is something else that needs to be done.  

There was some fun stuff accomplished too.  I've got a little Thanksgiving project almost done and I made a prototype for a favor Rachel needs for a bridal shower for a friend of hers.  HWNSNBP and I both needed new winter coats and found something suitable for both of us today on a quick trip to Flemington.  And it was just after that when we stopped at Wegman's to do our weekly shopping that I realized how much I love the fact that HWNSNBP usually does this on his own. People are crazy pushing grocery carts on Sundays!  And there's so many of them!

So I am thankful to have had a few days to make a dent in some of this stuff. 

Today I am Thankful for..........Day 5

The beauty of Autumn..... even in a single leaf.

Today I am Thankful for.......... Day 4

Today I am thankful for the sound of birds in the morning.  Our neighborhood is relatively free from traffic sounds.  There are cars and buses that pass by the house in the morning but we are set up a hill about 100 feet from the road so the backyard is pretty sheltered from noise.  When I leave for work in the morning, when I step outside the back door, I am greeted by the sound of the birds. 

If you listen carefully you can tell what the mood is.  If there are crows or jays around it is usually very noisy.  The goldfinches make such a sweet happy sound when they're gathered around the feeder and get very agitated when I interrupt their morning meal and they quickly disperse from the feeder to the trees.  Occasionally there will be a hawk in the area causing a silence that will only be punctured by it's scream sending all the other birds for cover.

If I'm lucky, I will catch the call of the bluebirds.  We've learned over the years to identify their song and calls.  When I hear them, I stop in my tracks and search the treetops for a glimpse of them, but they are usually well hidden and I need to get on my way.

If I'm very lucky, as I was this morning, I will hear the bluebirds when I get out of my car at the school.  The parking lot is adjacent to a wooded lot and their song resonated in the cool of the morning.   The tension of facing a Monday morning was suddenly erased.

Today I am Thankful for.......... Day 3

Today I am thankful for Nature's miracles, big and small.  Sunrise over the bay -  

a prelude to a partial solar eclipse. (Click on the picture for a better view.)

And then there was a lone rose blooming after the killing frost in the neglected garden.

Turning the clock back today made it much easier to get up to view that sunrise today.  There was a bit of a bite in the air, right around 40º but the chance to view the eclipse was too hard to resist.

Later, as HWNSNBP was running the tractor and collecting the leaves he noticed the rose.  Funny thing is we don't remember ever having planted a yellow rose in the garden.  

There are many beautiful surprises this time of year.  Hope you are enjoying some.

Today I am Thankful For....... Day 2

Today (Saturday) I am thankful for friends.  Our Table 7 crew (minus 2) met for our annual fall dinner at Mud City.   We left early in the day for Barnegat and once we were there HWNSNBP took full advantage of the beautiful autumn day and did some surf fishing while I did a little shopping with my friend J.

I had mixed up a batch of pumpkin fudge on Saturday night and quickly put together the batter for some chocolate molasses cookies before we left B-burg in the morning.  I've been having a problem with the temperature in our oven here since we moved it back into the kitchen after we did the floor, so I took advantage of having an oven in Barnegat to bake the cookies without fussing about them so much.  Some fudge and cookies would be our contribution to the after dinner get together.

As I was baking the cookies I was running from the front to the back trying to see where the best view of the sunset would be.  In the summer months it is perfectly viewed from the back porch, but as we near the winter months, the sun sets almost behind the end of the building making it almost impossible to see unless you hang out the back window..... which I did.  

The time spent before, during and after dinner (+ two) with our friends is priceless.  Even though the same stories are shared, laughter is the background music to our get-togethers.  There's always some little detail of something that happened a good 30 years ago now that keeps the ball rolling.  

I think somehow reliving the youthful days of our past over and over is keeping us young in our minds and hearts though our bodies may be betraying us.  

Today I am Thankful For...... Day 1

Today I am thankful for electricity.  A year ago we were without power and did not know at the time that we would be for 12 days.  Today a storm went through NJ and there are areas that lost power and are expected to be without into the weekend.  I am so thankful that our area was spared. I still have my 3 rocks under the bed in our room that remind me (sometimes painfully if I accidentally kick one getting in bed) of the measures that we went to to try to stay warm. 

We've talked about getting a whole-house generator but we haven't moved forward with that yet. There have been other projects throughout this year.  Hopefully we're not tempting fate and can this done in the near future.  

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Halloween

Birthday and the Witches Tea with Pumpkins

My friend L had a birthday this past week and  I tried to use some fall colors in her card.  Pretty Petites and French Foliage were the stamp sets I used along with the hexagon punch and some DSP.  

L and J and I went to the "Witches Tea" at Teaberry's.  We were supposed to go to this last year but the hurricane put the kabosh on that.  The tea room was decorated to the nines in Halloween regalia and most of the participants came dressed as witches.  This was our favor - a rosette ornament used as a napkin ring.  Below was the menu for the evening and you can catch a glimpse of the spiderweb-lace tablecloths that wer on the tables.

I took pictures of our food and I won't bore you with them, but I will tell you that it was delicious. A four-course meal that included a bowl of award-winning soup, a tangy fall salad, my choice of braised spareribs with garlic mashed potatoes, carrot coins, and red cabbage and a final course of pumpkin mousse.  Of course we each had our own pot of tea and over 100 varieties to choose from.  

This owl was in the ladies room.  I wish I could have taken more pictures of the decorations in the main rooms but the light was very low and the seating was sold out.  We were entertained by a lovely witch who told us all about the history of witchcraft in her storyteller way.  

If you walked into the tearoom you really would have thought that it was a meeting of witches. Almost everyone had on black and some sort of witches hat.  

While not exactly a witches pointed hat, this was the hat that I wore.  I picked up this little felt top hat when we were in Delaware visiting Rachel earlier this month and I knew that I wanted to make a hat for Halloween out of it.  I really had hoped to find a pointed hat that size, but it was not to be. I had some fabric from the quilt show (oops, I don't think I posted about that yet), and some beads and fall picks that I gathered along the way and put this together.  

There are hair clips sewed to the brim underneath that I used to pin it to my head.  That white pumpkin is smaller than an adult head just to give you an idea of the size of the hat.  I think I mentioned that I had plans for the pumpkin but it wasn't to use it as a hat holder, though this did work out for the photo and looks pretty cool on the kitchen table.  

I've had a run with fabric projects this fall that I've been trying to complete along with some other things that I've been working on.  These pumpkins below are the easiest pumpkins that I've ever done.  I found the tutorial here.  I opted to use just three strands of jute and found that taking a longer running stitch around the yo-yo made it go faster and didn't leave such a big opening for me.

I had these fat quarters on hand down at the condo and thought it would be okay to make some non-traditional fall pumpkins out of them.  I pulled plates and bowls out of the cabinets to use as patterns for the circles so you see a variety of sizes.  

I'll have to get a better picture of the basket that I used for the picture.  It was a project that I had asked HWNSNBP to do for me - a  wood and wire trug to gather produce from the garden.   I didn't get a chance to use it for that this summer since we let the garden get away from us this year. There's always next year.  

I have so many things on my to-do list that I wanted to get done for Halloween but I've got a stinking cold that's knocked me for a loop.  I was going to bake cookies, try making pumpkin marshmallows and throw together some pumpkin fudge, but I don't want to spread my germs around.  It's frustrating when you stay home sick and can't get to do the things you would really like to take time off for.  

Nature Along the Way

A quick stop at Marlboro Farm Market in Bridgeton last Saturday.  Winesaps and mini pumpkins to go.

Blue cedar berries from the grounds at the East Point Lighthouse.

A very large hawk atop the dead tress along the road to and from East Point.

Zinnia from the front yard of the lighthouse at Hereford Inlet.  

And the many different colors of lantana that they have growing there.

This pyracantha bush is just outside the doorway to the Barnegat Light Museum.  It is a beauty.

And more cedar berries on the grounds of Barnegat Light.

Lighthouse Challenge 2013....Almost

Last weekend was the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey.  I've lost track of the number of years that we've done this, but I think it's our 11th year and the first time we started but didn't finish.  We got an early start on Saturday morning but had to make a stop on the way to the first lighthouse that took longer than we expected which put us behind schedule to begin with.  

Below you will see Tinicum Lighthouse.  I haven't seen this light at night, but the information on it says the light is red.  It is a Rear Range Lighthouse that is still used in helping navigation on the Delaware River.  Not all lighthouses are on our ocean coast.  

The next stop was Finn's Point.  This lighthouse is no longer active as a navigational tool.

East Point below, is to me, one of the most picturesque although I had a bit of difficulty getting a clear picture from the road as my camera kept wanting to focus on the grasses that were blowing in the wind.

The information on this lighthouse says that it is the most remotely located one and that is true.  It takes the longest to get to and from there. It still guides those who sail this portion of the Delaware.

As we traveled on to Cape May it began to drizzle and continued for much of the rest of the day.  It was at this point that we decided that we would eliminate the Life Saving Station stops and the lighthouse in Absecon to avoid going through busy Atlantic City in the rain.

So from Cape May we headed northward to Hereford Inlet in North Wildwood.  Another of my favorites because of the surrounding garden.  But we didn't venture into the garden that day because of the rain.

Between Hereford and Tuckerton, with HWNSNBP at the wheel, I was able to secure a little nap.  I usually try to stay awake during this journey to enjoy the fall foliage, but with the cloud cover I gave in to a little shut eye.  Thank goodness that HWNSNBP doesn't mind driving.

There was something else going on at the Tuckerton Seaport that I think might have had something to do with Breast Cancer Awareness, but we never did find out exactly what it was before we left.  

Our next goal was to get to Old Barney, a familiar sight if you follow.  Surprisingly the water in the channel alongside the lighthouse was relatively calm and we only saw one diving bird in the area of which I didn't get a good enough picture to share.

You can see all the cloud cover below.  

On Sunday morning, though the weather was much better and the sun was shining, we decided to forego finishing the last three visits that would have taken us most of the day.  We figured that since we had skipped a lighthouse and more the day before that the challenge wouldn't be a complete one anyway and we could take advantage of the beautiful weather and gets some things done around the house.  

We do seem to have a never-ending supply of leaves to gather, and HWNSNBP got to some of that.  The two of us even managed to get over to the school to clean up and clean out the beds that we had planted there.  I picked what I could of the zinnias for a bouquet to take to work on Monday knowing that this past week would bring us a frost that would take them.... that was a good decision.  I got to enjoy them all week long on my counter and brought home the remnants this weekend.