Still Dreaming...

Still dreaming of potting sheds/greenhouses.

St. Fiacre

I love my St. Fiacre statue. My mom and dad bought him in Harrisburg PA. and brought him home to me. he has been in several different places in my backyard. He was under my deck surrounded by hostas. He was next to the water spigot but i was afraid he would get knocked down. He was placed next to a lovely raspberry bush but the bush turned mutant and is now taking over. I moved him next to my Scottish Broom plant but he just seemed pushed to the side and kind of forlorn.

So my new goal is to find a nice spot for him in my garden and make a little shrine for him. Kind of a meditative spot for me. Hopefully we will have nice weather on Wednesday and Thursday because that is the next time I will be able to work in my garden.

Me and My Baby

Today was a lovely day. I was able to spend the whole day with my daughter, Sara Jane. We did a lot of running around, nothing too strenuous...and a lot of talking.

I love spending those kinds of days with her. I love it when my mom is home and I get to spend those kinds of days with her also.

Now I am looking forward to tonight. We are having a sleepover. Watching TV and sacking out on futons in her room. It is nice to feel wanted and loved!

FaceBook has been a wonderfu tool for finding and keeping in touch with people from my past. I have found people I went to college, highschool, even elementary school with. They have found me also.

It is a nice way to keep in touch. Light, and if you want to get deeper there is messsaging. An easy way to get the word out if you want to get together.

A friend of mine, Stephanie, is living in Pittsburgh and decided to come to NJ for the long weekend. She stayed with another friend, Janine.

Through our connection with FaceBook a group of us decided to get together at a local pizza place that we all used to go to through our lives.

We has a great time going over the old days. We had a lot of laughs and some tears. Most imprtntly we decided that we are not going to let another 30 years pass us by before we get together again.

Thanks for the memories girls.

Frat House Move AKA My Day in Hell

I would help my friend Linda with anything. She has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion and was instrumental in helping me come back from many a bad situation.

She asked if it would be possible for me to help her move her son out of his frat house and into another house that a bunch of brothers are renting. Of course I said yes - she would do the same for me and more.

So I picked her up this morning and we headed to Rutgers. We parked in front of the frat. Walking up to the front door I noticed that it made Animal House look good.

We walked in and were greeted by a very nice bunch of boys. Linda introduced herself as "Moose's Mom".

The house had a very original odor to it. I would say the scent of stale beer, stinky cigars, rampant body odor, axe and a hint of urine was the exact smell.

We walked up four flights of stairs to the attic room that her son shared with two other guys. How do I describe this attic room? I don't want to sound horrible but Anne Frank would have run into the arms of the Germans rather than spend 5 minutes in this room. I am not exaggerating.

We spent the next four hours moving, a double mattress, boxspring, desk, chair, nightstand, bedding, clothing, assorted liquors, toiletries, mysterious backpacks and boxes that there as no way on God's green earth we were looking into. We made four trips in my car, countless times up and down four flights of stairs and then up and down three flights in the new house. The weather was a refreshing 95 degrees with almost 100 % humidity (it rained on my way home). For those of you who are so unlucky to have never experienced a summer day in NJ - it is comparable to a pleasant day in ..well....Hell.

By the time we were finished I had sweat through all of my clothing, my face was a shade of red I have never seen occuring naturally and I was seeing double.

When we hit Chilli's at 3pm I actually fell into the booth (so did Linda and she had to go to an Award's Ceremony at work from 6 to 10pm tonight). I drank two diet cokes in about 15 minutes and scarfed down my hamburger without breathing.

I actually didn't mind the traffic trying to leave New Brunswick because it just meant extra time in the air conditioned car. Linda and I did have a fun time - we do with anything we do together.

I walked into my house, grunted hello to my daughter, and took a shower (I bagged my clothes for bio hazardous disposal).

I am laying on my couch in the nice air conditioned house WITH a fan also on. If I don't have to move until tomorrow morning I will be a very happy person. Maybe I will move to get some sherbert or maybe if I yell loud enough and long enough someone else will get it for me.

Woman vs. Squirrel

That's it. It is war. These flipping squirrels have eaten my garbage cans, my lawn furniture, Halloween pumpkins, you name it. but I am now drawing the line. They have gone too far.

What, you may ask , have these furry rodents done to push me over the edge? They are digging in my garden. In my plants. My little plants that I have nurtured from seed.

I went to my local garden shop (bear Creek Herbary) they suggested grating Irish Spring soap around my plants or putting cotton balls soaked in mint essential oil around the base of the plants.

I looked online and red about spraying products made of fox urine, or cayenne pepper or even hot sauce around the base of the plants.

I posed the question on Mary Jane's Farmgirl chatroom and got some of the same answers, mothballs, a big dog...

I am starting to think a BB gun might be the best way to go.

Kidding.

Maybe.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is so much more than barbecues, beaches and a 3 (or sometimes 4) day weekend. Memorial Day is much more than the unofficial start to summer. On Memorial Day we should pause for a good long time and reflect on the many men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can continue to live the way that we do.

When I woke up this morning it was to the sound of rain. My first thought was "Too bad for the outdoor parties today". Then I stopped myself. Too many families today are not celebrating the beginning of summer. Too many families today are mourning the loss of a loved one. Someone who died far too young. Someone who gave their today for our tomorrow.

Memorial Day should be the day when we stop, think and thank all of those who have given their lives for our freedom.

Thank you.