S'mores

So my mom and dad have come back from Maine and I am very happy to have them back in NJ. Yesterday was such a yucky overcast day and I really thought it was going to rain in the evening. But it didn't. Which was great for me.

My mom and dad came over. Sara Jane and i had made a fire in the chimnea and we got all of our s'mores stuff ready to go. We had these great flat square marshmallows for toasting. Because they were flat it made it easier to squash them in the graham cracker. We had graham crackers and , of course, Hershey's chocolate bars.

The s'mores were great!

Mail Art for June

Today started off as a not so nice weather day. Sara Jane and I woke up early to go to the flea market at Allaire State Park. We tried to go yesterday but it was cancelled. This morning I got smart and called the number for weather closing before we left for the park.

It was a big disappointment. Only 20 vendors showed up, probably because of the soggy field, and what they had was junk. Really crummy junk. Next weekend Sara Jane and I are going to try to head out to some garage sales and see if we can do any better.

When I came home it was still overcast and I decided to head to the craft room. I make Mail Art for the MJF forum and I volunteered to do two pieces this month. It was nice to sit down nd ust start working. I completed both pieces(they go out in tomorrow's mail) and decided to straighten up. An hour later I was very happy sitting in my neat craft room. I even found some things that I forgot I had!

The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet

I am so excited. I have been looking all over for a hard cover older version of Eleanor Cameron's book "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet." Finally I founf an old library copy on sale on E-Bay. It finally came in the mail.

I remember getting this book out of the library at St. Leo's when I was in 4th grade. I remember the sisters that ran the library and how they got to stand behind the big librarian desk and write our names on the card catalogue and stamp the day the book was due on the card.

That library was small and beautiful. All the book shelves and tables were a dark wood and they gleamed and smelled like lemon polish. It was usually the afternoon when we were able to go to the library, so the sun shone in the windows and made it cozy warm.

I remember taking out this book several times. It was wonderful to open the pages and lose myself in that journey to the Mushroom Planet.

Knock Out Roses

These are the red Knock Out roses that my mom bought for me last year. In this picture are two bushes. They are beautiful. I love their color. It is like a POP of happiness in my backyard!

I liked them so much that this year I bought two pink Knock Out rose bushes for the front yard next to my mail box. I had hosta planted there and had to relocate them. Some of the hosta went into three planters on my front step, some filled in some gaps in my front bed and the rest I planted along the side of the house. They look good.

A dream of mine would be to have a split rail fence along the front of my yard and all along that fence there would be Knock Out roses. All different colors - reds, pinks, corals, white - you name it - I would love to plant them.

*Sigh* Maybe someday...

I love these fiesta ware bowls. My mom gave them to me a few years back. They were her mom's from when she was married. I guess they are vintage. I used to put them on a shelf just to look at them. But for the last year I have been using them to cook. I love to think of how many different meals and treats were made using these bowls!

Island Beach State Park

Thank God we put the air on last might. Today my husband's car thermometer hit 109. yuck. Sara Jane and I had a few errands to run this morning and then I told her we were going to drive down Route 35 south to see where it ended up.

The trip took us about an hour and we had fun.We had a good time going slowly and looking at sights that we had forgotten or never seen.

As we drove through Mantoloking and Ortley Beach, Sara Jane made the comment that they needed to "grass it up". I pointed out to her that the soil was actually sand here and "grassing it up" could become a very expensive venture.

We had several "close calls" navigating the circles. Mostly bennies who had no idea what the heck a circle was. It was funny. We saw lots and lots of inns, pubs and ice cream parlors. When we finally came to the end of Route 35 we were at Island beach State Park.

Still Dreaming...

Still dreaming of potting sheds/greenhouses.