September 2018

Here it is, September 8th and it's cold and damp. It's been a very strange summer weather wise - unusually wet.  I haven't been posting because we aren't doing much. And I thought the other day, well, not doing much can be interesting, too.

We spent the majority of our summer here at the Park house - and we did take day trips over to do some maintenance on the outside of the Lake house. We also stayed over for several days several times. Our major accomplishment was the landscaping.

The front flower bed as you turn into the driveway had been "done" last fall with the spreading ground cover removed and new, small plant put in. This work was done by the local landscaper. 

Some of the shrubs were kept. The tall shrub by the light was just a baby when we planted it back around 2007

The stones you see were covered by mulch and debris. They now add to the landscape

We brought the little pagoda in the middle of the garden when we moved up here full time. 

The evergreens in the garden and by the front steps were also put in after we moved in full time. Several years we put lights on the 2 by the front stairs for Christmas.

Several plants didn't make it over the winter and the landscaper  said they would be replaced. So we decided to focus on first cleaning the beds up from fall/winter weeds and leaves and remove the dead ground cover in the second area on the other side of the front stairs. We purchased some small spreading ground cover and evergreens and when we attempted to clean out the dead shrubs, decided the job was too difficult for us to deal with. So we again had the landscaper clear the bed and plant the evergreen shrubs we had purchased. They did that at the same time they replaced the dead shrubs. That made a major impact - that entire side looks great!  We tackled the raking on the other side of the driveway in two visits. B had 2 tarps that we used to rake the leaves into and then drag them to the back to dump over the edge of the driveway. We consider this returning our leaves to the woods. 😉  So we are enjoying driving into the driveway and seeing a nicely landscaped area. We had purchased LOTS of mulch this year and had about 30 bags to put down at the Lake.  (and now I have to take pictures to show you how nice things look)

The entrance to the house looks considerable better! 


Don't forget to sign up for automatically receiving new posts. Since I have no set schedule, this saves you checking the site as the post just appears as an email. 

Honey and Hazel

Here is a short movie of Honey and Hazel.

The first time they met.

I'm not sure just how I got this to work - it involved reducing the size of the video and renaming it. And it took two days of trying and rethinking!

Does this picture upload?

My video didn’t upload. Will my picture?

Ok. Picture works so I guess it’s not me.

Raining today and Honey has been busy supervising me fix supper. Now it’s nap time.

May brings flowers and green grass

After a long winter that lasted forever, spring has arrived! This week has been rainy but hey, who could complain as it was NOT snow!

Right now the windows are open and the sound of lawn mowers fills the air. 

We had winds and rain this week but missed any damage. The sky certainly looked ominous as dark clouds moved in. Honey does not like thunder storms and she was shaking before we heard any thunder. Windows were shut and lawn chairs stacked against the house. We were lucky that we missed the worse winds.

The sky looked menacing 

On a more cheerful note, I purchased a robot vacuum cleaner at Sam's Saturday during their super sale. It was $100 off their normal price and with the amount of dog hair and dirt we have, it was worth a try. After reading the directions and charging the machine, we gave it a trial run today. We also named it Hazel - remember the TV series back in the 60's staring Shirley Booth as a maid? Well, it seemed like an appropriate name! Today we gave Hazel her first run. I was concerned Honey would bark or chase it but she was very laid back.   I had a video of the first few minutes but for some reason it won't play here. For those of you who know me, I did post the video on my FB page.

Honey was curious but didn't bark or step on it. She checked Hazel out as she went around cleaning but never touched it. Finally Honey went to sleep. Hazel continued to clean. Really cool! When it bumps into an obstacle - the wall, furniture and such, it backs up a bit and continues. It did a great job on the rugs and cleaning the tile but missed a few areas. That could have been because the breakfast room chairs were in the way. Hazel got hung up a few times - I was constantly checking on her and most of the time she was busy in another room  I just picked her up and plopped her down and on she went. I'd say she was a success as the floors look good. Dog hair and dirt is gone.  I'm so glad Hazel came to work for us!

Can you believe....we have SNOW again!

After several posts about the continuing snow and cold temperatures, I was anticipating posting about spring. However, that hasn't happened as we are still having SNOW!!  Right now, as I sit in my office and look out the window, big fat flakes are falling. We got snow overnight but it was barely visible on the grass. This morning's news showed school delays for districts north of us including Wallenpaupack. I believe it was more icy than snowy.

We are ready for spring! Last year we found a mulch for the front gardens that not only was reasonably priced but didn't blow away. This year it was again on sale from Home Depot so B really loaded the SUV up several times. Worked out well as we would go to breakfast (yea!) and then stop off at the store and load up. All told we brought 75 bags home. And last weekend, when we had that short warm spell, we cleaned out the bed next to the porch and put down several bags. It's a two step process as there are leaves and such that need to be cleaned out before fresh mulch goes down. And that's not something we intend to do in the snow! So we are looking forward to working on this project soon.

This is the pile of mulch at HD.  We weren't the only ones loading up!

A short trip to the Lake

Yesterday, Tuesday March 6th, we took a ride over to the Lake house. We generally try to get over once a week. As we drove up the driveway we were dismayed at the damage to our shrubs. The snow was so heavy that it had bent many of the bushes down. So the first thing we did was hop out of the car and shook trees, evergreens and bushes to release the branches from being held down by the snow.  That work removed the snow and we then turned our attention to the decks. Unfortunately several limbs had come down onto the front deck. The good news is that the deck itself was fine.  

We also found out that the electricity to our little group of houses had been off for two days! Fortunately we have a generator - unfortunately it ran for two days! 

 I took some pictures of the storm's "work" before we went into the house. After checking out the house carefully and seeing no problems there, we went home. 

The front deck got several branches - from both the tree to the right and a tree in the back left. Both trees appear to be OK and the deck is not damaged

*******

In the front by the driveway this bush that has stickers was bent over. While I'd really not care if the darn thing died, I did kick it to remove some snow. 

*****

Not sure if it was the wind or the weight of the snow that caused this branch to rip off

****

And B went around the upper deck removing the snow from the railings

***

Again, the back of the front deck 

***

And the front of the front deck

*****

And a bush by the upper deck that was weighted down by the snow. It should bounce back!

March snowstorm

It seems that a March storm is one to worry about!  Last year the March snow was bad.....and this year we got another!  We expected snow....and were told around Wednesday it would be a few inches.  And the forecast kept changing and the amounts kept increasing.  The snow started Thursday night and continued through Friday!  And the wind literally howled!  And of course, that resulted in drifting snow!  And this morning, we ventured out to dig out....and after one pass of the driveway came in.  I took a lot of pictures.....  words can’t adequately describe the storm

We have these tall evergreens next to the patio and the wind was whipping around them and they were really bending over. So I went out with the broom and beat them to remove snow. 

The patio 

Looking out over the patio through a snowy window 

***

The deck box on the patio. This was Friday 3/2 and shows 12 inches.  More snow followed

***

And the deck on Friday that I often show

***

And this is what we saw this morning Saturday 3/3

***

As you can see, we got more snow overnight!!!!

***

And B got out the BIG snow blower and attacked the driveway!!

***

And after one pass up and back, we took a break

***

Well, the plows cleared the street - and now we have a rather high pile in front of the driveway!

Poor Honey - tired out from supervising all our work! 

Changing Weather

February has been crazy - we went from snow to very cold weather and then a record breaking warm up! Honey and I went from skating on the ice buildup out back when she went for her walks to sloppy mud that we both tracked into the house.

The warm weather the past several days was incredible! We had temperatures in in the upper 60s and windows were open. It was so nice to go out without all the winter layers. We were out and about to the Lake and shopping. We did take my car but the trunk was full on the way back from the Lake so we didn't put the top down. And then, as forecast, the rain came. This morning it was raining rather steady but the temperatures were above freezing. Temperatures were supposed to drop this afternoon so we had put my car back in the garage. We did go to breakfast but took the SUV.

I've been moving things around and taking winter things to the downstairs storage. We had a Home Goods store open up at the mall and we made a trip there earlier this week for some "stuff". Really like the store and we found several things we both liked. Hopefully I'll get pictures taken to put up on the blog.

I did make a pineapple cheesecake the other day. B had requested it when I said I was making cheese cake. Since you use an 8 X 8 pan the quantity good for the two of us. We finished it off last night.

This "small" Kitchen Aid mixer was purchased from QVC due to it's size. It's smaller than the "regular" size Kitchen Aid and easier to pick up and move about. The large one takes up too much room in the kitchen, so I store it downstairs. And it's heavy. This one is smaller and therefore lighter. And the recipe fit with no worry of overflow.

This was taken on an angle and the pan does not look like it's 8 X 8 - but it was!

I added 10  minutes to the cooking time as it was too jiggly. The recipe calls for 2 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 1 8 oz package of cream cheese, and a can of well drained crushed pineapple. Although it was firmer, it was soupy when cut. Still tasted good! 

Eagles, Snow and Pictures

What a busy and exciting weekend! We went to Sam's Saturday and came across a set of Emeril pots and pans that I really liked. I spent the rest of the day and part of Sunday rearranging kitchen storage to make room for the new, cleaning out stuff and washing cabinets. Most of the new things went in the cabinets along with several of the "older" things I couldn't do without.  I've also got a pile of things to share, a few to trash and some to take to the Lake. Then several pans go down to storage as I'm not sure I will use them....but.....  

Then, of course, there was the Super Bowl....and super it was!!  As former South Jersey residents we are Eagle's fans! And boy, did they fly. What a good game! YEA Eagles!!!

And we got more snow Saturday afternoon - an inch or so - and expected to again get more on Sunday. We dithered about going out to breakfast Sunday as the forecast said snow late morning but decided to wait as the car needed to be cleaned as well as the driveway. And we were really glad we didn't go because the cloudy skies gave way to a very fine snow mid morning that turned to a sleety mess due to warming temperatures (32) by afternoon. We got another couple of inches by evening. And this morning, when Honey and I went for our first of many walks, the temperatures had dropped and the snow turned crunchy. 

The morning sky was lovely with large clouds - some that were dark. The sun was peeping through and now, at 10:30 am, the sun is shining and the clouds are white.

The sun was behind me as I took this picture. 

Honey does not walk in a straight line. We meander all over as she checks out all the smells.

She criss-crosses her steps and generally goes to the back of the property. Here our tracks show we were checking out something - I think the rabbits that "visit" us. 

Uploading pictures from my new iPhone

Technology is crazy, and at times confusing!

I want to be able to upload pictures from my phone to Blogger. I find that I usually have my phone when I see something I want to capture. The camera does not stay with me - the phone does. So it appears that using Google pictures is the answer - but I'm not sure. So, I'll play around with this a bit.

Last week we had SNOW. And so I took some pictures. And when I clicked on the photo icon and chose "from phone" All the pictures on my phone were available. I chose and they appeared below! Cool!

Honey and I were out and about - she uses this back area at the edge of our property. She is always on the leash

And the deck off the breakfast area is a great place for her to explore

This tree, which can be seen from the front window, is lovely both in summer with its beautiful leaves and in winter with a mantle of snow

And my "here is how much snow we got" measure - the table on the back deck.

So I feel accomplished that I figured this out - not hard! I'm not sure the limit on how many pictures before there is a charge. I really don't want to use Google as a storage place. 

And as for the snow.......it's almost all melted. The warm up started Sunday and yesterday the back yard was covered in one big puddle with ice on the ground. This made walking rather hazardous and while Honey hated the water, I felt that I was skating! This morning the rain and continuing warm weather melted most of the ground ice and walking is easier for both of us and the puddles are now dissipating into the ground.

If you are reading this post and have my email, please let me know what you think! And remember, you can sign up (up at the top of the post) to receive posts automatically (but not immediately) when ever I post. I'm really going to attempt to post much more often.

New Year - New Goal

One of my goals this new year is to use the technology that I have! The current phones, computers, and tablets have changed and integrated with each other to be virtually seamless in their use. And while I do consider myself knowledgable, I must admit I’ve not kept up. 

We currently live in an Apple world! Yea, Apple!  I had Apple computers back in the day - and found them easy to use. Sure there was a learning curve, but no DOS to use - just pictures (icons). As my job changed from working with students and teachers to the business end of the district, the need to switch from Mac to PC ruled the day. So, a PC user I became.  But when I retired, and we moved up to the Lake, the idea of switching back to Apple stuff was calling. And the advancing technology with iPads and iPhones as well as computers - well, the lure of seamless movement from one platform to another was what did it. So now I have an iMac that is over 5 years old, an MacBook that is 2, an iPad that is 4 years old and an iPhone that is very new! The demands of a job require you to use all these products seamlessly and constantly. However, that urgent need learn to use everything isn’t as pressing. So I tend to use the easies route. I use the iMac much more than the laptop because I don’t like the track pad rather than a mouse. And I do a lot on the iPad but don’t use the phone much. So, my goal is to better use my technology and to better integrate it’s use. Kinda a fun goal!

And the New Year started off with more cold weather! While we had warm temperatures last week that melted all the snow and created big puddles in the back that Honey hated, it’s back to cold with this morning’s temperature 7.And we did get snow!  It started Tuesday and became heavier overnight and we awoke to about 5 inches. So we are again going to snow blow the driveway. The good news is warm temperatures are expected by the weekend so what we don’t blow will melt rather than freeze. I’ve been taking pictures and hope to post them soon.

The weather has been warmish up to now - most days in the 40s or even 50s. We did get a dusting of snow back on November 7th. 

I've been using my phone to take pictures as I keep it in my back jean's pocket and therefore, always have it. And I quickly took the snow picture before it melted!


In late October, I defrosted the freezer - a major task since it was desperately needed. Everything needed to be moved out of the freezer - which required weather that was moderate - not warm so stuff wouldn't melt but not so cold that I would freeze while working in the garage  I remember having a large chest type freezer back in our Somerdale house and again, in the Voorhees house. Both were in the garage for easy access. I had "areas" for different types of food - chicken, pork, veggies and such. It made locating things easier. Chest freezers are deep and stuff can easily get lost. At the Lake I had an upright freezer and stuff was organized by shelves rather than sections. This freezer didn't need defrosting! A nice luxury. When we bought this house I got a large chest freezer with sliding baskets. And again, organized by areas. And I finally got it defrosted and re-organized. 

Before with frost really building up!

And after all cleaned out!

Last year I purchased a Cricut cutting machine. And after a lot of reading, trial and error, reading FB group posts and watching lots of U-Tube posts, I ventured into paper crafting. And below are two of the projects.

These are candy huggers - little characters with long arms that wrap around a piece of candy. They are layered and I enjoyed making them!

Another thing I'm doing is making cards. This witch is three layers that are cut out on the machine and then glued. 

While I enjoy crafting, my creative ability is limited. However, this is an Internet based craft that enables files to be chosen, modified and made. I'm really enjoying playing with this - and am now working on some Christmas cards. 

Technology Problems

Anticipating the onset of rain, we headed out this morning to breakfast and then Sam's. We had only intended to check out one thing.....naturally we found several things that we needed. They were having a sale and with Thanksgiving closing in on us, the "deal" on stuffing was too good to pass up. Of course, that wasn't all we got.

Every time I think about posting, I wonder what to post about. Quite frankly, our lives are rather mundane, not much exciting happens and we do the same old, same old. But when I think about what we have been doing, I believe it might still be interesting even if it isn't exciting. 

We have been having technology woes lately!  We got a new TV to put in the master bedroom with the intention of moving the TV we had to another room. We have Comcast cable, Internet and phone. We had gone with them after having an ongoing frustrating time with ????  Hooking up the new TV should be simple - unplug and unhook the current one, and then plug in the new one. Not so simple.....  The TV turned on and needed to be set up. First the directions suggested we use an app to set up and use the TV. After checking that out (could not find it on the Apple store site) we opted to simply set the TV up using it's remote. Rather straight forward and only needed information on our Internet password. But then we could not get the TV to "talk" to the cable box - and we were positive all wires were correct. Long story short, we called Comcast and B had a lovely conversation with the numerous people he talked to who made all kinds of requests for us to do. However, none worked. (this happened yesterday). They said they would "ping" us in a short while and then it should work...it didn't. We chose to wait until today. B again called and got a different person who had him do some of the same things but one new thing (pushing a different button on the TV remote) and we got a picture! YEA....  however sound was not controlled by the cable remote but could be controlled by the TV remote. After asking him to do several more things, it was suggested that we take the cable remote to the local store and get a new one. That's on tomorrow's to do list. The important thing is we have TV.  Hopefully, when we move the old TV and hook it up, it will go smoothly.

I'll let you know....

September 8 2017

I find that when I think about posting I wonder what to say. Which, for those of you that know me, is funny because I'm not usually at a loss for words. But really, same old, same old!  However, I also find that going back and reading what I've posted in the past reminds me of the interesting and enjoyable things I've done. 

The weather has been unusually cool. The trees are starting to drop leaves and my tomato plant finally bit the dust having taken quite a long time to bud a measly 3 tomatoes - then it got bumped when Honey took off around the planter and I crashed into it bending the tomato cage. So yesterday I cut it down and pulled the roots out. The patio looks much better!

It was raining off and on all day. B was busy doing stuff in his office and working on the iPad. I started to bring out the fall decorations - why fight the weather? Fall wreaths are up and I washed towels and table cloths that were stored downstairs. We have a lovely LARGE storage area at the bottom of the lower level steps. The rest of the lower level is carpeted and there is a large TV and very comfortable sofa that I enjoy using at night when I binge on Netflix. But off to the side is a huge space that we have set up for storage. And as well as shelving, I store seasonal things in totes.  I also vacuumed the tile floors on the main level and the steps going down to the lower level. Honey takes her numerous walks out back using the slider that open onto the back yard and then tracks dirt up the stairs. I change shoes so my outside shoes rarely go beyond the shoe/boot tray. 

While our weather has been cool, we are fortunate that we are not dealing with hurricanes and earthquakes!  I follow several FaceBook groups that deal with crafting and one of the major topics has been how those living first in Texas and now in Florida are preparing for the terrible weather. We count our blessings.

Summer Cleaning

We have been enjoying outdoor living over the past month - warm but not too hot temperatures have encouraged us to use the deck for morning coffee and paper reading. I've planted flowers in containers on both the deck, front porch and patio while B has been feeding the lawn and shrubs. Some outside furniture from the Lake house was brought over in the early spring. 

After washing a few outside windows, we noticed not only how much the windows needed cleaning but also how dirty the front brick was. The sidewalks, front porch and back patio also needed cleaning. Having had success with having the roof washed, B suggested we again contact Apex Soft Wash. A representative came out and we ordered a home exterior soft wash that included the entire house, front walks and back patio. They came this week and we are amazed at the difference! And of course, I was out with the camera taking pictures.

All the furniture had to be moved off the patio along with the potted plants

~~~~

The two deck boxes were emptied and moved

~~~

And a very dirty patio was left

~~~

They first sprayed the cleaner on the house including the windows. The spray was "soft" enough that spraying the windows presented no problem.

~~~

Honey supervised from the master bedroom window

~~~

The spray reached the top and got all the windows

~~~

The brick on the front was done

~~~

And the front porch as well as the front walks

~~~

Here they are using a round scrubber to clean the back patio - this was also used on the front patio and sidewalks.

An amazing difference!!!

We are so happy with the results! The lawn guys will be trimming the overgrown shrubs within the next few weeks. This summer we are looking forward to enjoying outdoor living at our Park house. 

Rainy Memorial Day 2017

As many of you are experiencing, our weather is wonky! We had 90 degree temperatures for two days earlier in May and this past week has been cool....and today we again have rain! Thankfully the past two days were partly sunny and the temperatures did get into the 60s.

Yesterday I went out and cut some plants - the rhododendrons are in bloom and one of the perennials is flowering. I also cut a few twigs off the shrubs to fill in and ended up with several nice displays that I've posted below.

One of the things I like about this kitchen is the small island. And lately I've been trying to use it as a display area. The reddish "flower" is from our rhododendrons and the fill is shrubs. We have a red maple tree in the front that is just lovely - and one or two branches are sticking out. So, I liberated them for this display. This shot is toward the breakfast area.

~~~~~

Same bouquet other side of the island shot toward stairs to the lower level (the door is closed) and the dining room. See the picture on the wall? A close up from the Lake house. I've always liked to take flower pictures.

~~~~~

To the left of the sink is a long stretch of counter topped by a "shelf" that is wide enough to use as a display area or a holding spot. This bouquet has some rhododendrons and a flower branch from the perennial planted two years ago. Anyone know what that is? The yellow and red go well together.

~~~~

And to the left of the vase above, is the final rhododendron flowers. You get a better view of the breakfast area. 

We are thankful to those who served and enabled us to enjoy this day.