12 Days Old

Ta da! Here are my tomato plants after 12 days. I planted 20 seeds and presently have 19 plants which equals 95% germination. The challenging part will be keeping my plants happy til planting time.

This morning I planted a row of radish seeds before it began raining. My seed package says to harvest in 23 days. That will be April 23rd. We'll see.

As a Master Gardener I have answered questions on the phone for our helpline. My favorite question was by a caller who wanted to know if it was ok to pick her radishes a few days ahead of time.

Medieval Times

Today our family did something very different. We went to Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ where we watched a show with knights, live horses, jousting and flying swords. We did this as we ate our dinner of soup, bread, chicken, spare ribs and potato without utensils, of course. We also cheered for our assigned knight who was the red and yellow knight who did great. If you are observant you will see that our crowns are red and yellow!

Happy 40th Birthday Peter !

Our oldest son is 40 today, and, yes, I remember the day he was born. He was so cute and tiny with a dimple in his chin. Fast forward and here he is a year ago when we visited him and Roxana and took a drive into the desert in Dubai. Presently Peter is in Haiti which we have not visited yet, but we will. We talked to Peter this morning and he's been invited to a party tonight. Not for his birthday but a party. So, Peter, enjoy your day!

A healthy weed

I'd like to be able to identify my weeds. So, I'm beginning with this weed with the tiny white pinkish flowers which is growing throughout my gardens. Does anybody know this weed?

A healthy weed

Colorful Cheerful Pansies

To Rosabelle

Today was a chilly drizzly day but thanks to my dear friend Rosabelle it was a great day. Ro took me out to lunch to celebrate my birthday - birthdays should last at least a week, I say. We had a delicious lunch at Zebus in Red Bank. It was my first time there. They specialize in breads and sandwiches and it just smells so good when you walk through the door. It's always fun to discover a new place to eat.

Red Bank has many interesting shops and we had a great time wandering through a large antique shop. We found a jack-o-lantern there priced at $175 similar to one up in our attic. I just checked ours and see that ours is in better condition except ours is now missing the thin paper of the the eyes and mouth. Sigh. It's probably from the 30's.

But this was not all! On our way home we stopped at a nursery and Ro bought me a pot of colorful cheerful pansies. So today I say thank you, Rosabelle.

Spinach and Tomatoes

It is officially spring! On Monday, March 24, I planted a row of Burpee's Bloomsdale Long-Standing Spinach. Seedlings should emerge in 7-14 days and in 48 days it should be harvest time. Meanwhile, inside, I am starting Ramapo tomato plants from seed. This is something new for me. I usually buy some plants and find volunteer tomatoes popping up. These volunteers are usually cherry tomatoes.

The Ramapo is a New Jersey tomato developed by Rutgers in 1968 known for it's exceptional flavor. The seeds have not been sold for a number of years so this is the tomoato of the year for Jersey home gardeners. I started my seeds March 19th. Most have sprouted in the last two days. I have hight hopes!

St. Patricks Day

I feel as happy as Snoopy in this picture because I posted this photo all by myself! However, I have been under the weather with some sort of flu since last Thursday. Cough and fever - sigh. But I'm on the mend.

I did get out today, however, to plant my pea seeds. Temperature was in the 50's and sunny. I read in Organic Gardening that if you soaked your seeds in water with a small amount of Vit C you would have healthier improved plants. March 17 is a traditional day to try to get the seeds in the ground if the ground can be worked. No poblem here. I'll keep you posted on my new improved peas!

Blogging Family

Now I have a family of bloggers to keep up with. Kristen left a comment on my previous post on plumbing woes. She suggested I go to full-immersion blog. I thought maybe she had searched for a blog about plumbing disasters like a flood. I go to it and I see my son's face as he's about to climb onto the top of the cliff. He's wearing his yellow safety helmet! I just had to laugh. I had no idea he was even thinking about doing a blog. His photos will be hard to match! So daughter had her blog first, Bill or Handyman started just before me. Kristen got going and even 2 grandchildren have private blogs which I've been invited to read. It is fun. So if anyone out there is considering a blog I say GO FOR IT!!

Plumbing Woes

You never know what each new day will bring. Today was cool and windy but it was sunny and Bill and I wanted to get out and look for some signs of spring. We walked around the pond at Holmdel Park and then walked further. There is a historic farm at this park and today they had a blacksmith present who we enjoyed watching. In fact he made a nail for me. Until around the 1850's that's how nails were made by blacksmiths. They were very expensive and I could see why. Then in about 5 years time almost all the nails in this country were manufactured. Well, this was the pleasant part of our day.

After we got home Bill noticed a sewage backup in our cellar sink and toilet. This has happened three times in the ten years that we've lived in this house and we almost paid $11,000 last summer to replace our sewer pipes which are almost a 100 years old, before realizing there were other options to try and other companies that charged less. So we spent our afternoon waiting for Rotor Rooter to arrive. Damon who we had not met before was truly as good as they get. We watched him work and it's not easy work. He got some tree roots out and then went back in again with a wider brush to get everything as clean as possible. He was able to go 125 feet. He spent almost two hours and charged us for one and he really had a good sense of humor. And believe me we felt anything but humorous when we called for help. So this was our afternoon entertainment!

And, no, sadly this is not the end of this story. Damon will talk with his boss and we can decide what further action to take.

A Funeral

Well, I mustn't fall behind! Friday evening Bill and I went to the wake for Nick Martucci - a really wonderful guy who always made you feel so welcomed and glad to be with. His wife, Ann, is an old friend of mine. Before they moved I used to pick Ann up to go to prayer meetings every week. Saturday we attended the funeral Mass which was beautiful. These times make you appreciate all those around you whom you love. You don't want to take anyone for granted. May the Lord welcome Nick to His Kingdom and bless and comfort his family.

Poetry Friday

The Poetry Friday Round-up is at The Simple and the Ordinary.

Philip Freneau lived from 1752-1832. He is known as the "poet of the American Revolution." He is buried in my town of Matawan, NJ. Perhaps when Freneau penned these words, wild honeysuckle was growing on the land where our house now stands.

The Wild Honeysuckle

Fair flower, that dost so comely grow,
Hid in this silent, dull retreat
Untouched thy honeyed blossoms blow,
Unseen thy little branches greet;
No roving foot shall crush thee here.
No busy hand provoke a tear.

By Nature's self in white arrayed
She bade thee shun the vulgar eye,
And planted here the guardian shade
And sent soft waters murmuring by;
Thus quietly thy summer goes,
Thy days declining to repose.

From Her Majesty

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Imperial Majesty Anne the Scattered of Under Yockenthwaite Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Part of the reason for a blog is to have fun. Try this. You'll laugh! My daughter, Christine, had this on her blog. Click here: http://www.masquerademaskarts.com/memes/yourtitle.php then click: Get Another Title.

Jury Duty

Today was the big day to present myself at the County Court House at 8:30 a.m. to do my civic duty, jury duty. When I and perhaps 150 prospective jurors were asked to be scanned in, we made a long line down to the front of the large room. There they scanned our jury notice, gave us a booklet about jury duty, our jury badge and a coupon for one free cup of coffee.

When we were all seated we received instructions. Our duty was to be available for 2 days. If we did become part of a jury most trials take 1 to 3 days but some could go on much longer. If we were not chosen for a jury today we probably would be able to leave before 4:30 but then should call the automated phone number to learn whether we would have to come back tomorrow. Pay is $5 a day for the first 3 days and $40 a day for the following days. A 15 minute video about jury duty followed.

Then we waited. There were books and magazines available. I had my own book. After about 15 minutes about 40 people were called by name. It was explained this was all done randomly. Later in the morning small groups of people returned. I imagine they were the rejects. We were told not to feel bad if we were rejected - it meant the system was working. Also we shouldn't feel as if we had wasted our day if we didn't get called. Trials were seheduled but often the parties only settled at the very last moment and if we the potential jurors weren't there the system wouldn't work. So I sat and read my book and drank my free coffee. Nothing happened. At 12:15 we were thanked and told we could leave and did not have to come back tomorrow and we would not bothered again for 3 years. Everyone seemed very pleased. I had mixed feelings. I would have liked something to happen. So ends today's story.

A Beginning

Well here goes! Yesterday I went to Ted and Patti's to watch the twins. The weather was mild and they loved biking in circles on their driveway. They just turned 3 on Valentine's Day but they both do so well riding their bikes. In fact, they both were doing great back in the fall! I brought some old building blocks from our house and the kids had a great time with them. Their coordination and imagination is incredible! Immediately the two of them built a tower taller than they were! Can you tell I'm the Grandma? During lunch as they hungrily ate their fruits and vegetables I explained to them who I am - their Daddy's mommy. They both looked at me rather incredulously. I told them when their Daddy was little he looked a lot like Timmy but he had hair like Bridget's. Bridget was really impressed with this. She kept saying "Daddy hair like me - more stories." And Timmy too.

As for today, Husband had to have surgery on his cheek for skin cancer. He came home saying they were 96% sure they had it all but they'd call in a few hours after receiving the biopsy report and if they needed to remove more he would have to go back. It was a long wait for the report but it was good. He's recovering from surgery on his arm less than a week ago. Maybe this should be Husbands story for his new blog but I'm feeling my way here. I've been invited to select a poem for poetry friday and also to select my 5 favorite parables. Sounds a little like homework! But we will see. I'll need to get a few photos on here too.

Tomorrow I have to go for jury duty. I had a phone number to call today after 4:30 to see if I had to be there tomorrow or the following day. So this may be another story! Now it's time to call our oldest grandson Anthony who turned 9 today and wish him a Happy Birthday!

First Post

At long last I am taking up the challenge of having my own blog. My daughter, Christine, has been encouraging me for ages and last week my husband decided to take the plunge, not to mention that a grandson already has one. My daughter has truly inspired me, however. My intent is to use this as a journal so I can remember what I did when and where. I'd like to add photos of interest and I hope to put some thoughts out and maybe get a little feedback. So here goes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!