End to a Great Weekend - Visit Leo, Kristen and Baby Tyler

On the way home from Rochester we made a stop in Pennsylvania. Tyler is as cute as ever and I have to show him off. He has begun solid food now and likes his peas! Leo is recuperating very well from last Friday's surgery. We ate a delicious pork dinner from the grill, enjoyed playing with Tyler and relaxing on their porch in the quiet country. The weather for the weekend was beautiful.

50th Wedding Anniversary

 

 

 

Art & Marian had a wonderful dinner to celebrate their anniversary. It was so nice to get together with family and friends who came from near and far. So nice to see everyone! It was a great party! Thank you Art and Marian!

Art & Marian's Backyard Picnic

 

Saturday nite they had a wonderful picnic in their backyard which is absolutely beautiful as you can see.

Twins plant tomatoes and more

Yesterday I had a really great time with Timmy and Bridget. We worked together to plant four tomatoe plants, six impatience, a geranium, and lettuce, carrot and bean seeds. Mommy was a good worker too! The kids kept working until we finished. They are fascinated by grubs and worms which Timmy is more eager to hold than Bridget.

We were so busy I didn't take any pictures while working but after a nice cold drink the kids looked at their plants and sat in front of their garden gate. I will follow up on their family garden.

Bill's Retirement Party

Bill is retiring very soon and his office had a surprise party for him this afternoon. Because Bill has a history of fixing things at the office the theme for his party was Bob the Builder. He got Bob the Builder clothes - boots, overalls, flannel shirt and plastic hat. And since Bill usually makes morning coffee they gave him coffee and a coffee plant. He also got a bottle of Scotch and a National Geographic of 500 places to travel to.

The food was excellent. They had enlarged photos of Bill throughout the years and there was a lot of joking and laughing.

I must say their excuse to get him to his party was pretty poor. They sent out an office e-mail announcing a mandatory meeting about health benefits. Bill insisted he wasn't going to go since it didn't apply to him. He had his suspicions and gave them a hard time about coming. I had thought he was completely surprised. He was surprised to see me.

Spring Helpline Hours

 

 

 

 

As a Master Gardeners we are required to do 10 hours of helpline, 20 hours of community service and 10 hours of education yearly. Usually helpline is done in the office answering phone calls. However, Master Gardeners are invited to attend different events with their displays and handouts and answer people's questions at these functions. So, would we rather be in the office answering the phone or at Earth Day celebrations in Shrewsbury and at Bayonet Farms? Including our helpline booth at the NJ Flower Show we now have completet our 10 hours. Actually, my fellow Master Gardener, Dorothy, and I have gone above and beyond with 10 and a half hours!
The weather was unseasonably warm this year but everything is blooming now!

Super Fun Family Visit

Art & Marian, Linda, Jim and Matt spent the weekend with us. They arrived from Rochester early Saturday afternoon. Christine and Teddy's families were able to join us for the afternoon. The weather was summer like! Sunday was cooler but perfect for outdoor activities. We began by going to Sandy Hook National Park where we first visited the Nature Center and checked to see if the photo of Leo windsurfing about 15 years ago is still part of their exhibit. It is! Then we walked the nature trail through holly forests and then along the beach where we saw quite a few large horseshoe crabs and a lot of pretty shells.

We had a picnic lunch at the park, a tour of both the light house and the history house where officers used to live. We took the scenic ride home through Atlantic Highlands overlooking the bay and ocean stopping at Mitchell Monument Park to see the 911 Memorial and the view of Sandy Hook and NYC from a high eleavation. We also made a stop at Deep Cut Park to see the beautiful spring flowers. End of the day some of us were in the hot tub!

Monday was rainy so we went to the Monmouth Mall where our guests treated Bill and me and Christine to a delicious lunch at Charlie Brown's which is known for its fabulous salad bar. After tea at Christine's house we headed home. Bill started a fire in the wood stove and we just relaxed using the pool table, Bill's train set and Anne's slot machine. We also played Sequence. In the evening we got out my dad's old slides and did a lot of laughing.

This company is welcome any time!