A Huge Thank You and A Women's Retreat

I had a fabulous gift arrive in the mail today!

On my birthday I was the lucky winner

of a very special giveaway sponsored

by Liane of 'Tender Hearted Daisy'.

Each item was beautifully wrapped

with the prettiest ribbon, as you can see

this beautiful box was full of

all kinds of treasures.

My camera isn't working so this picture

was the one Liane posted on her blog,

hope you don't mind but I did want to show everyone

your lovely gift.

Please stop in to visit Liane at

 http://tenderhearteddaisy.blogspot.com/

she has a wonderful blog.

I am going away for the weekend

with my sister to an 'Annual Women's Retreat'

that is sponsored by my church.

It's a wonderful opportunity for us

to learn more about God's plan for us

and we get to spend three days

enjoying a lovely seaside resort right

on the beach.

Wishing you all a joy filled weekend!

Welcome To My Home !

As promised I thought I would show you around the outside

of my home.

That last few weeks have been busy with

 yard cleanup, remulching beds, and planting.

My husband and I have done all the

landscaping ourselves. It has taken us close to 20 years

to get all this done.

Let's go around back shall we?

Looking straight back to the right, you can see

our garden bench...

which is situated right next to the pond.

I can sit there and listen to the

water tumbing down the falls and enjoy

the scent of honeysuckle planted

right behind the bench.

Turn to your right from the pond and you

can see across the back to our garden shed.

A closer view of the shed, the plants in the

window boxes haven't really grown

big enough to see just yet.

Turn a little more to your right from the pond

and you can see the pool and part of the

back of the house.

Straight up from the pool are

the steps leading up to the deck

to our back door.

A little closer to the back door and

you can see I've been very busy planting.

One of my favorites is the tree that

is blooming pink, it's a pink oleander.

I also have two white ones in pots, it's the only way

I can grow them this far north.

I plant them in big pots and then winter

them over by bringing them in.

Turn slightly to your right and you can see

my potting bench. My sweet husband

built it for me a few years back to store my supplies.

Turn slightly to your left and you see where

my houseplants spend the summer.

They love coming out after spending all

winter cooped up inside.

Turn completey around and you can see the

pool and yard from the deck.

These pots welcome visitors to the

deck after entering the yard from the back gate.

I have pots planted just about everywhere.

It gives me the opportunity to try new species

every year when I visit the nurseries.

My husband says I'm like kid in a candy store!

Hope you enjoyed the stroll through my yard.

The vegetable and herb gardens I've saved

 for a later date as it's a bit too early to

plant some things, but I will in another two weeks.

Come back soon and I'll give you a close up

of what's happening in the pond :)

I've Been A Busy Bee

Sorry I've been so busy that

I've had little time to blog or visit.

Sunday was my birthday and besides

my normal duties I've been busy

celebrating with my boys.

This photo was taken three years ago

and the girls in the picture are no longer

'in the picture'.

It's very difficult to get all five of them

together at once, let alone for

a photo opportunity.

The remainder of my days have

been busy celebrating with

freinds and family, I have had

quite  few lunch dates over

the last few days.

It will be a miracle if I can get

my butt into my summer clothes

after all the food & cake I've had.

I promise to be back real

soon with photos of the yard

and gardens, all the hard work

is beginning to pay off :)

"Beauty"

"... of whatever kind, in it's supreme

development, invariably excites the

sensitive soul to tears."

Edgar Allen Poe

The clematis vines on the side of my home

are bursting with blossoms!

What beauty will you find today to move you to tears?

Honor Your Mother

                                    ...Earth that is!

As we celebrate Earth Day

around the globe today

let us remember to

If you haven't already seen

the documentary series

'Planet Earth'

on the Discovery Channel

I highly recommend viewing it.

It's perfect for children and adults,

and is available on DVD.

(images courtesy of TV Guide & the Discovery Channel)

In the words of John Muir

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature,

he finds it attached to the rest of the world."

A Rose By Any Other Name?

When I am sharing posts about my

home town I often refer to it as

the 'Jersey Shore'.

Lately that connotation may

not smell as sweet as it once did.

If any of you are familiar with

MTV's show titled by

the same name you may be

wondering what kind of

hell hole I actually live in.

This is the cast of The Jersey Shore

 which was indeed filmed in our neck of

the woods, however they do not depict

in any way what the locals are all about!

Sadly the young people in this

show demonstrate poor ideals

and have left a rather black mark

on our community.

I often share photos and posts

about our mountain cabin

but have neglected to share info

on my hometown.

To dispel any negative images

this show has left I have decided

to show you around town.

Toms River is the seat of Ocean County,

one of the largest in NJ.

Travel just across the bridge

and you arrive at what we refer to as the Jersey Shore.

The barrier islands are dotted with many small towns

all offering everything from a quiet seaside resort to

the load, neon lit boradwalk.

In the off season it is relatively quiet here

 (we do have a year round population of over 90,000).

In the summer months the numbers swell

thousands of tourists descend upon the area.

The boradwalk offers lots of entertainment,

rides, food and games of chance.

As a local I prefer to go to the State Park beaches.

Even they get crowded in the summer but they

tend to attract more families with young kids.

As a State Park there are places off the beaten

track where you can find a secluded spot.

At the very tip of the island you can see across the inlet

to the Barnegat Lighthouse, the one in my watercolor painting.

It is really a beautiful area, one I take for granted most

of the time. It can be easy to focus on the

negative and overlook the natural beauty.

Let's travel back over the bridge which spans the Barnegat Bay,

the mouth of the Toms River empities right into it.

You can follow the river into the historic

downtown area. The river itself

is dotted with marinas.

It can look quite beautiful at sunset

or sunrise.

Ther are lots of folks who enjoy sailing along the river.

The downtown area is lovely as well

and offers restaurants, shops, the library

and many historical sites as well.

The area dates back to pre revolutionary days,

and is quite rich in history.

Travel across town to the bay side and you can see across

to the barrier islands.

Thre are lots of salt marshes on this side of town

with lots of beautiful shore birds.

Over all it's a very nice place to live.

Not at all what you might see

on television. Between MTV's

The JerseyShore,

 Desperate Housewives of NJ

and all the jokes about the

Turnpike it's a wonder anyone

takes us seriously.

I know this was rather long and

if you stayed with me this far,

 you can go now...

I'm sure you have lots to do!