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I set out today to meet my daughter Patty and to find the beauty in a rainy day.
Patty with her cheery umbrella…
Chatting over tea and coffee …
All of a sudden we could see sunshine…
So out we went to walk around Lafayette Village for a bit…
On the way home the skies darkened…
By the time I got home it was doing this…
Since I didn’t want to get drenched I sat in the car and took some pictures …
Success… I found what I was looking for 
- by Joan -
(I’m posting a day in my life as part of a project that
is doing.)
Saturday April 20, 2013 was the 3rd New Jersey Garden State Yarn Crawl.
This was the 3rd one for Deb and me. Deb, by the way, has a great site where she reviews knitting books, go take a look.. Knitting Scholar.com
Now back to our scheduled crawl.
First stop.. The Stitching Bee in Chatham, NJ. Nice shop, nice people working there and they carry Juniper Moon Farm yarn. We are BIG fans of JMF and Susan Gibbs who started it.
Second stop, the beautiful town of Madison, NJ
Madison is home to three colleges… Drew University (where Deb graduated from)… Fairleigh Dickinson University and the College of St Elizabeth…. and
The Blue Purl knitting shop.. this is one of the nicest knitting shops… friendly people, lovely yarns, great location.
Time to refuel… one of us had yogurt, one had coffee and cake – not naming names.
Next stop… Trillium Yarns in Morristown, NJ.
Trillium just moved into a bigger space and it’s gorgeous. Trillium Yarns is large, airy, bright and a cheerful place with a hugh selection of yarns… it’s a delightful place for knitters. Beverly, the owner who is seated at the desk is talking with Deb who is a ‘new’ old friend.
Let me explain that…
Deb and Beverly were among the original shareholders at the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm which Susan Gibbs started before she began Juniper Moon Fiber Farm. Back in April of 2008 Deb and I were at the MV fiber festival as was Beverly… only we didn’t know that until last Sep when we stopped by Trillium and started talking about Juniper Moon Farm yarn. Love these small world moments. Continuing now with regular post.
By now we were done crawling and headed home to walk. This is Deb & Chappy but it’s not from this walk as I didn’t have my camera… obviously this is from a previous walk but the walkers are still the same.
Debs loot… can’t wait to see what she turns it all into.
Refueling time again… 2 slices of pizza and 1 eclair… and then…
Walking it off here… looking at this view…
8 p.m. is movie time on Saturday night… tonight’s feature…
which carries on the yarn theme of the day because look what Rapunzel’s doing…
And so a delightful Saturday in April comes to an end. By the way, Deb says I’m the best mom ever. Know why? Because with all the yarn crawls and visits to yarn shops and fiber festivals…. I don’t knit !! But she does and I love spending time with her.
- by Joan -
Branch Brook Park ~ Newark, New Jersey
Branch Brook Park is located in my hometown of Newark, NJ. Branch Brook Park was created in 1895 making it the first county park in the nation. It has the largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the world… more than Washington, DC and more than Japan. The cherry trees were a gift donated in 1927 by Caroline Bamberger Fuld. BBP is 360 acres and has almost 5000 cherry trees.
This year, 2013, the Cherry Blossom Festival runs from April 6 – 20, the Bloomfest is Sunday, April 13, 2013 from 11am – 5pm
The cherry trees below are along Second River which forms the border between Newark and Belleville.
In the tree below on the left is my daughter Deb and her dog Chappy in 2010 - on the right is Deb and our first mini-dachshund, Mustard sitting in a tree at BBP in 1979 .
If you’re in, or around Newark, NJ go and visit this beautiful park and enjoy the cherry blossoms.
- by Joan -
As I was driving home into NJ from PA last night I stopped to take a picture of the sunset.
I moved my camera over a little and took this shot…
because almost 3 years ago I had stood in the same spot and taken
this picture …
There haven’t been any sunflowers, or anything else there since 2010. I’m hoping they’ll be back again this year, because not only are they beautiful but you couldn’t drive past this spot without smiling.
Here’s to spring and the promise of summer and sunflowers.
- by Joan -
In nw New Jersey we got about 10 inches of snow, a drop in the bucket compared to the 3 FEET plus in other states.
5pm Friday night - 7am Saturday morning
To the west - to the east
Breakfast of coffee and oatmeal pancakes with Cookie Butter (thanks Deb).
And then the sun came out.
I hope everyone affected by what has been an historic blizzard, with over 3 FEET of snow in some areas, are safe and sound.
(CLICK HERE if you’re curious as to what Cookie Butter is, besides being addictively delicious)
Below are my favorite posts from each month.
Click on posts to read them.
January - Mom’s and Mine
February - Forks and Friendship
March - Top of New Jersey
April - Vineyard Fences and Walls
May - The House
June - Horses Through The Window
July - It’s Chappy
August - Flying Horses
September - Martha’s Vineyard Map
October - Vineyard, Oct 2012
November - Giving Thanks
December - My Girls and My Grands
Patty and Debbie 1964 ~ 1975
Patty and Debbie 2012
…not often and not very many things. OK, mostly only one thing. Susan Branch‘s recipe for nut bread… or in my case walnut/banana/raisin/cinnamon/nutmeg bread.
So simple even I can do it
PS – I made the plate too.
When I think of getting ready for Christmas there are a few favorite and special things that come to mind.
First thing out is our ‘family’ Santa. CLICK HERE to find out why he reminds me so much of my dad !!
Christmas music is always a good way to get into the spirit and one of my favorite CD’s was put together just for me two years ago by my daughter Deb. CLICK HEREto find out more about this special collection.
Memories of my one and only childhood Christmas spent on the Vineyard with my godparents can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Now it’s off to deck the halls and tra-la-la-la-la.
Off to our favorite spot to pick pumpkins.
There they are…
This is my idea of picking pumpkins.
We picked apples as well.
And donuts.
We also picked up cider and an apple pie.
We had fun picking. Bye farm until next time.
