My dear SIL with BeBe in stroller walking past the Music Pier where many activities are held, including musicals and plays.
Some of the attractions of this very family friendly resort.
Most of these places are only open on the weekend until Memorial Day
Mack n Manco's Pizza
Last week (just a week before Memorial Day) my daughter Jillian at Jillians Pages came "down the shore" with her Dear Hubs and Dear BeBe for a visit to my home here at the Jersey Shore. ("Down the shore" is shorthand whenever visitors talk about coming to the Southern NJ Shore area.) She wanted to visit the boardwalk and especially wanted to taste the best pizza at the Shore, Mack n Mancos.
Gentle Hands
A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away. -Unknown Author
A Precious Friend
-I think that god will never send
A gift so precious as a friend;
A friend who always understands
And fills each need as it demands;
Whose loyalty will stand the test,
When skies are bright or overcast;
Who sees the faults that merit blame,
But keeps on loving just the same;
Who does far more than creeds could do
To make us good, to make us true,
Earth's gifts a sweet enjoyment lend
But only God can give a friend.
-Rosalie Carter
About five years ago two friends and I decided, that since we were alone with families grown, we did not often have the chance to use our "good" china and other tableware. We would cook for one another at least once a month and "pull out all the stops," so to speak, and have a dinner party. It started with the three of us and now we are up to nine or ten depending on who is in town. Today we were all gathered at Anna's house to enjoy friendship, fellowship and good food.
The powerful Atlantic and the beautiful beaches of Southern New Jersey. Misty, cloudy afternoon a week before Memorial Day - when the beaches will be packed with many more people than we see on this day.
I sat upon the edge one day
To cast my gaze below,
Observing what was said and done
By men I did not know.
Thus caught my eye a horrid sight
I all but understood;
And jumping up, my head amiss,
Flew quickly as I would.
Before my King I humbly came,
Cast on my knees in praise;
With quiet voice and aching heart
I questioned all man's ways.
He picked me up with gentle hands
And searched me with His eyes;
He set me there before His throne
And turned to part the skies.
He told me then of man He loved,
Who breathed His very breath;
He told me how He gave them all,
By suffering, in His death.
"And yet," cried I "they love you not,
But few do seek your name;
There seems no thought of heaven or hell;
For them life's just a game."
He turned His head -- I saw the tears --
As He watched the world below;
Then breathed to me a painful sigh,
"I know, my child, I know.
-David J. Heyen
This is my staging area for planting. It is on the end of the patio - I plan to plant the urns soon with what we call Million Bells and I like pink!
I had to plant the Better Boy by himself no room on the other side!
I wanted to show what the tomatoes will look like when planted along the fence.
Here I'm getting ready to clean little Miss Mermaid with a wire brush.
This is how my postage stamp garden looks like when I'm all ready for summer! I used dwarf Alberta Spruce trees to edge my property borders 11 years ago. When five of them died in a drought a few years ago, I put the bench in their places and added a "dwarf" Crepe Myrtle (glad I didn't buy a full sized one!) There you have it from start to finish except I didn't show the Impatiens I planted in a planter on the patio and also in a pot I placed in the midst of a patch of varigated vinca vine.
I received this lovely Golden Heart Award from Mary at Pile of Smiles - please visit this very sweet blog - I know you will come away with a big smile on your face!
In order to receive this award I have to nominate 5 other blogs.
Here they are:
Jillian at Jillians Pages Jillian's joy in her new baby and motherhood plus her spirituality come shining through her blog pages. She has a heart for God and willingly shares it on her "Pages."
Melissa at Sunbonnet Cottage is a woman who has been through many trials these past few months and is in Florida taking a well deserved time away from it all. She is a blogger friend and I wanted to give her this sweet award because she does have a heart of gold.
Sue at Beautiful Pear Tree Lane as she is a warm, caring person with a loving heart. She speaks easily of her faith and encourages many with her posts. Another golden heart.
Melly at His Pink Princess is a new friend from Australia that I "met" on our Spiritual Sundays posts. She has a lovely blog, she is also creative and fun. She, too, has a golden heart.
Sister Sheri at The Leaking Window is a woman who has the biggest heart for God and shares it so very willingly. She is someone I admire for her thirst for more and more knowledge of her faith, the bible and our loving God. She has a loving, golden heart.
If you have received this award, all you have to do is pass it along to 5 others you feel are Golden Hearts!
When I saw these two adorable doggies bookends at a thrift sale recently, I just knew they had to come home with me! These particular bookends were made in Japan and the dogs have a slight Asiatic look to them. They depict two sweet dogs who were obviously much loved by their young owners. You can almost see the kids playing with them by the way they are bound up with yellow polka-dotted "bandages" - even around their tails! I think they are perfect for showing on Mellow Yellow Monday.
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My mother, who boasted of no degree,
Was tutored in philosophy:
Five buttered beans within a pod
Were generosity from God;
A broom could sweep the shadows out;
Churning put many a fear to rout;
A young pear tree in bridal veil
Was beauty's triumph over the gale;
And every star that blinked on high
Was proof that, body and breath put by,
No darkness was so vast, so deep,
But that the Shepherd would find His sheep.
-John Robert Quinn
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Christ is the Head of this house,
The unseen guest at every meal,
The silent Listener to every conversation.
-Motto
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This last poem I dedicate to my maternal
Grandmother, Anna, who passed away in 1989
as this is what she did every Thanksgiving
when my father carved the turkey.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Everyday Madonna~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When Father carved our Christmas bird
And asked us each what we preferred,
As sure as summer follows spring
Came Mother's, "Please, I'll take the wing."
We children never wondered why
She did not sometimes take a thigh,
Or choose a drumstick or a breast,
We thought she liked a wing the best.
She said it with such easy voice,
It seemed so certainly her choice...
I was a man before I knew
Why mothers do the things they do.
-Richard Armour
I am very thankful my pink azaleas bloomed so well this year...they didn't look too wonderful at the end of last year and I can still see some deadwood in this picture. I missed Posting for Pink Saturday because I didn't read "how" to post for Pink Saturday! Next time I will try to be on the ball and find out before hand! LOL!
This is a very pale yellow and pink Capodimonte rose that I bought many years ago. It is so beautifully sculpted and painted in such delicate colors that I wanted to show it today on Yellow Mellow Monday.
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