Wildlife in South Jersey

We have seen a bit of wildlife around here lately. Despite this part of south Jersey being pretty built up, and we are in a neighborhood full of houses, a family of turkeys walked through the yard last week.

Mama and her thirteen babies strolled majestically past our window. The chicks looked newly hatched and are pretty hard to see in this picture. A few days later we saw Mama again but she had only one chick with her. I suppose predators had gotten to the others. Wild turkeys are not seen very often around here and I would assume modern life is not kind to them.

We also had this visitor to my daughter’s back yard. This groundhog, or woodchuck as we used to call them, ran to the back corner of the property when we came through the gate. After a while he found his way out and we haven’t seen him since.

Recently Bob and I visited a Camping World and found this little switch.

It attaches to the underside of our under-bed compartment (the bed lifts up to access storage) with a screw-mount. It is bright enough to illuminate the whole area so I can find what I’m looking for. I’m going to have to get a few more of these!

Now that I can see my sewing supplies under the bed, I decided to make granddaughter Jillian a purse. It’s a simple pattern I found here.

I used fabric I had purchased near Walt Disney World, and I’m very happy with how it came out. Jillian was, too. She immediately put it over her head and didn’t want to take it off.

On Friday Bob dropped me off at daughter Catherine’s house so he could visit his friends in north Jersey. Catherine, the kids, Auggie, and I went to Pitman, NJ’s Fourth Friday festival with son Tim and daughter-in-law Bernie.

We ate at A Fresh Start, a sandwich and salad shop with outdoor seating, enjoying yummy paninis and salads. Most of the shops were open (and dog friendly, too!) and we enjoyed strolling around. Alaura Kitchen tempted us with homemade ice cream (she even makes a vegan version that is to-die-for!) and we chatted with the man on stilts walking around town. I loved it all.

It’s not any too early to be making summer reservations for campgrounds so last week I settled in and firmed up our August and early September plans. We’ll be spending time in Portsmouth, RI, Monson, MA, Rhinebeck, NY, W. Chazy, NY, Montpelier, VT, Shelbourne Falls, NH, and Orono, ME. The plan is to visit family and friends, see the FDR Library, cross the border into Montreal for a day trip, and drive up Mt Washington. Plus, I think I’ll be able to get a visit in to WEBS, to Vävstuga’s store, and to Macomber Looms. I’m very excited! We’ll be back well before daughter Emily’s September 30th due date.

The Past Two Weeks

The time has just flown by since we arrived back on NJ. Daughter Kristen and I have been going to the gym just about every morning...she joined, and I get to go as her guest. It feels good to move.

Our son in law, Anthony, graduated last week from Stockton College with his Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry. We are very proud of him!

Here he is with my daughter, Emily, and their two daughters, Quinn and Eve.

I finished my Hearts Band.

And wove a short one I’m calling Tiny Circles, using a little rigid heddle from Vävkompaniet.

Bob and I went to the movies to see Black Panther this week. I had seen it with Catherine in March but Bob never saw it. He enjoyed it, as I knew he would!

Other than that, we are dealing with the weather. It started raining last Saturday here and has rained daily since then. We hear it should clear up by next Friday. Ugh. I remember reading my great grandmother’s diary where one day’s entry said only “Rain. Rain, rain, rain.”

I know how she felt.

Back to NJ

This has been a traveling week, for sure! We left Punta Gorda, FL on Monday morning, and it is now Saturday afternoon as we are pulling into our spot in NJ for the next couple of months or so. That’s 1445 miles in five days of driving. We tried to keep the mileage closer to 200 miles a day rather than 300, and we accomplished that for the most part, with the exception of our first day which was over 300 miles. Sometimes you have to go a little farther to get to a campground.

On Tuesday we pulled into Little Tallapoosa Park in Carrollton, GA. We really like this little county park. It boasts pull through wooded sites, full hookups with 50 amp service, horse trails for the equine set, and even a splash pad for little ones. But the big draw for us was our good friends, Mike and Retha, who were there for the week. We haven’t seen them in a year and a half,  and it was so good to see them again even though it was a short visit. We hung out at their campsite with their seven Japanese Chins, and were even treated to a yummy Chinese food dinner at a local restaurant. Bob and I are really hoping we don’t go another 18 months without seeing them again.

The rest of our trip was uneventful (a good thing!) but traveling every day gets tiring. So why did we do it? We miss the kids and grandkids too much to dilly-dally on our last part of the trip.

We look forward to visiting with family and taking the grandchildren on a camping trip this summer. And seeing friends, too!

Sisters Weekend

There’s not much better than having a Sisters Weekend, in my book. Bob and I drove to Punta Gorda after we left Fort Wilderness and camped not too far from our sister Wendy’s condo. Bob and Auggie hung back at the campground while I joined my siblings for a fun filled four days.

Wendy’s condo is within walking distance to a marina where we admired all the yachts moored there.

We lunched at a nearby restaurant that featured seafood but also had a yummy Portobello burger for Gail and me.

It was such fun to visit local consignment shops, looking for furniture for the condo. And on Saturday we went to a street fair, meandering through little stores and outdoor booths. Afterwards we lounged by the pool, and in the evenings we reminisced about our childhood together, making new memories as we did so.

On Sunday Bob took our photo as we prepared to return to our homes...Cheryl in Massachusetts and Gail in Texas. It was a lovely weekend!