Sunday Drive

Steve and I have been taking little Sunday trips over the last month. And of course I made of point of having my camera with me every step of the way. Seems to me the month of October just went flying by! Our first Sunday drive was to Lambertville.

Lambertville Station has been converted into a restaurant, a complete 19th century restoration has made this a must see stop for visitors to the town.

Canal-side dining is also available, enjoy the calming sights and sounds of the D & R Canal.

This was our very first trip to this quaint and historic town located on the Delaware River. Formerly known as Coryell, George Washington's troops crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania from here. There is a brief and interesting history of Lambertville provided by the Lambertville Historical Society.

The town saw a resurgence of popularity during the 1970's - 1980's when many artists were drawn to the town.

Today the town is full of quaint little antique shops, proud of their location and decorating to keep up appearences.

Shops with antique bicycles and building clocks

Shops that offer the best of the confections

Or maybe just a glimpse of the owner's own treasures

A place where one can clearly see modes of transporation from bygone eras

Waterways

Rails

and Automobiles

A truly enlighting autumn day in the Garden State! More photos can be seen in my Flickr Lambertville Set.

Until next time ~ Live, Love, Laugh!

Happy Halloween!

Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Puppy Love

Friday Fun Foto

Having fun with flicker and Big Huge Labs, happy Friday! Until next time - Live, Love Laugh

True Love

I came across a wonderful You Tube video while catching up on my blog reading this morning. I just couldn't help but smile when I saw this!



Special thanks to Snappy Di over at The Blue Ridge Gal for finding and sharing this! Be sure to stop by Di's blog for a wonderful trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains!

And for a real smile, here is my favorite Dog of all time!

Until next time ~ Live, Love, Laugh

Friday Fun Foto

Louie - The Thinking Lamb

We've had a couple of beautiful days this week, best summer days so far ( well, Indian Summer). And Louie has been certainly enjoying basking in the sunlight by window.

Mac: Grab - Great Screen Capture

Today I found a little utility called Grab located at Applications/Utilities/Grab. Very easy and included in the Mac OS.


As you can see from the Dock, there are quite a few applications installed. Pretty much the same as what I detailed yesterday.

I also came across a very interesting article this morning regarding the increase in Mac households . Looks like Apple is gaining some ground, but Windows is still out there!

Until next time ~ Live, Love, Laugh.

Mac

So I got started using the Mac Mini on Wednesday, basically I just dusted it off and made sure all the Apple components were updated.

Thursday I got on line and downloaded some essentials I thought I'd need to keep me from switching back to the PC;

• Remote Desktop
• Flickr Uploadr
• TweetDeck
• Greasemonkey and scripts for Flickr

Friday I worked from home using the Mac and remotely connected to my work Vista PC. I checked my eMail and did what I had to do via RDC without any issues. Later in the day as I was on Flickr or Facebook Firefox just decided to crash, I had to restart Firefox and then go back upon my merry way!

Over the weekend I downloaded a few programs, Zuma's Revenge Trial (I've been playing Zuma on the PC for a couple of years and while it's quite mindless I find it relaxing. Kind of like "Whack a Mole" take your frustrations out on the poor mole!) While I'm not a fan of Pop-Cap games due to their use of pop-up Ads I gave the trial a try. I didn't get very far when the trial just closed down and made the system completely unstable. Needless to say the application has been removed and will not return.. ever! I then proceeded to download Nikon applications to help with photo editing, iPhoto is ok but I really prefer the MS Office Picture Manager. However, I think is only available with Office Professional/Enterprise for Windows. So, I'll probably be searching around for a photo editing/work flow program for the Mac. But first I'll test the Nikon applications to see if that works for me.

Until next time ~ Live, Love, Laugh

Fall Flowers

Friday Fun Foto

Scruffy love's to play in the flowers!


Wednesday I took a trip with my brother to the Lyons, NJ VA Hospital. We found that they had a Greenhouse that is run by Veterans, signs were posted along the drive "Mums are Ready!" I just had to go check it out. Very nice greenhouse and a great deal on the plants. Next round will be for Poinsettias. We added ourselves to the mailing list!

Happy Friday, until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

The Mac is Back!

I've been spending quite a bit of time online lately between flickr, facebook (Farmville is evil!) and just trying to keep up with the blogs I'm following. Lately I've been very restless, bored, unfulfilled. So, today I decided that I would dust off that Mac Mini I got about a year and half ago and give it another whirl.


The Mac Mini is a small, entry level computer targeted to the Windows user community. It's Apple's way of getting more PC users to switch to the Mac at a minimal cost. Historically Apples are known to be more costly than comparably equipped pcs, but this model is just the computer without Monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Those little things can cost a bundle, especially if you're a PC user who probably already has 'em. That was my case so off we went and just got a KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) switch so we could just share with the Vista PC . A double key press is all we needed to go back and forth between them.

So, we hooked it up and we gave it a whirl. After getting familiar with the initial differences, and there are many, we didn't really see the big deal. I did learn there are many, many websites that are dedicated to the "PC switchers", the differences can frustrate the best of us. It was a strange experience and we all said "OK, now what?" Except my daughter, she absolutely hated it and demanded her PC back.

So I will be using the Mini for the next month, and post my thoughts. Just in case anyone is interested.

Today I'm thinking - What a cute little computer!


My photo buddy Louie agrees! :-)

Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Embrace Change

click to enlarge photo

In celebration of the first day of Autumn, my newest Photo Buddy "Louie daLamb" is starring in this poster to Embrace Change!

Louie is a gift from my daughter, she knows I'm a bit nuts and still play with my toys! This little guy comes from William Patterson University and proudly wears the school's colors!

Happy Fall!

Summer's End

This has been an absolutely perfect September weekend. While I will miss the long hours of daylight I gladly bid the hazy humidity adieu! I've loved the cool clear nights of autumn for years, I still easily recall the view of NYC from the Queens Borough Bridge, it was many years ago but still so vivid. This clarity just never happens in summer. The colors of autumn are also so vibrant and fiery, I love autumn!

Yesterday we took a stroll along the Waterfront Walkway in Perth Amboy, the day was clear and warm and Raritan Bay was bustling with boaters

I found this boat of great interest, I wonder if it actually made the journey from Galway, Ireland. (click to enlarge photo)

Things have been a bit hectic, and I haven't really been posting as much I'd like. I have managed to get out and take some photos in the last month, and I'll be sure to get some of them posted here shortly.

Check out Hilary's Smitten Image for some fabulous photographs and quotes regarding September, Hilary is a wonderful tour guide and keeps me smiling on every visit.

Chronicles of a Country Girl: Giveaway! All weekend!

I've been following a few blogs over the last few months, mostly to find like minded photographers sharing the daily experience through photos and stories. A couple of my favorites are Chronicles of a Country Girl and Kate's Picture A Day, these were probably the first two I started following. You can see on the left that the list has grown a bit, always fun to keep up on these sites.

Chronicles of a Country Girl: Giveaway! All weekend! the lucky winner will receive one of her prints, there are 7 to choose from. Check it out, you win a really nice pretty AND you might just have a good time sharing the blog!

Boogie with the M's!

Friday Fun Foto




Here are some lyrics from a 1986 top 10 dance song, can you name it?

"What is happening here? Something is going on Thats not quite clear Somebody turn on the light Were gonna have a party Its starting tonight"

Boomers! The Heart Must Go On

This story is taking far too long to tell; putting it all in words and finding the strength to actually write the entry has been a bit difficult.

Hubby came home and all is well; we'll be following up with our family doctor and neurologist from the hospital. He's finally accepted some hard truths - he has diabetes and he needs to be watching his diet. He's been fighting this diagnosis for some time now and well, after a couple doctor visits over the last month and this last trip he finally has accepted this medical fact. Amen, like anything else once you admit you have a problem you can then work on solving it.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of the week's extenuating circumstances. Thursday morning at approximately 4 am I awoke not feeling well; a strange feeling in the chest along with some pain in the left shoulder. Once up, the chest got tight and I began to sweat... since my daughter was in the living room I woke her to call 911 and to wake her father. It was less than 36 hours since leaving the emergency room, and we we're on our way back! I have to say as scary as the episode was, it amazes me how the whole process worked. Clearly time was of the essence, thank goodness the hospital has a innovative Cardiac Care Center and a 90-minute "Portal to Cath" policy. A few days in the hospital under some pretty good care and I was back home by Sunday afternoon. Not quite good as new, but all things considered on the road to recovery!

Boomers! Part 2

Strange how the body works, especially to the average person. He couldn't put what he was feeling into words, just that he didn't feel good and he felt like he was in a tunnel.

We rode to the hospital and entered the Emergency Room at 2:30 PM promptly being shown to the waiting area which was pretty empty. After a short wait the nurse took him in and we were on our way down an 8 hour journey of emergency medicine diagnostics. Blood tests, x-rays, CAT Scan. After reviewing the CAT Scan the doctor ordered an MRI because there was something "suggestive" on the CAT Scan, possibly an aneurysm in the brain. The MRI confirmed it, there is a 2 millimeter aneurysm. It's small and the action is to just follow up with a neurologist regularly, apparently it's too small to really to anything else but watch. It sure is scary though, kinda like a time bomb in the brain... the ER surgeon agreed. All is good, we just need to get to a neurologist to keep an eye on this.

Boomers!

It's been 10 days since my last post, and let me tell ya it's been a doozie. Just a little bit of sunshine can certainly make for an attitude adjustment, but the diagnosis of a cerebral aneurysm and a major MI definitely changes one's outlook things!

The week started out simple enough, ride up to Newark to help the youngin get a close-up glimpse at the American Idol Tour. Very strange city, Newark, they have no place to park! So we just drop of the star gazer and amuse ourselves sitting in the car. Here's a picture of my photo-buddy Rosie, playing chauffeur

And here's a mirror flip shot of the bus traveling Market Street and making special stops "Via PruCtr"

That was Sunday, then Tuesday came along and with the heat there was a power failure in my office building. No big deal, no power between 12:00 and 1:00 PM it's August finally got some heat. Power just has to go.... 1:20 call from hubby "I don't feel good, I think I should go to the hospital, can you come home?" Thank goodness our daughter was home, to keep him calm and help me keep my cool as I left the office and headed home.

To be continued......

Just a Bit of Sunshine

Sometimes just a little bit of sunshine can make all the difference in our view of the world around us. Sunny days have been few and far between this summer, and I'm thinking I really need an attitude adjustment, this Funk is lingering over me like the clouds over head!

Alas, this week we had some breaks in the dreary, starting with lunch with my brother on Monday, it was a nice break and we had a bit of fun with my photo-buddy Rosie.

The waitress thought she was adorable! She also thought we were taking pictures for post cards, not a bad idea :-) My brother is now on a quest for a photo-buddy of his own!

Tuesday I found myself across the street from this local Stewart's Root Beer Diner.

And it just got me to thinking how quickly people forget about the established traditions around them. I thought about how the NEW Sonics (2 of them) opened last month in North Jersey and they were causing all sorts of traffic problems due to the droves of cars trying to pull into the 12-spot parking lots! Funny, people kill themselves for the next "New Thing" while these establishments are ignored.

But, alas Friday arrived with BRIGHT SUNSHINE, clear skies and low humidity. A fine summer day from the beginning.

Morning at Tommy's Pond.

Late afternoon on Main Street.

The end of the day, with a view that bids farewell.

And with that the weekend begins! All in all, not a bad week after all.

Enjoy your weekend! Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh!

Oh No! It's Gizmo...

Friday Fun Foto




This goofy little Gizmo doll from the Original Gremlins movie is still in my possession (or should I say my husbands). We introduced him to Maddox and then took this picture, I'm not sure if Maddox really liked Gizmo all that much... I think he wanted to stick his tongue out at me here!

More Rainy Travels

Another lovely stormy day in Central NJ!

Today is the BIG Haskell Handicap at Monmouth Park and hubby decided he'd go despite the rainy weather. He needs to add another baseball cap to the old collection, don't cha know :-D. He decided it would be better to take the train today, so off we went to Woodbridge to avoid the delays of making a connection.

Safe and dry in the drivers seat, with the camera handy,


And then it started, the rain began


As I passed J.J. Biting it came a bit harder...



A quick stop to pick up printer ink brought with it a deluge and lots of running Office Depot customers!

From every view... it was WET!

Glad I'm home, ready for a nice movie!

Reading the Nikon Manual

Fun Foto Friday

I've been having a grand time photographing my camera buddies. Here is Scout, he is a Webkinz Cocker Spaniel and the very first toy I started using as a model.

In this picture he is reviewing the Nikon D40 Guide to Photography, pointing out the use of manual settings to improve my pictures.

Fountain...

I've been meaning to get a shot of this fountain for quite some time and tonight on the ride home from the office I took advantage of the red light!

One of the things I've noticed since I started following some other blogs is surburbia is far less interesting than either city or country. It lacks the character of the city and the charm of country, or maybe I'm just bored...

Darth Vader Peeks...

Friday was the media launch of the 27th Annual Quick Chek NJ Festival of Ballooning. This event was open to the media and photographers and began at 6:30 am. The day was not the greatest (seems to be the case quite a bit this summer :p), it was cloudy and humid. But I did get a couple of shots in. My favorite was Darth Vader, although he was a bit shy...

(click to enlarge)

I'm looking forward to attending another Balloon Festival, perhaps when the weather is better!

Road Trip - Part 4

The Hollingsworth Family Settlement was just the beginning, Old Town Winchester was a real treat. We left the Shenandoah Tourism Center armed with a "Brand New" Self Guided Walking Tour pamphlet. Please click on the photos to enlarge.

(My photo buddy Rosie at the Daily Grind)

The walking tour was comprised of 29 locations, some of my favorites are what I've added to this page to share.



George Washington's Office Museum, built around 1748 and presently operated by the Winchester-Fredrick Ccounty Historical Society served as Colonel George Washington's headquarters from 1755 t0 1756 during the French and Indian attacks.




The canon above was used by George Washington to protect Fort Loudoun in 1756.


Washington's political career also began in Winchester. At the age of 23 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses where he represented Fredick County for two terms. According to the tour guide his career began at Old Fredick County Courthouse on July 24, 1756.





Old Town also has a Pedestrian Mall on Loudoun Street, with many shops and buildings with historical architecture highlights.

We were entertained by local artists and musicians as we enjoyed coffee at the Daily Grind.

Needless to say we a great time, there are tons more sites to see http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggie_gem/sets/72157620477803465/ and I'm hoping we can make another trip in the fall when the leaves are changing color and the apples are being harvested!

Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Road Trip - Part 3

Shenandoah University's History and Tourism Center is a great place to get acquainted with the history of the area and find some points of interest. The center is located on the land of one of the first settlers in the Shenandoan Valley, Abraham Hollingsworth. The Hollingsworth Family Settlement consists of Abram's Delight, built in 1754 it is the oldest house in Winchester.


The house was built by Abraham Hollingsworth's son Issac near the stream that Abraham is said to have commented was "a delight to behold". The stream is the main reason Abraham purchased the land for his family home.

Abraham's great-grandson built the stone mill building on the grounds in 1833. This building replaced an earlier mill that was worked by the Hollingsworth family since the mid eighteenth century.


The nearby pond looks like a nice place for ducks to enjoy the surroundings too.


Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Road Trip - Part 2

On day 2 of our jaunt we made a short trip through Front Royal to the north entrance of the Shenandoah Nation Park

One of the highlights of this area is the Skyline Drive (those AAA Guide are very useful!), a 105 mile highway that runs the entire length of the park along the Blue Ridge Mountains. There are many overlooks on both the South and North bond sides, we stopped at overlooks on the South bound side between the North Entrance and Thorton Gap which is the first exit point at about 32 miles. The highest point we reached was about 3,385 ft. , the highest point in the park is Hawksbill, 4,051 ft located off the drive to the west at about 46 miles. The day was like the majority of June, overcast and rainy.

Our first glimpse of the Shenandoah Valley

I must admit, I did not like this over look point because that was some drop! Not the best time to remember you're afraid of height! :-0

A tiny break in the clouds gives a bit better view of the valley

Road Trip - Part 1

Now the 4th is behind us and I've been thinking it's time to share what's been going on over the last few weeks. I've shared that we took a short 4 day road trip in June and I'll be posting pictures from the trip over the next several posts.

Steve and I had a great time. It was nice to just get away from the routine of the day to day and spend some time together, despite the weather that covered the entire Eastern US over a very long period. Including during our trip.

Our first stop on the journey was Charles Town, WV (more like the main event). Great place, they have a HUGH casino along with the racetrack. Seems like everyone is competing with Atlantic City these days and adding slots to the racetrack. Anyway, the night was fun but pretty wet as you can see from these photos.

A shot of the track from the field level



The horses were beautiful and ran their races despite the muddy track. (I thought they were pretty sloppy, but Steve said "No, just muddy.")

The casino was also where we had dinner. They had many places to choose from but we just went to the buffet. We enjoyed!

Until next time - Live, Love, Laugh

Fireworks!

Edison put on a very nice fireworks display this year. While the event was a bit toned down compared to the last three years, no concerts or other activities, the display was very good. It's wonderful we still had the opportunity to continue this annual event while other towns cancelled due to the economic times.


I also had an opportunity to take some photos while watching the fireworks. It's the first time I've done that, so while their not a great photographic display I'm pretty happy with how they came out. I've made a mosaic with some of my faves from the night.

Until next time Live, Love, Laugh

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

The History Channel has a video of the History of July 4th, if you missed the skinny in school or just want a quick reminder check out the video.

Has Summer Arrived?

Just one day before the fireworks, finally some blue can be seen in the sky!

Steve saw this cloud formation and came in to get me to take a picture, I'm glad he did. Maybe the gray cloud cover that seems like it's been here since mid-May is finally leaving and letting the summer sky been seen.

While in the field, I really had the feeling that summer had finally decided to make an entrance. The rain we've had over the last month has certainly done wonders for the landscape of the township field.

The green of the grass and the trees was spectacular, and Maddox was loving every minute of his brief spin around field.

July, but where's summer?

Already the July 4th holiday is looming around the corner, but it sure hasn't felt much like summer yet. The weather report seems to be a consistent "Mostly cloudy, Showers, and below normal temperature". Just make it seem more like the 4th has snuck up us!

However, Sunday at the beach gave a brief encounter with the season!

Point Pleasant Beach, NJ

(click here to enlarge photo)