let the gardening begin & a fab thrift find!!!

well, as i think i've mentioned before, i had to dig up everything out front & transfer to pots since the property's being relandscaped this spring. with those ice storms & now diggin' the perennials up, i'm not sure what's going to actually come back this year.

i also went out to the nursery yesterday and picked up some beautiful pink & red enligh daisy's, pincushion, yellow & gold primroses, purple viola's and some yellow pansy's. my boquet mix seeds have sprouted as well as my baby's breath seeds. starting up more this weekend! (more flowers & some veggies!) if you'd like to take a look see at what i've mentioned here, just click on the following link! Picasa Web Albums - GardeningJo - Let The Garde...

last week i found a gorgeous botanical day bed cover with 1 pillow sham at a local thrift shop which i've used to cover a tired looking hunter green love seat in our living room! $3!!!

Spring Has Arrived at the Nursery!

pansy's ~ annual


med. heath or heather, i'm not sure at the moment! (i do know the one i had last year died! i'm actually surprised to see these out now ~ they're technically at the end of their bloom for their season) ~ perennial

more pansy's! annual

and some more pansy's! (had to crop this photo to keep a store sign out of it!) annual

and yet again, more pansy's! actually, these are viola's! can be annual or perennial or biennial depending on weather conditions


primroses! (aka primula) this type is used here as an annual though it can be a perennial depending on weather conditions ~ best used in shade or indirect sunlight!



more primroses though these are different than the picture above and appear to be a perennial form.

some kind of perennial daisy but i forgot to look at their name.

more perennial primrose.

and yet some more perennial primrose!

phlox ~ perennial.



what an unexpected and wonderful surprise when all i was in search of was a bag of potting soil and a propane tank exchange! i've been absolutely giddy with excitement after seeing these beauties! i can't wait to go on a shopping spree! i hope the weekend warriors don't go too crazy on these this weekend and leave some for me!


for the rest of the pics ~ yup, there's more! ~ click on the following: http://picasaweb.google.com/GardeningJo/SpringHasArrivedAtTheNursery


there's also a link to my public photo albums on picasa in my links section!

i've caught sight of spring!

a bright red cardinal high a top a tree in the woods along the creek sending out his calls to begin staking out his territory for the season.

dark purple crocuses with their deep green foliage along either side of old stone steps leading to a yard & house.

today the air smells sweet, of flowers and rain.

a safe & happy st. patty's day to all!

catchin' up on my "big adventure!"

i can't believe my friend gets to look at this every day! it's awesome at night!


could be the east river & the fdr... not sure!


the empire state building from afar! (and zoomed in!)


they boast "18 miles of books" ~ i can tell you it was the most books i've ever seen in one location of any book store in my life! mainly used, their prices are amazing! i picked up 5 books (2 of which are hardcover) and 2 of their tote bags & i only spent $48!!!


given the opportunity, i have to take a pic of the empire every time i'm in the city!

had a fantastic time in nyc with spirited singleton this weekend! (see my links for her blog!) luckily, i'll be going back for another visit next month & staying for the whole weekend! (i was only able to stay overnight this time). the above pics are ones i took while on my "big adventure" as she put it!

i'm off to the city!

later today for my visit with 'spirited singleton'! (see my links section)

you'd think i'd never been to manhattan before! i have, but not like this ~ with a best friend who lives there & staying over night! i honestly don't like the thought of spending the night without hubby, but who knows if i'd have a chance to do this before she leaves manhattan this summer?! for what ever reason, this is onle of those things i have to do or i'll regret not doing it! i've had too many of those moments already ~ i don't want to add to the pile!!!

see ya'll soon!

more ramblings!

it's snowing! ~ updating kitchen cabinet knobs & back splash ~ i've become a coupon whore ~ kamakazee cleaning ~ yes, i've got a myspace - wait, i can explain! ~ hi! my name is GardeningJo and i'm a blogger myspace junkie!!!

i'll get to these topics & more later!

my bloggerversary - needles of fury - me, nyc & sayin' goodbye - watchin' the moonrise & my "ick" moment - plus more pics!

3 days ago, feb 28th, was my official one year bloggerversary!!! ( i say "official" because i was actually blogging before last feb, under 2 other blogs, but with no consistency until this blog! check my feb '06 archives if ya'd like to take a look see!)

on to needles of fury! i have been knitting a scarf like mad since the day before yesterday for 2 reasons: 1 i just got a purse and actually have yarn with flecks of nearly the same coral color in it and 2 my trip to nyc for a visit with 'spirited singleton' (see my links) has been pushed up to this coming friday 3/9 and i want to finish the scarf in time for the visit! ya gotta look good for an evening & day on the town in nyc!!! (see pics below taken yesterday).

speaking of nyc ~ it hit me the night before last that this may be one of my last trips into nyc - for good! we'll be moving to pennsylvania or tennessee in the next year or so, so this coming fri & sat, i'm going to make sure i try to observe and absorb the city as much as possible & take lots of pics a la total tourist!

i think those of us who live in jersey take for granted our close proximity to nyc and the ocean and i think both lose their appeal & affect after so many years. the realization of moving so far away has awoken me to paying attention to things i have done so many times before & for so many years so that i can truly appreciate what i've had & my memories of it all.

and now for my "ick" moment!!! we went to watch the moonrise down at sandy hook beach & i took some great pics! (see below). when we were leaving, we passed a few people with telescopes and i heard a male voice saying "you can see mercury from here too but not tonight with the clouds" and the voice rang a bell. then "venus is out up over there, see it?" and i thought "oh no, ew!" the voice was that of someone i dated in 1994. i turned slightly and sure enough, there he was! trying to make the moves on a woman who was so obviously not interested! and let me just tell you: he now looks as skeevy & slimy as his personality is! he's as ugly now on the outside as he is on the inside!

i was standing next to hubby, hand in hand, when mr ick turned towards us to leave ~ i know mr ick saw me and i thought he'd make a point of saying hi like he'd done in the past, but, this time he didn't. mr ick hung back and turned away. hubby & i walked down the stairs hand in hand to the parking lot and mr ick followed, though not closely. he walked to his car alone & glanced over at us as we got into our truck.

it was a bit sad actually. me, so happy with & loved by hubby. mr ick alone. it's not surprising though since he's still using the same cheesy lines and manerisms after all these years ~ he should be nearing 40! ~ and with all the women he's used & wronged! (maybe sex and the city had a point with their 'relationship karma' episode!!!) i almost felt bad for mr ick. almost!

and now for the pics!!!


pics before the moon rise from tonight at sandy hook!
view of twin lights in the highlands.

view of the 'windansea' restuarant in highlands.

another pic of the twin lights.

this is the view of brooklyn & long island with the manhattan skyline in the background ~ my camera doesn't take great night pics!

just a beautiful sunset pic ~ guess my camer takes some great night pics!

ocean views!


there's hubby!



scarf referenced in "needles of fury!" the yarn is red heart light & lofty super bulky in 9934 verdigris multi and the needles are lion brand scarf needles 15mm/us19. i'm knitting using both ends of the yarn at the same time (pulling from the outside & pulling from the inside) to make the scarf nice & thick. ***update: finished this scarf sunday, 3/4/07!***






just some pics of home, wk after valentine's day. (snowmen get to stay out past christmas since they're "winter" dec's, not just holiday dec's!!!) those orange pillows on the couch are slowly being covered in the paisly fabric of the other pillows! (that kitty who's not supposed to be on the couch is booper! yup, that's her name! booper!) can ya tell we have a lot of books?!






this is ceasar! he was taking advantage of the wide open window while i was cleaning ~ plus, it was in the low 50's that day & it felt oh so warm after all that bitter cold, i just had to open the windows to get some fresh air in!



do you believe them?! this heater's in the kitchen to take the edge off how cold it gets in there because of the huge, old patio doors. they don't seem to realize it's not for their enjoyment!!! this is a regular thing since we got it in january!