Holiday Weekend

You can tell it's a holiday weekend when everybody's mail is still in the box on Sunday morning. They're all at the shore I guess. Except me. I'm home cleaning house (after an early Sunday walk) for company arriving on Wednesday. Yes, it's that dirty. Happy Memorial Day to all, especially those in the armed services who wish they were home. We wish it too.

What Good Is This?

Well might you ask. All these pennies we get as change that just jingle around in our pockets and purses and accumulate until they get so heavy we have to stick them in a jar and then find someplace to put the jar, and, well, you know what I mean. So I am quite happy to share this bit of amazing information that I received from my brother about what pennies are good for. This is news to me and, I believe with my penchant for getting stung while working in the garden, will come in quite handy as an addition to my gardening tools. . .a roll of pennies. Anyway, here's the email I got recounting the healing properties of pennies:

"This information may be something to remember, as this season will soon be here again...It might be wise to carry a penny in your pocket while working in the yard for......... BEE STINGS !A couple of weeks ago, I was stung by both a bee and hornet while working in the garden. My arm swelled up, so I went to the doctor. The clinic gave me cream and an antihistamine. The next day the swelling was getting progressively worse, so I went to my regular doctor. The arm was infected and needed an antibiotic. The doctor told me ' The next time you get stung, put a penny on the bite for 15 minutes.' That night, my niece was stung by two bees. I looked at the bite and it had already started to swell. So I taped a penny to her arm for 15 minutes. The next morning, there was no sign of a bite. We decided that she just wasn't allergic to the sting. Soon, I was gardening outside and got stung again twice by a hornet on my left hand. I thought, here I go again to the doctor for another antibiotic. I promptly got my money out and taped two pennies to my bites, then sat and sulked for 15 minutes. The penny took the sting out of the bite immediately. In the meantime the hornets were attacking, and my friend was stung on the thumb. Again the penny. The next morning I could only see the spot where the hornet had stung me. No redness, no swelling. My friend's sting was the same; couldn't even tell where she had been stung. She got stung again a few days later on her back---cutting the grass! And the penny worked once again. Wanted to share this marvelous information in case you experience the
same problem. We need to keep a stock of pennies on hand. The doctor said that the copper in the penny counteracts the bite. It definitely works! Please remember and pass this information on to your friends, children, grandchildren, etc."

So, there it is. The magical power of pennies. I mean, please! Why didn't I ever hear about this before? I could have saved myself a lot of trouble.

So Hard To Wait

Amy and Marc's pool got opened on Wednesday, but too late for Chase to do anything about it. So Thursday when he got home from school, he raced in and told me "I'm going to get my bathing suit on." It took me a moment to register what he was talking about. "Oh no," I said, "it's got a lot of dirt in the bottom and it's freezing!" He just looked sadly at me and then he disappeared. Oh boy, I thought, I hope he doesn't give me a hard time about this. After a few minutes when he didn't appear in his swim suit and begin to wear me down, I went looking for him. He'd better not be in that pool, I thought. I looked out the window and just had to smile and run for my camera. He was really good. He didn't ask me again; just stayed there for a little while and then went out to play with his friends. Last year I know he would have been in that pool. He's really growing up.

Just Because

This is from my trip to Longwood Gardens last week. Oh my.

Treehugger's Delight

After reading Hooked on Houses' post about treehouses, I was inspired to get myself to Longwood Gardens yesterday to look at their Nature's Castles exhibit of three treehouses. The first one I saw (and my favorite) was the Canopy Cathedral, a 589 square foot beauty about 10 feet off the ground recalling a Norwegian stave church, a medieval architectural style achieved by timber framing. Beautiful diamond-shaped windows and a wraparound balcony make you feel one with the surrounding landscape.

These houses are all tree-friendly. They are not anchored to the trees themselves, nor do they interfere with the root systems or free movement of the trees. They are built using a pin system that stablizes the treehouse without doing any damage.

The second house is the Birdhouse, the highest at more than 20 feet above ground.

You can see how closely they are built to the trees, yet are not attached to them.
Finally, there is Lookout Loft which is accessible by ramps even to people in wheelchairs. The thing that intrigued me about this one was its artistry. There are over 75 feet of ramps girded by a railing that is a subtle work of art.

See how each center insert is a different design.

It also has a built-in skylight that a tree grows right through.

Discreet signs tell you that the treehouses were all built of reclaimed wood from old mills, factories and barns.

The structures are amazing and provide a rare opportunity to set foot in a place most of us only dreamed about having as kids.

Eat, Pray, Live

Before we leave Cape May, I must show you Franklin Street Church, an 1879 structure converted into three dramatic condominiums. This is one of my favorite Cape May houses, not a Victorian at all, but Gothic. It was a Designer Home in 2006 and, sadly, I didn’t get to see it, but my friend Madeline did, and says it was unique and fascinating.

It was badly deteriorated and empty for several years before Bill Saponaro, a Cape May antiques dealer-turned-developer bought it and acted as general contractor on the construction project. His vision was to create three luxury condos from its 7,700 square feet of soaring open space punctuated by the lacy fretwork of a series of exposed trusses. The units incorporate the stained-glass windows and celestial ceilings -- 15 feet high in the bedrooms, 27 feet high in the great rooms.

"He's a pretty persuasive person, and since the mission of our organization is to support preservation, his vision inspired everyone," says Marjorie Preston, communications coordinator for Cape May's Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts.

"I have a soft spot for these old buildings," says Saponaro, 46, a onetime hotel and restaurant manager who still owns a pizza shop in Roxborough.Architect S.J. Fenwick of Linwood, N.J., worked with Saponaro on the design, coming up with a plan that positioned the bedrooms on the ground floor and the living spaces on top to create great rooms that use the steeply peaked roof.

"The hardest part was figuring out where to set the floor levels," Fenwick says. "When they decorated the walls with all those large, wonderful windows, they didn't have a constant horizontal plane in mind."

Saponaro, who estimates he's spent $1.7 million on the renovation, had all the stained glass removed and sent out for restoration. The bottom sashes of most of the windows have been changed to clear glass to let in light and views. The leftover stained glass has been incorporated into some of the 14 new windows added to the building.

Two of the units have been sold, but the good news is that one is still on the market. For a mere $1,195,000, this one could be yours. Here are some photos of the inside.

The kitchen with hardwood floor as well as Wolfe, Subzero, and Asko appliances.

The Great Room with arched windows and doors.

Two of the three bedrooms.

There are 3.5 baths and California Closets.

The unit comes "as is" so you get all the furniture too. Not a bad deal at all.

Weathervane Collection

Pig Weathervane

Rooster Weathervane


Dolphin Weathervane - we saw dolphins, by the way. Every morning around 7:30 they swam up toward Atlantic City and every evening about 4:30 here they came back. Almost like they were going to work. I guess they were in a way. Trolling the coastline for fish. They swim very close to shore and are majestic to behold.

Mermaid Weathervane

Another Rooster

Fish Weathervane

Glass ball

I got to add to my weathervane collection. I like to photograph weathervanes because they make me remember to look up. Then when I look up, I remember to look around.


Whale weathervane