Mama Zuke

Mary turns 100!!!!

2011-12-13T20:18:00.004-05:00

I went to visit Mary today in the nursing home. She is now 100 years old!!! She was so happy to see me. She showed me the tote bag that Phil and Nancy made for her with the pictures or her 2 sons and Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. She was so proud of it! Mary's best friend Mary (to the left) is always at her side. Mary calls friend Mary 'Frances' for some reason. Mary doesn't even know why! I asked Mary how her boys were (they are in their 70's) and she said that they are growing up so fast!

I went into her room to put the cookies on her table and there was mail. I'm thinking that there were more cards from the thoughtful gals from 2 P's that said they'd be happy to send her cards. She has gotten a ton already!

Happy Birthday Mary!!!

Theodore Roosevelt Park

2011-11-07T16:21:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to Theodore Roosevelt Park in Oyster Bay. It's a beautiful beach. Scott wanted to get some rocks to cut with his new Rock Cutter. He was able to get some really nice ones! PJ even got into the search. Me, I just took pictures!

Migration of the Monarchs

2011-10-10T10:36:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went down to the beach. We went with the intention of capturing some great photo opps of the Monarch Butterflies that stop there on their migration to Mexico. Last year a friend said she saw a ton. Well we weren't so lucky. I saw 3 in a tree and 2 in the sand. Maybe they left before we got there!

Score!!!

2011-10-10T10:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went to a few garage sales with PJ. I got this beautiful Vera Bradley Beach Tote for $5! We were on our way to the beach so this worked out beautifully!!!

Yankees vs Detroit Game 5 of Playoffs!

2011-10-08T12:10:00.007-04:00

We went to the NY Yankees vs Detroit Game 5 of the playoffs game. We got Bleacher Creature seats which is where we wanted to be. The crowd is NUTS and it makes it that much more fun!

Just to the west when you're walking toward the stadium is this beautiful field. It was built above the road.
We started out at the Yankee Museum. This was Jeter's shirt and trophy from his 3000th hit.
Mariano

Ivan Nova and Russel Martin
Nova
Nova
Nova
Jeter
Jeter
GARLIC FRIES.... YUMMY!!
Granderson
Do you think he stole that hat?
Granderson and Cano

CC pitching
Granderson

Me, Scott and PJ
Swisher

Y-M-C-A
The Yankees finally did something right!
This poor Detriot fan was the butt of the Creatures chanting. He took it quite well. He deserves applause!!!
We had a great time. The Yankees lost 3-2. Even with that, the fun we had with the Bleacher Creatures made it all worth while!!!

We did it!!!

2011-10-08T11:55:00.002-04:00

Our volleyball team was in 4th place out of 18 teams so we got a spot in the playoffs. We were so proud to even get to that point!!!

We beat the team that were played against( the 1st place team) 3 out of 4 games. The Average Joe's, who we despise because of their arrogance, was in 2nd place but was knocked out! That made everything worth it!!! (I'm not usually so mean!) So it was us against the 3rd place team for the finals.

Once again, we won 3 out of 4 games for the WIN!!! Everyone played great!!! What a great year this has been. We're like one big family!!! I can't wait until next may!!!

Mike, Garth and Maggie

Mike, Maggie, Garth, Chris, Dan and Jackie
PJ
Jackie, Garth and PJ
The team.... winning circle!!!
PJ and I
Our team!!!

TEAM COY...

2011-10-08T11:52:00.001-04:00

PJ's Over 50 Softball team came in 1st place!!! What do they get you ask..... no gold ring but a sweatshirt!!! Congratulations to the team!

Portland Timbers vs NY Red Bulls

2011-10-08T11:39:00.004-04:00

Sept 24, 2011

Chris was in town with the "Timbers Army" for the Portland Timbers game against the NY Red Bulls. Being that it was in NJ and he was staying in Brooklyn, we got tix and met him in NJ at the Red Bull Arena. I was a little nervous because the Army is supposed to be nuts with their chants. I was pleasantly surprised that it was just all good fan support for a great team. Over 200 Army members flew in from Portland to support the team.

Timber Joey is the guy that cuts a log with a chain saw after a goal at HOME games.

Chris and Megan
Everyone has a Timbers Scarf... now we do as well

Matt Tally as the one who is in charge of the chants
PJ and Chris
PJ and Chris
Chris and Megan
Some of the Timbers Army

Gardening Gone Wild contest for Sept... Late Summer Garden

2011-09-25T08:19:00.008-04:00

Gardening Gone Wild's photo contest started back again for September. I was so happy! The theme is "Late Summer Garden". My late summer garden is brown, crinkly leaves and lots of weeds! I always get lazy at the end of summer with my garden.

With that being said, I had a hard time finding any garden areas, flowers etc that wasn't a mess. I have very few pics to choose from. I decided to go with my green tomatoes. I always have green tomatoes in the fall. As a matter of fact, I usually get more green tomatoes than red tomatoes! I don't know why but that's ok. We'll be having some Fried Green Tomatoes!!!

I FOUND MY GLASSES!!!!

2011-09-21T17:51:00.003-04:00

I've been missing my glasses since Sunday. It was driving me crazy that I couldn't find them. I gave up looking and just figured that I accidently threw them in the garbage.

In the mean time the teacher that I work with has been telling me all week about a delicious Chicken recipe and how I HAVE to try it. Well tonight was going to be the night. I opened the oven door and lo and behold, there's my glasses... MELTED!!! What's the first thing I do?.... I took them out and took a picture of them!!!

I've only had them for a month! Wait till PJ gets home from works and hears about this!!!

My FIRST sale!!!!!

2011-09-13T06:54:00.004-04:00

I'm so happy! I made my first sale today from my Etsy shop!!!

www.etsy.com/shop/hortnut

I'm just sooo happy!!!

Alyssa's FIRST 5K!!!!!

2011-07-23T13:04:00.004-04:00

Today was Alyssa's FIRST 5K. It was the Waterfront Warriors for wounded Vets, in Long Beach on the boardwalk. I can't believe that they didn't cancel the race. It was already in the mid 90's when it was starting... at 8AM!

Her friend Craig joined her. They made their shirts yesterday!
30 seconds before the start... everyone starts their stop watches/timers.
And they're off....

PJ commented that when he retires, he wants that job!

We looked towards the beach to see this group!
She did it!!!! We're so proud of her!!!

Some man complimented them on their shirts, gave them Captain America frisbees and took their picture!
Publish Post We are so proud of both of them. What a way to do your first race... in record breaking temps!!!

Camping in Ithaca....

2011-06-29T16:35:00.006-04:00

We left at 6:08 AM. We were LATE! There was a heavy fog in the morning. This picture was when we were on the Throggs Neck Bridge.

We got to Ithaca at around 10:30. We went to a few garage sales. For some reason, they have the BEST garage sales. We actually leave room in the car for our treasures!

One GREAT sale was at the DANE EMERSON HOUSE. This Inn is on the way to our property. I always thought it was beautiful. Now I own a few things from there!

The barn was always my favorite part!

We decided to go to our property to see if the weeds look any different.... Nope, all's the same!

We then went to Mimm's Garden outside of the Plant Science building at Cornell. It's one of our favorite gardens.

There's 3 different wrought iron fences. We love them all!
On Sunday morning, we went for our usual breakfast at Wegman's and sat upstairs in the cafe. I love this because you can watch all of the workers setting up for the busy day ahead. We're usually above the Sushi guys and it's fun to watch them create their specialties.
Then we were off to the Ithaca's Farmers Market We have such a fun time walking around, looking at the vendors wares, listening to the music out by the water etc.

I found a little garden with a pond right near our car at the market. There were lots of Water Lilies.

Grape vines all over the countryside...
We went to Purity Ice Cream after dinner. It's tradition! As we were sitting outside, PJ noticed a Variegated Maple tree. He never saw one before.
It's always pretty looking at this spot overlooking Seneca Lake.
For lunch on Monday, we sat on a hill overlooking Cayuga Lake and ate our hero's.
Back at the campsite for a swim. It's the only day with SUN! The waterfall is in the campground. You can go off the diving board, swim , or even try to get across the bottom of the falls without falling off! The kids would try to get all the way across when they were young. It would take a long time and they all got close but never made it completely to the end.

Time to relax at Six Mile Creek...

Pretty Lilies outside of the winery.
We went Letterboxing on the Cornell campus. I have added a whole detailed post about the Letterboxing after this posting.
Being that Monday was the only sunny day, we couldn't resist going to Sunset Park to watch the sun set over Cayuga Lake.
We had so much fun on this trip. It was too short but perfect for a quick getaway!

Letterboxing on the Cornell Univ campus... The Book of Amun-Ra

2011-06-29T15:50:00.010-04:00

Sunday and Monday were especially fun because PJ and I went Letterboxing on the Cornell University campus. We did The Book of Anum-Ra . This one was especially difficult because you really had to THINK with every clue. At one point, we even asked a student if we could borrow some of her brains to help us figure out the one clue (of many) that we were stuck on. We started our quest by walking up the hill by the clock tower.

Find the statue of Ezra Cornell in the Arts Quad. Look around the statue for the year in which the statue was cast. Remember this.

1917 is the answer.

Next, follow the eyes of Ezra to his co-founder. Andrew Dickson

Look for a date on his statue...
1915

Follow the pointing toe of A.D.White to your next destination ...

and distinguished landmark on the Cornell University Campus…if the time is right you may be able to hear as well as see it.

At the base of this structure you will find a memorial built for those who have “given generously to build and strengthen Cornell.”

On the blocks of stone used to construct this site are carved the names of these individuals. Subtract the years from the two founders’ statues and multiply this number by 2.

On the top row of stones, count this number from the left, and you will find the name of a Sphinx Head member (and his wife) inscribed the second name from the top.

Continue to the building of which he is the namesake.

Well, we got to Willard Straight Hall only to find that it was closed!!! Boo Hoo! The man inside said that they will open at 7 AM tomorrow. We decided that we will pack up the tent early, go to Wegman's for breakfast and then head over to Cornell to finish our quest.
We went around the side of Willard Straight Hall and went down the stairs to get to the parking lot. PJ told me that the garden that's to the left was one that he and his Hort. class repaired when he went to school there in '75-'76.

The next morning we went in Willard Straight Hall from the parking lot instead of walking up the hill. As we were going up the stairs inside, PJ showed me his favorite picture. It was there when he was a student there and after all these years, it's still a favorite!
Upon entering this building look up to find a mythological creature.

Upon entering this building look up to find a mythological creature. Below this being you will find a plaque. The inscription emphasizes the attribute of courage, but more pertinent to the purposes of Sphinx Head, helpfulness. Use the main text of this plaque to spell out your next destination using the corresponding word and letter within the word:

6-4, 10-1, 33-3, 44-8, 3-5, 47-1

As PJ was figuring that our, I took pics of the beautiful ceiling, painted in the early 1900's.

The words and numbers clue turned out to be Barnes Hall...

In front of this building is a stone bench commemorating 100 years of a group on Cornell’s campus that also uses artifacts from Ancient Egypt for representation. Sit on the spot of the bench right on top of the plaque. Look to your left and take note of the inscription reading “servants of all.” You are almost to your final destination.

Walk straight, in the exact direction that the plaque is pointing.
Continue down the stairs and make your first left.

OMG! This was the garden that PJ helped repair!!!
Walk along the path to your left until you reach another plaque beneath the shade of a tree.
Read the plaque to note the contribution of Sphinx Head to the location in which you are standing.
Regardless of whether or not you attended the university; sit in the seat of a loyal Cornellian.
Under this spot on the left you will find the hidden Book of Amun-Ra.

and so we solved another one. WHEW! That was tough. I forgot to take pics of us stamping our books etc. Oh, the 'hitch hiker' that I found in Valley Stream Park, I replanted in this box!!! Mumms the word!!!

This little garden can use some repairs again but for us, it's special the way it is!!!

Good times!

Gardening Gone Wild June Entry

2011-06-18T16:54:00.002-04:00

Another round of tough themes in the Gardening Gone Wild photo contest. This month's theme is MOTION. It was tough to decide on which picture to choose but I kept coming back to this one. This was taken at one of the gorges on the Cornell University campus. My children loved when we would go there.

Photo Question?

2011-06-18T10:46:00.005-04:00

I need everyone's help. I'm entering another Gardening Gone Wild photo contest. This months theme is MOTION. The criteria for this can be found here:http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=17575&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gardeninggonewild%2

Can you tell me which picture you like the best for MOTION using the judges criteria? Thanks.

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THE BELMONT STAKES

2011-06-12T15:27:00.016-04:00

We're off to the Belmont Stakes! What a long day we had!!! We started at 10 AM and didn't get home until about 11:45 at night!

It was a misty, drizzle, downpour kind of day. You couldn't sit on the open benches unless it wasn't raining. That didn't happen often. I had lots of fun having my picture taken in front of 'things' that are recognizable 'event' places for a contest with the Fingerlakes.com website. I WANT TO WIN!

I LOVE this picture! Check out PJ's hat! It looks like he's missing a tooth but he really isn't!

Look who's peaking behind me! I didn't know he was even there!
Kristen, Maggie and Alyssa
I had Alyssa pretend that I was taking a pic of her so I could get a shot of the 2 guys on the bench. They reminded me of Laurel and Hardy!

Guys just having fun! I must say, this event really brings out the creativity of people!

There's a second contest that I wanted to enter. The theme is 'motion' so I was trying to get some motion pics while there. The motion has to show it so blurry is ok.
Alyssa tracked down the Barbershop Quartet. Alyssa, Kristen and Maggie
Alyssa

We loved the bling on this horses head gear!
Bobby Flay's horse running in the 6th race!
Bruce's horse (Don from Saratoga's, friend)
Bobby Flay!
Alyssa and Don after a second place win for Bruce's horse and a 3rd place win for Bobby's horse!

Kristen, Alyssa, Horsie and Maggie
Backyard crowd

Maggie, Alyssa and Kristen with the Belmont Blanket. Different shape this year. I hope we go back to the original shape. This was a pain to sew even though you can't see the angles from this photo.
So I noticed that there were a lot of guys wearing pink and Salmon. Are these the new summer colors for guys?
Pink and white striped shorts and then salmon pants
Kristen, Maggie and Alyssa

The start of the parade for the big race!
Animal Kingdom
Shackleford
PJ and his crew with the blanket
We see this guy every year. He reminds us of Larry David.

And they're off!

Well, my 2 horses were pretty far back. Oh well.

The horse was spooked and didn't want the blanket near him.

PJ ended up getting the winning jockey's goggles!!!
We had to wait until the end of the last race so we couldn't leave until about 8:15. We were headed to a party at his boss's house. We had a nice time and met some nice people. We didn't get home until about 11:45. PJ was asleep within about 30 seconds of his head hitting the pillow!

WINE & HERB FEST

2011-05-12T16:15:00.008-04:00

What a glorious weekend we had up in Ithaca and the Cayuga Wine Trail's Wine & Herb Fest!

My favorite barn is tilting just a little more than our last visit.

PJ and I at King Ferry.

We took a drive to Seneca Lake... always pretty
At one of the wineries, they had those cardboard cutouts of people. PJ thought he was being so funny. Get that smirk off of your face PJ and watch those hands!
Matt from Knapp Winery. He has stories about anything and everything but always manages to captivate an audience.
Cayuga Lake
The house we almost bought years ago is up for sale again. Now that they fixed it up, the price from when we saw it more than doubled! Oh well!
On the morning on Mother's Day, we took a walk DOWN Buttermilk Falls. It's too hard going UP the path being that we're getting old so we parked at the top and went 1/2 way down. There's tons of waterfalls on the way down...

This one is what we call our 'Secret Spot'. We used to hang out with our kids at this part. There's a smooth rock under the falls that you can sit on and slide into the 4' deep pool at the bottom of it. There was so much water this time that you couldn't see the rock!

The water and glaciers carved that out of the shale
The backyard of the Farmers Market. There's always music, picnicers etc. Fun place
Cayuga Ridge and Thirsty Owl Wineries
Six Mile Creeks vineyard beyond the deck that we always sit on and relax with a bottle of wine.

One of the woman from our town told me about a food truck on the Cornell campus that shows up at about 10:00 at night and has a HUGE following. The Hot Truck has been on the campus since the '60s! PJ remembers it! They actually invented the french bread pizza but never patented the idea. A Cornell Alumni that worked for Stouffers had them duplicate it and they got it patented. There's tons of Youtube videos from the students!

The Short Stop Deli owns the truck and it has the same menu as the Hot Truck. You don't have to wait until 10:00 to get your food so we decided to go there.

What can I say.... it was delicious and quite an experience!!!
On the way home we had a MAJOR problem with the car. The bolt that holds the brakes on, came off! We were so scared because it was so hard to stop. The grinding noise was enough to send you over the edge! All in all things worked out. We got to a Chevy dealer in Scranton and they fixed it. They didn't charge us and they wouldn't accept a tip. They were very nice people!!!

So we had a great trip except for our little/BIG glitch on the way home.

It's The Most WONDERFUL Time of Year!!!

2011-04-20T11:07:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, Judy and I went to CT for our favorite weekend of the year.... The Scrapbook Summit at the Simsbury Inn. We look so forward to this weekend starting on our drive back home from the one that just ended!

We arrived on Friday this year as there was scrapping available then but the real crop didn't officially start until Saturday.

This year we were put in a small room with 4 tables of 4 people. It was a bit strange at first but as we got to know everyone, we relaxed, had lots of laughs and thoroughly enjoyed the small room.

We got to have our meals with our CT friends that we've met through the years.

The dessert table is always so beautiful!
Judy and I always share a drink on Saturday night to celebrate us being there together.
On Sunday, besides the omelet station, carving station, chafing dishes etc, they always have a station of different antipastos and salads.
I'm so glad that they have dates for next year set already
This woman was in our scrap room. She won first prize for a craft item. She made a beautiful clock.
This is our room.
One of the first people that we met in our room was Christine. She introduced herself as the Mayor and was so helpful to EVERYONE. She was VERY funny as well!
This is Sandy. We met Sandy 3 years ago. Her daughter works for Disney also. She's very sweet. She was also in our room this year.
It's always sad to say goodbye to our friends. Until next year.........

Gardening Gone Wild April contest.... LIGHT

2011-04-18T10:48:00.002-04:00

This months theme on the Gardening Gone Wild photo contest is LIGHT. The photos that I took in the last few weeks didn't really show light as I wanted them to. I then went through my pics of the past and came up with 2 that I thought showed light in different ways. The first is of Jones Beach, one of my favorite places in the world. Lucky for me, it's only 5 minutes away! The beach is beautiful during any season, day, time and any weather condition.

My second photo is of our campfire during a camping trip at Robert Treman State Park. With my eyes, I can't tell if it's blurry or not!

I will go with my first photo.

2011-04-05T06:38:00.004-04:00

What a 'day brightener'! The guy that writes this blog, is the father of a 15 year old boy.

http://waveatthebus.blogspot.com/

As a joke, he dresses in a different costume every day to wave at the school bus... and embarrass his son! He started it in August and hasn't missed a day, with a different costume each day!

Everyone loves him including all the kids on the bus!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2010

Day One - waving goodbye on the first day of school

The high school bus route now goes down our street! Dale and I enjoyed standing on the front porch and waving at our son as the bus went by this morning. No better way to make your teenage son smile on his first day of school, right?

And so it goes... day by day with pictures of every day, every costume!

ZUKOWSKI/JOHNSON WEEKEND

2011-03-22T06:34:00.008-04:00

We had a great, fun filled weekend with Keith, Lisa, Misha, Amanda and Jack. They flew in from CA on Friday. They spent the day in NYC enjoying the sites. They brought back some delicious pastries for us to have at breakfast the next day.

Saturday morning we decided to meet Craig and go for a nice walk at Robert Moses State Park.

Keith and Jack
Looking at the Robert Moses Bridge
The crew freezing. It was a beautiful day for Long Islanders but for these from the west coast, it was freezing!

Amanda
Jack

Misha and Jack
Keith and Misha cooked us a DELICIOUS dinner!!!
Flounder and shrimp
beets and oranges
My left over Jambalaya from the night before were turned into Jambalaya Cakes/fritters
Misha made the string beans baby bellas and chicken.
Meyer Lemons from Keith and Lisa's tree!
Asparagus and oranges
We all enjoy the feast!!
Even though Alyssa's birthday wasn't until Monday, we celebrated it on Saturday! Keith made the dessert and it was delicious! It was called something like clofloui but that's not right!

Sunday morning Keith, Lisa, PJ, Craig and Linda all trecked to the Robert Moses Lighthouse for the Spring Equinox celebration. They got there at 6 AM! You get to climb the tower to watch the sunrise! They had a great time! The pics aren't in the correct order. Being that I wasn't there, all I know is that the dark pics come first!

This is actually the moon!

Keith, Craig, Linda and Lisa

Lisa climbing up, up and up!
Lisa getting wind blown!

Sunday we went to Dad's house for his 83rd birthday. It was a nice day but a lot like being at a circus! It was nice seeing Dad bond with Jack.
Alyssa, Me, Dad, Keith, Jack, Craig, Ann and Misha

TWIN LAKES

2011-03-14T17:20:00.005-04:00

It was a beautiful crisp day today... perfect for picture taking. I decided that today would be the perfect day to take Les, from A TIDEWATER GARDENER , up on his challenge.

"On your own two feet, leave the house and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home."

So I did just that! Twin Lakes is so beautiful, no matter what time of the year that you go there. The swans make it extra beautiful. On this walk, I took notice of things that I wouldn't normally stop to look at such as fungus, rings on a cut tree, the shape of roots etc. This was an eye opening challenge! Thanks Les!

HICKS FLOWER SHOW

2011-03-12T22:48:00.009-05:00

PJ and I had a great time at the Hicks Flower and Garden Show. It was preview night for the Horticulture industry. We got to see a lot of people that we both worked with a Cornell Cooperative Extension and also FlowerTime. It was fun catching up!!! There's LOTS of picture but all are self explanatory!

PJ checking out the hanging sheer curtain w/ lights on it. Funny to be with a guy that checks out those things!

PJ had to check the elephant ears bulbs numerous times!
Bouganvilla, my favorite!

This Welcome thing was $149.99!!!! CRAZY!
Ranunculas.... something beautiful that I can't grow!

Christmas Cactus... I wanted PJ to grab a cutting but he wouldn't!
I loved this print on canvas. I may just have to blow up my picture!!!!! HEHE!
blue orchids
purple orchids
FUN FUN TIME!

FIRST HONORABLE MENTION!!!!

2011-03-01T06:38:00.005-05:00

I'm so thrilled. I won First Honorable Mention in the Gardening Gone Wild photo contest!!! The theme... What's your Genius Loci? (special place), was a really tough theme so I was very surprised at the outcome.

FIRST HONORABLE MENTION

Mamazuke

Lynn : “ but one place kept coming to my mind as my ‘special place’. It is Sunset Park in Cayuga Heights. This park is owned by the Town of Cayuga Heights. It is a small overlook that was made in the middle of a neighborhood so that everyone can share in the beauty of the landscape that overlooks Cayuga Lake. It is most beautiful at sunset. PJ and I sit on the brick wall watching the sunset while we talk about our dreams for the future. It’s a very calming place to just reflect on life. It will always be my ‘Genius Loci’!”

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It’s moments like this when we almost don’t need a camera. I am sure Lynn that you could close your eyes and see this in your head. Do you ever do that? Sometimes think ‘that’s just too special , too personal to photograph?

It’s a beautiful shot and one I can feel is full of romance and hope.

Specially enjoyed this.

WINNER of CSN GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-02-25T11:31:00.003-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS KATRINA!!!! You won the CSN GIVEAWAY!!!!! I will send you info shortly!

Katrina said...

I would love to be entered.

CSN GIVEAWAY and the END of an ERA!

2011-02-24T09:07:00.003-05:00

PJ and I are both off from work this week. We decided to tackle a room this week that we've been putting off you YEARS! That's putting it mildly! This room used to be Scott and Alyssa's bedroom when they were babies. After they moved upstairs, we used it as a playroom so the wall paper was ok for a kids playroom. Well the years went on, the age of computers, ebay and scrapbooking came along and took over the room. Why bother updating if no one will ever see the room was what we always said. Besides, we were lazy. So now... 20+ years later, we know that we need to redo this room.

We put all of the furniture, scrapbook STUFF, ebay STUFF etc into the living room. What a mess. Now you can't use the living room! PJ is taking down the wallpaper as I go through the STUFF. OMG the things that I'm finding! It makes me cringe thinking about how much money I spent on scrapbook items that I just HAD TO HAVE and yet never used them! Good thing it's ME going through this stuff and not PJ!

This is the last wall to go!

I guess before we wallpapered, we let our 2 oldest kids write on the walls. Maybe they didn't ask. Chris and Brooke both signed the wall!

Don't forget to enter the CSN giveaway! Tonight at midnight the giveaway ends!

CSN GIVEAWAY!!!

CSN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2011-02-17T16:13:00.007-05:00

GREAT NEWS!

I'm hosting a GIVEAWAY from CSN Stores!!!!

I'm so excited to be offering this prize.

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from a stylish swing set to cute cookware to chic lighting pieces. They have anything and EVERYTHING!

The folks at CSN stores are offering one of my readers a chance to win a $20.00 gift certificate to use at any of their 200+ stores! I have purchased items from them and I'm very happy with my items!

You can have up to two chances to win!

How to enter:

**Just leave a comment on this post telling me you would like to be entered.

**leave a second comment if you are a follower or subscriber to Mama Zuke or if you just became a new follower.

This giveaway starts now and will end at midnight (EST) on Thursday, Feb 24, 2011

Teddy Roosevelts House

2011-02-13T19:29:00.004-05:00

It was a nice day today with a high of 42! It felt like spring time after the cold weather that we've been having. PJ and I decided to go for a spin in the MGB and take a ride up to Teddy Roosevelts house. But first, PJ had to check on something at work so we sent there first. I was sitting in the car when all of a sudden a goat goes walking by! It was so bizarre! By the time I got my camera out, the goat was almost out of sight. Very strange. PJ said he sees the goat every day.The track looks so different in the winter.
Off to Teddy's house. It was so nice riding with the top down. It was colder than we thought but it still felt so good to have the sun shinning on us.

The picture below is his house but I didn't take it. Notice the leaves on the trees! We sat in the rocking chairs waiting for the 3:00 tour. The conversations that the people around us should have been rated X! Everyone was talking about SEX! So strange! I actually commented to PJ asking if we're on Candid Camera or something!

While sitting in the chairs, a man was playing with his dog. It was so entertaining. This dog was very friendly and very well trained. Sit, back up, speak, go to the right, go to the left, lay down.... the dog instantly did it all! The man would throw the ball out into the field and the dog would fetch it and put it next to the mans feet. The man would throw it 30 feet in the air and the dog 100% of the times, caught it in his mouth!

The tour was ok. The guide was like listening to Steve Erkel. I stopped listening after a while. It was fun to do something different though.

The ride home was cold and fast! No side roads... just get on the main roads and get home to warm up!

Gardening Gone Wild 'GENIUS LOCI' contest

2011-02-13T08:49:00.005-05:00

February's theme for the Gardening Gone Wild Photo contest http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=15788 is What is your 'GENIUS LOCI'?

I was a bit confused by that term but this, written by the judge, Andrea Jones, explains it better.

What is YOUR special place? Please try and capture it with your camera and show me…

It can be the view of your garden out of your bedroom window – or of your favorite garden visited while on vacation. Anywhere that you feel especially drawn to. Just try and capture the ‘spirit’ of the place. It does not have to be and early morning shot – it could be an urban garden heaving with visitors. But just one shot that you feel captures the‘GENIUS LOCI’ – the ‘special atmosphere of a place’.

Your favourite space may be an urban garden buzzing with people – then try and capture need that buzz. It might be a garden at night so thenphotograph it in the moonlight. If it’s a quiet peaceful private space then I want to hear the silence.

It’s your personal interpretation of one of your favourite oudoor spaces. Your special place photographed in such as way to show what you love most about it.

This was quite a tough theme. I thought of so many places that I just love, Jones beach, Mimm's Garden on the Cornell campus, Planting Fields Arboretum... but one place kept coming to my mind as my 'special place'. It is Sunset Park in Cayuga Heights. This park is owned by the Town of Cayuga Heights. It is a small overlook that was made in the middle of a neighborhood so that everyone can share in the beauty of the landscape that overlooks Cayuga Lake. It is most beautiful at sunset. PJ and I sit on the brick wall watching the sunset while we talk about our dreams for the future. It's a very calming place to just reflect on life. It will always be my 'Genius Loci'!

2011-01-30T13:35:00.002-05:00

PJ decided that today was a good day to go through his coins and perhaps sell some. The price of gold and silver is so high now, we'd be stupid not to. He has TONS of coins... well, the kids do actually. My father bought them proof sets etc for Christmas every year. But PJ did have a nice stash that he started collecting from when he was a paper boy in the early '60's. It actually seemed like an endless supply stashed in different closets, drawers etc. I said, let me get the bag from the closet. That ended up being Alyssa's jewelry from my mother. Then PJ went through his night table drawer and found a ziplock bag with rings and a watch. He said "this must have been from your Mother or Grandmother" I said that I've never seen them in my life! We figured that they were from one of the auctions that we had won.

This ring I thought was beautiful but soooo small. It's 14K gold and I would think real diamonds.

Then there were these 3 wedding rings, all 14K gold. They were HEAVY!
This was really ugly, but it's 18K gold and I would assume real diamonds.
This was 14K with a diamond
This watch said 14K and has purple stones on it which I don't have a clue what they are.
We thought we hit the mother load and were eager to sell them, especially the heavy one. We showed them to Alyssa and she was able to read the inscription in them. Well we're not selling them! They're PJ's Grandparents rings!!!

OH well.

2011-01-28T06:45:00.001-05:00

We ended up with a WHOPPING 14+"!!! I heard a few people say that mid week next week, we're in for another storm, bigger than this one!!!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

2011-01-27T09:20:00.003-05:00

What a beautiful sight to wake up to this morning. It truly is a Winter Wonderland! I haven't been outside yet, other than on my stoop to take the pictures, but I would guess that we got about a foot of snow!

The 2 cars in the driveway or are they giant marshmallows?
You don't realize just how many wires surround your house because they are up high, camouflaged by the trees. The snow has brought them way too low!

Puffy snow!
This is our Christmas tree. It was such a nice tree, we decided to stand it up in the garden for a while instead of throwing it out. Still looks fresh under all of that snow!
The firepit

I guess it will be time to get outside and shovel soon. Naaah. I'll wait a while!

2011-01-26T20:04:00.002-05:00

On my way home from work today, I decided to stop and take some pictures of Twin Lakes. It was so pretty with all of the newly fallen snow from the afternoon. We're expecting a snow storm overnight.

It's hard to see but there's a bunch of ducks or geese way out there on the ice.

I just liked that log
The southern lake of Twin Lakes

Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Gardening Gone Wild Macro in a Jar contest entry

2011-01-19T18:07:00.003-05:00

I have decided on which picture I would enter into the Gardening Gone Wild January Photo contest. The theme is "Macro in a Jar".

This months theme was a lot of fun. Getting out in the snow to take some of the pictures, well, my neighbors thought I was crazy! I am!

Macro in a Mason Jar

2011-01-17T13:02:00.002-05:00

Today is a day off from work. I had gotten an email from a blog that I frequent with his pictures that he was considering entering into the Gardening Gone Wild Photo Contest.
http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=15262#more-15262
The theme for January is "Macro in a Mason Jar". I had tried this over the summer when they first had that theme and it was actually a lot of fun. I had to give it a whirl again.
Being that it's freezing here, there are no flowers in the garden. I decided to use a cyclamen that PJ grew in the greenhouse for me. I'm sure he wouldn't be happy to know that I cut off a few of the flowers for the sake of a photo contest!
I took some pictures inside and then bundled up to take some outside... in the snow! I even put snow into the jars in some of the pictures but it's hard to tell.
I'm leaning towards entering the photo labeled "A". Thoughts?

A
B
C

D
E
F

G
H

2011-01-02T09:41:00.002-05:00

One of the fathers down the other end of my block were building a snowman yesterday. He had about 10 little kids that live all around him helping out with the snowman. As PJ and I passed, seeing them having so much fun made us miss when our kids were small.
Later on in the day, the sign went up!!! I love it! What a great sense of humor!

2011-01-01T13:51:00.001-05:00

HAPPY 1-1-11 !!

What a beautiful day in New York. We still have tons of snow piled up and on the lawns but check out the temperature IN THE SHADE of my back yard!!! Just a GREAT way to start the new year!!!

BLIZZARD of 2010!

2010-12-27T10:41:00.006-05:00

What a fierce storm we had between yesterday and today. It was the Blizzard of 2010 and it dumped approx 12.5" of snow here!
It started yesterday around 1:00 PM...
Looking out my front door!
Being that our tree stand ended up having a crack in it and our rug was all wet, I thought it was a perfect day to get the tree down. When it was standing there I realized that it would be such a waste to just throw the tree out. So I asked Scott what he thought of the idea of putting it in the garden to look pretty in the snow. Before I knew it, he grabbed it and started to go through the house with it!
He put it in the garden....

Notice the shorts and NO shoes!!!

Looking out my front window...

The next morning...

It was so windy last night (60-70MPH) that there were drifts all over the place.
across the street...
The stoop
I guess it's high time we got out to shovel!!!

2010-12-26T12:01:00.002-05:00

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun. During the day, Scott and Alyssa made the dough for sugar cookies. They totally got into the festive mood with aprons and hats!

We went to EAB Plaza for our annual Christmas Eve picture. Brooke and Chris aren't here this year. We've added Dave to the pictures!
Alyssa and Dave
Alyssa and Scott
PJ, Me, Dave, Alyssa and Scott
PJ and I
After we left EAB Plaza, we drove home slowly to look at Christmas lights. We always stop at one of Scott's friends house to see the monstrosity. You can barely see the house. There's hundreds of those ugly blow up decorations on every inch of their lawn!

We ended the night with a nice dinner!

2010-12-26T11:31:00.005-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

PJ and I were woken up by Scott and Alyssa at 8 singing some religious song!
We had MANY laughs and good times as we opened our gifts.
Every year, Scott gets PJ under ware that is just sooooo NOT PJ. This year was no exception!

another funny from Scott... "Who ever hits the cat first, WINS"!

and yet another funny. This one is from Brooke. It's dryer lint in a zip lock bag! She had it amongst the presents in the box she sent to us. Brooke and Alyssa used to leave me piles of lint on top of the dryer until I got on their case to throw it out. Then I found a HUGE blob of it on the kitchen table with a noite about sheering sheep. I scrapbooked that note and lint years ago. So now I get this package of lint, thinking Brooke is so clever... so I thought!

Huckleberry enjoying the paper
Alyssa was going through her stocking and found what else but a ziplock bag of dryer lint that I had put there!! Amazing that Brooke and I were thinking the same this year!
Alyssa and Scott both texted Brooke to say how funny it was that we both thought of the joke with the dryer lint. Here's how the text's went....
Alyssa: Not only did u give Mom lint, but I got a bag of it in my stocking LOL!
Brooke: HAHAHA! The lint was for packing purposes! It wasn't a present for Mom HAHA but I guess we can pretend! LOL She'll probably scrapbook it!
Alyssa: What are you a dope? Who packs presents with lint? Did you honestly think a bag that small would keep everything safe?
And so it went....
Some of things that were put in their stockings were dollar store kids toys etc. They were such a hit!!! Later in the day, they, including Dave, had fun watching little pellets turn into dinosaur sponges!

This is Scott's crystal growing tree. Within an hour it had crystals on it!
By morning, it was beautiful!
This was a very quiet yet fun Christmas. The Dollar Store items were such a big hit that Scott and Alyssa proposed trying something new for Christmas next year.... Let's have a Dollar Store/Garage Sale Christmas. They both said that they don't need or really want anything so this could be fun. They want to have a dollar amount, like $30, and 1/2 goes to items from the
$ store and 1/2 is from garage sales. They were totally serious! As crazy as it is, I think it could be a lot of fun!!!

2010-12-19T08:46:00.005-05:00

Scott bought tickets for PJ, Alyssa, me and himself to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as Christmas presents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CCSeugClR8&feature=related
We had always heard that the concerts were great but really didn't know what to expect. I never expected them to be 'rockers' and so talented!
They started by coming down from the ceiling.

One of the first things we all noticed is that they ALL were very talented in shaking their heads back and forth to make their hair fly. It was so funny!

The first half was like a Christmas rock opera. A man told a Christmas story in segments leading to the orchestra playing different Christmas songs in their way.
Besides being talented musically, they were also very talented in theatrics. Their songs were stories and they played the parts very well.
They had singers and members of the NY Philharmonic as their orchestra.
The second half was a variety of their regular songs. It was funny because some songs I guess had certain meanings to the audience because they would do hand movements, stand up at certain times etc. It was like being at a YES concert!
There goes the hair again!
The violinist was mine and Alyssa's favorite member. He took command of that stage and was amazing to watch.

When he was leaning backwards, PJ said that there was water coming out of the top of the bow. We had to explain to him that it wasn't water that he was seeing, it was violin strings! You can't see it in this picture though. It was pretty funny!

This was the strangest concert that I've ever been to! It was just so funny to see a bunch of long haired, crazy energetic guys turn ordinary songs into works of art. It was like Beethoven meets Kiss! They were all very talented in their individual ways. I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

2010-12-19T07:58:00.003-05:00

We had lots of laughs decorating the tree. Dave joined us and it was his first experience decorating a tree.

Alyssa and Dave are trying to figure out what the heck that ornament is of. It was one of Nanny and Pop's ornaments.
Huck sitting on the end table watching all the action
This will become a family tradition. As Alyssa, Scott and Dave decorated the tree, PJ read the Cajun Twas The Night Before Christmas off of an ornament that we bought for Scott while we were in New Orleans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_prlqOyEXyY
It was so funny because PJ has not mastered the Cajun accent yet. It was hysterical watching him try to read the words because they are written as they're supposed to sound.
Alyssa, Dave and Scott got quite a kick out of it!
When the kids were young, the 'Ornament Fairy' would come at night and move some ornaments from the bottom of the tree, upwards to even it all out. Now that they've grown, I think the Ornament Fairy has to come back and move some to the bottom!
We had a great time together!

2010-12-19T07:39:00.003-05:00

Scott came home from school on Saturday. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept from the day before. Just about the time Scott was going to nap, PJ said "Let's go cut a Christmas tree"! So off we went to Shamrock Christmas Tree Farm http://shamrockchristmastreefarm.com/
in the beautiful town of Mattituck. Shamrock is right in the middle of beautiful wineries and vineyards.
We were so impressed as soon as we got there. Scott and Alyssa took full advantage of Kodak moments.
They also have a Complimentary Barn with free hot chocolate and popcorn!
Now.... off to find that perfect tree!
Alyssa found a nice one and we ALL actually agree on it! Every Christmas tree that we get, Alyssa and Scott name it. This years tree is Michael Jackson. When you purchase a tree, it gets put in a stand where it gets shaken to get any needles etc off that need to be off. It reminded them of Michael Jackson's dancing.

Ohhhh those kids....
Warming up by the firepit

What a fun time we had. This is a great place for families with young kids. They even have a train that goes all around the property. Off we go.....

2010-12-13T20:32:00.002-05:00

SURPRISE!!!
I got a box in the mail from the FISKATEERS! I was so excited to see what was in it!
I opened it up to find a beautiful pair of scissors that are engraved with my Fiskateer number on it! I feel sooooo honored!!! I can't wait to use them!

Holiday Shopping Spree

2010-12-07T08:20:00.009-05:00

This past weekend, PJ and I went up to Ithaca for the Holiday Shopping Spree.... an event put on by the Cayuga Wine Trail. It starts on Friday and goes all the way to Sunday at 5:00. It's always a fun weekend. This time I won an extra ticket. We ended up sending it to Midge, a woman that lives in the round house behind our property up there. She was so excited and came along with us. Barry had to work.
This is our property...
Malva... she's now 95 years old and still the official 'GREETER" at King Ferry Winery. We love seeing Malva. She bowls twice a week and also has card night on Wednesdays. She has such a great outlook on life!
Cayuga Lake
This is a form of either Broccoli or Cauliflower (I forgot). They were at the Farmer's Market. STUNNING! You could make a beautiful centerpiece with them!

It flurried from the minute we got to Ithaca until we left!

We took a ride on Sunday morning to Seneca Lake. I love the view!
Grapes in their neat perfect rows
We took a side road back to Cayuga Lake. There was a lot more snow on this road for some reason than anywhere else!
Bails of Hay

PJ and Midge at Bellweather Hard Cider Winery. I always skip this one.

Spot where Midge's aunt has a summer home on Cayuga Lake
I love barns!
This is my favorite barn of all time. I take a picture of it on every trip to Ithaca so I have it in all seasons. One day it will completely fall over but I'll have my memories!
On the way home, PJ brought me to a wholesale Christmas Store in NJ. I wasn't impressed once I saw the prices of things. I'll stick to Michaels and AC Moore with my coupons!
We has such a nice relaxing weekend. The next event is in March... Mardi Gras!

2010-11-23T06:57:00.002-05:00

Just for fun and to bring back fun memories of Brooke's stalking years...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxxSZVU4qX4

CHOCOLATE EXPO

2010-11-09T09:03:00.004-05:00

On Sunday, PJ and I went to the Chocolate Expo in White Plains. We had never been to an expo/festival where the main ingredient was sweet! We're used to garlic, chili, more garlic etc! There was a lot more here than chocolate though.
Just Buns had some delicious buns! Very fresh and light! http://swirlybuns.com/
There were lots of cookie vendors, some good, some bad. These weren't too good!
The different chocolate vendors had some beautiful chocolates! Very creative! It's a shame that most to the vendors that had REAL chocolate, didn't offer samples. The ones that had sugar free, organic etc, they had lots of samples but they also tasted disgusting! I say... if you're going to eat chocolate, don't try to change it. Eat the real deal!
These were beautiful... from Odyssey Chocolates
http://www.odysseychocolates.com/ourchocolates.html

The expo was very crowded with people. It was hard to maneuver but we made sure that if there was a sample, we were going to get it!
This vendor, www.thechocolateboxnyc.com, had beautiful boxes made out of chocolate and then filled with treats!

Beechwood House Sauces www.beechwoodhouse.com has a delicious Garlic BBQ sauce and also their Bourbon Sauce was delicious!
This Garlic Sunday Sauce from www.GrandpaPete.com was really good but too expensive for sauce. One jar wouldn't be enough for one meal in my house! But it was very good!
And here's the star of the show... JD GOURMET. http://www.jdgourmet.com/about.html
They have the best Barrel Aged Balsamic Vinegar that we've ever had! Some bread, EVOO, balsamic and a bottle of wine and you're all set! Their other vinegars and oils are also delicious but that one is our very, very favorite!
We had a really nice time. It was so nice to meet Dee, even though it was a quick chat.
Now that the cold weather is coming, I guess we have to wait until next year to go to more festivals!!!

2010-11-03T09:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, Alyssa and I made Emeril's Sweet & Spicy Pickles. We had a great time! I've added the recipe and more pictures to my cooking blog... mamazukecooks.blogspot.com

2010-10-28T10:24:00.003-04:00

It's a sad day for me today. It is my last day sitting with my 99 year old friend at the nursing home. I start a month long (but could be 3 months) leave replacement as a Transitional Aide. I'm happy that I got the leave replacement job but I sure will miss chatting with my friend. I will always remember her wisdom, stories and friendship. I can always visit so I shouldn't be sad.

2010-10-22T16:23:00.003-04:00

While going through some of my grandfather's pictures, I came across one that said "Ron's Birthplace N. Branch, NJ". (Ron is my uncle, my mother's brother).
My mouth dropped!
That picture just answered my question that I've had since researching my 'roots' quite a few years ago.
I had been down Vanderveer Ave and took pictures of the houses, some small and some large, wondering which one was the house that my mother was born in. I just assumed it was one of the smaller ones at the beginning of the block or one at the end by the dairy farm. The family owned everything on that block including the cemetery across the street that goes back to the 1700's... almost all Ten Eyck's. I even did a THREE page layout of the street for my Ten Eyck scrapbook.

Page 1 is with the first house you come to is actually a Historical House... The Jacob Ten Eyck house

Page 2 is the house that I thought was so nice "Ridge To River Farm". I was so intrigued by this house that I wrote a letter to the owners asking about it. They said that they know it was once a ten Eyck house for many generations but didn't know beyond that. They said I can have a tour whenever I'm in the area again! My Grandmother told me that there was a big long house on the block that even had a Grand Ballroom in it!

Page 3 showed the end of Vanderveer Ave with more houses and the Dairy Farm that they owned. We also met a 2nd cousin that we never knew existed!

How cool to find this picture to now know the truth of which house was their's.... the one with the ballroom!
I'm so glad I went through EVERY one of the millions of pictures that my Grandparents saved instead of just tossing them out.

BETHLEHEM, CT GARLIC FESTIVAL

2010-10-11T07:10:00.006-04:00

Yesterday PJ, P, N and I went to the Bethlehem, CT Garlic Festival. we had such a great time. It was a beautiful day to be outside tasting such delicious foods... dips, jelly's, oils, vinegars, garlic, garlic & more garlic!

There was a pig roast in the food section

I thought these were interesting.
Love it!

PJ and P tasting the flavored vinegars and oils at the JD Gourmet's booth. http://www.jdgourmet.com/
I had to get my pic taken with Mike of JD Gourmet

We stopped at Pizza and Brew on our way home because .... IT"S TRADITION!

PLANTING FIELDS ARBORETUM

2010-10-09T12:15:00.009-04:00

Yesterday Scott, Alyssa and I took a ride to Planting Fields Arboretum. It was such a beautiful day to be outside with nature! But first, we went into the Carmelia House. This is the wrong time of the year to see them flowering but I love the old structure.
Hydrangea
The back of the Coe house
The side of the house

This is a sun dial. In all of the years I've been going there (since the 70's!), I never noticed it. It took Scott to call my attention to it! It is a 1/2 day sun dial that has Roman #'s along the "u" shape to tell you what time it is!

Scott doing the "Zukowski Happy Dance"
CROCUS in MID OCTOBER!!!!!

Celosia

The cottage made for the Coe's children

Then LOTS and LOTS of pics of flowers.

This is made of various cedar trees.

That's it! We had a very enjoyable day!

The Food Network Lounge Party in NYC!!!

2010-10-07T08:25:00.005-04:00

PJ and I had such a great night last night! I was invited, with a guest, to the Food Network Private Lounge Party at Thalassa Restaurant in NYC. What an honor!!!
We arrived 40 minutes early so we took a short walk to the Hudson River to see what New Jersey looks like from this side of the river. We checked out the menus from the different restaurants in the area.

As we walked in the door, I heard someone behind me say "Here comes Aarti" (winner of the Next Food Network Star and show Aarti's Party). I pushed PJ through the door, whipped out my camera and yelled "STOP"! I got the picture! I think I scared her in the process!
There were a couple of photo shoots and interviews with Aarti and other chefs.
There was so much food there. There were 2 big stations but we went into a different room where there was a smaller station and not as crowded with people.
The blond curly haired girl is Candace Nelson of The Cupcake Wars.
PJ chatting with a server about all of the delicious food.
Aarti
Cupcake Tower from the Cupcake Wars
Lindt Chocolate
Mini Marbled Stuffed Potatoes
Shrimp with Greek Saffron Sauce Skewers... these were to DIE for! They were soooo good. I just kept going back for more and more of these!

Fried Eggplant and Zucchini with a Greek dipping sauce

It was definitely a young city type of crowd. I actually think that PJ and I were the oldest people that were there!
Sunny Anderson mingling with the press

Sunny and Me
When you first walk in, across from the bar is a really long, maybe 20 feet, sofa. There were Food Network pillows all over the sofa. As we were leaving PJ asked if he could have one to give to me and she said YES!

I told PJ that before we leave, I have to get a picture with Aarti. We couldn't find her so we decided to find the bathroom before heading out. Who should I meet in the bathroom but Aarti!
What a fun night we had and quite a different experience for us! I hope we get invited next year!
Everyone that was there left with a bag of goodies... WHA-HOOOO!

2010-10-06T11:44:00.003-04:00

Check out this blog... http://www.maggielamarre.com/2010/10/lets-do-lunch-red-lobster-restaurant.html
Maggie is giving away 2 $25 G.C. to the Red Lobster!!!

Balsamic-Baked Onions and Potatoes with Roast Pork

2010-10-05T07:15:00.003-04:00

Last night I made a delicious meal.
These recipes are from Jamie Oliver. I saw him make this on his Jamie At Home show on the Cooking Channel the other day. He said that this dish will fulfill every mans dream! It did not fail. PJ loved this meal. I served it with spinach on the side. It calls for 1 1/2 CUPS of Balsamic Vinegar but don't be afraid to use all of it! It ends up caramelized and just delicious! He recommends using CHEAP balsamic vinegar. The recipes can be found on my cooking blog.... www.mamazukecooks.blogspot.com

2010-10-03T10:48:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny crisp fall day. After working in the yard, PJ and I decided to go for a spin in the MGB. I got my pocketbook and went outside to wait for him. The MGB key is on PJ's regular key chain so I didn't have to take a set with me. PJ came out the door, took a few steps and proceeded to say " OH SH*T"!!!! He asked if I took my house key and I said that I didn't. I said "no problem, we'll go through the door in the garage". With that he replied "I locked it"! Now why would you go and do that if it's been unlocked for the last 25 YEARS? He didn't kike that I asked but his reply was that he didn't want Alyssa's cat to get out! Is Huckleberry so talented that he can turn the doorknob to open the door to get out????? OMG!
Everything was locked except the 2 bedroom windows. He went and got a ladder to be able to get above the hedge and into the window. BUT there was an obstacle... the windows were both broke where they don't stay up. The pulleys or whatever they are were both broken. We never bothered to do anything about it because we don't open the bottom, just the top. So he had to pry the window up a bit with a screw driver and then put a brick in to hold it open a little.
Now in the meantime, our neighbor pulled up in his car, said hi and gave us a funny look like what the heck are you doing but then went into the house. Another neighbor was having a party and a lot of people noticed that something was going on. Plus the mailman stopped to watch!
PJ asked me to hold the ladder tight so he could 'push off' and propel himself over the window box and into the bedroom, head first. I did just that but couldn't miss this adventure so I snapped a picture of him! As he landed on the floor he yelled out to me "Did you get your picture"? It wasn't meant to be nice though. He was making fun of me. He ended up having a nice cut on his leg but all ended well. He got the house key and off we went to Robert Moses State Park to look at the beautiful beach, deer and light house. While we were driving I made a point of sending the picture to the kids. They all got a huge laugh out of it!
That's my finger in the picture in case you didn't know!

BLOOM DAY SCAN

2010-10-02T15:36:00.005-04:00

This is my entry to the Bloom Day Scan contest on Gardening Gone Wild
http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=12809

These are so much fun to make. My problem is that I was lacking foliage and flowers that weren't scorched or totally brown from the lack of water here. Also, my photo editing software is NOT working so it is what it is! I think I may do these monthly next year to have a month by month view of what was growing in my gardens.

2010-10-02T13:27:00.001-04:00

I've narrowed down my choices of my Bloom Day Scans to just 2 scans. Now I have to figure out which one to submit to the Gardening Gone Wild Blog contest.
#1
#2

2010-10-02T08:55:00.002-04:00

PJ planted a purple bean plant to grow up the trellis where our grape vine is. It looks pretty neat right now because the bean pods are a beautiful deep purple. They are mixed in with the green grape leaves and really stand out. Too bad my grape leaves were attacked by the Grapeleaf Blister Mite. They're look prettier had we sprayed them. Too late!

BLOOM DAY SCANS

2010-09-29T20:33:00.007-04:00

*** I can't get rid of the large print so please ignore it!!!

I've been busy today playing with my scanner. I've always wanted to make my own Bloom Day Scan instead of looking at the beautiful ones on Ellis Hollow's Blog.
http://remarc.com/craig/?cat=55
This month, the Gardening Gone Wild Blog ,
http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=12809
is having Octobers Picture Contest as a Bloom Day Scan theme. I don't have any excuses than to try this! I don't have much in the way of flowers or any foliage for that matter that's not brown from being dry! So I found what I could. #'s 1 & 2 look almost identical but one has a little more light peeking in. Also #4 I think, needs to be cropped. I don't know which to submit but I'm leaning towards #6. I still have time though.
These were really a lot of fun and I'm sure I'll be making quite a few of these!
#1
#2
#3
#4

#5

# 6

2010-09-27T07:20:00.006-04:00

Yesterday PJ and I took the MG out for a spin and went out east to a Garlic Festival at The Garden of Eve Organic Farm. The traffic on Sound Ave was horrendous! We said to each other that this better be a good festival or we'd be a little upset. We're a little spoiled in having enjoyed the Garlic/Harvest Festival in Bethlehem, CT and the garlic Festival in Saugerties, NY for the last few years. The parking lots were mobbed but we found a spot.
There was a $3 admission. When you first walked in there was a bunch of pumpkins in a roped off area. These were for sale but no one was even looking at them.

There were about 15 vendors in the whole place! THAT'S IT! The JD Gourmet Balsamic Vinegars (the BEST in my opinion and we always buy a bottle in CT) http://www.jdgourmet.com/ and Sweet Melissa's Dips let you sample their products and maybe one or two more. There were 2 people selling Garlic Soup for $3 and $5 a cup but there were no samples to see if you'd even like it or not. To us, part of the fun of a festival is sampling the food! So the people selling pickles, jams and honey hardly got any business from what we could see. At the other festivals, EVERYONE has samples, even the people selling just garlic. They let you taste it before you purchase the bulbs. There were 2 vendors selling Garlic bulbs. How can they call this a Garlic Festival I'd like to know!!! There was hardly any garlic in sight and no smell of garlic!!
We walked around the rest of the property and both of us commented what a mess the ground was... not with litter but HUGE holes, rocks etc... It was a law suit waiting to happen. That was it, we were out of there. It was a waste of our time. We did buy the Balsamic Vinegar though. It's soooo good... like no other!
We decided to drive a bit more east to see if we could find a farm stand with fresh veggies but a good price. We ended getting off Sound Ave because there was just too much traffic. We went down to RT 25 and started heading west. We ended up stopping at Schmitts Farm. They had beautiful sunflowers.

Inside, they had lots of vegetables, pies and fresh breads. Years ago you could get local produce for pretty good prices. These looked no different than what was in the grocery stores and yet double the price! We laughed when we saw the loaves of Banana Bread. They were $12 a LOAF! UNBELIEVABLE! When we go up to Ithaca, every Jan there's a fair at the local Lions Club. We've hit it 3 years in a row now and the ladies actually now bake extra bread just in case we show up. The first year I bought 2 loaves and PJ came up to me when I was in a different row and showed me that he bought 3! Last year we bought everyone that they had! They are $1 per loaf and the same size as Schmitts $12 loaves! We always freeze them when we get home.
The one thing that I thought was a good price was their Mums. They were large plants in 8" pots and they were 4/$20.

This was just sitting amongst the gourds!
All in all we had a nice day, even though we were disappointed in the festival. We came home, made a nice dinner and had a bottle of wine. A great way to end the day!

2010-09-25T12:59:00.005-04:00

I got bored with being home today so I decided to some garage sales. Our town is having a big garage sale but I will avoid it for various reasons. I decided to go to a bunch of other sales that were in our area plus one 2 towns over that advertised an annual BLOCK sale. The first 6 sales that i went to in my area were horrible. I didn't get a thing. Then I headed to the block sale... HORRIBLE! I couldn't believe how high their prices were... $5 for their books!!!
I decided to save my money and just go home. I got stuck at the light on Wantagh Ave and sat through 3 of them to make a turn! I noticed a sign for a sale to go to Harold St. I decided to make a left instead of a right and head there.
WHA-HOO. I hit a GREAT sale! I first spotted a big wicker basket. My thought was that this is just what I've been looking for to put all of PJ's millions of pairs of sneakers and shoes in that he just leaves on the living room floor. $1. That was all I was going to get but decided to ask about the Lia Sophia jewelry. I never go to Lia Sophia parties because I refuse to pay their price for their jewelry. I like some of their items but mostly I don't. Alyssa just went to a party and said she liked the items but it was way past what her budget allows but bought a pair of earrings anyway. So when I asked about the jewelry, I expected her to say ridicules prices and I'd spend my one dollar and leave. She said she is selling it cheap and just wants to get rid of it. She used to sell them but is out of it now. I'm sure the items that she had were a few years old. Who cares!
I saw a pair of earrings that I liked and asked how much? $2... OK I'LL TAKE THEM!!!!

Then I picked out this bracelet... How much? $2 !
Then I stopped asking and just picked out items that I thought Alyssa and Brooke might like before the lady next to me got her hands on them!

I had her add up everything including the basket. $14!! I felt like I hit the mother load! I hope the girls at least like SOMETHING!

*******
I had to show Alyssa these pieces. She wanted to go to the sale now so we went back and the lady put more out! She got a nice necklace and I got 2 bracelets and a necklace for $10!!

2010-09-21T16:55:00.008-04:00

We had such a fun, relaxing 4 day weekend camping in Ithaca. When we arrived, it was cloudy and drizzling a bit. We set up our tent and decided to head towards Seneca Lake. We always buy wine from Wagner Winery because their wine tastes good and it's the best deal within the 2 lakes! The sun broke through!

For dinner, we ate at Greek Peak Resort. It reminded us of the Wilderness Lodge in Disney.

Thank goodness we had a restaurant.com gift certificate. PJ ordered the Braised Venison Pot Pie ($18.95). They came back to say that the pastry for the top "wasn't working and would he mind a biscuit topping instead". He agreed but said that the pastry was what he wanted the most! Our food arrived. His looked like dog food and the biscuit was one biscuit on the side, not on top! He said it was pretty flavorless also.
I ordered the Portobello & Spinach stack with Goat Cheese and a Smoked Tomato and Red Pepper Coulis ($14.95). Well, it was pretty but also pretty small! It was about 2" tall and 2" wide! THAT was the dinner! It tasted ok but honestly, it should have been an appetizer not a dinner! If we were there and had to pay full price, I would have been really mad!

Now that the sun came out, we had to go to Sunset Park and check out the somewhat cloudy sunset over Cayuga Lake. It started to get really cold!It must have gone down to the upper 40's. We were FREEZING!
We decided to take a ride to see our property. It was really foggy!

I love how the weeds are different for every season. Now the golden flowers of the Golden Rod were all over! Pretty!

As we were taking pictures, a pickup truck stopped and the man asked if we were interested in the land. We said that we were the owners. We got to chatting. Him and his wife bought 2 lots on the other side of the hill that's at the top of ours. They are Barry and Midge. They invited us to come look at their house. It's nearing completion. It's a ROUNDHOUSE! I've never been in one before. I'm glad I got the chance. I'd never want one. It was really weird but interesting at the same time. The rooms are all small because of the curves. Standing on the deck was nice though. They have a beautiful view. Barry is a lawyer in PA yet they're from NJ.

They told us of their 2 neighbors, Kathleen on one side and a couple, the Duncan's, on the other side. He is also a lawyer and a photographer on the side. They have a driveway and a great big hole, the makings of a pond. With the fog, it was like looking at a landing site of a space ship!We really enjoyed chatting with them. We exchanged addresses and will keep in touch.
Later on we went to lunch at Viva Taqueria. We got our usuals... the Super Smothered Burritos, mine with Tomatillo Sauce and PJ's with Ranchero Sauce. YUM! We sat outside even though it was still pretty cold out.
For dinner, we grilled chicken, corn potatoes with onions and Portobello mushrooms. .. A meal fit for a King and Queen!
On Sunday we went to a festival at Six Mile Creek. We got a bottle of wine and sat and listened to a really bad duo that sang folk type music. This is the first time we were at the bottom of the big hill. We're always on the deck overlooking the vineyards and the wedding pavilion.
Back to Sunset Park!

It went down to 42 degrees! Holy cow that was a cold night! I think I shivered the whole night! When we got up there was frost on the field across from our site.We had a really fun time with lots of laughs. I have to remember PJ and his "what the heck is Huffice Cream? I've never heard of that". He was very confused until we got closer to the truck... it was Huff Ice Cream! Sounds stupid now but was very funny when it happened. It's just the Zukowski way like Ben Jamin, Rec Liner etc.

2010-09-17T11:39:00.001-04:00

We arrived in Ithaca about 15 minutes ago. We're already at the library! PJ thinks he put the $ for the mtg payment into the wrong account so we better make sure! It's chilly with a high of 62 today. I forgot to look at what tonight will bring. I hope it doesn't get too cold as we're camping!
So today we'll go to a garage sale, a winery, maybe a hike, who knows. It's time to RELAX!!!

2010-09-15T10:28:00.003-04:00

Last night our v-ball team came in 2nd place in the finals. We lost the first game 19-21, won the second game 21-18 and lost the 3rd game 16-21. We played the NASTY team, the A. J's. We beat them for the season. We came in 1st and they were second. We were so happy to even do that. Anything to knock them down a peg is good with us! We were missing 2 players for college and 2 players in the last 1 1/2 weeks each broke their hands. So we were very proud of ourselves to get this far. It was nice, the other Wantagh team was there cheering us on. They hate the A. J.'s also. After playing, the 2 guys that run the place asked us if we wanted to play against them... sure, 6 against 2. I do recall playing against them years ago and they killed us! And they killed us this time also! Then they split us up and we went on each side so now there was the same amount on each team. Our guy was teaching Alyssa and I how to set properly etc. I never do that because I stink at it. Well, after about 15 minutes, I was impressing myself!!! It was a lot of fun and that's what it's all about! So it was an exciting night and now I'm very sore!

2010-09-13T13:30:00.003-04:00

I went to visit my Grandfather today on City Island. Last time I went to visit him,it was sunny out and it took 1 hr and 40 minutes to get there. It should normally be 35-40 minutes. Today I left in the rain. I was all set to be slammed in traffic again, especially being that it was raining. It was smooth sailing the whole way there! I got there at exactly 11, the time I said that I would. I think it's been 20 years since I didn't hit traffic on the way there.
Pops was asleep. I didn't want to wake him. He wouldn't know who I was anyway. David said that he wakes up for about 10 minutes and goes back to sleep and doesn't know who anyone is.
David and I chatted and then I left 20 minutes later.
I decided that being that last time I was on City Island, I went down Cousin Jeannie's block and took pics of the boats and water, that this time I would do the same with Cousin Dottie's block. There are all at the end of her block, about 4 or 5 houses away from her house.
Looking towards the Throgs Neck Bridge.

I had to take a picture on my way home on the bridge. There was NO TRAFFIC again and there was construction too!!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Notice the blue sky. City Island, NYC etc was all blue shy. As soon as I got to Long Island, I was back in the rain. It rained until I got back in my door!

2010-09-10T11:03:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I started a new job that has very flexible house. This way I can still sub. I was hired by a friend to "sit in the room and while 99 year old Aunt Mary sleeps, you just make sure she doesn't try to get up and end up falling out of bed. You can watch tv, read, whatever you want because she'll be asleep almost the whole time". Someone has to be there while she's in bed and the family can't handle it anymore. I was a bit leery because I HATE nursing homes but decided that it was a smart move.
So, I brought a book with the hopes of actually reading the whole book through the days, something I rarely accomplish. Aunt Mary's sons were there and they introduced me to her and right away she didn't want me there. She doesn't want her sons paying for someone to watch her. She kept saying "so what if I fall out of bed. I'm 99 years old. How long do you want me to last"? I had to tell her that I'm not getting paid and that I'm doing it to fill my day.
They showed me around and chatted for about an hour while Aunt Mary kept saying she doesn't need me. They both had to go so they wheeled her into the lounge area and left. Aunt Mary then was my new best friend and chatted with me NON STOP until I left at 4:15! She is one funny and spunky lady! We chatted about her boys, how she was married for 7 years with a 4 year old and pregnant with the second when her husband fell, hit his head and died. She had to bring them up alone and she worked extra to be able to provide extras for her boys... one was music lessons which ended up allowing that son to go to Julliard.
Later in the day her best friend Mary was at Bingo and wet her pants. She had to go back to her room to get changed. In the meantime Aunt Mary said she always wondered how the aides deal with the men that have those accidents because "you know, they have to touch their private parts. You know my husband died after I was married for only 7 years and I haven't seen one of those things since then. I wouldn't know what to do with it! I'd be afraid if I touched one I might make it fall off"! She grabbed my hand and we both had a good laugh.
Mary came back and Aunt Mary told her that her sons got some lady to sit in the room to watch her and she doesn't want the lady to be offended but doesn't want her (ME!). I said Aunt Mary, that's me. I'm only here to help them and to keep you company. She said she enjoys my company. Then she said "I think that other lady lives in the basement"! I really ended up have a fun day and I'm actually looking forward for tomorrow.

2010-09-08T07:14:00.003-04:00

Last night was our Semi-Final Volleyball game. The wind at the beach was howling at 40 MPH with 50 MPH gusts! This was not the weather we thought we'd have being that we live about 7 minutes away from the beach and it was pretty calm at home! Another obstacle was that we were missing 3 key players. Two had college classes and the third broke her hand on Saturday. We knew we really had to put everything out there if we had a chance of winning these 3 games. We came in first place for the season but now needed to win this and then the Final to get the absurdly HUGE trophy.
The first game was a complete surprise of how close the score was back and forth. We'd be winning by one then the other team would be winning by one. You hit the ball one way and the wind would carry it in an entirely different way. Sometimes the ball would be ready to land out of bounds and the wind would push it back in at the last second before landing! It was bizarre! We ended up loosing the first game 21-19. That was pretty intense if I say so myself!
Now we have to get more serious for the second game. We had some pretty awesome plays. Whenever the ball would come to me all I could think was that I better hit it and do good because I don't want to lose on account of me! We were in the air, on the ground, diving in every direction. This was another tough, neck and neck game but we ended up winning 22-20.
OK so now we're on to the 3rd game. There was no letting go at this once we started. It was pretty close until midway when the other team cracked! We started gaining points and the more we gained, the more they messed up, thank goodness! We ended up winning the 3rd game 21-14! WE DID IT!!! We were all so happy and PUMPED! I never saw so much adrenalin from this team before!
We were so proud of ourselves. EVERYONE played their hearts out! We're so excited to play in the Final Games next week but we're not happy with who we're playing. They are known among the 16 teams as being the 'nasty team'. We've played them before and there are always problems. But that's next week. For now, we'll all bask in the glory that we won with our hearts last night!