Author Archives: Dianne

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About Dianne

Domestic goddess, wife, mom, gardener, paper and collage artist, geocacher, local traveler, cross stitcher, baker, crafter, Facebooker, blogger, decorator and photographer.
Jul6

Nature’s hidden gems

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Some views from new areas (and a couple of already visited) we have just discovered:

Valley Garden Park, Wilmington, DE (above and below) Never been.

Newlin Grist Mill Park, Glen Mills, PA …We were here for a company picnic, Sean and I stopped here for a picnic lunch a few times and Ken and Colleen had their wedding photos taken here.

Harbor area, Atlantic City, NJ (never been-aquarium here and some caches. We also found a great harbor side restaurant). Never been.

Arboretum at Swarthmore College (Penna.) Never been.

Nottingham Park. Been here once and not in this area for fireworks years ago.

Now go and discover some of your own!

Jul5

Sean share

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Sean let me take a photo of him with his iPhone on the beach down in Virginia Beach. He has that instagram app and applied it. I really like this shot. It ‘was’ almost perfect. There was the seagull, the little girl near the water and the blob with a sleeping bag over his head…which was edited out.

 I think I shared this one before-a friend asked him to be the subject in a photo shoot at in PSU. One of my favorites of him.

We had a low key 4th of July-it was hot. We had pasta salad, burgers, chicken and roasted corn on the cob. And the bundt cake! Someone in the family decided to have the pick on me for something that doesn’t concern them. The thing is, I did nothing to them personally for them to get so mad at me. And this person hardly goes on their FB page and decided to do so just to give me a scolding. I would never write anything like what they wrote on their wall or family members wall. I guess when someone doesn’t like you, nothing you say matters. This makes me really sad. I’ve known this person for 34 yrs. : (

Jul3

Heat and hiking

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I was all gung ho to score a few caches today over in Delaware. This ‘first state’ is so close to us and we enjoy it’s tax free shopping too. We went out about 2:30 and it was quite warm by then. We headed down to the Delaware Museum of History and this was pretty easy to find. No problem-o.

We headed a few miles down the road (near Joe Biden country) and found a lovely park there. Geocaching takes you to places like this!

There were about three caches in there. I had a big bag with me-water, the fan/mister bottle, Off!, etc. Brian forgot his water!

Look at those steps. I knew I was going to have climb them again.

I was joking around near the parking lot…ha ha for the time being…

Yahoo-here’s the one in the woods

I had had a baseball cap and and was starting to feel kind of funny after this was taken. As we walked back, I brought up another cache on the GPS and we headed for that. We saw it was way up a steep path and Brian went up it first. I went down a bit and found another less steep path. But after I went up, there were more stone steps and I got myself winded and started feeling sick. There was a cool stone bench and I sat there for a while, but Brian was suppose to find this one and he had no luck. If I had felt better, I know it was within 30-40 feet somewhere down a path, but I was feeling too yucky to look. I want to go back here in the cooler weather as I now know where to look.

Oh well…should be gorgeous in the autumn!

Back to those stairs up there. I had to sit down on them twice and I was feeling crummy. An old man walked by me too! Gee, he must go there for a daily walk! I practically crawled to the car.

So we stopped for gas and a cool drink. Oh, we went to the Winterthur parking lot, but I got out and went right back in the car again. I had Brian looking under trees, no luck. He needs to develop better stealth!! : )

I knew about one at Chadds Ford Winery and we stopped there-easy peasy. We would have bought a bottle of wine, but they were closed.

I bought some trinkets from The Oriental Trading Company for these caches as many don’t have that many goodies in them. I got those rubber bracelets, Pirate maps and ‘Kindness coins’. I added a bunch of these to the above boxes today.

Then we were near a Quaker Friends Meeting and there was a micro in there. I walked down the road near the cemetery and the GZ was a big evergreen tree-huge son of a gun. I looked and looked for the cammo film canister and then Brian looked. We couldn’t find it! Rats.

Saw this-what’s up with this?

And this little lamb…

Didn’t catch the name, but I think it’s on the Geocaching site, so I’ll go look again.

We went through Wendy’s and I got their salad with chicken and fruit-not bad. I mentioned to Bri that there was a cache directly across the highway. First I thought it was near the supermarket (which is changing hands), but it was behind the Walgreen’s! So cute.

First log of this kind! I had trouble getting it out-used a wire from a little flower I had!

So….no more hiking for me in this kind of weather! A nice shower helped, but I’ve had back issues from sitting on the floor (too long) to sort through things. I never learn.

Making a bundt cake tomorrow and some yummy foods for the 4th!

Jul2

Stayin’ cool

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Not much to report in this neck of the woods. I’ve been wondering outside a little bit, watering things, maybe pulling out a weed or two, but that’s about it. Can’t muster  up going out in the heat over 90 much. Yesterday, both guys were gone for a few hours so I did a little baking and cooking and also made this:

I had gotten the eagle stamp up in Lancaster and thought a new ink pad was black. It turned out to be pink, so I restamped over the pink in black. The pink made a shadow effect.

I was in Big Lots and ‘Larry the Cable guy’ has his name on some mixes, one of which was beer bread. You have to use a bottle of beer and some butter. I made it and it tasted like an Auntie Ann’s soft pretzel with a hint of beer. ; )

I also made a big bowl of Sean’s favorite, potato salad and a cucumber salad from Everyday Food magazine. You peel an English cucumber in long ‘ribbons’ and add diced celery and onion to it. The middle seedy part you put in a blender (I have a bullet one) with a little mayo, Cilantro (love it) and Champagne vinegar (who has that?-I used apple cider vinegar).  Very nice and refreshing with the breaded pork chop.

Tonight I am whipping up Spaghetti All’Amatriciana-it had a lot of bacon in the sauce part! It’s simmering and then you are suppose to ‘process’  the sauce, but I like it chunky. The house smelled so good when I was cooking the bacon. Should be tasty!

I’ve wanted to go geocaching, but it’s too hot. I’ve been looking up some more in the area I have missed and have one to hide, but figuring that one out.

Also am trying out a few contests and sweepstakes through Facebook; I figure that’s a safe way to do so. Someone has to win.

Pass the bottle of Zinfandel please. : )

Jun28

Early summer 2012

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I’m not that happy with many aspects of my gardens this year. We have one day of rain and then it doesn’t rain for a week or more. We need some nice gentle rain. The earth is dry and hard. I pulled some weeds out a few days ago, but it was pure muscle power. As I said earlier, my lack of mulching didn’t help matters either. My flowers in pots are doing the best.

I happen to be in the new Habitat for Humanity store and they had plants there for $1 a pot. I bought two of the royal purple Petunias and a pale pink. They are blooming profusely!

This Millions of Bells is doing well. Just today it looks a little droopy, so I may have to do a bit of snipping.

And then there are my Lilies. I really love them. They are in with ornamental grasses that are taking over. Also, the deer munched them all to the ground in the winter, but they came back! As soon as it rains, I am getting Brian out there to dig up some of the grasses.

This one is on the side of the house where Vinca vine is taking over.

The Portulaca are very pretty-I have two strawberry jars of it

The container next to this planter had flower seeds planted in it. One side was Poppy seeds and the other Zinnias. The Zinnias are doing well, but the Poppies got lost in grass! I don’t know where it all came from as this container had hot peppers in it last year. I see a sprinkling of Poppies.

I trim this back and it still goes like crazy as when we do have rain, the gutters leak and it get a big drink. I’m not seeing many butterflies on it yet.

I ran and got my camera when I saw this solo Monarch fluttering around

I do grow Milkweed for my butterfly pals

And this was spotted on the road-can you see what it says?

It says ‘I miss being a tree’. : )

Jun27

20 Finds!

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A few days ago, Brian and I were ‘hiking’ in a lovely park near my hometown. As with most geocaching adventures, the coords took us into a pretty wooded area. I’ve been to Rose Tree Park many times, yet not that far into it. We actually found two caches that day! The first was an aspirin type bottle just lying under a tree. I think it was ‘muggled’, meaning non-geocachers got their paws on it. I signed the log and hide it in the tree a bit better.

Here is Brian with the larger cache. I am going to find some more goodies to add to these containers as most are kind of pathetic. I just hope whoever finds it, leaves stuff for the next seeker.

I think this was a challenge to take your photo near the old lifesaving station in Virginia Beach. Easy enough.

This was my first micro-film canister size I found Saturday. It was lying on the ground like the one from the other day! I didn’t have a pen to sign it! I know where I put it, but alas, someone came along and may have moved it! That would mean I have to hunt for it again to sign it.

The above was found in a park near an old 1700 Grist Mill. It’s so pretty there. My brother Ken and Colleen had some of their wedding photos taken here. I also went looking for a ammo box all by myself. I felt safe as I saw other people walking the paths, but the hide was up a hill on a 45 degree angle. I should have had someone with me or at least a walking stick! I really was huffing and puffing when I got up to the fallen tree! I guess the ticker is working good. ; ) Getting down was a bit harder-no not again will I go solo in the woods.

This is near cache and the path is way down-I was crazy!

Pretty park

We had my mom here from Saturday to Monday. We took her to my father-in-law’s on Saturday. You read what happened there. We went to Carraba’s for dinner. The next day, we went up to Lancaster county. There’s a place up there called Flower & Craft Warehouse and everything in the store was 50% off, even marked down things. It was a bit overwhelming. The previously marked down things were outside in a red and white tent without proper lighting. I mean I could see enough to buy a few items. I got a big metal watering can for $5 and spray paint in a pretty green for $2-so I painted the watering can! It was white with ‘brush strokes’ of tan-kind of ugly. I wanted to get some summer like flowers for a big antique blue Ball jar I bought in Chincoteague. I got exactly what I wanted and will share the arrangement when I put it together.

After we went shopping we went to a diner a few miles down the road. It was shipped on three tractor trailers from Texas a few years ago. They did a great job restoring it! The food was good, could have been a little better. I got a turkey club and it was ‘half’ the size of the one I got in Atlantic City for about the same price!

So on the way home I mentioned geocaching. My mom got all excited as I’ve been telling her about it. I got my phone out and lo and behold, there was one in a town nearby. We had a little run-around until I looked at the map and there was the church. I found it within a few minutes and took the box over to her. It had decent ‘swag’ (goodies) in it and we took two things and left a few. Mom snagged a pen.

The next one was in a Lowes parking lot. That was closed and the GPS lead us near a cart return area. Now how could it be there? It had to be around the lamp post. Now from the help of another cacher for a  ‘not find’ near a lamp post, I learned you can lift those ‘skirts’ at the bottom. I mentioned this to Brian and he went over, pulled it up and there was the cache container! : )

So knowing this…there are a few I (we) have looked for and someone did tell me that one was indeed inside the skirt area (near wires) and then one near a grocery store was probably in the same kind of  location. It sure is a learning experience.

So we went back to one of the first areas we tried to find one as now I had clues from the logs and another geocacher that a stick was indeed a sign of where the cache was. There was a big electric box and Bri took the stick and stuck it under the box and felt something-a cache! Yay!

This was a bit damp.

We had looked near a lamp post in our town and it was full of old wasp nests! When I got home and read the logs and people seemed to say it was near there, but there was also one of the big metal electric boxes again-so thinking it’s under that.

Thinking I was on a roll, we stopped near the one near our house. I got out briefly and looked around. I’m not sure what I’m looking for. People said it was easy, but now I’m thinking it’s across the  street inside a guard rail. I think I’ll message the cache owner to see what it is.  That’s the most frustrating one so far!

I am at the stage of this hobby where I want to now hide some caches. I thought I had the perfect spot and called the Land Conservancy of my area. Seems of all the areas they sponsor and fund, the spot I picked is private land. The woman was so nice and said next month, they are making a trail a bit further down the road from the ‘mystery cache’ and I can surely hid one there-yay!

Yesterday and today are perfect, low humidity days. I did a fair amount of weeding, but I so need to mulch. My herbs look awful. Maybe we will do a run to Lowes after I do grocery shopping! : )

Tomorrow-summer blooms around the yard.

Jun26

One of my favorite beaches on earth

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After we went to the aquarium (on the 20th), we headed to the island of Chincoteague. We had gone last year and loved the hotel (alas it was booked solid this year) and the beach in the park. We stayed in America’s Best which had the door that opened right up to the outside. This isn’t good in Chincoteague as it is known for it’s mosquitoes. The room was a bit tight also. We went right to the beach at around 6 pm.

You drive a few miles through the park, a national preserve where the wild horses and other wildlife live. We saw lots of herons and a few turtles too.

Got to love that a gorgeous beach is at the other end. Of course when you are driving to the island, there are stretches and stretches of marsh and wet land.

I think Sean got a few shots of the ponies, but it takes him a while to upload his pictures….I’ll share if it’s good.

Look at this sunset-that’s their library

Here’s Misty!

The next morning we got on the road to Ocean City, MD and ended up in a little town called Pocamoke City, MD. We went into the museum there and it was like $10 each, so we passed on that. Little did I know there was a big cache right in the lobby! I use my phone a lot for caching and saw this several miles later.

We also went to Snow Hill, MD. We  actually back tracked! Sean knew I wanted to see the buildings and look for a cache there.

We ate lunch here-very nice.

Snow Hill it one of the only intact Victorian towns left (I think that is what the brochure said).

We went to this little museum to find a nano cache. It was kind of funny seeing three adults looking in crevices and tapping bolts to see if they were fake. We had no luck. A nice side story is that the cache owner (part of a family of 8 who geocaches) answered my email to where it may be. She told me exactly where it was (I had logged it as a didn’t find already) and she said to message her anytime if I am stuck on a cache. Cool.

After we got to Ocean City, I did a virtual cache (photo), a small cache (near the old life saving station) and a web cam one-that last one was too hard to do as it was really bright and you were suppose to save the shot of you to show the person who did the challenge. We walked several blocks in the heat and I think we at least tried to do it! : )

We then headed to Rehoboth and grabbed a hotdog at Nathan’s and tried to do a web cam challenge there-not easy again. We weren’t there long as it’s a pain with the 30 minute parking meters you have to run back to again and again.

That was about the extent of our trip and now it’s time to weed the gardens and get that bathroom finished.

We are going to see the Bacon Brothers (Kevin) on July 10th at Longwood Gardens. We also want to see the night light display there, but we have until September. I’d rather wait a few weeks as the crowds there have been crazy. I made Sean drive past there a few night ago and they were parking in the grass near the parking lot as overflow.

Tomorrow-cache collecting-up to 20!

Jun25

Blog neglect, vacation stuff

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Since my whirlwind of activity is dying down, I can get down to brass tacks again with blogging. I went and got my mom on Saturday for a two day visit. We all went over to the father-in-law’s house to wish him a Happy 89th Birthday. From the get go, I felt pops was uncomfortable having my mom and me there. Brian and Sean were installing his new a/c (birthday gift) in his room and it was a messy job. Well Bri’s dad starts up about something ‘we need for the house’. I’d rather not say exactly what it is (send me a note if you want to know) and I said we didn’t really need it right now. Well he wouldn’t let it go and got mad at me and left the living room to sit in the family room. He’s living in a 4 bedroom split level. Mom and I were shook up and I took the car down to a local shopping center so pops would simmer down. We never did go back in the house again and never sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. I sure was hoping it would make him happy to have a house full of people (well almost), but that didn’t happen. It was going on 6:30 and we had to go out to eat. Too bad pops wasn’t along, but he got so grumpy that it ruined our visit.

So….we were away from early Monday to late Thursday. Our trip didn’t quite go as planned. Monday and Tuesday we were in Virginia Beach and had a nice time.  We got on the road Wednesday to head to Williamsburg, but got in traffic as the tunnel there had a disabled vehicle. We got off at an exit, tried to go another way, but of course they weren’t letting anyone in. We heard it was a 5-9 mile backup, so we decided to go to Norfolk, VA for an hour and see if that changed. We tried to see the historic society, but that was closed and they were painting. We got to see the nice garden and only a few of the buildings there. We passed by the General Douglas MacArthur statue.

Here are a few Norfolk shots:

The city in the late 1880s

The backup never got better, and we had to go to Chincoteague later, so we headed to the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach. It’s a neat one!

Turtles sunning themselves in the entrance area-it was very warm here.

Wow, a Komodo Dragon. He was checking everyone out!

 I like this shot

Menacing sharks

Lion fish

Jelly fish-amazing!

A few more shots from Virginia Beach

The King Neptune statue was amazing and had a cache hidden under it-shhhhhh!

Sean and me under him!

Tuesday I got to met Rachael who I know from cross stitching and Facebook. She is from CA, but lived in Germany for a while, now is in VB as her hubby is working out of Norfolk. We went to the Contemporary Art Museum to see an Andy Warhol exhibit. We couldn’t take photos of the Warhol art, but I did think this glass chandelier was fascinating.

I wish I could meet all of you!

I’ll talk about the last few days of our trip tomorrow.