New Jersey Farms > Philly Farm Markets

One of the perks of living in the Philadelphia area was the ease of access to locally grown food; within a five mile radius of our apartment there were at least 5 farmer's markets, each sporting different local farms' bounty. I was actually concerned about how much more difficult it would be to find local fruits and vegetables once we moved back to New Jersey, but apparently I didn't have much to worry about.

I was already aware of one farm near us that lets you pick various fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Then I found out about the website LocalHarvest.com, which makes it exceptionally easy to find farms/farmer's markets/CSAs/specialty-food-stores nearby. I found out that there's a farmer's market every Thursday one town over, and there are at least three farms within a 15 mile radius of here that have farm markets open daily, serving their own or other local farms' goods. So whether you're craving vegetables, stone fruit, berries, or even herbs - someone in the area has got you covered.

Besides, all my favorite vendors at the Philly markets were actually representing New Jersey farms. Duh. That's why we're the Garden State. Why on earth would I worry about being able to find local food in the state that grows some of the most on the East Coast?!**

While last year I was fairly diligent about posting each week's farmer's market bounty, this year I completely forgot to take a photo after my first trip of the summer. Oops. Oh well, too late now. So instead, here's what I got the second week I went! (Which was... maybe three weeks ago now? Yes, I am indeed just that bad about posting & taking photos in a timely fashion.)






Here's a secret though... this is what the scene really looked like during my photo shoot:







Curious cats. They can't get enough of food.

I've been getting sweet corn and potatoes every time I go. The greens get switched up each week; usually between zucchini, green beans, and lettuce. If I buy too many things at once, we don't have time to go through them all and they end up sitting unused for too long. The local berries have been good this year, but the peaches (my favorite!), not so much. It's still early in the season though...

** Not a proven fact. At all.

Scenes From A NJ Road Trip

Last week we took a trip out to New Jersey to visit our families. Despite some bad news that put a slight damper on the day, we had a delicious lunch with my parents and siblings and then visited Shawn's mom at her equally delicious workplace. Our families treat us so well when we visit... sesame chicken salad for lunch, a homemade pear & chocolate tart for dessert, and a bag of locally roasted coffee? How come we don't visit more often?!

I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this blog is either family or friend and already knows this, but just in case I'm wrong, here's a small tidbit of information that I haven't mentioned before... over the next few months my family is gradually moving to Switzerland for a few years (and leaving Shawn and I behind, those bastards!). They're taking the dogs and the cats with them too, and since the dogs are scheduled to fly out next week, this was our last chance to see them for a while. Not that I don't love seeing my family too, but I know they'll be able to travel back to visit more often than the dogs will.

Shawn and the dogs have a special relationship - he used to housesit them when my family would go on vacation - in fact, I think they're usually happier to see him than they are to see me!



Check out that bear face. (It's no wonder we call him a big bear...) Kusko was growling right before these were taken, but don't mistake that for unhappiness - his smile will tell you otherwise. Malamutes make such interesting noises!




Shawn loves Luna, Luna loves Shawn.




I caught a Luna smile on camera! It's nearly impossible!

.....

And, on a completely different note, here's another photo from that day...



Shawn wears a beanie pretty much all the time, so whenever he takes it off his hair tends to be a crazy mess of Kramer hair. After arriving home from our road trip though it looked more like Ace Ventura hair, so he had me snap a photo.


Between the three of them, this turned out to be a very hairy post indeed.

Yesterday (Not Just Another Monday)

If you recall, last week ....

...our courageous heroes ventured to the state of gardens- the lush green lands of New Jersey.

Their journey was filled with many obstacles and perils...

Several turns almost resulted in the deaths of our protagonists.

Prepare yourself for this week's:

Journey To Jersey

( A Hazy Morning )

It was a crisp beautiful morning. We left our humble abode promptly at 6:30 am EST.

Our usual road out of the Philadelphia area is interstate 95 via the Vine Steet Express Way. To avoid 76, we usually take the Martin Luther King Junior Drive which Runs along the Schuylkill River. Martin Luther King Junior Drive then connects to The Vine Street Expressway. Which is then a straight shot onto 95.

While on Martin Luther King Drive, I noticed several helicopters in the sky. The choppers seemed to be circling the area in which we were headed.

I even recall saying , "I bet there's a crash somewhere."

SINCE it was now 6:45 in the morning, (15 minutes after we departed) my brain was not at full functioning capabilities and I was unable to put 2 and 2 together.

We get onto the Vine Street Expressway.

Suddenly, behind us we hear a flurry of sirens. Local Cops and State Troopers come racing through the morning commute traffic. As we were driving, a cop pulls right in front of us and blocks off the section of road that we were headed for.

Confused, we follow other motorists slowly to the right and up the off ramp that was several yards before the road block.

We should have known at that point that something was up. Unaware of where we were, we took an on ramp back onto the Vine Street Expressway several blocks from where we got off, thinking we had driven past what ever mess was ahead of us.

We had not. There, in front of us was a line of cars had began to pile up behind the cop car that was blocking access to the Expressway.

Now, behind us, other cars started to fill in. I am not sure why the cops didn't block off the top of the on ramp at first- it would have prevented the back-up on the on ramp. Perhaps we were just several minutes ahead of their accident area containment plan.

Luckily, it was not long before the authorities reopened our side of the highway. Setting us behind only 35 minutes.

Waiting in 35 minutes of traffic however awarded me with a photo opportunity of the crash...

Amazingly NO ONE was killed in the crash. And despite NBC's Helicopter being on the scene the longest. It was FOX and ABC that reported on the events. Along with a few other online NEWS SOURCES.

Maybe it was a miracle that saved those motorists that morning.

Some ONE or some THING looking down on them. The force training to show us that witnessed it a sign.

But several miles down the road, while photographing the sun behind one of my favorite views off of 95, I found a face.

I found a face in the sun.

How's that for seeing something!

Photographing such an epic image after seeing such an awful thing... higher power or whatever, that photo is stunning. BEST photograph I have ever taken- hands down.

If it hadn't been for that crash and our 30 minute wait I would have never gotten that photo.

It really was "perfect" timing.

...

We experienced some other traffic and detour troubles while trying to enter New Jersey, near New Hope. This set us back a grand total of 70 mins or more.

All of this happened because we had to drop the Versa off at Somerset Nissan for it's 15,000 mile service and we needed to get it in early (8am) so we wouldn't have to leave it over night.

We didn't drop it off until 9am but luckily we didn't have to wait too long. The car was ready by 2:30. And we were on our way home around 5:30 after several pit stops at the parents' and friend's places.

And that was part two of our ongoing series,

Journey to Jersey

Stay tuned for the next adventure!

The Other Day ( Tuesday )

On Tuesday of this week, Marine and I (Shawn) headed out to New Jersey to see family and friends. We had a very interesting day. A blog post was most certainly needed to recap the series of events.

The reasons for a delay in a blog update was due to a migraine headache on Wednesday and my 6.6 mile walk yesterday. (my hips and lower back are killing me!) But it was a much needed push to help strengthen those muscles.

Our Journey to Jersey

Don't stop believing...
Usually, five Minutes after we leave our apartment is when we begin to get aggravated by traffic and Pennsylvania Drivers. Now ya see, PA drivers are like "Sunday Drivers" except they are out EVERY day of the week.

But not today. The roads were next to empty and the crazy people were no where to be found.

It was extremely bizarre.

This made getting out of our area unusually easy on this particular Tuesday afternoon.

So it was expected at some point that we would encounter some bone-headed move by some dumb-ass, some where.

It just so happened that "Awesome" Maneuver #1 would be executed at the intersection of West Delaware Ave and Pennington Rd (Rt 31) in Pennington, NJ.

Google Map View of Intersection

#1 - The "C" word in the BMW

The Red Car labeled "US" represents Marine and I. The White car labeled "****" is the Dumb Woman in a BMW. The circle and arrow represent the color of the traffic light.

As you can see, We are situated behind Dumb Woman at a traffic light.

When the light turns green, Dumb woman, at the slowest pace known to snails, begins to pull forward.

Instead of making a proper left turn, she begins to angle her car to align it with the entrance for the gas station. (the building in the top right corner of the images)

We continue to make a left in the proper manner, thinking that this woman is going to straighten out and actually finish turning left.

OH HOW WE WERE WRONG!!!

This friggin woman actually ends up cutting us off!!

unable or unwilling to signal her intent to turn right, halfway through a left turn.

As the traffic arrow turns red, we are being cut off by this lady who is apparently NOT turning left. But actually trying to make her way into the gas station.

She had no intention of making a left turn.

She was angling her car just enough to make a right turn as she is "turning" left through a traffic light!!

Which leads to me rolling down my window and yelling the "C' word the loudest I have ever yelled that word in my life.

So loud, people with their windows down could hear me over the noise of all the trucks and cars at the intersection.

These motorist quickly began to look around, trying to figure out which person could be this "C" word . If they caught a glimpse of my "Jersey Bird", then my middle finger pointed at the BMW was an obvious give away.

So I began to look at the intersection. While preparing this post.

I noticed how well the lane system and entry ways for the gas station were designed.

The red arrow shows the proper way to gain entry to the gas station when making a left turn through the intersection.

The blue arrow shows the proper way to gain entry to the gas station when making a left before the intersection on the adjacent street.

The yellow arrow shows what the Dumb Woman in the BMW did.

She went into the wrong entrance way. She should have made her way several yards forward to use the proper entry way. Then she could have signaled her intent. instead of angling her car and cutting us off.

WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING LADY!

The Following is an animation I put together to better illustrate what this "****" did.

moving on

# 2 - The Jack Ass in the Truck

Our fun with idiots was not over just yet. no more than five minutes to five miles down the road, a box truck driver decides to cut us off. He pulled out of a shopping center, bolting out between another box truck and us. Which caused us to brake suddenly as he began to grind his gears while shifting trying to get his truck into gear so he could speed up.

Angry from the "****" before. I honked Marine's horn. (she needs to get better at using it)

Then without thinking, I grabbed my cell phone and called the company. This man Joe answers the phone. This is the conversation we had:

Joe : Thank you for calling "*****", This is Joe, how can I help you.

Me : Hey Joe, How are you doing today.

Joe : Not bad and yourself?

Me : I'm doing pretty good today, I'm actually calling to let you know that one of your truck drivers is driving, well, like an ass.

Joe: Where are you at?

Me : Near Hopewell NJ, on 31

Joe: Well, that's not good, what exactly is he doing?

Me: He just pulled out of a shopping center abruptly in between us and another truck. Which caused us to brake and him to ride the ass of the guy in front of him. He could have waited.

Joe: Oh my, did you happen to get a truck number?

Me: No, but I have the license plate number.

Joe: Shoot. (as in let me know what it is, not dangit, this guys' got us)

So I let Joe know the digits and he thanked me and assured me that he would have a word with the driver when he gets back to the warehouse.

Another five minutes down the road the truck driver abruptly pulls to the side of the road, signaling a mere second before excuting his manuver.

I can only hope that he was pulling over to answer his cellphone. And that Joe was on the other end of the line, ready to yell at the guy for driving like an ass.

# 3 - Crazy Bitch in a Civic

Later in the day as we're headed towards the somerville circle, in Hillsborough we come across a crazy bitch in white a Honda Civic who has:

+ pencil in mouth.

+ bluetooth in ear.

+ papers in her lap and hands.

+ looking down at her feet.

+ while approaching a lane merge after passing through a traffic light.

= (equals!)

Crazy Bitch in a Honda Civic cuts us off!!! causing Marine to shift into the left lane abrubtly. luckily no one was in the other lane!!!

#4 - The Filthy Lying Waiter

We made dinner plans with our friends Christine and Sean to go to the new restaurant Maestro in Hillsborough.

Do not let the above picture fool you. It is not bright in this place at all! Very very very dimly lit during dinner. I could barely see across the table. It wasn't until half through my meal did my eyes adjust to the lighting. Even then it was way too dark in that place.

Service was slow, and it seemed like it was one of the bus boys trying his hand at waiting on a slow night. Which is fine - you gotta get some experience somehow.

The food was delicious. But it was the 20 dollars of dessert, which we DID NOT order, that was added to our bill that really pissed me off!

I'm very glad I looked at the tab. Who friggin does that?!

He only had THREE tables to cover. There is no way he could have screwed up. I'm sorry. I know a liar when I see one, and that guy was caught!

To top it all off, after enduring an onslaught of idiocy and craziness during the day, while on our return trip home at 11 pm at night. 5 miles away from our house, on the exit ramp to get to Rt 1. we came across:

#5 - Ignorant **** in a Cadillac

STOPPED In the middle of a fork in the road. Proceds to back up in the middle of the off ramp. first into a guy who is in front of us trying to turn right, onto the off ramp. Then he cuts in front of us, trying to then turn left which was the direction we were trying to go!

Marine ACTUALLY Slams her hand down on the steering wheel and lays on the horn.

THE FRIGGIN IGNORANT **** of an idiot rolls down his window and gives us the finger.

HE gives US the finger.

How ignorant of the asshole. HE's the one that just pulled the dumbass move in the middle of an off ramp and he has the audacity to give us the finger.

Which brings me to my point of all these little stories... R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Marine talked about RESPECT as it pertained to a certain business. I'm talking about RESPECT

pertaining to every day life.

We, the people, have lost respect for just about everything.

We have no respect towards anything. Most people don't even have respect for themselves.

We, the people, need a wake up call. We have completely ignored everything we were ever taught; it's rather sickening.

The best I can do, is start treating people with a bit more respect myself - or at least be aware of what my actions say about myself to other people.

The simple solution - Just start thinking. We, the people, need to start thinking and being more aware. Of ourselves, and of each other.

Garden Style

Last week we drove back to Jersey for a day to visit a few friends and say hello to our families. One of our stops was at this beautiful property that Shawn's friend helps maintain. They have over 30 acres of luscious land, a greenhouse filled with all sorts of orchids, and a pond-like swimming pool with a little bathroom shed at the bottom of a hill. It was a beautiful place to be for a few hours, despite getting caught in a short mid-afternoon downpour. Unfortunately I didn't think to take any pictures inside the greenhouse, but here are a few around the pool area.