Welcome to the World Isaiah Matthew

Congratulations to Matt and Melissa as they welcome their beautiful little baby boy Isaiah Matthew into the world on August 17th, 2008. Who would have thought that tiny little Melissa would have given birth to a whopping 9 pound, 1 ounce little treasure. I can't wait to see his precious face, and made this cute little hat that Thumbelina is trying out just for Isaiah. This is what makes crocheting so special, crafting stitch by stitch a special gift for a special little boy. Welcome to the World!

Thanks Denise for the great pictures!

My friend Denise photographed some of my goofy hats for me! Denise has a way of capturing the special moments of life and preserving them in forever memories.Please visit her website at Denise Snyder Photography for some phenomenal pictures. http://dsnyderphoto.blogspot.com/ You will not be disappointed! Thanks Denise!

It's a Small World after all!

Had a great week off of work spending time with a special friend that is visiting from Spain. He arrived on Saturday evening, and we were on the go all week. Monday, we went to New York City, but first picked up my godchild, K, who just graduated from Seton Hall University. We took the train from South Orange to Hoboken where we jumped on the Path train, intending to get off at the World Trade Center. As we approached Exchange Place, my Spanish friend, J, wanted to show us Manhattan from the Jersey side, and we got off and mingled with the financial guys during their lunch time stroll on the riverfront. We grabbed the Ferry and traveled over to the World Trade Center site, and just walked and walked and walked. J wanted desperately to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and take the train back, but after convincing him that we would need a wheelchair for me, we saved it for another day. We walked for hours and ended up in a little sandwich shop where unbelievably J ran into someone he knew from Barcelona! Later my godchild got a call from her aunt who was visiting from Oklahoma and was waiting with her family on the island in the middle of Times Square! We met up with them and then walked back to Madison Square Garden to catch the train back to South Amboy. What a great day!

A simple day

Yesterday I spent a great day with my grandson, D, at his new home in Historic Gibbsboro, NJ. I went down to wait for the electrician who was changing over tube and knob electrical wires into whatever it is that they use now. I commented to the electrician that perhaps Thomas Edison had put in the original wiring! Apparently, this was the way that electricity was brought into homes and this house built in 1875 was probably proud of such a modern convenience in its time. Sitting on my daughter's front porch, is like stepping back in time. The house is in the historic district and the surrounding homes have big porches with large baskets of Boston ferns, oversized wicker porch furniture and very ornamental Victorian Gardens. My grandson and I took a nice walk around the town and stopped for a big ice cream cone at Mazzo's. They have a great covered patio that was nice and breezy and my grandson and I tried to catch the dripping ice cream that was quickly melting in the summer heat. Near the end, my grandson's cone dripped down his shirt causing us to race for some napkins. I wanted to circle around to my daughter's house through the cricket fields, but D was determined to retrace our original route. He finally admitted that he was afraid to walk through the cricket field which was home to about 20 Canadian Geese. We scouted out a little park with an old fashioned clock and gazebo built in honor of a long time resident. Also there was an apple tree planted by the 1999 kindergarten class as a tribute to their retiring teacher who served the school for over 30 years. The whole day made me think of simple times, when mothers greeted their children from school with warm chocolate chip cookies, and maybe spent the evening crocheting an afghan for extra warmth on a winter night. Maybe that is why I like to crochet so much, the warmth of the worked piece on your lap, the progress of one stitch after another to make something uniquely yours, and the feeling that life is simple and cozy and good.