Weeds & Seeds Swap

Here is a view outside our bedroom window of the snow-covered frozen lake, and this was BEFORE the huge snowstorm we had over the past 2 days here in Northern New Jersey.  I happen to enjoy the snow most of the time, and as Spring gets closer, the ground under the snow is protected from the cold and then will be watered as the snow melts, and our bulbs will begin to come up in only a matter of weeks.

But not everyone likes the cold.  A neighbor friend is moving south, of course this year, the south has had it’s share of cold and snow, upside-down weather I call it…as we’ve just had our first major storm and they have had a few before us. Our neighbors have their house on the market, and hope to take advantage of a tax credit that is available. Buying First Home has it’s advantages right now, because for a limited time you will be able to get an $8000 tax credit…my daughter and son-in-law were able to take advantage of this as they purchased a home at the end of 2009. My neighbors may be able to enjoy the tax credit for those who are home-owners who are selling and moving to another home if they have lived at their current home for 5 years. All of these specials end in April of this year, so it’s a good time to sell and buy.

Weather is making it a bit challenging right now, but by the end of March, and in April, we should see it improve and more shopping for homes, I hope, for my neighbors sake. As for us, we’re going to stay around for a while and enjoy the changing seasons. For those selling, here is a video that explains more:

Have you caught the Farmville bug yet? This is one of those Facebook games or whatever you call them…your friends on Facebook can join in and help you on the farm, and many other little things that I can’t seem to find the time to do. I did try for a little while, and realized that it wasn’t going to fit into my schedule, and was keeping me from accomplishing my goals…but it is great fun, and if you have the time, you may want to do a little virtual gardening…planting, tilling the ground, watching your crops grow, adding to you plots, rearranging your plots, whatever it is that makes Farmville so addicting to many.

If you ARE doing Farmville, maybe you can let us know about it, you may make a new Farmville friend or two.

(Picture from farmvillehelp.blogspot.com)

With Christmas coming the snow outside my window right now, with a backdrop of grey trees, is pretty…what we like to see at this time of the year.  But it is cold, and as time goes by, we tend to look farward to spring, and consider making escapes to warmer climates…where it is warm, and you see beautiful flowers like the one above that is native to Jamaica. Something you might see if you were to enjoy one of Jamaicas all inclusive resorts. 

Many, like my brother and his wife and daughter, like to travel to warmer places during the Christmas season, others wait until Spring if they have children and want to travel during their spring breaks. Then there are those who, like my husband and I, are no longer raising children, so can travel if money permits any time of year, and so inclusive Jamaica trips are appealing, as they provide you with everything at a reasonable price, tips included, so that you know exactly what you will be paying up front. This is important with the economy what it is today, and many resorts and travel destinations are doing what they can to help by providing reasonable pricing, and better ways like this to financially plan your vacation. This is what made taking this offer to share with you appealing…we are all trying to cut costs and plan carefully these days.

The website was beautiful when I visited, and there are places like Ocho Rios hotels to stay. Ocho Rios is the main cruise port to the Island, a wonderful place to shop, enjoy a wonderful variety of activities, including beautiful beaches, golfing, polo and famous Dunn’s River Falls for you climbing pleasure. Close by is another popular destination, the resort town of Runaway Bay, one of Jamaica’s most popular destinations, the home to Breezes Runaway Bay.

All the details you need and more are at the links provided. I hope you enjoy a little warmth just visiting the links during these cold months of winter.

Sponsored Post from LoudLaunch - Compensating bloggers for their unbiased opinions, reviews, and analysis…all opinions are entirely my own.

We’re looking at ways to enjoy the cool months of winter in climates that are not warm all year round…and I found another today, Saunas!  What a wonderful way to warm yourself, whether inside or out. 

Not only does this sound inviting, but there are health benefits…your skin is the largest organ on the body, and time in a Sauna, if your health care provider approves, is a perfect way to cleanse the pours, and flush out toxins. I was looking at a site with beautiful infrared saunas with many designs for both indoor and outdoor use. At the site that the “live link” above will lead you to, you will find a list of health benefits provided by using a Sauna, including pain relief (my aching muscles and joints like the sound of that), detoxification, and other benefits.

You can enjoy the outdoors in the winter in a snow-resistant outdoor Sauna…imagine enjoying the warmth of a Sauna in your yard, once green and colorful with flowers, now white with snow…the contrast of the cold and warmth of a Sauna is appealing to many. Prices are quite good, quantities are limited on some designs so visit soon, and the shipping appears to be free, at this particular site, so it may be a good time to take a look.

With winter coming, many of us in colder climates are going to miss working in our gardens and feeling the earth in our hands. The ground will be freezing soon, in fact they are predicting a bit of snow again this evening. For some, like my sister for example, any time of year is a good time of year to have your hands in earth, she is a potter, so spends time with her hands in earthenware clay. I thought of her when I came across the AMACO/Brent website, an american art clay co. They have so many of the things I have heard her speak about, she has a high-fire kiln, and uses clay especially for high-fire pottery. Much of her work is done on a potters wheel, not so much work with clay molds, though AMACO/Brent had all that she would need and more available.

During the winter months, crafts are a nice way to fill the time that will be spent indoors instead of outdoors.  Looking at the site through any of the “live links” in this post will inspire you and give you something to dream about and do until we can work our gardens again.  Maybe you can even make some of your own planters for container gardening for indoor or outdoor plants.

What do you like to do when it’s a rainy day and you can’t be outside playing in the garden?  Or for those of us in the Northeast that are looking forward to cold months ahead, when we can only dream of being in the garden? 

I like discovering new things on my computer, and one of the “new things” I’ve just been introduced to is a new place and a new way to find old friends…or to find out whether old friends have been looking for me.  I’ll never forget how amazing it was the first time an old college friend tracked me down on the internet…this was years ago and I don’t know quite how she did it, it wasn’t as easy as it is now, especially with the help of sites like MyLife.

Now all you have to do is provide your name and you can discover who has been trying to find you. Or, using other features at the site you can do a bit of your own searching. There is a way that the service, securely and without invading privacy, helps you find people on many of the social networking sites all at once using one of the sites features. And then as you progress through the site, there’s a nice member area of your own that you can use to keep track of people you are looking for or who are looking for you.

I am happily married so wouldn’t be one to be looking for romance, but others can find it through this site if they’d like to. For me, I look for old friends from my college years, my high school years, and even my grammer school years. In fact, I looked for the friend I was telling you about earlier, but she hasn’t yet found this new site…she’ll know about it soon, if not from this post, because she loves new ways to track down people. In her case, the internet did play a big part in bringing her back together with an old college sweetheart, and they are now happliy married.

How about you? Who would you look for? If you try the site, let us know how you make out. There are endless ways to use it and people to search for, like:

• Friends you served with in the military
• Old friends from your school days
• Friends from clubs or groups you have belonged to in the past…like garden clubs or other groups.
• Friends that you want to find who are on several Social Networking Sites, but you want to track them down in only one place.

So there’s an idea to fill some time when you can’t be enjoying your garden.  Have fun!

As we long for the summer sun, my son enjoys taking pictures, and took this one in our yard, a bit of color against the whites (snow!), greys and browns of winter.  It’s so very cold this weekend, with some snow predicted Sunday…perhaps the longest, coldest winter we’ve experienced  a long time, and it’s nice to be able to post about things that just might be more important that gardening.

As you know, aside from gardening, I spend a lot of time sharing the health benefits of many plants, but this time, I want to share the health benefits of something else, cells, little microscopic stem cells. C’elle has provided a way for woman in particular to invest in the future health of themselves, or those that they love, through their own stem cells. They have found a way to harvest these cells from the menstrual blood, and can provide you with what you need to do this in the privacy of your own home. Pricing is something that should be taken into consideration, but who can put a value on something that can benefit life-threatening diseases that you, or blood-relatives such as your parents, a brother or sister, or one of your children may face in the years to come…diseases like Parkinsons, Alzheimers, and so many others.

Visit the site and learn more, give it some thought, and consider ordering what you need to help those you love form the privacy of your home.