I ♥ New Jersey

 

This is how I want to remember home.....

I haven't been here much the last couple days. Since the storm was moving in back east, I was worried about family and friends. And I watched like many on TV as reports came in about how bad it was. I found a few links that I posted the other day for sites that had instant updates from people out there and photos from them too. And it broke my heart to see what was happening to my home state. Ive been sort of in mourning, it just hurts so much.

I was born and raised in NJ. and even tho I left in 1984, I used to go home several times a yr until the last few yrs when money got tight. I am and will always be a Jersey girl even tho I will never move back. I don't know if its just in the water out there or what but.....Jersey people are tough and have attitude wherever they go. Its just part of who they are. And so even tho the last few trips home I realized, I don't belong there any more, it will always be a part of me.

 And so when I woke up yesterday morning and came online, one of the first photos I saw was one of Seaside Heights (the one above) and the massive damage. I gasped and burst into tears. Even my bf asked me whats wrong and all I could do was point to the screen. For those who never lived there, you see it as really bad destruction from a hurricane and feel bad for the people there. I felt that way with Katrina. But I had no connection down south so that's all I could feel.

 Before and after  :(

But like when 9/11 hit, it became personal to me because I had been in that building many times in my life. And my fav restaurant in the world was at the top. And that's how it is with this .......I spent my dating days down in Pt. Pleasant with my now ex husband. I spent time there at his family beach house.

And when we got married and had kids.....we spend many weekends every summer down at Seaside, sometimes at the boardwalk and lots of time down the road from there at the fishing beach. I don't even know if the fishing beach is there anymore. I haven't seen any photos yet of that part. But you had to go thru Seaside to get there. Its a long spit of land with dunes that you needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle for.

We spent many weekends there, the ex fishing and the kids playing in the ocean or up in the dunes. Many memories of bonfires at night with all the campers and trucks round it like wagon trains of old. And many days of fun on the boardwalk. ...its a part of every NJ persons life. My kids were stunned to see this too and heartbroken. What people don't realize who don't live there is what the Gov. said.

Gov. Christie: "All those iconic places you and I visited at the shore when we were kids are gone. We are going to rebuild, but it is going to take time. The shore is not only the heart of our economy. It is the soul of New Jersey."

Everyone went to the shore...and the heart of NJ was ripped out by this storm. Yes I'm sure in time they will rebuild. It will take a very long time tho. If you have seen the pics, then you know just how much is gone. But it will never be the same.

Once you get "sand in your shoes" from the Jersey shore.....you're hooked forever.

Signs in the sky

The weather has been weird here too. Yesterday it poured again. I was going to go to the in-laws but changed my mind when it started to thunder. I figured a big storm was rolling in because we rarely get that. In fact I thought the first rumble was just a truck going down my street, even the dog barked. She does that when Fedex comes here.

And so I got off the computer, sat in my chair and waited for the storm to pass. We never got any lightning tho....which I found very strange.......just lots of rumbles of thunder and tons of rain. And then I fell asleep for two hrs. I know I didn't sleep good the night before so I guess I needed it.

And so I did a few things, and then my bf came home. I made dinner, a Cajun Jambalaya which was pretty good. (which is on my Mermaids Treasures blog) As usual, sometime after that we wander over to our chairs and got comfy , watching tv. My house is on a hill and I have 3 big windows that look out over the hills and the lake. This time of yr the trees are thinning out so I can see much more by the lake. And from that direction, when its dark, I can see cars coming down the road towards town. Their headlights come from the right to the left.

 Out of the corner of my eye tho, a light caught it and it was weird. A long streak from left to right....totally opposite of what I normally see...and it was very low streaking across the lake. ( If you look at the top pic, you might see a tiny star below the moon. That's how low the streak of light was heading down toward the lake. And it was big.)I was stunned for a moment then asked my bf........did you see that? I think it was a meteor. He said he did and said he saw one earlier when he was outside smoking. And then I remembered the meteor showers that were supposed to happen this past weekend. It rained here so we never saw it. I think this might have been part of that. It was awesome tho!

 And then I noticed the moon outside so I got my camera, wrapped up in my blanket and went outside on my porch. It was cold but clear with some clouds passing over the moon. Its not full yet but will be soon. And I love trying to get interesting moon shots. So I took a bunch and these on my page here today were the best. I'm still trying to get the hang of this big camera.

So I came in did my photos and sat back down in my chair. And then it started to lightening! Flashes now and then which shocked me cuz I was just out there and saw nothing. And this time there was just that and NO thunder.

Signs in the sky today for me.........weird.

I havent made one in sooooo many years!

We had snow the other day, twice in one day but it melted in between. So I took the dog out to do her business and suddenly got inspired. I grabbed some of the lil bit of snow that was left and started to make a snowball. Then I thought snowman! And suddenly the child in me took over lol. Hes not much, just about 4inch. tall but I haven't made one in way too many yrs. 


And now the rain is here and hes gone but the memory lingers on lol. Last nite was rough, wild hurricane type winds, tons and tons of rain, some lightening and thunder too. And its supposed to be bad like this all week. I think Ill take the snow, it might have been really cold but the sun was out. :)

Weather

So the last two days Ive posted notes about the weather on my other site. Yesterday was beyond awesome and a day you wish you could bookmark to take out when you want a glorious day. Today its pouring again and its been really pouring most days since I got home from my trip to CA for my grandchild's HS graduation. And the reason its bothering me is because I went to check out the Farmers Market here.

It started last weekend but I was away. And today its pouring. I didn't know what to expect. Oregonians are tough people and do everything in the rain. So I got my stuff together to go and even brought an umbrella cuz it was really bad out there. I searched and searched and couldn't find it.

I think it might be at the Cultural ctr. but only saw one person under a canopy. I checked it out but wasn't sure so I headed home. I'm shocked. I did what I thought all Oregon folks do and nobody was tough enough to do it. I cant believe it but I have to wonder..why have a Farmers Market outside if it rains here alot and nobody is brave enough to go to it in that weather? I read it didn't do well last yr on Saturdays.....perhaps it wasn't the day but the weather.....duh!

So today I posted a note about the different kinds of rain I see here......sort of like Eskimos with different kinds of snow. {{There are several kinds of rain in Oregon...theres partly cloudy...partly sunny........foggy........misty.....drizzling......rain you can play in......rain you can go shopping in and then theres so much rain if you go out in it you will drown. :)}} And I'm not complaining at all. I knew when I moved here I would have lots of rain. After 25yrs in Ca. I loved it, I needed it, I craved it. Between allergies from smoke, dust and pollen killing me there and the heat....I was feeling dried up, ill, melted and old. I needed to leave.

And that's really funny cuz when I moved to Ca. all those yrs ago I was so stoked about coming here. So much sunshine and flowers everywhere but most of all for me....no snow. I left NJ cuz of the freezing winters and tons of snow. Of course after I left there, they have had many mild winters but I don't care. I left NJ sad to leave my life behind but happy to be going where I thought I could breathe and be happy.

Perhaps many yrs ago that was possible in CA. but that state has changed so much that I no longer recognize it. To me its a terrible place to live and I hope my children will be able to leave it too one day. But when I got there I landed closer to SF than before I left it. And just that short 10mi. or so difference, there's a definite difference in weather. I was near the fog belt and I could count on one hand how many warm summer nites I could sit outside, nothing like NJ. It was foggier, mistier and the air was better too.

In NJ summer nites are wonderful......and so when I moved just the next town over to the valley there in Ca., I had those wonderful summer nites there. In fact it would be so warm that several Christmases we could sit outside on the front porch in shorts and sandals. But summers there were brutal....often hitting 110, no rain for months.....dust, pollen and when summer fires came, smoke that permeated everything. I would live inside with AC on and still suffer.

And so I think of that Sunscreen poem..... and this line from it.....

"Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. "

And this line is just so incredibly true. East coasters are strong and tough but often times become too tough. And Ca. folks get too soft and lazy with all the sunshine and cant seem to handle adversity well. And now Ive moved on to a nice combo of both.  I have much of my NJ weather and beaches but not the snow or very very little of it. Its rare here. And I have some Ca. weather too with glorious sunshine but its green here instead of dry and brown. And I still have my sourdough bread and dungeness crabs too.

Oregon feels like paradise in spite of the weather. Its green, fresh air, not crowded. They grow lots of things here too. There's hunting and fishing and farms and yet some cities too. There's the beaches which are too wet and cold to be on most times but I love that cuz there's hardly anyone on them. So it feels wild and I just absorb all that nature.

So here is a poem I wrote long ago before I moved up here, envisioning where I would be. Now that I reread it......I do believe I created this place long before I got here. It fits the poem almost perfectly.

Mothers Day Fantasy

I'm not here, no really I'm not,
I'm where I want to be, in my dreams.

I'm up there, where there's pine and rain
not far from the ocean.

I can see it, all green and earthy
it gleams like a jewel in the sun.

My new home, not far from the sea,
so close it lulls me to sleep.

I'm not here, no really I'm not,
this is just a figment of your imagination you see.

I'm up there, in the mists and rain
in the primordial forests, breathing it in.

I'm on the porch in my wicker rocker
watching the whales in the sea.

I'm there with him, so close, listening
to the ocean, drifting off to sleep.

I'm not here, (shhhh I know I really am)
But I dream of land around me.

And growing things abound,
some wild, some sown by me.

And running free through the forest
becoming one with the trees.

I'll be there soon, I feel it.
Its up there waiting for me.

My first attempt at poetry since High School
P.C. ......seanymph 2008