Leora

Review with Carrot Watercolor

carrot watercolor
Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is in less than one month. So I started looking at past posts I wrote about the holiday. I have an idea for a new way to present the simanim (symbols) – I plan to post it next week.

On My Blog

mugs at Lazy Bean Cafe Pure Turkish Emery three men outside Friede Woolens
doorway to a building in Batsto Village dinner at Longstreet Farm: ham, bread, asparagus, blue china butterfly
– Agnon, Joyce, Woolf and Kafka
– What Happens When You Raise Taxes

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

I read Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – she has led a difficult life, and what she has to say is not easy to hear, but she is a good writer and her story is gripping. I read the book in only two days. I can’t say I agree with her conclusions, but her story of growing up in Somalia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia, then running away to Holland because she doesn’t want to marry the man her father has chosen for her is quite a tale. I amazed that she has made it as far as she has in life (at one point, she was a member of Dutch Parliament; now she is a fellow at American Enterprise Institute).

Batsto Village Reds

main house at Batsto Historical Village
This is the main house at Batsto Historical Village. Originally built in the 18th century, businessman Joseph Wharton added unto and renovated the house. We received a tour of the large, spacious house, but no pictures were allowed, similar to our tour of the house at Allaire State Park. If you want historical homes in New Jersey where you can take photos, try Longstreet Farm or East Jersey Olde Towne.

stagecoach
This old-fashioned stage coach seems to scream: I want to be in a Ruby Tuesday post!

Richards and Joseph Wharton
Pictured in the little museum in the visitor center are Batsto village owners William Richards (early 19th century) and Joseph Wharton (second half of the 19th century). The man on the left may be Charles Read of the 18th century. See history of Batsto Village.

Pure Turkish Emery
Pure Turkish emery was one of the items advertised for sale in the Batsto shop. Note the crescent moon on the advertisement. This was from the days of the Ottoman Empire.

For more photos with a little or a lot of red, visit Ruby Tuesday:
Ruby Tuesday

Nature at Batsto Village

butterfly
There is a lake at Batsto Village in the Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey. There one can see all sorts of natural elements, like wildflowers and a pretty butterfly.

thistle flower
This star-like lavender flower (spotted knapweed – thanks to EG Wow) was also growing next to the lake. There is a nature center at the village, but we didn’t get a chance to visit.

cattail
This cattail is situated in a man-made pond created by 19th century businessman Joseph Wharton.

For more nature notes (and this week’s post about lawns) visit:
Nature Notes

Batsto Village in Sepia

roof of the store at Batsto Historical Village
On Sunday we headed down to the Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey and visited the Batsto Historical Village. The village was built around the iron industry in the late 18th and early 19th century. When the ironworks was abandoned for more profitable iron in Pennsylvania, it became a glass blowing village for a few years. Then Joseph Wharton, a Philadelphia businessman, bought it in 1876, fixed up the main house and built it up as an agricultural area. Today it is a fun place to visit for both history and nature lovers.

doorway to a building in Batsto Village
The top photo, with the roof and chimney, is of the village store. I took the store photo with the sepia setting on my camera. The bottom one is of some storage building in the village.

For more sepia and/or doorways, visit:
Sepia Scenes
Window Views

Dinner in the 1890’s at Longstreet Farm

dinner at Longstreet Farm: ham, bread, asparagus, blue china
We haven’t gone on many trips this summer, as it has been quite hot, other than to the pool. Here’s dinner at the Longstreet Farm in Holmdel, New Jersey as it may have been in the 1890’s. Looks like they are having ham, asparagus, grapes, lemons and — is that challah?— a twisted bread, served on delicate blue china. We are planning to go on a family trip today.

For more Summer Stock photos, visit Robin’s Around the Island:
Summer Stock Sunday

Peaches and Tomatoes

peaches and tomatoes
It’s a wonderful time of year in New Jersey: the peaches are finally available in the farmer’s markets. These are the best tasting peaches…um, yum, de-de dum. It was even worth traipsing off during the heat wave last Friday to get yet another bag.

peaches in a bowl
The peaches are beautiful to behold as well as eat. Can I have my peach and eat it, too?

small tomatoes
Small tomatoes in my garden are finally ripe. I also have some garden grown cucumbers (my first year growing cucumbers). I saw one of my bigger tomatoes finally turning red. How long will I hold out before picking it?

For more photos with a little or a lot of red, visit Ruby Tuesday:
Ruby Tuesday

Tax Raises Cause a Split

Tel Dan
More stories from the prophets: Archaelogical Dig at Tel Dan in northern Israel, Where Jeroboam built a cult as an alternative to the Temple in Jerusalem

My husband told the following story:

Long ago there was a king. He was a new king. He was trying to get the people who lived far to the north to adhere to his sovereignty. So he asked his elder advisers: What shall I do? They told him to speak gently to the people, and the people will serve him. He did not take the advice of these elders. He then went to the younger advisers. The young advisers told him to say: “My father chastised you with whips, I will chastise you with scorpions.” They wanted him to show the people who is boss and increase their burden. And that he did. And he lost the kingdom.

For more on this story of Rehoboam, read A Divided Nation on the Aish website or Kings Chapter 12 (Melachim Bet).

How was this related to last week’s parsha? We learned about the law of jealousy in the ten commandments, and from there, my husband told the story of jealous Jezebel, and then there were more stories from the Prophets…

Review with Pink Begonia

pink begonia growing in my front yard instead of grass
pink begonia growing in my front yard instead of grass

On My Blog

vegetarian stew hollyhocks against gray Lazy Bean Cafe
calf fireworks in red Tea Set at Longstreet Farm in Holmdel, New Jersey

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

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