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Christmas under glass
My friend Betsy and I decided we hadn’t been on an adventure in too long. So we jumped in her car and headed down south of Philadelphia to Longwood Gardens, the “small farm” Pierre S. DuPont transformed into a spectacular estate. At this time of year, the outdoor gardens are bare, but inside Pierre’s enormous “glass house”, everything is coming up poinsettias…and amaryllis…and winterberry holly. In short, Christmas is in bloom. Talk about spectacular. You enter to a vista of living Christmas trees, dancing fountains, and masses of red and white blossoms.
You progress through various “rooms” (including a ballroom with a 10,000 pipe organ!). There’s a wonderfully whimsical Children’s Garden where the statues are dressed for the season.
I’m partial to topiary so I liked this particular detail.
In the desert room, there was a wreath made of succulents.
In the tropical room the Christmas tree was made of bromeliads and such exotics.
The theme was gingerbread so they had trees made of it and decorated with it, and even a replica of the Glass House itself in gingerbread.
My personal favorite? The rose room with its pendant stars. Pure delight!
Wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons and a wonderful 1012!
Wacky Gifts for Guys #5
Does your significant other like to sing in the shower? Well, now he has the lighting effects to make him feel like a star with the Rainbow Shower Head.
And it’s ecologically responsible: the water pressure powers the LED colors. No batteries necessary! It’s a disco inferno with a built-in sprinkler system. Burn, baby, burn! Now all he needs is microphone-shaped soap.
$34.98 (or $29.98 for two or more) at The Lighter Side.
You thought I was kidding about the soap but here it is, just in case you want to add it to his stocking.
It’s $5.95 from Soap on a Rope. com.
Wacky Gifts for Guys #4
Is your guy a true romantic? Or do you really wish he was? Here’s just the thing to fan the flames of romance: a couples hand-holding mitten set.
It comes with 2 individual mittens for your outside hands and one shared mitten that fits over your interlocked hands. All in a lovely, fashion-forward shade of bright orange. Add hot chocolate, a sled-for-two, and a snowball fight (although that might be hard with the conjoined hands), and you’ll be one cute couple.
$19.98 at The Lighter Side.
Wacky Gifts for Guys #3
Okay, this may be tacky, but I couldn’t resist it. And it’s very useful.
Yes, it’s Weener Kleener Soap. The name alone had me in stitches. It promises to make personal hygiene more stimulating and guarantees that “a few quick strokes will clean most appendages.” Make sure the recipient reads the “Caution” at the bottom of the packaging.
2 for $11 at Things You Never Knew Existed.
Wacky Gifts for Guys #2
You love your Snuggie, right? It’s warm and soft and hugs you without expecting anything in return. But the man in your life makes fun of you every time you use it. Here’s your revenge: the Superman Snuggie. It’s “super cozy”, of course.
Wrap this up with a card that says, “You’re my hero.” How can he not put it on after that? Now you can wrap yourself up in your own normal, solid-colored Snuggie, secure in the knowledge that he won’t dare make fun of you ever again.
Once more, it’s from Things You Never Knew Existed. Just $29.98.
Wacky Gifts for Guys #1
Let’s face it: it’s really hard to buy presents for the male of the species unless your holiday shopping budget runs to big screen TVs or yachts or Porsches. Since most of us have to struggle with a slightly lower price limit, I have scoured my catalogs to find perfect gifts for the man in your life. My first suggestion follows.
Billed as the “manliest bearded hat ever”, this “slips over your head to give you an instant burly look.”
I’m not sure “burly” is quite the right word for this fashion statement.
Note: the mustache is removable, thank goodness! So if your guy always wanted to grow a beard, you can give him a crocheted one for $27.98 at www.thingsyouneverknew.com.
Weird, wacky holiday gifts: it has begun!
After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this is exactly how I felt:
The good news is you can own this entertaining, if a little odd, wine bottle holder all for yourself. It’s only $38.00 and can be ordered here: http://www.femailcreations.com/products/sku-2117430.html.
Yes, it’s time for my annual selection of strange and wonderful holiday gifts. I comb the tons of catalogs that make my mailman hate me this time of year for the most head-scratching/laugh-inducing/recipient-insulting items to help you knock off your holiday shopping list.
Check back here to see what’s next…
The curative power of sheep
Handsome Husband and I had planned a romantic escape to a picturesque country inn in Stockton, NJ last week. The Woolverton Inn was built in Colonial times and is absolutely delightful as you can see in this photo:
Our room was in this charming little cottage (the one on the right):
It even had a jacuzzi:
However, two factors interfered with our romance:
1) It poured rain almost the entire time we were there, which could still have worked (a jacuzzi and a four-poster bed!). However,
2) I had a terrible sinus infection so my mood was about as far from romantic as it could get.
But there was this lovely window seat where I could curl up and read:
I didn’t have to feel guilty that I wasn’t doing the laundry or walking the dogs or taking care of the thousand other things one needs to do when one is at home. And in the little field right outside the window were…
…sheep.
Maybe it’s because I grew up in the country , but I found watching the silly, fluffy creatures wandering around their pasture incredibly relaxing. I could gaze at them for long stretches of time without getting bored. When I’d been away from the window for a while, I would go back and check to see where they had wandered in my absence. I found all my frustration at being sick just floating away.
In fact, by the last day of our stay, I felt well enough to take a stroll along the tow path and enjoy the beauty of the Delaware River (when the rain stopped for awhile).
Some people might give the credit to antibiotics, but I firmly believe the sheep cured me.
Galapagos, Part 6: Penguins!
My friend Elsie calls me the Penguin Lady. I think penguins are cool, so you can imagine the thrill when I found out that we had a chance of seeing the very rare and endangered Galapagos penguin. It’s the smallest species of penguin in the world, as well as the only one who lives north of the equator (by only a few miles, but still…). So it’s not surprising that they are considered quite the celebrities, as you can tell by the paparazzi in this photo:
We were out snorkeling when we came upon penguins roosting on the rocks (where they nest in burrows and crevices). There was lots of picture-taking.
See the white line curving around this fellow’s face? That’s characteristic of the Galapagos penguin. They stand only 19 inches tall and weigh about five pounds.
While kayaking later in the day, we found a couple of more penguins, posing nicely on the rocks.
This little fellow below must be immature because he lacked the white line on the face:
There are less than 1,000 of the Gaalpagos penguins now, due to El Nino warming the waters around the Galapagos. The penguins count on the cold Humboldt Current to bring the fish they eat past the islands and food has been scarce. Evidently, it’s quite possible they will disappear all together in the future. Such a very sad thought.
Finally, the absolute best experience: we were all suited up for snorkeling off the beach when we asked our fabulous (and energetic) guide Fausto if there was any chance of swimming with the penguins. He thought about it for a minute, then said, “Let’s try it. Everyone who wants to swim with penguins, jump in the Zodiac.” Our Zodiac pilot turned out to be an excellent penguin spotter. He observed a flock of penguins feeding farther along the coast, and we headed after them.
We discovered that penguins move very, very fast in the water. It took three tries (12 snorkelers jumping into the water, then clambering back into the Zodiac again) to get in position in front of the penguins. But when we did: unbelievable!
We dropped into an empty stretch of water, and followed Fausto along the coast. Suddenly, out of nowhere dozens of penguins came shooting through the water toward us, swirling all around us as they nabbed the silvery fish fleeing in front of them. The penguins paid no attention to us, bobbing to the surface to breathe right alongside us snorkelers.
I wish I could have caught an underwater shot but my camera’s slow shutter had no chance of capturing the speedy creatures. I swear they are jet-propelled.
One of the things I noticed when a penguin bobbed up right beside me was that their feet look padded and kind of squishy. I hope you can see how thick they are in this shot.
It was just another magical moment in the Galapagos tradition.
Galapagos, Part 5: Dinosaurs with shells
I’ve had a request for a post on the Giant Tortoises of the Galapagos. Linda, this one’s for you!
Galapagos actually means tortoises so these big fellows are responsible for the very name of the islands they live on. And they are indeed big, weighing in at up to about 880 lbs. with shells nearly 6 feet in length. They often live over 100 years. To me, they looked liked dinosaurs with shells.
Doesn’t he remind you of a brontosaurus?
The Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz has a very successful breeding program which has repopulated most of the islands with the seven surviving subspecies of tortoises. Here are some of the young ‘uns waiting to be released into the wild.
The Galapagos tortoises nearly went extinct because us humans took advantage of their lack of fear and their slow speeds to use them for food supplies on ships. The tortoises could live a year without food or water so they remained fresh and ready to eat. Not a pretty thought about how we treat our fellow creatures.
The breeding programs have been very successful, except for poor Lonesome George, the last of his subspecies.
He looks very sad, doesn’t he? However, the truth is that he now shares his pen with four lusty females whose DNA is very similar to his, so they are hoping he will pass it along to some offspring soon. Of course, he will still be the last pure-blood of his kind.
You will probably be able to figure out what this fellow is up to.
We could hear him long before he saw him. Evidently, tortoises are almost entirely mute except for when they mate. Then the male is quite vocal, emitting loud grunting noises. The sound of the two shells pounding together is pretty impressive too.
Aside from the Charles Darwin Research Station, the giant tortoises wander about in the wild. Here’s one fellow just hanging out in a meadow with an admiring audience.
I was quite surprised to discover that they graze just like a horse or cow, ripping up the grass with their mouths.
We came upon this big guy in the woods.
When all that bulk moves through the trees, it sounds like a bit like an elephant as branches crack and bushes get crushed beneath the tortoise’s great weight.
Their shells come in all sorts of different shapes, although the two major divisions are saddleback and domed. However, there are many variations in between. Here are a few samples.
Finally, here’s my favorite tort, giving me the evil eye.
Not cute and cuddly like the sea lions, but quite impressive for their sheer mass.
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