One Saturday in New Jersey

 Our New Jersey house needed a little extra attention from us last weekend. It was destined to be too short of a trip--we were only able to see a few places and people we love. 

I din't feel too badly about how the yard has changed. I couldn't help but notice that the crepe myrtle and lilac didn't make it. The rhododendron that I tried to resurrect is limping along. The barberry hasn't grown to much.

 On the healthy list are the maple, the hostas, the manhattan euonymous, and the laurel. Dan's awesome slate-stacking has held up under the windows.

This neighborhood might be the perfect place to raise a little brood in NJ. I love the perfect lines of trees in each season of the year. I love their shade in summer and their color in autumn.

 We stopped at Brothers for lunch. We hadn't been back since the roof collapse, but I was so pleased to see the same laminate orange tables, the same artwork of Last Supper above the kitchen door, and the same pizza guys speaking Italian and watching soccer.

We drove through Princeton that afternoon. Princeton is full of churches.  Everywhere you turn there are spires and steeples.

 Dan had never been to the Washington memorial less than a mile from the Princeton Battlefield, so pulled into City Hall's parking look so that he could get a good look. There's only one way to see this monument to sacrifice--in person. I took a photo anyway. Can you tell how Washington seems to be supported by a tangle of people in destitution and painful suffering? It is a fitting tribute of war. Even Washington's slouched shoulders are hard to miss.

 We spent the evening closer to Washington's Crossing at a new favorite place, the Strawberry Hill Mansion at Baldpate Mountain. Strangely, I didn't take a single photo of the exterior, but it could be because I was falling in love with the enclosed wraparound sunroom. 

 We were there to attend a benefit concert for a friend of ours who has been fighting off cancer for a couple years. Dan was on banjo. I always love it when he plays in front of people.

A very talented Liz Anderson was on guitar, piano, and vocals. This woman is amazing.

We saw so many old friends. I wish I could post the dozen photos I took of the couple we saw. (What do you think? Does anybody read this blog? Would that be so inappropriate?) I have learned so much from so many good New Jersey people. My heart is so full of gratitude for their continuing examples of work and love.

And we were there to see Christanne (in the pink skirt) who was hosting this for her sister (the cancer survivor) and as a last hurrah before moving away to Boston. I don't know what New Jersey will be without Christanne. I was glad to see her, hug her, eat her delicious food, and attend just one more event she had organized. Her superpower is gathering people in the most fun ways.

We drove through that Saturday night to get home to Virginia for Sabbath day duties, but as we drove I dreamed of these places and all the people we were able to see.