Gabreil Daveis Tavern in Glendora

This just in today's e-mail from Crossroads of the Revolution.  You can visit their web site and they have an events page.  I only listed the one item that was of interest to me and local to me.  The rest of the items in the e-mail were further north from here.  

By the way, I love the Gabreil Daveis Tavern (and no, that is not a typo or misspelling, that is how Gabreil Daveis spelled his name.)  The historic tavern is right off the Black Horse Pike and if you have good vision, you can see the street sign advertising it on the left, traveling east on the Black Horse Pike in Glendora.

I read a fascinating essay once at Gloucester County Historical Society Library, Woodbury, about trade on the Timber Creek.  It mentioned this tavern as a stopping off place since the Timber Creek is tidal and once the delivery had been made by boat, the boatmen would have to wait somewhere for the tide to change so they could make their way back to wherever they had come from.  The Timber Creek there is all silted up and overgrown and you would hardly be able to recognize it as a navigable body of water now, but once it was a very busy waterway for the movement of goods from local farms and mills to Philadelphia.

In fact, in the way that family history can intersect with general history, my ancestors, the Cheeseman family of Blackwood (You may have seen Major Peter Cheeseman Road beside Camden County College) had several mills on the Timber Creek, a sawmill and, I think, two gristmills.  A photo of a Cheeseman mill is in the Mills of Camden County book, a slim and fascinating book written by, I believe, Charles Boyer, indefatigable local historian.

Spring Open House and Re-enactment Weekend at the Gabreil Daveis Tavern in Glendora 

April 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and April 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Tour the tavern and enjoy demonstrations of blacksmithing, campfire cooking, weaving, musket building and more. Plus, games and drills for the kids. More information.

BE HERE NOW!

Beginning in the 1970's, that terrifically fertile period in our contemporary history, I have been interested in Buddhism, meditation, and Zen Buddhism in particular.

Yesterday, I jotted down my influences beginning with Alan Watts famous book on Zen Buddhism in the late 1960's.  Some people admire and crave excitement and mental stimulation.  I crave and admire a coolness of mind, a peaceful and serene way of being.  
The most influential adapter and promulgator of Zen Buddhism to the West in the 1970's was, of course, Baba Ram Dass who wrote the enormously creative, illustrated book BE HERE NOW, which is still on my bookshelf and into which I dip now and again.

Self possession:  I suppose what drew me to Zen Buddhism was the hope of being able to calm myself and own my mind rather than being buffeted continually by storms of emotion, currents of fear, and paralyzing anxiety.  When I say 'paralyzing' I am not exaggerating.  As a child, I had great difficulties with school and paralyzing anxiety was the state in which I lived as soon a my mother sent me out the door to that industrial monstrosity that was the school as I saw it  

My shyness and anxiety stayed with me into my 20's although as I grew and matured, I was able to overcome it.  I felt it but it could no longer paralyze me.  Then in my late teens and early 20's when I read Alan Watts and Baba Ram Dass, I began to hope there was a way out, a way to achieve peace, equanimity and cool confidence.  

Other people I have known who have suffered anxiety or depression have mentioned terms like "perseveration" and "cyclic thinking" and have talked about getting caught on a circling set of disturbing thoughts that go around and around and never come to an end.  I know that feeling mostly, these days, if I have a sleepless night.  That's when the worries march into town and lay waste to my quiet village - money, my aging decline, the future, the world, politics, the suffering of creatures, any number of things can roll in like a newsreel on an old film screen and keep me from calming down enough to get to sleep.

That is when I do the 64 points of relaxation exercise from my many old-time years of yoga, starting with my toes and also, using "Ocean breath" and generally by the time I get from my toes and reach my head, I am relaxed and clear again and can sleep.  It doesn't always work but it works often enough.

One of the worst times in my recent adult life was when my daughter dropped out of college and flew to California to break into the movies.  She was only 18.  I was almost out of my mind with fear and worry.  I went to two family counselors, one good and one awful, then I found my guide out of the snake filled jungle that was my mind, Pema Chodrin.  She is the Abbot of a monastery in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, I think.  Anyhow I bought all of her books, many of her audio books on cd and at night I put the cd's on and listened to them while I fell asleep, hoping that I would absorb the wisdom as I slept as well.  Her books have such wonderful titles such as:  In Times of Uncertainty, When Things Fall Apart, Smile at Fear, the Wisdom of No Escape, and my favorite No Time to Lose.  I think I found Pema Chodrin from reading a Buddhist magazine called Tricycle, or it might have been Shamble.  She spoke clearly and directly to me.  

Another helpful and interesting guru was Jack Kornfeld who wrote After the Ecstacy, the Laundry. that deals somewhat with how to live a Buddhist and mindful life in ordinary circumstances as contrasted with living in a monastery.  

In case you are wondering if there is any connection with New Jersey places, THERE IS!!  We have our own Zen Buddhist community in Shamong, New Jersey, PINE WIND Zen Community, McKendiman Rd.  There is a "My Meditation" at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 4th.  Thee were two others listed but they were so early in the morning, I couldn't imagine you, my reader wanting to go then.  

Also, there have been local Buddhist meditation workshops such as the one at the Collingswood Community Center.  I don't know if they are still being held there as I didn't attend but I believe it was $10 a workshop.  

I do my own meditation at home and from time to time, what I call my re-up through reading.  At present I am reading "Why Buddhism is True," by Robert Wright.  It is very good and offers science based support for meditation as a way to relax the mind.

Whenever I get stuck in some undertow of sad thoughts or fears, I bring myself back with a firm admonish to BE HERE NOW!  And I am right as rain again.  Hope you find this helpful!  And if you are interested, I suggest beginning with Pema Chodrin or even one of the magazines which you can purchase at Barnes and Noble in Cherry Hill at the old Racetrack circle which is now a shopping center with a Wegman's.  

Peace! (speaking of peace, I think today the vote is being taken for legalizing marijuana - that should be an interesting social experiment for our state, maybe we can get back to farming!)
Jo Ann

Donuts to Revolutionary War Heroes - Immigrants contributions to America

Last week in the ShopRite, I was led astray in the pastry and bread aisle by a brand new product not seen there before Paczki.  It was a box with four fat powdered sugar covered pastries visible through the plastic window.  

Now, a bit of personal history, many many years ago, decades actually I was married to a man of Polish descent whose mother cooked Polish food: golumpki, chruschiki, I can't remember any other names and can't spell them anyhow, but the point is I recognized the word as Polish.  So, I thought I would give them a try.  I was looking for a treat.

Actually I can't say that I cared for them very much.  I found them heavy, and dense, almost like white bread, and the jam filling was so sweet it was too sweet.  They reminded me of the jelly donuts of my childhood.

Tonight I decided to look them up and find out WHY they were in my ShopRite on that day and never seen there before.  I knew it had to be some kind of Polish holiday.  It was!  It was Casimir Pulaski Day!  It was also Shrove Tuesday, or the Week before Lent.  I don't celebrate those holidays anymore, the religious ones that is, such as Lent.  I do celebrate the secular ones, so I was putting up Easter lights, Easter bunny decorations and I made my daughter an Easter basket of treats gathered over the past months from places like Lines on the Pines (Hand milled soap and a beautifully turned wooden bud vase, for example) and some pure sized cranberry/walnut hand cream.

General Pulaski was a Revolutionary War hero who actually did some service in New Jersey, round about the time of the Battle of Chestnut Neck, after the burning of the ship building site and authorized pirate hide-out at the Forks.  American privateers used the Batsto and Mullica Rivers and the access they provided to the Atlantic Ocean, to attack and seize British ships.  They took the cargo and sold it and either re-purposed the ships or scuttled them.  The British became enraged by these attacks and came in force to burn the Forks.  Most of the people had escaped, some to Chestnut Neck where the battle continued.  General Pulaski was summoned to lead a group to the rescue.  He was too late for The Forks but he fought and died in the Battle of Savannah and is Memorialized for his bravery.  Since his birthday is in March, many Polish Americans celebrate then.  His actual holiday is in October.

Because Lent was on the way, rural farm people would use up their butter, cream and jams before the beginning of the fasting and hence the rich donuts were made and eaten the week before.

I have eaten one each day which was more than enough.  They aren't too bad with coffee, but I must say, I prefer chruschiki which are light and delicate.  This Paczki are sinkers!  Nonetheless it isn't every pastry that also provides a history lesson!

By the way, Benedict Arnold's long fall to disgrace is also connected to The Forks and Chestnut Neck.  He had invested in privateers and had a great deal of money tied up in a purloined cargo.  Rather than see it fall into British hands, he took unauthorized soldiers and marched down to retrieve it causing General Washington to be forced to rebuke him.  That disgrace started the simmer of disgruntlement that eventuated in his treason. 

New Jersey is rich in immigrant history as well as The Crossroads of the Revolution!

Happy Trails!
Jo Ann

Win some lose some - Art and music

Since the point of my blog is to introduce you to places to go and things to do, let me say right off that the point of this personal anecdote is to acquaint you with a place to go.

Yesterday a friend of mine from our college days, who is also a painter, and a member of Main Street Art Club, went with me to enter three works of art in a context at Croft Farm in Cherry Hill.

My friend entered 3 paintings, large landscapes painted in a very free, and flowing style, very different from my work.

I entered three small pieces, to 8x10 landscape and one 11x14 painting of an abandoned mill in Millville on the Maurice River.  My work is very representational, old school, traditional and very like illustration.  Needless to say, despite many years of college and many art schools, Norman Rockwell was my inspiration, and in my free retired years, I have returned to a very photographic style.

We had a nice afternoon, Robert and I.  We ate out at a Chinese restaurant that I like very much in Audubon in the Pine Plaza.  They have a lunch special, and I always get the Vegetarian Delight, which is mixed vegetables in a light sauce, and a generous helping of fluffy white rice.  It is filling, delicious and healthful.  It comes with either soup or an egg roll.  I always get a vegetarian spring roll (not as good as Bankok City's spring rolls which aren't as good as the ones I got at Saigon on Washington AVe. in Philly when I lived there, but they are good enough.

I had never visited Croft Farm before but I had heard of it and even passed it once or twice.  The barn has been converted into an Arts Center, and although I rarely mention music here, I picked up a couple of flyers and will give the information.  Croft Farm is located on 100 Borton's Mill Rd, Cherry Hill, off Brace Rd. phone 856-488-7868

If you want to go to the art show, the opening reception is March 24, from 2-4 and it is free.  The gallery is open on other days as well, 3/25, 3/29, 4/1, 4/3, 4/5 10 to 4 most days.  

Robert and I did not get into the show.  We both received our rejection e-mails today and are going to pick up our work on Monday.  I am not daunted, however, as my work DID get into the Eiland Arts Show and I will say hundreds of people brought work to the Cherry Hill Show.  Also, judging in Art is very subjective and highly dependent on the likes and tastes of the judges.  I have two more shows, one entered, and one to enter, coming up. so wish me luck!

Now the Music:  Trio Montage of the Cherry Hill Ensemble series will perform April 7 at 2:30 tickets $12, $15 and $5 for students.
April 10, 7 p.m. Cherry Hill Public Library.

There was a free magazine available - Spring 2019 Community Magazine featuring news, classes and events.  Presumably this magazine would be available at the Cherry Hill Library if you would be more apt to drive that way.  Or you can find it online at CherryHill-NJ.com/Recreation, or you can pick up a copy at 820 Mercer Street at the Recreation Dept Call 856-488-7868 for more information.  The magazine is filled with  information, classes, services and events, so it is well worth the effort to pick one up!

I will be dropping off my work for the Eiland Arts Center Show on March 30.  I am already accepted into that show, so if you want to see it, the opening is April 5 at 7 pm., the Merchantville Railroad Station off Centre Ave. in Merchantville, NJ.  The gallery is upstairs although there is work in the coffee cafe downstairs as well.

If you paint or have another art/craft and are interesting in showing your work, another upcoming event is run by the Batsto Citizens Committee, an indoor/outdoor event to be held in June.  Applications due by May 30 For an application or more information, you can contact hcrheam@gmail.com or call 856-768-1532.

Happy Trails!  
Jo Ann
wrightj45@yahoo.com

Hair Cut and Heritage - St. Patrick's Day is coming!

Today, I engaged in yet another experiment in finding just the right hair color and length and style for my current life.  My dog adoption this past summer prompted enormous changes in my life.  First I had to hire trainers for the dog, then I had to buy and install temporary fencing (she is an escape artist and my old back fence was no match) and I have been experimenting with shoes - no success so far, because she MUST be walked twice a day no matter the weather or my state of mind or body.  Same with hair.  

Last summer, because we had to walk in the neighborhood due to my newly (then) adopted dog's nervousness and aggression towards others and esp. other dogs in the park, I had to get a short hair cut.  It was HOT in the neighborhood because my neighbors have all cut down their trees and shade is scarce, not like the park where there is plenty of shade and cooler walks.  So I cut my hair shorter and shorter.  Nothing came out quite right after I had to shampoo and style it myself, until today.  

Today, at the Cutting Room, where I have for 2 or 3 or more years had the BEST hair color and style anyone could wish for, I got the hair-cut and style that works perfectly - not too short, not too long, not in my face or eyes.  And the funny, chatty, and talented young women who gave me this great hair-cut were both Irish!  The shampoo woman, told me her father is Irish but they don't know anything about their family history because his father died when he was a small child, however, she said many people with her last name come into the shop and she always wonders if they are related.  

We talked about the Immigration Station in Gloucester City where the Irish fleeing the famine in Ireland in the middle of the 1800's, were sent when Philadelphia couldn't take any more.  They sent the ships across the river to what was, actually, an Irish settlement from the beginning.  Irish Quakers from the Newton Colony settled Gloucester, their pact was made at Proprietor's Park and they are buried in Collingswood at what was the Irish cemetery near the train tracks.  When the Newton Quaker Colony moved to Camden, they took some of the headstones with them but the historians protested and the stones were brought back and put into a heap inside a stone wall in the cemetery at the eastern end of the park.

My stylist today, Meghan,  comes from a huge Irish family of 13 children on her father's side, 7 on her mother's and they all celebrate together in what was her grandmother's house and which she bought when her grandmother died. 

My big half Irish family has scattered over the years.   My mother's side were Irish, my father's side were English and German.  As the grandparents died and then the parents, we all drifted off and even my own siblings rarely get together, geographically distant as we are.  

Tomorrow, however I will celebrate St. Patrick's Day with my old teaching friends at the Phily Diner on the Black Horse Pike, with my new hair cut and my St. Patrick's Day green shirt emblazoned with sparkling shamrocks. I used to call my Irish grandmother on the phone and sing "When Irish eyes are smiling," to her not that she put much store in sentiment or the American version of "Irishness" - she was a serious woman.

My two grandmothers could not have been more different.  The maternal  Irish one was pale, quiet, serious and kept to herself - no stories from her.  The German one was cheery and robust, outgoing, and social, and full of stories, but not much family history.  I wish I had known to ask them more.

When I was just beginning my career i teaching, back in the 1980's, oral history and family history made a big resurgence.  At teachers' conventions each year, there would be workshops on it and so I took to interviewing my grandmothers about their personal histories, but they were not terribly forthcoming and I was not gifted enough in the art to pull out the information.  

Over the years since, I have done a bit of family history research with the help of ancestry.com and I have even been to each of the countries of my family origin - England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany.  So has my own daughter.  

Whether you are are Irish or not, it is a good day to celebrate our ancestors and what they suffered to get us where we are!  Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!  And here's hoping the Brexit idiocy doesn't strart up the border war in Ireland again!

Happy Trails!
Jo Ann

Trees are neither silent nor still; they move into the minds of those who walk among them."

The title of this post is the first two lines of a poem I wrote when I was at work one day.  On my lunch hour, I ALWAYS left the building and took a walk.  One day, walking on King Street in Gloucester City, by the old Coast Guard Station (Once an immigration station for Irish immigrants) I passed some red leaves in the fresh white snow.

I have always been a tree lover since the first tree I met on my block in South Philadelphia, where trees were rare amidst the canyons of red brick.  

A poem began to write itself in my mind.  Trees move and they also enter your thoughts when your mind is quiet and you walk among them.

"Trees are neither silent nor still; they move into the minds of those who walk among them
They write their poetry in chemistry on sidewalks
Leave red love letters in white snow."

I decided to put the poem here because I used it in a painting I am putting into a show at the Haddonfield Fortnightly Spring Art Show:  Through a Woman's Eyes. 

In my times of despair and sorrow, I have always gone to the woods or the parks and walked in the companionship of the trees.  They have saved me.  They have restored my peace with their quiet strength and endurance, the example they have set. 

I have 18 trees in my yard and to me they are like neighbors or even like family.  We have been together for 35 years in heavy icing, thick snow, howling wind, raging flooding downpours, blazing sun, and we have stood together.  They have sheltered me and my little house and they have stood strong against the elements.  Soon they will be unfurling their new fresh leaves and another season of shady joy will be upon us.

Perhaps the second touching experience beyond the tree on my street in South Philadelphia was Arbor Day in my grade school when we planted a tree and sang:

Trees

BY JOYCE KILMER

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Event in May - But please always scroll down for current events posted.

CAMDEN COUNTY HISTORICAL ALLIANCE PRESENTS:
                                     Heritage Trail

BUILT IN CAMDEN COUNTY DAY, SAT., MAY 11, 2019

Explore the architectural heritage of Camden County, spanning from 1693 to the early 20th century, with beautifully restored historic structures.RAIN OR SHINE Most events free.
For More information check out our Facebook page or visit:
www.CamdenCountyHistoryAlliance.com

Lines On The Pines at Stockton College

Today, two friends and I went to Lines on the Pines which is always in March, and which for the past couple of years has been at Stockton State College which is good thing because we need to coordinate with colleges more in the history world and attract young enthusiasts.

Before we went to the LOTPines, we stopped at a vegetarian/vegan place for a delicious lunch.  The cafe' is called GREENS and GRAINS, 80 Jimmie Leeds Rd., Galloway, 609-277-7060.  I had the most delicious veggie burger wrap and tomato/cashew soup.  Perfectly healthful food and warming on a cold and dreary day - especially that soup.  I LOVE tomato soup and that was the tastiest I have ever enjoyed.  Just  getting their menu is a lesson in how to make delicious vegan meals.  

At the LOTPines event, there was the usual array of authors with great books on Pines history and mystery, including my good friend Barbara Solem who has written:  Batsto - Jewel of the Pines, The Forks, and Ghosttowns and Other Quirky Places in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.  I see lots of old pals there.  I saw Janet R. who is a volunteer for Unexpected Wildlife, and Bonnie Beth Elwell who works for Camden County Historical Society (of which I am a member).  

Camden County Historical Society had a great spread of information.  The developing Camden County History Alliance was represented by an array of cards for each of the dozens of historic sites.  I picked up a few of which I had never heard before, or which I had heard of but had never visited - there aren't many as I have passionately tracked down most and volunteered at many.  CCHS had given me some sets of their EXCELLENT History quarterly Magazine to give out at our next Mt. Ephraim Seniors Get-Together, the theme of which is local history, Monday, April 1st at the Dougherty Senior Center.  Anyone who is in the area and a senior is invited to join us!  It is casual and discussion based - not a lecture format.

What I bought at Lines on the Pines:  It is become a little tradition of mine to buy my daughter's Easter basket goodies at Lines on the Pines each year.  She is a grown-up now and so bunnies and candy chicks and Easter outfits don't work anymore.  These days I like to get her hand-made artisan objects of beauty for her apartment in New York.  This year I found a lovely and elegant bud vase, and some hand-made fragrant soaps.  I will probably still get her a chocolate bunny at Duffy's home-made chocolates in Gloucester City, though.

As ever, there were musical areas, pottery objects, jewelry, many wood workers products, wine racks for the many local winery products, glass blown things and books, books, books!  There was a treasure trove of information on all thing Pinelands as well.  It is a wonderful day.  I am sorry I didn't remind you again just before hand.  I got busy!  I did post about it earlier however.  My favorite things are alway the artisan made objects of beauty.  If I had more money I would buy more things.  I would have loved to have bought a hand-made basket to put the other treasures into, but I had already used up all my cash on the things I bought and lunch.  Maybe next year!

Happy Trails - "hoppin' down the bunny trail, hippity hoppity Easter's on its Way!"

Sunday New York Times and Vegetarianism

If you have visited this blog before, you know that every Sunday, I LOVE to read the Sunday New York Times.  Perhaps you also know that for most of the decades since 1970, I have been a vegetarian.  The years that I wasn't I will explain later -  This morning in the Sunday New York Times, I read two fascinating articles about diet and Veganism.

If you are not familiar with vegetariansm and veganism, the difference is degree.  As a vegetarian, I sometimes eat an omelette, and use honey in my tea.  Also, I often eat cheese and use half and half in my coffee.  I have tried vegan cheese and have yet to find one I like, and I have spent far too much money trying to find coffee creamer that is vegan.  I have several kinds probably outdated in my fridge at the moment.  I hate them.  One of these days, I hope I will become dedicated enough to give up honey, cheese, and cream, but, meanwhile, small steps matter.  

My reasons for becoming a vegetarian back in the 1970s were a sudden illness of my then-husband's.  We were pot smoking, snack eating hippies at the time, and first his pot dealer died of a sudden respiratory attack, then the ex got an infection of his heart lining, so we tossed out the hash pipe and traded our pot paraphernalia for long distance  bike riding and vegetarians.  We subscribed to Vegetarian Times, and we bought and read The Whole Earth Catalog.  We believed (and I still believe) we have a duty to our planet to do what we can to live sustainably and compassionately.

So back to the newspaper.  The first article I read was about a California day-school trying to go Vegan and facing serious parental resistance.  The day-school was the kind that fed the children three wholesome organic meals a day, a big part of its popularity.  But when the owner notified parents that by the upcoming fall semester they would be serving vegan meals, the parents protested.

This always surprises me because I forget that not everyone has either followed the news on health and diet, or has any idea of what a vegetarian or vegan diet is.  The parents were afraid their children would not receive proper nutrition, despite meetings where dietician assured them the meal plans were entirely nutritious.  One big misconception I always run into, over and over, it seems, is that meat is the only way to get protein.  The same people who say this to me over and over, warning me that I won't be healthy if I don't eat meat, have no idea how much protein a day you are supposed to get or what other sources supply protein.  So let me say the minimum daily requirement is 55 grams a day, and you get protein from plant sources as well as from grains, and nuts.  The end of the article on the day-school had the proprietor standing strong even after a number of parents withdrew their children.  These were immediately replaced by parents who chose to send their children to this school because of the new vegan diet.  The problems they faced now were converting the kitchen, which serves 200 children, and getting a new chef and more help in the kitchen.

The book I used to initially educate myself to the vegetarian lifestyle was DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET.  The author, Frances Moore Lappe, is still living and writing and I find articles by her and about her from time to time in my very wide reading.  So for example, many international food staples supply good amounts of balanced nutrition and protein, such as the beans and rice dishes of Mexico - chili and brown rice.  And Chinese rice and steamed vegetables with tofu.  I know there are numbers of dishes from India as well but as I have no experience with curry or Indian cuisine, I can name them.  

The second article was a fascinating scientific study on individualized nutrition.  As part of a wide study, a journalist had his vitals taken, blood (glucose) and so on, and his food intake monitored, his gut biome sampled for dan identification of his natural bacterial colonies, and his exercise and lifestyle information collected.  He was one of a number of participants in a huge study.  All their data was collated with the help of artificial intelligence programs analyzing food content.  It is too long and detailed to go into here so I will simply give you the means to look it up:
Sunday New York Times, Sunday Review Section, article entitled THE AI DIET, author Eric Tool.  The basic finding a sentence was that there is no one size fits all diet for anyone and that we each of individualized body environments and need individualized analysis for optimum nutrition.  Well, we can't really have that yet, which isn't to say it won't be available at some point in the future in a smart phone for wrist worn fit-bit device.  For now, I guess we simply have to try to stay away from processed foods (eat Granola not Chex) eat a mostly plant based diet (like the Chinese I described above, steamed vegetables in sauce with brown rice), and lots of fresh fruit (smoothies are a good way to get that sweet fix and your fruit - banana, strawberries, blueberries, yoghurt, blend and enjoy!  You can put protein powered in it too) and you can drink plant based protein drinks for snack if you are worried about your protein intake.  I have found very tasty ones with as high as 30 grams of protein per drink.

Eat well, get out and walk, socialize with your friends and avoid alcohol, cigarettes and unnecessary stress - oh yes, look both ways before you cross the street - and don't speed when you drive and you have a better chance of living a long, healthy and happy life!

Happy Trails - Jo Ann

ps.  I almost forgot, try to stay organic - pesticides cause cancer!  Even local ShopRite stores have a large organic section with everything you could need!  And buy reusable grocery bags to keep the plastic out of the ocean - it is a small thing you can do!

Oh, I almost forgot, the years I wasn't vegetarian were the years I was raising my daughter, I was afraid to take a chance with her developing body because I didn't know enough then about protein.
She is a vegetarian now.  It is better for health, better for the planet, better for everyone but cattle ranchers and pig farmers (who by the way are destroying our rivers and water systems with polluted effluvia)

For more information, check out Vegetarian Society of South Jersey website:

https://www.vssj.com/

Photography at Eiland Arts, Merchantville Train Station Cafe and Gallery (Eiland Arts Center)

Sorry, you missed the opening reception, and so did I.   It was February 22nd.  I don't know how I didn't know about it, but I happened on to the show on the 1st of March when I dropped off my application for the Spring Group Painting Show, theme:  LOVE.  So the show is still up till the end of the month and I would strongly recommend that you get over there one day and enjoy the photography while it's up.

The photo show was called ALTERNATIVE PROCES PHOTOGRAPHY - 3 Women's Explorations. 

My favorite two pieces were downstairs in the cafe area:  One was a quilt made of photographs transferred to fabric and pieced onto the quilt.  First of all I LOVE photography and I have done a little transfer work myself, so I really loved this idea.  Also, I have always been interested in non-traditional ways of hanging wall art.
So, #2 favorite was also a non-traditional hanging method, photo transfers onto fabric in embroidery hoops.  Beautiful!

The day I stopped by was a cold snowy day and it was so warm and cozy in the cafe' and the art was so interesting that it was a big treat.  The fragrance of the brewing of the coffee filled the place with warmth and it was delightful being there.  

I admire was Nicole Eiland has tried to do in Merchantville.  She brings quality artwork to a historic setting.  The opportunities for seeing good art are growing all the time in our area.  Support the arts and go over to the Station, buy a coffee, maybe brunch or lunch, and enjoy the photo show!

Happy Trails,
Jo Ann 

Camden County History Events

Welcome to the March 2019
Camden County History Alliance E-Newsletter

Spring is almost here, bringing festivals, museum tours, and history events throughout Camden County! The Camden County History Alliance is currently preparing the Spring 2019 edition of Camden County Heritage magazine to be distributed in May. Also in May will the first Built in Camden County Day on Saturday, May 11th, featuring the architectural history of our county. March and April are filled with presentations, history mini courses, and tours. Besides the activities listed below, many of the historic sites are open regularly for visitors; visit www.camdencountyhistoryalliance.com to learn about all 48 history organizations in Camden County!

March 1: Diving Deeper Hourly Programs on the Battleship New Jersey

March 3: Women's History Spotlight Sunday at the Barclay Farmstead Museum

March 5-April 16: "William Shakespeare: The Histories" Mini Course at The Center at Camden County College

March 6-April 10: "Corporate Collaboration During the Holocaust" Mini Course at The Center at Camden County College

March 7-April 11: "Jazz Legends" Mini Course at The Center at Camden County College

March 8-April 12: "A Tumultuous Time: Victorian American & the Civil War" Mini Course at The Center at Camden County College

March 9: Winslow Township's 174th Birthday with the Historical Society of Winslow Township

March 12: "Crossroads of the Revolution: Trenton 1774-1783" at the American Revolution Round Table of South Jersey

March 14: “Saving Democracy: Lincoln’s Political Religion and the American Pursuit of Justice” with the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table

March 21: A Place in Time Open Mic Poetry Series at the Camden County Historical Society

April 1: "Walt Whitman in the Civil War" at The Center at Camden County College

April 3-May 8: Introduction to Historic Interiors Historic Preservation Course at the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Humanities