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Friday, June 28, 2013

NJoy - jersey city loew's theater - part ll

Back in April I already posted some exterior shots of this Jersey City gem and today I will finally show you what you can expect inside. The theater had opened its doors in September 1929 and closed down almost 60 years later. Luckily it was saved from its fate of being torn down by a developer. In February 1993 it was bought by the Friends of the Loew’s for the bargain price of $325,000. Since then the Friends of the Loew's are restoring the theater to its former glory with the help of volunteers. Every weekend volunteers are working at the Theater and do everything from minor repairs to major construction. This unique but successful approach was adopted out of necessity, as the theater has been rescued by ordinary citizens. Hooray for community involvement and volunteers!

Do you guys have an old revived gem like this in your neighborhood or something you would like to rescue yourselves? I always run into buildings I would love to save and then a while later someone else who has the funds does so...

Happy weekend my friends! Hope to be on a more regular schedule soon...

PS. Before the movies start someone plays the organ of the theater. Unfortunately it's not the original organ which now resides at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. The current organ came from the Loew's Paradise in the Bronx.







Monday, June 24, 2013

week twenty five

Another week flew by. I cannot believe that we are nearing the halfway mark of this year already. Where does the time go? Thank you all for the warm welcome, it is good to be back but I am still fighting to get back into the blogging groove.

On Saturday P and I hopped on our bike to explore Liberty State Park where I wanted to take photo of the CRRNJ Terminal for my NJoy series. Since the train station is just a quick ferry ride away from Ellis Island most immigrants passing through there would continue their journey aboard one of the trains leaving that station. Unfortunately the station was closed due to the damage it sustained during Sandy. Yesterday I met the lovely Ana from Fluxi On Tour who is in town from San Francisco. First we had some breakfast at Egg and after filling up on yummy eggs and grits we hit the Renegade Craft Fair. It was way too hot for me yesterday so even though I brought my camera I was too lazy to take any photos although there were lots of great things to see. In the end we needed to rehydrate in a backyard of a cute cafe. After meeting Ana I met with P to grab dinner at one of our favorite German restaurants in NYC. This about sums up my weekend. Hope you had an equally great one! What were you guys up to?


Wednesday, June 19, 2013

mini makeover lV - front yard

This is not the most amazing makeover but it is one step closer to getting our front yard in shape. Although it does not look like a lot of work it took us three weekends to get from from the overgrown yard to its current state. Still need to trim the cherry tree and the lilac on the left side of the house. Might have to research when the best time for this will be first, so it might not happen until the fall or even next spring. We decided to take out the bushes and the two arborvitae trees in front of the bay window because they were planted way to close to the house. The roots might damage the foundation of the house slowly but surely. First we cut down the big bush and one of the arborvitaes with a hand saw. This was a bit too labor intensive so we bought a reciprocating saw to help us cut the remaining trees/bushes. I have to admit I am in love with the new saw and besides using it on our garden project I already used it for another mini makeover in the house. In addition to the saw we also bought a weed whacker and all I can say is hurray for power tools! After taking down the bushes we tried digging up the roots, it worked for three of them but there are still four big clusters of roots left. Hopefully they will start to die off and rot so we can plant new flowers/bushes next year. Right now the house looks a little bit naked with all the plants gone.

Another big item on our to-do list for revamping our houses curb appeal is repainting the fence. After cutting out the too frilly for us ornamental pieces we had left the spots exposed to the elements which left us with rusty spots wherever something was cut out. Three weeks ago I finally started prepping the fence for a new coat of black paint. First I brushed off all the loose and chipping paint with a metal brush, as well as cleaning the rusty spots. Once I had the rust off the fence I gave those spots a quick coat of paint. Still need to give the driveway gate and the railing at the stairs the same treatment. Before giving everything the final coat of paint we need to scrub the rust spots off the concrete, which unfortunately formed after leaving the fence rusty for too long. Might need to rent a power washer for this...

The dead plant in the pot on top of the stairs was replaced with a big pot of colorful flowers. It is still far away from being finished but it looks a bit more maintained now. 

We have not made any decisions what we want to plant next year in front of the bay window and below the cherry tree. Underneath the tree currently is just a patch of dirt with weeds. Because we are a little bit challenged when it comes to plants and yard work any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

Have you been cutting, digging or weeding in your yard lately? Are you enjoying the yard work or are you more like me who loves to hang out in a nice yard but does not really enjoy the work that comes with it?


Monday, June 17, 2013

weeks sixteen through twenty four

Hello there!

Is anybody still reading this blog after my absence for a couple of months? I apologize for being MIA for such a long period. Life caught up with me and I needed a time out. Sometime we end up in situations that are bad for us and we are not doing anything to change it ot get out of it. This is what happened to me, honestly I do not even know how I was able to endure the situation as long as I did but in the end it was too much to take and I was forced to make some changes in my life. I still cannot believe the things I was confronted with but in the end I came out ok, stronger even. Without friends, family and the best husband ever I don't think I would have been able to come out ahead. Thank you all for being there for me! 

I have missed you all so much and am happy to be back!

Big hug,

Nina 




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