New address

We are now at:

http://awarenj.wordpress.com/

Limits reached

We've reached the limits of this location.  We can complete our directories here and we're looking for a different place for the site.  We'll be back....

I hope to attend this.



We're still rebuilding the directories but a couple are published - take a look.

Have a peaceful day.

We're remodelling

Local Hobby Shops are Better

Yes, I'm political.

In view of the Supreme Court decision to allow closely-held corporations to determine their employees' medical coverage on the beliefs of the dominant shareholders, we strongly suggest that you boycott Hobby Lobby who is the principal in this decision and do your community a favor and seek out local, independent hobby shops instead:

D & K Hobbies in Cherry Hill

Recreation Depot in Lumberton

Ships 'n' Things  in Manville

NJ Nostalgia Hobby in Scotch Plains

The Hobby Shop in Aberdeen

Tony's Train Town in Cedar Grove

Train-Station in Mountain Lakes

Toy Train Emporium in Cherry Hill

Champion Hobbies in Hillside

The Big Little Railroad Shop in Somerville

Shadow Hobbies in Patterson

Maj's Hobby Shop in Hackensack

Atlantic Rails in Folsom

Maplewood Hobby in Maplewood

Kenvill Hobbies in Kenvil

Model Railroad Shop in Piscataway

Holly Beach Train Depot in Wildwood

F & M Hobbies in Denville

Bob's Hobbies and Crafts in Pitman


And, these are just a few.  

Our directories are   

Last Holiday Gift Ideas

Give the gift of giving; donate to a charity, for yourself or for someone who you know is interested in a particular charity or type of charity.  

Donate to a local historical society; there are many throughout New Jersey.

Donate to an animal rescue group or to a wildlife organization.  Again, there are many in New Jersey.

Here are a few charities I intend to donate to before the end of the year:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital -- "Our vision is to be the world leader in advancing the treatment and prevention of catastrophic diseases in children." 

Heifer International -- make it possible for you, through a range of gifts, to help others.  Because I prefer to not be involved with the gift of animals, I'm happy that they have useful and affordable gifts like honeybees and stoves that will be of valuable to someone elsewhere.

Donate to Smile Train or Operation Smile and make a huge difference in the life of a child.  

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) GreenGifts provides a variety of ways that you can donate, for yourself or someone else, to help our environment.  

Finally, for now, The American Red Cross do many things to help people.

Remember, depending on the charity of your choice, many of your donations also benefit you and your donations are tax deductible.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday.

We'll be back in the New Year.  May it be a better year for us all.

Have you run out of shopping steam yet?

I'm nearly finished.  I still have a couple of errands to run and food to plan and get before the big day.

Some last minute Christmas suggestions:

Thinking of a pet for someone?  Think twice.  A pet is for life.  One of the things I do routinely, is repost FB posts of lost, found, abandoned pets, no-kill shelter posts and posts of rescue organizations.  There are thousands of missing, lost, found, abandoned and homeless animals in New Jersey alone.  If you know someone who's pet is missing or, if you find a dog or cat, or anything else, actually, take a look here.  There have been, happily, lots of reunions because of them:  Lost and Found Pets New Jersey (it's a brilliant idea and it's been working).

So, if you are serious about a pet, don't buy from a breeder or, especially, a pet store, visit our Directory of Wildlife and Animal Rescue and give a homeless animal a home for Christmas.

Thinking of animals, Lakota Wolf Preserve was open as of yesterday and is a great outing.  You might check with them if winter weather returns and give another gift and ask what they might need in supplies, etc.

This blog and the directories are focused on small, local, independent businesses in New Jersey but, every once in a while, something online catches my eye and I think you'll find this product and enterprise of interest:  Inkkas    
I love these.  When Christmas is over and I've recovered, fiscally, I will definitely be ordered a pair for myself and for my granddaughter.

A few more suggestions (I am running out of steam):

Flim Flam Candles, Cape may have truly unique and lovely candles.

Barbara at Devilbiss Designs provides period doll fashions for porcelain dolls.

Jewelry?  Thomas D. Cherin in Westfield or Michal Negrin in Atlantic City.

Lovely knits from Nahyat Designs.

So happy for the warm wind and thaw today.