Stamp collecting is a multifaceted pastime. In addition to organizing these little works of art, there is much to be enjoyed from the historical and geographical study of the countries that you collect. The sequence of name changes of a country is easy to follow through postage stamps. Zambia,Zimbabwe and Malawi used to be administered by the British through the federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Perhaps my favorite country name is Van Diemens Land – a stamp collectors dream. Stamps were only issued from 1853 to 1858 when the country reverted to Tasmania. Thus it is possible, with a little patience, to collect every stamp issued.
I have spent the last 2 weeks visiting “Youngpersons Land” – in northern NJ. A fun place – lots of buzz,nice restaurants but best of all the chance for nice walks along the Hudson River. The demographic trend is towards youth, as evidenced by the number of people with white ear growths, walking around talking to themselves, oblivious to the likes of me listening in. Whilst the “ crinklies” walk like crazy to stave off old age, the young cool dudes ride down the footpath on their electric scooters trying to avoid mothers pushing prams and “crinklies” ( who are smug in the knowledge that in 40 years time the cool dudes will be walking like crazy too!).
Now the nice little walks undertaken along the river have confirmed one thing – my thinking about the AndAllenGarden patio was spot on.One thing I do not miss about the RidgeGarden was the block driveway leading upto the house. Continual weeding and removal of moss, between the joints, twice a year.I had discounted this – very modern and on trend – option, focussing on either decking or full size stone pavers.
In one of my student summer jobs,as laborer to John the master paver, I learned that patios are 80% preparation and 20% laying the stone. If the preparation is not right then the patio will not look good for very long. To prove John’s point?
So at AndAllen the decking option was explored – we had a wooden Ipo deck at the Ridge, looked fabulous but to install it where there was no basement overhang would require a metal subframe.The problem was 2 fold – it doubled the cost and we didn’t fancy a metal frame running the length of the house when we can get 2-3 thunderstorms per week in the summer. In the end we decided on a bluestone patio with variable slab size, to provide some interest.
The other nice thing about walking in “Youngpersons Land” is that the #1 accessory for the locals is a dog – mind you, they are responsible dog owners who “scoop the poop” – so there are always interesting breeds to be seen. Nice to see that the most popular dog is a mongrel – a doodle! There are golden doodles, labra doodles, cocka doodles (do) – apparently the choice is unlimited – there may even be some doodle doodles ( according to Mendel, a 25% chance if you cross 2 doodles). A walk is made all that more interesting by the doggies ( and the pavers!).
AndAllenGarden 