Just down the road from our little neighborhood of Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, the need is great. Many homes are gone, flooded, wiped out, total losses.

One of my sis-in-laws went to volunteer at the local Hurricane Shelter set up at the middle school. She spread the word about what items people needed, including socks. I went over there that same night with clothes and socks to donate.

I couldn't get the socks thing out of my head. People needed socks. People were walking around barefoot. But it was more than that, this sort-of obsession about socks. Putting socks on cold feet signifies warmth and comfort - a small bit of goodness during what will be a long and difficult road. It bothered me all night. And thus, Socks for Sandy was born.

You can help us gather up some warmth to share by collecting socks, gloves and winter hats - for men, women and children of all ages - and sending them to:

Socks for Sandy

P.O. Box 520

Little Egg Harbor, NJ 08087

Please mail by Friday, November 9, since the need is urgent.

I will receive all packages and immediately take these to the local hurricane shelter for distribution. Any excess will be given to the other hurricane shelters up and down New Jersey's coastline.

Another option:Donating directly to the Red Cross is still the fastest way to get your money into the hands of those who need it the most.

I want to thank my friends from all over who are making Socks for Sandy a reality.And I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your help.~Laura

If you have followed any of our other posts - you know that we have used the left over barn wood from the two barns we tore down to do just about everything. Here is one more idea we came up to use some more. We wanted a way to mark the various rows of our gardens – mainly for appearance and to help identify plants and rows for visitors to the farm.

We still have a fair amount of the barn wood left over – including a lot of small 24 to 36 slat and floor pieces. We trimmed them all down to be about 3″ wide by 20″ long – and then added a simple rounded curve on each end with a jigsaw before stenciling in the names of our plant rows. We then pre-drilled a couple of holes on each end. Then then drove 3/4″ x 18″ stakes into the ground. After that – we attached the painted boards to the stakes with some inexpensive course black drywall screws (We figure if they rust a little it will just add character) and we were finished!

The result - a creative way to identify our garden with unique signs – created for free from our stash of old barn wood! We thought about adding a clear coat to the signs, but figured it was best to let them naturally fade and bleach with the sun. All in all, a great way to use up some more of the wood and not have to spend a dime on signage for the garden. It took us about 2 hours to make and paint the 25 or so signs – and 15 minutes to put them up.

test first to check for the presence of disease if you are planting a large number of pansies. Plant them in a well amended bed (oganic matter). Incorporate a little blood meal in each hole and spead some of the blood meal on on the bed. Water the bed, but don't drown the plants. You can add a little bit of mulch for protection and decoration. Be sure and dead head the pansies all the way back the the end of the stem when thy are spent. Watch for a little bluing of the leaves which indicates they are dry. Panies don't usually need a lot of water. Otherwise leave them alone and enjoy.

paint over it or is this not a good idea. Any recommendations?