Ahhh New Jersey, How Do I Love Thee?

With your humidity, mosquitoes, noise and pollution....let me count the ways I love thee:

 Last night we enjoyed homemade Zucchini Hummus,

Today's lunch was still warm, just picked cantaloupe from a neighbor's garden, with cottage cheese and wonderful sweetcorn, picked about an hour before,and tonight I'll enjoy just picked tomatoes as only New Jersey can produce.
Garden State - guess that's right!

Vanishing Act

For many years, travelling up Rt 31 to see my family meant traditional stops at Jann's Sweet Shop in Pennington for wonderful coffee, homemade ice cream and the most fabulous muffins and, at one time, the best ever scones.  The scones were a thing of the past, but the coffee and muffins were still the best.  The other traditional stop was Penny Town, again, at Pennington, where you could enjoy a stroll under shade trees along a pond, let the kids enjoy the various animals that lived there - sheep, goats, ducks, chickens and, on occasion, have a delicious meal at HI Ribs.  So, in keeping with tradition, when we arrived in Pennington on the way to Ringoes the other day, we realized we were early and decided to stop for coffee and a few muffins to take home with us.  Driving into the lot, we were happy to see that although most of the shops in the little strip mall were closed, Jann's was still there.  Comforting to know.  Until we stepped inside.
Seems that it's been longer than we realized since we'd made the trip up home, now that my mom is gone.  In that time, Jann's closed!  The original owner has since reopened, but he serves only ice cream now.  It's still wonderful and homemade, but the shop just isn't the same.
Lar had an ice cream and then we continued on.  Suddenly we both realized we were confused about where we were.  Something was wrong!  A major landmark appeared not to have appeared!  We finally realized we were just where we should be, but still, something was wrong.
On our return trip, we carefully sought out the huge facility of PennyTown.  There should be a pond, animals, trees, a huge log restaurant, many other buildings that once housed crafts and artisans, but now should be the offices and businesses we knew resided there.

This is what we found.  The last picture is where the lovely little pond was with all sorts of animals milling about to delight the youngsters.
Wow!  It had all vanished and it seemed as if it had never been there.  We are glad we have the pictures to prove it....when I find them, I'll include a couple.  (or maybe not...maybe it was all my imagination!)

Happy Birthday - Down on the Farm

I believe I have written before about my experience in discovering many McCay relatives through a chance encounter. I had attended a seminar run by the DAR and was struck by the appearance of an older lady – silver grey hair – tall and elegant in stature. After a time, she approached me and struck up a conversation because she’d noticed my last name on the name tag I wore. Her name was Grace McCay. Her first name said it all. She was Grace embodied.

Because of Grace, many McCay relatives were able to come together and knot up the broken ties that had occurred in the family tree over the years.
One of the dearest families we found was the Al and Loretta McCay family. They and their children felt like familiar family members immediately. We have since lost Loretta and her son Albert, too– great losses – such wonderful people -  but we have stayed in touch with Al Sr., his daughter Regina and the others.
Recently we received an invitation to attend Al’s 87th birthday party. We accepted without hesitation. Anything to honor this man who means so much to so many. His is the disposition I fell in love with when I met Lar’s grandfather. A true gentleman and gentle man.
The party was held in Ringoes NJ….an area I knew nothing of. But it amused me to discover that the GPS actually led us down a road I’d so often pondered “wonder what is down that road?” as I am wont to do. I was finding out!
What a beautiful area! An hour away from home and one is suddenly in gorgeous country…farms, lovely homes….it promised to be a most interesting day.
And then we made a right turn at the sign that states “Cross Creek Farm.” A man on a golf cart meets us, signals for us to follow him and we drive past lovely flower gardens, up a long drive, past all sorts of photo ops, around a barn, circumventing a large area of colorful canopies with festive tables, past cows and into a large paddock now used for parking. We were amazed.
And we were warmly received by a gracious host, Jack – directed to beverages and the ladies’ – in a separate party house, complete with bar and every amenity.

 Hot tub - not needed on this day!

 Entry steps to the largest above ground pool I've ever seen!

 Doesn't this area just make you want to sit down and have a "chin wag?"

 Host - Jack.

 Guest of Honor - Al McCay - 87 years young.

 All the McCays in a group...you wouldn't believe the trouble the photographer had getting this done!  Since I don't have McCay blood, I'm not in the picture - tho' Al tried hard to get me to come sit on his knee!

 Al and his sister Vernie who made the trip up from Florida to be with her brother.

 Al and his children.

 Lar with cousins Mary Jane and Janet.

 Tea party, anyone?

Seated outside was another favorite “cousin” Mary Jane. It’s been several years since we’ve been with these relatives – after Loretta’s passing the reunions petered out – so it was marvelous to get back together with them – to try to catch up on all the news. Some folks – especially the younger ones have changed so much it was an effort to attach their faces to the names – but some have not changed a bit.
Cross Creek Farm is an amazing venue for parties! Loretta and Jack have been in the business of partymaking for children, especially for years. Apparently they have specialized in little girls’ tea parties. It is also a working farm, with, as I mentioned, cows, and with horses. I didn’t have a chance to talk to them in depth about how much land they own – what all they do, but I did take the opportunity to walk around quite a bit – take a lot of pictures – and enjoy everything including the food provided by a terrific caterer and getting to know new folks. It was fabulous to have the opportunity to wish, personally, a happy birthday to one of our dearest relatives – and to enjoy the venue so much.
Happy, healthy Birthday, Al. And many, many more!

Biggest and Best Harvest!

Biggest and Best Harvest


The other day I hit the garden running (so to speak) and weeded a large part of the exterior of our garden of these giant weeds. The pile was so high I wasn’t able to lift them all for Lar to catch this picture.

Summer Reading

Our library sponsors a Summertime Reading program - for kids and for adults.  I've remembered twice to join in the fun - today was the time I remembered this year.  The deal is, one reads three books during a set timeframe and then fills in a form they provide with the title, author, a few lines of a review and a rating - 1 (don't read!) to 5 (must read).  Once done, you turn in the form and are gifted with a surprise bag of goodies.  Today I turned in the following:

KITE RUNNER, THE - Hosseini, Khaled
"Almost from the first word of this wrenching book, I was torn between turning each page and tossing the book away from me in sorrow. The only sound I heard, even while reading in a noisy room, was the sound of my heart breaking time after time. The story is one that fills the reader with the sense of living it. As such, I will probably always long for the ending – be it tragic, or, one hopes desperately, happy – I am left wanting to know. The accounting of the glass lines that cut the hands of the kite fliers symbolized to this reader the very essence of life in a war-torn ancient land – and as well, the effect this powerful novel had upon me. "  Rated: 5


HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET - Ford, Jamie
"While I read about 4 or 5 pages before I was hooked, this book quickly became a lovely friend. There are at least two stories running throughout – an historical one that filled in a great deal of history of the shameful treatment of Japanese-Americans during WWII of which I knew very little – and a delicate, origami type story of loves – those enjoyed, those unfulfilled, those lost and those found once more. I dearly loved this gentle and beautifully written story."  Rated: 5

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS - Gruen, Sara
"Exciting. Humorous. Riveting. I loved this book for its narrator, for its vivid description of the time and place of it – the ‘30’s and a traveling circus, for its colorful and shockingly real characters, not the least of which is an elephant! It’s got just about every element needed for a true page-turner – love, intrigue, jealousy, murder and best of all – a happy ending!"  Rated:  5

Here is a picture of the contents of my goodie bag:

It contains a book (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and it's all small stuff); a bookmark; 2 coupons for free video rentals; a little deck of cards (in the shape of flip flops!) for a quiet game of solitaire; some almonds; some cookies; a pencil and a little pen; and two tea bags - coincidentally one in my favorite flavor and one in Lar's!

It's great to have gotten a nice little goodie bag for free - all for reading some books I'd read anyway.  But the real prize is the experience I enjoyed in reading these wonderful, wonderful novels.  And I hope my reviews might inspire you - dear reader - to give them a try too.
POSTSCRIPT:  see http://chplnjbooks.wordpress.com/

Hot Zapple Pie

Cook up the peeled, cut zucchini (seeds removed) in a little water until translucent.  Add apple pie seasonings (nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon juice, a tad of salt, some sugar and a few walnuts and raisins).  You won't believe it isn't apple!  Delish!  Decided to try it without crust...who needs those calories?  It is really yummy.

Too Busy to Remember!

I did an entire entry on how busy we've been during the first week of July, but neglected several of the pictures I had for that entry!  Too busy to remember to do it!
So above you are seeing our garden.  Most of the work has been done by DH - but I've helped out here and there - as have Colleen, Larry and Julia.  The pretty little glass decoration was a gift from Julia.  Now my job has begun...cooking it all up in new, healthy and creative ways.

Here's yet another (wonderful) Italian Style recipe for zucchini, above and stir-fried swiss chard in olive oil and garlic with some slices of vegetarian Italian style sausage.  Two more recipes we'll be making all summer.

And finally (for the moment) a peaceful scene that is on our way when we walk to the garden.  This neighbor has done an amazing job on his grounds, and this little section is so peaceful it seems to be a spiritual oasis.  I've both complimented him on the great work, and warned him he might just see me sitting lotus style meditating one of these days!  He says I am welcome anytime.  The picture doesn't entirely do it justice, but I had to include it in my memories of this summer.

One Week in July

It's only been one week into July so far, but we've had a lot of experiences already!
On the 1st we set out for New York State.  We had been invited to my nephew's wedding, and were greatly anticipating the experience of a Buddhist wedding ceremony.  We needed to be at the bride's parents' house at 5 PM, cutting it close since traffic was a bear.  We arrived at the motel (about 30 minutes from the house) at about 4:10.  We were met by my sister, got to our room, hurried to shower and change and we were off to find the party.

Noy's family are lovely, hard working, warm people, and we had a few hours to simply sit and chat.  Brian was a gracious host to all.  After the rehearsal dinner, we all returned to our various motels, it was a bit of a shame that we weren't staying near each other, but Carol and Elmer, Tina and Will and Lar and I were in the same motel, so we had a bite to eat and hung out together talking for a couple of hours.Next day we met for breakfast before getting off for the 40 minute drive to the wedding venue.

We took the opportunity to take some pictures of ourselves before leaving...we are not often dressed up when together!

When we reached The Barn, I had to take the opportunity to snap a Blog Picture!

Sagey - Brian's dog was dressed to kill in his "best man" tux!

The ceremony was really interesting, and we wished we could know even more about what was transpiring during this festive, colorful event.  Brian looked so cute in his traditional garb and the white suit into which he changed, and Noy was beautiful, in both her traditional dress and then her more familiar white wedding gown.  This picture is of the happy couple and their parents.  That's my brother, Chick, 2nd from the right.

Lar and I actually got up the courage to get onto the dance floor for one or two dances.  Mostly due to the encouragement of Noy's aunt - shown with both of us above. 

As we all sat around, eating, drinking (including the freely flowing cognac!) we enjoyed the beautiful picture album Noy had had printed as a gift to Brian of their time together.  In the album I was delighted to find a few pictures from our open house - the celebration of our retirements.  I "stole" them by taking pictures of the pages.  They will make a nice addition to our memory book.

After the wedding, we returned to the motel, and after getting changed, bidding farewell to Tina and Will, Carol and Elmer, Lar and I walked across the street for an ice cream and then hung out in their room for an hour or so chatting.  It was so nice - I don't get the opportunity to spend that kind of down-time with my sister often.

Next day we were slow getting going - Carol and Elmer had already left, and I had a chance to take some pictures of the grounds - just beautiful!

Once again, Sunday the 3rd we were on the road - this time further up into New York to the Finger Lakes area.  One stop we made was at the Taughannock Falls.  I have even better pictures, but this one shows, if you look carefully, the size by comparing the falls to the bridge below...look in the foreground!

We were pretty road-weary by the time we came to the Sheldrake Point Vineyard along Cayuga Lake.  Not only is the site gorgeous, but the wines are great and the food, offered by Samantha Buyskes in Simply Red is wonderful!  It is very much an artisan menu - and we loved it!  Lar had a tuna sandwich, I had fresh mozzarella - and we enjoyed the Rooibos Iced Tea.  They had run out of the Lavender Lemonade, but our server kindly told me how to make it.  I am looking forward to doing so.

Apparently you can see Sam on "Chopped" as she is a Season 6 premier competitor.  You can go to simplyredbistro.com for more information.

Our motel was in Waterloo...and a better facility we've never really seen.  The place is pretty new, I'd think, in wonderful condition, and the employees are so kind and welcoming.  The dining room offers wonderful, home-style cooking.  We enjoyed the pool and the fitness center is very nice, tho' we had no time to utilize it.

On Monday, the 4th we were off, as Lar says, "to see the Wizard" or to put it another way, to enjoy the scenery along Seneca Lake and to taste some NY wines.

Our first stop was at the Ventosa Vinyard.  They are such nice people there and we really enjoyed the beauty and the wines.  We had two passes for a free tasting for two, so Lar kindly shared with another couple who had driven in at the same time.  We are learning that California might be making some fabulous reds, but if you want unbelievable whites, New York is the place to go.  I set out seeking to taste and buy some red wines - normally my favorite - but ended up with pretty much a car full of whites!

Next stop - Three Brothers. If you get to the area, do not, I repeat, do NOT miss them. What a fun place - and what good tasting. You'll have the delight of tasting some wonderful whites, a fabulous white merlot, and some ales the like of which you've never tasted, ie., their Riesling Ale.

 

Our motel kindly provided box lunches for both days, so we were able to stop at great locations to have picnics. The first day we did so at Sampson State Park. Couldn't have been a more appropriate location for the 4th of July!

This stunning sculpture was dedicated to the service people from Sampson Air Force Base who served in WWII.

That night I actually completed the binding around a wall hanging my Aunt Martha Miers had embroidered and I quilted....another of my list "to do" accomplished.
And then we headed home.  We stopped for another picnic at Yaman Park in Cortland NY.  This kind of step back in time is a beautiful town facility - a man-made lake - the water is continuously recycled and chlorinated - and you can tell it is greatly enjoyed by all the town folks.