New Jersey Memories

Yule Log!

2011-12-24T00:08:00.004-05:00

For many years Channel 11, WPIX in New York City (one of the oldest TV stations in the country), would present the "Yule Log" on Christmas Eve. While the Yule Log burned, Christmas carols would play. Now my childhood home did have a fireplace, but there was something about the Yule Log on Channel 11 that made us happy. It became a New York area tradition. I hope you enjoy it! This particular Yule Log was shown in 1983.

After a few years off the air, the Yule Log was restored back to Channel 11 a few years ago, and now is seen on many stations around the country.

There is, of course, a fan website devoted to The Yule Log.
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I'm taking a short break from my blogs to concentrate on the holidays, catch up on my reading and to focus my energies on some work projects.

So I'll see you sometime early next year!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Wordish Wednesday: Gingerbread Wonderland!

2011-12-20T17:06:00.008-05:00

Recently the Frelinghuysen Arboretum celebrated their 20th annual Gingerbread Wonderland. Participants created displays made almost entirely of gingerbread and candies. Throughout the week, visitors voted for their favorites and there were three "winners", although everyone who participated showed great creativity!

More photos after the jump! Click link below.

The first photo below is a Monopoly set made out of gingerbread. Very appropriate, since the classic Monopoly set is based on Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The iconic Cape May Lighthouse:

Hedgehogs:

Log Cabin:

iPhone with apps:

Here are some classic gingerbread houses:

House of Cards:

I love the Gingerbread Man!

Snoopy's Doghouse:

A beautiful building:

Girls Around the World (many entries were from Girl Scout Troops):

A September 11th Tribute:

Which entries won the hearts of visitors?

Here are the winners of the People's Choice Contest!First prize:

"A Day At The Beach." I had a feeling it would win, because I heard many people discussing how much they liked it. It's classically New Jersey with the lighthouse and the wonderful beach, and it obviously took many hours to create, including all the figures on the beach and in the sea.

Second Prize:

"The Nutcracker"

Third Prize:

"The Birdhouse"

For more about Frelinghuysen Arboretum and the Gingerbread Wonderland, including photos of all the wonderful entries, click here.

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

For more Wordful Wednesday, click here.

Wordish Wednesday: Christmas At Kips Castle

2011-12-13T17:46:00.003-05:00

Several months ago I wrote about Kips Castle, which is located in parts of both Verona (8 acres) and Montclair, New Jersey (2 acres).

Frederic Ellsworth Kip was a wealthy man who had his home constructed to look like a Norman castle. In the 1980's it was inhabited by a weird religious cult.

The property is now part of the New Jersey Green Acres program and is an Essex County Park. Anyone can stroll around the grounds from dawn until dusk, although the interiors are usually prohibited. Occasionally the castle is open for special events, especially during the holiday season.

More photos after the jump!

The castle is beautifully decorated with TWO Christmas trees and is obviously lovingly maintained. When you walk around the balcony and look out the windows and also walk around the grounds, you do feel as if you're in a castle.

I originally wrote about Kips Castle here.

You can read more about Kips Castle:

Wikipedia

Discover A Landmark Treasure (.pdf)

The New York Times (written when the cult was in the castle)

Dumont Castle/Kips Castle

The Kips Castle Parks Conservancy

Lost In New Jersey (written before the castle was restored -- photos are missing in the interesting article)

You can read more Wordless Wednesday here.

You can read more Wordful Wednesday here.

Wordish/OutdoorWednesday: Former Nike Base Becomes Art Park!

2011-12-06T18:00:00.002-05:00

During the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the 1950's and 1960's, there were multiple Nike Missile sites in the U.S., including several in New Jersey.

As the cold war started to fade in the 1970's, several of these Nike bases were abandoned. In 1974 the federal government sold the one in Livingston to the county for $1.00. Interestingly, instead of building condos or strip malls upon it (which is what would happen today), the county came up with a unique idea: convert the former missile base into art studios at greatly reduced rents to artists.

Artists at Riker Hill work in a rustic and rather wild looking place, dotted with tall grass and wildflowers (apparently artists do not like to mow anything). It's not particularly beautiful but rather certainly different.

We visited there in May and took these photos. I didn't see any artists, but they were probably inside the buildings. I didn't want to disturb them. There are rather unusual metal sculptures and also remnants of the former Army base are still around, as seen in the very last photo.

They have open houses every year when you can meet the artists and purchase art, but I always forget about them or else they are on days that I cannot be there. Hopefully, next year.

You can read more about the former Nike bases here, here, and here.

Weird NJ wrote about the Nike bases here.

You can read about Riker Hill Art Park here.

You can see one artist's sketches done at Riker here.

You can read more Wordless Wednesday here.

You can read more Wordful Wednesday here.

You can read more Outdoor Wednesday here.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

2011-11-24T19:41:00.004-05:00

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a delightful holiday weekend! I'll see you next week!

'Tis The Season!

2011-11-21T19:17:00.007-05:00

The holidays are coming up and that means . . . food! Thanksgiving is a feast of gluttony, and then there are the holiday parties and Christmas!

I found a handy gadget on About.com to figure out how many calories there are in a Thanksgiving dinner. Try it out and you will be surprised.

I have heard that the average woman gains TEN POUNDS between Thanksgiving and New Years!

A few months ago I weighed 108 pounds, the most I have ever weighed. (Don’t hate me – I am very small boned). I now weigh 121 pounds. Why? Well, I’d like to blame it all on menopause but the truth is out – I eat too much and exercise too little, even with a gym membership. I hadn’t gone in weeks.

This is not just about aesthetics. I look quite thin and no one would know about the flab on my stomach, because I wear clothes designed to camouflage my stomach. Physically, I feel very uncomfortable – almost all of the fat I have gained is on my stomach. I know this is not good for me – my father died of a heart attack and he also had diabetes, and my mother had high blood pressure – so I have to do something.

First of all, my boyfriend Mark likes to freebase cheeseburgers. I mean it – he really needs an intervention. McDonald’s is his second home. Now we all know that fast food is cheap. But it is NOT cheap if you eat it almost every day. Even if you only choose “dollar menu” items – five dollars a day really adds up.

Besides, the true costs of an unhealthy diet will become obvious in future years when we start to struggle with our health and possibly die young. That is the real cost of slothful living.

I finally put my (heavy) foot down. We are not eating out anymore! We are not going to be lazy. We are going to make inexpensive and healthy foods at home. Some people have told me that it is expensive to buy fruits and veggies – but it really isn’t. You just don’t buy cookies, cakes, chips, butter, and sugary sodas and buy healthy foods instead. I call it the “Replacement Diet”. Every time I want chocolate, I will eat fruit. I eat healthy cereals with fruit for breakfast instead of buttered toast. I will eat a salad or veggies or yogurt for lunch instead of a grilled cheese sandwich. I will start substituting ice water for the other beverages I consume.

I will start this diet for dinner tonight.

Diet today:

Breakfast – homemade banana bread (so good and easy to make)
Lunch – French toast with syrup
Dinner – Yogurt (started the diet)
Liquids: Snapple Peach Diet Iced Tea, coffee, and Coke Zero.

Tomorrow: Water will be added and will gradually replace the other liquids.

I also went to the gym. I hadn’t been in weeks and was totally out of shape. I have to get back to regular exercise. I can’t use machines that are high impact because I injured my foot recently. But I can use most of the machines, swim in the pool, and do weight-training.

Exercise Today:
Exercise bike - 15 minutes.
Rowing machine – 5 minutes.
Stairmaster –2 minutes. Elliptical machines are my enemy. It’s just not a natural movement for me. But I refuse to let them defeat me!

I want to be one of the few people in America not to gain weight during the holiday season – possibly even lose weight. Actually, it’s not the weight that bothers me, it’s the fat. If I weighed the same but it was all muscle it wouldn’t bother me at all.

Wordish/Outdoor Wednesday: Thanksgiving in the Country, Part II

2011-11-15T17:46:00.008-05:00

Last week I showed you some photos of our time at Thanksgiving in the Country, held in Sergeantsville, New Jersey (part of Delaware Township). The house tours were fascinating, and here are some more photos. Unfortunately I could not take pictures inside the houses (these are private properties), but I tried to take as many as I could outside.

We visited a home where George Washington slept (this is not a museum but a home where someone actually lives!), complete with summer kitchen.

We visited the beautiful house of a brilliant illustrator, and also a multimillion dollar mansion set on 26 acres.

We visited a very interesting house where modern meets old. In the living room the homeowners had a very large German clock on the wall from a bell tower, a ottoman covered with material from a circus tent, a set of orange school lockers against one wall with a bowl full of billiard balls on top. Very interesting. Those homeowners have eclectic tastes.

I would be willing to move into any of these homes immediately!

We also just were able to appreciate the beautiful Hunterdon County countryside.

To read more about Thanksgiving in the Country, click here.

To read more about Sergeantsville, click here.

Click here to see last week's photos of Thanksgiving in the Country.

Wordish/Outdoor Wednesday: Thanksgiving In The Country, Part I

2011-11-08T19:27:00.003-05:00

For the last 38 years Sergeantsville, NJ has hosted Thanksgiving In The Country. This is a tour of interesting houses and places in the surrounding countryside. The proceeds benefit the Cleft Palate Unit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Sergeantsville (the first syllable is pronounced "surge"), part of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County, is a lovely rural area. Many houses and buildings in the area date to the Revolutionary War days. Many buildings there and in surrounding towns are in the National Register of Historic Places. I was also pleased to see signs on some farms that are designated as preserved farmlands.

Nearby is the famous Green Sergeant’s covered bridge, which we passed through twice but I was unable to photograph (we were on the tour bus and went through the bridge quickly). I will definitely go back for that! It is the last covered bridge in New Jersey.

This year’s tour included an artist’s home, an old house that George Washington slept in (he slept his way all over New Jersey during the Revolutionary War), and a really cool old house with an eclectic mix of modern and old furnishings. I couldn’t take photos inside the houses of course, but tried to take as many photos of the surroundings as I could. Also included was the Methodist church, where a delicious lunch was served, and the Prallsville Mills in Stockton, where a complimentary tea was served.

The photo above is the Sergeantsville Post Office. Below are photos of the General Store, The Sergeantsville Inn, the Methodist Church, some of the houses and countryside, and the Prallsville Mills.

The Sergeantsville Inn, which has been around in one form or another since the 1700's:

The traffic cop:

The Methodist Church:

The General Store:

One of the tour houses and surrounding countryside:

The Prallsville Mills in Stockton, NJ:

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More photos next week!

To read more about Thanksgiving in the Country, click here.

To read more about Sergeantsville (Delaware Township), click here.

For more about the Sergeantsville Inn, click here.

For more about the Prallsville Mills, click here.

For more about the Green Sergeant’s Covered Bridge, click here.

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

For more Wordful Wednesday, click here.

For more Outdoor Wednesday, click here.

Down For The Count!

2011-11-06T16:25:00.016-05:00

After several days of no electricity or intermittent electricity, we finally got it back on Thursday! We spent several days cleaning up. We had to throw out ALL the food in the fridge. Slowly we are buying food. It's a real financial hit but what can you do?

I took the opportunity to totally clean the fridge by pulling it away from the wall and washing the floor and vacuuming the back of the fridge. It was already defrosted! It was sad to fill up garbage bags full of rotten food.

However, the FIRST thing I did when the electricity came back was to take a HOT shower!

First we had Hurricane Irene, and now Snowtober! I'm looking forward to nice weather these next few days!

We spent yesterday in Sergeantsville, NJ, to participate in Thanksgiving in the Country! This was something we had planned for a long time and it was wonderful. The weather was glorious -- fall at its best. The organizers were lucky that this weekend had such perfect weather. If it had been planned for last weekend, it would have been a disaster! I will have photos up this week from this event!

Here are some photos I took today -- more than a week after the storm -- of downed trees and wires in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. It will take weeks to clean up. Thousands of trees are down. You can hear the electric saws gearing up very early in the morning to start working on the trees in every town.

Meanwhile, two workers were trapped at the top of a Morristown steeple while working there!

Snowtober!

2011-10-30T18:37:00.011-04:00

As I write this I'm sitting in semi-darkness. Why? Because we had a massive snowstorm yesterday! Two days before Halloween. The poor trees -- their leaves were just getting to be so beautiful and then the wind, snow, and ice hit them and WHAM! Many trees around here are down for the count. Too many leaves plus snow plus ice were too much for them.

Yesterday and most of today we were totally without power. You know what that means?

1. No showers, unless you want to take a shower in pure, icy water. I WANT A SHOWER!
2. All the food in our refrigerator is totally ruined and I had to spend the morning throwing it all out (and cleaning the fridge thoroughly). At least the fridge is nicely defrosted now.
3. No TV.
4. No internet.

Anyway, I spent a few minutes today (a beautiful bright, sunny day compared to yesterday!) We had to go out to get some food (all the supermarkets and restaurants in our town are CLOSED -- no electricity). We finally ended up at a Dunkin' Donuts. We passed by many NJ DOT crews cutting down trees. There were broken trees everywhere. We were so sad.

Anyway, PART of our electricity is back and I managed to hook up my computer and it works!

But I want a shower so badly. I'm also hungry and thirsty. Our refrigerator is sitting empty and silent, waiting for the electricity to come back. I can't wait until it works again. I'm tired of eating dry cereal with cups of water.

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Wordless/Wordful/Outdoor Wednesday: Lewisburg, PA

2011-10-25T21:26:00.025-04:00

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, is a charming place with a downtown that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Famous because of the prestigious Bucknell University, the town is nestled on the banks of the Susquehanna River.

There is a converted and restored woolen mill that contains 125 shops. The downtown movie theater is a single screen art deco palace.

I didn't have much time to investigate the town, and I hope to go back one day!

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You can see more Wordless Wednesday here.

You can see more Wordful Wednesday here.

You can see Outdoor Wednesday here.

Fosterfields, A Living Historical Farm, Part II

2011-10-23T21:24:00.021-04:00

Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in Morristown, New Jersey is a beautiful place to visit. Yesterday I explained the history of Fosterfields. Here are a few more photos.

In first photo above are corn cribs, used for storing and drying field corn, which is eventually fed to the animals.

The next two photos are cornfields.

The first photo below shows the ensilage pits. Ensilage is livestock feed made by chopping green corn stalks and storing them in an almost airtight environment.

The farm superintendent's home, the 1920's farmhouse:

Walking the cows home:

To read my first post on Fosterfields, click here.

Fosterfields -- A Living Historical Farm, Part 1

2011-10-22T10:25:00.018-04:00

Fosterfields is a living historical farm located in beautiful and historic Morristown, New Jersey. In the first photo of this post, B.J., the very friendly farm cat, is front and center, and Calvin the horse is poking his head through the door. His companion, an almost identical horse with a missing left eye, Hobbes, is inside the stall (yes, they were named Calvin and Hobbes after the comic strip -- my favorite!)

General Joseph Warren Revere, who was the grandson of Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, bought the property in the 1800s (which had been a working farm since the 1760s) and built the Gothic Revival main house, The Willows. Around 1881 Charles Foster bought the property and renamed it Fosterfields after himself. His daughter, who was around four years old at the time, lived in the house her entire life. Apparently country life agreed with her, because she lived to be 102! She was quite an interesting character.

As the website says:

Wishing to preserve her beloved home and give future generations the chance to experience the sights, smells, and sounds of rural life, Caroline Foster in 1979 bequeathed Fosterfields to the Morris County Park Commission, to be preserved as a "living historical farm," the first in New Jersey. Not a replica, Fosterfields is a working farm, using the tools, techniques, and materials of a turn-of-the-century farm.

Fosterfields closes for the season on October 30th. It is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The weather should be gorgeous this weekend!

The Willows:

The Ice House:

The Woodshed:

You can read more about Fosterfields, including some wonderful stories about Caroline Foster.

You can also read about the Foster family here.
Part II tomorrow!

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Wordless Wednesday: Van Vleck Gardens in Montclair

2011-10-18T16:02:00.001-04:00

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.
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I Cutz Meh Hair

2011-09-26T20:12:00.001-04:00

The other day I decided to go to the hairdresser to trim my hair. My hair was getting pretty shaggy and needing trimming. Just last year I had long hair with bangs, but I decided to grow my bangs out. You know how long it takes for bangs to grow out! Months of wearing headbands so that the hair wouldn’t fall into my eyes.

My bangs had almost grown out, and were getting to chin-length, but they looked messy, despite my poor efforts of trimming them. The bangs still weren’t anywhere as long as the rest of my hair. So my hair was several different lengths and I was bored with it.

Now I’m going to make a confession, and I hope that I don’t sound vain. I have very pretty hair. It is thick and wavy and naturally golden blonde and for some lucky reason there is no gray in it yet. I have never had to color it. It’s my one beauty, and I am very vain about it. When I had long hair, I might have been known to toss it about prettily so that others could admire it. I would walk around and let it bounce around my shoulders.

Something possessed me when I sat in the hairdressers chair with my freshly washed hair hanging around my face. I only mean to cut an inch or two off my hair but was sick of my uneven hair. It looked bad, with split ends and with broken strands. It really needed serious cutting.

So I told the stylist to cut the rest of my hair the same length as the bangs and to have everything evened out.

Chin-length, I instructed.

The stylist looked dubious and started cutting away. But I quickly realized that she wasn’t cutting it chin-length. She had cut my hair up to my ears.

I didn’t want it that short! Oh, no! But it was too late. So she finished the job and was very pleased.

Yes, my hair is still pretty. It is still golden and wavy. But it’s too short. Not Halle Berry short, but if I had Halle Berry’s bone structure, I could get away with that. I’ve gained at least ten pounds recently, and my face looks fat, and this haircut doesn’t help. It makes my face look even fatter. All right, not really fat by most standards, but fat by my standards.

Maybe what I really need to do is not worry about my hair, but go to the gym and work off those ten pounds. After all, I am already paying for a gym membership, and haven’t gone in weeks.

As least hair grows out by itself.

Market Street Mission In Morristown Needs Your Help!

2011-09-20T02:29:00.007-04:00

Ever since I was a child growing up in Morris County, one of my favorite places to go was The Market Street Mission Thrift Shop in Morristown! They had clothes, books, and furniture and everything else for your home. It made you feel good to purchase something because the proceeds went to help men recover from their addictions and homelessness and lead a useful life.

Unfortunately, the thrift shop was ruined by Hurricane Irene. All the inventory was destroyed. Damage is estimated to be at least $75,000.

Read about the damage to the Thrift Shop here.

You can also see more photos of the destruction of the store here.
Will you help?

You can help by sending a donation, or possibly by donating furniture to the thrift shop. You can also donate a used car that you no longer need.

Please call (973) 538-0427 to find out more, or go to their website.

The Market Street Mission has been operating since 1889 and is a very reputable charity. They do wonderful work.

September 11th Video Tribute -- Superheroes

2011-09-11T21:09:00.003-04:00

We will never forget that day . . .

Wordless Wednesday: Eagle Rock Reservation Tribute to September 11th

2011-09-06T20:04:00.002-04:00

If you are wondering about my temporary header at the very top of this blog, it is a photo I took in September 1997. My mother and I were on a ferry going to visit Ellis Island. This photo really haunts me. I took some other photos that day, and when I find them I will post them.

For this week's Wordless/Wordful Wednesday I am cheating. I am re-posting something I wrote on this blog on September 11, 2009, the eight-year anniversary of September 11th. It was only my third post, and no one was reading this blog then! Read it below after the asterisks (stars).

For more Wordless Wednesday, read here.

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Today is September 11th, 2009, the eighth anniversary of that terrible day which will "live in infamy".

Sometimes that horrible day in 2001 seems like yesterday and at other times it feels like a long time ago. So much has happened since then . . .

On that day many locals went to the Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, NJ to watch the unfolding tragedy. Eagle Rock has a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline.

Now there is a September 11th memorial at that place.

Here is the entrance to the memorial:

Here is a sign:

There are tributes to the firefighters, police, and victims in the Pentagon and in the World Trade Center and on all the planes in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

These memorials in the two following photos are engraved with the names of the New Jersey victims:

Seven trees are planted in honor of the victims lost in the three buildings and four planes destroyed on that day.

Heroes Among Us: September 11th

2011-09-04T19:27:00.006-04:00

Michael Benfante, who grew up and still lives in New Jersey, worked on the 81^st floor of the World Trade Center on September 11^th, 2001. After his building was attacked, he started working his way down the stairs with some co-workers. He was on the 68^th floor when he encountered a woman in a wheelchair who needed help in getting down the stairs. Benfante and a co-worker carried her down the remaining 68 floors.

Benfante became a national hero after he was caught by TV cameras after coming out of the building, which you can see in the video above.

Benfante hass a new book out about his experiences before, during and after September 11, 2001. It is called Reluctant Hero: A 9/11 Survivor Speaks Out About That Unthinkable Day, What He's Learned, How He's Struggled, and What No One Should Ever Forget.

Benfante will signing copies of this book at Watchung Booksellers in Upper Montclair, New Jersey (one of my favorite indie booksellers) on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 7 PM. You can read about it here.

My review of this book is on my book review blog, The Literary Lioness. You can read it here.

Hurricane!!!

2011-08-27T19:01:00.005-04:00

The New Jersey/New York area is bracing for Hurricane Irene, which should hit our area on Sunday. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as feared. Our beautiful Jersey shore needs to stay beautiful! I just hope that we don't have any deaths or serious injuries and no really bad damage from the storm.

If our electricity goes, we can deal with it. Last year we were without power for days after a freak storm. I wrote about it here.

Wordless Wednesday: Little League Museum

2011-08-23T21:00:00.003-04:00

Earlier this month I was in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and visited the Little League Museum. This week the Little League World Series is being played here.

You can read more about the Little League here.

You can read more Wordless Wednesday here.

Whippany Railway Museum, Part III

2011-08-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

To read more about The Whippany Railway Museum, click here.

Whippany Railway Museum, Part II

2011-08-18T00:01:00.002-04:00

As promised, here are more shots of the Whippany Railway Museum! Part III tomorrow!

To read more about The Whippany Railway Museum, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: Whippany Railway Museum

2011-08-16T20:15:00.014-04:00

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

For more about The Whippany Railway Museum, click here.

I'll have more photos from The Whippany Railway Museum on Thursday! So come back!

Wordish Wednesday: State Fair At The Meadowlands

2011-07-19T19:01:00.000-04:00

Every July The "State Fair" at the Meadowlands is always fun (this is not to be confused with the official New Jersey State Fair that is held in August in Augusta, New Jersey).

There are pig races, elephant rides, circus acts (including dogs), magic shows, alligators (I couldn't get close enough), prizes to be won, and lots of rides! You also can't have a fair without corn dogs, cotton candy, ice cream, and funnel cakes!

As it says at the entrance "We Put The 'Joy' in Joisey!"

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

For more Wordful Wednesday, click here.