Guide Me Home to Chatham, NJ

This year’s Harding Township Holiday House Tour will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on December 8, 2011.  The day kicks off with a breakfast at Spring Brook Country Club in Morristown, New Jersey from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., followed by a tour of selected houses in the Harding area. The homes chosen have been decorated for the holidays with the help of local florists and home décor businesses.   Proceeds from this event benefit the Kemmerer Library.

If you are unable to join the tour, you can head directly to the Kemmerer Library’s lower floor for a Holiday Boutique opportunity. The following stores are participating:

• East End Foodies
• Jardiniere Fine Flowers
• Mia Dennis
• Pamela Cassidy Designs
• Patchpoint
• Seasons
• Seasons Gift and Home.com
• The Candy Store of Harding

So come out and enjoy some pre-holiday cheer--you might even cross some gifts off your list! Plus, you will be supporting a wonderful community service, our public library.

Posted by:  Lois Olmstead

Halloween is approaching fast! This year’s spectacular fall weather is perfect for a drive in the country to visit local farms to enjoy some apple picking and fresh cider, or visit a pumpkin patch to get the perfect jack-o’-lantern for Halloween.

Take a relaxing drive through this beautiful part of New Jersey to witness the lovely fall foliage. It’s all happening right now in Harding Township, New Jersey. For those of you in pursuit of these fall activities and in need of the perfect Halloween pumpkin, we have many choices in the area.

Below are some popular spots in or near New Vernon, New Jersey:

• Wightman’s Farm in Harding Township is always a good place start. They have apple orchards for picking, a pumpkin patch, country pies, cider and a corn maze for the children to roam.
• Hillview Farms is in nearby Gillette on Meyersville Road. They have wonderful tractor rides to the apple orchards and pumpkin patch. You can get cider there too!
• Melick’s Farm and Cider Mill in Oldwick is on King Street. They sell apples, pumpkins, and cider made on premises.

Posted by:  Lois Olmstead

Well, none of us will soon forget Irene! It’s doubtful anyone ‘weathered’ the storm without some kind of problem: be it water in basements, trees down, power out, contaminated water, no telephone service, roads closed….. did I forget any big things?

There are stories of near misses and real stress:

Here is one is about a friend whose house was severely damaged by a large tree. Imagine this: The tree fell right on the house leaving a gaping hole. It was a BIG surprise at 4 a.m. with glass flying, house debris, hurricane winds and rain showering in on them. Quite the alarm clock! They are lucky the tree stopped a few feet from them as they lay in bed. A guardian angel story, as no one was hurt! People are irreplaceable, but things and buildings are.

There are funny stories as well:

This is one I couldn’t resist mentioning!

A friend told me she is still out of power, but not a problem. They have a generator. I asked what was running on the generator, this was the response, “The refrigerator, the kitchen lights, the powder room, the well and an outlet for the hair dryer!” I never laughed so hard! She made sure there was a dedicated outlet in the bedroom for the hair dryer, not for the coffee maker, microwave, or toaster.

The funniest story:

This story was retold to me as follows: Friend #1who had no power, water or phone service calls friend #2. Friend #2 offers to have friend #1 stay with them but her washing machine does not work. Friend #1 one says, “Thank you, let me call you back. “ A few hours later Friend #1 does call back. This is what she says, “Thank you so much for your offer, but I won’t need your help. I decided to book a trip to Paris and bring my laundry along. I will ride it out in Paris and return in a few weeks!” Now that is a great solution to the problem!

Stay safe, until next time.

Posted by:  Lois Olmstead