One of the favorite activities at this time of year is baking Christmas Cookies.
This year I included four new or renovated cookies.
Chocolate Chip – Using special chocolate – which is oval shaped and spread very nicely.
Special Chocolate Chip Cookie
White Biscotti – a cookie based on pecans with white icing and a few ground up pecans
White Biscotti
Red Velvet Stuffed – a chocolate cookie that is stuffed with cream cheese
Red Velvet Stuffed Cookie
Linzer Tart – the traditional Linzer Tart with a nutmeg butter cream between the layers
Linzer Tart with a twist of Nutmeg Butter Cream
Decorating Cookies!
The Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Cookies needed decorating – Gretchen helped me with that, she is the artistic one. We have done this several years now.
Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread and Sugar
Gingerbread and Sugar Cookies Decoration!
Sharing with Neighbors
I packaged up a sampling of each cookie I had baked and put them in boxes I had obtained from Amazon.
The boxes ready for distribution. You can see the cookies that I baked – from left to right – Top Row: Linzer Tart, Gingerbread, White Biscotti, Red Velvet Stuffed, Mexican Wedding Cookie, Almond Bar, Middle RowL Almond Crescents, Peppermint Kiss, Sugar, Norwegian Almond Bar, Peanut Butter Kiss, Chocolate Florentine. Not pictured – Chocolate Bites.
It is so much fun baking the cookies and sharing them. I delivered the boxes filled with cookies to the three grocery ladies and all the neighbors on our street.
Everyone was very appreciative!!!
One of the neighbors gave a generous donation to DBSA Succassunna
Another neighbor gave us this Christmas Celebrator
My oldest grocery lady friend sent me a Christmas Card and she taped a recipe for Sugar Cookies in it with this little note.
I have been giving cookies to the grocery ladies and neighbors since the pandemic and I have enjoyed talking to them and seeing their faces light up when I tell them about the cookies.
A little kindness goes a long way and I love to share my cookie creations!
We had a wonderful day on Thanksgiving, we had a great time together and all the meal was outstanding (if I do say so myself.
On Wednesday night we had home made pizza which was nice start to the holiday weekend.
On Thanksgiving Morning, Paul, Gretchen and I went to Horseshoe Lake to do our annual Turkey Trot.
After we got home and got settled we had our lunch / appetizers which featured Brie with Cranberries, Stuffed Mushrooms, Cheese and Crackers and some veggies with dip.
Then the meal preparation started and continued for a few hours
Turkey, Stuffing and Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Yams
Sauteed Apples
String Beans with Cheese Sauce
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Here we are ready for the scrumptious Thanksgiving Meal!
After dinner we had dessert which was the Valerie Rose Memorial Pumpkin Pie and the famous Vanilla Cream Pie.
I make The Valerie Rose Memorial Pumpkin Pie every year, many years ago Valerie came in to the Rose Apartment in College Point with this beautiful pumpkin pie, after we had it I asked her what was the secret ingredient – she said “Bourbon.” Now I never know whether that was true or not but I always put two tablespoons of bourbon in the recipe and remember her smiles.
I am thankful for our family here and far away and the many friends we have.
I wish all of you peace and happiness this holiday season, just being together is the wonder of all that we have.
During the pandemic I did grocery shopping for four women here in town. Last Tuesday one of those ladies, tragically passed away. She was the youngest of the four of them, actually my age, born in the same month as me just further towards the end of July. Her name was Nancy.
She had the sweetest voice and when I would call her to say I had cookies for her she always had a friendly voice, we would chat about all kinds of things.
When her daughter contacted me she told me that her Mom always talked about me and her daughter said she appreciated I helped her Mom out at the time when she was not able to get to the stores because the town bus had been cancelled.
I thought to myself that I was glad to have known her and all these ladies and glad to bring a little joy into their lives.
I write this because you never know how far your kindness can go. I did not expect to hear that from Nancy’s two daughters but I did at the wake yesterday.
Look after your neighbor and see how you can help in a small way, it may be the brightness to their day. I know it will brighten your day too!
Early this morning when I went to get the newspaper something blue caught my eye, I thought it was a candy wrapper as I got a little closer I saw two painted stones. I suspect they came from the family up the street with the two young girls. It was a nice surprise this morning. A kindness someone did for us here at our home.
Two stones left for us early this morning. The purple one says Donuts Taste Delicious, the blue one says Donuts Taste …. can’t make out last word.
This week I baked Snickerdoodles, cookies that are coated in a cinamon-sugar mixture.
Snickerdoodles
Finally as fall winds down we took a walk last week and saw this beautiful tree on the next block.
It was a big accomplishment because I have been hesitant to go out in the cold – here in New Jersey Fall is in full swing.
As the week wore on the days got colder instead of warmer.
So I decided I would run today (as long is it was not raining) but I was not going to let the cold stop me today.
I bundled up with leggings and a tight top with a lightweight sweatshirt on top of that, a had and gloves and I was off….
I went to Horseshoe Lake and around the lake was quite breezy… then along some of the path it felt mild but then in the open spaces it was breezy again.. it was either coming from the side or I was running into it… a few times it was behind.
I wish you all good health and you do not have to push to an uncomfortable position but a little stretch is good for us. Remember I started my road to running a mere eight or ten years ago, I don’t remember but I was close to age 60 I know that for sure.
Here is to good health and exercise in whatever way you enjoy!!!
This weekend I baked two things from the November / December 2021 Issue of Bake From Scratch Magazine. I have baked at least one thing from each issue the last few months.
Yesterday I baked the Red Velvet-CheeseCake Swirl Brownies. The cake part is a red velvet brownie. You reserve a cup of the batter to swirl into the cream cheese topping. It had the right combination of the cream cheese topping and sweetness of the cake.
Today I baked the Almond-Pecan Biscotti Cookies. These cookies were made with ground up pecans, instead of butter the recipe called for Coconut Oil, which I found in the local Shoprite Supermarket. After the cookie was baked the recipe called for a Vanilla-Almond Glaze, which was made out of powdered sugar, water and Vanilla Extract and Almond Extract. The glaze was topped with ground up Pecans.
I delivered the cookies (packages of 4) to the four grocery ladies and the neighbors. It is so much fun to give the cookies to them. I got two texts back from two of the ladies saying the cookies were the best. They are very tasty for sure.
The Red Velvet-CreamCheese Swirl Brownies
A slice of the brownie
The Almond-Pecan Biscotti Cookies
This week’s baking projects!
I also bring the cookies to the support group on Monday evenings.
It is nice to know the neighbors and help people in the community.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday Mornings I go to Ashley Farm here in town and take excess milk and baked goods to the Roxbury Food Pantry. It is a little bit but it is good to help in a small way.
The weather has cooled and I have not run this week I hope to do so this week once or twice. Once I am out there I am fine so I will bundle up and enjoy the fresh air.
I hope you enjoy my blog and maybe tempt you to try something different, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment.
I am proud to have completed a Half Marathon back on October 10, 2021 and we are proud of Paul for his great accomplishment of the New York Marathon on November 7 , 2021.
Here are some highlight’s from the New York City Marathon:
3:57:53
Highlights from the NYC Marathon, Paul ran in support of Fred’s Team all funds go to cancer research a great organization.
There were some pictures posted on BaseCamp 31’s website that included Paul and I running on the Half Marathon back in October:
Some shots of Paul and I running in the Half Marathon!
I recently wrote an article about BaseCamp 31 and it is being reviewed by the editor of a paper local to the area where the race was held, an advance copy is shown below:
What is BaseCamp 31?
It is a 5 acre plot of land in Lebanon, NJ. There is a building called the Club House there but there is so much more…..
BaseCamp31 aims to remove barriers to healthier living be they mentally, socially or physically.
They connect people through community service or through physical and social activity.
They challenge and encourage their members and people who come to participate in one of their races or public services events.
If you look at the membership page of BaseCamp31.org you will see the philosophy of this organization clearly and boldly laid out.
“BaseCamp is where Fitness meets Purpose and Philanthropy” as stated at the top of that membership page.
BaseCamp 31 is now celebrating their 10th year anniversary and appears to be thriving and growing.
During the pandemic, they, continued their weekly scheduled outdoor activities as long as they could which really provide a point for community engagement.
This includes a weekly run, hike or cycle which is coordinated so that people with a similar pace are grouped together. This provides support and encouragement to stretch and grow in a comfortable and safe environment.
This also provided an outlet for people to connect with others safely (outdoors) during most of the pandemic, for the portion of time where even outdoor contact was not considered safe the BaseCamp 31 people arranged those events virtually connecting people doing the activity at the same time.
In early October 2021 I ran in the Main Street Half Marathon before I knew anything about BaseCamp31 other than a mention that the race was sponsored by that organization.
I had run a virtual half marathon last year and this was my first in person half marathon. At the beginning of the race the announcer said something like “You signed up for this…..” I thought to myself that I certainly did.
Everyone at the race was very encouraging and although I was at the end I felt like I was at the beginning of the race at each of the water stations with the encouragement and cheers that were given. One of the water stations had people dressed as bananas handing out water and Gatorade. There was a private citizen handing out donuts.
I was welcomed in to the finish line by the race director giving out high 5’s and of course my family were greeting me as well. A woman placed a medal around my neck and congratulated me.
The BaseCamp 31 community is an inclusive group of people that support each other by caring for each other and looking to improve the lives or situation of those around you. One might join an event sponsored by the Community Service Group – a clean-up event or a food drive and hear about the group activities of the Athletic Group.
An example of proactive community involvement was when the vaccines came and organized a group of people to assist seniors who did not have ability to go online to make appointments to do that for them. They were able to schedule over 1,000 people for vaccines who would have struggled on their own.
The runners donate used sneakers and the organization has donated them to developing nations where they can set up a little micro business with those sneakers. They have even donated sneakers to the HS Track Team, as some students do not have the resources to get new equipment.
There are many experienced runners in the running group and at the recent half marathon it is hard to find them because everyone tries to help and encourage others so you would not be able to tell them apart from everyone else.
BaseCamp 31 provides a scholarship to a local student population through the dues that they collect.
They have a pot luck dinner the day after Thanksgiving called “Friendsgiving”
In April they had a park clean up event – Between 30 and 40 people showed up, they divided the group into two teams and set out a little competition – which team would pick up the most debris? They set out with garbage bags and gloves and after about two hours had picked up about 600 pounds of trash. They had drivers collecting the filled bags, showing the complete organization of events this community provides.
For a modest annual fee you can become a member of this wonderful group, they have a goal to be self-sufficient and may need to revamp the cost structure. They will always make sure nobody is prevented from joining due to financial constraints.
I met with Michelle LeGrand the Executive Director over the phone and she gave me the background to base this article on. I also reviewed their website and experienced one of their events, which I hope to participate in more of them in the future.
If you are looking to become more active or try a new activity this group can provide you a comfortable place to try that out, you will find yourself succeeding maybe in a small way at first but you will be amazed how good you will feel with that accomplishment.
I am very happy and my life is full of my many interests.
I continue to run outside, this morning I ran 5 miles.
My run late morning earlier today (10/21/2021)
I am planning to run a Santa Run on December 18, 2021 which will be put on by the BaseCamp 31 group that ran the Half Marathon earlier this month which I participated in.
I am happy to be running – when I think about it I am in awe that I can even run. I have told the story many times how I was un-athletic my whole life until I turned 60….. It feels wonderful to be out in the fresh air and running and greeting people along the way.
I also continue to assist the American Academy of Actuaries by volunteering to help people that write in with problems on their pension plan. I currently working with a woman who does not understand the conversion of the traditional pension plan to a cash balance plan which looks to be a hybrid where the traditional pension plan is frozen and the cash balance is an add on. She is sending me some information for me to review with her.
I have been doing this volunteer work for about ten years and enjoy helping people understand these types of issues.
I have decided to keep my garden and yesterday I started to clear out the weeds that had accumulated while we were on vacation over the summer. I need to go and finish cleaning it up when the weather gets a little cooler.
I have been working on a puzzle of a painting by Monet…. I am having trouble getting it started which is a good indication that it is difficult which I like to conquer. We will see if I make some headway over the next few days.
As a wise doctor said to me recently – as long as you are moving!!! So I suggest to each of you to just get out there and walk around the block or down the stairs.. anything and see how great you feel when you are done.
Today (10/10/2021) my son Paul and I completed the Main Street Half Marathon in Clinton, NJ which is in Hunterdon County.
The course was very scenic along farms and streams. We crossed over several bridges that crossed over the streams.
The course was a little different than prior years because of damage from the recent huricane.
The course was quite hilly with some steep hills, the downward portions were nicer than the upward parts, but I was able to navigate through all of it.
Kudo’s to the race organizers they said they will not leave until the last runner gets in, since I was the last runner that meant a lot.
The water stations stayed open for us to come through, one group were all dressed up as bananas – they were so supportive with words of encouragement for us as we came through.
Paul led me through the whole race – he ran slightly ahead and frequently stopped to make sure I was OK. He kept telling me I was doing great and the next milestone was close or how many miles we had at the end.
I felt strong the whole time and I knew I could complete it, I tried to not worry about being last, it was clear when the guy in the bike was right behind us almost the whole way, he was encouraging to us as well. There was no rush they were as happy to be out there as we were, the enthusiasm was contagious!!!
I am very glad that I was able to complete this half marathon, it was challenging and I took some breaks by walking a few times, but I knew I could do it and I did, for that I am very proud!
I also thank my son Paul for the kindness he showed me and most of all for sharing in the happiness of this day – which it was a happy event. I am proud of Paul also for showing me it was Ok to run at your own pace no matter what that is or what others are doing. For that I thank Paul and the organizers of the Main Street Half Marathon!
Race Statistics
Celebratory Cake Night Before the race
Right Before the Race
My fan club
Celebration After
The Team Celebrating
The Medal
Some scenes from around the course courtesy of Paul, the photorapher!
Today (October 7, 2021) I did my last training for the Half Marathon I will run on October 10, 2021 in Clinton, NJ, 8:00 am.
My last training run before the big event!!!
It is not the destination but the road travelled…. I have kept that in mind as I trained going back to June of this year.
I actually started out training for a marathon, but while on vacation in Outer Banks the last three weeks in July I was not able to complete the long runs per the plan and when I got back inclement weather got in the way so I switched to the half marathon. I resisted as long as I could but then realized it was only logical. Last year I did the half marathon virtually so this will be my first “live” half marathon.
I have enjoyed the training period, sometimes it was hard. The longest run was 10 miles about two weeks ago.
Here in Succasunna I have run at Horseshoe Lake, two ladies I have passed most times I ran, early in the morning, they would greet me. Occasionally I would tell them how much I was running that day. Today I was running a little slower and they passed me while they were walking. There is a tall lady and a short asian woman. Today the taller one said she can’t run because her knees are bad. Also today there is a man who runs faster than me and today he ran past me and said “Good Job” or something like that.
I am now 69 years old and I know not too many people my age run, that is OK because I don’t measure age by any means. I am grateful I can even run. I was never athletic but started to run about 9 years ago. I took second or third place in my age group a few times doing 5K and a few 10K races.
I have enjoyed the training period the ups and downs… I can honestly say that at the end of each run I felt so proud of what I had done, even the hardest run I had I was so glad to have done it. I am not sure if I can explain it. It is like anything in life, you might have a big struggle and you keep pushing and you see no end in sight but when you. complete it you are happy you persevered. Think of the aftermath of running the same way…. it may be the hardest run you ever did.. but in the end you did it…..Halleluiah! Hooray! is all I can think to say.
My next post will be after the race and I will give a synopsis of that wonderful day as my wife, Megan and daughter-in-law wait for Paul and I to come in. Thank you to my son Paul and Megan for encouraging me every step of this training journey. Also to all my family who have encouraged me – Thank you!!!!
I hope to encourage you to keep moving any way you can. Each of you have greatness buried within you, reach down and pull it out – you will be amazed as I am amazed of the things you can go the places you can go!!
I have retired from Conduent effective today, Monday, October 4, 2021.
I have had a fruitful career over 47 years (the last two years on part time status)
Conduent is a young company created when Xerox (which owned us at the time) spun us off in January 2017.
Xerox owned us from late 2010 to the end of 2016.
ACC acquired us from Mellon (now BNY Mellon) in the spring of 2005.
Mellon bought Buck Consultants (my original company) in July 1997, before that Buck was an independent Company owned by the employees.
I have been an actuary, Benefit Consultant in my earliest tenure and moved into administration around 2002 where I worked on my first implementation on an early generation of outsourcing processes and systems.
Mellon purchased Unifi which jumped us into a more scalable system and different types of clients.
I have been in the TBO (Total Benefits Outsourcing) since about 2002 and have seen growths and dry periods.
A highlight of my career was working on the implementation of pension administration system for our parent company at that time who continues to be our client.
Over the last eight years I have been in the Implementation Group, Practice Leadership Group and Ongoing Teams for three clients. I retire from the last of our former owner.
I have been preparing for this next phase for a long time,
I have taken up writing, I am in the process of writing my first book.
I like to run and will be running a half marathon on Sunday, October 10, 2021, our son Paul will be running with me in Clinton, NJ.
I like to bake and I participate in a local support group for depression and bipolar.
I like to do puzzles too and read books on all kinds of subjects.
Snickerdoodles
Lemon Glazed Lemon Cookies
Some samples of my bakingMy recent run on Sunday 10/3/2021
