Perspective from California

We've been in New Jersey for six months, and then some. I don't know how much longer I can claim being "new to NJ." But really, so many novel situations, food items, expressions and cultural peculiarities keep coming up I feel sure I'll have plenty to write about for months to come.

We flew back to California for the Christmas holidays on Wednesday. The weather had been icy for more than a week, but the morning of our departure we got a break. It was probably in the low 40s. Scary to leave your house in the winter for a couple of weeks. I keep imagining our pipes are going to burst or someone will crash into our house (more on that later). Our wonderful neighbors promised to feed the cats and our newly acquired dwarf goats, Happy, Matisse and Eloise. The Christmas lights are timed and the candles burn non-stop in the windows. I console myself that it's better we were NOT there if someone ends up plowing their car through our living room.

It's nice to have toilet seat cover dispensers in the public bathrooms again. It's nice to wake up all perky at 6 am and feel like you've slept in. It's nice to see beloved family again after so many months. I want to drive all over the place and recapture images of the places I love best--the Sonoma back roads, the Mendocino coastline, the Napa Valley, Marin. The days will fly, no doubt.

A very merry Christmas to all of you out there. East or west, home is best.

Gratitude, Attitude on Thanksgiving

First, for those of you dangling on my cliffhanger of NJ 15th District election results many weeks back, here's relief, in brief:
1. Overall, the message seemed to be "quit spending money!" Stem cell research and all the bond issues were rejected. So my bike path won't be constructed any time soon.
2. I think Shirley Turner won re-election for the State Legislature. I'm still trying to figure out who else won. It's not easy to go back and figure out local election results. Doesn't exactly make the NY Times. Don't worry; I'm sure we're in good hands. And if we're not there are a million self-made political commentators with blogs who will flush out the bad guys, or at least embarrass the hell out of them.
3. The offensive language about idiots and insane persons has been omitted from the New Jersey constitution. Phew.

So now I wanted to share some insights I've gleaned over this Thanksgiving weekend. It feels strange to wear sweaters because you have to, and not because you're trying to look the part of a Ralph Lauren-esque family (or as my cousin Georgia puts it, "You're Ralph Lauren, but messy."

I really haven't missed my close proximity to California wines. Seriously, New Jersey devotes a lot of shelf space to great wines and has some good wines of its own. On Wednesday afternoon I walked into Phillips Fine Wines...and kept walking. Room after room of wines from every region in the world. I was on a quest for Zin; Bon Appetit recommended it as a good pairing with turkey. The young guy who helped me seemed very knowledgeable and though they didn't have the few vintages I had circled, he was able to offer some alternative suggestions. We had "The Monster" from Norman Vineyards in Paso Robles. Ahh, home in a bottle.

Rutabagas are REALLY hard to cut.

Getting five people to smile and keep their eyes open and on the camera at the same time is nearly impossible. And gets more impossible every year. Hope everyone will like our annual family photo and not be too critical.

We all stated what we were grateful for at the table; most of the responses involved "family, friends, food" -- the three F words that are not offensive in the least.

Exercising My Constitutional Right

I squeaked in, apparently. My sample ballot arrived on Friday. I'm in the 15th Legislative District, in Hopewell Township, in Mercer County. Good--more evidence as to where I live officially.
I must choose a state senator, two general assembly people, a county executive, two board members of chosen freeholders (not familiar with that one) and two township committee members. All neatly divided by political party, which makes it somewhat easy, although I suppose I should vote by experience and qualifications, by how much I think that individual will accomplish in office. Tell you what, I'll keep an eye on these people once they get voted in and by the next election I'll know who worked, and who didn't.
Then there are five "public questions to be voted on." The first one has to do with setting aside 1% of the state sales tax to be used for property tax relief and/or reform. I think I'm for that. Property tax here is staggering. I feel like we get a lot--the schools are great and the police force is really vigilant on speeders. But it's still hard to keep up with the payments. Still, I have no idea if this would even affect us personally. So I'll ask around about this one.
The second question is about financing stem cell research in New Jersey's higher education and "other entities." I've already been told how to vote on that, by Monsigneur at church. The answer is "no." Adult stem cells only, if you please. No embryos. According to the unbiased information provided at the church (we were subjected to a film on the subject a few weeks ago that nobody could hear or understand), adult stem cells have better results anyway. Hmmmm.
The third question and the fifth question have to do with open space purchasing, preservation and creating walkways and bikeways. I always vote yes on these kinds of questions. Properties prone to flooding in the Delaware River, Passaic River and Raritan River areas can be sold to the government for a fair price and would be kept open and preserved. And personally, I could really use a bike/running path along Mt. Airy Road. I'm already tired of jumping into the ditch every time a driver who is late for work comes barreling down the road well above the speed limit (it's 35mph, idiots!!!!)
Speaking of idiots, I come to question four. This one won't cost us anything and should pass easily. It's asking that in the part of the state constitution barring "idiot or insane persons" from voting, can we agree to remove the phrase "idiot or insane person." It would be replaced with the ponderous phrase "person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting." Fine. Lots of people lack the capacity to understand the act of voting and don't bother doing it. On the other hand, many idiots and insane persons stride right in and give it their best shot. Ain't that America?
Sure, change the language, make it more timely and less offensive. If I'm idiotic or insane I'm hoping my family will tell me and not the New Jersey courts.

Boro, Township, Village...Where Do I Live?

When we looked at homes last spring our agent tried to explain the whole concept of boro/village/township. My over-stimulated brain remembers something about "the tax base" and "municipality" and then I remember a lot of "yada yada yada, blah, blah, blah." I should have paid more attention.

Township--a small fiefdom within a county. Citizens are given certain powers, like maintaining their roads and overseeing land use issues.

Boro--an ancient word referring to either an administrative division of a city (such as New York's five boroughs), or a self-governing incorporated town.

Village--a really cute town. Sorry, just being a smart aleck. But really, what's the difference between a village and a boro? Is a village sometimes unincorporated? Is it a question of size?

We live practically on top of the line between Hunterdon and Mercer counties. I get counties and now know that officially we're in Mercer County. And I know that we are ALSO in Hopewell Township. But our street address is in Lambertville, which is not only NOT in Hopewell Township, it's in another county! This leads to interesting problems, such as registering to vote and programming directions on our GPS. When I tried to register to vote at the nearest DMV (which is in Flemington), my application was rejected because it was from the wrong county.

The biggest insult--at the Lambertville Free Library, we were asked to pay $30 for a library card. "But I have a Lambertville address," I objected.

"Yes, but you do not live in the VILLAGE of Lambertville," the lady replied.

You can't catch a municipal break around here.

My Civic Duty

I have 14 days until the next election and not only did I nearly forget to register, I am unclear--that is, I have no clue--who is running and who's in office. My friend Kathleen back in Sacramento is gritting her teeth if she is reading this. She is always on top of the political scene, from U.S. Senate to City Council, and I've always admired her for that. So what better time to get my gubernatorial and other-natorial act together than now? I can claim the ignorance of a newcomer for only so long.

Spent 1/2 an hour last week getting my printer to work right, then downloaded and printed two copies of the New Jersey Voter Registration Form on Mercer County's Office of the Attorney General site. We'll see if they let us vote. Of course it would be nice to know what we're voting for. But that's up to me.

Did you know there's a way for NJ candidates to run clean campaigns? A pilot program called The New Jersey Fair and Clean Elections Project? offers financial aid to candidates in Districts 14, 24 and 37 if the candidate can get 400 to 800 donations from supporters in the district...in $10 increments. He or she must refuse big donations. Then the campaign is eligible for public funding. I guess the idea is that lots of small donations is cleaner and fairer than one or two big ones. This is Soprano country after all. I'll keep an eye on this but first I need to figure out which district I live in.

More on this later, as I ponder the next question: Boro, Township, Village--Where Do I Live?

Getting Lost...in a Maze

Lots of people west of.....Pennsylvania, let's say, don't have a clue about New Jersey's vast countryside and farmlands. It's really a gorgeous place once you get past Meadowlands (sounds pastoral, but ugh) and Newark. Heck, even Elizabeth has some really neat old buildings in its downtown; I can see them from the train. I'm going to stop there sometime and check it out for myself.
The point is, don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case, don't judge New Jersey by the view from the Turnpike. Here in the Delaware Valley the countryside is drop-dead gorgeous especially as the leaves start to fall.
As Halloween approaches we are treating ourselves and our children to some fun fall events...like the Howell Living History Farm's amazing Corn Maze.
This is not your average pumpkin patch kiddy activity. These guys are serious--4 acres of an intricate horseshoe mirror pattern that the guides promise we'll get out of in oh, about an hour and a half if we're good. Tim and I looked at each other, gazed up at the hot October sky, quickly assessed how long we'd survive without sunblock and bottled water, then plunked down $30 for the privilege of getting lost.
Amidst the rows of tall, dry corn are 8 mailboxes. Each mailbox holds a piece of the map. Once you find all 8 pieces of the map you can find your way out. We quickly got into the spirit of things and pressed on, each of us sure that our way was the right way.
We stared at tall, rustling corn stalks for a very long time. Mazes do mess with your mind--you feel sure you've discovered a different path, then you see that the mailbox was one you had already opened 3 rounds back. Four acres is a lot of corn.
In about 1/2 hour, the kids got pretty hot and thirsty. We began to notice that there were tiny crawlthroughs on some of the paths, the unsanctioned shortcuts to key trails and mailbox cul-de-sacs. Nope, that would be cheating. Can't do it. At least not when the other participants were looking.
Other tired parents were starting to break. The entire moral code of the group, like a page out of Lord of the Flies, began to fray and soon we were able to rationalize our cheating as tactical scouting. By mailbox #8 we were all in collusion to finish our maps and walk triumphantly over the bridge. Free at last!
We walked back to the little gift shop that had taken our money in the beginning. "How did you like it?" said the lady in charge. We said very much, only next year we'll come prepared with provisions.
My daughter Caroline picked up a postcard showing an aerial view of the maze and said, "Hey mom, why didn't we just buy this map before we started?"
She's so smart.

All the leaves are falling!

Just as we let go of one preoccupation--that would be summer humidity--another one obligingly steps in to take its place. I always wondered what the point was of raking leaves. Why not just leave them lying around? Now I know. The first layer looks a little picturesque (at least to this unjaded resident), the second layer makes you look a little harder for that nice green lawn. By the third and fourth layers you're avoiding the neighbors and their immaculate yards, wondering if you should just put out four wood block. set a broken-down tractor on top and admit you're a leaf-slacker.

We had lots of falling leaves in California--oak, maple, birch--but nothing like the prodigious shedding of a sycamore (or more precisely, a London Plane). Even the bark sheds. Our nice neighbor Hank has been tantalizing us with the offer to borrow the leaf vacuum attachment on his tractor. Not as romantic as old wooden-handled rakes and laughing children dressed in corduroy jumping on piles of leaves...does that ever happen around here? I think I read too many L.L. Bean catalogs.

Welcome to NJ

For anyone who has moved cross-country, especially with kids, this blog's for you. But just so you know, I won't be going on and on about the moving experience (it was hard but we survived). Coming from California, to be more specific, the SF Bay Area, and narrowing it still further, Marin County, we heard this a lot: "You're moving to...New Jersey? Why?"

Why? For work, of course! My husband and I were trained in the generation of "work your way up" and "you don't get ahead by standing still" so we were open to the idea of moving if either of us found a better job somewhere else. Tim found his first, in Carteret. So on June 16, we flew to Philadelphia on a one-way ticket and drove to our new house.

Over the past few months I've had some curious experiences and discovered some wonderful things about my adopted state. I will share them with anyone who cares--don't you want to know where we bought our house and what our neighbors are like? Aren't you dying to find out what I think about diners, traffic circles, county roads, Dunkin' Donuts (nowhere NEAR as popular out west), roadside farm stands and unidentifiable flying insects? Welcome to my new world...I think it's gonna be a winner.