RealtorIrene Blogs about Sussex County NJ Real Estate

My real estate appointments for the day are done and went well. I spoke to several clients about seeing homes for sale this coming week. Materials for tomorrow's Open House are all pulled together.

My husband Chip isn't here. The house is warm and quiet. I could:

• Start a loaf of the Best Bread Ever;
• Work on the things I learned at RainCamp NY on Jan. 12!
• Follow up on a couple leads.
• Run a load of laundry or three.
• Draft a couple blogs that will solve the world's real estate woes.
• Attempt all the above simultaneously - my usual plan.

But no, not this afternoon. I'm going to grab a non-real estate related book. The paper kind with a spine and covers, remember?  Better yet, make it a novel!

Perhaps I'll be extra wicked and silence my phone...

Irene Kennedy, who is a NJ real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, lives in Sussex County & works from the Hamburg office. Her primary market includes: Augusta, Branchville, Crystal Springs, Frankford, Franklin, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Highland Lakes, Lake Mohawk, Newton, Ogdensburg, Scenic Lakes, Sparta, Stockholm, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage.

Many of my home buyers and sellers around Sussex County NJ will be enjoying a loaf of the Best Bread Ever this holiday season.

Whereas most folks simply want me to deliver a freshly-baked loaf, quite a few have asked for the recipe for this breakfast bread. I haven't forgotten your request that followed my thank-you loaf of bread, Mary from the Vernon Building Department

This is a spectacular recipe to make with young children. Yes, many of the ingredients will disappear long before they hit the pan. Yes, you'll have flour everywhere. While I realized kids would like the process, I was unprepared for the real pride they take in the finished product. 

If you would like the recipe alone, just email me and I'll send you the Word version.

From page 445. "Orange Bread with White Chocolate, Apricots and Walnuts" of the Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. Special thanks to Rebecca Hansen, Harvard Common Press, for her prompt and positive permission to use this recipe!

Best Bread Ever - Recipe for 2 pound loaf

1 ¾ cups mandarin orange segments, liquid reserved (two 11-ounce cans)

3 tablespoons reserved orange liquid or orange liquor

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 cups bread flour

⅓ cup sugar (Irene sometimes substitutes Splenda  - no noticeable difference)

1 tablespoon gluten

2 teaspoons salt

2 ¼ teaspoons SAF yeast or 2 ¾ teaspoons bread machine yeast (Irene uses 1 tablespoon Red Star Active Yeast)

**********

⅔ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup minced dried apricots (Irene sometime uses mixed dried fruits)

½ cup chopped walnuts (Irene omits for some recipients)

Craisins - Irene adds a handful - about ½ cup

Official Recipe: Add everything above the stars to bread machine. Set crust on medium and program for Basic or Sweet bread, press START. When machine beeps, or between Knead 1 and Knead 2, add the last items. (Irene's cheap machine doesn't beep, so she adds the goodies 10 - 12 minutes into the cycle.)

Irene's Changes: Add everything above the stars but set machine to DOUGH and start. Add goodies below the star at beep/10 minutes later.  When Dough cycle ends, dump in pan. Cover with plastic and let rise for 60 minutes or so. Bake at 365⁰ (use 350⁰ with dark pans) until center reaches 190⁰.  Length of baking varies greatly depending on what pan is used - and whether Irene removes sides of spring-form pan during the baking cycle.  NOTE: This dough will not hold a shape, so really must be baked in a pan.

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post represents Irene's personal musings.

Considering selling a home or looking to buy a Sussex County NJ property? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right. Plus, Irene might just bake you a loaf of the Best Bread Ever once the real estate deal closes...

Irene Kennedy, who is a NJ real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, lives in Sussex County & works from the Hamburg office. Her primary market includes: Augusta, Branchville, Crystal Springs, Frankford, Franklin, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Highland Lakes, Lake Mohawk, Newton, Ogdensburg, Scenic Lakes, Sparta, Stockholm, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage.

Where I live in Hamburg, Sussex County NJ, we rarely go a day without seeing a wild turkey.

This morning - the day before Thanksgiving - Chip made an early morning dash to the supermarket while I answered real estate emails and was getting set to blog.  CRASH! The house shook. In fact, it sounded and felt like Chip had backed his SUV into a not-yet-fully-opened garage door. But he wasn't home.

Looking around the house, I found a sorry sight. One of the wild turkeys had flown into the side of our home and wasn't going to recover. Although they can't fly far, these fowl can fly very fast for a short time.

It was a sad thing. But, the "black humor" aspect didn't elude me.

• Had the turkey read my recent post that our community won't be Active Adult much longer? 
• Was it facing being someone's dinner tomorrow?
• Slated to host the in-laws for Thanksgiving?

Chip got home and thought I was nuts but I did call our non-emergency police number, which is how Animal Control is contacted in Hamburg. We were prepared to dispose of the turkey but I envisioned being busted for poaching. Yes, I identified myself and said, "I know the day before Thanksgiving this will sound like a joke, but a turkey just killed itself by flying into the side of my home." When the dispatcher stopped laughing, she logged my call so there would be no poaching charges.

I know you think I'm kidding:

So, I'm adding to my "thankful list" that I wasn't this turkey and that the CRASH wasn't Chip's SUV backing into the garage door (a second time)!

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post represents Irene's personal musings.

Considering selling a home or looking to buy one around Sussex County NJ? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right.

Irene Kennedy, who is a NJ real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, lives in Sussex County & works from the Hamburg office. Her primary market includes: Augusta, Branchville, Crystal Springs, Frankford, Franklin, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Highland Lakes, Lake Mohawk, Newton, Ogdensburg, Scenic Lakes, Sparta, Stockholm, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage.

Right here in beautiful Sussex County, we have some very valuable but little known real estate. I'm referring to stromatolites - fossils on a Precambrian rock outcrop, which is more than 500,000,000 years old. Stromatolites are one of the oldest living organisms on Earth - and you can meet some right in Hamburg!

The most famous places to view stromatolites are Shark Bay or Coral Bay both in Australia, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and in the Bahamas. While I'd love to visit any of those places, such a trip isn't in my family budget. Probably not in yours either...

So, what about a short ride to explore stromatolites fossils right in Sussex County, NJ?  FREE and fun - just you and Mother Nature. Family members of all ages can find something of interest - collecting loose rocks, climbing on boulders, viewing fossils, perhaps spotting some wildlife.  Best of all, everyone will get dirty, so wear your sturdy playclothes! Try to locate the "Godzilla's butt print" fossil. Bring a rope to aid climbing. You'll probably want your camera too. Perhaps hike along the Wallkill River, which runs parallel; listen for the waterfall. The Wallkill River stems from the Hudson and empties into Lake Mohawk in Sparta, NJ.

Directions: The Bluffs Active Adult community is at the intersection of Gingerbread Castle Road in Hamburg and Wheatsworth Road in Hardyston. (You probably won't find Bluffs Court via GPS or Mapquest.) We're right between Ballyowen Golf Course and the Gingerbread Castle. At the top of the loop, you can park at the site of the future clubhouse. Voila - stromatolites! 

When you visit, please remember that you're in a private community. There are no public restrooms, no trash cans, no benches, no concession stands - simply you and our good Earth. It would be a prime time to practice being concerned environmentally-friendly citizens. And speaking of citizens, all my lovely neighbors and I always appreciate a wave or Hello!

Following are some links to Wikipedia for those who would like some details about terms used and what you'll be seeing. Never hurts to sneak in a little learning!

Stromatolite          Precambrian

Outcrop          Fossil          Glacier          Wallkill River

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This post from RealtorIrene Blogs from Sussex County, NJ represents Irene's personal musings.

Considering selling a home or looking to buy one around Sussex County, NJ? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right or HomesIrene.com.

Irene Kennedy, who is a NJ real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, lives in Sussex County & works from the Hamburg office. Her primary market includes: Augusta, Branchville, Crystal Springs, Frankford, Franklin, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Highland Lakes, Lake Mohawk, Newton, Ogdensburg, Scenic Lakes, Sparta, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage. With her vast network, however, Irene Kennedy also can help you find an equally talented real estate agent elsewhere.

Let's get some more contributions from the Sussex County, NJ, community - real estate agents, homeowners, buyers, you name it!

Ken's post will appear as a Feature because it showed up in today's AR newsletter as a feature. This happened to me a few Thursdays ago; the gold star & position on the front page didn't appear until Monday.

I'm turning off comments on my page - please visit the original!

And, yes, I made a little contribution.

My nephews, Matt and Sam, moved to Kentucky a few years ago. Since then, I've felt disconnected from them, unable to maintain our special connection.  Their family was visiting very briefly but due to my real estate showings, I was only going to have an hour or two with them.

Matt and Sam had other ideas and decided they needed to come to my home for a sleepover party at my distant Hamburg home - before knowing that we'd have hot fudge sundaes for dinner and stay up WAY late watching a PG-13 movie!

The boys didn't need that rope to be connected to me.

Matt and Sam taught me an important lesson. And for that, I am very, very thankful!

Back in beautiful Sussex County, NJ, doing real estate deals after a short but lovely camping trip.

 Although I don't have a shred of evidence to support this theory, I firmly believe that all the moose in New Hampshire headed to the Jersey shore for the weekend.  Chip and I hunted at dusk, dawn and every point in between. We know every wallow in the White Mountains, so if anyone wishes to buy a mud hole in NH, I'll be your consultant. 

NOT A SINGLE MOOSE TO BE FOUND!!! Why does NH have moose crossing signs when there are no meese, crosing or otherwise? Was it their weekend off?

 A pit stop in Vermont seemed to portend many meese in my future. As I was mugging, I offered all passerbys my business card in case they wanted to buy a home or sell a home in New Jersey. No takers - I believe they thought I was kidding!

 We had a spectacular campsite right at the beaver pond. Already used one shot for my first "Wordless Wednesday" post.  We drove to the top of Mount Washington just in time for an unexpected hailstorm that caught all by surprise. (Hikers should ALWAYS have rain gear in their packs - ill-prepared kept the rangers hopping.) Road was closed for a bit, totally fouling up a wedding at the summit...

Other lovely pictures will magically appear, no doubt, The reason for this post, however, is to complain that we saw little wildlife in NH but this evening in our Hamburg, NJ, backyard, we had this:

Here is the tough question... Who can figure out why tonight's dinner was a sandwich instead of grilled tuna?  I'd offer lots of points for the winner but have absolutely no pull with AR gods or meese!

Hubby Chip & I excitedly planning a short vacation from our comfy home in Sussex County, NJ. We're headed to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to car-camp. You know, where you pull up to a site, unload a 4 bedroom tent with hot & cold running water, ask James the butler to don his flannel shirt, throw a gourmet feast on the barbie, etc.

What prompts me to do this?  I want to see a moose in the wild. Better yet, many meese. (While I am aware that the plural of moose is moose, I have spent many sleepless nights worrying how geese feel about that.  Besides, it amuses me - if no one else - to use the term meese and watch reactions; I'm big on funny and you're most welcome to laugh at me along with me!)

To the right is a photo of the only moose I will ever see in the Sussex County vicinity!

So, with a real estate transaction in which I represent both the home sellers and the buyers closing this week and a great colleague to back me up while I'm away, I off to hunt real meese.

Our moose-hunting arsenal consists of a couple cameras and a tripod, so no need to alert PETA to my plans. I may never blog again because I've warned Chip that I am staying in the White Mountains until I see a moose. He pointed out that it is a very long walk home, lovingly adding that he'll miss me in the interim. Bet you will too!

So, Chip and I will relax, enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature for a few days and hunt meese.

Oh - and one other dream. I'm hoping to return with ONE picture that is of the quality that Richard Weisser - Coweta Fayette Real Estate - Newnan homes for sale shares with us day in and day out. 

The one to the left is from US wildlife authorities - free use. I intend to pose the meese against more greenery to yield better contrast. I'm utterly surprised that the wildlife folks didn't think of that but then again, they probably don't say meese either...

Well, it isn't officially summer yet. Neither has Memorial Day weekend arrived. But I'm happy to report the sure sign of summer has made an appearance in beautiful, rural Sussex County, NJ.

As I was reading the newspaper this morning in my Hamburg home, a mosquito bit my ankle. (While I am slender, I do have meatier parts but I don't plan to answer comments about what they are!) I hope the little pest broke his snout on my anklebone.

While those from Texas are certain to claim their skeeters are much bigger, I do believe that the Garden State takes the title.

So if you hear me scratching...