Sick & Tired of Careless Drivers & A "Difficult" Mother

As if one accident in a month isn't enough, we were hit in the behind again last Saturday at the intersection of East Anderson St. & River St. around 12.45 p.m. This time the left part of the bumper is scratched & dented, with some visible cracks at point of impact.

Point of impact & scratches

Dent at the left rear bumper

More scratches at the lower part of the bumper

Side dent to the left

Top area of the bumper - little "vein-like" crack due to the impact

The driver was a teenager with a Provisional Driver's License; just issued this year. He told us that he wanted to consult his Mom and preferred to settle directly without going through the insurance. Fair enough since he is a probationary driver, he wouldn't want any police record/penalty points for FAILURE TO STOP and an eventual increase in his insurance premium.

We collected the estimate from the agreed body shop and it came up to $306; for the damages incurred only to the left side of the bumper. Today, I went to meet the Mom to collect the money and #@#$! Just as I thought, she tried to piggy back on our previous accident saying that since we're getting repairs done from the previous bender, she shouldn't be charged $306. Instead, she tried to wriggle her way to a short-changed amount of $100 or $150! What the #@$! She dared ask for a discount when her kid's at fault.

Not happy with the situation, Adrian called up our insurance and they confirmed that regardless of the situation, it should be considered a SEPARATE ACCIDENT! Then, she began to rant some sob story to Adrian while I was freezing my ass off on a 31F morning, that her son is a good boy, mild mannered, straight A student, just lost his father, blah, blah, blah!

I mean, come on woman! You are not the only person in this world that has lost a love one. Jeez!!! Like the insurance said, "Business is business." Your emotional drama is yours to keep & I certainly have no interest what-so-ever in your personal life. To me, she is just being a sneaky @!#$% by spinning her son's tale. What about us?!!! Calling us dishonest for a legitimate estimate from her own preferred body shop?! Spare us the emotional drama, woman! We are the VICTIM here!!!

It is a good thing that we did report the accident with our own insurance. At least we have a file online if things get messy. If option #1 fails, let the insurance fight it out.

Today's post is very unlike Serenity's daily blogs but shit happens, so I have to rant.

Adrian's New Abode

Adrian moved from Chelsea Market to Park Avenue last month. His new office is, unfortunately, an old building near the Empire State Building. He doesn't have a direct view and one has to "crane" his/her head out in order to see it. Haha! At least he has his own room now. Although new, this will be his temporary abode until a permanent office space is finalized. He is hoping that the Time Square location will ultimately come true. Which means, no more subways and a more "happening" area as well.

In the mean time, this will do.

Adrian and his Fish! Pete the Perch (orange toy to the right)

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On another note, let's not forget what today is...

"Greetings & Happy Hanukkah to our friends, Rima & Adi in Philly."

Shalom!

Shortbread Cookies

Serenity's X'mas Shortbread Cookies

I was browsing through the weekend pull-outs for coupons and sales when I saw this easy recipe for shortbread cookies. It had peppermint candy in them originally but I decided to make mine plain.

• Prep Time: 20 mins.
  
• Bake Time: 25-30 mins. Enough time to write and publish a post & Bob's Your Uncle!
• Makes: a little over a tray. If you like your cookie size bigger then you'll yield less pieces. I made about 19 pieces with this measurement.
  

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened (no substitutes, please)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch
parchment paper to line your baking tray/sheet - makes cleaning easier afterwards!

Mix butter, sugar & vanilla using an electric mixer. Slowly blend in flour & corn starch.

Form 1 inch balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets. No need to bother with cookie cutters. Just use a flat bottom glass, dipped in sugar to prevent sticking and press gently on each cookie.

Bake in preheated oven - 300F for 25-30 mins. or until bottom begins to brown.

Cool and remove to a wire rack. Go crazy with the decorations!

This is mine. X'mas theme in accordance with the holidays and neatly packaged for Adrian to bring to the office. It's time to spread some good cheer, even if you're not celebrating X'mas.


From the recipe...
Karo Cookie Decorating Tip: When decorating holiday cookie cut-outs with sprinkles, brush lightly with corn syrup and the sprinkles and candy will stick.

FYI, I didn't make the X'mas candy toppers. I bought them from the store for $1.80. It comes in a sheet of about 16 pieces. Peel them off from the paper (like a sticker) and use them to decorate your cakes, cupcakes, ice-cream, desserts, etc.

Fosterfields Farm

From Speedwell, we took the shuttle to Fosterfields living historical farm. This 200-acre farm has many educational activities and demonstrations of 1920s farming methods and life. Very interesting indeed!

Left-overs from Thanksgiving....Gobble, Gobble, Gobble! Perhaps they were singing "I will survive" in turkey language???

When one is walking around the farm, this is a common sight. It's a good thing the snow didn't camouflage the dung ;)

I could have sworn he was smiling at me!

This piggy loved the fence so much, he kept licking it. Hey, what about some slop, instead?

Baa Ram Ewe! I think I might have startled this one.

A-Ha! So this is where Santa's been hiding his sleigh. Try looking in the barn next time kids.

Fosterfields from "The Willows".

Fosterfields in Morristown, New Jersey.
Courtesy of Webshots

The Willows was the home of Caroline Foster from the time she was 4 until her death at age 102. She was the only daughter/child of Charles Foster who purchased the house from General Joseph W. Revere, the grandson of patriot - Paul Revere; along with the rest of the farm in the 1880s.

As usual, photography wasn't allowed. We were asked to help preserve The Willows by walking on specially laid-out runners only. We were shown how the Fosters would decorate their house for X'mas in the 1920s; with unusual trinkets to German feather-trees. That year, Caroline Foster received a very grand X'mas gift from her friends - a 1922 Model T Ford that she used to drive to Connecticut by herself. It took her 8 hours to reach her favorite Aunt's place. Being a free-spirited socialite, the guide described her as a person who would "smoke everything". Her father didn't approve of her owning a car until a year later and complained that she drove too fast at 20 mph. Okayyyy...!

The moment we entered the house, we could smell something nice coming from the kitchen. So, let's check out what's for dinner on X'mas Day in 1922.

Starters:

Mushroom savories

Baked scallops with herb & garlic

Soup:

Parsnip soup

Brown bread

Entree:

Roast beef & potatoes with sesame green beans

Desserts:

Plum pudding

Bread pudding

Apple Syllabub

For the kids:

Plum candies - only for children who are well-behaved.

I know for sure who will not be getting this candy. The smart-alec, "Miss-Know-It-All" kid in our group that would not stop talking and kept on interrupting the guide. Missy also nearly took off the flimsy curtain on the door. Such a pesky kid! *snarls*

Historic Speedwell


I am a fool for Charles Dickens so I'm easily played when "Dickensian X'mas" was advertised on the NJ tourism website. Yesterday afternoon, after it had stopped snowing, we headed off to Morristown because I was curious about the village of Speedwell and the X'mas activities they had there. I must really thank Adrian for agreeing to this activity on a below freezing day. Hehe!

Well, Speedwell is famous for its iron works and the birthplace of telegraph. The owner of Speedwell Ironworks, Stephen Vail was asked to build the engine of S.S. Savannah. This ship was the first steam powered vessel to sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. So, it's appropriate to start the tour at the Vail Homestead. No photography allowed inside, unfortunately.

The Vail Homestead

After the interesting tour, we headed towards the carriage house and attended Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig's Ball. Here's a clip of some costumed actors and ad-hoc volunteers dancing.

Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig. Mr. F is supposed to be old, isn't it?

See you next time!

L'Hommedieu House which is also the Visitor's Center.

The upside: Frozen Guests like us could help ourselves to cookies, hot chocolate and cider at the basement of L'H House. There's arts and crafts activities for kids down there too.

Captain Moses Estey's house overlooking the pond. Estey was a veteran of the American Revolution.

Red berries near the pond.

This is my favorite photo and I now have it as my desktop wallpaper in conjunction with the season :)

Next up: Fosterfields Living Historical Farm.

First "Measureable" Snow for Winter '07

It's toe-freezing time again. I say this because my poor digits are the first to go when the weather is sub-zero. Even my Mom has a nickname for me - Lizard! We had our first taste of old man winter yesterday. This means...

Break out the ice-scrapers and time to dust. Here I am trying to look "delighted".

Adrian said, "Hey, don't take my picture..." Too late! What a corny smile. Tee..hee..hee!