I wish all of my friends in Newcomers a special holiday greeting…whether you call this season Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Yuletide, Omisoka or Eid al-Adha, I wish you and your families good health and joy.

No matter how you choose to experience these days, whether dining with family and friends, participating in winter sports, exchanging gifts, attending services or just cuddling up by the fire with a good book, we are so lucky to have found our way to Newcomers.

Although many celebrate this time of year in their own special way, West Milford Newcomers Club is a haven twelve months of the year for its members.

Let's look ahead to the coming year with anticipation of all the exciting and fun activities that have been planned for us.

With my warmest affection,

Connie La nueva prez

DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS : Wishing continued health and happiness to: Karen Lavin - 12/3, Margaret Bordino -12/9, Judy Mazur - 12/16, Susan Schrier - 12/19 and Carol Feleppa - 12/28.

Mervet Yassin’s cooking demonstration was so professional, so descriptive of the foods and spices of her Middle East heritage, and so entertaining to watch while she was putting together the dishes for our enjoyment, that one club member shouted out, “Mervet, you are incredible!” --- a sentiment held by everyone present.

Each member in attendance received a beautifully crafted Middle Eastern Luncheon menu, which Mervet designed and had printed, that included all of the recipes for the food she prepared: Appetizers: Baba Ganoush and Cucumber Yogurt Mint Salad Main Course: Makloubeh Rice Dish (Upside Down) and Mosuakhan Dessert: Knafeh and Turkish coffee with cardamom spice.

While Mervet was busy at the demonstration table --- where Mervet’s mother, Nemat, provided an extra pair of helping hands --- Wilma Lopresti, who had worked with Mervet two hours the previous evening in preparation for this day’s program, was busy behind the scenes in the kitchen.

Mervet’s commentary included: I use only first pressed virgin olive oil, buy cuts of meat containing bones, and mash broiled ingredients instead of using a food processor. Particularly helpful were her suggestions of what may be excluded or added to the recipes to accommodate individual tastes. Her recipes used many and diverse spices like pomegranate syrup, tahini, cardamom, and ground sumac (which can be used as a lemon substitute). She said spices that cannot be found in local stores could be purchased in markets in Paterson, where she also purchases her meat.

When asked where she would go out to eat? Mervet answered, “I don’t like eating out. I enjoy food prepared at home. Sometimes the whole family participates in the process.”

I felt like one of the family as I participated vicariously in the preparation of the food we enjoyed eating. The completed dishes looked beautiful, their aromas were literally mouth watering and they tasted “out of this world” delicious.

Mervet wrote at the bottom of the cover page of her luncheon menu....Enjoy with love!!!!!!!!

And enjoy we did --- With love.

Julia Held, First Vice President

Our annual Holiday Brunch will be held at our next meeting, Tuesday, December 8th, at the West Milford Presbyterian Church at 9:30 a.m. The meeting’s activities will start at 10 a.m. after members who have prepared dishes for our enjoyment have set the buffet for our “Holiday Brunch Delight.”

As in the past, our members provide the food and entertainment for this festive gathering. If you have not already signed up to bring a dish to the December meeting and would like to do so, please contact Julia Held at 973-853-5246 or jbh@optonline.net. Quiches, casseroles, salads, muffins, desserts, and Hors D’oeuvres as well as “Your Very Own Thing” are on the buffet menu.

Rosemary Martin, Pay It Forward Coordinator, has sent out “a reminder that at the December meeting instead of doing a gift exchange we are donating food for those in need.” Non-perishable food items will be collected at the December meeting to be donated to the West Milford Presbyterian Church’s food pantry.

I am also asking that members bring to the meeting a photo of themselves as a baby or young child. The photos will be displayed on a bulletin board --- no names please! And, of course, the Pili-aloha ukulele ensemble, whose members are overjoyed that their leader has returned from Hawaii, has been practicing for your entertainment pleasure.

Baby-sitting is provided on the premises for $5 per family. Please pack snacks and drinks for your own children.

So, please come to this special gathering --- in the words of fun loving Blanche DeSimone our esteemed past president and program coordinator --- “Join the fun – the more the merrier!!”

Julia Held, First Vice President

Please welcome our new members: Kristine Banek, Linda Bayer and Laurie Dagostino. They will be included in your coming Membership Directory.

RETURNING MEMBER: Also, please welcome back Kathleen Murray Chapman. She will also be included you the coming Membership Directory.

DIRECTORY AND E-MAILS: To help maintain our e-mail lists and directory, please notify our new webmaster, Blanche DeSimone any time during the year when there are changes to your membership information, i.e. e-mail address, telephone number, etc.

RAFFLE: Members are encouraged to bring items to be raffled off each month. You can clear out the clutter from your house and help the Club at the same time. The money earned from these raffles goes into our Club treasury to help defray monthly meeting expenses.

SUNSHINE SQUAD: Having friends help you out during a bad time can mean a lot. Helen Rezzonico is once again chairing this wonderful service the club provides for its members. The Sunshine Squad helps out members during difficult times by delivering dinners to them after surgery, giving birth or a serious illness. If you willing to be called on to be of service to your fellow members at such times, please let Helen know.

New ideas are ALWAYS welcome! If there is another group activity you would like to see implemented, or if you have a special interest or talent that you would like to share with others, then ‘Please’ let us know either through the newsletter or email or at the monthly meeting.