Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Sunday Stills – Pot Luck
Ed is having some serious computer problems, so he couldn’t post photos to give us a challenge subject……so, he is just calling this week’s challenge “Pot Luck” and left it up to us to post photos of whatever we want to post. I decided to take the challenge quit literally and post a photo of the buffet table at a recent “Pot Luck” dinner at our church!!! hahahaha
Sunday Stills – The Color Brown
This week’s Sunday Stills Challenge is “The Color Brown“! With the snow melting and the mud taking over, there are a lot of BROWN things to photograph right now! But, Ed said to “think outside of the brown box” for this challenge and I thought that taking photos of mud and brown grass and trees wouldn’t be much of a challenge for me! So, I paid attention as I was driving around, today, and decided to choose the beautiful Albion First Presbyterian Church as my challenge subject. I have a lot of photos of this church in my archives, but stopped today to take these up close shots of the front of the church from a few different angles.
The First Presbyterian Church in Albion, NY was built in the mid-1800s using Medina Sandstone – a treasured resource with historic importance in our area. The church, with its impressive spire reaching way into the sky, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Courthouse Square in downtown Albion. This particular variety of Medina Sandstone is, I believe, considered pink in color, but it looks more brown (unless you are up very close to it) and the three massive front entrance doors are a contrasting dark brown. So – I do feel it meets the criteria for this challenge!
Seagulls
The Sav-A-Lot and Peebles parking lot is a favorite hang out for seagulls. Not sure why, but they really seem to like it there and quite often you can find several of them socializing with their friends, sunning themselves, and showing off their fancy take-off and landing skills. I happened to be driving by that parking lot on my way to TOPS and noticed a big flock of them all huddled together just “chilling out”.
So, I pulled in to snap some photos of them. I wasn’t the only car that pulled in the parking lot – at least two in front of me drove by them and they didn’t seem to be phased in the least – didn’t ruffle any feathers there! But, I didn’t just drive by – I stopped near them and put the car in park. They got all excited, stood up, and ran towards me across the parking spots! But the time I got my camera out and ready, they were all standing just a few feet from my door squawking at me and flapping they wings! I think they thought I was going to toss some food out for them! I took a few photos and felt so bad about getting them all worked up over nothing, that I decided to leave and come back after my shopping with a loaf of bread to share with them.
As I circled around them to leave the parking lot, they all – in almost perfect unison – turned in place to watch me drive off. I can only imagine they were thinking, “hey, lady, where’s the food?”!!! hahaha
I got the few things I needed at the grocery store, including a loaf of bread, and returned to toss it out for the seagulls. They were soooooooo happy and gobbled up the entire loaf in a matter of minutes while I snapped a few more photos. I kept snapping rapidly and ended up with 148 photos. I scanned through them quickly to make the photos look like a movie – it was so funny, I laughed and laughed!
Here are a few that I found especially fun and cropped for emphasis:
Here they are running to greet me when I first pulled in and parked!
Here they are in an eating frenzy – thoroughly enjoying the fresh bread tossed out for them
This little guy is squawking his head off at me inches from my car door — I imagine he’s saying “Thank you”!!!
When I noticed these two in the crowd, I had to crop them out!
In my mind, they are a married couple and the “wife” is really nagging on her “husband”….
….and he’s trying really hard to ignore her!!! HAHA
This is a beautiful image of grace against the pretty blue sky
This one reminds me of Dracula about to wrap his cape around a beautiful woman to partake of her blood – he has hypnotized her with his glance to make her a willing participant – she is at his mercy!
These two came right up to the door and starred up at me – I said “you’re welcome” and they trotted off!
A couple “take off and landing” show offs!!!
I caught this one putting on the brakes in preparation of a perfect landing!
And, another smooth landing – BRAVO!!!
I had fun and enjoyed my time with these beautiful creatures……I think I’ll stop by and visit them again…….this time I won’t tease them – I’ll be sure to have the bread ready to share!
Sunday Stills – The Letter “L”
This week’s Sunday Stills Challenge is The Letter “L”. Big category! Here are some things that represent the Letter L for me – some I took today and some from my archives (mainly because I didn’t want the snow that is still covering the ground all around here to mess up the beauty of the objects I wanted to show in the photos):
Live….Laugh….Love
Leprechauns
Lilacs
Lovely
Lobster
(photo courtesy of my Mom)
Lazy Ladies
Land meets Lake Ontario
Lighthouses
First = Oak Orchard Lighthouse on Lake Ontario at Point Breeze, NY
Second = 30-Mile Point Lighthouse on Lake Ontario near Barker, NY
And, finally…….not a photo, but couldn’t resist a clip that represents a BIG “L” = Laughter:
Laugh-In
Adjusting to DST
Daylight Savings Time……something we look forward to as a sign of Spring and longer days! But, boy, that “Spring Ahead” thing makes for a rough few nights of sleep while getting used to it! Case in point – last night – let’s just say, I think a nap will be needed about mid-day today to recover!
I had a little headache last night and felt sleepy, so I went ahead and set my watch and my bedside table clock ahead a little after 10:00 – making it the NEW 11:00 – and went to bed. I leave the rest of my clocks for the morning because I don’t have many that don’t reset themselves, so I just do the ones I’ll see first thing – my watch and my bedside table clock. I fell asleep fairly quickly and stayed asleep for a few hours. I woke up and it was still dark, so I looked at my watch – it said 3:30, which of course is the OLD 2:30. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and it said 4:30….what??? Ooppss – at that moment, I remembered that it is one that resets itself, so it sprung ahead twice – once when I did it manually and once on its own! Of course, since I was now fully awake, I had to make a trip to the bathroom. While I was up, I turned the light on and turned the clock back to the correct time – 3:30. Now that I had the lights on and was up more than just a minute or two, I laid there thinking way too much…..what if I fall asleep and my internal clock wakes me up at what it thinks is 7:00, which will be the NEW 8:00 – then, I’ll be rushed to get ready for church and will feel “off” all day! So, I laid there debating with myself about whether or not to set the alarm clock to be sure I get up at the NEW 7:00, which is the OLD 6:00, which is not usually when I would wake up on my own. I finally decided that I was not going to put myself through the jolt of waking up to an alarm clock – it would be worse than feeling rushed if I wake up a little late. So, I tried to go back to sleep…..by now, it is well after 4:00. I spent the next hour tossing and turning and looking at the clock every time my eyes closed for a few minutes and I “woke up” again……of course, I really didn’t fall asleep because when I looked at the clock, barely 10 minutes or so had passed! The last time I remember looking at the clock it was 5:43, so when I woke up at 6:56, I had been sleeping about an hour and 13 minutes. The clock and my watch both said 6:56, but it was still somewhat dark in the room, so it took me a few minutes to realize that it was time to get up. I really just wanted to put the covers over my head and go back to sleep, but…….the girls always know when it is time to get up – they don’t react at all if I wake up in the middle of the night or even just an hour or two early to make a bathroom trip……but, if it is at least 7:00 when my eyes even partially open, it is all systems go for them!!! So, there was no turning back……I had to get up!
And, here I sit — writing about my first night of DST…..wanting to go back to bed, but knowing I really should go get ready for church!!!
They say that “Spring Ahead” means you lose an hour’s sleep…….well, I’m here to tell you……and most people will agree……that you lose more than one hour!!! I lost about 3 hours – the first hour due to the time change and a little over two more due to agonizing over whether or not my internal clock would coincide with the external clocks!!!
What time can I schedule that nap for???
Sunday Stills – Barns in Black and White
For this week’s Sunday Stills Challenge, Ed wants to see Barns in Black and White. For my entry, I chose to use photos I took at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown, NY. The first four photos are of the main entrance of the museum – a huge barn that is just spectacular – taken from different angles. The final two are of barns on the grounds of the museum, which consists of actual buildings in use in the 1800s in nearby towns – the buildings represent a typical 1840s village. It really is a must see, if you’re ever in the Cooperstown, NY area. Click here for more photos of this village and my adventure in Cooperstown.
Local Shopping Adventure
I woke up this morning thinking about maybe checking out a new store that was having their grand opening today. That turned into a plan to hit three new stores in the area that were all either opening up today or having their grand openings. That turned into adding any other fairly new stores in town that I haven’t had a chance to check out, yet. I ended up making a day of it and doing all that plus stopping in at a couple that I’ve been to before, but added to my list “just because”!!!
And, it was a great day for it…..mid 30 temperatures (a major heat wave compared to what we’ve been experiencing). I ended up having a great time and some of the best conversations! At just about every stop, I ran into at least one or two or more people I knew and met several new friends. I love Albion and it makes me very happy to see so many new and interesting businesses opening up. And, I wasn’t the only one out and about shopping and checking out the new stores! Downtown Albion was busy – I had to drive around the block three times before I could find a place to park near the stores I wanted to visit – there were several people walking up and down Main Street with bags in their hands – every store I stopped at (in town and out of town) were full of happy shoppers – and I seemed to run into the same people at more than one store (were they following me or me following them? hehehe). Yes, it was a good day in the effort to support our local area businesses!
So, here is how my adventure progressed through the day:
My first stop was at the Uptown Browsery on Main Street near the canal (right next door to Knight’s Pride) – this is a brand new co-op type store with multiple vendors selling antiques, collectibles, and hand crafted items from local artisans. It is actually an expansion of the Downtown Browsery, which has been a popular business on Bank Street for a number of years. I was greeted by a very cheerful vendor who was happy to tell me all about their store and grand opening specials.
The Uptown Browsery store front
Inside, you’ll find a nicely laid out store with vendor booths on both sides.
Don’t you love the old ceiling tiles – great way to keep the historical integrity of our downtown buildings!!!
The beautiful locally made pottery caught my eye – I’ll have to remember this!!!
A nice display of lovely handmade quilted purses!
Lakeshore Alpacas sells products made from alpaca wool — very nice!!!
After I spent some time in the Uptown Browsery, I went next door to check out Knight’s Pride. I have been following this store on Facebook and drooling over the photos of gorgeous wood products posted on their page. I have been wanting to pop in and check them out in person for quite a while – he’s been open almost a year – but, just haven’t done it…..until now! And, was I glad I did!!! Knight’s Pride is owned by Jeremiah Knight (and he has a partner that I didn’t have a chance to meet). Jeremiah takes old wood, reclaims it, and works his magic to create some of the most beautiful items I’ve ever seen. I shamelessly joined in on a conversation he was having with another customer and learned that he was in the planning stages of turning an old baby grand piano into a book case of some kind by keeping the iconic look of the piano intact (turned up on its side) — the way he described what he planned to do was so interesting that I can not wait to see photos of it finished! He does custom pieces for customers and has many wonderful items already completed for sale in his shop. This is one talented young man!!! On a side note – I knew Jeremiah’s Mom, Kim Martillotta Muscarella – who owns Marti’s On Main art gallery in town – in school and I graduated with his Aunt Debbie Martillotta – who owns The Crooked Door restaurant.
Knight’s Pride store front at 120 North Main Street near the canal
Jeremiah’s shop is packed with beautiful works of art made from reclaimed wood
This chair caught my eye – as did several other pieces! Check out his Facebook page to see other photos of his work.
From there, I went up on the Ridge to check out the grand opening of Cobble-Ridge Co-op, which is located on Ridge Road next door to The Olde Dogge Inn, just east of the 104/98 intersection in Childs. This is a very nice co-op type store with multiple vendors selling antiques and hand crafted items. They just opened today and have big plans for the location – more vendors and some outdoor flea market events when the weather gets better. When I arrived, the parking lot was full and there were cars parked way up the side of road leading up to the store and quite a ways past it – a lot of shoppers came out to support their opening day! I can see this business doing well.
The Cobble-Ridge Co-Op from the road
And the front entrance
My friend Al Capurso and his sons Dan and Kenny were entertaining the shoppers! It was great to see them there!
Two of the vendor booths – the one on the right is all hand made quilted items – the one on the left are crafts made with (get this) paper cupcake cups! YES – I was fascinated when I looked at them closely and saw that the flowers heads were made with lots of little paper cupcake cups – how clever is that???
The store is laid out nicely with cute displays – like this vintage ironing board used to display items (and another one right behind it)
Next stop was Fair Haven Treasures just up the road on the corner of 104 and 98 – kitty corner across from the Village Inn. Carol Culhane – well known local artist – is the manager of this business focused on showcasing local artisans. The owners purchased an old brick home that was in BAD need of repair with the sole purpose of renovating it for use as an artist co-op. They are currently looking to fill the house with artists, authors, and high-end crafters who want to sell their work locally, as well as offering use of the space for book signings and art related events. They don’t charge space rental – they only ask for 20% of any sales. They did an amazing job of renovating this old home and making it into a wonderful showplace for local artists. I know first hand what they were dealing with when they bought the home – I actually looked at it when I was house hunting before I moved back to Albion in 2011. I was open to the idea of perhaps purchasing an old brick or cobblestone and fixing it up, but it didn’t take long to realize this particular home needed WAY more work, time, and money than I was willing to invest – but, I’m so very happy to see someone purchased it and was able to put it to such good use! It really is amazing!
Fair Haven Treasures – exterior from the driveway
One of two square baby grand pianos with art pieces displayed on top
The second square baby grand — two gorgeous pianos!
Some pieces displayed in a curio cabinet and a “work in progress” that I’d love to see when it is finished!
An old built in stove original to the home with a display of cups and saucers lined up on the mantle
On my way back through town, I decided to make a stop at my favorite gift shop – The Hazy Jade! Lisa Stratton runs this fabulous gift shop that is FULL – and I do mean FULL – of great gift items all hand crafted by local artisans. I love this place! Whenever I need a unique gift or something really special for someone really special, I head to The Hazy Jade!
The Hazy Jade Gift Shop store front
There are so many wonderful things there – you can wander through 2 or 3 times and still find things you missed seeing! And, it is all displayed beautifully!
BTW – Mom got me one of those handcrafted newsboy hats for Christmas — LOVE IT!!!
Next up on the agenda was a quick lunch at The Village House restaurant on Rt. 31 (the avenue) – if I was going to keep shopping, I had to fuel up!
The Village House Restaurant – popular local diner!
I had a cup of Italian Wedding Soup and the Tuna Pita Wrap – delicious! I can’t believe I ate the WHOLE thing! HA!
After I filled my belly, I headed out Rt 31 to the Fancher curve to check out the opening day for Antiques & Rusty Relics – they are located in that old railroad terminal where Big Ash is (Big Ash is still there – they just no longer need their big showroom, so it is now home to Antiques & Rusty Relics. This is a lovely shop loaded with furniture, what-nots, gadgets, crafts, and more. I had a nice chat with the owner – she said they have a LOT more to bring in, but the nasty weather made it difficult to transport everything they wanted to have there in time for their opening day. I thought they had a great selection of stuff…..guess I need to go back in a couple weeks to see what is added!!!
Antiques & Rusty Relics building — I LOVE their name – isn’t it great!!!???
Baskets and art and pottery and more!
This church bird house caught my eye — it made me think of a good friend who loves bird houses
There is a little foot stool in this section that I really liked – thought I took a photo of it, but didn’t! 😦
Everything is very nicely displayed — they did a great job setting up the store – very inviting and comfortable!
My last stop of the day was back in downtown Albion. I have been in the Downtown Browsery on Bank Street several times, so wasn’t going to stop in there, today, but decided to go ahead and pop in while I was out and about. The Downtown Browsery is the original location that has just recently branched out to a second location on Main Street – the Uptown Browsery I mentioned earlier in this post. They, too, have a number of vendors offering vintage items and hand crafted treasures in a co-op type store.
The Downtown Browsery store front
Many great vendors with cool stuff to browse through!
Some really cool handmade jewelry
Need some unique glasses for entertaining? They have some here for you!
Handmade baskets by Jan Ferries from Kendall — she was named one of the 100 top artisans in the country recently!!! Her work is beautiful, indeed!
This guy caught my eye — fence post frosty!!! So cute!!!
So, I obviously got a lot of photos, but did I come home with any actual purchases? Of course!!! I didn’t get much, but did pick up a few items I thought were special just for me!
A wooded birdhouse themed basket with a swivel handle and a cute little mitten ornament for my Christmas tree from The Uptown Browsery
Four packs of local lighthouse themed note cards from Fair Haven Treasures
A pack of beach themed note cards from Antiques & Rusty Relics
One of Jan Ferries’ beautiful baskets and two Lakeshore Alpacas’ items (socks and fingerless gloves) from Downtown Browsery (I regretted not getting an alpaca item when I was at the Uptown Browsery, so when I saw the Downtown Browery also had their stuff, I had to take advantage of it)
So….. that was my day…..my local shopping adventure!!! If you are in the area, please take advantage of these and other wonderful local shops in and around the Albion area! Shop locally – it feels good, you get some great stuff, and you help support your local businesses and your local economy!!!
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Despite the frigid temperatures and brutal winds, I had a lovely day today! I stayed in my jammies looking out at the artic weather until well after lunch time. Then, I went to the store and out to visit with Mom for a little while. This evening, I went to my regular Thursday Bible Study meeting…..when the meeting ended, so did my fairly routine day! Some friends from church and I went to the local community college campus to listen to our county historian, Bill Lattin, talk about the Civil War and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument – a memorial to the 463 Orleans County men who died during the Civil War – that is located in our lovely Mt. Albion Cemetery. After his presentation, my friends and I went to Tim Hortons for a hot treat – soup and chili – and great conversation!
So — what I really want to write about is Bill Lattin’s presentation. It was so interesting and enjoyable – I always love to hear him speak about our local history or other topics of interest. Mr. Lattin was also my art teacher in high school, so it is a pleasure to see him. He started out talking a little about the history of Mt. Albion Cemetery to set the stage for why it was chosen as the site for the monument. He also talked about the grief that the war caused, given that there were so many lives lost and families left alone to mourn and move on without their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. He had several photos and artifacts he had collected from that period. One item that struck me most was a long glass tube that the widows would capture their tears in – some would fill it with tears and take it to pour their tears onto the graves of their loved ones – others would fill it with tears and leave it on a table until all the tears dried up, signifying the end of the mourning period. I find it fascinating to hear about customs from long ago.
The history, stories, and visual aids he offered us kept the small room of close to 40 people glued to their seats and totally engrossed in what he had to say. But…..what made it so very personal and sentimental for me was his inclusion of information surrounding the efforts to restore the monument in the 1973-1976 time frame. I was in high school at that time – graduating in 1974. Although I was not directly involved in the work started by some students at the school, I did participate in some of the fund raising activities and was very aware of and supported the “SAVE THE TOWER” campaign that resulted in major renovation and restoration work on the tower. I remember that time fondly and he spoke of several people who I knew well. His recounting of the efforts that he, too, was very closely involved in, stirred up a heavy sense of pride and strong memories for me……I got a little teary eyed! At the time, it was obvious that the students and community leaders who lead the campaign were doing something special – we all knew it, but it wasn’t until tonight – when Bill Lattin put it all together and presented it so eloquently – that I realized just how incredibly special and historic it was! Before this campaign, the tower was falling into disrepair and was locked so that no one could go up and enjoy the view from the top due to safety concerns. The Village wasn’t in a position and didn’t have the drive to put forth the effort to repair it. Thanks to this group of caring people – in particular, the students who did not accept the suggestion that the Village “just tear it down” and came up with a way to save a historic monument – the tower was repaired and reopened so that it could be enjoyed once again…….and now, 40 years later, it is still going strong as a memorial to those who lost their lives fighting for the Union and as a great site to visit and climb to take in the amazing views – you can actually see clean to Canada on a clear day from up there!!!
This is a photo I took a few years ago of our beautiful Soldiers and Sailors Monument Tower – constructed of locally quarried Medina Sandstone, the tower was originally dedicated and opened on July 4, 1876 – the 100th anniversary of our great country. It stands 68 feet tall and sits on top of the highest point in the county in the oldest section of Mount Albion Cemetery. It has the names of 463 Orleans County Civil War casualties engraved in marble slabs on the interior walls. Visitors can climb the 84 steps of the winding wrought iron staircase to reach the top of the tower and have an incredible unobstructed view for miles and miles in all directions!!! It really is incredible and a historic treasure for our county. The rededication and reopening after the restoration work took place on July 4, 1976 – the 200th anniversary of our great country!!!
Sunday Stills – Cows
This week’s Sunday Stills Challenge is Cows! Ed wants us to focus on cows and the products we get from cows. I live in an area with a LOT of dairy farms and, therefore, a LOT of cows! But…..I decided to go in a different direction with this post:
This is a cow on a New York State themed carousel at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown, NY
And…..on the side of the cow is a carton of milk – showing one of the products cows produce
This cow is located at the Jello Museum in Leroy, New York
I found this cow, adorned in beautiful Yankee pin stripes and blue catcher’s mitts on the horns, in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
This cutie greeted customers on opening day at the new Chik-fil-A restaurant in Sanford, NC
And, now, for some products…..I was sure I’d find a photo of a nice juicy steak in my archives, but I couldn’t find one……DANG!!! But, these will do nicely:
Ice Cream…..I enjoyed this luscious banana split at Friendly’s in Brockport, NY
More Ice Cream…..I devoured this little piece of heaven – an amazing old fashioned chocolate (all chocolate) soda – at a little soda shop in Pittsboro, NC
Leather — I bought this gorgeous leather Guess bag at Macy’s (click here to read a post I wrote about it)
The End…..
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