Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
2016 Daily Photo – Jan 5
Here is my Daily Photo for Tuesday, January 5, 2016:
“Hey, you missed one……oh, and one more over there…..”
2016 Daily Photo – Jan 4
Here is my Daily Photo for Monday, January 4, 2015. While many returned to the old grind, today, after the holiday break, this shopkeeper no longer needs to go to work……but, check out the upper left pane in the window to the right of the front door!!!
“Sorry, Retired”
Photo taken in Knowlesville, NY
Window Art on Main Street
Over the past several months, Adam Johnson has been working to fix up his buildings at 39-43 N. Main Street in Albion. He is renovating the interiors, painting the exteriors, and working towards a goal of bringing a new restaurant to downtown Albion. Many have been curiously watching the transformation of the buildings and it has been quite a positive change for our downtown.
But……last week, Adam made a change that is really amazing!!! Like many of the older buildings, the windows in the upper floors have been boarded up. Well, they are STILL boarded up……but beautifully so!!! Adam took 16 eight and a half foot tall boards that fit the windows to high schools schools in Orleans County and asked if their art students would paint them to be displayed on his building. Students from four schools took him up on the offer – Albion, Kendall, Lyndonville, and Holley. And….the result is nothing short of incredible!!!
All 16 were painted by the students – except one, which was painted by a former employee of Adam’s – and they were installed last week. I first saw photos of it on Facebook, then had to go by to see myself, then read about it on the Hub, and (of course) had to go get my own photos of it to share here!!! Some of the photos depict historic sites and events from Albion, some look like you’re looking into a window at the lives of those who may have lived there, and some are just plain artistic and fun! But, ALL are stunning!!! What a great idea and it turned out so beautifully……I’m amazed and hope that it catches the eye of all who pass through our town and causes them to stop to look and stay to shop!!! 🙂
Here are the wonderful windows:
The upper floors of 39-42 N. Main Street, Albion – 16 gorgeous windows
The third floor windows were done by students from Lyndonville, Kendall, and Holley schools, as well as a former employee of Adam’s:
Beginning in the upper left window – painted by a Lyndonville HS student
Next is by another Lyndonville HS student
And then the third from a student Lyndonville HS
This one is painted by a Kendall HS student
And, this one, as well, is a Kendall HS student creation
Adam’s daughter, Corinne, is a junior at Holley HS school and painted this board
This painting is also from Corinne Johnson of Holley HS
This is the only board not painted by a HS student. This one was painted by Jasmine Almeter of Holley – a former employee of Adam’s. I like that it depicts two young girls looking out the window, watching the cars and people go by along Main St.
The second floor windows were all done by Albion HS students and depict some of Albion’s historic sites and events:
On the far left, we have a representation of our beloved Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School
This window represents our annual Strawberry Festival
Here we have Albion’s own Grace Bedell, who famously wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln advising him to grow a beard for his first Presidential race. He took her advice and it resulted in the Lincoln-look the world came to know and love!
The center two windows show a view of downtown Main Street from the canal bridge
Here, we have a painting commemorating Albion’s historic Pratt Opera House
We can’t have a representation of historic Albion without showing the Erie Canal
And, finally, this painting depicts Mount Albion Cemetery and the Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Do yourself a favor – go by and see these in person – the photos don’t do them justice at all! While your viewing these beautiful paintings, wander around downtown and do some shopping at some of our lovely and quaint local shops.
Thank you to Adam for coming up with this idea and making it happen! And a huge BRAVO to the artists who created these wonderful treasures!!! They are an amazing addition to our downtown….I hope they garner the interest they deserve and offer a beautiful focal point for a very long time!!!
2016 Daily Photo – Jan 3
Here is my Daily Photo for Sunday, January 3, 2016:
“As if they were one…”
The bell towers of the First United Methodist Church and the Free Methodist Church look as if they are one bell tower!
Some people get confused about the two Methodist churches directly across the street from each other in Albion. But, actually, they are two different churches and different denominations! On the northeast corner of Platt and State Streets is the Albion First United Methodist Church* and across the street on the southeast corner of Platt and State Streets is the Albion Free Methodist Church. Originally, there was only one Methodist congregation – they formed and built the AFUMC church in the early 1800s. There was a group from the congregation what began to disagree with many of the beliefs of the UMC religion – in particular, they were not happy about families having to buy their pews in the church and/or pay a pew tax and there were some who disagreed with the practice of slavery and excluding slaves – even freed slaves – from worshiping with them…both practices limited the ability for some to worship freely with them. So, the group, led by Rev. Loren Stiles, broke off from the UMC and formed a new denomination – Free Methodism – where they stood up for the rights of all people to worship freely. They formed the very first Free Methodist congregation – there were no others of this denomination in the country at the time – and built the church across the street from their former congregation in 1859.
For some time, now, I have noticed that if you are driving north on Platt Street, there is a couple spots where you can line up your car to perfectly set the crown of the FUMC bell tower on top of the FMC bell tower and make them look seamlessly as one bell tower…..just as they were once one congregation!!! I’ve wanted to snap a photo many times, but I either don’t have my camera with me or there is other traffic on the street (you really can’t do it without stopping right in the middle of the street, in fact, actually a little on the wrong side of the street). Today, I was determined to get the shot – I even drove around the block 3 or 4 times to be able to do it without any cars coming in either direction! And…..here it is…..my photo of the day on this third day of January 2016 – and a Sunday, no less!!! (FYI – photo was taken from Platt Street just south of the railroad tracks with a 55/200 mm telephoto lens)
* While the Free Methodist church still currently holds services, the United Methodist Church stopped holding services in their historic Platt Street building in April of 2015 due to the insurmountable costs of repairs needed to the building. The UMC congregation moved to the Christ Episcopal Church on Main Street and now happily shares that building with the Episcopal congregation.
2016 Daily Photo – Jan 1 and 2
I decided to try a new photo project this year. I am going to attempt to get one decent photo of interest a day – every day – throughout 2016. I don’t know how long it will last…..I may peter out after a while……I may miss a day here and there…….we’ll see how it goes! But, as for now, my goal is to give it a shot and see where it takes me!
Not sure, yet, if I’ll post the single photo every day or if I’ll save them up and post the week’s worth of photos at the end of each week. I’ll start by posting these and go from there!
I decided to do this last night – too late to get a photo that would be worth including in the project, so I was just going to start with one today. But…..when today’s subject caught my eye, I noticed there was a similar photo right near by. They went so well together that I decided to include TWO today to make up for yesterday. From now on, if I miss a day, I won’t make it up – a lost day is a lost photo opportunity – or maybe there just wasn’t anything worth including that day!
Here are the first two for January 2016:
“Snow Bride in Wedding Gown”
Found on Bank Street in Albion – a guy who was entering one of the store fronts said “it had a better head”.
“Newsworthy Vintage Dress”
I photographed this in a Christmas window night scene and loved it, so I shot it again today to play off the other photo.
Located in the window of Flying Needle & Thread on Bank Street in Albion – just a few feet down from the photo of the snow bride!
My 2016 Adventure Bucket List
As anyone who even occasionally reads this blog knows, I love a good adventure…..even if just an impromptu local quickie!!! I am always looking for cool and quirky things to see and do in and around Western NY – things I can do in a few hours, a day trip, or even an over-nighter here and there! So, to keep stuff I find or hear of somewhat organized, I have my every changing “Adventure Bucket List”. This is different than my “Bucket List”, which is where I put the big things I want to eventually do when I have time and money to make it happen. The “Adventure Bucket List” are things that are fun, inexpensive visits to see cool stuff!
So, how do I find all these neat places to visit? I jot them down when I see a friend post on FB that they went somewhere I might like to go, I come across articles that catch my interest, and I get lots of great leads from two local bloggers I follow: Chris at “Exploring Upstate” and Tom at “Tom The Backroads Traveller“. And, sometimes I just stumble upon them while I’m out and about and either take the time to stop or make note to go back to check it out!
Anyway, here is my updated list……since it began in 2011 when I moved back home and it was meant to be a way to explore and reacquaint myself with the area surrounding my home town, it has evolved a lot – many things have been checked off, some dropped because I just changed my mind, tons were added, and some just stick on the list until I get the chance to get to them! For right now – in this snapshot in time – this is what I want to try to do in 2016 and beyond!!!
In no particular order:
- Visit Lily Dale, NY – this is a quirky town famous (or should I say infamous) for their psychics and love of the paranormal
- Visit Chittenango, NY – I stopped to see the Chittenango Falls on my way to Cooperstown a couple years ago, but didn’t know then that the town is someplace cool to visit! It is the birth place of the creator of The Wizard of Oz and the town really embraces that theme with all things OZ!
- Explore Buffalo more – I keep finding all kinds of wonderful things that Buffalo has to offer. One thing in particular that interests me is the Buffalo Erie Botanical Gardens. But, that’s just one thing – there’s more!
- Utica Club Brewery – I used to love going there when I was younger! I believe it is now called the Saranac Brewery, but it looks like it hasn’t changed much.
- Old Fort Niagara
- Niagara On The Lake
- Seabreeze
- Fairport Canal Cruise – I did the Lockport cruise, now to do the section that starts in Fairport
- Genesee River Boat Cruise – there is an old fashioned river boat that tours the Genesee River – sounds like a nice day trip
- Lighthouses – I’d like to visit all, or most, of the lighthouses along the Lake Ontario shore line – definitely not something I can do on a day trip
- Niagara Wine Trail – I hope at some point, some year, to take a bus tour that visits all the wineries along the trail
- Day with Tom – Blogger friend, Tom The Backroads Traveller, came out to spend the day with me and I took him around to all my favorite places in and around Albion. He has offered to do the same for me in Rochester to check out some of his favorite places to photograph – I really need to take him up on that!
- Adirondacks
- 1000 Islands
I’m sure there are others that I’ve forgotten to make note of when I heard of them – they will come to me at some point and get added. This also doesn’t include things that will come up and I’ll jump on when I hear of them! But, it is a start and a good guideline. Probably won’t get to all of them this year, but they’ll get done – eventually! 🙂
Now – for some of the things on my big Bucket List – not sure if/when I’ll get to them, but sure would like to, if time and money allow!
- Alaskan Cruise – I’ve wanted to do this since I was in high school! It was something we talked about as a honeymoon when I got married, but it didn’t happen. So……drum roll…..it is GOING to happen in 2016!!! YAY!!! I have a friend who wanted to go and asked me to go with her…..it is all booked and planned for June 2016!
- Trip to Washington, DC
- Trip to Graceland
- Trip to NYC – I’ve been to NYC many times, but not in many years….would love to do one thing I never have done before – go between Thanksgiving and Christmas to see the Rocketts and go Christmas shopping (and, of course, take in a show or two)
- Tour the US – NY to CA – by train
- Trip to Tuscany
- Mediterranean Cruise
- Trip to Ireland and England and maybe more of Europe
Lofty goals, I know……hoping for the chance to at least do some of them before I can’t do any of them anymore!!!
Happy Traveling and may the Adventures keep coming!!!
2015 In Review
Happy New Year, everyone!!! Well, another year has come and gone and 2016 is here in all her glory! As is my usual practice, I thought I’d look back over the past year and reminisce a little.
I wrote 56 blog posts in 2015 (lots more than that, if you add in all the ones I wrote for the Albion High School Alumni Blog and our church blog). This past year, the focus of most of my blogs was photographs. I’ve always loved taking pictures and have taken some really nice ones, but in May, I broke down and bought myself a Nikon D3200 and spent a lot of time just driving around practicing with it and posting my photos. I took my little hobby to a whole new level and ended up capturing some really nice shots in the process!
Here is a summary of my year:
Adventures: A few of the most noteworthy adventures from 2015.
- Most of my adventures were spent just driving around snapping photos – including lots of great sunsets at one of my most favorite places in the world, Point Breeze, and a really great early morning drive capturing photos of the fog around the area!
- In April, Albion was host to several hundred Santas from all over the world for their annual Santa Claus Convention! I had a blast following them around over several days of events taking photos and greeting them. It was an adventure to remember, for sure!
- In July, several hundred cyclists passed through Albion on their annual ride along the Erie Canal. I spent a few hours greeting them and taking photos – it was an incredible experience and I met some really awesome people!
- In August, I stumbled upon a group of zombies playing croquet in Mount Albion Cemetery! (use your imagination or go to the search box and type in “zombies” to find the blog post)
- I had three noteworthy adventures in September:
- A friend and I spent the day at the Genesee Brewery in Rochester where we toured the brewery, checked out the gift shop and displays, and had a great lunch at the Genesee Brew House. The adventure included a walk on the bridge that crosses the Genesee River with views of the High Falls! Spectacular!!!
- I went on our annual trip to Letchworth State Park and lunch at the Glen Iris with our monthly Ladies Lunch group from church. Always a great adventure!
- And, I attended the St. Rocco’s Festival in Hulberton for the first time, this year! I’ve always wanted to go and just never got there before now! In September, I was asked to cover the festival for the Orleans Hub (our local online newspaper – my first assignment, which was an adventure in itself), so I finally made it to one. I watched the WNY Bocce Ball Tournament – first time I’ve ever seen the game played in person – what fun!
Bucket List Items: I also put a dent in my Bucket List – places or things I’ve identified as stuff I’d like to do when I can!
- In April, I went for buckwheat pancake breakfast at Cartwright’s Maple Tree Inn in Angelica, NY. They are only open a few weeks each year – just during maple syrup season – and I’ve heard it is fantastic, so I’ve had it on my list since I moved back home four years ago. I finally made it this year and I was NOT disappointed!
- In May, I made it to the Original Kazoo Factory and Museum in Eden, NY. What a treat!
- In July, I was so very excited to finally make it to the Herschell Carousel Museum – WOW!!! I have always loved carousels and this adventure made for an amazing day!!!
- My friend, Cathy, and I made a day of it – as well as visiting the carousel museum, we also went to Vidler’s Five and Dime – an incredibly HUGE old fashioned Five and Dime store! It was a great day, in deed!
- My bucket list included visiting either the Rochester or Buffalo Zoos. I got up one morning in September and decided it was the day to do it. I chose the Buffalo Zoo. So, “local zoo” is checked off the list!
- Something I’ve always wanted to do was a driving trip across the New England states – staying in Bed and Breakfast Inns and seeing the sights. I’ve also always wanted to go to Nova Scotia, Canada. Well, in October, I did a New England and Canada cruise with my friend, Cathy. It was a wonderful trip and gave me a taste of some of the sights I would have seen in a much more relaxed manner! I saw Boston, Portland Maine, Bar Harbor Maine, Saint John New Brunswick Canada, and Halifax Nova Scotia Canada! LOVED IT!!!
Books:
I used to read a lot when I was younger. Then, I started going to college late in life…..I completed three degrees back to back, going to school full time while working full time. Needless to say, I got real sick of reading for school and work real fast!!! By the time I finished with my Master’s program, I didn’t care if I never opened another book again! I did try off and on after that to read for pleasure, but I just couldn’t make myself stay interested! So, when I was considering my options for possibly retiring and moving back home, I bought myself a Kindle and loaded it up with books that looked interesting to me! I started reading a little while I was still working, but my goal was to spend a lot of time reading after I retired. I didn’t get into it as quickly as I had hoped – tons of other stuff to do! But, I got into reading a little more each year since and this past year I really hit the Kindle heavy! 🙂
Here are the books I read in 2015 that I rated with four or five stars on my Goodreads page (there were a few others that I rated a 3 or less, but will only list those I liked the best) – list is in no particular order:
- The Girl on The Train – Paula Hawkins
- The Rumor – Elin Hilderbrand
- The Secret Between Us – Barbara Delinsky
- The Rather Series – C.A. Belmond
- A Rather Lovely Inheritance
- A Rather Curious Engagement
- A Rather Charming Invitation
- A Rather Remarkable Homecoming
- Those Secrets we Keep – Emily Liebert
- Little Big Lies – Liane Moriarty
- Violets of March – Sarah Jio
- The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah
- The Promise of Home – Darcie Chan (this is the third in a series – I previously read and loved Mill River Recluse and Mill River Redemption)
- Firefly Lane – Kristin Hannah (this is book one of two – I am currently reading, and loving, book two – Fly Away)
So…..there is my year in a nutshell!!!
Now, for a look ahead to 2016! Of course, I still have several items on my Bucket List and will likely go on more than a few impromptu adventures as they pop up! One thing that is already planned and booked is an Alaskan Cruise – CAN NOT WAIT – this has been on my Bucket List forever and is finally going to be checked off! I haven’t reviewed items that haven’t been checked off the list, yet, to see if there are things I might want to drop off, make a priority, or add to it. But, I will be doing that, soon!
Here are just a few of my favorite photos from 2015:
Bar Harbor, Maine – it was too foggy to tender ashore, but I got this photo from our stateroom!
An abandoned vegetable stand located across from Walmart – it just looked so cool the day I took this photo!
I snapped this while out walking one day and just really like it! It is the wall between First Niagara Bank and The Hazy Jade Gift Shop
My favorite photo – EVER! It was the best of the ones taken on an early foggy morning – taken in Mt Albion Cemetery!
One of the cyclists passing through Albion in July – loved her smile and her hat (helmet with a brim and a rear-view mirror)
Another cyclist – the youngest of the group! She came up and tapped me on the leg and asked if I wanted to take a picture of her in her helmet – how could I not????
Love this one of Indian Falls – when I snapped it, I was sure it would be one I’d delete because I couldn’t get the falls to focus in because of the leaves in the foreground, but it turned out to be my favorite of the day!
This family in an older section of Mount Albion Cemetery wanted the family dog memorialized with them!
Santa Color Guard during the Santa Convention in April
One of the final photos taken of the beautiful Good Shepherd Window in the Albion First United Methodist Church before our congregation moved out of this building in April because of the exorbitant $1 million + costs of repairs needed
That’s all for now…….hope your new year is full of adventures and laughter!!!
Merry Christmas to You and Yours!
Wishing the most
Joyous and Merry
of Christmases
To all my readers!!!
It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas…
Albion is all decked out with Christmas decorations and activities all around town! Check out some of the photos I’ve been collecting over the past week or two – including some I took at today’s Hometown Holiday Celebration held throughout the Albion merchants.
Santa visits the Albion Rotary Club
County Clerk’s Building and County Courthouse Christmas Tree
The Village Inn
The beautiful Albion Agencies building
Santa at the Pullman Church Christmas Gift Fair
The sweetest dog out shopping at Knight’s Pride and MMIM
Mrs. Claus coloring and writing letters to Santa at Knight’s Pride
The lovely Mrs. Claus
Display at the counter in Knight’s Pride and MMIM
Window dressing at Knight’s Pride
Pratt Works – home of Knight’s Pride and MMIM
Pratt Works and Uptown Browsery windows – really makes the Pratt building look pretty awesome!
Cool stuff available at the Uptown Browsery
Express Fitness Window Display
Express Fitness – Santa and his reindeer
Albion Bible Study and Spotlight Studios window display
And – here it is lit up at dusk
Downtown Browsery and other Bank St shops
Hair Fantasy
Love this – don’t remember, but I think this was in Viola’s Boutique – so cute!
Another favorite – hard to tell from this photo, but it is a vintage dress made from newspapers and red spray paint – just gorgeous!!! It is in the window of Flying Needle and Thread on Bank St.
I think this is the other window for Flying Needle and Thread
Stunning tree in the window of Burgio Salon
Some of the windows in the old Citizens Bank building on Main St
Bindings Bookstore window display
Family Hardware! I also took a photo of the other window, which had a perfect reflection of this tree and a window across the street, but it didn’t come out…..darn – it was really cool looking!
Dance Reflections window display
Two of several trees inside the Hazy Jade Gift Shop
The Hazy Jade window display – always eye catching, but especially now!
Hazy Jade from another angle
Bank Street – looking east from Main St – the tree is in Viola’s Boutique on the right corner
Main Street – looking north from in front of the Presbyterian Church
Main Street – looking south from in front of the Hazy Jade Gift Shop
Just one of many sets of banners and wreaths adorning all the light posts along Main and Bank Streets
I hope you can get out and take a drive through town to check out all the beautiful lights! The Village and the Albion merchants have done an amazing job of ensuring our historic downtown is bright, colorful, and alive with the Christmas spirit during this wonderful holiday season!!!
UPDATE:
Pratt Works and The Hazy Jade were the big winners in the window display contest! Click here to read all about it!
Holiday Cheer
Been enjoying my share of Holiday Cheer over the past few days!!! I finished my outdoor Christmas decorations, perused through crafts and gifts at a Holiday Gift Fair, started gathering photos of downtown store fronts all decorated for the holidays, and attended an absolutely awesome Christmas concert this afternoon! Now, if I can just get off my keester and finish the inside decorations, get my shopping done, and get those Christmas cards out in the mail, I’ll be all hunky dory!!!
Here are a few of my fav photos from the past few days:
A sneak peek at the downtown Albion storefront photos – the Day and Pratt buildings
Not gonna tip my hand too much….this is going to be a whole blog post of its own!
Santa coaxing people in to the Christmas Gift Fair at the Pullman Church
One of the super cute crafts at the gift fair
Orleans County Clerk’s Building and Courthouse with the beautiful tree all lit
A look north up Main Street with the Christmas wreaths on the light poles
A gorgeous sunset – seen tonight as I left a Christmas concert
And, a shot from the same spot looking in the opposite direction at the County Courthouse
County Clerk’s building is on the right and the Free Methodist Church is on the left
Loved the tree topper in front of the “Rejoice” banner at the Presbyterian Church this afternoon
The beautiful organ loft of the Albion First Presbyterian Church
Perfectly defines the season and the day!
Remember that sunset a couple photos up? Here it is from inside the Presbyterian church!
Local treasure, Joe Sacco, singing one of my absolute favorite Christmas Hymns – “O, Holy Night”
Another local talent, Marcy Downey, having some fun with “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”
The song that rendered me to mass tears was Alec Sherman singing “How Great Thou Art”!!!
And…..last, but not least……my wonderful “Dr. Seuss” tree – I adore this tree! If I don’t put up any other decorations, THIS one will always be in my yard!!!
For a full detailing and photos of the An Albion Family Christmas concert, click here to visit the AHS Alumni Foundation Blog for the post I wrote with many more of the wonderful photos I took of the local artists – Albion HS Alumni and current students!!!
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