Right Smack Dab In The Middle Of It!

The holidays that is!
Busy! Busy! Busy! To say the least. Martha Stewart, Barefoot Contessa, Paula Dean and the Pioneer Woman would be dang proud of me! I'm a cooking machine. Everything I've made over the last four days while Bill's father was here turned out exceptionally well.
I did a seafood gratin dish. A keeper. A homemade calzone filled with hot sausage, pepperoni, yellow and red peppers, onions, italian cheeses and sauce at Bill's request. I sublimely spoke to Bill in the early hours one morning and told him that he really should get me and his dad out of the house. So we got lunch at the Colgate Inn on Tuesday. That night we had grilled herbed lamp chops with a mint pesto, mushroom risotto and oven baked brussels sprouts. Yum! The last meal was a italian herb crusted beef tenderloin with gorgonzola walnut sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. Perfect. Even baked an apple pie. Sadly, I'm all cooked out. I just got back from running a chicken bouillon cube up to neighbor Leigh and got a dinner invitation! Even better! Party! Right up the road!
I'm off the hook tonight AND tomorrow!
Time to relax and enjoy these next few days. Yep it's time.
So here's a shot of me. I was the first child. This shot cracks me up with the ONE stocking hanging above my head.One of my first Christmas's and yep I'm still ironing. From the the looks of it. I didn't like ironing back then either. I wish I could find a shot of me and my easy bake oven. Oh how I loved that thing. It was blue and had cake batter crusted and burnt all over the light bulb. It's a wonder it didn't burn down the house.
Oh and here is my son Nick. Wishing you all peace in hash or where you may find it.
Merry Christmas.

Skyway Community Christmas At The Colgate Inn

As I sit here watching the gray white lacy snow fall outside my window having just had a grand time playing house getting ready for the onslaught of the Brown Family, I count my blessings and am so happy with the simple life I live and grateful for my health and for my kids, family and friends.
My invisible-in-the-snow white free range bunnies are fed and cozy under the front porch. The cats are napping on the throne of my bed and Ed is fast a sleep in doggie land up on the back of the couch. Bill just came in from snow blowing the near foot of snow that blanketed us during the night. The house is cleaned up and in order. Time to blog.
I played for the Madison Lane Ladies yesterday a handful of Christmas songs. I promised them a special treat when I was done playing and a wee little old lady said, "Is he tall, dark and handsome"? I quickly replied, Yes! Thinking of Ed running zig-zag down the road with his back left leg bowing out retarded like, ears layed back and a bottom tooth missing. Ed looks just the dog on the bottom of the Rocket Dog shoe line. It's ED to a tea!
Anyway I ran out to the car to wake the ole mutt up and place his little head in a toy Christmas deer antler head band thingy and returned to the dining room where the 20 or so Madison Lane Ladies shrieked it delight with their hands all reaching out eager to pet my poor dog. Ed peered up at me with a What-the-hell-did-I-do-to-you-to-deserve-this look plastered all over his little doggy face! He was a hit! Steve Skollar is right. I should of gotten Ed and agent.
His story alone would top Marley and Me any day.
Anyway Skyway Community Christmas was wonderful!
The Colgate Inn was simply beautiful in its holiday fineness and a perfect setting for our event.
Musicians that came out in support of Skyway were, Reyana Stagnaro, Ed Vollmer, Robin Schade, Maren and Cole Vantine,
Peter Leone, Daryl Wilson, Jimmy Wunderlich and I and the exotic decorated bodies of the amazing Adishakti Dancers!
The Colgate Inn has graciously invited us back next year to host another Skyway event! So Meredith, Jimmy and I are just thrilled.
We didn't have a lot of time to get this story in the paper. Jimmy worked his butt off getting all the musicians recorded and got the raffle together with amazing speed. We raised pretty close to what we need to insure the park on Skyway Day in August.
Evergreen Gallery, Sushi Blues, The Colgate Inn and a few other places in town have offered to sell the first Skyway Christmas CD in their stores so I have no doubt we will be successful in raising more than we need.
So! Here it is the 12th of December!
I've fulfilled my Christmas community obligations. I feel good!
Time to head up the road to Reverend Ross's Christmas Tree Farm and cut me a spruce!
Get some baking in. Perhaps a little recording.
Let it snow!

A little holiday advice boys!

Beware of the Doghouse- Hilarious! - Click here for the most popular videos

A Skyway Community Christmas Concert

Wednesday, December 10th the Colgate Inn has graciously allowed Skyway to put on a Christmas concert in the lovely side parlor of the Inn. The event will start at 5 and run till around 8 with local Hamilton musicians singing holiday cheer while the local merchants keep their doors open selling their wares for the Christmas Shoppers.
Little old San Hamiltonio will be at its finest adorned and a buzzing!
Jimmy Wunderlich has worked tirelessly getting our local musicians into his studio to record their Christmas songs.
There will be CD's for sale for a ten dollar donation. Our goal here is to make enough money to insure the park come Skyway Day to take this burden off of Charlie Getchonis.
I'm also releasing my new CD, "Songs From Mountains East and West" and will raffle a few off. Reyna and Jimmy and I will also play a few songs from the CD along with my holiday contribution, "Ode To Martha Stewart".
Having just scanned in over 200 shots for my parents 50th wedding anniversary, we needed a festive shot for poster promotion and didn't have alot of time. So yep thats my two year old mug on Santa's Lap on posters plastered all over town.
Just wait till my mother goes to the grocery store and sees her kid blasting from the past on the cork board in the entryway.
I've also been asked to perform at the Adirondack Museum in September for their Antique show and to sell CD's in the museum store. I have an appointment there on Monday I'm looking forward to.
Oh and Harry Boyt the Common Threads Radio God didn't like my CD. Oh well, I'll just have to start writing another!
Off to the horse trails!

The Endeavor!

If you sit on Bill's father's dock. It pretty much a front row seat to the Kennedy Space Center. Well not a front row seat actually.
I'd rather not of had a front row seat as I heard it took people two hours in traffic for those who actually went to the center to witness this blast off. I was quite happy on the dock with a chilled orangey screwdriver in one hand and a camera in the other!
Here's some shots of the Endeavor.

Kayaking The Banana River in Cocoa Beach Florida

So the kayak rack failed to get here in time to go.
It was ordered and re-ordered I think 4 times. Finally I was instructed to drive once again to Utica to have this garage actually take some measurements. DUH! They re-ordered it an said "Over night shipping"! Well, overnight turned to two nights. We finally got on the road Tuesday morning. Bill cobbed a cross bar out of wood and clamps and it worked just fine! We were on the road!
I only got to kayak and swim once as it wasn't that warm! Got lots of reading in and of course secured my spot in the here after cooking up many home cooked meals in the senior citizen ward of heavens waiting room.
Yep, thats the dolphin that came pretty darn close to tipping Bill over right in front of his Dad's condo. The manatee were there. We counted 14 sleeping lazily in one warm calm lagoon with pelican, egret and osprey swooping down overhead on a cool breezy Florida November day.
We brought along a electric blow up mattress and set up our temporary bedroom in the Sunroom over looking the rarely used pool and next to that the peacefull ever flowing Banana River. AAAAHHHH it was so lovely waking up facing water every morning. I miss it already.
Oh an scan! I scanned my ass off to do a Brown family iMovie. Yep I should have a nice cozy spot in the here after!

Biltmore

Its taken me three days to clean the house that grows dirt and get it back up to snuff. The car and suitcases have been unpacked. The mountain of laundry has been leveled and put away. The floors have been swept and mopped. The granite counters all have been washed an shined with a beef stew slow cooking in the crock pot. My animules Lila, Sammy and Ed have all forgiven me for being away for so long. Its great to be home!
I even made it to the gym today.
The vacation is officially over and only one more Thanksgiving Bird to cook.
Instead of jetting down oh so boring 95 we decided to take the more scenic route. 81. Down to Asheville North Carolina where we toured the Biltmore House. House my foot! This place was amazing! I was opened mouthed, wide eyed and 100% speechless at its enormity and splendor. At first I felt like I was back in England when Uncle Milty took me when I was seventeen. We toured so many unbelievable places there such as The Westminster Abbey, Longleat and Winchester Cathedral. And of course Buckingham Palace.
Being up in the Adirondacks and having toured Sagamore, Santanoni and a few others. I understood that these early pioneers were well off by with all their logging and railroad loot. The Adirondacks was their play ground and housed these " great camps" built in the funky Adirondack woodsy chalet type way.
Touring Biltmore helped me understand just how rich they were.
Amazing! They wouldn't allow camera's inside. Which I can understand. It makes you want to buy the book with all the shots of the Biltmore even more. It was quite an overcast day so the shots I got outside weren't great. It was also the end of fall there an all the incredible gardens are in winter rest. The staff at the Biltmore made up with for this by all the Christmas decorations adorning this magnificent queen of a mansion. There had to be over a hundred Christmas trees from 5 feet to 100 feet perfectly decorated by a crew of what I would expect to be totally type A gay men! Everything was perfect and beautiful.
So, if you are ever in Ashevile. Tour the Biltmore! Tickets were like 53 bucks or something but totally worth it.
Just the anticipation of driving up through the manicured woods of rhododendrons, Oaks, grasses and ferns of paradise. You get the feeling your about to witness something amazing. Bill and I followed directions of the parking guys. Parked the car. Still not really seeing anything. Then a short hike on a well worn trail through the woods. Then all off a sudden you come out and BAM! The Biltmore!
There it is in all its glory surrounded by these breathtaking mountains.
I'm going back!
I'm reading up on the history now. George Vanderbilt, the youngest of eight. Loved the arts and traveled all around the world collecting books, furniture, artwork, prints you name it he bought it to fill the walls, rooms and halls. He married himself up a rich, classy broad of social importance by the name of Edith Stuyesant and had one child. Cornelia.
Oh Cornelia! I'd love to pick your brain. I just can barely imagine being an only child and living and playing in this mansion of such size. I'll bet there are children still lost in this place from a romping game of hide and seek.
It took 6 years to build it! Oh an all the different plant materials and trees. Just AMAZING!
So here are some shots.