Father's Day Drink Special

It just seemed appropriate...I'm making the best out of these first's!

Closure

At long last, we got my dad planted. In a lovely shaded spot in the West Hill Cemetery in between Sherburne and Smyrna under a large maple tree. It was a short but sweet service with a luncheon at mom's after wards. I had a surprisingly tearful morning. I thought I was cried out.
Dad would of been rolling in his grave (but he wasn't in it yet...his ashes were sitting still above it) as he was the last one to arrive and was late for his own funeral. Mom forgot his picture and Jeff had to turn around at Lewis's to back tract three miles to get it.
So...on we go with our hearts full of love and memories. He was and is the best dad and pop pop...ever.

Skyway 2010

The 4th annual revamped Skyway was a small but sweet success! Its not the easiest thing raising money in a recession. Ya know!
With the Earlville Opera House on board this year and the Odd Fellows we were able to hire John Cadley and the Lost Boys to perform. Other acts included Chris White "Isto", Zero Flow, Ed Vollmer,David Williams and Maren Van Tine,the Adishaki Dancers and last but not least myself and Reyna Stagnaro.
This year we had signature picnic dishes donated by Nichols and Beal, The Colgate Inn, Rusches, Michaels and the Barge Canal Coffee House.
We didn't raise as much as I had hoped but the new venue down on the Hooks Wiltse Field is a keeper.
So many thanks go out to so many people!
Kathy Herold of the Hamilton Center of the Arts for painting this years Skyway Lounger. My husband Bill for building the lounger, Linda Sybist the photo shop queen from Van Tines for the posters, David Grace for the signs, the Odd Fellows, Rich Grant, all the restaurants, Patti Lockwood Blais and her husband Steve, Mike Jaquays, and David Hollis.
Here's a few shots!

Lucky Lou Fifty

He did it. My husband planned my surprise 50th Birthday. And I was surprised. After teasing him and the rest of my family that they only had two years to plan it. (The teasing and reminders started about when I was 48 or so..) my husband pulled it off. The closer my 50th got, the more guilty I had begun to feel at being so selfish for even wanting a surprise! I've planned many a party for many a person and it seemed like I should have surprise for my 50th. Then dad passed and everything became the first time with out him...Year of Firsts...First Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first New Years Eve and day. First mothers day...every day was a first sad day with out him. I came to dread my upcoming birthday. I honestly didn't know how I was gonna get through such a milestone with out him. I've spent probably every birthday with my father whether it was at his house or my house or out some where special. Thinking back to my 40th birthday, my gift to myself was a beautiful white cat. The first cat I ever bought at a pet shop. On that birthday, I also gifted myself with margarita glasses imported from Mexico with the blue rimmed edge. We all celebrated that year with a mexican fiesta at my house and Dad just having come back from a trip from the mid-west was telling us all that while listening to hours of the radio while on the road, this crazy DJ was wishing all the locals happy bert-days! Dad figured out the guy meant birth-day, but on account of the mid-western drawl going on he was pronouncing the word bert-days. So my new white kitten was named Bert. He was my happy bert-day cat. Dad named him.
Two nights before my May 19th birthday Dad came to me in a dream. I was in the bar at Michaels where I work, and walked across the lobby to the front dining room where a table was set up in the middle and my whole family was sitting around it. And there next to my mother sat my father. I was stunned and ran around the table to where he sat and cried and hugged his shoulders and said you're not supposed to be here. Over and over again he said "I know, I know." But he was there. I'll never forget that dream. I'm so glad to have seen him again...dream or not.
So the weekend before this dream and my birthday, Bill and I went to Stillwater for a weekend escape. At some point my mother asked me what I wanted. As she said no one can plan a party like you can Pam. I thought about it and in trying to keep it simple and not so costly. I said it would just be nice to have my immediate family and a few close friends just go somewhere in the Adirondacks for dinner and an over night.
So as we pulled into the Stillwater Inn, I was disappointed to not see any familiar family cars in the parking lot. No surprise party at Stillwater.
So Tuesday came an I went to work at Michaels for my five o'clock shift where Mr. Duke approached me and said he was sorry not to be able to give me my birthday off the following day as we were gonna be busy. I didn't have a problem working on my birthday...after all there are cell phones bills to pay.
Well the party was right there at Michaels in the front dining room where I had my dad dream.
I was surprised as any one could be.
What a spread! Great food and my closest friends, Rich, Linda, Di, Molly, Meredith, Chris, Mitch and Jesse, my whole family, Mel and Carolyn. I was sad to not see Jen or Ed and David.
It was a great party.
Nanny made me open my presents there...(I felt stupid and wanted to just take them home) but Nancy insisted and pushed me down into a chair where I started unwrapping doggy toys.
I kept looking at my daughter Aurora and asking her...am I getting a dog? I was almost scared!
The in came Nancy with a dog carrier and the tiniest little white dog with cream colored ears.
I was floored and quite tearful.
His name is Lucky Lou Fifty and I love him so.

My Stolen Martin

If you all only knew how many songs I played to pay for that Martin guitar!
I'm really embarrassed to say that I can't find the serial number of the guitar.
My father would be rolling in his grave right now if he knew I didn't put this info in a folder!
Anyway here is a shot of me and the Martin shortly after I got it, taken outside of Eagle Bay behind the cabin of my friend and manager at the time Cathy Light.
I was able to afford it with my weekly gigs and other gigs at the Big Moose Inn up in the Adirondacks. I was making $175.00 a night plus tips playing for families and people dining at the Moose.
This was right before the big recession crash.
Knowing I was pulling in good money that season, I went to Big Apple Music in New Hartford and pursuit of owning a Martin.
I played several one day an found the one for me and put 500.00 down to lay it away. Mark Bollo owner of Big Apple said "Pamme just take the guitar and do your thing!" " I know you are good for the money!"
I've bought MANY guitars and music equipment over the years from Big Apple. So there I was with my dream Martin guitar! I had it payed off in like a month and a half! It was close to $1,500.00 bucks.
Equipped now with a Taylor guitar which I would open tune and the Martin for regular standard tuning songs and my strumstick...I had a sweet little show going mixing my original music with crowd pleasing folk covers I've learned in the 30 plus years I've been performing.
I've had several instruments stolen over the years. A lap dulcimer from Reading Pa, a Takemine from a Reny Fair outside of Chicago...An Alvarez Yairi from the Grand Union parking lot here in Hamilton...It leaves an emptiness in you from all the hours you put in to your instrument. But losing the Martin was the biggest disappointment of all. It was like OK! I finally got the Martin!...I don't ever need to buy another guitar in my life!
I had let my son Nick borrow the guitar as he is playing really well these days. He wanted to play the Barge Canal Coffee House for the open mic night.
It was stolen this past Friday night from the where he resides in the park next to Price Chopper.
My home owners insurance is gonna cover it. I'll pay the 250 dollar deductible.
I just hope whomever took it...really appreciates this instrument. I wrote all of my last CD, "Songs From Mountains East And West " on it...This guitar is full of stories from the Loomis Gang, Anne La Bastille, Noah John Rondeau, Grace Brown and Chester Gillette...Brookfield Horse Trails and the Nine Mile Swamp.
My Martin was a great friend I will never forget!
I'm crying as I write this!!!
If anyone knows who stole this guitar and could return it...Well, it would save me 250 bucks to the insurance company. I'd be very grateful as gigs are hard to come by in these hard times.
I would just be so happy to see that Martin again AND I wouldn't press charges. I'd make whomever took it do community work like picking up all the trash along the roadsides to start.

The Trillium Forest With Anne Cochran

The Trillium Forest

Hamilton sadly has lost yet another fine person. Ann Cochran. I met Anne back in the early 1980's when I was first married to Stephen Roe. Pregnant with Aurora, and living in Stan and Sylvia's home on Lebanon Street. There came a knock at the front door one day in the spring as I remember.  I dropped whatever I was doing to answer it, an there was Anne standing there with a autographed hockey stick. It had belonged to her son who, like my husband Stephen loved hockey. Her son had died of leukemia and she wanted Stephen to have it and to pass it on to his children. While Ann was telling me this story I knew right away what a special, giving and caring person she was. 

My marriage didn't last long with Stephen as he moved away to New Hampshire and I was left with many new Hamilton friends and family. Not a bad deal!

Later in the 80's when Aurora and Nick were small,  and with two wonderful, doting grandmother's in the area, I embarked on my college mission. I had recently moved in with Bill and as we weren't yet married I decided it was time to broaden my horizon a bit and signed up for Landscaping classes. Ann was then a phycology professor at Morrisville. I never took her class but saw her often at the Hamilton Inn as I also worked waitressing there a few nights a week.  Ann was always witty, always concerned about your family and if she didn't like some one or you. She would let you know it. Ann and I always got along tremendously! As life went spiraling along. Bill retired from teaching started a handy man business with Ford and Ann became their biggest employer hiring Bill and Ford to take care and maintain her many rental properties. Once a year she would treat us all out to dinner someplace really special like the Horned Dorset in Leonardsville, the Braeloc up in Cazenovia, the Petite Maison in Watervlille. My last dinner out with Ann was at the Woods Inn on forth Lake. We had a wonderful meal then suddenly there were fireworks over the frozen winter lake. Anne was like a firework in motion all spraying color and stars and light!

 When I was with Anne we were like two peas in a pod! If we were teenage friends, we would of been trouble with a capital T! 

I had her and John out to my house a few times. The one time I remember I set up a table on my front porch and we wined and dined the night away. 

Memories out at Lake Morraine. Memories of her first canoe ride with Ford.  Memories in the park with her grandchildren making fairy houses.

I didn't get the Balloon ride memory that Bill screwed up. Ann let him have it…Lets just say that after three weeks of being mad I finally got sick of it and got even instead. I put a macbook on Bill's credit card.  So many memories. But never enough. I went out to lunch with Meredith last week at the Colgate Inn and realized then how to explain how I've been feeling since Dad died. Hijacked. Simply hijacked. I've been flying low to the ground with all my window shades closed down. I'm so sorry I didn't get to see Ann in the last 6 months very much. I last remember her back in the park last summer when my father was alive. I've lost two really important people in my life. This lesson I've learned from grieving is that I've got to get those window shades snapped up and turn my nose upward. When you are gone you are gone.

So! Here's to my dear friend Ann! When you meet up with my Dad where ever you are…well talk me up good and tell him I love him and miss him. We will look after John for you as much as possible.

The sidewalks of Hamilton with NEVER be the same with out you Ann. No one will ever be the same with out you. You were a renaissance woman, respected, admired and greatly loved.

Thank you for this hike through the trillium forest. May you be walking right now through a trillium forest! in heaven or where ever you chose to go. I'm so glad I told you I loved you. As I remember…I told you I loved you a lot.

Mr. Gillette and Grace Billy Brown

I've got two new drop off's yesterday. This totally infuriates me! One big, short haired, gray sleek cat with the most beautiful golden eyes I've ever seen! I'm totally attached to but just can't keep as I'm at my five cat quota already. The other is a smaller, tiger female and apparently quite knocked up. They were evidently dropped off together. I hate to split them up but see no other way. I'll likely give "Grace" to the SPCA and make a donation. As for Mr. Gillette. I'm gonna try to find him a home. He's a real sweet heart of a cat.
Winter is getting toooo long!