Category Archives: Editorial

Great news! My husband, who never takes any time off, has four days plus we can go to see his family at Thanksgiving. Hopefully by book-ending a weekend now I’ll give him the down-time he deserves, and knowing we can go to Nanny’s for Thanksgiving is priceless as there are over 50 folks we haven’t seen for two years now. And I can’t even tell you what goes into all those cakes and pies… as I get filled up on dinner and Margie’s potato rolls.

It is wonderful to have a break from routine, and even the dog is taken care of by a loving youngster. I still need to find a place for the fish. The biggest news is that we can go “home” for a holiday, the most important one of the year for Jim’s family. My lists have been started and we’ll be ready to roll.

Hope y’all have an enjoyable Labor Day weekend! Cheers, Dee

I was so afraid to start this blog. First, the mechanics of it which my husband took care of and presented it to me. Then I had to write. Write what? What would be the title of the blog? What could I possibly write about that would interest anyone?

One of the first things I wrote about over 30,000 hits ago was How To Eat A Concord Grape. Every fall the numbers go up and I get comments from kids I knew in grade school whose parents helped western NY grow its vinifera business, even my grade school music teacher who sent me a book about cooking with grapes and highlighted the recipe that most resembled her Concord grape pie.

Having a blog is not just about hearing from people from “home,” it’s about meeting people with similar interests. Living in a community that rents to short-term folks out for a ski or summer weekend, we meet a lot of interesting people and have something in common, whether it be work or food or nature.

Traveling in different countries and remaining open to the cultures and people it is easy to discover that however different we think we are, we’re more the same. I didn’t meet a Black person until 9th grade and we became fast friends. I didn’t meet a Jewish person until after college and it was years before I met an Indian. Now I have Black, Jewish, gay and lesbian friends, female and male friends that make my life more complete.

Our supposed “melting pot” of cultures is breaking because of hatred of the beliefs of others who certain folks deem to be “different” thus unworthy of being “American.” Even US citizens are tarred with this hatred, beginning with our President. What used to be Republican vs. Democrat in this country (I always welcome other parties) has become ugly. If your only platform for election is airing negative ads against your opponent you don’t deserve to be elected.

Call me a sap or a true American. Yes, this past weekend I watched part of The Glenn Miller Story. Of course they sugar-coated everything from the band to relationship to the military in WWII (or perhaps they didn’t). But they stood up for the USA, courage and patriotism. To the soldiers who have fought on our behalf I believe they fought for their country, the USA, not for pockets of it that they liked.

As long as our young people are in harm’s way anywhere in the world, we must remember that we are a nation. We have much more in common than we know about the “strange” neighbor who moved in down the street. He may be Muslim. She may be divorced with two kids. We’re all American so you can take over that casserole or plate of cookies and welcome your neighbor. You’ll find your neighborhood changes in a positive way very quickly. Cheers, Dee

Several of our neighbors went to the sold-out concert of Earth, Wind and Fire last weekend. Since I gave you the skinny on our grade school talent fest, how about my high school one.

What I remember is that they were short of acts, so we got the guys and gals’ gymnastics teams together. We ran down the aisles in our school uniforms to “Shining Star” and had two mini-trampolines at either end of the stage so we started with easy tricks and ended with tougher ones as long as the song lasted.

This was the school that allowed me to have a slice of pizza for lunch, chocolate milk and a pack of Twinkies. Talk about eating grape seeds, how about the Twinkies that have a forever shelf-life. Dee

Townes Van Zandt, that song is beautiful. You probably heard it in the movie “Crazy Heart.” It has been haunting me lately and I want to learn to play some version of it. I can sing it, not play it. But it makes me want to go back to guitar and piano.

I knew this movie would be a great one months before it arrived and am so pleased that Jeff Bridges finally got the Oscar he’s been due a long while. We’d planned to go away over Labor Day but I just found tix to Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses so we may delay for a day. The music, I love Robert Duvall’s little song, has inspired me.

If I needed you, would you come to me; would you come to me and ease my pain. Simple songs, great lyrics, makes me want to cook a big pot of Texas chili. No beans, I know, and learned that in TX. Cheers, Dee

What we saw on the house tour today was: one badly situated and architected home; a well-designed barn/ranch home that I loved except for the colors; and a gorgeous home in the mountains that was my husband’s favorite.

We really found out the difference between a spec house and one that is custom-built for a family. The last home we visited actually had a dog bath with steps up to it, in the midst of the probably heated three-car garage. That’s the kind of thing you need here, before hitting the mud room!

The customs were not built to our specs because we all have differing needs in a home. The spec homes try to provide everything a potential buyer may want at a price level but may not to be the prospective owner’s liking.

We’ve run the gamut from horse properties to mountain mansions to substandard condos and are really amazed at what people build and design. I started going on house tours in high school and have done so intermittently over the years. One thing it sparks is ideas.

We love the barn idea of trusses (and I love clerestory windows for light) over a master living space but we’re still working out the bedroom areas. We got some ideas today. We need an indoor-outdoor entertaining area and much has to go into kitchen design for my space and space for guests to sit and talk.

It helps that there’s a learning curve and that we may get there by the time to settle down. A few moments ago I would have urged buying 5 acres in the country and building later but not after reading the NYTimes and long-term real estate prices. I dreamed all this, right? I have a home. It’s wherever my husband, dog and I live. That makes a house a home. Cheers, Dee

Seems more like early Fall, but you never know the weather around here. A blue-sky morning could turn to thunder and lightning in a matter of hours. Right now we’ve warm days and mainly cool nights but I was awakened early this morning because we had our slider open and the wind picked up and the shades started rattling.

We spent a few hours on the local home tour on Saturday and plan to see most of the remaining homes today. The economy has brought the number of homes down (15 last year, nine this year) but it gives us ideas and is an interesting way to spend a weekend, except that one has to put on used booties to walk into the homes. Ick. When we started yesterday morning they were new, now they’re old and furry and gross to put on.

Today we start at the second furthest place and work our way back home. I love seeing the kitchens and how they work an outside grill and dining area into the plan. The first place we visited included all the lighting and sound (in every room) outdoors as well as the vaulted wood-beamed ceilings. If Jim and I lived in the main floor we wouldn’t have trouble finding each other.

A part of me likes the space but wonders in certain homes if kids are present are they better in the basement? Others make sure there’s a kid’s suite with play room and sitting room and bath close to the master bedroom but there are so many other places in the house that it might never be a home. I like a home, with an inviting kitchen, bar area for guests to sit and chat while I cook, and homey spaces.

I did see some design materials I like, including rough stone tiles about an inch high and three inches wide, OK for backspash in bathroom but not shower, to me. A lot of probably recycled glass in horizontal tiles in kitchens, it’s all about horizontal tiles (think subway tile NYC but refined). There was stained concrete in the basement of one house that was browns, tans and beiges with etched and intersecting circles. Good for a kids’ tv room but not if they hit their head on the concrete. Perhaps they have to wear helmets.

It’s always interesting to see how the other half lives up here, people who can pony up 400K for a 2 BR ski condo to use a week or two a year or $5 million for the house on the hill. Kitchens and dining areas are always my focus so I’ll let you know what we come up with today. Cheers, Dee