Over&Around the Finger Lakes Hills

medleys in prattsburgh dishes up gourmet food

2012-02-11T14:58:00.003-05:00

Prattsburgh, a small town in Steuben County, is home to a restaurant, Medleys Cafe, that is more than a unique dining experience. It offers the best in well-cooked food from a variety of entrees suited to different palates. The homey atmosphere is cafe-like with colorful wooden chairs and tables happily mismatched set about the tiny location. Artwork is displayed on the creamy walls and assorted plants are houses on the ledges.
On the evening that I was there, I had the blackened salmon drizzled with blue cheese, squash, asparagus and a pyramid of rice. My husband had the steak oscar with crab stuffing. Homemade bread and hummus along with butter, salad or choice of soup were part of the meal.
It was a meal to linger over and savor!

waiting for your answer

2012-02-03T10:17:00.001-05:00

"Better late than never," is a line of defense that people have exploited for decades. The phrase and what it implies ruffles my feathers, however. In my book it falls a hair short of the classic,"my dog ate my homework."
I'm pondering, though, if the idea,"no news is good news," has tipped the balance. Could it be weighing in with more popular votes in our modern technological world?
Emily Post has much to say online with business etiquette that compliments our lifestyles today. Emailing is part of the success puzzle that makes a lasting impression, "brands" you and helps you land the deals.

exhibition on batavia campus gallery features area artist

2012-01-31T09:59:00.001-05:00

At the Roz Steiner Gallery, Genesee Community College, Batavia there was a Solo Exhibition, Convivium presented by Kala Stein displayed during the month of January.
It was an awesome experience to be surrounded by the pieces, and move in different directions with the sunlight and shadows performing their jobs well. Peaceful. Joyful. Attention to slowing down in life and lingering was what caught me the most.
In Latin the root of convivium is feast. The assembling of the "feast" was time-consuming and required several hands of help. However, I must assume that like any well-cooked meal, it was a slow but gratifying process.The socialization that took place, the attention to all the detail and the problem solving necessary worked in the end when the table was laid in wait.
If you click on the website below and go to the link "Current Exhibitions" you will find a time lapse UTube piece that shows the installation.
Kala Stein is an artist and educator known for her porcelain installations and minimalist tableware. She gained national recognition as a top-ten emerging ceramic artist in 2011 for her innovations with non-traditional mold making and casting techniques.

For more information about Stein and her images go to
www.kalastein.com

For more information about the gallery and future exhibits go to:
www.genesee.edu/campuslife/arts/gallery/

will the real kitty please stand up

2012-01-28T09:15:00.001-05:00

We're independent people at our house, and that includes five-year- old, Dickens, the tiger cat. My husband and I have our keys for coming and going, and Dickens sports his magnetic collar for use at the back door. It works well for us as a family.
Once in a while there is a slip up, and a key gets locked in the house, or some other nonsense that is a momentary inconvenience in the bigger picture of things.
Nothing has happened quite as incredible as last evening though.
My husband and I were heading out for the night, and got in the car. The headlights flashed on our porch. We saw the cat scurrying back and forth near the door looking rather distressed.
It was quite obvious when we took a second look that he had lost his collar, which in itself is rather infrequent. He has signaled us in the past this same way because he now is reliant on us letting him in the front door.
We stopped in our tracks and my husband went over to pick Dickens up while unlocking the door. I pushed past and went to the back closet to get a spare collar we keep for emergencies like this. He would hold Dickens while I put on the new collar. It was never a difficult task becuase he had the sense that the collar was important for him to wear.
I was rumaging around my disorganized shelf when my husband called out to me to come quickly. When I walked into the living my husband didn't say a word. He was still holding the cat, BUT there was a second tiger cat--an exact twin, rolling on the floor with his magnetic collar on securely.
What? It wasn't registering at first. Then I realized that a neighbor cat had come calling to see his identical self. It was well-fed and cared for with the same markings as Dickens. We put the cat outside and prayed that it would find its way back home before we returned.
Sure enough, when we got home, the twin was gone. Whew!
We opened the door and called out, "Will the real Dickens please come out?"
That story will go down as as a double keeper to be retold over and over. Oh, if I had only taken a picture so that you would believe it, too.

what's up with the climate?

2012-01-24T08:15:00.001-05:00

The question was asked, and I didn't have an answer. I thought for a moment, hemed and hawed so to speak and came up with nothing. "When are you going to get a decent snowfall, so we can come Upstate for a visit? Without freezing temperatures in January and piles of snow to wade through, it's not the same," said my concerned potential visitors.
I suppose the guests are correct on that, and even for all of us that live here regardless of the season, we are scratching our heads waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The one or two snowfalls that we did have made me more apprehensive about getting out there in my car and going where I needed to be regardless. By this time in January, the ordinariness of winter driving has taken hold and the skills have been tested over and over. I have long since forgotten.
I can't help but worry about the ski slopes and those others depending upon the winter to keep them economically sound.
It surely hasn't been good for the seasonal fruit trees that rely on a period of frigid temperatures before their blossoms burst forth. I noticed that my forsythia bushes were waving to me in the wind trying to get my attention kind of like "what's up, doc?"
All the strange weather around the country-the vicious tornadoes touching down, the wildfires and freezing days in areas where it doesn't normally happen, make me question what is going on with our climate.

state your point, please

2012-01-22T08:38:00.001-05:00

I connected powerful adjectives together in several coherent sentences to make my point. It was necessary that my email was clear, concise and that it would result in action.
The first reply that I received was short, formal and could have fit any situation. I didn't like that at all. Since it was a weekend, I knew that Monday I would pick up the phone and get my desired result.
Several hours later I received a second email from my correspondent that was utterly ridiculous. I felt like I was not being listened to, and it was unacceptable.
I replied with much more punch to my words.
I had been heard, and the proper action was starting to rectify the problem.
Tomorrow morning I will return a piece of defective merchandise to the company, and a full refund will be made on my credit card including the extra shipping I had requested for priority delivery--which didn't happen unfortunately.
Oh, the occasional challenge when ordering online is all part of living in 2012.

no such thing as perfect in my opinion

2012-01-21T07:37:00.003-05:00

GEVA Theatre Center in Rochester is rocking in laughter this winter thanks to their staging of "A Perfect Wedding,"a British farce in every sense of the word.

Bruce Jordan, director, has cast the perfect combination of actors that skillfully deliver their lines, and no matter where you sit you are in for a romp in the country inn. You couldn't find a better rendition anywhere.

So it makes you think about your own perfect weekend all without a hitch including the honeymoon! What a great conversation starter at dinner after the theatre with friends! Or you remember being in one or two unusual wedding parties yourself that still make you shake your head in amazement. Then there is the new "destination wedding" event that takes everyone off on a frolic together. It also holds true moments to share.

Take my word for it, and visit GEVA for a healthy and hardy fit of giggles. Let yourself go. It's good for the winter blahs.
Tickets at gevatheatrecenter.org

a little knocking and creaking of doors

2012-01-19T08:11:00.000-05:00

And I stayed glued to the tube last night at nine o'clock to watch "The Ghost Hunters" show about The Naples Hotel.
I think that it was more hype than substance, and a good gimmick to get the place sold. It has been on the market for a time. Other than that, it was pretty hokey. Even my friends gathered around the TV were bored after the first time things were repeated.
It will be with a little curiosity that I ask some local folks in Naples what's with the ghost stories. I think that is where the real truth will cme out once and for all. Could it be true that Topper, the ghost, resides on the third floor? Did the previous person in the process of buying the hotel referred to as "John" really have strange happenings and was not be able to run the place?
Oddly enough though, I was driving on Main Street in the fall when the cameras were filming and the crew was up and down on the porch steps. I wondered at the time, and when I heard later what it was about, then I knew that I would give the show a try.
Certainly I want to have dinner in the Naples Hotel restaurant soon for its ambiance of an earlier era. Whether there are ghosts listening upstairs, who cares?

just a plain old day

2012-01-18T08:01:00.001-05:00

It's the little things that come on an ordinary day that can be the most satisfying when you get right down to it.

When I was out shoveling the last of the slush off the driveway, I purposely took my time and made it an event out of it. I took three or four deep breaths of fresh air and faced into the sunlight to soak in those healthy rays. That was the sensible thing to do. An hour of pushing my arms and legs would be my exercise I figured. I had on my snow cleats and my traction would not limit my movements.

Looking up into the trees I spotted a bird or two, and for the life of me, I couldn't recognize one with a yellow throated belly. I contemplated it for a bit, and then it came to me--a sparrow. Now sparrows might be ordinary birds in nature's line-up, but in my estimation it was lovely to have a little companion hovering overhead watching me.

The post lady drove up to my mailbox and and delivered a stack of assorted sizes and shaped envelopes like she does each day. I depend on her without giving it a whole lot of thought. Through all kinds of weather the mail comes through, and even on a normal day like yesterday, she was on our road like clockwork. We waved and she moved on up the road. Her route was coming to an end, and she would return to the post office.

After I finished the shoveling I went across the road to gather the mail. I sifted through, but there was nothing unusual about the bundle--too many pieces of junk mail and not one bill. Well, I could be thankful for that! It used to be that I would look forward to a letter or two from someone almost every day. It doesn't happen anymore.

I was most satisfied that the temperatures were quite comfortable for a January day, and I didn't have to be bundled up like a snowman hurrying to get inside. Most of all, it was the ordinariness of the day that made me satisfied that I was living it well.

a little geography lesson for today

2012-01-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

At the end of the last ice age, over one hundred-thousand years ago, massive sheets of ice, called glaciers, advanced southward from Canada carving deep trenches in the earth like a trowel. As the earth warmed and the glaciers receded, the trenches filled with water and formed what we now know as the Finger Lakes.
One way that I love looking at the Finger Lakes is from the sky on a clear day when you can understand the formation of each lake.

have you missed the daily posts?

2012-01-16T11:02:00.000-05:00

Post Christmas/holiday/New Year and everything else under the kitchen sink convinced me that it was time to lie low from blogging for a bit.

Besides, writing is hard work! (Not that I am adverse to intense work or anything of the sort) My overall writing direction was headed elsewhere I was sensing, and I had some soul searching to do if in fact that is the case.

Sifting and sorting can be mindful when approached with an adventurous spirit. I have many fingers in numerous pies, and stirring the pot with the creative help of a fellow writer often brings things to a boil.
Then I have that tendency to be a perfectionist, and the more that I write the easier the words flow. It sure makes common sense to me! Looking back at some of my old pieces with a hanging head, it does give me concrete proof that I am getting better fortunately. The book will come out of me sooner rather than later I figure at the rate at which I am going.

---And one humble creative person always says to me, "the best is still in you." My spirits get lifted when I hear those words of encouragement. What it could be, I have no clue. It's the possibilities that fascinate me, though.

For 2012 I trust when you turn to your blog reading, Over and Around the Finger Lakes Hills, and find some beneficial tidbits you'll say, "Yea...a new blog post today; not blah, blah same old rantings like every other writer that uses the Internet for personal gain."

syfy's show filmed in naples

2012-01-06T06:57:00.001-05:00

The Naples Hotel will be featured on SyFy's "Ghost Hunters" on January 18th, 2012 at 9:00 p.m.

According to hotel management, they had to be quiet about it due to contractual requirements at the time, but crews were out filming in early November, and it was quite obvious to any passerby. Interestingly enough, I drove by and wondered what was going on, but I wasn't curious to stop.

On January 18th, the hotel will be having a "dinner and a show" deal, with a buffet starting at @ 7:00 p.m. They'll have a big screen TV's in both the dining rooms, so you'll have a great spot to watch the show.

hike in letchworth series

2012-01-05T07:53:00.000-05:00

Bear Hollow Trail Hike at Letchworth State Park, Mount Morris
Bring a lunch. Meet at the Bear Hollow Trailhead (No. 16) on River Road, January 5, 10 a.m.
Phone: (585) 493-3625
Letchworth State Park
Park Road (off Route 36)
Mount Morris, 14427

a winter open mike night to warm your spirits

2012-01-04T10:52:00.000-05:00

First Thursday of the Month Open Mic, January 5, 7 p.m. at Theatre 101, 101 Main Street, downtown Mt. Morris.
As usual, performers sign in starting at 6:30. Hot coffee!

a blog for you travelers on picture taking

2012-01-04T08:21:00.000-05:00

Found an informative photographic blog from a former colleague of mine. She enjoys her travels and has some good advice to share.
Take a look at http://scenicventures.blogspot.com/

wayland library free computer training

2012-01-04T08:13:00.000-05:00

Introduction to Windows 7 workshop is scheduled for January 7 at the Wayland Free Library from 12p-2p.
You can bring your own computer or use theirs. The workshop covers new features of Windows 7, personalizing your computer, and creating shortcuts.

Save yourself a seat by calling the library at 728-5380 to register . As always, this workshop is free to you!

steuben trust gallery artist of the month

2012-01-04T08:10:00.000-05:00

Hornell artist Susan Plake will be exhibiting her work at the Steuben Gallery through the month of January 2012.
Working in mixed media, Susan’s creations provide the viewer with beautiful scenes and objects that you can’t help but admire. Her subject is varied but she maintains a style throughout that you can recognize as her own.
Besides painting Susan also is an artist of words and creates handcrafted books that include splendid little stories in poetry form.
You will be able to meet Susan at her opening reception which will be held on January 12th, 2012, from 4 p.m. through 5:30 p.m. at Steuben Trust Bank, Hornell, NY.

a change in the conditions

2012-01-03T07:52:00.003-05:00

It comes as a big change in mental preparation to go off to work and play today!
Boots, gloves, hats, thermal layering are now going to be part of leaving for outdoors. No longer will driving be effortless, but a careful concentrated event each and every moment starting with the challenging hills. Fortunately, the snowplow drivers are our new best friends when it comes to paving the way for us. I would doubt if it will be long before it becomes same old-same old routine of winter months, but as for today, it is putting past practice into action.

brave the weather and take a walk in mendon

2012-01-03T07:45:00.002-05:00

The Wild Wings Sanctuary, a birds of prey sanctuary located in Mendon Ponds Park, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today (Jan. 3).
You can walk through the outdoor facility, observe resident raptors and visit the gift cottage. Admission is free to the sanctuary at 27 Pond Road (off Route 65), Mendon. Donations accepted.
For more information, call (585) 334-7790 Website is currently down.

a vacation spot in the finger lakes

2012-01-03T07:40:00.000-05:00

One of the eastern-most of the Finger Lakes, Skaneateles Lake is the home of the Village of Skaneateles, a popular and trendy vacation spot for famous stars and former Presidents.

join in the count of wild turkey

2012-01-03T07:05:00.000-05:00

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is asking for help keeping tabs on the wild turkey population.

Most of us living in the rural parts of the Finger Lakes have seen wild turkey in fields and gullies, and it could prove an interesting activity.

The annual winter wild turkey flock survey helps biologists monitor the status and health of wild turkeys across the state. It runs from January through March.

Participants print a turkey-sighting form, record the number of turkeys seen in a flock, and send results to the address noted on the form at the end the survey period.

Visit the "Winter Wild Turkey Flock Survey" webpage http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/48756.html to get a form and see results from years past.

Last year, more than 640 reports were received, with 10,200 birds counted in 49 of the 62 counties in New York state.

there is fresh produce to have

2012-01-02T14:42:00.000-05:00

Here's the scoop on winter farmers' markets:

Ithaca Farmers Winter Market
This year, from January 7 to February 28 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), the Ithaca Farmers Market runs out of The Space at GreenStar, otherwise known as that new annex at 701 W. Buffalo Street.

Rochester Public Market
This open-air market standby at 280 N. Union Street will go on year round, every Tuesday and Thursday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and every Saturday from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Check out the indoor market for fresh pastas, meats, cheeses and lots of other options.

Canandaigua Farmers Market
Local vendors here move behind Byrne Dairy on Main Street for the winter. Market runs every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m.

what to do and what to explore

2012-01-02T10:32:00.003-05:00

If the weather is too much for you today, and you are resisting the back to work deal for Tuesday, here could be your solution for evening viewing.
“Oprah’s Next Chapter” debuts on her OWN network at 9 p.m. EST. This new show will feature Oprah talking with celebrities and news makers at their homes. Tonight’s episode is an interview with Steven Tyler.
or
You could immerse yourself in a good book such as The Icelandic mystery series by Arnaldur Indridason. You might be familar with the thriller, "Jar City," that was based on his first book. If you are going to be cold, you might wrap yourself up in thinking about the long, dark sky.
or
Bottle the hard cider and wine that you have been waiting to do all fall. It's ready!

Of course, I am assuming that you have on the schedule the dismantling of Christmas stuff and the sorting of unwanted ornaments for giveaway. You haven't forgotten that it is time to get on track with good eating and exercising habits.Sorry that I had to remind you...

wine education classes in january

2012-01-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

Finger Lakes Community College and the New York Wine and Culinary Center are joining together to offer five single-session wine education classes in January.
Classes vary by topic, duration and price and are held at the New York Wine and Culinary Center, 800 S. Main St. Canandaigua.

Jan. 7, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.: Seasonal Chef Demo and Wine Pairing: Participants watch a chef create a recipe from seasonal New York state ingredients and eat a lunch-sized portion paired with two different New York wines. Cost: $30.

Jan. 14, 12:30-1:30 p.m.: Seasonal Chef Demo with Wine & Beer Pairing: Participants watch a chef prepare a recipe using seasonal New York ingredients and eat a lunch-sized portion paired with one New York wine and one New York craft beer. Cost: $30.

Jan. 14, 3-5 p.m.: Wine and Food Flavor Pairing: This is an in-depth class designed to give a strong foundation in wine and food pairing. Participants taste six different food flavors and discover how they pair with six different wine styles. Foods provided are samples, not intended as a meal. Cost: $40.

Jan. 28, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.: Winter Wine and Food Pairing: Participants taste three appetizer-sized foods that emphasize seasonal ingredients and discover how the flavors change when paired with three different styles of wine. Cost: $25.

Jan. 28, 3 to 5 p.m.: Red, Red Wine: This class reviews the major varieties and styles of red wine with samples from New York and the rest of the world. Participants learn how certain foods and serving techniques can help red wines taste their best. The class includes eight premium red wines and a small food sampling plate. Cost: $40.

Register at the New York Wine and Culinary Center website at www.nywcc.com.
For information, contact Colleen Aiezza in the FLCC Professional Development and Continuing Education office, at aiezzaca@flcc.edu or (585) 785-1906.

a popular lake for activity

2012-01-02T07:56:00.003-05:00

From the Mohawk word meaning “crossing”, Owasco Lake is smaller and shallower than most of the other Finger Lakes. As a result its waters warm up more quickly, making it a popular swimming and boating destination. The city of Auburn sits at its northern shore.
The Merry-Go-Round Theatre is a great place to take in a musical during the warmer months. Before or after dining is always tasty at Curley's of Auburn with your party.