Family Time

After working devotedly all day at Renovation Central it was good to come home to family.

Ken's sister Kathy, his eldest daughter Amanda, friends Elanna
and Arielwere all in town on a visit from their near by cabin.

Benji the wonder dog came to see us too!Actually their cabin is not so nearby, it's two hours away,
but it's a lot closer than the usual journey from Philly and we
were especially grateful they made the trip up to see us!

Love the family resemblance between these two!

Ken grilled burgers, and we lingered into the evening outside. We watched hawks overhead lazily hitching thermal rides
and hummingbirds zipping and darting at the feeder. You can still smell the lilies in the "garden" and the summer sounds are at full volume now. Lucky for us, the weather has turned in our favor. It's cool and dry with a hint of breeze. Of course no event ever happens around here without the camera present and it wasn't long before the young'ins decided they'd like to have a turn...They really put me to shame. Most of the photos from tonight's post were taken by them. Such creative kids - thank you ladies!
I'll post all of them on FB in a day or two.

The exciting event of the evening was when one of the neighbor's cows decided the grass
was definitely greener on the other side of the road.
Poor Benji, I think he really wanted to try out his herding skills, but instead he just looked longingly from his safe perch in the front yard.

It was a perfect evening. Please say you'll come back soon.

Dusty's Diner

Our sweet little diner in downtown Newfield is closing and we don't know how we'll get along without them. No one offers better service than Dusty's - no one. Ken and I are regulars there and it's not just that we go there often, it's that we sit at the same table every time and order exactly the same thing every single time - two eggs over medium, home fries, bacon, rye toast for me, none for Ken. When they see us outside parking the car they put our order in before we even step foot inside. The food is delicious - good old fashioned fare, unpretentious and always tasty and they get "eggs over medium" perfect, every single time.

The atmosphere is cheerful,


and Dusty and her mom Nancy are always perfect hosts.
We'll be there for breakfast on Friday morning - their last day. We'll miss you too.

I used to be a gardener...

but that was ages ago, back in the days before things just got a little too hectic around here. So sad. Thank goodness nature just keeps on doing its job despite my utter neglect.

Here are latest pics from my "garden". I'll use that term loosely from now on since there is technically little to no real or intentional gardening happening these days!

I have weeds...especially the climbing kind.

At first it seems a somewhat artful weed, that is until
it starts choking out the stuff I actually planted.

By some miracle the white lilies have survived despite it.

We have a few Sungold cherry tomatoes in pots that are ready to eat,

and I think we may even have some pole beans growing
underneath the beautiful morning glories.

There are blue balloon flowers which thankfully reseed each year,

and a Rose of Sharon which is covered in purple and maroon blooms.Usually the deer feast on the buds of this tree in early summer.

Guess they must've found a new buffet elsewhere.

Until yesterday we had lots and lots of yellow loosestrife.

But overnight (literally) they were eaten to the stem
by a host of creepy little blue gray caterpillars.Really gives me the willies...

This evening we had dinner with our sweet friends Joann and Joseph. We feasted on Joseph's grilled chicken, fresh sweet corn and summer squash,

and enjoyed Joann's famous mint julepswith garden fresh mint.

We strolled through their meadow with our cocktails

enjoying the late summer sounds,savoring the sights,

and the delicious aroma from their most artful barbecue.
They have a garden that is just chock full of color,

texture,

sweet smells,

and whimsy.Great to see you both. Thanks for a perfect evening.

Found in Ithaca

I've been keeping a big secret for a long time, almost eight months to be exact.

This coming September we will open our very own antique shop, together with our business partners Sandy, Bill, Marnie, Dan & Ellen. It has been a long time coming and we've worked hard for this moment. We've had a few sleepless nights, seen way more commercial properties than we ever imagined and tried to negotiate more than a few commercial leases. We can speak triple net and CAM costs with the best of them now!

Our space is a 7,000 square foot former warehouse a block from the center of the universe (Wegmans) and only minutes from downtown Ithaca and the Commons. The building has been home to carpenters and geeks and will now house the coolest, hippest, happening-est antique and vintage marketplace you've ever seen. Our building needs a fair amount of TLC but it is all cosmetic and we can do 99% of it ourselves. Walls are coming down, paint is going up and partitions are being built. It is hard work but oh so satisfying and when it's all finished it will be fabulous! We'll call ourselves "Found" and we are excited!

Photos to follow soon - stay tuned!

Happy Happy

Grassroots weekend is starting to wind down

but that doesn't mean the enthusiasm is fading!


Though some are starting to look a little weary,
others are just getting started,
and by the looks of things, some never stopped.

There is still much to be painted

and much to be happy about!

Friday afternoon is lovely - sunny, high clouds, nice breeze.
It is very hot and humid, but in the shade of the dance tentthere's such good music and excellent company
I hardly even notice how sweaty we are
(of course the wine helps too!).

There is magic and a little bit of mischief,(yep, that's our wedding waltz inked onto Carrie's shoulder)

a lot of merriment and some very sweet smiles. You can't NOT get up and dance when Bonsoir, Catin,

and Walter Mouton and the Scott Playboys are playing

Couples are waltzing
and a giant mushroom is dancing...go figure.

In the crowd we somehow managed to spot our friends Bill and Marnie. They introduced us to their friends
who definitely know how to rough it in style! Oh yeah baby...we're talking retro silver bullet here. Ohhhh, ahhhh, cue drooling...
Check out the teardrop camper across from the Airstream.I think I'll pass on the rock star bus, but I like the destination.
We saw those who were well protected from the noise,poorly protected from the sun,and those advocating of a different sort of protection all together.
As we ambled over to see Galumpha on the main stage the sky started to turn black.Good thing we were under cover.
Sitting up high in metal bleachers in a full out lightening storm?
Perhaps not the brightest thing any of us has done in a while,
but no one got hurt.

The heavens opened,

the stage was mopped


and then it rained rice from the sky.



Eventually the sun came back, and all was well again. We are happy.
When do the early bird tickets for next year go on sale?