Contributed by Christine Briel / Skaneateles Design

Cary Briel and Curtis Feldmann have been working closely together over the past few months on everything from photos, to property management concepts, to Google maps and now Skaneateles Suites has launched a brand new “LOOK” for their website. Take a look at their new website by either clicking on the picture above or clicking on this link. Now you can get a very cohesive feel for their “Collection of places to stay in Skaneateles” right on the home page. Also, not to be missed is the Skaneateles Suites blog which is a champion among blogs for the local FingerLakes region. They work hard to get just about any and every local event added to their blog. A very useful tool for visitors coming to the area as well as locals looking for something to do on the weekend.

Great job Curt and Cary!

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Contributed by Christine Briel / Skaneateles Design

Early in the summer I rode my bike with my daughter out to Borodino Market (our first trip to see the family farm for this season) and blogged on here about our great purchase of blackberry jam.

About a month later a nice lady from the local periodical FamilyTimes called me on the phone to inquire about my families habits of buying local, how important it was to us and how we emphasized it with our children (she came across the aforementioned blog post about the jam). She did a really nice write up on buying local in the August 2008 copy of Family Times in the article titled “Livin’ La Vida Local” - below is an excerpt of our conversation and the mention of our families favorite local treasure Borodino Market.

“… Skaneateles mother Christine Briel was initially driven to go local by the quality of produce grown around her home. “Freshness is the biggest thing,” says Briel, who has one child in college and one in high school, “but the connection with people who actually grew the stuff is really important, too.”

She doesn’t always find time in her busy schedule to stop at the weekly farmers’ market in her town. “If I miss the market, I will go to a local farm foods store like the Borodino Market,” Briel says. “Especially with our long winters, I find it really valuable to get fresh produce during the summer months.”

What they don’t buy from local farmers, the Briels grow in their back yard. This year, they will get radishes, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, beans and peas from their garden …”

Read the entire article at www.familytimes.biz

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By Miranda L. Pennock / CNY Link

Being in need of a warm meal does not discriminate between rich or poor, young or old, educated or not. That’s why, despite thunderclouds overhead, members of the community gathered Sunday afternoon beneath a tent on the point at the Skaneateles Country Club to support the Samaritan Center during the seventh annual Beach, Blues & Bar-B-Que fundraiser.

Open every day of the year, Development Director Ann Ferro said the center brings in a mix of people much like society as a whole. “The people who go through the serving lines are very much like themselves (the volunteers),” Ferro said. To support the efforts of the center, attendants at the annual barbecue can find comfort in knowing the money they spend at the door or on live and silent auction items goes directly to those in need, Ferro said. “It’s a direct thing. It goes right from the people at the door to feeding the people (at the center),” she said.

Community members also understand the work they are doing by offering their support, whether through volunteering or providing financial support. “It’s a good idea. It’s a worthwhile cause,” said Christian Buchholz, whose wife was in charge of the silent auction. The event offered more than 100 items, baskets and services up for bid during the silent auction and offered wine tasting and a picnic dinner provided by Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

For the last three years, CNY Healing Arts has been the presenting sponsor for the annual event with director and founder Dr. Robert Kiltz offering the highest level of support for the fundraiser.
Samaritan Center Executive Director Mary Beth Fery said Kiltz not only supports the event, he also donates items for the silent auction, largely because the event and the work of the center are important to him.

Read the full article here at CNY Link.

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Contributed by: Dr. Robert Kiltz / CNY Healing Arts Center

Skaneateles resident, Dr. Robert Kiltz, and CNY Healing Arts Center are hosting a Mommy-Baby Yoga class series with Tiffany Gallagher.

Dates:
Sundays 9/7, 9/14, 9/21 and 10/5.

Time:
10:15am-11:00am

Cost:
$55 for 4 week session

Baby Ages:
3 months to 12 months, not yet walking

Register:
Pre-registration is required as space is limited. Call CNY Healing Arts 315.671.5755

(Daddy-baby partners are welcome too, especially for twins!)

What is mommy baby yoga?
You and your baby are becoming stronger. This class will increase your energy and build your strength. You will help your baby in increasing their strength in preparation for crawling. This class will also prepare and guide you to build on your yoga practice. As your baby becomes more mobile, they will really enjoy climbing on you during standing poses. They will even be able to do yoga poses with you. In this class baby is three months through one year, but not walking. If your baby begins to walk during this class, we will embrace his milestone and all of the other babies can learn from them!

What should baby and I wear?
Loose comfortable clothing is recommended for all class levels. Sports bras and apparel are not necessary, unless of course you love to wear them. You baby should be comfortable in basic cotton apparel. Onesies and cotton bottoms (or no bottoms if temperature allows) are ideal.

What will I need to bring?
A yoga mat for you and a blanket for your baby (yoga mats are available at CNY Healing Arts).

What if my baby is hungry during the class?
You and your baby’s needs come first. Our class will be an environment where you do not have do be uneasy. You are welcome to move to the side, to change or feed your baby.

What if my baby is fussy and cries?
After a few classes, your baby will begin to relax into the environment. It is normal for your baby to fuss, especially when they are on their belly. Comfort her and try again. No worries.

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Contributed by Tom Seeley / Skaneateles Sunrise Rotary

The Rotary club is one of those groups that you can be proud to be part of. The main objective of Rotary is service - in the community, in the workplace and throughout the world. Our own town of Skaneateles has 2 distinct Rotary clubs: Skaneateles Rotary Club and Skaneateles Sunrise Rotary Club. They both have many programs and projects that they support - visit their website for more information.

When Rotary International President-elect D.K. Lee announced the 2008-09 RI theme “Make Dreams Real” he said he was in disbelief when he learned that 30,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable diseases such as pneumonia, measles, and malaria. With that in mind, the following invocation was suggested:

We pray for children…
who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
who like to be tickled,
who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
who sneak Popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never “counted potatoes,”
who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off key,
who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,
who slurp their soup. (more…)

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Below is an article originally published in the Marcellus Observer, I obtained it from the writer Ann Ferro as it can not be found on the web anywhere. Here is the original article for your reading pleasure…

- When we were kids we celebrated the Fourth of July in the back yard of my grandmother’s bungalow in Carmel. It was a simple affair, casually done around a a pile of stones that served as a fireplace and an old 1935 Ford that died after a trip down from my Aunt Lucy’s who lived in Cocksakie. The black Ford sat there, gathering moss, mold and a hefty collection of spider webs and their ominous architects. My mother had set rows of potted geraniums as guards along each running boards in order to dissuade her curious children from trying to enter the derelict vehicle. How can I say this? OK … You would never find a picture of this yard in any country magazine. I am not saying that back yard was less than chic, but it had a certain Appalachian joie de vivre and we loved it. My mother was less enthusiastic.

We would toast marshmallows, drink home made root beer and watch my father put on a fireworks display with background “music” provided by my mother who was sure that someone was going to lose a body part. Each year we heard stories of someone we knew or someone that she had read about in the Daily News who was disfigured by fireworks, and, if they were lucky, facing life with only one of something that ordinarily came in pairs. I don’t think anyone ever mentioned Thomas Jefferson, although they should have.

This year, after years of not doing too much and thinking about what the anniversary of our country’s Independence means, we will find something more appropriate to do. Given things as they are, this is the year to celebrate some of the good things that we have … like each other, friends and family, a stable internet connection, enough gas to get out to camp and back, etc. (more…)

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By Christine Briel / Skaneateles Design

It took me a couple of weeks to get into the groove of remembering to go to our local Farmer’s Market which is held up in the Skaneateles Community Center parking lot on Thursdays from 3:30PM - 6:30PM. Fortunately for me and my forgetful self there is also an Organic Farmer’s Market held on Saturday mornings in the Skaneateles P&C parking lot.

Don’t forget to shop local folks, it really is worth the extra effort. The food is so fresh, no middle man and I’ve found the pricing to be a little less than the grocery store. A complete win, win situation for the farmer and the consumer. This is such a gift for such a short period of time in CNY so don’t let it slip by. Plus you are sure to discover some unknown treasure that is available right in your own backyard. This year I discovered this out of this world olive oil sold by one of the vendors at the Thursday Farmer’s Market. We are going through it like crazy with all of our summer salad eating and today he assured me I could buy it all year round from him. It really is good stuff!

Oh yeah! My one other place where I totally love to shop local was just written up in an article by Julia Reich for the Auburn Citizen. Here’s a website link to the lovely article. Keep up the good work at Schoolhouse Farms and Borodino Market. Great picture of the inside of the Borodino Market!

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Contributed by Holly Knott / Skaneateles Artisans

Several of the artists in our artist-owned and operated gallery have been recent recipients of awards.

Painter and illustrator Maureen Stathis of Onondaga Hill received an Honorable Mention for her watercolor painting in the Art and Poetry contest cosponsored by the Post-Standard and the CNY Chapter of the League of American Pen Women. This year’s juror for the Adult division was Bill Delavan.

Evelyn Dankovich of North Syracuse was awarded Grand Prize at the Cooperstown Art Association National Juried Exhibtion for her oil painting “River View.”

Potter Sallie Thompson of Bridgeport received the Eureka Galleries Prize for “Body of Work” in the Syracuse Ceramic Guild’s recent juried exhibit at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse. The show was juried by Jo Buffalo, professor of ceramics at Cazenovia College.

Sallie also recently had a soda ash-fired vase accepted into the Annual Juried Exhibition at the Carbondale Clay Center, located in Carbondale, Colorado. The exhibit was juried by Jeff Oestreich, an internationally recognized potter from Minnesota, and 28 pieces from 24 artists representing 19 states were chosen.

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Contributed by Laura Ponticello / Laura’s List

Laura’s List: Books for Women eco-friendly totes now on sale! Multifunctional and perfectly suited for the farmer’s market, grocery shopping or as a gardening tote. Recycled fibers, royal blue with Laura’s List gal imprint and large enough to handle quite a bit of stuff. Your decision to use this product is one way to help keep our land and its inhabitants of it in prime condition for years to come. A portion of each sale will support the Duk Lost Boys Clinic. -Laura Ponticello, Laura’s List: Books for Women.

Bags can be purchased locally in Skaneateles, NY for $9.50 by walking through the doors of Creekside Books and Coffeehouse, at 35 Fennell Street in the village of Skaneateles. Another option for ordering your tote is to send a check for $12 including shipping and handling to Laura Ponticello c/o PO Box 206, Skaneateles, NY 13152.

A Portion of the Proceeds Go To:

The Duk Lost Boys Clinic was built by the American Care for Sudan Foundation founded by John Dau and is located in the village he was forced to flee during the Sudanese Civil War. Dau is one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan whose own struggle to survive is documented in his book and the film God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir.

** Here’s a website link to a recent press release regarding Laura’s Totes - Click here to read.

Laura Ponticello
Live a Beautiful Life : Laura’s List - Books for Women
Laura’s List can be found at www.creeksidebooks.com now on display.
E-mail me

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Contributed by Paul Torrisi / Skaneateles Country Club

If anyone can offer a couple of hours over the July 4th weekend it would be greatly appreciated. The 70th Anniversary Lightning Regatta should be an amazing event but we need a huge number of volunteers to pull it off.

We are expecting over 500 People and 150 sailboats and we need help:

Details:
70th Anniversary Lightning Sailing Regatta (read more on the website)

Location:
Skaneateles Country Club

When:
Friday July 4th – Sunday July 6th 2008

What:
2 Hour volunteer shifts
Fri: 8AM – 10PM
Sat: 6AM – 10PM
Sun: 6AM – 4PM

** Please call Paul Torrisi at 415-9017 or email at paul_torrisi@ml.com if you would like to help, or if you know somebody who would like to get involved.

Thanks to all for your support!

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