Shameless Plug- Studio Orlo 4th Anniversary Bash

My hair dresser's studio had a big four year anniversary bash on Saturday, April 24th.  It was a nice party and customers, guests, staff and family were present. Even the Albany Trolley made an appearance!

No kidding though- the ladies in the shop do a great job and are so friendly.

If anyone is looking to get their hair cut in Niskayuna, I highly recommend them. 

When George and Jeanne visited for a weekend, we had appointments.  George mentioned he needed a trim so I sent him off to the shop with Carol.  He loved the attention and the girls just loved George....go figure!  http://www.studioorlo.com/

In the picture to the left is Alice - She owns the shop.  She is standing with her daughter Angela and her sister.

                  In the right hand picture and to the right - the lovely young lady is Sarah- Our wizard of a Hair Dresser!  Sarah is talking to her mom.  

                                                                                                                                               

The dapper man responsible for bringing the Albany Trolley to the event is Sarah's dad. He just got off work and brought it home with him! 

Multiple Blog Spots

Good Day All!

I've gone a bit nuts.... I now have three blogs.... yes you read that right..... three...

Capital Region Convert at: www.capitalregionconvert.blogspot.com where you will find notes and pictures on our outings about town and country.

C & A Update at: www.annandcarol.blogspot.com -our family update place to be.

AEJDesigns at- you guessed it: www.aejdesigns.com -my card and paper crafting spot.

Like I said - I must be nuts but I'm going to give this a shot.  Like I don't have enough to do already.  Blame the camera; I really am enjoying this new toy!

You found us!!

Thanks for following us to this new spot!  I am going to use the aejdesigns.blogspot.com for my crafty stuff instead of my pathetic attempt at a web site.

Visit again soon!

Maple Weekend

For those of you who keep track- I promised to insert the blog on the other car trip we made this spring southwest of Niskayuna.  Here it is....

March 21, 2010

Spring!!!!!  What a lovely day...

We found ourselves on the Maple Weekend (go to - http://www.mapleweekend.com/). We planned 5 stops - we made it to 3. Enjoyed talking to the owner/farmers and seeing how they each do things just a little different. Boil the sap with wood? …With oil? …With propane?

We are pretty sure that the folks who own this Sugar Shack on Sagendorf Corners Road don't heat with any of the above any more!

We did do more than smell, taste and buy the maple syrup...I took my new camera to play!

We found old cemeteries, rushing creeks and waterfalls, covered bridges...

This cemetery was on Crasper Road by Maple Hill Farms (our first stop). These folks went all out with hayrides, a balloon man and a nice tour. The woman giving the tour was the fifth generation of her family farming and sugaring this farm. http://www.maplehillfarms.biz/

Our next stop was Stone House Farms--

They were all set up for pancake breakfasts

and still open when we got there! Yumm...  

 Our last stop (though we didn't know it at the time) was Wood Homestead. Well-- these were about the nicest folks ever...Probably the most modern of the sugaring operations but they made sure to keep the friendly touches in place- themselves...

We stopped and ate our picnic by waterfalls on the corner of Route 12 and Blenheim Hill Road. The creeks around the area are just bursting with water. This particular juncture is where two creeks meet. It was a lovely spot. You would never guess that Route 12 was right next to those falls. The rush of the water seems to bring you into another place....

Just down the road was the Blenheim Covered Bridge over Schoharie Creek.  

We spent so much time at those two spots -we ran out of time for anymore sugar shack stops.
But a wonderful day none-the-less.

Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve - Another visit!

Well - it was bound to happen-- I slipped on the gravel and fell. Smashed my knee and hand, jolted my arm and shoulder... what’s that? Yes I dropped the camera..... I'm ok though--took a hot shower and some ibuprofen... huh? what? Oh the camera's ok---Cleaned it all with canned air and checked for scratches. A little chip out of the edge of the len casing...no scratches on the actual lens that I can see. Time will tell...

I am liking this walking after work. Its been cool but the sun was out to start with-  the clouds started to gather as evening matured. We went back to the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve. We don't walk far but we do get out there. This time we went into the Preserve from the Whipple Iron Truss Bridge. It’s a restored 1852 bridge over the old Erie Canal. The area between the old canal and the Mohawk is wetland. We heard a lot of birds but will need to bring the binoculars next time to see them.

Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve

After trumpet lesson - off we went to the Half-Moon Diner for lunch then drove the Scenic Byway from route 9 back to route 146.

The Half-Moon Diner was a pleasant surprise!  We enjoyed the diner, the service and the food.  We both ordered 'greek' which caught the attention of our waitress.  She told us all about the upcoming Greek Festivals in Albany (May) and Troy (June).  She also gave a resounding recommendation for the September Greek Festival at her own church St George's in Schenectady.

Driving the Scenic Byway home -- we stopped at Clute's Dry Dock entrance to the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve.  We walked along the canal for a little while following the old tow path.  Though a cold day, the sun was out and the wind was quiet.

Another neat Capital Region attraction, the Nature Preserve is 600 acres and includes the area between Riverview Road and the Mohawk River in the Town of Clifton Park.  It contains a section of the original 1825 Erie Canal and Towpath (where we entered).  The preserve is open from dawn to dusk.

There are several points of entry from Clute's Dry Dock site to Ferry Drive in Vischer Ferry.  The main entrance is at the intersection of VanVranken and Riverview Road.  We entered at Clute's Dry Dock.
There were Forget-me-nots and Dogwood trees.  We have to go back in a few weeks because much of the path is lined with day-lilies.

http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/57185/places/62397/

http://mohawktowpath.homestead.com/index.html

http://www.saratoga.com/adventures/2008/10/vischer-ferry.html

Carol's Garden Boxes

It must really be spring....Carol has her Earth Boxes started...

Lettuce, Beets and Spinach-yum! 

It may all look very sparse at the moment but there will be lettuce and spinach soon for fresh green salad.  The beets will take a while longer.



We ate salad from the Earth Boxes well into summer last year.  A proven strategy!



She plans tomatoes in the two more boxes.  Trying the boxes for the tomatoes this year to try to avoid the 'blight'.

Garden Update

I did say to watch this space for updates on those buds ready to bloom.... Azleas and Plum Tree Blossoms..... (CDB?)

Boys Weekend - The End

See what happens when spring break ends and you have to go back to work? 

You never get back to finish the story!

The boys enjoy one last swim....

              Then off to Gram Grams for a reunion with the moms and dads and sisters....  

We Did Have Some Fun!!

Boys Weekend...Part 2

Well --Day 2 of Boys Weekend was ....eventful to say the least....

I can't go into details here but suffice to say---I did have a couple extra kiddos for a short time today...

This did not have any impact on the fun factor, and the boys are now sound asleep. 

KD has decided staying in a hotel is very much like staying a trailer -- "a long trailer that floats on the air" (no-I am not sure why---perhaps because we are on the fifth floor...)  The boys were also fascinated about being 'on the river'.  They loved the view from the room and were even more excited at breakfast, seeing the cruise boat moored.

We did the breakfast thing in the hotel restaurant and got right down to business at the pool. (The picture on the right gives you a good sense of the size and quality of the pool).  That’s where we added a couple kids (and a "helper") to our bunch -- Call me if you want the story!

After lunch we needed a nap or at least rest time - an in-room movie did the trick.
Then we said good-bye to our new friends and headed out to Adventure Landing- By the way, their Saturday Family deal IS a deal. $20 for a 16 " pizza, a pitcher of pop and 120 tokens... Sweet!  Yes they are (almost all) sporting vampire teeth....

A stop at the playground for fresh air and more cheap fun. Then popcorn and the cartoon network--didn't take much to convince them that bed was a good idea. Smooches and tuck-ins all around and ..... silence... wow.