Morning all. I feel refreshed and restored. Last night I travelled back in time to a place I loved to be. As I was preforming the dreaded task of end of month paperwork, I had an epiphany. Why not listen to some music on my computer while I trudge through entries on my spring green Dell? So...off I went to scarf up my daughters pair of booming Bose and plugged them in (with a little help from the hub, as I struggle with electronic devices...) And away I went! I clicked onto Youtube in one tab and travelled back to another era. I dialed up Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius, which led to a 2 hour trip down memory lane with my old friend Joni Mitchell. As I clicked away on the keyboard entering figures, my mind was simutaneously transported to my turbulent youth. The emotions of the songs reflecting the memories of my past. The strength and weakness, confusion and flaws ringing out in delicious melody. AAh Heaven. The paperwork is a blur, only the sweet scent of music still lingers.........

Back from blog vacation!

My life has been so full of living, I have simply forgotten to write about it! To my surprise and delight, aunt katie's had been holding her own, during this current economic pickle. I have always believed that keeping the shop's atmosphere colorful, fun and stimulating, with an added bonus of leaving your wallet with enough dough for food on the way home, standard. I have seen so many businesses take the plunge only to take a dive a short while later, due to unrealistic visions of grandeur and short term riches. An old fashioned slow and steady pace, thats the life for me. Since I last blogged, aunt katie's fashionably celebrated her 14th birthday in April, with an annual bash. In June, we hosted our annual outdoor flea market (no rain!!! but hot! I'll take it!). Our dedicated friends at Helping Paws Animal Rescue were there with a few furry friends in tow for a pet adoption clinic. We had an eclectic mixture of vendors who were selling like crazy!
A wonderful day for all, with the added bonus of no days end monsoon. This fall we have many plans in the pot for displays and new merchandise coming out of the deep freeze. Keep your eyes peeled and your hearing aid turned up. Oh my my creative juices are flowing............

"Commercial" traffic on scenic Rt. 5

This old highway was the backdrop for the filming of the TV commercial for CSX railways, this past Saturday. How cool. I watched for about 10 days prior to filming, while all of the railroad big wigs, location scouts, camera people, did their stuff. They had a little pow wow on the front porch at the shop , waiting for the director to come up from Catskill way. I met Bob from CSX, who tows the "Line" for the entire Mohawk Valley, and met the two Dave's from production. They selected our lovely stretch of 5 for it's straight line paralleling the rail line, out of many sites across the state.
Film crews, highway folks, state , local police and CSX workers
closed off the eastbound lane early Saturday morning to set up for the shoot. (My husband, Johnny" photographer climbed out to the rock ledge over the filming location to snap some great shots of the goings on, I will try to post on the website. )
Crew members and extras stopped in for some popcorn , ced tea, and some bargains in the shop. We made some new friends from New Jersey, Manhattan and other fun places, there are collectors EVERYWHERE!!!!!
It is amazing how much work it takes to do 1 shot for a 60 second commercial, that they will probably only use 15 to 20 seconds of film. All of the tractor trailers, camera boom, motor homes, food tent, extras...HUH. Downright mind boggling. Here's to all of the hardworking creative people who inhabited our normally uninhabited stretch of 4 lane highway.
Thank you all for closing the road so we could make some new friends. See you on the big screen!

Sunday rainy Sunday.

Today the most interesting thing that happened was, as I was picking home grown Hungarian peppers from my garden, I was assaulted by a bumble bee. No it wasn't viscious, just extremely persistent. To see a grown (?) woman scream like a banshee being actually chased by ths bold little flying creature. I swatted it off my black tee shirt, and it came back. It flew into my hair and hung on for dear life while I howled and maniacally batted it out of my faded red mop. It landed on the dirt driveway and played the role of an injured insect. I felt bad, but also relieved as I returned to my picking when to my absolute surprise...bzzzzzzzzzz right at my head!!! Holy crap it was back with an agenda. Off I ran, wildly swinging my plastic grocery bag as it literally "bee" lined for my head, like something you would see in a cartoon or horror movie. I only hope the neighbors couldn't see and hear me flailing and screaming over this little flying insect in the striped suit. I must have looked like I was having some kind of attack. And the screams..... the bee came still. I swung the bag with one swift move that connected with it's little jet powered body and down it went. I thought, ok it's over.
I walked away, feeling relieved and sad.
I later, out of curiosity, returned the the spot where the bee, who repeatedly invaded my personal space, had fallen from the sky. I was relieved and aware that it was no longer in a disabled state. Oh yes , I had had enough. The garden was his turf for today. I aquiesse, tomorrow is another day.

No drive westbound 5 ... 8-9-08

Weird day at aunt katie's today. No westbound traffic along the lovely stretch of rt.5, due to an accident which closed the lanes that lead to my shop from the east for an entire afternoon. I was actually running an errand and was sitting in traffic waiting for a way out. I eventually went east in the westbound lane, backtracked to one of our wonderful side roads which meanders through the Glenville hills and came back on the other side of the traffic jam. Hard at work the rescue workers, police and medi-vac were. I hope the person who was injured will be ok. As I was travelling over the hill I discovered that an old junkyard on the hill has been cleaned up, and you can actually see the old farmhouse. I made it back to the shop, (a 30 minute errand lasted 1.5 hours), and was intrigued with the virtual silence of the highway. The trains still rolled by on their daily runs, but no cars! It was so eerie. Yes there were some locals from the west and the hills that came in and shopped, but it seems everyone from the east was missing. I guess I just realized how much I took mighty route 5 for granted, a main route, a necessary artery, a way home. Only during the heavy snowstorms of our upstate winters does this road go so silent. Just a little food for thought. Please drive carefully, slow down and enjoy the scenery. Life is precious.