Book Review: Fruit of the Vine

Book review: Fruit of the Vine

Cynthia Kolko’s novel, Fruit of the Vine, is set in the small rural town of Sawhorn in New York’s Finger Lakes region. This novel takes readers behind the scenes in wine country to explore love, betrayal, scandal, family secrets, and even a death or two.

Now I have to admit that my taste in books leans toward non-fiction, rather than novels, so I haven’t read many books of this genre. However, it was an interesting read and I have to compliment Ms. Kolko on her use of descriptive language and dialogue between her characters. I think it would be a good book to read as you sit and relax on a beach or lakeside park in the Finger Lakes region

Cynthia Kolko, a graduate of Hamilton College has worked as a corporate writer, as well as in advertising, editorial writing, and broadcast scriptwriting. To find out more about Cynthia and her book, visit www.cynthiakolko.com

St. Greg's priests shave heads

At the beginning of April Father Joe Gatto, pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church in Williamsville issued this challenge to the congregation: reach the goal of $590,000 for Catholic Charities donations and the four parish priests will shave their heads.

Well, the people of St. Greg's were very generous and they actually exceeded that goal, raising over $620,000!!. This afternoon Fathers Joe, Paul, Dave, and Francis made good on their promise and shaved their heads. In addition, Father Francis, had also said if the goal was reached, he would paint his head blue....so his head is now blue!

Parkside Tour of Homes May 22

Here's a press release I received a few weeks ago about the Parkside Tour of Homes. Sounds like a fun event!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Parkside Community Association’s
13th Annual Tour of Homes

Contact: Ben Johnson
Address: 2318 Main Street
Phone: 716-838-1240
Email: http://us.mc1803.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=PCA_Director@verizon.net
URL: http://www.parksidebuffalo.org/

PARKSIDE, BUFFALO, NY


The Parkside Community Association presents the 13th Annual Tour of Homes on Sunday, May 22 from 11:00 am – 4:30 pm. This popular tour will have TEN outstanding homes and TWO church rectories for you to explore. Visitors are promised a fascinating look inside historical residences in Buffalo’s Historic District of Parkside. Some of the homes reflect their 19th century origin in architectural style with their interiors and furnishings. Others offer an exciting contemporary approach to city living. Onsite docents will provide history of the homes and will be available for questions.

Come see for yourself why Parksiders and out-of-towners alike say this event “is the best tour”. The tour begins at the Church of the Good Shepherd, on the corner of Jewett Parkway and Summit Avenue in Buffalo. Information, tickets, and maps will be available at the start of the tour.

A mini tour of the Darwin Martin House Complex is included in the ticket price. This includes the Gardener’s Cottage, Barton House, and the Visitors Center. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 the day of the tour, and $13 for PCA members.

Advance tickets can be obtained by visiting the PCA office, 2318 Main Street in Buffalo, or by calling the office at 838-1240 during regular business hours. Proceeds benefit the continuing work of the Parkside Community Association. No children under the age of twelve please. Event is held rain or shine.

The Parkside Community Association is Buffalo’s oldest, largest and most active neighborhood associations in the City of Buffalo. The Parkside area contains superb examples of such diverse architectural styles such as the American Four Square, Victorian, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and the Arts & Crafts bungalow. The 1880 thru 1930 building period includes designs by prominent local architects E.B. Green and William Sydney Wicks.

Parkside is adjacent to Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park, The Buffalo Zoo, and the Main-Amherst business district.

Decorator Show House

Last night my friend Mary, my daughter and myself went to see the Decorators' Show House. We had gone to see it for the preview showing before they did all the decorating, so we wanted to be sure to see it when it was done.

It looked really nice, although some of the items I couldn't imagine in my home. The most bizarre item of the night was the glass mobile over the crib in the baby's room. Not too practical! I was surprised by the number of people there on a Tuesday night...I can't imagine what it's like on the weekend.

The show house will be open until May 22nd, admission is $20. It is located at 360 Depew Avenue, Buffalo

Fun at the National Museum of Play

A couple weeks ago my husband, me and our youngest son spent the day at the National Museum of Play (Strong Museum) in Rochester. Our son, who is almost nine, just loves that place. You really need to spend the whole day there to fully enjoy it.

One of the newer exhibits, e-Game Revolution, features video games from the last 40 years or so. My son just loved playing the vintage game..okay, my husband and I liked them too...only we remember them when they were new. sigh.

My son also enjoyed the Tinkertoy exhibit, since he loves to build things. And no trip to the museum would be compete without visiting the kid-size Wegmans, Reading Adventureland, and Sesame Street. The museum is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame. For more info, visit their website http://www.museumofplay.org/

Upcoming events include the RIT Big Shot Project on Thursday May 5 at 7:45pm, an outdoor community photography project (bring a flashlight). There will also be a performance of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie at the museum Friday May 6 at 6pm and Saturday May 7 at 11am and 1pm.

National Museum of Play, One Manhattan Square, Rochester 585-263-2700