Lewiston Tour of Homes

It was back up to Lewiston this morning as Jim and I had tickets for the Lewiston Tour of Homes. Our favorite by far was the home that overlooked the escarpment. Of course, all the homes were nice, but that was was exceptional. The only complaint of the day was the snafu with the shuttle bus at one of the homes. We were stuck waiting 45 minutes with a group of other people; the buses were supposed to come by every 10 minutes...apparently one of the buses broke down. The bus eventually came and took us back to the starting point. We ended up driving our car to the last home, but that worked out okay.

Before heading to that home we enjoyed the desserts and pointsettia cocktail that was included in the ticket and then had lunch at one of our favorite restaruants, the Brickyard and browsed in a few shops.

The Tour of Homes continues tomorrow from 10 am-5 pm. Contact the Lewiston Historical Society to see if tickets are available. www.historiclewiston.org

Festival of Lights at our Lady of Fatima Shrine

This evening Jim and I went to Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Lewiston to see their festival of lights; all religious themed light displays keeping with the true meaning of Christmas. We also enjoyed a wonderful concert by Father Bill Quinlivan who was joined by several other talented singers. And the evening was free, except for paying the toll to cross Grand Island!

Local author signing at Buffalo History Museum today

Just a reminder about the local author signing at the Buffalo History Museum today from 12-2pm. Over 45 local authors will be there.

Below is a press release I received from the Buffalo History Museum regarding the upcoming local author book signing November 24th.

THE BUFFALO HISTORY MUSEUM

PRESENTS ANNUAL LOCAL AUTHOR BOOK SIGNING

More Than 30 Local Authors on Hand to Autograph Books

Buffalo, N.Y. – Nov.8 –The Buffalo History Museum offers a fun, relaxed alternative to frenzied holiday shopping – its 9th annual local author book signing event on Saturday, November 24, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. at the Museum, located at One Museum Court at Elmwood Avenue and Nottingham Terrace intersection.

More than 30 local authors will be on hand to meet and greet readers and sign purchased books. This year’s event includes, but is not limited to, the following local authors:


John Allen

Andy Anselmo

Tim Bohen

Steve Cichon

Lorna Czarnota

Mary Dolce

Dan Glushefsky

Gerald Halligan

William Kae

Ed Kilgore

Nicholas & Zoie Kin

Jessica Saddleson

Graham Millar

Nancy Mingus

Paul Moore

Michael Mulley

Stephen Myers

Cassidy O'Connor

Lynda Schneekloth

Frances Schmidt

Jan Sheridan

Christine Smyczynski

Gerry Stafford

Dan Starr

Dr. Mark Donnelly

John Fagant

Bruce Fisher

Mary Ann Giordano

Linda Fritz

Jim Reynolds

Sister Jean Kliczcak

John Koerner

Lillian Jusziewicz

Patrick Mahoney

Donald Mang

Ray Massey

Neil O'Donnell

Janice Okun

John Percy

Jack Quinan

Mike Rizzo

Erno Rossi

Cynthia VanNess

Deborah Williams

Mason Winfield

Julianna Fiddler-Woite

(List as of 11/8)


In addition to books, the Museum Shop offers unique Buffalo-themed gifts, including jewelry, fine art prints, maps, educational toys, and special Abraham Lincoln/ 1901 Pan-American Exposition-themed items. Museum members will receive 10% off discounts on many items. Special holiday promotions will be featured.


The Local Author Book Signing event is free and open to the public and parking is complimentary and plentiful. For more information, the public may call The Buffalo History Museum at (716) 873-9644 ext. 301. Find us Facebook and twitter. Visit the website: www.buffalohistory.org


MEDIA CONTACT:
CONSTANCE M. CALDWELL
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Daemen College Center for Visual & Performing Arts

Earlier this evening my daughter and I attended the opening reception for the new center for Visual and Performing Arts at Daemen College. Of special interest to me as I'm a Daemen alumni and my daughter is going to apply there for next fall.

What a beautiful building and large classrooms with all sorts of windows. A very exciting time at Daemen College!

Guest blogging on Brainiac Getaways

I am a guest blogger on www.brainiacgetaways.com with a post about glassmaking in Corning. Check out my post along with some other interesting articles on the site. Please note that my daughter is the one making the glass flower, not the younger girl next to me when I'm making my glass pendant. The caption is incorrect and should be changed soon by Carol, the blogs creator.

Forest Lawn tour and Navy Week on the waterfront

Today my husband and I went on a trolley tour at Forest Lawn cemetery. We had picked up a brochure a few weeks ago and had always wanted to take one of our tours. Since today was clear on our calendar, we made reservations for the11:30 tour, which today happened to be the women's history tour focusing on the well known women who are "permanent residents" of the cemetery, such as Maria Love and Shirley Chisolm.

It was very interesting and informative, as the tour also mentioned some of the other notables buried in Forest Lawn, such as Millard Filmore and Rick James. WE even stopped to see the well-known Blocher memorial in the cemetery.

After the tour we headed down to the waterfront to see (from the outside) some of the ships docked at the waterfront for Navy Week. It was so nice to see so many people at the waterfront! There was quite a long line to get on board the ships that were docked there. We knew we had to be home by a certain time, so we didn't bother trying to tour the inside of the ships.

A Getaway to Ellicottville

Last week Thursday my husband and I went on an overnight getaway to Ellicottville to celebrate our anniversary. Our first stop was the Nannen Arboretum, a very picturesque spot. Then lunch at the Ellicottville Brewing Company, followed by wine tasting at the Ellicottville Winery, which has very good wines. Later that evening we had dinner at the Silver Fox, which had some great specials on the menu. After dinner we strolled down to a small park with a gazebo, which features live music on Thursdays during the summer. We stayed overnight at the Wingate hotel.

The next day we enjoyed shopping at the many stores in town. On our way back home we traveled through Colden, stopping at the Colden Country Store, and then we made a stop in East Aurora to shop at Vidler's. We had gift certificates to the Dog Bar in West Falls, so we had dinner there. Both the food and atmosphere are good here.

A Visit to Niagara Falls

Last Friday we spent the day at Niagara Falls, NY being tourists in our own backyard. Our first adventure was to go on the Cave of the Winds, something none of us has done before. This is the perfect thing to do on a warm day, as you get soaking wet! It was amazing to see the force and power of the water going over the falls...and we got souvenir sandals to keep.

After lunch at the snack bar adjacent to the Cave of the Winds, we walked around a bit and then headed over to the Maid of the Mist. My husband and I had been on it years ago, but our two youngest children had never been on it. Again, another perfect thing to do on a warm summer day, as you do get wet, despite the raincoats they provide. It is an awesome view of the falls, but I find it scary!

We walked around some more on Goat Island, and went to the Three Sisters Islands. Afterwards, we had dinner at the Top of the Falls restaurant, where the view is good and the food is tasty and reasonably priced.

Last week my daughter and I went on a one night "girls getaway" to the Traditions at the Glen in Binghamton. We decided to do this since my husband and youngest son were going to summer camp.

Our trip down was very interesting. We were driving through Elmira about the time the tornado hit last Thursday. It was raining so hard it was "like driving through a waterfall" as my daughter said. She was actually driving (she has her permit) and said she should automatically get her license after driving through that!

I had read about the Spa at Traditions and specifically the Salt Sanctuary, a man-made salt cave within the spa. Sitting in the cave for treatment is supposde to be relaxing, as well as beneficialy to your skin and breathing. It was a unique relaxing experience. We also had manicures and pedicures the next morning. www.traditionsresort.com

We also checked out some of the carousels that Binghamton is famous for, as well as did some shopiing at Oakdale Mall.

A trip to Corning

A couple weeks ago we took a mini vacation to Corning, about a 2 hour drive from Buffalo. We visited the Corning Museum of Glass, a place your really need to spend the entire day at to see and do everything. We made some glass items at the Glass Studio. (If you do so, make sure you make reservations in advance, you can purchase tickets to the museum and to do the glass workshops in advance online.  www.cmog.org

We stayed overnight at the Staybridge Suites, which are right next to the museum and spent the next day checking out the shops and restaurants on Market Street.

Buick Car Show

Yesterday was a busy day for us. In addition to going to Buffalo Night in America in the evening, we also went to the Buick car show, which was held at the Pierce Arrow Buffalo Transportation Museum. What a great museum to have in our area! www.pierce-arrow.com

WBBZ Buffalo Night

Last night we went to Buffalo Night in America that was held at Eastern Hills Mall. What a great event! It was nice to see such a great turnout and such a positive thing happening in the Buffalo area.

St. Mary's picnic today

It's been a busy weekend. Today we went to the annual St. Mary's picnic in Swormville. Naturally we got some of their famous chicken clam chowder, had a chicken dinner and played some games.

A drive to Niagara County

Saturday, My daughter, whose learning to drive, and I took a drive to Niagara County so she could get some driving practice in. Our first stop was at Coulter Farms on Routes 425 and 93 for some home grown strawberries and fresh corn. We also shared a ice cream sunday topped with fresh strawberries. Yum! We then drove to Wilson, and browsed through the shops by the harbor....There are several nice ones to choose from, including a really cute gift shop called Four Seasons and a Becker Farms store, with wine tasting. There is also a very nice harbor with nice views of Lake Ontario. We didn't have time on this trip, but in the past our family has eaten at the Wilson Boathouse Restaurant, which overlooks the harbor. This is a nice days trip on a summer day.

Looking for things to do with the kids this summer? Listen to the podcast of my radio interview this past Saturday on Parent Talk with Linda O'Connor on The Breeze Buffalo, FM 102.9, AM 1230 Follow this link to the podcast page http://breezebuffalo.com/podcasts/parent-talk

Fun Wow! at Fantasy Island

Today was the annual school day for my youngest son's school at Martin's Fantasy Island on Grand Island. We spent the entire day there! Luckily our son was able to meet up with some of his friends, so my husband and I didn't have to go on any wild rides!

It's pretty neat that we can take our kids to a place we visited as children and it hasn't changed that much.....well maybe it has, there was no water park years ago. It's a nice place to take younger children, as there is a lot for them to do, yet it isn't overwhelming and there are not a lot of teenagers there like you find at other parks, so the younger kids feel less intimidated. We had a lot of fun!

Ribbon cutting at WBBZ studios

I have to admit that I have been lax in posting to my blog that last several weeks....hopefully I will be able to post on a more regular basis. Anyhow, tonight my oldest son and I attended the ribbon cutting for WBBZ TV's new studio which is located in the Eastern Hills Mall. I think that this TV station will be a great addition to Western New York. You can read more about the station and it's mission on their website www.wbbz.tv/

Updated website

Updated website now activated
http://www.westernnewyorkexplorersguide.com/ Still a work in progress, but getting there.

Updated website

For the time being use the following link to access my website, which has been updated http://wnyexplorersguide.sharepoint.com/. I'm still working on getting my custom domain to transfer to the new host

Wizard of Oz exhibit at Museum of Play

We took a trip to Rochester and visited the Museum of Play today. One of the current exhibits is the Wizard of Oz. It was a really cute exhibit. As with previous visits, we spent almost the entire day at the museum. My youngest, who is almost ten really enjoys going there, but probably in the next few years he will decide he is too old for it!

Afterward, we had dinner at one of our favorite Rochester restaurants, The King and I, which has really good Thai food. Even my husband, who is not really big on Thai food, enjoyed it.

Wine trail events this weekend

Below is a press release I received about an upcoming wine trail event that I thought I'd share with people. sounds like a nice event.
For
Immediate
Release
April 10, 2012
Contact: Julie Pfadt, executive director (814)
746-8414

Lake Erie Wine
Country to Host Popular Wine & Art Saturday

Lake Erie Wine Country, an association of 23
wineries between Silver Creek, NY and North East, PA, announces its annual Wine
& Art Saturday which will be held on April 14th. Guests will enjoy wine
tasting while perusing works of art by 32 member artists of the North Shore Arts
Alliance in Chautauqua County
and the North East (PA) Arts Council.

The artists will be on hand at the 21
participating wineries to display, sell, and demonstrate - from painters and
sculptors to photographers and glass artisans. Featured artists include eleven
members of the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail, the North Shore Arts Alliance’s
signature event.

This is a FREE EVENT. No tickets or reservations
are required! Event hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Guests are invited to stop at any of the
participating wineries in any order to enjoy wine and art--a natural pairing.
For winery locations or other information, see: www.lakeeriewinecountry.org, www.facebook.com/LakeErieWineCountry . For more
information on participating artists, see www.northshoreartsalliance.com.

Lake Erie Wine Country, formerly the
Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail, is a non-profit organization founded to
“support and to market the wine and grape industries in Chautauqua County, New
York and Erie County, Pennsylvania through the promotion of excellence in wine
products, in winery and associate member facilities, and in the tourism
experience in the region.”

Featured Artists at New York Wineries:
· 21 Brix Winery: Tom Annear (painting); George Petrella (painting)
· Blueberry Sky Farm Winery: Works from Sue Wolfe (painting)
· Johnson Estate Winery: Lilla Johnson (painting); Sue Murphy (jewelry); Harold Nass (bird
sculpture)
· Liberty Vineyards: Sue Mackay (painting); Nancy Hutchinson (painting)
· Mazza Chautauqua Cellars: Elora Esce (photography)
· Merritt Estate Winery: Bill Smith (photography)
· Noble Winery: James Hoggard (photography); Sue Wolfe (painting)
· Quincy Cellars Winery: Alberta Parker (drawing); Tim Sivertsen (painting)
· Seven Vines Winery: Bill Karrow (photography)
· Sparkling Ponds Winery: Rebecca Tkawzyk (mixed media & painting)
· Vetter Vineyards Winery: Linda Lavid (painting)
· Willow Creek Winery: Steve Yunghans (abstract painting)
· Woodbury Vineyards: Ronnie Lafferty

Featured Artists at Pennsylvania Wineries:
· Burch Farms Winery: Jack Paluh (wildlife & landscape painting)
· Courtyard Wineries: Sara Frye (stained glass); Laura Mikula (painting & pastel); Sue
Rochester (oil painting)
· Lakeview Wine Cellars: Tajana Roehl (photography); Tamara Maas (painting)
· Mazza Vineyards: Peggy Campbell (photography & mixed media)
· Penn Shore Vineyards: Christine French (mixed media); Bryan Toy (drawing, painting); Toni
Kelly (watercolor & calligraphy)
· Presque Isle Wine Cellars: Becky Samler (photography)
· South Shore Wine Company: John Ballard (woodworking & mixed media); Jon Miller
(painting, sculpture & collage); Vanessa Mazza (painting & mixed
media)

Catholic women's conference

I had a wonderful time today at the Catholic women's conference at the Hearthsone Manor, which was sponsored by WLOF Catholic radio. There were 1.200 women in attendance and several wonderful speakers including Teresa Tomeo, Leah Darrow, Mother Olga and Maryalice Demler from channel 2. It was a very uplifting and informative day.

Lenten Fish Frys

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a time of religious reflection and sacrifice as we prepare for Easter Sunday. However one of the ironies of Lent is that while we sacrifice by not eating meat certain days, we have a fish fry, which to me is not really a sacrifice!! A priest at a parish I belonged to years ago once commented that it would be more of a sacrifice to eat a bologna sandwich than to eat lobster on Friday in Lent…..hmmm something to think about.

Anyhow, below are a few upcoming fish frys that you might want to enjoy. Many churches will be having fish fries in the coming weeks, so watch for signs out in front of churches of all faiths as you drive around. For restaurants that offer fish fries, check out www.buffalofishfry.com

Brighton Community Church, 1225 Brighton Road, Tonawanda
Rachel Circle is once again sponsoring a fish fry dinner to benefit the general fund of the church. The dinner will be held Friday February 24th from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. Tickets will be $9.50 and will be available in advance or at the door. Take-outs will be available. We will also be offering a prize drawing in conjunction with the dinner. Tickets for the drawing will be $1.00 for one chance or $5.00 for 6 and will be available in advance or at the door the night of the dinner.

St. Gregory the Great, 250 St. Gregory Court, Williamsville (next to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital)
All are welcome to attend our Fish Fry Fridays during Lent! Join us February 24, March 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 from 4-7 pm in the School Gym. Your choice of Fish or Breaded Shrimp dinner comes with cole slaw, French fries, roll and butter, drinks and homemade desserts! Pre-sale ticket price is $8.00, tickets at the door are $9.00. Dine-in or drive-up and take-out available! Pizza will also be available for children for $1.00 per slice. Afterwards, join us for Stations of the Cross at 7:00 pm in the Church.