Lake Dippin' in the Adirondacks!

If I was forced to choose, I'd have to say that my favorite summer place to be is by the Atlantic seashore, anywhere from Maine to Florida, though I have really only experienced a handful of beaches along the coast.   As children, we spent summer weekends on Long Island (Fire Island, Robert Moses State Park), and the Jersey shore (Stone Harbor, Avalon, Spring Lake).  My favorite memories are of family vacations to Stone Harbor in NJ and also to Robert Moses State Park in Long Island (with our Cella/McGeehan cousins). Our parents and all seven kids would load into the station wagon and join the hoards of people heading south and east to do the same thing -- enjoy the sun, sea, and surf that only a beach vacation can provide, whether it's for a Sunday afternoon or an entire week.  There's nothing quite so revitalizing. There are still many east coast beaches on my list, and hopefully I'll be visiting them in the not-too-distant future!

Because we are inlanders now and live hours from the nearest low- or high-tide, the very next best thing to the waves and dunes is a trip to Lake George, or any Adirondack Lake, where I can travel to in an hour or less and feel as though I'm far away from home.  I especially love Lake George.  It pulls me with such magnetic force on any summer day with warm temperatures and bright skies.  Within the past week, I spent time in Fourth Lake in Luzurne with my daughter Katie and her husband Bill, and grandsons Hank and Pete, and the next day took off for a solo and beautifully peaceful morning on the beach of Rogers Memorial Park in Bolton Landing (Lake George).  Then Tuesday I spent the afternoon with friends on the dock of Wiawaka's boat house (also Lake George).

I so love the Adirondacks and its lakes, but especially Lake George, a true gift to those of us who live close enough to enjoy visiting often.  Tomorrow I'm back to writing about muffins (orange cranberry to be specific) but in the meantime,  here are some photos of this week's lake visits...  Can't wait to dip my toes into the lake again, as soon as possible!!!

Fourth Lake in Luzurne, New York

Wiawaka, on the south east shore of Lake George

Bolton Landing, New York (Lake George!)

A Boy and a Cupcake

It's another beautiful summer day off for me!  No sleeping in, though -- it was early-to-rise this morning to make cupcakes for my friend Sarah.  It's her son-in-law's birthday.  She only wanted a dozen, and I don't know how to make only a dozen, so I made 21 cupcakes.  Just as I was finishing them up, I heard a little voice and footsteps coming up the stairs to my apartment.  "Gwa!" (that's Henry-speak for Grandma) and there was Henry at my door.  He saw the cupcakes and for the first few minutes just looked at them with awe and curiosity.  Then he asked me for one.  It's 9 a.m.  He's still in his pajamas.  I thought about it.  I said, "No, these are for later."  Definitely not.  No way.  Then he looked at me with those eyes.  I caved.  I'm such a lightweight.  There are photos as evidence, but his mother doesn't need to know about this.  After all, the sign on my kitchen wall releases me from all liability (doesn't it? - his lawyer-mother may argue that point!):

We're off to a day at the beach (Bolton Landing on Lake George, of course!)...Hope you have a great day as well!

A Flurry of a Week!

Since my last post, there's been a wholelottastuff going on.  So this is a long one!   I've been beyond busy, to say the least.  Please forgive the lapse, my readers.  To redeem myself, today I'm providing a recap of the past week, just so you know I haven't been sitting on my posterior eating bon bons, ignoring my blog!

Outside my "9-5" I have, of course, been baking.  I had a four-cake weekend, all birthday cakes for friends.  Friday's cake was for brothers Patrick and Sean, sons of family cousins Danny and Mary.  My camera battery was recharging so no photo of that cake.  It was a big round marble cake frosted in Hershey Chocolate frosting (the recipe on the back of the can).  I didn't want to do the typical flower-y cake thing for these two strapping young men, so I made more of a celebration cake with confetti sprinkles.  There was a problem, though, because I didn't have sprinkles and I had to make my own.  So I took fondant, divided it up in small portions, and made different colors.  I rolled each color out and cut it into little squares.  I tossed all the colored squares together, and taa-daa!: I had sprinkles, home-made, colorful, and pretty!  Here are the other three cakes I made with my home-made confetti:

For Kim's Family, One Cake for Six Birthdays!

For the Kane Girls, Kendall and Morgan!

Before you say "yikes" or "eccchhh" at the intensity, please know that these colorful custom cakes were requested to be bright green and bright purple.  I don't just go around dumping vats of food coloring in my frosting -- no, these were special requests and I honored them, and they're pretty darn cute!  When I stopped by the Kane house to drop them off, the girls were giddy with happiness at their individual cakes, which made me very happy.  The color show went beyond the frosting to the interior of the cakes, which were marbled in white, hot pink, lime green, and purple (also their request).  If it made two little girls happy, that's enough for me.

Prior to Saturday's cakes, I had a crushing headache (started as an ocular migraine) and had to sleep.  By Friday night, I was recovered enough to attend the CD Release Party for Skeletons in the Piano.  Jeff Ayers, my daughter Tricia's boyfriend, is the keyboardist and also plays a wicked electric violin!  The party was at the Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs, an eclectic venue that draws all types of people.  Though I was one of the few older people in the crowd, I was very happy to be there.  Tricia had a table set up selling t-shirts, CDs, and her own beautiful silver-wrapped jewelry (we're both wearing her jewelry in the photo below).  I always knew Jeff was in a band and that he plays often; I'd just never heard or seen them.  A lot of talent in this band.  Jeff was trained as a classic violinist and though his artistry as an electric violinist is 180-degrees distant from his early training, that foundation laid the groundwork for something wonderfully different.  He is an incredible showman.  After the show was over, he ran up to Tricia, dipped her, and gave her a big kiss!  They are a very happy couple, laughing all the time.  I am in awe of their unique talents.

My daughter, Tricia

 

 Jeff at the Keyboard

 

Tricia and Me, Wearing her Jewels!

 Jeff on Electric Violin

CD Release Party, Putnam Den, Saratoga Springs

By Sunday, I wanted nothing more than to spend a relaxing, summer day.  My nephew Will (such a great kid) and I drove up to Bolton Landing to swim at my favorite beach on my favorite lake.  Rogers Memorial Beach on Lake George is so beautiful.  It's hard to believe that it costs nothing to spend time in such a terrific place.  Will and I jumped off the end of the dock and swam, got out until we were so hot we had to jump in again, and did that four times!  We had sandwiches from the deli across the street.  On the way home, we drove with windows and sunroof open, talking about what a good day we'd had.  We stopped at Martha's Dandee Creme for ice cream cones.  We ran into my brother Steven and sister Ginny there (quite a coincidence).

Beach at Rogers Memorial Park, Bolton Landing, Lake George

(Sagamore Hotel in the Distance)

And a cone to top it all off!

My brother Steven O'Farrell and nephew Will Bishop

Hope you enjoyed  you week as well.  I promise I won't stay away from the blog this long again.  I missed it, and I still have a lot to write about!

Photos:  by me

Bolton Landing

This is a photo of my great-neice Lili having fun in Lake George last summer. We were at a beach in Bolton Landing on the west shore of Lake George, about 10 miles north of the village. It was a picture-perfect summer day. Bolton Landing is one of my favorite places on earth, and it is less than an hour away. Part of the reason I love it is because that’s where I visit my daughter Katie’s family. Katie, her husband Bill, and little Henry live in a cute bungalow on the road that leads up to the Sagamore Golf Course. They have a one-bedroom home on a couple of acres with a pond and an impressive waterfall. Needing more elbow room, they’re building the new home in Middle Grove. There they’ll have much more living space and many more acres of land, not to mention a Grandma right over the garage!

Even though they won’t be living in Bolton Landing for much longer, we’ll still continue to be regulars there. Katie and Bill are boating enthusiasts and can’t stay away from Lake George for long. Reasons for loving Bolton Landing are many. First of all, it’s on Lake George. There’s pretty much nothing better than that. It’s a small town with everything anyone should need. There’s an ATM, a Ben and Jerry’s, a post office, a Grand Union, a Stewart’s Shop, a good deli, a Laundromat, a liquor store, and very good restaurants (I love Cate’s for Italian food). There’s a boutique, a new pizza shop, a few bars, gift shops, soft ice cream, an antique dealer, an internet café, a cute produce stand with seasonal offerings, a library, a museum, churches, free parking, two great beaches, and more. And of course, there’s the Sagamore Hotel. All this is found within about four walking blocks. On the Fourth of July, you’ll see one of the best fireworks displays in the area, originating from a barge out on the lake, just south of the Sagamore. Boaters drop anchor to watch the fireworks from the water. Others gather at Rogers Park and along Route 9N for their view.

Katie says they roll up the sidewalks between Labor Day and Memorial Day, but that’s a bit of an exaggeration. You will find people milling about through the holidays. Between January and March, there’s too much snow and it’s too cold to notice what is or isn’t going on!

In the summer time, I love the beach at Roger’s Memorial Park. Nestled in a cove with expansive views of the Sagamore and pretty boat houses along the the lake, this beach is Bolton Landing’s best kept secret. Locals know it’s there, but more people go to the larger Veterans' Beach just north of the last traffic light. I often take Friday afternoons in the summer and spend them at the beach at Roger’s Park. Pleasure boats use the long wooden dock for easy access to town and swimming. The large Mohican and Minnehaha boats steam by. Parasailors ascend and land out on the water. Teenagers jump off a nearby pier. The sandy beach is perfect for little nieces and nephews who come with sand toys and kites. Sisters and friends join me for sun-filled afternoons talking about everything and nothing. We pack a picnic lunch or pick something up at the deli across the street, and hang out until it seems the right time to leave. Somehow, though, that time always comes too soon.

Driving home after a day like that is a pleasure. I turn the radio on to the oldies station, open the sun roof and let the wind dry my hair. The slow, winding drive down Route 9N to exit 22 of the Northway is a beautiful experience. There are gorgeous vistas of the lake, and lots of one-of-a-kind motels and stopping points. It seems as though time has stood still in this small little portion of the world. Looking forward to the next time, I never feel as though I’m leaving this favorite place for long.