The Best Place for Halloween

See, just like any town in America.


Or maybe not......

Not Saranac Lake, Not NYC

Milwaukee! To totally go off-topic, Team Williams took a quick trip to another favorite city this weekend to attend the nuptuals of two of our favorite people. There was running and singing and dancing and laughing and sausage-eating, and Lakefront Brewery drinking. We are now collectively exhausted as we made the most of every minute in the city where we lived for 10 years prior to Manhattan. Our friends seem ageless in their pursuit of fun and frivolity... they didn't coin the term "Party Like a Reporter" for nothing. The great news is that we think we've successfully convinced the group to hold our Annual Ski Trip (12th year!) at the barn this year. Now we just need to ready the septic!

Last Call for Maze!

You saw some of the pictures from Oscar Fest but I had to post separately about the incredible people at Tucker Farms (who also grow some incredible taters). This is our 2nd year doing the corn maze and it is such a fun experience. You are first shown an aerial view of the maze and then given an outline of the picture showing the general location of a series of mail boxes which hold pieces of photos of the maze. It takes about two hours and after there is hot cider (bien sur!) The people at the farm are so nice and really get into the spirit. If you are heading to the Adirondacks to see some last fall colors, make sure to go to Gabriel's for the last few weeks of the maze this year.

Case in Point

So it's pouring rain and I've just run to Clarke's school to drop off a permission slip he lost/forgot to tell me about/needed in an hour (don't get me started). It's 11:45am and I haven't had breakfast so I decide to duck into a non descript Chinese restaurant on Eighth Avenue (one of about 20 within 10 blocks). I am the only one in the restaurant and I comment to the Vietnamese guy at the front (owner I think) that I can't believe he is Vietnamese and doesn't serve Pho on his menu, as it's my favorite soup. He then says "you want Pho?" and out comes the waiter to tell me they do make it! shhhhhh. He then excitedly tells me they make it the "real way" and it comes to my table 5 minutes later, perfectly prepared with fresh basil, lime, hoisin, rooster sauce and bean sprouts. Luckily it wasn't too authentic and I didn't find tripe, or other organs. I was out the door, warmed and spiced 15 minutes later, having paid the $6.75 check. Per my last post, this is NYC where any minute there can be a fun surprise. I have this same feeling whenever we are in the Adirondacks. In fact, i need to post on the Eat N Meet in Saranac Lake, as these guys are the embodiment of quirky, fabulousness.

PS. NYC being NYC, though, my fortune cookie had an advertisement! (?).

Saving America

Love my lofty title. OK, so I have been thinking a lot about our two lives lately and thinking lots about politics lately (maybe it has to do with Joe's 24/7 mission ) Though I often dwell on the differences in our apartment vs. the barn, I am convinced I love both these places because they have much in common. Rural and small town America has so much in common with urban living - not all cities but definitely NYC. What many folks don't realize is that living in nyc is the ultimate in small town living. You know your shopkeepers, neighbors know your personal matters, you know all your kids' friends' parents. Small towns and NYC are filled with rich characters. We both relish local and family run vs. convenience of big boxes. I love feeling connected and finding out the little secrets of the places to go and people to see. I love that the guy that knows the brother who's wife is friends with the lady, can help you with your problem.

My neighbors in NYC think I'd be crazy to live in Saranac Lake full time and my neighbors in Saranac Lake think my nyc friends are alien nation but when everyone meets, they realize we are all quirky non-conformists. Kumbaya!

Oscar Fest 2007

Nine kids, fifteen passenger van, one car vomit, dozens of foosball games, one day of rain, five movies, eight kids surviving the ski lift, hundreds of giggle fits, zero blood drawn, three episodes of inappropriate language, three jumbo pizzas, six acres of corn maze, forty-eight pancakes, one very happy Oscar Williams. I'd love to post all one hundred pictures as they are totally adorable but I haven't gotten sign off yet from all parents so here are a few authorized crowd shots until I can post slide show.

It's like exercise

You know when you are working out every day and you think "How could I ever not do this? I feel terrific. This is fun. I am going to work out every day for the rest of my life" And then you miss a few days....weeks....and somehow it becomes this dreaded thing that is so hard to start because you feel increasingly out of shape... and you dread the pain to get back into the habit. Wow I feel better just typing that. Anyway, that's what happened with my blogging this last month. So many things happened that I couldn't keep up on and I just didn't know where to begin! So I am beginning. I wasn't sure what I would write about but now I know. How about how freaked out I am that I am out of shape in the city. I felt so damn strong at the barn, between the hiking and biking and canoeing and gardening and lifting all those wine glasses. It was effortless exercise but now- ugh - it means getting up at 5am or heading out after dinner and it's just harder to pull off. I feel like I walk all day in the city between getting boys to school, getting home, getting to my client's office, running errands. Up and down subway stairs and up and down our four flights of stairs all day, but it's just not enough. I can feel it. Time to get a plan.