Photo Per Day #17: Pittsford Wines

Tonight is our annual neighborhood Christmas party and gag gift swap. I shopped at my neighbor's fabulous wine store. Great wines at reasonable prices and right smack dab in the village. No need to navigate the mall. Amen. Amen.

I didn't just buy anything; I bought local. In this case, I purchased a bottle of Cherry Liqueur from Finger Lakes Distilling. Just this week, I discovered this local distillery via my good friend Google after being entranced with the idea of establishing my very own distillery. Alas, someone beat me to the punch (pun intended, really). It just sounded so enticing in a recent article about a moonshine business that was published in my favorite magazine, Garden and Gun (where everything sounds so damn romantic). Maybe, at a later date, I'll try the Finger Lakes whiskey or gin. I want them to be successful, after all, right?!

Altruism never sounded so good.

Cabin Fever

Happiness, for me, could come in the form of a tiny, one room cabin. Lakeside. Honeoye Lake preferably because it's teeny, sweet and charming--and just a hop, skip and jump from the house.



I saw this Cavco Cabin on the Tiny House blog a few weeks ago and loved it. Sadly, they don't currently sell them in NYS. Mind you, I can't currently afford it (or the land), either.

My other option would be an Airstream trailer. I don't care how small it is. Unlike the new build McMansions on Canandaigua Lake that are no longer cottages but more like garish monstrosities, I just want a little getaway that doesn't take itself too seriously. I could decorate in cowboy kitsch or junk gypsy and serve mojitos nightly.

However, now that Sherman's Travel named the Finger Lakes region the number one lakeside retreat in the world (beating out Lake Como!), I may never be able to afford my lakeside luxury-light. As Rochester magazine quipped, I'm sure George Clooney will be searching for his newest villa here shortly. Maybe we could be next door neighbors . . .

I wonder if he likes grilled cheese sandwiches and sangria?

Aging with My Friends

A couple of years ago, I was sitting with my girlfriend Meg's husband on their basement floor while his daughters covered us with makeup and feather boas and placed big hats on our heads. I asked him, "If you had seen a vision of yourself like this when you were in college, do you think you would have had kids?" He responded, "Probably not. This can't look good."

I was thinking about appearances again last weekend while at my girlfriend Mary's cottage on Keuka Lake.

On Saturday, I just wanted to swim out to their floating trampoline and chill out in the sunshine but totally took up the challenge to coax another friend, Christine, into a "slow" tube ride behind the boat with us while agreeing with Mary's husband that, as soon as we were comfortable, he should go as fast as possible.

Really, at what age do people stop trying to mess with each others' heads? We've been friends since the late 60s/early 70s and nothing (yet everything) has changed.

I wondered if, at age 15, I had seen a future vision of ourselves in our mid-40s, with kids on the boat, screaming like we were still teenagers, would I have thought it looked funny?

I remember Mary telling me when we were around 20 years old that she couldn't wait until we got into the nursing home so we could eat Ho Hos all day long and play quarters whenever we wanted. Her premise was: Who cares if we get fat when we're 85? We may as well have fun.

Although the quarters part is no longer appealing, I think hanging out with my girlfriends when I'm 85 appeals to me even more today than it did when I was 20.

Oddly enough, just as I was writing this, I got a call from my friend Erin who said that her parents had moved to -- get this -- Surprise, Arizona. She said it was like Disneyworld for retirees. They are on the party circuit, going out for dinners, cruising around in golf carts, and having the time of their lives. Doesn't that sound like fun?

For now, I'll enjoy the weekends with my kids and my friends. In 40 years, who knows. Will it be quarters at dawn or golf?

Labor Day

I’m unbelievably sad that summer is over but extremely grateful to have had a long weekend filled with relaxation including hanging out at my girlfriend Mary’s pool (where she had the water at 90 degrees), seeing my brother and nephew briefly as they made their way from Lake Forest to Freshman year at Brown, swimming with Meg and her girls at Canandaigua Lake (where the water is like bath water right now), swimming off my brother-in-law’s boat in Seneca Lake (where the water is slightly colder but really refreshing), lounging in my hammock, and, drumroll please, cleaning my room, emptying and rearranging closets, throwing out a box filled with expired medications, and gathering clothes for the Salvation Army. I feel soooooooooo good right now. Let's see how long it lasts.

Check out this beautiful stock photography from Bill Banaszewski! Until mere moments ago, I had never heard of this man but some of these images of the Finger Lakes are gorgeous. As much as I loathe living here during the winter, the summers in Upstate NY are fabulous and the scenery is stunning.

A friend who lived here briefly during our summer internships with the Xerox MBA Enterprise Corps years ago used to ask me, "Where do I go around here to see and be seen?" My answer, "Toronto?"

Nope. There are few people to "see" around here but we have plenty of sights. Now I just need to become a great skier so I can enjoy the winter, too.