Archive: Around Town

Out and About in the Finger LakesWell, it was Halloween last weekend and for us that means that at least someone in our extended family will enlist Mary's help in last minute costume design. Since Jim's costume had , for once, been done in advance and Mary just needed to add ears and a shawl to her usual robe, we were in danger of having a rather dull Friday night.

Suddenly, the phone rang.  Our "granddaughter by mutual choice", Tigan, came to our rescue! Could we pick her up at school, run an errand with her and maybe add a few last touches to her "super hero" costume? After years of dress-up we still have a hard time predicting what her original mind will invent and we weren't disappointed. "Gavel Girl, bringing order to the court", was the character lurking in her closet this year.

She's a Senior on the highly ranked (2nd in NY State competitions) Mock Trial team at LACS so it was a natural, right?  A pair of black gloves, some glitter glue and a bit of iron on fabric were all that would be needed to make the look complete since she already had the white vinyl knee high boots, tights, mask and, of course, a gavel!

There was only one problem: where to stop for a snack for a famished teenager in Lansing? I had read the Lansing Star review of the Lansing Fresh Café, near Rogues Harbor, a few weeks back and decided to give it a try. We were pleasently surprised that, even at 5:50pm, Maggie Deyhim and Jon Memarzadeh were both there to greet us with pizza and a fine raspberry cream cheese Danish to go with our coffee. The atmosphere is relaxed and the furnishings speak the language of hospitality as clearly as the smiles of the owners, while the service is prompt and the food is fresh. We would have liked a chance to browse the well filled corner book shelf or take advantage of the internet access but we settled for fresh coffee, a Danish and a couple of Tigan's favorite chocolate biscotti for later.

Mary and Tigan enjoyed the Café so much that Jim also gave it a try Sunday afternoon. It doesn't seem to matter what the day of the week is, the greeting is sincere and the food is fresh. We had a scone and Danish with our Mocha Java this time, but Maggie was making a fresh sandwich to order that looked very tempting. The young man who came just after us was sitting down near the window to eat it by the time Jon had taken out his wallet to proudly show Jim pictures of their children and cashed up our order. While getting your breakfast or lunch sandwich at the Fresh Café might not be quite as fast as a drive through, it will be a lot better made to order and support a new local neighborhood business as well. With hours from 6am-6pm EVERY day(even holidays), very good prices, and a quick place to eat lunch, you will probably see us there more often.


It was a damp night with a time change and trip coming the morning after Halloween so we opted for the Farmer's Market parade instead of the late night adult party at Americana Winery that we have enjoyed for several Hallow's Eves. With "Gavel Girl" in full super hero mode, Jim, the real life computer wizard, in his alter ego robe and Mary sporting her elf ears, we ventured forth to Market with our pet owl (puppet) for some fun. The parade was a bit disjointed as it wound through the crowd at the market with small children, parents, venders, and a few locals like us just out for the fun of it.

One family even had a home made fire truck complete with working lights and a siren for their two young "firefighters" along with the usual animals and fairy princesses. Jim had fun interacting with several children who stopped to check out the owl puppet. One little fairy princess in particular came back several times with her father and grand father, shyly coming closer to touching the puppet each time while her dad took pictures.

No Halloween would be complete without some magic, so we stopped at Bellwhether Cider's market booth for their "Black Magic" blend of hard cider and black currant juice, a dry, but surprisingly sweet/tart alcoholic brew that is the perfect sparkling Ruby Red Slipper color for a Halloween punch bowl. We celebrated with a family dinner later, but it was a quiet Halloween here at the end of a long driveway.

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