Did you attend Living with Deer on Saturday at the Greenbelt Nature Center. During a recent trip to Colorado, I spotted four bucks just crossing the street. They are huge up close!  Notice how they look you right in the eye. 


Then, while driving home on a secondary road at night, I noticed a dark blur in front of my car. When I high-beamed the blur, it turned out to be a bunch of baby deer just hanging out in the middle of the road. Where was Mommy?!  The deer population on Staten Island has become just as rampant.  Please—don’t feed the deer!

Did you bring your family to the Victorian parlour at the beautiful Mont Sec House to listen to a Victorian Thanksgiving Story, attend Poetry and Prose with Staten Island OutLOUD celebrating Greenbelt’s…

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Did you attend Folk Arts: Living Traditions-A Student Exhibition at Conference House Park last week, or finally get down to writing at the Wednesday Morning Writing Group at Great Kills Library, (I know how challenging but rewarding that can be!)?  Have your high schoolers signed up for Girls Who Code Club at the DSI Tech Incubator? Did you finally admit that you want to start your own business and attended the Learn How to Build a Successful Business Plan seminar at the St. George Library?

Check out the list of Holiday/Christmas Fairs this week around Staten Island! Trinity Lutheran Church held its Annual Arts and Crafts Fair on Saturday. Following are photos from this event.

 

People ask me, “How can I receive the “Weekend…

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Did you take a hike as my gentle reader, Diane, did last week? There are plenty of organized hikes each week, but you can always take a friend or pup and go off on your own and discover new wonderful places to get lost in nature. See this week’s choices below. A number of Christmas/Holiday Fairs took place this past week and many more will follow (see schedule at end of blog). I attended a fair at Holy Family Church Hall. So many talented artisans displayed their wares for sale.  I met friends I had not seen in years and made new ones including a couple of proud Veterans. Following are photos from this event:

 

On my travels Sunday afternoon, I came upon Mona Oman, a commercial artist and mother of two, beautifying the side…

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A Brief History of Veterans Day (borrowed from “Military.com”)

 

Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.

In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress -- at the urging of the veterans service organizations -- amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1,…

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Did you take advantage of the warm albeit rainy weather this past week? It was hard for the kiddies to go Trick or Treating with the intermittent rain, but they did get a reprieve with the heat and were able go out later in the day without coats. Many of the schools had a Halloween parade around the school grounds. It’s fun to get dressed up for the day.

Were you able to attend the Tenant, Homeowner and Landlord Resource Housing Resource Fair at the Staten Island Museum Auditorium in Snug Harbor, the Scandinavian Holiday Fair at Eger Home, the Fundraiser Clothing Drive and 5th Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive with Friends of Kivlehan Park to benefit Project Hospitality on Saturday, or Community Christmas Holiday Fair at the Reformed Protestant Dutch…

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Did you participate in any of the many Halloween activities on Staten Island with your children or attend All About Bats at Bloomingdale Park? I always loved getting dressed up for Halloween as a kid (never store bought, always old clothes from Mom or Dad turned into a costume), and I always love seeing houses decorated for the season. A few houses I have passed lately are displays of death, horror--chillingly grotesque. Is this what Halloween has become? Are we so immune to horror that we want to add it our every day lives? Sorry, not in my book! Today is my gallery of “tasteful” Fall/Halloween decorations. Also, photos of homemade costumes over the years.  Hope you enjoy!

People ask me, “How can I…

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I applaud all my readers and friends who walked in and donated to the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk fundraiser.  Breast cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer in women. About 1 in 8 women in the United States will get breast cancer at some point. The good news is that most women can survive breast cancer if it is found and treated early. A mammogram, the screening test for breast cancer, can help find breast cancer early when it is easier to treat.  Men can get breast cancer, too–over 2,000 men are diagnosed each year. Learn more about male breast cancer: https://bit.ly/2r9nisQ  A mobile clinic, Project Renewal ScanVan, is offering free mammograms and breast exams to women ages 40+ on …

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Did you attend Con-Ed Stem Family Day: Dancing Skeletons at Staten Island MakerSpace, Port Richmond Comic-Con at the Pt. Richmond Library, take a Fall Nature Bike Tour at Brookfield Park or bring your 2, 3, 4 year olds to Greenbelt Peepers or Tree Tots at Greenbelt Nature Center in Blood Root Valley? Did you honor our veterans at the Staten Island Oktoberfest sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Staten Island and Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 NY or Turn & Learn Compost Work Day (NYC Compost Project) at Sung Harbor Cultural Center?

I participated in the Preservation League of Staten Island’s walking tour around New Brighton’s Hamilton Park neighborhood featuring “Porches, Pillars and Posts” led by Eloise Calderwood and John Kilcullen. It began at Christ…

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Did you pick any pumpkins this week, attend Oktoberfests, Harvest Fests or the opening of Making Faces, the solo exhibition of the ceramics and drawings by Victoria L. Bellinger at Art On The Terrace Gallery?

On Sunday, the St. Peter’s High School for Girls Alumnae Association held their Annual Reunion Brunch at LiGreci’s Staaten. Our class of 1969 had a great turnout. Those 50 years seem to have flown by in a blink.  It was so much fun trying to figure out who was who as we gathered--there should have been name tags! Looking at my fellow classmates in my mind’s eye as teens, we still look terrific! We laughed, told stories, anecdotes from those days, took loads of photos and posted them.  Some of the stories I remembered vividly, some I had no…

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Did you visit Corporal Allan F. Kivlehan Park this week and/or volunteer to help maintain the Sandy Memorial Garden in New Dorp Beach Park, try your hand at Fastnet Observational Drawing Workshop at Freshkills Park, bring the toddlers to Changing Color STEM Program, participate in the Out of the Darkness Walk, or clean out the basement, attic, garage and take advantage of the Staten Island SAFE Disposal Event at Midland Beach?

The 49th Annual Fence Show at Snug Harbor was a hit! Following are photos from this event.

 

 

The deadline for submitting a photo of you and your pet for the 3rd Annual Protecting Our Pets’ Calendar Photo Contest, sponsored by the District Attorney of Richmond County, is Friday,…

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