Real Estate Blog - Clay Pit Pond State Park

WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (3/19 – 3/22/16)

Now that my crocus and tulip plants are starting to bloom, spring must be right around the corner.  I’m excited about spring cleaning, recycling, sharing clothes with family, friends and those less fortunate and starting anew.  There is nothing like an uncluttered house, garage, basement to put me in the mood for shorts, T-shirts, basking in the sun and a better outlook on life.  Another recycling event takes place this week and provides a great opportunity to dispose of electronics, TV’s, etc. that are merely collecting dust. Take advantage of this event on Saturday.

As part of efforts to educate the public during Colon Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Joseph Roberts, a gastroenterologist at Richmond University Medical Center, 355 Bard Ave., will give a…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (3/2 – 3/6/16)

When I was a teenager working part-time after school at the New York Public Library as a PAGE, I would sometimes get lost in the volumes of books I returned to the shelves.  I was an avid reader as a kid and not a big history buff, but I would just eat up anything about the history of Staten Island and New York City. The books had wonderful pictures of Staten Island as a wilderness.  My Dad would walk us to Sailor’s Snug Harbor in our neighborhood--a home for retired merchant seamen.  There were cows, horses and other livestock grazing on the property along Henderson Ave. and great “old” buildings (which still exist) where the snugs lived.  We would listen to the sailors relate stories of their lives and travels and how they came to retire on Staten…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (2/17 – 2/21/16)

I hope you took advantage of the FREE health screenings at Go Red for Women: Heart Stoppers last Wednesday at the Regina McGinn Education Center.  Many of us only go to the doctor when we are sick. We’re treated and quickly forget about health issues until the next time an ailment arises.  Many years ago, I worked in the Medical Dept. of a large insurance company.  Every year, each employee had a full blood work-up, physical exam, dental check up and cleaning, PAP, mammography, counseling, chest X-rays, colonoscopies and more.  When I recall the benefits we were afforded, how could one not stay healthy?  Instead of taking the day off when you weren't feeling up to par, you visited the Medical Dept.  If your blood pressure was abnormal, you were checked…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (12/31 – 1/3/16)

I hope your holidays were happy, fun and blessed.  I was fortunate to have been surrounded with family and friends for a week before Christmas and afterwards, made some new friends, Annette and Fr. John, and met my old friend, Pat, from Roanoke, VA enjoying a five-hour chat fest with her.  It was a very special holiday season. 

So now, as I write this on the Eve of the New Year 2016, I wonder if this year, instead of resolutions, I should jot down “goals”.  Every year, the diet and exercise is a given. In 2016, let me begin with “patience”.  I sometimes become irritable because things don’t always seem to go the way I imagine they would.  Do any of you, my gentle readers, identify with me?  My goal is to count to ten or…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (12/16 – 12/20/15)

On Saturday, three more carolers joined our group at the Silver Lake Nursing Home to sing for the residents.  I thank my gentle readers for passing the word.  We met at the dining room on the lower level and then continued on to the dining rooms on other floors.  One senior, who is a proud 103 years old, sang merrily along with us.  On one floor, I heard an alarm go off.  It was a woman who got out of her wheel chair (thus, the alarm) and started dancing as we were singing “Santa Baby”.  Oh how these wonderful men and woman must have loved to party in their younger days!  May God bless them all and help keep their spirits up.  I want to thank my brother, Mark Kamienowski, for playing his guitar and keeping us in line and with the beat!  The St. Peter's…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (12/3 – 12/6/15)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and long weekend off.  Are you ready for the Holiday Stroll along the Forest Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) tomorrow, Thursday, 12/3 from 4-6 p.m.?  This is a terrific family event featuring the Forest Ave. strip from Hart Blvd. to Broadway!  Businesses set up tables outside their stores/offices, greeting the Strollers, sharing food, goodies, information and give-aways. You can have your picture taken with Santa, enjoy Christmas carolers and most importantly, meet friends and make new acquaintances along the way.  (Check out the cheek-to-cheek close-up of me and Santa from last year's Stroll!)

Don’t forget to stop by the patio at Burrito Bar and Restaurant to welcome our own Sgt. Bryan…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (11/19– 11/22/15)

Do you write?  Have you ever kept a diary or a journal?  Was English composition your favorite subject in school?  If you haven’t yet done much creative writing but would like to start, why don’t you try out Memoirs OutLOUD--a creative writing workshop at St. George Branch of the New York Public Library, 5 Central Ave. held on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month at 10 a.m.  They will help you explore your potential with interesting exercises.  You can bring some of your work to share with the group and can work at your own pace.  No pressure, just fun and support.  You can come to every session, or drop in & out, according to your personal schedule.  Writing is good for the soul! 

Speaking of the New York Public Library (one of my favorites), I…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (10/22– 10/25/15)

How many of you are now Jazz fans after attending the Staten Island Jazz Festival last Saturday?  Have you or your offspring signed up for one of the many classes being offered at the Universal Temple of the Arts?  Visit: UTASI.org for information on classes.  Did you help plant trees at the Greenbelt last week?  

I suppose all thoughts are on Halloween--decorating the house or your yard and making or buying costumes for the kiddies.  My grandson helped me decorate with ceramics ghosts and pumpkins made by my Mom over the years.  He chooses the different paper decorations made or inherited to tape to all the windows and front door.  We both have fun, and he adds his creative touches.  How many of you decorate with your children and then change it to…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (10/15–10/18/15)

Attention all of you Jazz aficionados!  The 28th Annual Staten Island Jazz Festival, presented by the Universal Temple of the Arts, takes place on Saturday, 10/17 at the Music Hall at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace.  Beginning at 10:30 a.m., you can participate in diverse jazz-themed workshops:  music, vocals, dance and collage art and a panel discussion titled “The History & Future of Jazz”.  From 2 through 7 p.m. enjoy five hours of live music.  For information on admission and acts, visit:  UTASI.org or e-mail info@utasi.org. Save $5 off advance tickets by calling 718-273-5610.

The co-founder and executive director of UTA is Sajda Musawwir Ladner, a lovely woman whom I have known for many years after sharing a pattern…

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WEEKEND EVENTS ON STATEN ISLAND (10/1– 10/4/15)

My vegetable garden did not do as well as in summers past, but my grandson and I were able to harvest some beans (we ate them immediately after picking), a few small tomatoes, a few green peppers, a bunch of hot peppers, four butternut squashes and lettuce.  Luckily for us, our neighbors have shared their long green Sri Lankan beans which have also attached itself to my Rose of Sharon so we had plenty to keep our bellies filled. Below is the last of the long green beans and tomatoes. 

Even the figs have been slow to ripen.  Now is the time to get your composting sifted and placed on top of your flower and vegetable beds and around your fruit trees.  I was told that next year my apples will be perfect if I prep the soil correctly with compost.  If you…

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