Goodbye World!

[Meadrol]

Hey Aaron, Ithaca isn't all that far from Victor (near Finger Lakes); if you can't find any friends I can point you to a haunted house I used to live in....I'm just sure that that crabby old lady and needy little boy will be happy to give you a proper welcome. That's the honest truth, folks...no joking around about it.

 

[Altricious]

Hey Aaron, Ithaca isn't all that far from Victor (near Finger Lakes); if you can't find any friends I can point you to a haunted house I used to live in....I'm just sure that that crabby old lady and needy little boy will be happy to give you a proper welcome. That's the honest truth, folks...no joking around about it.

My mother and I are in Rochester at least twice a year so we go by there often. Where was this haunted house? My mother loves those things.

 

[Meadrol]

My mother and I are in Rochester at least twice a year so we go by there often. Where was this haunted house? My mother loves those things.

In Victor on Main Street right across from the Canandaigua Bank clock; last I heard it had been turned into a restaurant. Valentown Museum is one place she could go; that place is really haunted too.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

 

[akueck]

No Haunted House necessary, I am now coming to you from our new living room (on the camp chairs while we wait for the moving truck). The snow here wasn't too bad, Ithaca is blocked by a couple lakes from the major lake effect snow you get out by Buffalo and Rochester. Already found the local bakery, a gym, a bank, and of course the wine store from our college days. Whoo!

 

[wayneb]

Well then, "Welcome Home!" ;D

 

[Medsen Fey]

Please forgive the explicit language, but I thought this diary entry from some former New Yorkers might amuse you.

DEAR DIARY

AUG 12 Moved to our new home in upstate New York. It is so beautiful
here. The mountains are so majestic. Can hardly wait to see them with
snow on them. I love it here.

OCT 14 Upstate New York is the most beautiful place on earth. The
leaves are turned all the colors and shades of red and orange. Went for a
ride through the beautiful mountains and saw some deer. They are so
graceful, certainly they are the most wonderful animal on earth. This
must be paradise. I love it here.

NOV 11 Deer season will start soon. I can't imagine anyone wanting to
kill such a gorgeous creature. Hope it will snow soon. I love it here.

DEC 2 It snowed last night. Woke up to find everything blanketed with
white. It looks like a postcard. We went outside and cleaned the snow off
the steps and shoveled the driveway. We had a snowball fight (I won), and
when the snow plow came by, we had to shovel again. What a beautiful place.
I love upstate New York.

DEC 12 More snow last night. I love it. The snow plow did his trick
again to the driveway. I love it here!

DEC 19 More snow last night. Couldn't get out of the driveway to get to
work. I am exhausted from shoveling. Fucking snow plow.

DEC 22 More of that white shit fell last night. I've got blisters on my
hands from shoveling. I think the snow plow hides around the curve and
waits until I'm done shoveling the driveway. Asshole!

DEC 25 Merry Fucking Christmas! More friggin snow. If I ever get my
hands on that son-of-a-bitch who drives that snow plow, I swear I'll kill
the bastard. Don't know why they don't use more salt on the roads to melt
the fucking ice.

DEC 27 More white shit last night. Been inside for 3 days except for
shoveling out the driveway after that snow plow goes through every time.
Can't go anywhere, car's stuck in a mountain of white shit. The
weatherman says to expect another 10" of the shit again tonight. Do you
know how many shovels full of snow 10" is?

DEC 28 The fucking weatherman was wrong. We got 34" of that white shit
this time. At this rate it won't melt before next summer. The snow plow
got stuck up the road and that bastard came to the door and asked to
borrow my shovel. After I told him I had broken six shovels already
shoveling all the shit he pushed into the driveway, I broke my last one
over his fucking head.

JAN 4 Finally out of the house today. Went to the store to get food and
on the way back a damned deer ran in front of the car and I hit it. Did
about $3,000 damage to the car. Those fucking beasts should be killed.
Wish the hunters had killed them all last November.


MAY 3 Took the car to the garage in town. Would you believe the thing
is rusting out from that fucking salt they put all over the road.


MAY 10 Moved to Georgia. I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind
would want to live in that God-forsaken state of New York.

 

[Chevette Girl]

Please forgive the explicit language, but I thought this diary entry from some former New Yorkers might amuse you.

That's a good one... it gets circulated up here with Ottawa subbed in for New York every couple of years... ;D

 

[akueck]

Ha!

Well, our perspective has been totally warped by California now, despite having lived in this exact town for 4 years in college. All the "big hills" in NY are now more like "slight inclines" and we carry snow chains for our Corolla (from the trips to the Sierra). Where exactly do they put the mountains here? I haven't found any yet.

Another thing we get a lot after saying we've moved up here is "Oh, that's great--you'll be in wine country!" No offense Finger Lakes, but we just left wine country. Kind of hard to compare anything outside maybe Bordeaux/Burgundy with the Napa/Sonoma/Russian River/Anderson Valley conglomerate. Luckily the wine shop here can get some good CA wine for us, unlike the crud they sell to most out-of-state schmucks. And most places ship to NY, except of course one of our favorite places. [want suggestions? we've got tons!]

Food is depressing though. Hey look, strawberries! How did they get those out here in the snow? Oh, California. We still got some (have to eat...), but they tasted old already. Yeah, we're spoiled.

 

[The_Bishop]

Begone with you, sir, and your anti-feline sentiments!

I like cats!





They're very tender and go great in a stew with some biscuits!




(I kid, I kid! Don't lynch me.)


Also, welcome to the east coast!

 

[skunkboy]

Ha!

Luckily the wine shop here can get some good CA wine for us, unlike the crud they sell to most out-of-state schmucks. And most places ship to NY, except of course one of our favorite places. [want suggestions? we've got tons!]

Sure, what might you recommend in say Dessert wines?

 

[Altricious]

Sure, what might you recommend in say Let's Get Drunk wines?

Fixed that for ya.

 

[akueck]

Get Drunk wine? 2-buck Chuck wasn't so bad if your expectations match the price tag. One out of every three bottles of that actually turned out to be pretty good, it's just a bit of a treasure hunt to find those. Rough work.

Apothic Red was not bad either. The Barefoot Bubbly line was also decent and cheap.

Dessert wine, hmm. We didn't drink too much of that. But there was a place in the Yorkville Highlands that did a nice one. Maple Creek, I think?

James Cole does a dessert wine every year that varies in grape varietal and location. I think it's a collaboration thing? I'd recommend them but their prices skyrocketed over the last couple years. Not worth the new pricepoints.

Far Niente has an excellent dessert wine: Dolce. A bit on the pricey side though, but for a special occasion it can be worth it.

Lava Vine had a nice port-style wine which I think they market as a dessert wine. We also had a nice white port (who knew that was a thing?). I'll have to try and remember where that was from. Wellington? Something with a W...

 

[skunkboy]

Three Buck Chuck is my standard cooking wine.

Cool, I will poke around and see which of those I might be able to find...

 

[Chevette Girl]

Dessert wine? Buy a 3 gallon wine kit of something you think you'll like and don't dilute it out to 5 gallons, only dilute it to 3... proceed as normal otherwise... make sure you stabilize it when it's done, if it finishes too dry add some white or red grape concentrate (as appropriate to the kit) to increase the sweetness to desired level... One $35 kit makes a case of 750 ml bottles plus some left for sampling, just remember if the kit comes with oak chips that you have a decreased volume and may either need less time or less oak ;D

 

[mccann51]

Say what?! I hope I didn't scare you out of CA, haha!

Hope you're settling in well. Throw back an Ithaca Flower Power for me, or better yet, a Troegs Nugget Nectar if they're still on the shelves.

 

[akueck]

No, the low teacher pay, high cost of living, and long commutes scared us out of CA. Wait, did you do that? That's evil.

Had the Nectar and a Flower Power at a bar on Sunday night with a college friend who was in town for the weekend. Looks like I'm doing pretty well so far. ;D

 

[PitBull]

Have you tried the local meadery?

Had the Nectar and a Flower Power at a bar on Sunday night with a college friend who was in town for the weekend. Looks like I'm doing pretty well so far. ;D

It looks like you might be able to get a decent bottle of mead in your area. Have you checked out Montezuma Winery?

My wife and I will be in Ithaca in a couple of weeks for an overnight Cayuga Lake Wine Trail foray. Since there are 16 wineries around Cayuga Lake, we may have to trim a few off list for the short stay. Any suggestions on ones to definately visit?

 

[akueck]

I've heard of them but haven't tried their stuff yet. Perhaps next time I'm down at the wine store I'll wander into their mead section (yes, they actually have one of those).

We've not really been to the wineries here much lately. If you like semi-sweet whites, this is the place to be though. I hope the weather cooperates for you! It's been all over the map lately.