Posts from — October 2010

Wow!  I took a walking tour of the neighborhood around Upper Union Street, Schenectady, this afternoon.  There are a ton of new businesses that have opened there recently, so I thought that I’d check them out and report.

Okay, I don’t know if you’ve already heard, but my entire moms’ group has been talking about the new kids’ consignment shop on Baker Avenue, Trendy Tots. In fact, while I was there I ran into a friend who’d recently consigned clothing there.  The buzz–great clothes, very cheap–was true.

Of course, their best selection is in the teensy-weensy kids’ section, but there were lots of items that I found tempting for my bigger girls, too.  But they’re so opinionated that I’m just going to have to come back with them later.  In the meantime, could you please do me a favor and keep your hands off that tan jacket at the end of the higher rack?  Because it really looks like M’s style.

Also excellent?  It’s lovely inside, so you don’t feel like you’re at, you know, a garage sale when you’re shopping there.  All tidy and clean and pretty, so that the jeans look exactly like at the mall, except that they’re 3 or 4 dollars.  Woo, hoo!   [update:  Natalie's offering readers 5% off their total purchase if you mention that you heard about Trendy Tots on Capital District Fun!  Thanks, Natalie!]

I was pleasantly surprised by how nicely decorated it was, and then I went just around the corner to visit Vintage Chic Furniture, which recently moved to Schenectady from Troy.

Okay, really gorgeous inside.  So much so that I took way too many pictures, which I will share now.

There are tons of pieces of furniture that Donna has refurbished as well as all sorts of adorable pieces and other great stuff, like the old-fashioned chenille bedspreads (hanging on the rack in the picture below):

Besides all the stuff, did you notice how pretty the walls are?  They’re painted by Michele of Designs by Michele.

So, my little sister is still waiting to go into labor with her first baby.  If it’s a girl, I am so reporting back here immediately.

Then I  walked along Union Street to  Divinitea, which makes and sells premium certified organic loose leaf teas.  You may have seen them at a farmers’ market near you.  I was just checking out their beautiful website,  thinking, wow, I can contribute to world peace through delightful self-indulgence?  Yes, please:  sign me up!  Anyway, as Linda shows below, they have a tremendous variety of teas:

Many of the tears are made with healing plants, such as blends that are good for folks who have asthma or PMS or just need a little immune-system boost with a big, warm cup o’ antioxidants.  They don’t use any nuts, and they can work around most food sensitivities.

Linda’s  super-passionate about tea, and she loves to teach adults and older children about growing plants, cooking, and making teas.  She says that she’s done tea parties, 4H programs, and visited schools, and if you visit, she’s likely to give you a nice smelling tour of some favorites.   If you’re looking to learn more or to introduce tea to your family, there’s plenty of information as well as tea varieties that kids particularly enjoy.

I’m warning you, now, though:  there are some serious breakables in here (like the case above–yikes!).  If I were you, I’d only bring someone in under, say, 8, if they’re in a sling or strapped into a stroller.  Linda admits that she can get a little tense when a preschooler is examining the merchandise.  Which, of course, would make you tense.  I’d just skip it and leave the kids on the porch or find something else for them to do.

Like, for example, the Candyland Activity & Enrichment Center on Woodland Avenue.

Maya, who used to run the Curves that was there, will be starting up winter session classes for kids ages 1 to 6 soon.  Classes will emphasize fun with learning through music, art, and activities snuck in.  The very youngest class includes parent participation, but that ends as early as the Sugarplums group, which will be made up of 2- and 3-year-olds.  Fees are $110 for an eight-week session.  She’ll also host  birthday parties.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Maya’s continuing the fitness regime with a Fit Teen program designed for ages 9- to 18-year-olds who would like to do some strength training and learn about wellness after school.

Finally, there’s a new restaurant in town, Rubbin Butts BBQ, also on Union Street.  I only have an exterior picture because by the time I made it to Rubbin Butts it was lunchtime, and it was busy enough that I couldn’t take a picture without getting some stranger in the shot.  And most of them were looking a teensy bit sloppy!  The food smelled excellent, though, so I think that this will have to be our family’s next take-out venture.  When it comes to BBQ, I like to order with a group so I get a chance to sample all the side dishes.

There’s a lot more going on, too.  The Head-to-Tail Pet Wellness Center is expanding,  Firefly Florist (which used to be on Consaul Road)  is moving onto Union, and it looks likely that there’s more popping up that I didn’t get a chance to see today.  Anybody have additional scoop on Union Street to share?

In a startling coincidence, just about every little girl in J’s class was sporting a lovely and complicated updo today.  Including J, of course.  In fact, she looked so cute that I took a picture to share before sending them off to school.  Alas, when I took a second look at the camera I realized that the was too poor, even for my shockingly low standards.

Last night I made this Lentil Stew with Ham & Greens, and would you believe that everyone liked it?  Okay, okay, M picked through it a little bit for the “good parts”, but J actually lifted spoonfuls brimming with Swiss chard, onions, carrots, and lentils and put them into her mouth.  Then she asked for it in a thermos for school today.  I actually put in a bit more carrot & chard than the recipe stated, and I ended up adding an extra cup or two of broth because it needed some serious liquid.  It was pretty hamilicious,  so I’d be inclined to reduce the ham, except that I’m pretty sure that’s what had J so captivated.

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in getting some of those yummy baked goods for free, you can “like” All Good Bakers on Facebook and comment to get in the running for a giveaway this weekend.

In J’s class there’s a case of head lice, and she came home itching.  I went and got some kill-the-bugs shampoo. We kept reassuring her that this was “just in case”, or, as W likes to call it, a “prophylactic measure”.  Every time he said it I’d start to giggle because it sounds dirty.  Am I a 12-year-old boy or what?

I’d gotten J to strip down for the treatment, but the shampoo was surprisingly inoffensive.  Once I put it in her hair (it stays there for a few minutes pre-shampoo), it gave her some fabulous body.  So it was funny:  she was all “nakey” with wild hair, dancing and flaunting like a model.  Anyway, I put something about lice in my Facebook status (because I’m shameless) and various friends have been sharing advice.  And they’re just being helpful, but really?  Reading the advice just makes me want to curl up into the fetal position.

And all of this grooming was going on while we were listening to the gubernatorial debate.  Dude, I’m so glad that they let everybody participate.  I mean, it seriously upped the entertainment value, am I right?  And yet, it was sort of like the lice wash:  entertaining,  interesting poses, a few giggles.  But deep down, it just feels dirty.

Oh, also, Fin is hiding quietly.   Which, according to Google, is not a good sign.  I changed the water up, but who knows.  I fear a reprise of the
Ant Farm Debacle.  I’ve said before that two kids and a cat pretty much takes me to my personal limit.  But, truly,  I’m trying.

And I just figured out (she slid it into the class newsletter, about two paragraphs after I stopped paying attention the first time) that J’s teacher is pregnant, due in April.  Couldn’t she wait and have a life after J gets through this crucial first year?  Ack.

But, how ’bout this cute scary Halloween craft by J?  I thought that it was such a good idea to draw with white chalk on black construction paper.   This is left over from a previous year at nursery school, but it was so fun that it’s in my annual decoration box.   I’m feeling really nostalgic about nursery school right now. . . .

Sorry that I didn’t post yesterday.  We just managed to stay busy all day.  We froze-froze-froze on the soccer fields in the morning.  I was particularly bummed that it was so called because I ended up bundling up over my  t-shirt that I’d warn in support of the Wedding March for Marriage Equality.  Next week I’m bringing a blanket.  And I’ve got to figure out how to get the girls bundled up without inhibiting their athletic prowess.  On the bright side,  M’s team finally won a game and J scored two goals.

Today we spent quite a bit of time tearing out the gardens for the season.  Such a depressing task–almost as bad as taking the decorations off the Christmas tree.  Gathering up sad little tomatoes that got too chilly or fell off in the jungle-like garden squalor before they had a chance to ripen.  But we did harvest a ton of tomatilloes.  There will be salsa tomorrow, absolutely.

Here’s what’s going on this week:

Monday, October 18th:

• Delmar’s La Leche League is meeting at 9:30 am at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• From 9:45-11:15 am there’s  the first of a series on Spiritual Parenting at Under One Roof in Saratoga. It’s $15/session or $60 to prepay for the whole thing.
  

Tuesday, October 19th:

• At 3:30 pm, kids in grades 2 to 5 can play Telephone Pictionary at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• There’s a Sound of Music Sing-Along Event at Crossgates at 6:30 pm.  Thanks to Albany Kid for the heads up on this one.
• At 7:30 pm, there’s a Dudley Observatory Skywatch Lecture at Proctors.  It’s $11/adult, $6/student.
• Young Frankenstein opens today at Proctors at 8 pm, and it continues all week.  Recommended for ages 12 and up.  Tickets range from $20 to $70.

Wednesday, October 20th:

• At 10:30 am there’s Alphabet Soup, the new preschool program at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga that focuses on preliteracy skills.  Free with admission.
• At 11 am it’s the Cooking Around the World program at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.  Designed for 3- to 6-year-olds, it’s, ummm, $8 or $10/non-member.  They quote two different fees, and it looks like the program also runs at 3 pm.  Call to pre-register; this program fills up.
• At 5:30 pm at the Pine Hills Branch Library, they’ll be showing Beetlejuice.
• The Temple Israel Klezmer Band will be playing at 6 pm at the Bach Branch Library.
• At 7 pm at Guilderland Public Library‘s Teen Services department is having an Open Mic night.

Thursday, October 21st:

• At 3:30 pm, kids 6 and up can make a Spooky Craft at the Pine Hills Branch Library.
• Kids in grades 1-5 can be After School Adventurer at Albany Pine Bush at 3:30 pm.  Pre-register, $2/person, $5/family.
• At 6 pm, take a Full Moon Hike at Moreau Lake.
• Grown-ups can come to the Bethlehem Public Library for a program at 6:30 pm on Helping Young Children Manage Anger and Frustration.
• At 6:30 pm at the Guilderland Public Library, it’s Together:  Book Talk for Kids [9-11] and Parents.
• At 7 pm, there’s a presentation called Bringing Up Baby with Essential Oils at Under One Roof in Saratoga.  It’s $10/person.
• The Pirates of Penzance continues at Schenectady Light Opera Company at 8 pm.

Friday, October 22nd:

• At 3:30 pm, learn about Kitchen Chemistry at the Children’s Museum of Science & Technology.  Ages 5 and up, pre-register, $2/non-member.
• Saratoga’s Children’s Theatre opens Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tonight at 7 pm at the Saratoga Music Hall.
• There’s a Halloween Costume Contest for kids and adults (check in for contestants is 6-6:30 pm, contest is at 7 pm) as well as a Canine Howl-o-Ween Costume Contest (check in for contestants is 7-7:30 pm, contest  at 8 pm) at Clifton Park Center.
• From 6:30-8 pm, there’s a Halloween Howl Prowl at the Albany Pine Bush.  Pre-register, $2/person, $5/family.
• The Pirates of Penzance continues at Schenectady Light Opera Company at 8 pm.

We grew this pumpkin.

Once again I start out with a post expecting that I’ll be able to find two or three things to do, and next thing I know there’s a huge list of activities.  Yay, Capital District!  The nice thing, too, is that there’s a variety:  stuff for your teenager or your preschooler and everybody in between.

Now, I haven’t done this stuff.  I’m sure that some of these places are absolutely much better than others.  So if you’ve gone someplace already, or if you end up going later this month, or you know of another great place, would you please share your priceless knowledge with the rest of us in the comments?  I promise that I won’t put your email address on Carl Paladino’s distribution list or anything!

Of course, it’s a little discouraging to gather up all of these great outdoor activities on an afternoon when it’s so unbelievably wet and dismal, but next weekend is supposed to be lovely, right?  So here’s what I found:

Double M in Malta does Haunted Hayrides.  You must reserve ahead, and the rides are $20/person, children 4 and under free.  But judging from the website, I don’t think that you want to take little kids.  Frankly, you don’t even want to click on the link if you have children who are easily frightened.  Instead, click this nice little link instead, which tells you about their daytime, little-kid-friendly hay ride, corn maze, and petting zoo.  These activities are $9/person, kids 2 and under free.

Ellm’s Family Farm in Ballston Spa has Halloween Hayrides at 6:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays in October.  A very helpful reader sent this report:

I took my two and three year old daughters there and it was substantially more fun than we anticipated.  $8.50 per person gets you a 40 minute hay ride that is perfect for little ones (not scary, less fun I guess for older kids), and the opportunity to jump on their huge  ”jumping pillow” trampoline outside (tons of fun).  Mid way through the hay ride, they stop for cider and donuts that are included in the fee.

They ask you to reserve (you can do it online) and it’s $8.50/person, under 2 free.  They also have  pumpkin picking and other activities.  Along with a big corn maze, they also have smaller ones that are actually labyrinths (which means there’s only one way to go, so you can’t get lost) designed for families to enjoy with their little kids.  Now that’s a good idea.

Engelke Farm in Troy has a Corn Maze for $5/person, Haunted Hayrides on Friday and Saturday nights for $15/person (but there’s an online coupon to save you $2.50).  There’s a pumpkin patch, and you can either take a free hayride there or take a zipline to it for $10.

Goold Orchards is having a Pet Parade at 3 pm on Saturday, October 16th (yep, I didn’t catch it earlier), and they have a Haunted House on weekend afternoons.

Hasbrouck’s Indian House Farm in Princetown  has a Field of Screams corn maze at 7:30 pm on Friday and Saturday night.  $7/person includes the maze and cider & donuts, and proceeds go to Albany Med Children’s Hospital.

Liberty Ridge Farm has a Harvest Haunt on Friday and Saturday nights in October at 7 pm.  It’s recommended for ages 10 and up, and it’s $15/person.  You can also reserve a cottage or campfire site if you want to turn the outing into a group party.  I know people who’ve visited the farm in early autumn who thought it was a wonderful destination.

The Pick a Pumpkin Pumpkin Patch in Schoharie County 35 miles southwest of Albany has pumpkins, free hayrides, farm animals to pet, and many more activities.  They’re closed on Sundays.

Schauber Stables in Ballston Lake is offering Haunted Hay Rides on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday nights in October.  It’s $8/person.  For the little kids, they do a child-friendly version of the hayrides on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  $5/kids 12 and under, $8/adults.  Along with the hayrides, you can also pay for pony rides and do other activities.

Schuyler Farms near Schuylerville has a Corn Maze (haunted at night), and admission is $7/person, kids under 4 free.  There are also free hayrides to the pumpkin patch.

Sunnyside Gardens in Saratoga Springs has pumpkins to pick, hayrides, train rides, and a butterfly house among other activities.

Tammy’s Candy Kettle in Hoosick Falls has a corn maize, pick your own pumpkins, and other activities (it sounds like you might need to pay for these separately).  The maze is $9/12 and up, $7/ages 4-11, 3 and under free.  Update:  Tammy herself added more detailed information in the comments below.

Another weekend post!  Had a moms’ group outing and stayed later than I meant to, and now my contacts are begging to be ripped from my eyeballs, so I fear that I’ll wake up in the morning and remember all the places that I neglected to check for weekend events.  But I’m sleepy, so we’ll just have to suck it up, I guess.

I’ve been meaning to put out a miscellaneous Halloween hayride/corn maze/scary spots post, and I haven’t done it yet.  If you have suggestions to pass along, I’d love an email.  Because I am just. that. lazy.  Or, rather, I’ve been busy, okay?  Like W always says, “What are they going to do–fire you?”  Ah, point taken.

Here’s what I’ve found for this weekend:

All Weekend:

• It’s Family Fun Weekend at the New York State Museum from 1-4 pm both Saturday and Sunday.
• A long drive south, it’s the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY.

Evening of Friday the 15th:

• At Flying Kite Children’s Theatre, it’s Kids Film Fun with pizza and Halloween-themed movies for $15/child.  What time?  You got me.  I assume evening, right?
• It’s Art Night Schenectady from 5-9 pm.
• Capital Area Productions is presenting Rugrats at Genet Elementary School in East Greenbush at 7 pm tonight as well as two shows on Saturday.  $10/adult, $8/children 10 and under.
• The Pirates of Penzance opens at Schenectady Light Opera Company at 8 pm.
• At 8 pm, they’re showing Despicable Me at Union College–their film series is free and open to the public.

Saturday, October 16th:

• It’s Schenectady County’s Farm & Foliage Day, with plenty of activities at Upper Union Street, Jay Street, Mabee Farm, and many other locations.  There’s a ton going on in a variety of locations–we usually make it to the Upper Union Street part, at least for a little while.
• At the main Troy Public Library, there’s a Red Cross Babysitter’s Course from 9 am to 5 pm.
• It’s Thacher Park‘s annual Fall Festival from 10 am to 4 pm.
• At 10:30 am, the Schenectady Museum is having its Little Wonders of Science for preschoolers.  It’s free, but please pre-register.
• From 11 am to 1:30 there’s a Sling Babies event at the Bethlehem Public Library–if you’ve got a baby, here’s a chance to try out slings and meet some people.
• Saratoga’s Waldorf School is having a Fall Festival and Open House from 11 am to 3 pm.
• At 11 am, there’s a puppet show of some of Leo Lionni’s books at The Egg.  $12/person.
• From 11 am to 4 pm, it’s the Troy Chowderfest.
• The Lower Adirondack Regional Council is sponsoring a workshop for ages 7-12 ($10/child) at 11 am and a 1:30 pm performance of The Firebird by the Puppet People.  The performance is $10/adult, $5/kid.
• From noon to 2 pm, there’s a Fly Fishing Clinic at the Saratoga Spa State Park.
• From 1-4 pm, it’s a Family Day Festival at the Albany Institute of History & Art. At 2 pm, Steamer 10 Theatre will be doing a presentation of Cinderella Tales.
  
• At 1 pm, there’s a cooking program for kids at Rensselaer Public Library.
• From 1-4 pm, take a Hudson River Kayak at Moreau Lake.
• From 1-4 pm, it’s the Family Day Shoe Festival at the Albany Institute of History & Art from 1-4 pm.  Free with paid admission ($10/adults, $6/6-12, under 6 free).
• At 1 pm, learn about the Life of a Leaf at the Children’s Museum of Science & Technology.  Ages 5 and up, pre-register, $2/non-member.

Sunday, October 17th:

• From 10 am to 2 pm at the Schenectady Greenmarket, a culinary professor from SCCC will be demonstrating some healthy kids’ lunch options made with local ingredients.
• It’s National Chemistry Day at the New York State Museum from 10 am to 4 pm.  Free.
• From noon to 5 pm, there’s a Harvest Festival at the Polish Community Center.
• At 1 pm, learn about the Chemistry of Toys at the Children’s Museum of Science & Technology.  Ages 5 and up, pre-register, $2/non-member.
• At 2 pm at the East Greenbush Library, Rick Bala performs Songs from the Hudson Valley.  This is free, but you need to register.

We finally made it to the apple orchards, and just in the nick of time, it seems.  If you’ve gone already, you know that this has been a really bad year for apples, so pickings are slim.  If you were haven’t gotten around to it yet, I’d go as soon as you possibly can, and I’d call any place first to make sure that there are some apples still on the trees.

Careful there, J!

We took Julie’s advice and tried out Lindsey’s on Columbus Day.  She was right:  the ladders were hugely popular with my girls.  It was quiet there even while it was hopping down the road at Bowman’s.  Between the quiet and getting to climb the ladders ourselves, we could almost pretend that it was our orchard.  Now, the ladders were a little scary, but I just love that they provide access to them.  I mean, seriously, it’s nice when someone isn’t immediately assuming that there will be tragedies and lawsuits.

Anyway, even though we’re at the end of the apple season, I thought that I’d share my favorite apple treat.

Apple-Cranberry Crisp
Mix together in a casserole dish:

5-7 medium apples, peeled and sliced thinly—sometimes we’ll sub in a couple of pears for variety

1 cup cranberries

Then pour 3 T maple syrup over it and sprinkle 1 T flour on top.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Then mix together:

½ cup flour

½ cup oatmeal

3 T chopped walnuts

½ cup brown sugar

2 t cinnamon

½ t salt

½ cup butter

1/3 cup maple syrup

Put the mixture on top of the fruit.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

This recipe was loosely based on one in a random cookbook from my sister’s house that I copied years ago–I’m sorry that I can’t remember the source better.  Of course, adding some vanilla ice cream isn’t a terrible idea, but without it, you could justify serving it for breakfast, almost.

I’m catching up on the birthday party craftiness with the cute little gardens that we made for our fairies.

Here are some supplies:

I bought a peat-moss-looking table runner as well as some vase fillers and pretty little scrapbooking roses at Michael’s.  I cut the table runner up into small-ish pieces and glued them onto three stacked-up styrofoam plates to make the base of the garden.  They have lovely styrofoam blocks for this purpose, but they’re surprisingly expensive.  This was sort of the weak link in the craft, because it was sometimes difficult to poke things into the foam.  Still, it worked out.

The beautiful branchy-looking things are from Experience in Schenectady, which is right across the street from the main downtown library.  It is absolutely not a child-friendly store:  just walking into it with anyone under 6 is enough to make you break out into stress hives due to all of the delicate items, and they even say “no strollers” at the door.   Mostly it’s home decor stuff that’s way too fancy and expensive for me, but in the back there are aisles packed with all sorts of stuff that makes you want to get crafty:  fake flowers and fruits and birds and beads.  Again, a little expensive, but I took one large branch and cut it into little miniature trees and ornaments for the fairy gardens, so it wasn’t too bad.  It would also be a good source if you wanted to some sort of extra-nice crafty gift.

Anyway, here’s one of the fairy gardens:

M's garden with Mommy & Baby Fairies

It was a fabulous success.  The girls at the party spent a good 35 or 40 minutes crafting away, which you know is a long time, especially when there’s a house full of different toys and a table full of punch and Cheetos mere steps away.  When I woke up the next morning, M & J were busy using up the extra craft materials to expand their fairy homes and families.  What’s nice, too, is that it’s not glued, so they can pick up the pieces and rearrange with wild abandon.

Phew!  Everyone had fun and we’re still trying to finish off the cake.  It was nice to have an extra day to recover.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Oh, my gosh!  Love the 3-day weekend!  Halfway through the day, we were chuckling that today was “like another Saturday, only relaxing!” Because lately half of every Saturday is consumed by soccer.  The girls decided on their Halloween costumes (M’s a vampire, J’s a Native American).

Fin the Fish Seeks Companionship in Her Reflection

They also brought a goldfish home from the carrot festival.  Oh, excellent.  I’ve never been responsible for a fish before.  We don’t have any food.  I Googled and put a spinach leaf in the water for now, but frankly, I’m skeptical.  So tomorrow we’ve got to go shopping.  In fact, I would have gone tonight, except that we had some friends over for dinner.  I thought that perhaps, since I was going to the trouble of getting food and filling a bowl with water, maybe I should get another fish or two just in case, since how long could a carnival fish in a baggy possibly last?  And won’t my girls be sad?  All of the other adults mocked me, joking that I should just shake some red chili pepper flakes into the water tonight and get it over with.  Evil.  So, what do you think?  Flakes only, or a couple of friends?

Here’s what’s going on this week:

Columbus Day, October 11th:

• Tree Paad in Malta is open 10 am to 5 pm with $8 passes to Fort Ballocity that last all day–they’re usually closed on Monday and the passes are good for two hours only.
• It’s Percy Jackson Day at the Bethlehem Public Library:  games and activities from 10 am to noon, and then a screening of The Lightning Thief at 2:30 pm.
• The Family Farm Olympics at Liberty Ridge Farm continue today from noon to 5 pm.
• At 1 pm there are Creepy Crawly Crafts at Albany Pine Bush.  Pre-register, and it’s $2/person, $5/family.
• At 2 pm, Steamer 10 Theatre is presenting Cinderella Tales at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.  This is a free, drop-in program.
• Kids 5 and up can invent Gizmos and Gadgets at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.  Free with admission.

Tuesday, October 12th:

• At 7 pm, it’s Pajamarama at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• At 7 pm, you can learn about Ghost Hunting Techniques from the Albany Paranormal Research Society at the Albany Public Library.  Umm, hello?  Did you have any idea that there was an Albany Paranormal Research Society?  I didn’t.

Wednesday, October 13th:

• My 40th birthday.  Bring it.
• At 10:30 am, the Children’s Museum at Saratoga is launching a new series for preschoolers:  Alphabet Soup.  Yep, games and activities to trick them into learning pre-literacy skills:  sneaky.  Free with admission.
• At 4 pm, kids in grades k-2 can do Leaf Pressing at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library.   Registration is required.
• At 4:30 pm there’s a Teen Pizza Party at the Pine Hills Branch Library.
• At 6 pm, Justin Friello is playing a concert at the Bach Branch Library.

Thursday, October 14th:

• It’s Oktoberfest at the Empire State Plaza South Concourse in Albany from 10 am to 2 pm.
• At 1 pm, take a Hudson Point Hike at Moreau Lake.
• From 4-4:45 pm, k-2 students can enjoy a Passport to Fun at the Bethlehem Public Library on their own while parents get a little book-browsing serenity time.
• At 7 pm there’s a Children’s Circle Storytime followed by a playtime at the Bethlehem Public Library.  This program is designed for kids with special needs.

Friday, October 15th:

• At 5:30 am (!!!), take a Hike with Your Dog at the Saratoga Spa State Park.  Call to register, $3/person or $5/family.
• At Flying Kite Children’s Theatre, it’s Kids Film Fun with pizza and Halloween-themed movies for $15/child.  What time?  You got me.  I assume evening, right?
• Capital Area Productions is presenting Rugrats at Genet Elementary School in East Greenbush at 7 pm tonight as well as two shows on Saturday.  $10/adult, $8/children 10 and under.
• The Pirates of Penzance opens at Schenectady Light Opera Company at 8 pm.
• At 8 pm, they’re showing Despicable Me at Union College–their film series is free and open to the public.

Britin & Nick from All Good Bakers sent me an email asking if I’d be willing to spread the word about their new Community Supported Bakery.   They also offered me free samples!  Yes, please! So, of course I wanted to like them–what a good idea.  You already know that I belong to a CSA, and that occasionally it feels like a time-consuming hobby.  But it’s difficult to imagine feeling burdened by croissants.  Right now I’ve got one and a half heads of cabbage judging me from the refrigerator, and yet my remaining Free Sample cinnamon bun rests easy, confident that someone will consume it before it spoils.

So it was all yummy.  Trust me on this.  Friends know that I’ve received free samples in the past that I declined to mention because I couldn’t endorse them.  Even though other bloggers apparently could hold their noses and write posts and get delightful additional merchandise and giveaway items.  Not like I’m bitter.  Okay, I’m a teensy bit bitter, but perhaps I’m just cranky because I hosted a party for six-year-olds a few hours ago?  It was lovely, thank you–I’ll show you the fairy gardens later.  Meanwhile, back to the bread!  Here’s what I got:

Rustic Italian Bread

The bread was moist and tasty and basic.  Soft instead of crusty, which is good with the kids, because isn’t it irritating when they just poke holes in your baguettes?  We had it with some butter with dinner, but it would have worked great sliced up for sandwiches.  It’s vegan.

Crispy Brown Rice Energy Treats

These funny-looking balls were my personal favorite.  They’re brown rice with peanut butter, maple syrup, seeds, coconut, & chocolate chips.  J and I had the same reaction when we saw them:  we immediately took a bite.  Then J became distracted by the other baked items, but I finished one pretty quickly.  And then I couldn’t stop myself:  I ate the other one as breakfast.  I was thinking about how shameful this was prior to posting, but then I looked at the ingredients list, and maybe it was reasonable.  It’s just a good thing I didn’t receive more of these.

Vegan Cinnamon Buns

The cinnamon buns were tasty.   W kept saying that they were pretty good “for vegan” in a tone of voice which began as insulting (it wouldn’t be the first time) and evolved into admiring.  Yum-a-licious and flaky.  They’re way too huge–that’s a dinner plate that those are sitting on, so you could pretty much divide one between the four of us.  But usually I’m not a huge cinnamon bun fan because I feel sick pretty much as soon as I take a single bite, so these were a lovely version for me.

All Good Bakers is looking for members to join their CSB for a winter membership.  Memberships run 26 weeks from November through April, and pick ups are on Wednesdays from 5-7 pm in Albany or Delmar.  It’s $6 per unit, which is equivalent to, say, one loaf of bread or two cinnamon buns or 4 bialys.  They use organic and local ingredients whenever possible.  When you sign up, you can pre-order your choice of items, and your membership can include 1, 2, or 3 units per week.  If you’re interested, you can email them at allgoodbakers@gmail.com and they’ll send you more detailed information.  They’re also at the Delmar Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.  Sign-up for membership is available until October 24th or they reach their limit, whichever comes first.