Green Door Magazine: Spring 2014 with Natalie Merchant

NATALIE MERCHANT

Celebrations VOL 4 No. 1 SPRING 2014 $4.99

WWW.GREENDOORMAG.COM

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CELEBRATING YOUR EVENT UPSTATE WEDDING A TO Z2EVENT COOPERATIVES3FARMHOUSE CHIC

DISPLAY UNTIL JUNE 10, 2014

Spring2014 3

GREETINGS Last Frost CLIPPINGS From Around the Region

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COLLECTIVES Event Cooperatives: Hive Event

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24 26 30 34 36

FASHION Spring Wedding Fashion WEDDING A TO Z Everything Local You Need FLOWERS Painting with Flowers BRRCH Floral forages for beauty.

OFFICIANTS Holy Innocents Church FARM WEDDING Down on the Farm REVELRY Serious Frivolity in the Northern Catskills PARTY PLANNING The Wedding Planner LOCAVORE 36 Organic 40 Herb Bombs 42 Vegan Catskills: Turquoise Barn 44 Food & Finds: DIY Napkin Rings

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The BOOKSHELF 46 Q & A with Gretchen Rubin 47 The Improbable Shepherd

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FOREST WEDDING Festivities in the Forest

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WOODSHED Love Songs Playlist

60 62 66 COVER PHOTO: DAN WINTERS

FOLK Self-Titled: Natalie Merchant A new album, a new outlook.

67 68 70 72

CULTURE 52 Nowness: Love me...say I do 53 Bruce Littlefield’s Country Manners

HISTORY 56 Running a Railroad 58 CCE’s 100 Years ART Naomi Teppich: A Sculptor of the Earth INTO THE WOODS Fiber & Fashion Festival POETRY May Frost Tears ACTIVISM Earth Day & Catskill Mountainkeeper ENDPAPER Sunday Morning DIRECTORY Celebration Vendors ILLUSTRATION Animal Weddings

EDITOR Akira Ohiso PUBLISHER Ellie Ohiso ADVERTISING SALES Sharon Reich (845) 254-3103 MARKETING DIRECTOR Aaron Fertig COPY EDITORS Donata C. Marcus Jay Blotcher Eileen Fertig LAYOUT & DESIGN Ellie Ohiso CONTRIBUTORS Vanessa Geneva Ahern Bellamy Blue Weddings Michael Bloom Cooper Boone Siba Kumar Das Casper de Boer Jennifer Farley Ilene Ferber Kathleen Harris Noah Kalina Bruce Littlefield Lori Majewski Francesco Mastalia Laquita Matthews Kelly Merchant Andrea Norlander Marc J. Osterweil Johnny Pizzolato Michelle Premura Rochelle Riservato John Rocklin Renee Samuels Catie Baumer Schwalb Diane Stredicke JN Urbanski Steven Weinberg Seena Wilson Dan Winters CONTACT US Green Door Magazine Inc. 34 South Main Street / P.O. Box 143 Liberty, NY 12754 Email: info@greendoormag.com Phone: (845) 55-GD-MAG www.greendoormag.com facebook.com/greendoormag twitter.com/greendoormag pinterest.com/greendoormag instagram.com/green_door_magazine RECYCLE THIS, SHARE WITH A FRIEND! Green Door Magazine (ISSN # 2161-7465) is published quarterly - Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter - by Green Door Magazine Inc. All rights reserved. Subscription rate is $14.95 annually. U.S. subscriptions can be purchased online at www.greendoormag.com or by mail.

Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings, and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our sincere apologies and notify us. Address all letters to editor@greendoormag.com. Postmaster: Address all inquiries to Circulation Department, Green Door Magazine, P.O. Box 143, Liberty, NY 12754. No part may be used without written permission of the publisher Š2014.

Views expressed in Green Door & in advertising in the issue are those of their authors & do not necessarily reflect the opinion, policy, or endorsement of the publication.

GREETINGS | AKIRA OHISO

CLIPPINGS | AROUND THE REGION

Last Frost

Wedding Fair

This is our Celebrations issue.

What’s not to celebrate after a long cold winter? I survived polar vortexes, snowstorm upon snowstorm (like double pneumonia), a bout of the flu and a dearth of vitamin D. If January is the Monday of the year, as F. Scott Fitzgerald once uttered, then singing Geldof ’s “I Don’t Like Mondays” is a fitting lament as I search for slivers of fleeting January sun to boost my mood.

If I sound a bit sarcastic, it’s because I’ve been living in the ‘skills for almost 5 years now. The newbies with all their excitement and positive energy triggers an eye roll and an oh-you’ll-see didacticism.

The winter is to blame for everything. Shoveling light fluffy white powder has become a Sisyphean task. This is the winter of my dis... like for snow.

But, as the green earth softens and the natural world awakens, it all seems worth it having endured the ebb and flow of the seasons.

While we “locals” must take the yin with the yang, visitors to the Catskills and Hudson Valley can choose just the yin.

Spring awakens the wedding season. In recent years, the Catskills and Hudson Valley have become wedding destinations. Rustic barns, mountain views and babbling brooks are the backdrops many want for their very special day. There is something more casual, perhaps more authentic about a wedding outside of traditional settings - an open barn door instead of a church pulpit, wild flowers instead of imported roses.

Keepin’ it real, so to speak.

In this issue, wedding planner Lydia Castiglia talks about our aspirational culture and how she can help create a wedding that is perfect for you.

Photographer Francesco Mastalia’s captures true grit in his photographs of dirty, leathery-faced local farmers. You won’t find GMO corn from them.

Gretchen Rubin, author of Happier at Home encourages her readers to become tourists in their neighborhood and discover new possibilities in the everyday.

The Improbable Shepherd by Sylvia Jorren proves that transplants can take root.

Brittany Asch’s floral forms transport us back to nature’s imperfect beauty.

But poet Marc J. Osterweil’s “May Frost” warns: It felt that summer would come and be gone until a change in the weather May snow in the Adirondacks, freeze for the Catskills brought us to halt foolish deception, mortals’ fate.

Rhinecliff Hotel The Rhinecliff was once a rooming house for travelers of the bustling Rhinecliff-Kingston Ferry Terminal and Hudson River Railroad.

Today, the elegantly-restored Rhinecliff serves as a boutique country hotel and premier wedding location blessed with spectacular views of the Hudson River. To have a wedding at the Rhinecliff is to customize the wedding of your dreams. From country chic to modern rustic, the Rhinecliff team can assist you through the entire planning process. Just minutes from the Rhinecliff Amtrak station, guests can travel from near or far (like the good old days) to celebrate with you.

Situated just outside of Historic Rhinebeck, guests will love the quaint charm, antique stores and boutique shopping.

FOR MORE INFO www.therhinecliff.com The Rhinecliff Wedding Showcase is June 1st.

Bespoke Polish

MINE Luxury Nail Lacquer Want the ultimate signature color match? High Falls’ Veleta Vancza, an artist, goldsmith and enamelist, has created an artful alchemy melding nail polish with fine art. Her team can color match your fabrics to their one-of-akind lacquers. MINE Luxury Nail Lacquer is 5-Free, which means it’s free of 5 toxic ingredients commonly found in many nail polishes -- formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, formaldehyde resin and camphor. Each exclusive color is richly pigmented, hand-mixed and poured into a hand-crafted Austrian crystal bottle, a perfect gift for you and your bridesmaids.

FOR MORE INFO www.minelacquer.com/bespoke

Celebrating Vietnamese in Callicoon

Bà & Me: . Grandmother & Mother

A native of Vietnam, Nhi Nguyen immigrated to the States as a child where her family ran a Vietnamese restaurant.

In 2012, after being devastated by Hurricane Sandy, Nhi and her family left Manhattan to live full-time in their Sullivan County weekend home. It was then that Nhi felt the lack of ethnic foods in the area and was inspired to create Bà & Me Bà & Me is a casual take-out restaurant serving authentic, home-style Vietnamese sandwiches and snacks. Nhi chose the name for its play on both the classic bánh mì sandwich and the words for grandmother (bà) and mother (me). Nguyen’s modern interpretations blend generations of family recipes, while using, whenever possible, fresh local ingredients.

FOR MORE INFO Opening Spring 2014 baandme.com 2013 WINTER | GREEN DOOR 3

Hive Event, an artist and artisan collective, creates locally-sourced events and spreads the love around.

STORY BY AKIRA OHISO PHOTOS BY KELLY MERCHANT | SHOT AT ROCK HILL ROAD, HOME OF TIM & MARY CLEARY

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PHOTOS: KELLY MERCHANT

Cooperative Wedding

COLLECTIVES | HIVE EVENT

When everyone and everything comes together perfectly, magic happens. That is the theory and experience of a talented group of event planning individuals that have formed a wedding coop called Hive Event. The collective is a group of friends, professionals in their given fields, who share a common interest in collaborating with other local talents to create boutique-sized celebrations with an artisanal feel.

Hive Event offers locally sourced, environmentally conscious options and as residents and devotees of the Hudson Valley, they share rare finds to conceptualize an event that is a unique, personal experience. The key principal of the Hive Event is community kindness and integrity. Their clients feel honored and welcomed as if they are planning a celebration with friends.

The collective began when photographer Kelly Merchant was inspired by the talent of the local artisans that she often photographed. Her idea was to form a coop where the talented people and businesses in her community, who cared where their products came from and who made them, worked together for the common good and for the benefit of the community as a whole.

When a member books a job individually from the collective, they place a small percentage of their fees into the collective fund to help with advertising and overhead for the entire collective.

Partnered with Rafael Perez, a clothing designer, they established a business plan where hand-picked Hive service providers were invited to join. The partners love their work and want to work with people who not only feel the same way, but also feel it is more rewarding to work in a relaxed, fun, positive atmosphere.

Hive Event provides all of the traditional services for weddings, sweet 16s, engagements, anniversaries, and birthdays, that you would expect from an event planning company: overall design conception, coordination of photography, location, floral design, custom gown and clothing design, catering, hair styling, makeup, spa services, music, jewelry design, entertainment and more.

The Hive also offers alternatives to the usual event services.

Their clients can choose gift and table setting options made by local artists and artisans. Packages designed by alternative health practitioners are provided so that clients can benefit from the healing arts like meditation, acupuncture, yoga, before their big event...or after a rockin’ bachelorette party.

Their services and the typically stress-filled process of event planning are stripped of formality and thus flexibility and creativity flow. This relaxed approach helps bring out their clients’ freedom of expression. The process itself motivates the coop members to want to do their best work.

Each member of the Hive Event brings talents and skills to the group. Below are the businesses who participated in the photos you see here in Green Door. For a complete listing of members please visit The Hive Event Collective web page.

Kelly Merchant Photography, Rafael Perez Couturier, Kelly Gersec Beau Rust Flower Shop, Estyn Hulbert Jewelry Designer, Brigette Lewis Hairstylist, Tuthilltown Spirits, Much Mor Bread, Stone Ridge Wine and Spirits, The Pinecone Apothecary, A Tavola, Kitchen Witch Catering, Helen Andersson Makeup/ Ayurvedic Practitioner.

FOR MORE INFO www.hiveevent.com 6 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

HIVE EVENT COLLECTIVE LAUNCH PARTY Come meet the members of the collective and sample what they have to offer on Sunday, May 18, 2014 from 1 to 5 pm at the Field & Barn LTD in High Falls 4-8 Bruceville Road on the corner of County Route 213 and Mohonk Road.

PHOTOS: KELLY MERCHANT

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Getting in the Spirit

The Hive

Recipe courtesy of Derek Williams and Kyle Miller for A Tavola Trattoria in New Paltz, NY

2 1/2 ounce Hudson Maple Cask Rye from Tuthilltown Spirits (Gardiner, NY) 1 ounce Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider from Stone Ridge Orchard (Stone Ridge, NY) 1/2 ounce Widmark Farms Honey Syrup (Gardiner, NY) 2 dashes Basement Bitters from Tuthilltown Spirits (Gardiner, NY) 2 ounce hot water FOR MORE INFO www.atavolany.com www.tuthilltown.com www.widmarkfarms.com www.stoneridgeorchard.us www.stoneridgewineandspirits.com

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FOLK | NATALIE MERCHANT

SELF-TITLED STORY BY AKIRA OHISO | PHOTOS BY DAN WINTERS

Historically, an eponymous album title is a logical choice for a debut record. It introduces the public to a new artist.

poetry record [Leave Your Sleep] I was convinced it was going to be a platinum record.”

However, in a musical career spanning 30 years, Natalie Merchant has never had a self-titled album. This May, her sixth solo effort, Natalie Merchant, will be released on the Nonesuch label.

In this case, the self-titled release suggests both a reinvention and a proclamation: here I am and here is my music.

Leave Your Sleep reached number one on Billboard’s Folk charts and sold 200,000 copies, a success in today’s music industry where 99-cent downloads are preferred to the complete album experience. “[Those sales figures] would have been grounds to dump me from the label back in the eighties,” says Merchant. “The entire music industry collapsed in the last ten years.”

“I tried for months to come up with a title that could sum up the album,” says Merchant. “The only thing I could come up with is that I wrote all the songs.” Her last album of original material was 2001’s Motherland.

Is there bitterness? Perhaps at one time, but now there is a sense of acceptance. “My expectations were on the making of the record and I feel I have fulfilled those expectations,” says Merchant. “I have no control over the rest of it.”

The new album is a striking departure from her 2010 concept album Leave Your Sleep, which featured 130 musicians, lush complex orchestral arrangements and an eclectic mix of musical styles ranging from Cajun to Klezmer. That double album represents an ongoing conversation she had with her daughter during the first six years of her life, utilizing 19th and 20th poems of childhood that Merchant adapted to music. It was an ambitious symphonic work co-produced with Grammy-winning record producer, Andres Levin.

She was recently looking through old press clippings. “I was referred to as the Audrey Hepburn of pop, the thinking man’s Madonna, yankee grunge.” She finds it all so funny these days.

The album was beautifully designed and packaged with a printed booklet featuring poet biographies, antiquated photos and lyrics. It’s the kind of album experience, the preiTunes generations loved: a complete immersion in the art, music and design of an album. A children’s book followed with illustrations by acclaimed author and illustrator Barbara McClintock.

Signed at age 19 in 1984 to Elektra Records, Merchant was thrust into the stardom of the MTV generation. The nineties brought her more creative freedom. Her first solo album Tigerlilly, released in 1995, was a commercial and critical success, going platinum five times over. But Merchant knew change was imminent. In 2002, she left Elektra after 18 years.

“I could see the writing on the wall as far as major labels were concerned,” she says. “It was like the sky was falling.” Music sharing sites like Napster and Limewire were suddenly cutting into music industry profits. Eventually these sites were dismantled, acquired or reconfigured in response to In the tradition of classic record-making, Merchant copyright infringement lawsuits. Still, it was a sign that the composed the original material for the new album within music industry was changing, in response to young people the space of four months at The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, who wanted to pick and choose their music like a takeout NY. Merchant returned to a rock band format, incorporating menu. It was the death of deep cuts and B-sides. the evocative Hammond B3 played by jazz keyboardist John Medeski. Electric bass and a drum kit rounded out She responds philosophically to the upheaval. “I had a good the rhythm section. Live tracking was used at certain run. I sold 14 million records and traveled the world. If this points to create spontaneity and chemistry in sessions with is all there is this is great.” Merchant retreated to her home notable musicians, including soul-singer Simi Stone, folk in the Hudson Valley. “I was pregnant and felt it was a good singer Elizabeth Mitchell and multi-instrumentalist Clark moment to step away. I focused on community and family Gayton. and the life I was not able to have during the twenty years I was touring.”

At this point in her career, Merchant does not have the same expectations she had during her years with 10,000 Maniacs. Not that she wasn’t busy. In 2003, she released The House “People really don’t buy records anymore. Newsflash!” Carpenter’s Daughter, a collection of traditional folk songs, Merchant bursts into laugher. “When I came out with my on her own label, Myth America Records. She was also

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FOLK | NATALIE MERCHANT

involved in curating retrospectives of her solo work and the 10,000 Maniacs oeuvre. But she didn’t release any original material.

With the release of her self-titled album this May, has Merchant come full circle? This would imply that she has returned to her past music, something formulaic and familiar to invigorate a career and stimulate record sales. That is not her style.

Merchant is not trying to reinvent, but rediscover. She never stopped writing her own material; she just chose not to share it. There was no fall from musical relevance. Nor does she yearn for a former version of herself.

“I wanted to make a record that reflected this point in my life,” says Merchant. “There are things I experience now that I had no glimmer of when I was twenty, thirty or even forty.”

At age 50, Merchant has experienced marriage, divorce, childbirth, motherhood, the prolonged illness and death of her parents, close friends and two best friends. This accumulation of life itself have given her a new perspective. “The nature of everything changes as you get older,” she says. “I wanted to make a mature album because I’m a mature woman now.”

The album reflects the concerns of an older Merchant. The eleven songs explore loss and surrender in her personal life as well as in the larger world. “Suffering is just part of life and there is beauty in suffering.” Merchant uses suffering to illuminate.

In recent years, Merchant has used her music to raise awareness about environmental and social issues. Dear Governor Cuomo – about fracking – and the newly-released Shelter – about domestic violence – are concert films that feature Merchant delivering powerful messages through music that transcend the divisive nature of politics to get to the essence of things.

On the new album, the opening track Ladybird is about leaving a relationship that is confining. Giving Up Everything addresses surrender and non-attachment. It’s A-Coming portends the increase in floods and hurricanes due to global warming.

Born and raised in Jamestown, NY, Merchant has spent her whole life in New York State. “Because I live in a rural area and am very attuned to nature I’m seeing the consequences of global warming,” says Merchant. “I’ve lived at the same latitude for 50 years now and when the fruit trees blossom in March and then there’s a hard frost well...”

She pauses. “I don’t necessarily need to know the ice caps are melting; I see the consequences right here.”

The album is gestural and touches on universal messages of human experience. Several of the songs have radio potential for their mantralike hooks. It’s an album that pushes the listener to excavate, explore, confront – but there are no easy answers. “I think the album will get the reputation of being dark,” says Merchant. “I am drawn to dark work.

Music that is heavy and dark has been one of the greatest comforts to me.”

Is there a silver lining to these songs? At first, Merchant is unsure, but then reconsiders. “Honesty is something to be hopeful about.”

In a time where truth is subjective, and science is ignored in favor of political and economic interests, honesty is something to celebrate. So is the beauty of the music.

“I would love for people to hear it,” says Merchant.

FOR MORE INFO www.nataliemerchant.com 12 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

FASHION | WHAT TO WEAR

When asked about her ideal wedding, co-designer of Upstate Astrid Chastka describes a perfect Catskills wedding:

Somewhere beautiful outside, lots of trees, maybe a private ceremony and then a party with friends after. I really only care about the food and the flowers.

SPRING WEDDING

FASHION STORY & ART DIRECTION BY JOHNNY PIZZOLATO PHOTOS BY NBK STYLED BY LAQUITA MATTHEWS MODELED BY CLAIRE MCCORMACK SHOT AT STICKETT INN IN BARRYVILLE, NY

ABOVE H Fredriksson Dress $370 hfredriksson.com Upstate Kimono in Galaxy $265 youreupstate.com Upstate Clutch in Earth Arashi $190 stickettinn.com

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rooklyn-native and part-time Sullivan County resident Claire McCormack embodies the name of the new website she has helped to build with her business partner and site founder Alyssa Barrie Weiss: Travel Beauty (www.travelbeauty.com).

Together they scour the globe for the latest and greatest in skincare. Nearly all products come in travel sizes so you can take them anywhere and maintain your at-home regimen. Claire is not only a stellar businesswoman with an MBA and supreme mother to Cassidy 7, and Thomas 4. She also has been one of my best friends for well over a decade. We went to university together and so the two of us also have attended several weddings of our college friends all over the country and in many different settings. Claire is the perfect accomplice for me at these festivities, always ready to raise a ruckus on the dance floor and work the room with spirited conversation. So she seemed the obvious choice to invite over to the EAT suite at Stickett Inn to model sustainable

Spring/ Summer 2014 wedding attire for Green Door’s Wedding Issue. Designers H Fredriksson, Upstate, and Karen Flood (of Henning’s Local in Eldred, NY), proprietor and costumer, wardrobe stylist, clothing designer, painter and illustrator, participated in this event. All of the apparel designers featured are New Yorkbased and fair trade/sustainable. Products are organic whenever possible, but don’t have the crunchy granola look of typical Eco-clothing.

At my clothing store in NYC, International Playground, H Fredriksson has consistently been the best selling women’s collection in the shop since we opened. When Helena releases her new prints and silhouettes, women go wild, always with a story of a weekend wedding.

I asked the Gothenburg, Sweden native about this phenomenon. “H Fredriksson Dresses are flattering and perfect for women who want to feel fashionably original, beautiful yet comfortable. The H Fredriksson dress is as perfect for wedding as for lots of other occasions meaning that you will have a dress that lasts through seasons and time.”

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ABOVE H Fredriksson Tunic Dress in Palm Cupro $420 hfredriksson.com Ted Muehling Earrings $500 tedmuehling.com RIGHT H Fredriksson Agda Dress in Poster Cupro $408 at internationalplayground.com Vintage Necklace

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Designer Karen Flood shared the story of her own wedding to husband of six years and business partner Henning of Henning’s Local in Eldred:

It had rained that morning, but the sun came out & twinkled all the raindrops on the leaves. Henning made all the food with a kitchen he set up in the garage. We chopped up every single herb and green in the garden.

LEFT Karen Flood Cotton Jersey Sheath $180 at MayerWasner in Narrowsburg NY BELOW H Fredriksson Nico Dress in Black Grass $374 internationalplayground.com

Fredriksson when asked about her print inspiration:

Nature is the most magical and perfect design in a lot of ways; nature inspires me and I find natural shapes, colors and silhouettes fascinating, strange and beautiful. I use them in my fabric prints and photographs.

Adds Fredriksson: ABOVE H Fredriksson Milos Dress in Gray Waves $340 hfredriksson.com

I believe that we can take care of our world and people who live on it, only if we change our consuming and production methods and learn to think quality versus quantity – producing local, fair trade and sustainably is my way of working true to my philosophy and beliefs.

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az

wedding A TO Z | LOCAL NECESSITIES

to

a

alcohol

Bootlegger Vodka from Prohibition Distillery in Roscoe, NY prohibitiondistillery.com

b

bowtie Knot Now in Broooklyn, NY etsy.com/shop/ KnotNowBowTies Prohibition Distillery

Prohibition Distillery

d

dress (vintage)

Mystery Spot Antiques in Phoenicia, NY mysteryspotantiques.com

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c cake

The Alternative Baker in Rosendale, NY lemoncakes.com Prohibition Distillery

e g

f

eats (brazilian) Samba Cafe in Jeffersonville, NY sambacafeandinn.com

h

flowers

Earth Girl Flowers in Callicoon Center, NY earthgirlflowers.com Prohibition Distillery

guestbook

Paper Moon Bookbinding in Hobart, NY papermoonbookbinding.com Prohibition Distillery

hickster sewing kit Channery Hill Crafts in Callicoon Center, NY channeryhillcrafts.com Prohibition Distillery

j

i

invitation Echo Letterpress in Jeffersonville, NY echoletterpress.com

k

jewelry

Madame Fortuna in Narrowsburg, NY madamefortuna.com Prohibition Distillery

l

lace silk necklace Elena Rosenberg Wearable Fiber Art in Scarsdale, NY elenarosenberg.com Prohibition Distillery

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kiss

Hudson Valley Skin Care in Pleasant Valley, NY hudsonvalleyskincare.com

o

m

mens wear

Blackbird Attic Boutique in Beacon, NY blackbirdattic.com

n

nail laquer Mine Nail Laquer in High Falls, NY minelacquer.com

open bar

r

Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner, NY tuthilltown.com Prohibition Distillery

p

program

Wishbone Letterpress in Kingston, NY wishboneletterpress.com

q

quilt

Group Hug Quilts in Brooklyn, NY grouphugquilts.com Prohibition Distillery

s

sinful desserts Lagusta’s Luscious in New Paltz, NY lagustasluscious.com

t

Prohibition Distillery

table setting bluecashew Kitchen Pharmacy in Rhinebeck, NY bluecashewkitchen.com Prohibition Distillery

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u

usher gifts

Loyal Stricklin Mug shop.1924.us

rsvp

Joanne day Calligraphy nightowlcreativity.com

v x

x is for...

Art by Trey Speegle in Youngsville, NY treyspeegle.com

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THOSE FEATURED

yes!

Boregaard Jeweler in Narrowsburg, NY boregaard.com

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 19

Duke Pottery in Roscoe, NY dukepottery.com

w waltz

The E & B Dance Academy in Pleasant Valley, NY everythingballroom.com Prohibition Distillery

z y

vase

zipper

Clementine Vintage Clothing in Andes, NY clementinevintageclothing.com

Painting with Flowers

BRRCH, by Brittany Asch, forages Hudson Valley flowers to create painterly event centerpieces.

STORY BY AKIRA OHISO PHOTOS BY BRITTANY ASCH 20 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

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the ethereal, the classically elegant, the understated... you will find traces of all of these things...

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When Brittany Asch talks about her flower arrangements, she is reminiscent of a landscape painter. “I look for how the flowers are growing together, if they are sprawling across a property or clustered together. Some places are more woodsy, some are overgrown, and others are cared after.”

Her floral forms bring you to these natural places.

A native of the Hudson Valley, Asch grew up surrounded by the diverse and natural beauty of the region. Her deep connection to the area finds its way into her work in ways that are more than a wedding magazine cover, a crafted Instagram feed or carpeted banquet hall. Like a Rembrandt painting, her floral forms emote a foggy spring morning, a mossy stone wall, a craved connection to nature and imperfection.

Today, the Hudson Valley is still a place she calls home, and Asch forages there to create existential, moody and living floral forms. “Foraging for me is a means of transporting the arrangements directly from a place and often the really special things are out there growing wild,” says Asch.

Local foraging is very important to her work. “I love the idea of gathering materials from the surrounding area of wherever I’m working and bringing them into the arrangement.” An arrangement in California will look very different than one in the Hudson Valley.

And that’s what makes her work so beautiful. It’s timeless, familiar, imperfect and home.

FOR MORE INFO www.brrch.com

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OFFICIANTS | CHURCH

Holy Innocents

CHURCH

BY J.N. URBANSKI

A

ccording to aggregated data from Pew Research, “the percentage of Americans who say they “seldom” or “never” attend religious services (aside from weddings and funerals) has risen modestly in the past decade. Roughly three-in-ten U.S. adults (29%) now say they seldom or never attend worship services, up from 25% in 2003.” From some perspectives, it’s not difficult to see why. In certain religions, you’re born a sinner and spend your life in repentance. Not so at Holy Innocents Church in Halcottsville, a picturesque hamlet in upstate New York where according to Bishop Francisco J. Betancourt (Frank), we are all innocent.

“You just have to look at the way religion is used to hurt people,” says Bishop Frank. “I would rather think that we have original innocence.

The preaching in some churches, it seems that they try to draw people to church out of fear of God and not love of God. They talk about how sinful everyone is, the wrath of God and that hell is going to be your eternal damnation. If you think about the Spanish inquisition, Crusades, 911: religion has done more harm than good. It’s no wonder people give up on churches.”

Holy Innocents Church is a different kind of Catholic Church, part of the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA). The Papacy in Rome recognizes the Holy Innocents’ orders, but “they call us valid but illicit. We are not in

FOR MORE INFO 422 Main Street Halcottsville, NY 845-586-2201 holyinnocentscacina.org

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communion with Rome, but we can live with that,” says Frank. “To me, that is totally meaningless.

Denomination shouldn’t be like a club where you exclude people.”

The church’s historical literature states that in “1945 Bishop Carlos Duarte-Costa, a Roman Catholic Bishop in Brazil spoke out against abuses of power by the Brazilian Fascist Regime and Vatican assistance to Nazis relocating to Brazil. He had advocated for land reform and the establishment of national Catholic churches in Brazil and around the world. Bishop Duarte-Costa separated himself from Rome and established the Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira (ICAB). The first mission from ICAB to the US (now CACINA) opened in New Mexico in 1949. CACINA is a national Catholic body with participative governance by the clergy and laity. Its focus is on social justice in the light of the Gospel with liberation of the individual conscience. CACINA holds the seven traditional sacraments, maintains valid apostolic succession of its bishops, holds to the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the Church and holds that ordination is open to those called regardless of marital status, gender or sexual orientation.” In other words, the Clergy of CACINA’s apostolic succession is identical to that of the Church of Rome.

Holy Innocents Church offers same-sex marriage, in addition to traditional marriage, in accordance with New York State law. The church is all-inclusive, meaning all denominations are welcome. If members of the congregation decide to convert from their original denomination, that is their own decision and not something forced upon them by Holy Innocents.

“We have parishioners here who don’t believe in God and that’s OK,” says the Bishop. “You may feel that’s wild for me to say, but who am I to judge? People have been hurt by churches. I believe God is in each and every one of us. God is in you and me.”

“Other denominations say we are very liberal,” says Frank, “but we feel that we are not liberal but very traditional, in that this was what the early church did.

Jesus rejected no one. We are called to do good. I told a local Jewish family here that they’re completely welcome. I mean, I have Jews all over my walls in here!”

The Holy Innocents Church was built in 1894.

A quaint hilltop white clapboard structure with a working bell, it was a Methodist church until it was purchased by Bishop Frank and his partner, Father Dante A. Tarantini in 2003. Having met in New York in the seventies, the two clergymen have been

We have parishioners here who don’t believe in god and that’s OK. together for 36 years and were way ahead of their time. In the early days of the HIV epidemic, they adopted six babies who were born with the virus, a revolutionary concept at the time when prejudice against, and alienation of, sufferers was high. Their generosity caught the attention of New York City media and newspaper articles detailing their story adorn the office walls in their home. Two of their adopted children survived, one of whom overcame the virus after he was born. Frank and Dante have lived full-time in nearby Margaretville for 10 years and before they bought the church, they would conduct services in their home. Originally from Philadelphia, Frank joined a friary in Garrison, New York when he was 19 years old and spent 13 years there. He left and moved to New York City, a place he had frequently visited as a friar, because “some of the teachings of the church were not in line with my conscience. And I had fallen in love.

Love brought me back.”

Dante, a native New Yorker from Queens, was 23 when he met Frank: “I was working in the family business, just starting to understand who I was- my sexual orientation as a gay man. I started meeting people, going out, making friends. About a year after I came out, I met Frank and the rest is history”. Dante had been a childhood churchgoer, but began to question the validity of the church when he was about 19 years old. “There were a number of issues: how gay people were received, the ordination of women, divorce, contraception. I started seeing 2013 SUMMER | GREEN DOOR 21

things very differently from what I was taught growing up. I started pulling away from the Catholic Church.”

Frank and Dante turned away from the church for many years thereafter. “How can you embrace something that doesn’t embrace you? We sat through many sermons where we were told we were wrong.” Frank worked as a college professor and manager of a hotel. Dante worked as a nurse and in real estate.

Frank found CACINA online in 2000 and it mirrored their beliefs.

“It wasn’t a church of no, no, no.”

CACINA was attempting to go in the right direction. “There’s so much pain and suffering associated with churches because of the judgment and the condemnation,” says Father Dante. “The teachings of Christ are an all-embracing love.

If we truly look at the teachings of Christ, who he was and what he did on earth, that was something I was interested in.”

Tears of joy and relief flow frequently when prospective parishioners of Holy Innocents realize that they will not be excluded on the basis of their sexual orientation, which

are grounds for exclusion in other churches in the area.

Don McGee and Jack Stewart were the first couple to be married at Holy Innocents in 2011. “It’s truly all-welcoming,” says Don who echoes the comments of other parishioners.

“Even though I’m not a Catholic, I feel very comfortable here,” says Vanessa. “It’s a very accepting place.”

“Dante and Frank are very kind and warm. They’re not judgmental and they have a wonderful sense of humor,” says Shirley, a regular parishioner who was introduced to the church by her son on Mother’s Day. “I feel very welcome. Anybody is accepted. I can call if I have a problem and need someone to talk to.”

Says Frank: “church attendance will rise if the church is more accepting, especially of the new generation. In order to really draw people and really become something more than a set of rules, churches will have to be places where people can feel God’s love and share that with people who are worshiping with them.”

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 25

farm down on the

Location, location, location. Londoners Emily and Adam hop the pond to get married on an idyllic farm.

STORY BY AARON FERTIG PHOTOS BY MICHAEL BLOOM 26 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

WEDDING | FARMHOUSE

FOR MORE INFO www.coopersfarmhouse.com

When Londoners Emily Hudd and Adam Kalita were planning their nuptials, they didn’t want a traditional wedding. “We wanted our wedding to be a retreat for a small group of friends,” says Hudd. They never thought that they would get married in upstate New York, let alone on a farm.

Emily searched the web and found wedding designer and chef Cooper Boone. In January of 2013, Emily and Adam picked up from London and traveled to the States. The minute they saw the farm it was cemented. “Every little detail of our May weekend was perfect,” says Hudd.

“Cooper and his team love to entertain, host and cook and it made for a relaxed and stress free farm wedding. It was far more beautiful than it appeared in pictures. It’s a magical place.”

PHOTOS: MIKE BLOOM

Maybe it was the red barn, but the beauty of their surroundings took them further than their imaginations could ever have taken them. Adam and Emily love the city and it is where they first got to know each other 9 years ago, but this was a destination wedding like no other. Far away from the familiar in the UK, the rural backdrop allowed everyone to relax and have a good time.

Cooper welcomed them to come with friends and enjoy a memorable feast that seemed to just appear from his massive kitchen, as he created a magical event in the barn. “We love to host weddings at the Farmhouse,“ says Cooper Boone. “With our restored rustic barn, any wedding will be unique and memorable,” he added. Helping make it memorable was photography by Michael Bloom.

The bride and groom felt so special, in that the location was a house and not an impersonal cookie-cutter hotel venue. Cooper and his team made them feel truly blessed.

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28 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

“

It made for a relaxed and stress free farm wedding.

“ 2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 29

REVELRY | SPILLIAN

IN THE

Serious Frivolity Northern Catskills Spillian and the Renaissance of Fleischmanns STORY BY AKIRA OHISO | PHOTOS BY KELLY MERCHANT

Like many towns and hamlets across the Upper Catskills, Fleischmanns is seeing a rebirth, fueled by the migration of full-timers to the area as more city folks choose to work remotely.

With a quaint Main Street and beautiful 19th-century homes scattered throughout town, there is a buzz of both opportunity and excitement in the air again. “Fleischmanns has the richest housing stock from the Victorian era that is pretty much untouched,� says Michelle Sidrane, owner of The Breezy Hill Inn, a restored Victorian bed & breakfast in the village. Fleischmanns now annually hosts their Memorial Day Weekend Street Fair that draws thousands of visitors. The 2nd Annual Maple Festival returns in March.

Six years ago, a feasibility study conducted by students from SUNY New Paltz concluded that there were enough people and resources working to make Fleischmanns a vibrant village again.

The result was Fleischmanns First, a community enhancement organization. (Sidrane serves as its current president.) Grants by the MARK Project have assisted in beautifying Main Street. State grants have helped expand Internet service to once-remote areas.

Among the creative people drawn to the rejuvenated Fleischmanns are Leigh Melander and husband Marc Somerfield. Both originally from Pennsylvania, they just returned to the Northeast after 12 years in Southern California, to start a new chapter. Their dream was to create a retreat center that would encapsulate their intellectual, creative and civic passions.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

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Charles Louis Fleischmann

Rabbi Aharon Kotler (left)

32 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

REVELRY | SPILLIAN CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Melander and Somerfield spent two years searching for the perfect place when they found the 19th century summer retreat estate of Charles Louis Fleischmann, founder of the Cincinnati-based Fleischmann’s Yeast Company and the namesake of the town previously known as Griffin Corners.

Today, Spillian is a multi-use retreat center and hotel with a commercial kitchen, 8 bedrooms, sprawling grounds and grand rooms for entertaining.

It is the perfect place for a wedding, special occasion, weekend getaway or extended vacation in the Catskills.

The pair purchased the property from a Japanese woman named Haruna Kimura. She had envisioned a meditation center here, but that never came to fruition. Kimura placed an enormous amount of money into the reconstruction of the house and kept it from becoming another Catskills ruin.

“She saved it,” says Melander. “In a quiet way, her tenure was just as important as anyone’s in the history of this house.”

Somerfield, a lighting and scenic designer for theater, opera, and ballet, spent a year bringing the old Fleischmann’s mansion back to life. Melander named the house Spillian, an Old English word which means to play, jest or revel.

“I got a kick out of it because it is the root of my mother’s maiden name: Spillers,” says Melander. “The suggestion is that her ancestors were magicians, jugglers or entertainers of some sort.”

PHOTOS: KELLY MERCHANT. HISTORICAL PHOTOS: PUBLIC DOMAIN. PHOTO OF RABBIS: THEANTITZEMACH.BLOGSPOT.COM

Melander received her doctorate in psychology and mythology and did her thesis on “frivolity.” While the word reflects negative connotations, it actually means a lack of seriousness or a lightheartedness.

“I was looking at frivolity as an opening into imagination and to step away from being outcome driven,” says Melander. “I was working on the Kantian idea about the purposefulness of purposelessness.”

In California, she founded The Imaginal Institute, a precursor to Spillian, offering conferences and online learning that reflect her prevailing philosophy: “frivolity as a curative to 21st Century blues.”

Further research revealed to Melander that “frivol” came from the same root as revel and rebel. “There was something about the constellation of these three words that I really liked.”

As one delves into the history of the estate and its eclectic residents, Spillian emerges as a historically fitting name.

Prior to the 1870s, Griffin Corners, settled by Matthew Griffin, was a small mountain village surrounded by large swathes of farmland. It was a difficult place to reach by horse or stagecoach especially during the winter months when muddy dirt roads were treacherous. In the 1870s, the Ulster & Delaware Railroad connected Griffin Corners to Kingston, NY, the first capital of New York State and a mercantile hub with access to the railroad and canal system. The railroad suddenly made Griffin Corners accessible to New York City.

In the early 1880s, a local businessman named John Blish sold the property to Charles Louis Fleischmann. Charles’ brother Louis was appalled by the poor quality of baked breads in the states. In 1876 he built a Model Viennese Bakery at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and introduced millions of America to the distinctive and delicious Austrian standard of pastries, bread and coffee. It propelled his fledging yeast company to national status. The term “bread line,” often associated with the Great Depression, was actually coined in response to men with no money lining up outside his bakery enticed by the aroma of freshly baked bread.

As a Jew of Eastern European descent, Charles and his other brother Max were well aware of the anti-Semitic climate across the globe. It was a time when Jews were the target of intense scrutiny. Theodore Herzl was under fire for championing Zionism and a Jewish State. Tsarist pogroms were on the rise. In 1894, The Dreyfus Affair scapegoated a Jewish artillery officer.

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The Wedding Planner STORY BY AKIRA OHISO PHOTOS BY BELLAMY BLUE WEDDINGS

FOR MORE INFO www.catskillweddings.com 34 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

PHOTOS: © BELLAMY BLUE WEDDINGS / BELLAMYBLUEWEDDINGS.COM

EVENT PLANNING | CATSKILL WEDDINGS

Surf Pinterest and you’ll find wedding photos that showcase barn planks, wild flowers bouquets, and mason jar cocktails. The rustic wedding is hot.

creating sets and producing and directing commercials. She brings this visual language to her weddings. “I’m a visual person.

I can make any space look spectacular.”

It used to be that you booked a wedding hall and you were done.

The explosion of Pinterest and other image-driven social media sites has created stunningly beautiful wedding imagery that everyone wants, but can’t always afford or execute.

The average budget she works with is about $50,000, but has done weddings for much less.

For more affordable weddings, she suggests a casual buffet.

“People are addicted to the visual,” says Lydia Castiglia, owner of Catskill Flower Shop in Fleischmanns, NY. The florist-turned-wedding planner can help couples find what works for them.

Since moving to the Catskills from New York City in 2002, Castiglia has seen the wedding industry grow. “Nationally, it’s becoming more and more popular to have a rustic wedding,” she says. “If you are in the New York metropolitan area, the Catskills is a natural destination.”

Castiglia began work here strictly as a floral designer. But as more people came into the store and inquired about a caterer and wedding venues, she decided to move to the planning side.

“I think there’s a very particular bride that comes here,” she says.

“Not everyone is going to want to get married in a barn or under a tent in the Catskills.”

When Castiglia first started in the area, she had to go outside the immediate market for professional vendors. But now, other local businesses in the Catskills are starting to think about weddings too. Castiglia tells the story of a friend with scenic property who built a pavilion with a kitchen and a house for the bride so he could start renting out for weddings.

Castiglia started her career as a home furnishing and decorative accessory buyer at some of Manhattan’s premier retail icons: Henri Bendel, Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys New York. After leaving retail she worked five years in television,

Every bride is different. “It can be soup to nuts or I can get involved the month before,” says Castiglia. For some, an on-site wedding with built-in services and trained staff might not require Castiglia’s services at the start. For couples not familiar with the area, a wedding planner is often a blessing. “It allows me to develop a relationship with a bride from the very beginning.”

Younger couples are more likely to have their parents involved who are footing the bill. Older couples with their own income tend to pay for their own wedding. Since the legalization of gay marriage in New York State, she is doing more samesex weddings. Savvy hipstertypes might enlist friends who can design invitations or provide quirky music. Castiglia sees many DIY brides start out with lots of energy, but soon get overwhelmed. The biggest day of your life looms and you have fifty different ideas about a wedding dress. Castiglia is there to help.

As she manages the varied and competing wedding expectations and personalities of parents, family and friends, Castiglia has learned to become a bit of a therapist.

“When you work with families, it often works to a fevered pitch.

There’s a lot of stress.” Mom wants it this way and the bride wants it that way. “Then you have the mother of the groom,” adds Castiglia. “I can chill them out.”

In the end, the best weddings are not guaranteed by budgets.

Castiglia has done lavish weddings as well as small informal weddings. If people are having a good time, it’s a wedding she is proud of.

0 2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 35

LOCAVORE | CELEBRATING FARMERS

organic Celebrating the Hudson Valley’s organic farmers and chefs.

BY FRANCESCO MASTALIA

FOR MORE INFO “Organic” will be published by powerHouse Books this September. www.francescomastalia.com

36 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

chris regan Sky Farm, Millerton, NY

I’m not certified, I was early on before the federal switch over. Now I’m working with chefs and they’re not really concerned about the certification, they’re interested in quality. The key is respect, respect for the product and the land.

Farming in the Hudson Valley has been great. It has allowed me to do what I wanted to do because there is enough demand for quality, locally produced, organic food. There are a lot of chefs supporting farmers now and providing us with a way to make a living; they are also providing their customers with the best possible ingredients.

I still value the word organic myself; I know what it meant 20 years ago, and that’s what I still think of it as meaning.

jay uhler

Peace & Carrots Farm, Chester, NY

I don’t really understand, as a farmer, how growing something conventionally even makes sense. I feel like farming, by spraying chemicals on your plants, seems like it just goes against the whole thing. I don’t understand, how being a steward of the land and taking care of it, and then poison everything I don’t want here. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t see how you can be a farmer, and not do it organically.

Organic is when you plant something in the ground and you don’t mess with it. You just let it grow, and it comes up. You don’t need to add anything to it, just sun and water, and care for it. Just get out there and tend to the field, pull out the weeds, and do all you can without messing with the genetic structure of anything.

willy denner Little Seed Gardens, Chatham, NY

Life is the thing that defines organic farming for me, allowing life. I have the thought that all human need is met with contact with the earth.

Farming came out of trying to feed myself, and the people I cared about.

So, that sense of nourishment that I was looking for was from a connection with my own needs, with my human needs.

Farming is a place where you get to directly connect with people and the social difficulty of experiencing abundance, of recognizing the ampleness of the gift of the earth and our ability to connect with them.

I love to feed people, including myself, and I love to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I look forward to things coming in season, and then on top of that, it is a wonderful gift to be involved in, immersed in the process of life.

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kira kinney

Evolutionary Organics, New Paltz, NY

I have always farmed organic; there was no way I would do the other stuff.

I wouldn’t know how to do it, and I wouldn’t be comfortable doing it.

Using chemical sprays and stuff like that just doesn’t make any sense. I wouldn’t do this if I had to grow that way, I would be doing something else.

I stopped being certified organic once the USDA took over the whole organic thing; I was certified from 1995 up until then. I just didn’t think that their interest reflect what I do. This was small farms doing things in a small way and their idea was to make it easier for big farms to be in the game and sell across the country and in the world. The same companies that have 1,000 acres of organic carrots also have 2,000 acres of heavily sprayed carrots; I didn’t want to be a part of that. Now I am Certified Naturally Grown, it’s small grassroots.

john gorzynski Gorzynski Ornery Farm, Narrowsburg, NY

In 1982 I formed along with quite a number of other farmers from New York State, NOFA New York, which was a grassroots organization. I was selected as chairman for the first couple of years, and towards the end of my reign we decided as a board that we should form our own certification agency that would certify organic farmers and we proceeded to set up standards that were among the strictest, if not the strictest in the organic industry in this country.

The first 20 years of my farming life I was certified, from 1979 up until the USDA took over. As soon as the USDA became involved the definition was diminished to point where I would no longer be certified. It didn’t come near to my standards of what I felt organic should be, and there was no way I was going to validate or lend my credibility, that of my farm and my life of 20 years worth of work, of making the word organic mean something. I totally withdrew my name from the word.

I can look back and know I did no harm, and I’m leaving things better then I found them.

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dwayne lipuma

St. Andrew’s Café, Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park, NY I asked my students what organic means, they replied, “Organic means sustainability, it means all natural, nothing synthetic or synthesized by man.” When I think of the word organic, I think about nature, doing the right thing with the planet. I think about something more flavorful, and about sustaining the community and employment.

It’s an art. You have to commend the farmers to be out there from sun up to sun down, as well as the chef who enjoys and understands the beauty of how they grow their vegetables and raise their animals.

To just harvest a carrot and give it to me and let it sit in my walk-in for three days, I might as well just buy something off the supermarket shelf then. But to take that simple carrot and make something beautiful with it, shave it or pickle it, serve it at that moment, and reduce the time from farm to table, where all you have to do is drizzle a little something on it. It’s an art.

adina bialas J&A Farm, Goshen, NY

The word organic became really popular in the last 10 years and everybody wanted to be organic. You had these big farms that needed to substantiate that they were indeed organic so that could market their product. And so, the federal government had to have some way of dealing with that, so they came up with the certified organic program so that everybody and their brother weren’t just saying “Oh yeah, I’m organic too.”

I always felt; if you don’t need to use chemicals, why use them? The land is so much more alive and natural without them. We grow pretty much everything that can be grown in this area and a few things that you might not think you can grow here.

I love that my kids can go out and touch everything in the field and I don’t have to worry about it.

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 39

LOCAVORE | RECIPE

CHARMING GARDENERS how to make herb seed bombs

Our wedding was held in our backyard in Sullivan County.

The ceremony was a several minute walk into the woods after which our 150 guests were pipered parade-style by a trio of horn players heralding “You are my Sunshine” down a steep hill to the reception.

40 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

PHOTOS: CATIE BAUMER SCHWALB

STORY, PHOTOS & STYLING BY CATIE BAUMER SCHWALB of pitchforkdiaries.com

With all of the additional headaches and worries our DIY wedding provided us that day, will we have enough electricity and bathrooms and all of our friends and family who shared it with us, is imprinted here on our land.

We walk that aisle again and again in flip-flops and snow boots, baby booties and bare toddler toes. And if it wasn’t currently a large tomato patch, we could dance in the same spot.

Our woods, our pond, our gardens and all of the splendor with which they continually provide us, were the reasons we realized we needed to hold this important day right here. And we wanted to share that reverence with our guests. We used the inspiring surroundings as decorations, packed our menu with local food and our favorite every day garden recipes. Our place cards were small potted

herbs I had started a month prior. My “test-run” mint and chamomile still return each summer in our herb garden, and it has been a tremendous treat to have friends eagerly point out their thriving sage and sprawling oregano plants when in their yards, started as babies for our nuptials.

As I think about how much traveling many of our guests did to join us that day, not yet sprouted herb seed spheres would have been an ideal, much more portable option. A self-contained mini garden capsule, ready to reveal its secrets as soon as it is planted, or hurled.

Seed bombs are becoming wildly popular as of late with Johnny Appleseed guerrilla gardeners wanting to hit and run vacant lots and abandoned patches of earth. They use these agricultural tickers that will suddenly materialize one day after a rainfall like

a rogue ramp or muddy bolete to beautify areas just out of reach.

Planting the seeds for future beauty or for something delicious and leaving the surrounding earth a little better seems like a marvelous way to commemorate a significant life event. Scattering a group of loved ones back out into the world, each with a small piece of the same seed packet to enhance their lives and surroundings makes so much sense for celebrating a birth, union, birthday or transition.

When I brew a pitcher of chamomile-mint iced tea each summer with these thriving perennials started from nearly invisible seed specks, I feel both love and loved. And I daydream that some of our guests, in each of the places they call home, are doing and feeling the same.

These seed, clay and nutrient spheres can easily be adapted for use with wildflower seeds. It is important however, with any type of seeds you use, to choose varieties of herbs and flowers native and complimentary to the area and ecology in which you are planting.

Materials: 1 part herb seeds 4 parts dry clay powder, available widely online and at any ceramics resource 6 parts dry organic twig-free compost, available at nurseries and garden stores 3-4 parts water, depending on how much moisture is in the compost Note: 1 Tablespoon of seeds, along with the above formula, yields nine gumball-sized seed spheres.

Mix the seeds, clay powder, and dry compost together in a bowl, until thoroughly combined and the seeds are evenly distributed. Slowly add the water, a little at a time, until a workable, but not too wet, consistency is reached – similar to molding clay.

Form the mixture into spheres, eggs, pebbles, hearts, or any shape you choose. You can use your hands, molds or forms. Lay the finished shapes out on wax or parchment paper, with enough space around each for air to circulate. Place finished shapes in a warm, dry area for a day or two until thoroughly dry. Do not store until all moisture has evaporated or mold will develop, and rot the seeds.

After the seed bombs have dried, they should be planted within the year the seeds were packaged and sold, and can at least be stored for several months. Store in an airtight container, away from direct sunlight.

Plant seed bombs in an area with well-drained soil and lots of sunlight. Water regularly, every few days, when the ground seems dry. Or toss into an area just out of reach that needs a little improving and wait for rain.

Unlike wildflower seed bombs, where a large mixture would be lovely, for herbal seed bombs I like to keep the seed selection to a single variety or a small combination per sphere. Take note of which seeds bloom only for one season (annuals) or return each year (perennials). All varieties of mint, chamomile, lavender, basil, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, and anise hyssop are wonderful choices. Perhaps make spheres with a single variety of seeds and then package a few different bombs together for an herb garden kit.

Iced Tea: Mint + Anise Hyssop + lemon balm Unwinding Tea: Chamomile + Lavender Basil Trio: Genovese Basil + Thai Basil + Purple Basil Herbs de Provence: Thyme + Oregano + Basil + Marjoram Italian Sauces: Oregano + Flat Leaf Parsley + Basil Edible Flowers: Nasturtium + Chamomile + Chive 2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 41

42 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

LOCAVORE | VEGAN

VEGAN CATSKILLS CLEAN & GREEN AT TURQUOISE BARN

BY LORI MAJEWSKI | PHOTOS BY MICHELLE PREMURA

Lori Majewski’s regular column dedicated to the discovery of animal-friendly fare and the colorful folks who serve it up.

PHOTOS: MICHELLE PREMURA

One of the scariest terms in a vegan’s vocabulary? Bed & Breakfast. For me and my animal product-eschewing friends, an overnight stay at one usually culminates in a big ol’ buffet of bacon, sausage, and eggs, along with a wellintentioned proprietor rushing off to the kitchen to fetch us a bowl of dry corn flakes. So imagine my excitement upon hearing about Turquoise Barn.

Located in the Western Catskills, this four-room, meat-free B&B is my cup of herbal tea. Owner-operated by Brooklyn artists Michelle Premura and Michael Milton, the renovated, rusticelegant nineteenth century carriage house is not only a haven for vegans, vegetarians and those adhering to gluten-free diets, it’s a Green Certified, eco-friendly destination for anyone who’s seeking to recharge body and mind. Coming here is “like doing a gentle cleanse,” says Premura, who, in addition to an organic breakfast, serves homemade snacks like macaroons covered in calendula-infused chocolate.

“The food is nutrient-dense, so you’re not going to be hungry like you would be if you were just filling up on carbs and processed foods and gluten all day,” she says. Read on as Premura tells the story of how Turquoise Barn evolved from a gallery/cafe to the perfect place to spring-clean-up your act, whether you’re looking to lose a little weight, learn how to prepare plant-based meals or simply zen out back by the pond.

And note that she also caters for allinclusive weekend retreats and private groups by arrangement.

You left East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for the country in 2000 and opened Turquoise Barn about four years later.

How did you come up with the name?

We named it after we painted it. At first I thought, “We’re going to get this

deep, dark red color and we’re going to make it a red barn,” but then I wanted to make it something different. Before we moved up here I did some traveling to Mexico, Central America, and Jamaica. I love the Caribbean and all of the colors of the buildings, so I was inspired by that.

be like, “It’s this healthy place, she may not have coffee,” but we do organic French-press. And we make all the teas with fresh mint, nettles.

What were your goals for the property and how did you achieve them?

I do. There’s learning in the kitchen, hands-on. I also have yoga teachers, massage therapists. I have four retreats coming up that I’m hosting but are being presented by a doctor. We’re going to do a five-day spring detox, then another one is on Chinese herbs, another is on Maya Medicine, and another is about emotional healing, hypnotherapy and life coaching.

The most important things were to make it comfortable, a place where people can come and relax, and to have it be chemical-free. We don’t use harsh, chemical cleaners. There’s not going to be potpourri or any air-freshener-type things. We use organic-cotton sheets for linens.

How did you come to be an early adopter of the chemical-free lifestyle?

Around 1985 I was diagnosed with cancer, so I wanted to start living a holistic life. I knew I had to make changes: change my diet, my mindset, eliminate the toxic chemicals. Also, I’d lived in Boulder, Colorado, and you can’t help but be influenced. They’re all about green, natural living.

Now the Catskills are becoming known for its organic and locavore ways too.

Tell me about the food at TB. We specialize in what I like to call botanical cuisine, which means plant-based, whole-food, glutenfree, wild-crafted — usually from our own garden. A typical breakfast would include a green smoothie; one of our specialties is a chia pudding; fresh nut milk; sprouted buckwheat, fresh berries, bananas; maybe a side of veggies. If it’s cold out, I might do some type of oatmeal. And people may

The website describes TB as an “education center.” Do you teach how to make the food that you serve?

The number of vegans in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the last couple of years. Have you noticed this reflected in your clientele?

Definitely. People are more open.

Some people who come, maybe they’re not ready or willing to go 100% vegan but they want to incorporate more plant-based food into their diets. I like people to experience that healthy doesn’t have to taste like grass or dried twigs. My goal is to put it all together without having to say that it’s good for you and without people having to go, “Oh, let me hold my nose while I drink it.” People leaving feeling differently, like, “I can eat like this!” I had one guest who was really concerned with counting calories. She was here for weight-loss. I told her, “Look, just for one weekend, don’t count calories.

Eat what I make, try to enjoy the food and not worry.” She ended up going full-force into the vegan-raw thing.

And she lost weight at the end of the weekend as well — without counting calories.

FOR MORE INFO Turquoise Barn 8052 County Highway 18, Bloomville, NY 13739 607.538.1235 www.turquoisebarn.com 2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 43

Cooper’s Table FOOD & FINDS STORY, PHOTOS & STYLING BY COOPER BOONE

rustic

PHOTOS: COOPER BOONE

diy 44 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

LOCAVORE | COOPER’S TABLE

Tabletop Step-By-Step

NAPKIN RING HOLDERS I am always on the lookout for new experiences to inspire me creatively. As I was having coffee with my upholsterer friend Nanette, I noticed a roll of upholstery webbing on her worktable. The tan and red jute material had a gingham country quality that I simply love. I instantly thought, “napkin ring holders!”

When I returned home, I hopped on Amazon.com and scored a roll for myself. A needle and thread, buttons, scissors were all I needed and suddenly some webbing was transformed into rustic yet elegant table settings.

Whahooza!

What you’ll need: Upholstery Webbing Scissors Needle & Thread Buttons 1. Cut an 8-inch strip of upholstery webbing. I particularly love the red jute webbing as the red plays off my buffalo check red fabric napkins.

3. You did it! Sit back and admire your hard work – and watch the compliments roll in.

“

Needle & thread, buttons, and scissors were all I needed. Suddenly some upholstery webbing was transformed into rustic

“

2. Fold the webbing in half at the 4-inch mark.

Holding the webbing folded in place, sew your button through both pieces of fabric.

yet elegant table settings.

Whahooza!

FOR MORE INFO www.cooperstable.com

In “Happier at Home” you write about the importance of creating shrines in your home because they can trigger happy thoughts when you look at them.

What are a few things to consider when deciding what kind of shrine to create?

What is it that you love, that you feel really excited about? It can be a shrine to music, tools, or to arts and crafts. I have a friend who basically has his entire apartment as a shrine to wine. It’s mindfully arranging these things in a way so that they gain energy by being together. It’s great for you, but it allows you to project your values in your environment so when someone walks into this house, someone says, “Wow, somebody in this house is super-into arts and crafts!”

BOOKSHELF | GRETCHEN RUBIN

Gretchen Rubin, author of New York Times bestsellers “The Happiness Project” (Harper, 2009) and most recently “Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life” (now available in paperback from Three Rivers Press, December 2013) offers advice on how you can be happier at home. Rubin calls herself a homebody, loves living in Manhattan, but does enjoy spending time in the Hudson Valley.

She rented a home in Beaverkill, NY for a few summers, and is considering spending more time in Rhinebeck this summer.

Q & A

with Gretchen Rubin: How to be Happier at Home

BY VANESSA GENEVA AHERN of hudsonvalleygoodstuff.com

46 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

The topic of clutter comes up every spring. You are a firm believer that outer order contributes to inner calm. How does one tackle the overwhelming task of reorganizing a living space? What if you have a resistance to organizing or just feel like you are not that good at it?

For my upcoming book on habits (“Before and After” due out in 2015) that I’m writing I talk about treats, things that are not rewards, you don’t earn them, you just enjoy them. Weirdly for me, clearing clutter is a treat. I can’t wait to get my hands on it. It’s incredibly satisfying! I think the big thing is to find ways where you can do a little bit consistently.

You can’t always set aside an entire weekend and clean out a basement.

Practice the one-minute rule. If there is something you can do in one minute, then do it without delay.

File something. Hang up a coat. Rip open a letter. It doesn’t sound like a big deal. Always be in the habit of moving

something along to keep away that scum of surface clutter.

It’s small rules that you follow consistently. If you just think you can’t face it, then just work on it 15 minutes a day.

Tell yourself that you can suffer 15 minutes. If you do 15 minutes every day, you can get a lot done. I can go up there in the attic and look at one box. And then slowly but surely, it gets easier. That resolve makes you happier, and makes you keep going.

What advice do you have for being extra happy in a weekend home or a rental home that is very new to you or not really yours? When I started renting a weekend home in Woodstock, I came back to our cramped studio apartment in the city, and missed the rental home.

One thing about a rental home is that it’s not your problem. Be grateful for the benefits of your situation. On the one hand, it’s not perfect, but you don’t have to worry about the oven shutting off or if the living room color is not your taste. It can make you more aware of what you don’t have.

You point out something important. Sometimes we don’t want to feel negative emotions. Those feelings can be really valuable.

That emotion tells you something worth thinking about. Instead of just assuming there is nothing to be done. Maybe you really do need to be in nature more, but in the meantime enjoy what you have.

One of the chapters in your book is “Neighborhood”— what is a surefire way to be happier in your neighborhood?

You can decide to be a tourist in your neighborhood.

When we travel to somewhere new we are very different, we seek information, we take advantage of things because we know we’re only going to be there for a limited time.

Go for a walk in your neighborhood.

Things

look very different when you walk around.

Especially if you are in a place where you do a lot of driving, and feel like you have sort of exhausted the possibilities of where you live, but you haven’t really.

Maybe there is a museum 40 minutes away that you’ve never been to. Part of that is to appreciate the knowledge seeking frame of mind. Then you have an enriched sense of where you live which is precious too. What is a restaurant that you have never been to? One thing I do with my daughter every Wednesday is to spend nice, peaceful, non-chore time together.

We go on a little weekly adventure and we just go somewhere. Most times we don’t even leave our neighborhood in Manhattan. It’s given me such a greater sense of where I live.

What advice do you have for a happier house-hunting journey? Looking for a new home usually means that you will be moving, which entails lots of planning, organizing, schlepping, and stress.

Get rid of stuff before you move. Don’t move it! You’re adding a whole big extra step there. Do a virtual move. Before you’re even moving, ask yourself “If I were moving, would I move it?” I have a big wheel in my garage, which no one has touched in 10 years. Why not get rid of it now? When they look at how people think about happiness in the future, there is the tendency to look at the maximum use of things.

When looking at potential homes, keep in mind your ordinary day. What does your ordinary day look like? If you only host Christmas dinner every other year does it matter if the dining room looks really small? And you don’t really like having big dinner parties. You really don’t need to be thinking about your dining room like that.

FOR MORE INFO www.gretchenrubin.com

BOOKSHELF | THE IMPROBABLE SHEPHERD

Memoir.

Autobiography.

Journal.

Diary.

Reminiscence. Sylvia Jorrin chose – or perhaps her editor made the decision – to call it a book of “stories”; “More Stories from Sylvia’s Farm” is the subtitle to “The Improbable Shepherd,” a charming, improbably punctuated, slender paper book by a Delaware County, New York farmer who lives on “one of the few large livestock farms in the New York City Watershed solely owned and operated by a woman.”

Memoir. I shall use this term for no other reason than because I like the word and its basis in the word “memory,” which makes all autobiographical writing possible – memoir is, by its very nature, revealing, but it also tells a story by that which it withholds. I’ve also just finished reading Anjelica Huston’s new memoir, and the comparison is notable. Huston’s tales are nearly all about family, friends, lovers, a swift and exciting, out-loud journey through her younger years and extremely forthcoming with private detail; Jorrin whispers into our ears a more private correspondence that reflects a solitary, inwardly focused existence.

Jorrin’s short stories remind me of Scarlett O’Hara’s famous utterance, “I’ll think about that tomorrow.” At the same time as she’s relating the daily life-and-death experiences inherent in rearing animals, Jorrin presents a dignified front that negates the parts of her life she’s trying not to think about. For instance: “I now await another miracle. One of the spirit and the heart. I make not even a gesture to help it happen although I work hard on mending my own heart and creating manageability here as I go through the days. To be ready for a miracle.”

See what I mean about improbable punctuation.

But that creates a kind of poetry, doesn’t it, in the same way poetry, by imitating prose, reinvented itself.

Another poetic device, or perhaps mnemonic, appears in chapter titles such as “The Party” and “As Ernest Lay Dying”. “As Ernest Lay Dying” hasn’t anything to do with Ernest, or, for that matter, anyone dying; nor does “The Party” contain a description of a party, but rather the memories evoked by visiting a neighborhood where she had been invited to a party. The chapter ends, “I was invited to a party in New York City. And went.”

Perhaps it’s because Jorrin has for years published stories about her life in the Delaware County Times and on her website, Sylviasfarm. com, that we aren’t privy to her past in these brief vignettes; perhaps she thinks of her readers as friends who have a long acquaintance with her history and therefore she need not repeat hard facts. Or maybe it’s just because, once lived through, these negative moments have been blocked from her consciousness.

This book is about relationships, not with people, but with the animals that are born and thrive or not and arrive and leave in her business of selling her chicken’s eggs and her sheep’s meat or wool, among other things. There’s only the most superficial mention of her feelings about people; on the other hand, the heart of the book is in the pleasure, and the loneliness held in abeyance, derived from her animals; lambs she cradles in deepest winter, the baby animals she nurses, the dogs who share her broken armchair. “The baby chicks seemed to fall in love with the outdoors….

Twenty-one out of 25 made it. Chicks to become chickens. Hope does reign here sometimes.”

Jorrin’s writing is beautifully evocative of her surroundings. While a reader must assume her life is densely packed with the business of running a farm – emphasized by her rarely mentioning the people working with her other than in passing – she clearly has the time, or makes the time, to attentively scan her surroundings. Besides colorful moments such as when golden light hits the willow tree outside her window, there is a surprising description of the design on a teapot: “All waves in blue with a tiny bit of shore line covered in trees. On the sea are several canoes with Indians, a large ship, some skiffs with Pilgrims sailing toward the coves. It is absolutely enchanting. And so this is a story about almost everything. But most of all about the rich fullness of the life here. Lambs, frozen water pumps, dogs, Honeybell oranges, dishes, and friends.” I read very little about friends, a lot about dogs, but certainly she conveys the “rich fullness” of her life.

I have to complain about the fact that this book’s pages pop out at the slightest attempt to stretch open the inner margin, and the publishers might like to consider that this means I will probably not put this on my shelf of old favorites that I will reread, simply because it’s too sloppy. (While I’m at it I’d like to complain in general about the narrow inner margins on almost all books, especially hardcovers, which make it devilishly difficult to read comfortably.) On the other hand, the book is so appealing that I might likely look at more of Jorrin’s writing on her website, and so maybe discover all she has not told here.

SYLVIA JORRIN’S The Improbable Shepherd

PHOTO: TOMOCAM

REVIEW BY RENEE SAMUELS

FOR MORE INFO www.sylviasfarm.com

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 47

forest festivities in the

Cliff and Carter turn their secluded Catskill nuptials into a retreat for guests to revel and delight.

STORY BY AARON FERTIG PHOTOS BY DIANE STREDICKE

48 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

Cliff and Carter always knew they wanted to get married in the woods, and they found the perfect spot behind their home in New Paltz this past summer. Even the date was magical; Cliff’s parents and grandparents married on June 22nd (1969 and 1945) as did Carter’s brother (1995).

Every detail of their wedding was truly a labor of love, as all 100 guests wore white under skies of blue and a canopy of trees.

Adding to the joy, the ring bearers were Cliff ’s 90 year old grandmother, Louise, and their 2 year old nephew, Liam.

Cliff Kohler, born in Pleasant Hill, MO, has lived in New York since 2007, and Carter Vonasek, originally from Rice Lake, WI, has lived in New York since 1997. They met and began dating in

September of 2009, and Carter proposed to Cliff off the Amalfi Coast three years later.

Cliff is a graduate of the University of Missouri and a former Captain in the US Air Force, serving as Flight Commander for the U-2 Spy Plane Program at Beale AFB, CA and Osan Air Base, Korea.

He was also part of Operation Enduring Freedom providing airlift support for the war in Afghanistan. Cliff left the Air 2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 49

Force in 2002 and began a career with medical devices and pharmaceuticals specializing in dermatology. He has since started his own company, Dermatology Management Partners, which assists dermatologists with developing, opening and marketing their own private practices.

Carter is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in finance. He began his career in finance with a real estate corporation in Minneapolis in 1994 and then moved to New York City to manage finances for a major publishing company.

50 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

He is currently the Executive Director of Consumer Marketing at Intermedia.

Omnivore Catering in Gardiner catered the event and Diane Stredicke, Hudson River Photographer, was photographer. Floral arrangements for the wedding were created

by Green Cottage in High Falls. Superior Sounds of Poughkeepsie performed as DJ and the rehearsal dinner took place at the Bywater Bistro in Rosendale.

The Wedding Party was composed of Cliff ’s “Best Women,” including his sister Tami, and

friends Heather and LaTina, and Carter’s “Best Men” included his friends Ed, Alfredo and Rick. All in all, it was a dream wedding that all enjoyed into the spectacular night’s fireworks.

What’s next for Cliff and Carter? They split their time between New York City and New Paltz, and love to travel all over the world when they are not spending time with their friends and family.

As of October 2013, they have a new addition to their family, their puppy, Dash.

When we discuss the state of nuptials these days, it is a rich topic: there is a renaissance of creative new ideas mixed with historically rich landmarks and exotica. Whatever your style whether it be Americana or destination-driven – I’ve got the skinny on the unshakable attraction to getting married.

CULTURE | NOWNESS

NOWNESS Love me...say I do FROM COURTSHIP TO TYING THE KNOT

BY ANDREA NORLANDER

Alphabet L O V E charms are designed by Helen Ficalora.

These and other designs can be viewed at www.helenficalora.com

Trends have changed big-time on the marriage front: from rocking out to a DJ to utilizing media streams such as Spotify and creating your own play list.

From purchasing a traditional wedding gown to one day hand down to your daughter to buying one that is resalable – and spending the savings on tender keepsakes, such as earrings and the allimportant footwear.

In the modern era of weddings, there is no room for nostalgia; the old rules are out the window and weddings are kaleidoscopically diverse. Couples are now marrying in barns, exotic locales and even in their own backyard. Now there are fewer regrets and more possibilities to individualize the big day.

For this article, I talked to a few BFFs of mine: A few were married in and around the Hudson Valley. Another is a bride to be. Here’s what they have to say about how they met, love at first sight and the significance of the romance cards you have been dealt. In other words, the life cycle of amour.

Effie Petropoulos (37), New York City Profession: Retail Coordinator Sarah Sommers (28), New York City Profession: Comedian Annie O’Rourke (32), Los Angeles Profession: Producer

PUPPY LOVE

Andrea Norlander is now a freelance writer and resides in NYC. She has worked for The Wall Street Journal and WSJ. magazine, Jane, Elle, Shape, and Nylon, along with MTV Networks and is currently writing a memoir entitled “Vaguely Significant Others.” Andrea fell in love at first sight with her now ex-husband and believed more than most that when fate took over that this union was forever. However, memories are revisionist, nostalgia is transparent and now it all seems like a fuzzy dream.

52 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

According to the retailer David’s Bridal, a whopping 56% of women will tell you that they didn’t know he was the one.

However, 44% intuitively knew he was one the one right off the bat*. All of the girls interviewed felt that he was the one, love at first sight or that it was surely a big crush on the first date. *What’s on Brides’ Minds” Survey-2013

TRUE ROMANCE

It’s hard to pigeonhole when your game changes, but it seems that it can happen anytime or anywhere, and that just about anyone or anything can be involved.

Match.com is a big player in getting guys and girls to the altar. However the old stand-by such as meeting through friends or blind dates are still relevant.

THE RING THING OR SPARKLING EXCHANGES

These girls I interviewed all got the ring. The time it took from courtship to

It’s hard to pigeonhole when your game changes, but it seems that it can happen at anytime

engagement varied from six years to 16 months.

This span of time confirms a core philosophical discussion: that emotional connections are complicated and full of exciting encounters, unchartered waters and hopefully a great big dose of happiness. Women today realize that you are not going to find a soulmate in a box. But for those that have an imaginative ability, they will be more effective in engaging in a real love affair where there are feelings of infallibility and exhibits of a polarization between emotion and logic. Two flexible and patient people will be able to successfully forge a new path in life and become a vital team.

STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE

The virtual romance between a girl and her dress is mind-boggling to me. It’s lusty without the sex. Most women have been having a personal narrative with fabric for at least a decade before they even found their soul mate. When a women is no longer boxed into the category of Ms. Lonely Heart, she has turned a corner; she now realizes that it’s now a clear day and she will see forever.

It’s kind of amazing that even after this materialistic haze, more women now than ever will sell their dress after the wedding.

AMERICANA OR EXOTICA

A recent phenomenon in locales for a wedding is super-Americana: a big old barn. On the East Coast, these types of weddings are frequently held in and around the Hudson Valley. One popular venue is the 400-acre Stone Tavern Farm in Roxbury which was built in 1803 and is the oldest house in town.

Halfway up a mountain, the venue has miles of trails and is also a horse camp.

On the other end of the spectrum, our bride to be has chosen to get married this spring in Tulum, Mexico, decidedly an exotic locale.

HAPPY ENDINGS

So, when you consider the mysteries of the life cycle of amour, you won’t be able to escape that combination of a twist of fate and destiny that leads to your marriage day. I was unexpectedly impressed by the heaping dose of lifestyle balance coming from the girls I interviewed. According to the book The Secret Language of Destiny by Goldschneider/Elffers, it’s all about the grand cycle of life. However, the concept of being in control of your fate is a halfbaked illusion – yet still a source of satisfaction and hope for many bridesto-be.

CULTURE | COUNTRY MANNERS

BRUCE LITTLEFIELD’S

COUNTRY MANNERS

BY BRUCE LITTLEFIELD of brucelittlefield.com | PHOTO BY ROCHELLE RISERVATO

During our first day of renovation, I watched as Scott, my partner and one of Manhattan’s top real estate brokers, snuck out of the woods behind our country house carrying a big, black, contractor-sized trash bag, cinched tight in a knot and held off to his side. He wasn’t contracting, actually, but he was conducting some business. His business. Our water had been turned off that morning, and it seems Scott hadn’t planned ahead.

days.” We crossed those people off our call list.

I caught him off guard as he slunk around the forsythia and up toward the road.

We’ve learned a few things during our renovations. To start, our house wasn’t built in 1920 as the real estate listing said. It was built in 1820.

And we now know the renovation is not going to cost $80,000 as projected. It’s going to cost exponentially more.

“What is that?” I asked, obviously catching him off guard.

“Nothing,” he said. Well, it was obviously something. Something he didn’t want me to see. Or know about. Which, of course, makes me want to see and know about it all the more. I walked closer.

“Don’t come near me!” he yelled loudly, momentarily overtaking the clatter of the excavator in decibel.

PHOTO OF BRUCE: ROCHELLE RISERVATO

That’s when I saw the clue tucked beneath the crook of his armpit, the unmistakably white roll of toilet paper. “Oh my…” Scott had pooped in a bag!

“Shut up and move back. I’m going for the garbage.” I watched as he carried his detritus to the cans up by the road and pitied the garbage crew for that which they do not know. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

All I know is that Scott and I couldn’t look each other in the eye for a few hours after that trauma.

That was nine months ago, and save for a few nights in which I camped out with our dog Westminster, we haven’t slept at the house as a family since. We’ve become “bed hoppers.” Yes, I’ve heard the whispers around town. It sounds kinkier and more glamorous than it is. I’ve also heard more than once, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three

Fortunately, for the sake of salvaging a few of our friendships, we do have an apartment in the city, which, in a surprise turn of events, has suddenly become our refuge while we’ve endured renovation. Thanks to a protective breed of pre-screeners called “doormen,” it’s also where we’ve been hiding out from debt collectors.

God bless Scott. I remember the conversation as if it were five years ago, which it was. That’s the day I won a “consultation with an architect” at a charity auction and then, miraculously convinced Scott that since I’d bought it, we might as well meet with the guy and get a few ideas on modernizing the kitchen like Scott had always wanted.

Many moons and two architects later, over a second martini, I got the nod to move forward on “Barbie’s Dreamhouse ®.” Well, that’s what it came to be known after Architect #3 constructed an actual scale model of our future home, complete with moveable parts and handsome cardboard likenesses of Scott, Westminster, and me. That thing is adorable! And it almost cost as much as Barbie’s college education!

But it was worth its weight in gold! It was the piece de resistance in my plan to convince Scott that if he wanted a nice kitchen, we might as well do the whole house enchilada. I will admit I painted a rather bucolic picture of domestic bliss, us living in a house that was insulated by something other than old newspapers and mouse poop.

Looking back, I’ve come to realize the contractor trash bag/toilet was just the cold opening of a situation comedy/family drama that currently has an open-ended run.

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 53

WOODSHED | LOVE SONGS

The lines are blurry. Is it a love song, or is it a song celebrating love? Is there a difference? Some love songs are definitely not celebratory. In fact, if you start listening to songs to determine whether or not they are celebrating something (as I have been for the past month) you may be surprised that there are all manner of unlikely categories of celebratory songs for example songs about cars and songs about food. (Most food songs seem to be instrumental – remember your mom’s admonishment not to talk with your mouth full.)

You will also find that many songs are celebrating multiple things at the same time, and sometimes celebrating seemingly contradictory things. Then there are songs that sound celebratory, but it’s impossible to determine exactly what is being celebrated. And if you keep at this exercise long enough, you might begin to celebrate a time before you started listening to songs for the purpose of deciding whether or not songs are celebrating anything. This happened to me. But before exhaustion set in, some notes were taken on a few standout specimens, and a playlist of these, plus ten additional songs, was set up online so we could all follow along together.

Taj Mahal “Sweet Mama Janisse” “This here’s the Delta Blues. It’s all about a woman I know come from Louisiana. She lived in the city for a while, but it didn’t work, you know.

She just moved out to the country. I’m always talking about the country. Now here’s how funky the country feel.”

This is the opening rap in Taj Mahal’s “Sweet Mama Janisse,” recorded in 1970 and, incredibly, (because it’s so good), not officially released until 2012. What happens after this intro is that Mr. Mahal’s band joins in, and they combine to show that the country is indeed stone funky. So it’s a song celebrating the country. To be specific, it’s a song about how funky it is in the country. But really, it’s a song celebrating Janisse. It’s about her cooking, her “creole eyes shining brown,” her “good hug solid as a bear,” and since “menfolk come from miles around,” we’re probably celebrating some other qualities too. Taj did say it’s a delta blues. The blues are not supposed to be squeaky clean.

The Minders “Hooray for Tuesday” Why sing about Tuesday? It’s not the day that starts or ends the week, nor is it the central day made famous recently by a camel on TV. Maybe it’s just a little neglected: even “Ruby Tuesday” isn’t about ‘Tuesday’. Whatever their reason, The Minders made a peppy little anthem for this overlooked day of the week.

Except that upon close examination, it’s really a song about escaping. “One more

54 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

day around and I’d / be dead and done.”

Yikes. An escape from what? We don’t know. Nor do we know the “how” or the “why.” But at least we know when.

XTC “My Bird Performs” In 1969 Sir Mick posited: “if you try sometimes, you just might find, you just might find! (You get what you need.)”

Wise words. I think that’s what Colin Moulding is singing about in the 1992 XTC song “My Bird Performs.” “My bird.” His girlfriend? That would be cheeky. “Performs?” Naughty of you to even think along those lines. I mean, even if the stately trumpet and noble chord progression do not make the case against bawdiness, you still have to reckon with the intensity with which the last lines of the song are delivered: “You keep saying what you got / Look out!”

It has the sound of a threat, or at least, a challenge. In any case, it doesn’t matter what the “bird” is - indeed, it could just be a bird. A parakeet? A lovebird?

Richard and Linda Thompson “The Hokey Pokey” By contrast, in “The Hokey Pokey”, Richard and Linda Thompson are singing about ice cream and stuff, but this song IS bawdy. In case it’s not totally clear (it is), the electric guitar should confirm it, one-hundred percent. And, should you think it’s “just” a bawdy tune, keep in mind Linda’s lines about the prisoner, “working like a bee in a hive” and how dreaming of the hokey pokey

lleo

BY JAMES BEAUDREAU of greatrecordings.tumblr.com

helps to keep him alive. Seriousness.

The Zombies “This Will Be Our Year” “You don’t have to worry / all your worried days are gone.” I tell you what, you don’t get more celebratory (in a pretty, whispery way) than Colin Blunstone of The Zombies in “This Will Be Our Year.” A celebration of love, friendship, and perseverance; there’s a lot packed into two minutes of cheery music. “The warmth of your love’s / like the warmth from the sun” may be a pretty (but slight) simile, but “this will be our year / took a long time to come” suggests something a bit deeper. As does the relentlessly bouncing (or is it marching?) piano. As does the way the melody breaks into phrases like they’re sung by someone who just ran a race. And doesn’t that half-step-up key change in the middle have a touch of desperation about it? A charming, happy song, yes, but one with a past.

The Free Design “Friends (Thank You All)” The Free Design were a sibling pop group that released a series of albums for the very groovy Enoch Light label in the 60s and early 70s with names like Kites Are Fun and Stars / Time / Bubbles / Love. “Friends (Thank You All)” is from the slightly more serious LP One

By One, from 1971, and it’s a heartfelt and passionate paean to friendship. It’s also very definitively weird. The great strengths of The Free Design were

o llov

v e e these: they were fearless about crossing the kitsch barrier (beyond which they found good art), and they had a beautiful group vocal sound. While the theme of “Friends” is friendship, and how good friendship is (duh), it’s not that simple.

Take the lines “bad as we all are / we’re good enough to show it when we can / and not worry when we don’t.” That’s a bit heavier than your usual pop fare. And these lines: “the world is out to get us, but it can’t / because we’re friends / and because we had a picnic,” which go some way towards gluing together why a song about something so nice as friendship has such spooky music, because it’s bonkers.

But haunted or not, in this group’s world, friendship is triumphant, as evinced by the song’s long, soaring coda. The Free Design might have invented progressive soft pop here. No one has followed up on the group’s innovation.

GET THE PLAYLIST Grab James’ Green Door playlist on Spotify at http://bit.ly/1aVgKPf

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 55

HISTORY | RAILROAD

RUNNING A RAILROAD Meet Delaware & Ulster Railroad’s Dave Riordan

BY JENNIFER FARLEY

Fifteen years ago, upon hearing the president of the Delaware and Ulster Railroad was retiring, Halcottsville resident Dave Riordan talked his way into the unusual job, ending a tree-surgery career. The excursion railroad, which runs between Arkville and Roxbury, was at that time half the size it is today in terms of equipment and employees, with a third as many passengers. The DURR operates as part of the Catskill Revitalization Corporation (“CRC”), a not-for-profit organization, which purchased the 19th century rail depot, train, and tracks in 1986. Riordan is the executive director. The CRC’s other major holding is a 45-mile linear park, which is popular with hikers, cyclists, and cross-country skiers. The rail trail begins where the DURR leaves off.

“It wasn’t such a great job back then, didn’t pay much, but I thought I could really help it grow as an attraction,” says the affable Riordan, who also produces and anchors “Dave’s Cave,” a music radio show on WIOX 91.3 FM. These days, the “snazziest train on the East Coast” certainly shines a bright and wholesome light on the greater Middletown community.

The DURR attracts over 20,000 visitors to the area between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, yielding a total economic impact of about $2.1 million.

56 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF DURR.ORG

Much of the 2 ½ hour scenic journey parallels one of the country’s finest trout streams, the East Branch of the Delaware River. The trip winds through farmland and past historic sites such as the Round Barn in Halcottsville, home of the popular Pakatakan Farmers’ Market.

The leisurely pace at which the train rolls along - 12 mph - sets the perfect atmosphere for a

lucrative spin-offs.

Four times each summer, there’s an extraspecial entertainment offered at no additional charge: The Great Train Robbery. A traveling team of professional historical reenactors, costumed as bandits and barmaids, theatrically rob the train.

white tablecloth three-course hot lunch. The fare is contemporary upscale American, with a vegetarian option available. Entree selections are made prior to boarding.

“That’s our big draw. We get a lot of tour groups - for example, the Bucket List Babes of Orange County - and they come to enjoy a nice lunch together aboard the Rip Van Winkle Flyer, our restored Art Deco dining car,” says Riordan. “You get a decent meal and a unique Catskills experience for $50.”

A round-trip ticket just for the 24-mile ride is $12 for adults, $9 for senior citizens, and $7 for children age 12 and under. During peak season there’s also a “Weekend Special” ticket, $26, sponsored by the Delaware & Ulster Railroad Historical Society. That special fare adds an extended narrated program plus admission to the Roxbury Depot Museum.

Replete with swanky curves, the Rip Van Winkle Flyer is so stylishly attractive it was recently used in a major cosmetics company’s television commercial. One of the world’s most famous supermodels flew in for the shoot by helicopter with the company’s equally famous chairman. It was purchased with proceeds from a Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends event in 2011, which drew 13,000 three-year-olds and their guardians to usually sleepy Arkville, which is one mile north of Margaretville on Route 28. Thomas the Tank Engine is the fictional star of a wildly popular children’s book series written by Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son. An international hit since its debut in 1979, the literary franchise has spawned many

“We had some guys we called the buttondown bandits - they wore stuff like Brooks Brothers shirts and Dockers - but then these guys showed up, in character, and were so outlandishly compelling I hired them on the spot,” says Riordan. “That’s show business.”

In addition to managing the business side of the DURR, Riordan functions as master of ceremonies. “Sixty times a year, I put on my conductor’s hat...it’s part stand-up comedy, part tour guide, and part railroad historian,” he says. Sample patois: There are now “ten pieces of rolling stock in the consist,” says Riordan, dipping into locomotive jargon for effect. The cost of running the trains is not inconsequential. Last year, for example, the DURR spent $22,000 on diesel fuel. The trains are kept in pristine operating condition by chief mechanic Vic Stevens, “a suave older gentleman with a pencil-thin moustache,” as described by Riordan.

The gift shop, housed in the architecturallyatmospheric depot, offers interesting toys and train memorabilia, as well as the usual items such as t-shirts. Visitors are also encouraged to watch a short film about the region’s railroad past.

Riordan attends great number of trade shows of various kinds throughout the year to keep current on trends and network with tour organizers. In addition, Riordan is looking to expand the DURR’s special-events business.

Last year, several wedding parties held rehearsal dinners on the trains. “Please, come have your wedding in the Catskills. We can handle the catering, the setting is spectacular, and you and your guests will always remember the romance

of the steel rail. It’s $2000 for about three hours, including the colorful conductor,” says Riordan.

When Riordan first began working for the DURR, retired trainmen would come to wistfully reminisce about their professional lives with their adult sons. Now those venerable men have all died, and their sons, now themselves grandfathers, bring the kids to see what great-grandfather did for a living.

“The peaceful pace of life up here is everincreasing in appeal,” says Riordan, “and we’re part an entertainment package for all ages that supports property values and small businesses.

We’re a cornerstone of the tourism effort between the Catskills Region and New York State.”

Riordan describes himself as a “big fish in a small pond” who tries to make that work for the greater good. As an example, Riordan has served on the board of the Margaretville Hospital for the past six years, while simultaneously running the railroad in a fiscally responsible manner.

“Our supportive board of directors gives me a very loose rein,” he says. “What FEMA calls high water events we call devastating floods, and they seem to rain down on us every few years, so I keep the books in the black and add to the reserve whenever possible.”

FOR MORE INFO www.durr.org 2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 57

HISTORY | 100 YEARS

1 92 0 s 1910s

November 1916

January 1924

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Sullivan County celebrates

BY AKIRA OHISO 100 years.

For 100 years, Cornell Cooperative Extension in Sullivan County (CCESC) has provided educational programming to local farmers.

Through classes and a monthly newsletter, farmers learned skills to help with the daily challenges they faced. Old newsletters feature tips for adjusting plows or improving the yield capability of alfalfa.

Advertisements tout dairy improvement clubs and haying machines.

Although agricultural technology has changed, the Extension strives to provide educational programming that will meet the changing needs of the community. “We pride ourselves on providing up to date solutions for the new agriculture enterprises in the county,” says Gregory Sanders, Executive Director of CCESC. “We see new farming ventures and smaller, specialized farming operations sprouting up with a focus on value-added production and an appreciation for “locally” grown.”

1960s

1 970 s

September 1964 September 1971 58 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION OF SULLIVAN COUNTY

The Edible Garden Project is an example of this. The Extension is working with area schools to teach young people about the local food system and its connection to a healthy community through hands-on installation and maintenance of an edible garden.

1940s

1 95 0 s

1 93 0 s

October 1937 April 1956 June 1948

ONE HUNDRED YEARS Today, the Extension’s goal is to make their headquarters a living/ learning center for real life resources.

further advance our county-wide efforts to build a sustainable future for agriculture,” says Sanders.

This year marks the Extension’s centennial anniversary. To celebrate, the Extension has kicked off a yearlong funding campaign and series of events. The goal is to let the public know of their service in the county since 1914 and also to share their exciting new plans for the future.

The Extension is truly planting seeds for the future with initiatives that support new businesses, educate young people and cultivate a sustainable agricultural community.

Some of these new plans include an on-site Entrepreneurial & Teaching Kitchen (EaT), the development of forest land for demonstrations, scholarships in agricultural careers at local universities and implementing an on-site sustainable energy system.

In an economic climate where small businesses struggle to succeed, The EaT Kitchen will serve as an incubator program that will help food entrepreneurs test out recipes, work out kinks in production and assist with labeling and Health Department requirements.

This fall, two new scholarship funds will be available to young people from Sullivan County interested in pursuing a four-year degree in agriculture. “The goal is to encourage higher education in agriculture with a hope that these students will return to Sullivan County and

1980s

To receive the newsletter at home or via email, contact the CCESC office to subscribe to 2014’s Extension Connection. This year subscribers receive a unique “Centennial Issue” as well as information on upcoming funding events and opportunities. After a period of tough funding cuts, your support is needed. “This is a great way to give back to Sullivan County while saying “thank you” to CCE for our 100 years of service.” says Sanders. “In addition, it will help us move forward and help ensure that we will be around for another century.”

The following photos are from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County Newsletter over the century.

FOR MORE INFO facebook.com/ccesullivan facebook.com/ccecentennialcampaign Twitter @ccesullivan www.sullivancce.org

1990s

2000s

October 1988

January 1996

February 2002 2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 59

ART | SCULPTOR

sculptor

of the earth

How did Naomi Teppich, a sculptor and ceramist, become an environmental artist?

STORY & PHOTOS

BY SIBA KUMAR DAS

FOR MORE INFO Naomi welcomes visits to her studio (570-224-6538) and her website (www.naomiteppich.com).

60 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

To express herself, she needed to make forms and textures, inflections and juxtapositions, from the world of materials.

Teppich’s father, a thinker and an illustrator by profession, influenced her as she grew up. He became an art teacher at New York City’s High School for Art and Design, a job he held for twenty years. While the schools Teppich attended did not emphasize art, an artistic sensibility germinated inside her, and a decisive turn to art came in college, where she began taking art classes and discovered in her senior year she liked sculpting very much.

Two years after graduating from college, Teppich started teaching art alongside her father at the very high school where he taught; she also enrolled in the Pratt Institute, taking there a Masters in Fine Art in 1975. She knew by this time that welding appealed to her. She also took to printmaking, including etching. The great 20th century sculptor Henry Moore once said, “A sculptor must be practical. All day he is handling materials and tools that require truly practical skills.” The same passion for working with one’s hands had risen to the fore in Teppich. To express herself, she needed to make forms and textures, inflections and juxtapositions, from the world of materials. “I use tools of course but I also make direct use of my hands and fingers,” she says.

Marriage to Martin Springhetti in 1982 introduced Teppich to geology and landscape in South Dakota and New Mexico and California and Western Canada – a world that revealed to her the beauty of forms in granite and petrified wood and gems and fossils. She began to carve in stone, in alabaster and marble, branching out eventually into ceramics, including use of Anagama kilns. By now, a commitment to depicting the world of nature and expressing a fascination with the figures of cacti and fungi and fossils and sea creatures also began to take

a strong hold in her artistic thinking and practice.

bonded by a universal embrace.

A feminist in the New York art world of the 1970s, Teppich began to respond to environmental concerns, and, having moved to Galilee, Pennsylvania in 2004, she and Springhetti became environmental activists. They have contributed to the anti-fracking movement and have taken part in the campaign against the Keystone pipeline.

“There is a link between my work and my concern for environmental issues,” Teppich says.

Let’s take a close look at “Protrusion”, a recent piece of Teppich’s. This stoneware depiction of a shelf mushroom catches your eye with a chiaroscuro effect achieved through a subtle use of whitish layers to color the sculpture once it has dried for a long time. She also used an oxide to contrast and darken the back areas. The chiaroscuro draws you into the enticing enfolding of desire. Playing a critical role in the global carbon cycle, fungi, like desire, are fundamental for life on earth.

Contemporary sculptor Lee Bontecou, who, like Teppich, combined an artistic career with art teaching, was an important early influence.

Bontecou was a technical innovator, creating assemblages from welded steel, canvas, rope, wire, and porcelain and focusing for some years on figures from vacuum-formed translucent plastic. She was preoccupied with the natural world, producing, as the Museum of Modern Art said, “richly evocative forms that conjure biological, geological, and technological motifs.” A very similar passion animated Teppich and from this foundation it was only a stone’s throw for her to take a holistic view of the world and the art objects she conjured from it.

Teppich also came under the influence of Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore’s contemporary and, like him, a master of 20th century sculpture. Hepworth thought of her works as objects in a landscape, but landscape for her was not just a physical setting; it had a broader meaning that included “an idea of the whole universe.” Look now at Teppich’s creations.

She gives to her forms derived from natural things a charismatic presence. It is as if they are with us equal partners in a great enterprise. An ecological sensibility is at work, fostering a sense of being

“Ammonite Whorl,” another creation of Teppich’s is an anagama wood-fired ceramic sculpture set on a bluestone base. It ranges in color from metallic gray to terra cotta orange to reddish brown and pulsates with an inner energy that summons you to its presence. Its spiraling form, a takeoff on the basic shape of a family of marine invertebrates that lived on earth from 240 million to 65 million years ago, makes you think also of the spiraling form of many galaxies in our universe. The same forces and laws operate within our seas and on a vast cosmic scale. By internalizing Teppich’s sculpture, you open yourself to an ammonite’s project, her way of exchanging energy with the world around her and of participating in a process that has universal validity.

In his wonderful book, The Song of the Earth, literary scholar Jonathan Bate argues that poetry is the “original admission” of our dwelling on earth and therefore provides a gateway to saving our planet from the environmental crisis that has beset it. But why privilege poetry over the other arts? Sculpture such as Teppich’s is also a respecting of our home.

She is a sculptor of the earth.

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 61

fabric

of the community

The First Annual Fiber & Fashion Festival on May 10th & 11th at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

BY AKIRA OHISO PHOTOS BY MICHAEL J. CARGILL & K WILLIAMS

Drive along Sullivan County’s picturesque country roads and you are sure to see sheep, goats and alpacas grazing on bucolic farms and hillsides. While other rural New York regions have seen their own fiber festivals, Sullivan County’s fiber market has gone relatively unnoticed. But this spring Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and Rosehaven Alpacas will partner to host the first annual fiber festival and recognize the county’s growing market.

The two-day festival to be held in May, will spotlight Sullivan County farms and fiber vendors from around New York State.

Live sheep, goats, alpacas and bunnies will be at the festival so attendees can learn what these animals do for farms and how they are bringing back a local, sustainable fiber market.

A variety of artisan craft and fiber vendors will be showcasing beautiful handspun yarns, clothing products like shawls, hats and sweaters, pelts, blankets, rugs, felted products and much more.

Whether you’re a fiber artist, craftsperson or knitting hobbyist, there will be workshops for all skill levels - from Knitting 101 to Advanced Knitting Techniques. There’s even an arm-knitting workshop that doesn’t use knitting needles.

FOR MORE INFO Visit www.bethelwoodscenter.org for more details on becoming a vendor, signing up for a workshop, or simply to buy your ticket.

62 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

YARN PHOTO: MICHAEL J. CARGILL. ALPACA PHOTO: K WILLIAMS.

Festival goers will enjoy shopping, local foods and fun for the whole family because there is something for everyone.

Children will love getting up close to the live animals and as well learning to make fiber products in the kid’s fiber tent. There will be an exciting leaping llama exhibition that is sure to delight. Those new to the fiber market will love the shearing and spinning demonstrations that are both educational and entertaining. Many festival goers will leave with newfound awareness and appreciation for the source of their wool sweater or scarf. Held over Mother’s Day Weekend, it’s also the perfect gift for mom.

INTO THE WOODS | FIBER & FASHION FESTIVAL

ROB BRUCE OF ROSEHAVEN ALPACAS

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 63

REVELRY | SPILLIAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 An apocryphal story suggests that the Fleischmann family once visited Conrad Hilton’s hotel in Saratoga Springs and were turned away for being Jewish.

“They didn’t land in some of the places the uber-wealthy were landing because they were Jewish,” says Melander. “There was a real awareness in the Jewish wealthy community so they created their own fiefdom.”

To rebel.

Griffin Corners became the fiefdom and center of the wealthy Jewish world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “The Fleischmann family was absolutely representative of the nineteenth century gilded era rise to enormous wealth,” says Melander.

The Fleischmann family traveled from New York City by yacht to Rondout where they would then take a private car on the Ulster & Delaware Railroad to a depot at the foot of their estate. The family was greeted regularly by its own hired brass marching band in livery.

Anton Seidl, conductor of both the Metropolitan Opera and The New York Philharmonic, was a frequent guest. Bernard Ullman, the major opera impresario of the 19th Century, had a house nearby. The Fleischmanns hosted New York luminaries, artists and writers in gatherings reminiscent of the era’s European salons. “This was high Belle Époque,” says Melander.

During the summer months, the Fleischmann house was filled with the creative and playful energy that Melander continues today. There are no televisions at Spillian and guest often repair to common rooms to sit by the fire, listen to music (Melander is a harpist), read or enjoy a restorative walk in the fresh mountain air. As in centuries before, the Catskills still provide a healing environment for frazzled city folks.

To revel.

In 1894, Charles’ son Julius became the President of Fleischmann’s Yeast.

Julius was the owner of the Cincinnati Reds during his tenure and is responsible for building baseball fields in the center of town where his players practiced before the regular season. The diamonds are still in use today. Julius ruled the dynasty until 1925 when he died in a polo accident.

His brother Maxmillian was briefly at the helm until 1929 when the company merged into Standard Brands.

The Fleischmann family sold the estate in 1915. The village was incorporated in 1913 and officially named Fleischmanns. The house was renamed The Fleischmann Park House and catered to urban Jews seeking cooler climes during the summer months.

After World War II, the estate was sold to the Lederer family during the Golden Age of the Borscht Belt hotels. Calling it The Lederer Park House, the family kept a strict kosher kitchen that became a popular retreat for leaders in the Jewish world.

Melander explains: “They attracted internationally renowned Talmudic scholars who were really thinking about how to re-approach the Torah and how American Jews in particular could reimagine themselves after the catastrophic experience of the Holocaust.”

In recent years, a resurgent Hasidic community living in Fleischmanns during the summer months has made a pilgrimage to Spillian to inquire of the historically prominent Orthodox rabbi, Aharon Kotler, who once frequented the estate.

Most of the original interiors at Spillian – low-lit hallways and dark wood interiors – were unchanged by generations of short-lived design trends.

The interiors are covered with a series of flower murals that fascinate and puzzle historians. Despite her own research, Melander cannot pin down the artist or artists. But theories abound.

One suggests that the murals were painted by scenic painters from the opera, because the Fleischmann family had strong relationships with professionals in the performing arts. Another insists that the daughter 64 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

of Max Fleischmann had hay fever and couldn’t go outside during the summer, so murals brought the gardens inside.

A noted preservation and restoration company was commissioned to investigate. They surmised that the murals were painted by at least a couple of painters because some murals are technically superior to others. The company finally determined that the art was not created by itinerant wall painters because almost all were classically trained during that era.

Melander is developing eclectic programming for Spillian, from lectures on sustainability to Fondue Fridays to summer camp for grownups. These programs may seem disparate, but they all center around bringing people together where magic and serendipity can occur. “We are inviting people to play with whatever ideas are emerging,” says Melander. “We want people to imagine past what they thought was possible and to do it in a light, engaging and epicurean way.”

She is applying for status from the National Register of Historic Places, stressing that Spillian has local, regional and national importance.

Spillian is a special place that has been fortunate, over many generations, to be nurtured by respectful stewards. Melander and Somerfield continue that tradition. But Melander is quick to point out a third partner in this current enterprise: the house itself. “This place engenders the magical mythical response,” says Melander.

When Jon Blish sold the estate to the Fleischmann family more than a century ago, he envisioned a Griffin Corners revitalized by city folks. Today, Michelle Sidrane of Fleischmanns First, working with passionate people like Melander and Somerfield, continues to follow the very same vision.

“We,” says Sidrane, “are definitely a village on the up.”

FOR MORE INFO www.spillian.com www.fleischmannsfirst.com

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 65

POETRY | SPRING

POETRY May Frost

BY MARC J. OSTERWEIL

It was daring to seed vegetable beds against better instincts but the High Pressure Area stationed overhead gave false hopes so many days even a potted geranium from mom went out on the porch.

Lilacs half opened; plum blossoms splendidly complete; fate tempted conclusions it was different this time.

Boys in knee length shorts and rubber sandals, the guys powering up grass cutting, blowing, my neighbor apologizing for dandelions I sneer inside her surety the value of pure Kentucky Blue.

On the other side, they obsess my asparagus being up while theirs shows no signs of life.

It felt that summer would come and be gone until a change in the weather May snow in the Adirondacks, freeze for the Catskills brought us to halt foolish deception, mortals’ fate.

Tears

BY SEENA WILSON

They drop from your eyes, sometimes swiftly...sometimes in a trickle.

Messengers of deep pain from somewhere in the center of our being.

They come in all flavors, mixed with different ingredients from life lived.

They crush, they burn, they render you up to exhaustion...

They cleanse, they bruise, they sting.

A loved one gone too soon...opens the well.

A motherless child bathes in the burn of comfort.

Yearning for a lost home, a remembered sweetness seasoned with sadness.

A search for someone...for self...for why, who or where.

It’s fitting that they are salty: what they convey is far from bland.

This watery cocktail has no restrain, control or proper time span.

It’s a direct line to a human reservoir filled with stings, hurts and slights.

A reservoir filled with cruelty, memories and long unsleepable nights.

I love the kind that come from “falling on the floor” sudden bursts of hysterical laughter.

Gut-busting non-stop guffaws, rib-tickling moments shared and remembered ever-after.

Sweet droplets on the tails of airport goodbyes, And slow forming ones...when it hits you that what you’ve trusted were lies!

Yes, being human subjects us all to these emotion laden days, Encoiled and wrapped with events from every life in many ways.

Each tear stands as proof for how precious joy can be.

So seek it out...squeeze it out...every drop of life you see.

66 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

ACTIVISM | EARTH DAY

Is climate change just a headline or a personal call to action?

Honoring Earth Day with Catskill Mountainkeeper.

STORY BY ILENE FERBER

Six years ago the threat of what fracking would do to our water, air and people’s health here in the Catskills motivated me to become a volunteer at Catskill Mountainkeeper. I didn‘t start out thinking I’d become an environmental activist. But it happened as I learned that an informed public, passionate and willing to take action, could actually change the course of events in Albany and even Washington. Now after six years of helping to prevent fracking in New York, I find myself more involved and committed as a board member of Catskill Mountainkeeper.

will have to figure out how to develop wildly expensive technology to suck the greenhouse gases out of the air, transport them and store them underground, if that is even possible. All this because we are continuing to invest far more money to subsidize fossil fuels than to accelerate the shift to cleaner renewable energies like solar, geothermal and wind.

With the stakes so incredibly high, it is very apparent that each of us can no longer afford to put our heads in the sand hoping that someone else will solve the problem. We have no choice but to act! We must change the way we live starting with the cars we drive and how we use energy. We must demand that our elected officials on every level declare their positions on climate change, what they plan to do about it and vote accordingly. We can be climate change sensitive when we make personal financial investments. We must educate our children and families about what they can do on all these fronts. Each of us must become an active advocate for climate control, not just in concept, but also in reality.

Our fight against fracking has been successful so far but fighting fracking alone will not protect the beautiful Catskills that we all love and treasure. Fracking is just one piece of the bigger problem of climate change that is becoming more threatening everyday. The increasing use of fossil fuel, locally, nationally and internationally is creating climate change at a rate that far exceeds previous estimates. And the results will be dire. We will experience increased and more intense storms, flooding, droughts. These extreme fluctuations in weather threaten the delicate balance of the ecosystem and food production In the Catskills and the Southern Tier of New York State we have that all living things rely on. an enormously important and pressing issue that threatens to increase Just as we overcame the “common wisdom” that a bunch of grassroot greenhouse gases and worsen climate change. The battle to determine organizations couldn’t take on the oil and gas industry when it came whether New York State will allow fracking for gas development to fracking we now have to overcome the idea that climate change is remains an open issue despite the enormous amount of information too big and too daunting for us to address as individuals and as a group indicating that fracking is dangerous to our air, water and health, and perpetuates our addiction to climate changing fossil fuels. of advocates.

Almost every day there is more scientific information made available about the risks of climate change, what causes it and its consequences.

The facts are hard to deny. A recent landmark study by the Nobel Prize winning United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that nations have so dragged their feet in addressing climate issues that a mere 15 years more of failing to significantly limit carbon emissions will result in the problem being virtually impossible to solve with currently known technologies.

I am proud of the work that Catskill Mountainkeeper and allies have done to prevent fracking from coming to New York State over the last 6 years but this battle is far from won.

I passionately encourage all New Yorkers to become more knowledgeable about the issues surrounding climate change and fracking, develop informed points of view and begin to take action now. If there is going to be change it must start with each of us. A very good place to begin is by taking a close read of the Catskill Mountainkeeper website As these risks are becoming increasingly clear, so is the legacy that we (www.catskillmountainkeeper.org) to learn more about fracking and are going to hand over to our children and grandchildren. While it climate change, how you can change your personal energy usage and may seem like science fiction, according to a recent article in The New transition to clean renewable energy in your home and business, as well York Times, at the current rate of deterioration in 20 or 25 years society as advocate against fracking and for a renewable energy future.

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 67

ENDPAPER | SUNDAY MORNING

SUNDAY MORNING IN UPSTATE NEW YORK

BY KATHLEEN HARRIS

Spring has arrived, but winter’s nip still lingers in the hushed hours of first daylight, surprising the handful of indiscriminate shoppers who are scattered and scurrying along the main street of the small Catskills town where my family and I often spend weekends. My husband and children are still at home in their beds, nestled and asleep, and I am alone on this early-morning excursion.

All of us out on the street are moving briskly to stay warm, but puffy eyes and unkempt hair belie the acuity of my sleepy sidewalk cohorts, as we each venture out on errands. There is tender beauty in these plain movements. The day has not yet fully formed. The air smells new, untouched. There is the certain possibility that this could be the most wondrous day we’ve ever experienced. For any of us. All of us.

Those of us out in the world before eight A.M. seem to be in neverending need of warm, comforting beverages, as the continually opening door of the local coffee shop attests. I scuff along the bluestone slabs in my banged-up cowboy boots, and make my way towards the entrance, watching the door’s plate-glass reflect a rectangular glare of white with each swing of its hinges.

I take my place in the queue, and those ahead of me in line all move one kindly step forward to accommodate me — another early riser caught unaware by the morning’s chill. They’ve all been last in this line. They know how uncomfortable the stinging air feels on the backs of ears and uncovered necks. They make enough room so I can shut the door behind me and be warmed.

After several minutes, I advance in line, place my order, and 68 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014

wait at the side of the counter, allowing for other customers to pass through the narrow shop. I watch a scruffjawed, chiseled man, sporting a salt-stained baseball cap, as he whispers to his toddler son seated on the counter. I notice, out of primal female habit, how many coffee cups he takes with him when he leaves. And I smirk as I catch myself doing so. There are two large, lidded cups in front of him. Of course there are. He’s too beautiful for just one. A man like that doesn’t drink coffee alone on weekend mornings.

Before he reaches for the to-go cups, he places both hands gently underneath his son’s arms, and moves him swiftly from counter to floor. It’s attractive to me, somehow — the ease and surety and care he takes in transporting the child’s body, the boy’s sweet, clutching reach for his father’s shoulders, and the way they execute the movement together, conjoined and well-timed, making their progression almost effortless, like lithe dancers. He balances the cups and clutches the child’s hand, and they recede into the crowd, which is still forming in defense against the temperatures hovering in the forties, just outside the door.

“She knows my face,” I hear one woman say, and I glance over to see the type of person I’ve expected to utter such words. A whitehaired woman, still a decade or so younger than my parents, speaking to a man at the next table. She’s updating him on the state of her mother’s health, and her increasing level of dementia, as the man nods and listens.

His face is soft, and sympathetic as she speaks, and he can’t reach out to her, because of the physical distance between them. He wants to touch her, and to offer some connection or comfort — I sense this.

Her back is now turned to me, and I can’t see her expression as she speaks about her mother, who, I hear her say, is slowly forgetting everyone in her life.

I hear French being spoken at the counter, and it pulls my attention from the vignette at the table. This town is the type to attract tourists and visitors. I consider the fact that I’ve heard a foreign language uttered at nearly every occasion that I’ve been in this coffee shop in the past year. Gorgeous, velveteen accents that hint at their countries of origin.

They are recognizable to me now — not just foreigners, but those simply not local to the area, I now realize, as I am slowly becoming.

I’m learning the customs, the codes, the way to order and where to stand. Where to park. Where to shop. How to be, while I’m here.

I like that feeling of familiarity, of getting to jump the fence and peek over at the other side — at where I once was, and no longer am.

My order is ready, and I turn to the other counter to stir sugar and cinnamon into my drink, and to cover my husband’s quadruple-

shot latte with a lid. As if that much caffeine could be contained, I think. I’ll tell him that later as I hand him the cup, and as he smiles at me, eyes twinkling at my return, because these are the kinds of ways that we express our love to each other. With humor and hot coffee.

A man sits with a friend at the breakfast bar near the front of the shop, and says how proud he is of his daughter. How he admires her.

How he wishes he were more like her. He catches my eye as I pass, and we smile at each other. He is old enough to be my father. And I am still young enough to be someone’s child.

We are all so very beautiful on Sunday mornings, I think. Every single one of us. In tangled bedsheets still warmed by the previous night’s passion, in sunrise walks with small, sweaterclad dogs along the shoulders of narrow country roads, in smeared eye makeup and muffin crumbs, in twisted pajama pants-legs and frayed sweatshirt cuffs, unwashed and unbrushed. Any of us, all of us — vulnerable, gorgeous, pure children of daybreak.

2014 SPRING | GREEN DOOR 69

CELEBRATIONS DIRECTORY Dresses & Bridesmaids MayerWasner 55 Main Street Narrowsburg, NY (845) 252-3828 mayerwasner.com

Accessories & More MSF Vintage Designs

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue…Bring your love story to life and create an environment that reflects your personality and puts your guests at ease on your special day. Our collection of vintage furniture and unique accessories provide a nostalgic touch to any design or setting. Here at MSF Vintage we are inspired by the classic charm of the Catskills and comfortable Country living. Let us share your story through staging, vignettes, and accessories with our vintage treasures and attention to detail. Looking for something that fits the natural environment of your event setting? MSF Vintage also specializes in simply elegant floral arrangements for that fresh picked or charming rustic look and locally sourced favors to send home with your guests. Have an idea but running out of time to do it yourself?

We can help you there too. Send us the inspiration and we’ll create that DIY look you are going for. Let us help you tell your love story!

2066 County Hwy 18 Delhi, NY (607) 746-8866 mapleshade@hotmail.com m a p l e s h a d e f a r m n y. c o m / m s f vintage-rentals/ Rick’s Barn Route 30 Roxbury, NY (607) 326-7700 www.ricksbarn.com

Pleasant Valley, NY 12569 (800) 277-7099 www.hudsonvalleyskincare.com

Karen Neblung Hair Studio Hair & Makeup Design for Weddings Personalized, unique, styling.

Romantic Waves, Braids ,Chignons, Elegant, Retro. Traditional and Airbrush Makeup. Your natural beauty enhanced. Let’s leave them breathless! Come to my Roxbury Studio or I can travel to your location for small groups. Please call for a consultation. Flexible hours Tuesday through Saturday.

53246 St Hwy 30 Roxbury NY 12474 (607) 326-2951 kneblunghair@gmail.com Shear Madness Hair Studio Inc.

A full service salon offering all hair services for women, men and children. Also offering manicures and spa pedicures. Specialties are color and bridal up-dos.

1033 Main Street, Fleischmanns, NY (845) 254-3016

Specializing in modern, traditional

and bridal henna designs including Indian, Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Tribal and more. Henna is applied completely freehand using only safe, all-natural & organic ingredients.

Custom designs welcome. Visit Island Girl on Facebook at islandgirl. henna and by chance or appointment in Delhi, NY. (607) 434-7389 www.islandgirlhenna.com Hudson Valley Skin Care Freshly handmade in small batches in the Hudson Valley.

3 Charles St., Suite 4

Historic Maple Shade Farm settled in 1785 is surrounded by rolling meadows and majestic stone walls.

Nestled in the beautiful Catskill Mountains on the banks of the West Branch of the Delaware River you will find our three-story yellow barn and over 200-acres awaiting you and your guests. Maple Shade Farm is that special location where you can host the party of your dreams and that your guests will be talking about for years.

2066 County Hwy 18 Delhi, NY (607) 746-8866 mapleshade@hotmail.com mapleshadefarmny.com NACL Theatre

Groom Style Roxbury General Store

53538 State Road 30 Roxbury, NY (607) 326-6118 www.roxburygeneral.com

Venues Bethel Woods Center for the Arts 200 Hurd Road, Bethel, NY 12720 www.bethelwoodscenter.org Cooper’s Farmhouse www.coopersfarmhouse.com ECCE Bed & Breakfast

768 Main 768 Main Street Margaretville, NY (845) 586-6166 www.768main.com

Hair & Beauty Island Girl Henna Body Art

Indoor and outdoor spaces offer magnificent ceremony and reception options. Enjoy the rustic ambience of the barn a glow, meander around the pond and orchard with a sweet cocktail and celebrate under the stars by a crackling country fire.

For intimate functions, ECCE BED AND BREAKFAST’S romantic setting features panoramic views of the Catskill and Pocono mountain ranges. The B&B accommodates weddings up to 20 guests (indoors) and up to 75 guests (outdoors.)

Located on 60 wooded acres, photo opportunities abound.

19 Silverfish Road Barryville, NY (845) 557-8562 www.eccebedandbreakfast.com The Eddie Adams Barn 247 North Branch Road Jeffersonville, NY 12748 www.eddieadamsbarn.com info@eddieadamsbarn.com Maple Shade Farm Maple Shade Farm offers a private country setting with just the right balance of natural beauty and easy elegance, the perfect destination for your one-of-a-kind wedding.

For Something a Little Theatrical and Funky….NACL Theatre in Highland Lake, NY is a perfect alternative wedding location. The theatre, once a former church, is a beautiful environment, with lofty vintage tin ceilings and walls, huge space (70’ x 35’), and a gorgeous hard-wood floor.

The theatre comes equiped with a sound system and lights. NACL Theatre is a perfect venue for both wedding ceremony and reception, with options for catering, and the direct sourcing of organic food and wedding flowers from the NACL artistic director’s organic farm. Best of all, on the same property, guests can stay next door, in the artists’ residence, a classic 1920’s Catskills boarding house (10 bedrooms with sinks), a big bright fully-equipped kitchen, and a wrap around porch.

The residence, formerly known as Lakewood House, is a perfect location for members of the wedding party, family and friends.

110 Highland Lake Road Highland Lake, NY (845) 557-0694 www.NACL.org Tannis@NACL.org Plattekill Mountain Resort

Plattekill Mountain Resort is a unique and beautiful wedding destination.

Mountain top ceremonies, hors d’ouevres on our beautiful patio, and dancing and dining in our rustic country lodge are just some of our features.. We cater to every detail so your event is unique , stress

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PEEKAMOOSE RESTAURANT TAKEN AT THE ROXBURY BARN BY CASPER DE BOER

free, and everything you dreamed it could be. With our superb menu and our elegant atmosphere, your day is guaranteed to be perfect.

469 Plattekill Mountain Rd. Roxbury, NY 12474 www.plattekill.com (607) 326-3500 The Rhinecliff Hotel 4 Grinnell St, Rhinecliff, NY 12574 (845) 876-0590 www.therhinecliff.com The Roxbury Barn With its stunning natural environment, The Roxbury Barn is the perfect setting for a laid-back, idyllic wedding. The pristine barn,

the lily ponds and majestic pine grove, the mountain top pavilion and the spectacular bonfire, can all be described in one word: magical.

667 County Highway 41 Roxbury, NY 12474 (607) 326-4874 www.theroxburybarn.com info@theroxburybarn.com Spillian A magical estate tucked into the Catskill Mountains.

50 Todd Mountain Road Fleischmanns, NY 12430 (800) 811-3351 www.spillian.com The Sullivan Hotel 283 Rock Hill Dr, Rock Hill, NY 12775 (845) 796-3100 www.the-sullivan.com

Lodging Belleayre Region Lodging

& Tourism Association PO Box 443, Highmount, NY 12441 www.catskillhighpeaks.com Brookside Farmhouse

This spacious, updated farmhouse sits on nearly five acres in the Sullivan County Catskills. The house is surrounded by gorgeous longrange and wooded views all year, overlooks a large spring-fed pond and will comfortably accommodate 1-6 guests for a weekend, or longer.

Centrally-located on a quiet country road, Brookside Farmhouse is within a 10-20 minute drive of Callicoon (and the Delaware River), Callicoon Center, Jeffersonville, Livingston Manor, North Branch, Roscoe, Youngsville, and more. Both Bethel Woods and Narrowsburg are also just 30 minutes away. For rates and reviews, please visit www.homeaway. com/vacation-rental/p927447 Ann Manby, Brookside Farmhouse Roscoe, NY (845) 701-3565 brooksidefarmhouse.ny@gmail.com facebook.com/brookside.farmhouse instagram.com/brooksidefarmhouse Cooper’s Farmhouse www.coopersfarmhouse.com

ECCE Bed & Breakfast

ECCE BED AND BREAKFAST’S romantic setting features panoramic views of the Catskill and Pocono mountain ranges. The B&B’s 5 elegantly appointed bedrooms offer abundant amenities and include gourmet breakfasts on outdoor decks overlooking the scenic river valley.

19 Silverfish Road Barryville, NY (845) 557-8562 www.eccebedandbreakfast.com Home Sweet Home Lodging

We at Home Sweet Home Lodging offer a large selection of properties for that special vacation, weekend getaway, weddings and more. Our properties are as small as a 1 bedroom cabin with a hot tub, to a large Victorian that sleeps up to 13! For the second homeowner we are accepting new properties. Home Sweet Home Lodging... the Homeowner’s and Traveler’s choice! We also offer live music for any of your special occasions. Please keep in mind that this must be booked well in advance.

Fleischmanns, NY (845) 254-4005 www.homesweethomelodging.com Pine Hollow Lodging Margaretville, NY 12455 (845) 586-1433 www.pinehollowlodging.com Queens Mountain Cafe Lodging 53470 State Highway 30 Roxbury, New York 12474 (607) 326-6090 $125/night lauraqueensmt@aol.com Village Suites at Fleischmanns

captures the emotion of the moment.

At CATSKILL IMAGES we have this in mind every time we press the shutter.

We have the experience to anticipate the next shot before it happens and the state of the art equipment to be sure that we capture it beautifully.

CATSKILL IMAGES offers a variety of wedding packages and each of the packages can be customized to fit your needs and budget. We never lose sight of the fact that this is the most important day of your life and we try to capture each special moment while at the same time, remaining in the background to put you and your guests at ease.

53538 State Hwy. 30, Suite B Roxbury, NY 12474 (607) 326-7547 www.catskillimages.net Mellisa Misner Photography (845) 943-0155 misnerrr@gmail.com www.facebook.com/ mellisamisnerphotography

Of all the work Michael does, wedding photography, is the most meaningful. He enjoys the creativity, the adrenaline, and the importance of the day. Looking for something a bit outside the box? His style is fun, funky, and unobtrusive. www.michaelbloomphoto.com

Cakes The Alternative Baker

407 Main Street Rosendale, NY 12472 (845)658-3355www.lemoncakes.com 768 Main 768 Main Street Margaretville, NY (845) 586-6166 www.768main.com

Honeymoon ECCE Bed & Breakfast

ECCE BED AND BREAKFAST’S romantic setting features panoramic views of the Catskill and Pocono mountain ranges. The B&B’s 5 elegantly appointed bedrooms offer abundant amenities and include gourmet breakfasts on outdoor decks overlooking the scenic river valley.

19 Silverfish Road Barryville, NY (845) 557-8562 www.eccebedandbreakfast.com

Wedding Planners Catskill Weddings

Lydia Castiglia lydia@catskillweddings.com (917) 855-0330 or (845) 254-5545 www.catskillweddings.com Hive Event Design conception, photography, floral design, custom clothing design, catering, hair styling, make up, spa services, jewelry, entertainment etc. www.hiveevent.com 768 Main 768 Main Street Margaretville, NY (845) 586-6166 www.768main.com

From Pick Your Own to complete service, we will accommodate every budget and detail.

4055 State Route 52 Youngsville, NY (845) 482-3333 thecuttinggarden.org Earthgirl Flowers Callicoon Center, NY (845) 482-4976 www.earthgirlflowers.com Sugar Blossom Flowers

Photographers Catskill Images Wedding

and Portrait Photography A good photograph captures the moment; a great photograph

Willow Wisp Organic Farm 25 Stonehouse Road Damascus, PA 18415 www.willowwsiporganic.com

Michael Bloom

Flowers Domesticities & The Cutting Garden Located in the quaint Catskill Mountains Village of Fleischmanns, New York, you will find our newly renovated and furnished Village Suites at Fleischmanns. Clean, comfortable and affordable, each Suite sleeps 5, and is complete with a living room fully equipped kitchen, WiFi, Cable TV, and Electric Fireplace.

Walk to restaurants, shops, hair salon, Trailways bus and more. It is just a short drive to Woodstock, Phoenicia, Margaretville & Roxbury.

PO Box 956 1130 Main Street Fleischmanns, NY 12430 (845) 901.9690 info@villagesuites12430.com www.villagesuites12430.com

enhance any setting! Sugar Blossom Flowers provides fresh flowers, décor and planning for weddings and events, holidays and special occasions all year. Other services include Container Gardening and Living Wall installations. Our Summer Flower Share program features weekly bouquets of locally-grown flowers from multiple growers and with several pick up locations, including Callicoon, Livingston Manor and Roscoe. Stop by our new design studio or visit us online for more information and to see samples of our work.

Ann Manby, Sugar Blossom Flowers 36A Main Street (shared with Willow and Brown) Livingston Manor, New York 12758 (845)701-3565 sugarblossomflowers.com facebook.com/sugarblossom.flowers instagram/sugarblossomflowers pinterest.com/seesugarblossom

We love a celebration, and flowers

Caterers Anair Force Caterer

Mike Anair (201) 978-8805 mike.anair@gmail.com Ate.O.Ate Catering and Food Truck A new experience in culinary tradition.

Cocktail parties, dinner events, corporate outings and the fully operational ateoate food truck will be on the road.

(607) 326-3392. www.ateoatecatering.com Crazy River Cafe & Deli Everything is made with the finest ingredients and love. Open 7 days a

week with outdoor dining overlooking a beautiful stream and mountain views. Platters for pre-wedding or even the night before! Breakfast the day of or the day after the wedding, or just stop in and take a break from all the planning with your bridal party.

Free wi-fi and cell service 42287 State Route 28 Margaretville, NY (845) 586-6266 www.facebook.com/CrazyRiverCafe Early Bird Cookery Farm-to-Table CATERING & MEAL DELIVERY Plucking from a mix of organic, seasonal and locally grown goods, Early Bird creates custom menus that reflect your vision and leave a lasting impression.

Seamlessly catering large and small events—from intimate dinner parties to large farm-style family weddings for hundreds—we will handle every detail and allow you to enjoy your event. Email us at info@earlybirdcookery.com with any questions or requests.

Cochecton, NY www.earlybirdcookery.com (845) 932-7994 (718) 208-0125 (cell) Mary’s Cookin Again 160 Lake Street Roxbury, NY 12474 (607) 326-4191 www.maryscookin.com maryscookin@catskill.net Peekamoose Restaurant 8373 State Route 28 Big Indian, NY 12410 (845) 254-6500 www.peekamooserestaurant.com Phoenicia Diner 5681 New York 28 Phoenicia, NY 12464 (845) 688-9957 www.phoeniciadiner.com Queens Mountain Cafe 53470 State Highway 30 Roxbury, New York 12474 (607) 326-6090 lauraqueensmt@aol.com Samba Cafe & Inn Experience the rhythm, aroma and taste of Samba, where friends gather for great food and great times.

Samba’s cuisine is ingredient driven, farm fresh and infused with Latin flavors. Come celebrate with us, whether it’s food or lodging, event planning or catering for any special occasion. Private dinning and guest cottages available. 4893 Main Street (State Route 52) Jeffersonville, NY www.sambacafeandinn.com Vly Mountain Spring Water Providing pure, delicious spring water for events in the Catskills and the Hudson Valley.

Fleischmanns, NY 12430 (845) 254-6508 vlywaterman@gmail.com vlymountainspringwater.org

Party Favors & Gifts Bed & Bath Shoppe

This charming boutique offers more than just your bedding and bath essentials. Be delighted by the delicate scents of luscious candles and fine soaps. Bamboo loungewear, semi-precious gem jewelry and rocks, organic teas and unique

gifts are some of the simple little luxuries you’ll find. 746 Main Street Margaretville, NY 12455 (845) 586-1887 Find us on Facebook! www.bedandbathshoppe.com bluecashew Kitchen Pharmacy 6423 Montgomery St, Rhinebeck, NY (845) 876-1117 www.bluecashewkitchen.com Mount Pleasant Herbary Handcrafted herbal soaps, teas & pillows from homegrown herbs.

Visit us at the Farmers’ Markets in Callicoon and Barryville!

31 Riverdale Rd Forest City, PA (570) 448-3094 www.mountpleasantherbary.com Roshan Houshmand Roshan Houshmand’s painting studio/gallery offers an eclectic collection of several decades of her work representing melodic fusions of the eastern and western traditions.

An internationally exhibiting artist, Roshan’s work is collected in the US and Europe. She has lived in the Catskills for over a decade and teaches painting at SUNY Delhi.

Her studio is open by chance and appointment.

495 Main Street, Andes, NY 13731 (845) 676-3895 / (813) 951-2869 roshan@catskill.net www.roshanhoushmand.com Roxbury General Store 53538 State Road 30 Roxbury, NY (607) 326-6118 roxburygeneral.com The Sheep’s Nest Let us help you “feather your nest.”

A beautiful selection of gifts for the bride and groom as well as all members of the bridal party.

45 Main Street, Hobart, NY 13788 (607) 214-0050 www.thesheepsnest.com Traveler’s Tea - Organic Hand Blended Loose Tea & Herbal Infusions

Weddings. Showers. Birthdays.

Anniversaries.

Celebrations or promotions of any kind. Leave an impression with your guests. Show your creative side. Express thanks and gratitude. Give a truly magical gift with customized tea-inspired keepsakes. Call today to set up a cost-free initial phone consultation.

Halcottsville, NY (607) 326-4377 www.OrganicTravelersTea.com

Videographers Vecc Videography

Serving Delaware, Ulster, Green and Schoharie Counties. Full service video production, including documentary style wedding videos. Allow the emotions of your wedding day to unfold on video.

(607) 746-6110 Cell (607) 643-5362 www.veccvideography.com Visit our special Green Door Celebrations website at: www.GreenDoorCelebrates.com

ILLUSTRATION: STEVEN WEINBERG

ENDPAPER | ANIMAL WEDDINGS

72 GREEN DOOR | SPRING 2014