55 Plus of Rochester #80: March - April 2023

Living Together

at East Hill Farm

Several artists affiliated with the Rochester Folk Art Guild live in a commune launched more than 50 years ago in the Finger Lakes. They share meals, create art and grow food together. P. 30

Meet a Clown. A Real One

Lillian Faison worked 41 years as a nurse. Now semi-retired, she spends a great deal of time working as a clown. P22

Got flabby bones? Bone Gym to the rescue

or Liz Lehmann, this is personal. Her grandmother had the classic dowager's hump, her mother is the incredible shrinking woman, and she's been battling Osteopenia for 15 years.

“Like many women, I kept looking for alternatives to the drugs,” said Lehmann.

Until she found this really interesting device, called a bioDensity machine, that builds bones naturally. It's similar to a workout machine for muscles in a gym, but it's optimized to build bone.

As Lehmann explained, “The best you can do with weight-bearing exercises is about 1% increase in bone density. With the bioDensity machine

someone can reach up to 14% density increase per year, based on clinical studies. The results will vary, of course, depending on genetics, diet and your general health.”

Science of Osteogenic Loading

The reason the bioDensity machine is so good at building bones is because it's based on the science of osteogenic loading.

long workouts a couple times a week and your muscles need a day or two to recover.

Sessions are by appointment only. The free initial orientation (a little over 1 hr) can be scheduled on bonegym.com

measuring their muscle efforts, and therefore how much stress is applied to their bones. People have complete control over their session. Plus, they don't sweat because it is so quick.”

Building Bones from the Inside Out

(osteo bone;

→ genic producing

→ ) Since the 1880's, doctors have known that bones remodel themselves after a load is placed on them, known as Wolff's Law.

As it turns out, bones and muscles are similar and different – both have the use-it-or-lose-it process.

To build muscles you have to do

What clients are saying

“The circuit is quick & simple. Everyone should find 15 minutes a week to build those bones!” ~ Amy

“This is a wonderful opportunity to help your bones without using drugs.” ~ Virginia

“Coming to the Bone Gym to help with my osteopenia has been great. Liz explains everything clearly.” ~ Madonna

Bones, on the other hand, only require five seconds of stress and the recovery time is a week. But the stress needed to start the bone building process is multiple times a person's body weight. For a 130 lb woman, it would take about 550 lbs of force on the leg bones to make them denser, which is not really possible at a gym.

15 minute “no sweat” Sessions

“What is unique about the bioDensity machine is that it isn’t doing anything to them,” Lehmann explained. “They’re pressing or pulling on the machine and it’s simply

During each session, a client tries to produce maximal force for five seconds in four different exercises: chest press, leg press, core pull, and vertical lift. The force would be similar to pushing or lifting an object of significant weight and size.

As a result, these exercises build denser bones from the inside out by remodeling and strengthening the interior bone matrix – the way bones get stronger naturally.

Liz Lehmann coaches Amy Stringer (owner of The North Bee in Webster) through the leg press position.

Bone Gym is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. It is an exercise plan designed to allow users to benefit from the healthy effects of osteogenic loading of the bones as supported by the U.S. Surgeon General and numerous studies.

Weight Loss Surgery

It’s about more than just weight loss. It’s about reducing your risk for serious conditions like heart disease and diabetes — and regaining the stamina, mobility and confidence to take on every day.

Crouse’s bariatric surgery program offers a dedicated team of physicians and providers, as well as psychological and nutritional counseling — all with the expertise to support you every step of the way.

Begin the process from home by viewing our online informational video. Then consult with our bariatric team via telemedicine visits to start your journey. It’s time — and now easier than ever.

Start today at crouse.org/weightloss or call .

March/April 2023

Story ideas? Information about advertising? Email editor@roc55.com or call 585-421-8109. To

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• Longtime Brighton judge, who doubles as a magician, is retiring in 2023

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• Penfield retirees turn their hobbies into a business: Firehouse Wood Works

42

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• Old guys still dream — Joe Janowicz is exhibit A

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• From Tokyo, Japan, to Upstate New York: the varied life of Fumie Thorpe

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• Margaret Spevak runs Quilting with Margaret in Charlotte

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• Places to go for a date

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• A helping hand: bodies of faith assist senior congregants

ON THE COVER: Artist Claudia Welbourne of Penn Yan working in the clothing design studio at East Hills Farm.

Creating & Preserving Wealth For Generations

By Jim Miller

savvy senior What Happens if You Work While Receiving Social Security?

You can collect Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time but depending on how old you are and how much you earn, some or all of your benefits could be temporarily withheld. Here’s how it works.

SSA Earning Rules

Social Security says that if you’re under your full retirement age and are collecting benefits, then you can earn up to $21,240 in 2023 without jeopardizing any of your Social Security if you don’t reach your full retirement age this year. But if you earn more than the $21,240 limit, you’ll lose $1 in benefits for every $2 over that amount.

Full retirement age is 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, but it rises in two-month increments every birth year to age 67 for those born in 1960 and later. You can find your full retirement age at SSA.gov/benefits/ retirement/planner/ageincrease.html.

In the year you reach your full retirement age, a less stringent rule applies. If that happens in 2023, you can earn up to $56,520 from January to the month of your birthday with no penalty. But if you earn more than $56,520 during that time, you’ll lose $1 in benefits for every $3 over that limit. And once your birthday passes, you can earn any amount by working without your benefits being reduced at all.

Wages, bonuses, commissions and vacation pay all count toward the income limits, but pensions, annuities, investment earnings, interest, capital gains and government or military retirement benefits do not. To figure out how much your specific earnings will affect your benefits, see the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test Calculator at SSA.gov/OACT/COLA/ RTeffect.html.

It’s also important to know that if you do lose some or all of your

Social Security benefits because of the earning limits, they aren’t lost forever. When you reach full retirement age, your benefits will be recalculated to a higher amount to make up for what was withheld.

For more information on how working can affect your Social Security benefits see SSA.gov/benefits/ retirement/planner/whileworking. html.

Be Mindful of Taxes Too

In addition to the Social Security rules, you need to factor in Uncle Sam, too. Because working increases your income, it might make your Social Security benefits taxable.

Here’s how it works. If the sum of your adjusted gross income, nontaxable interest, and half of your Social Security benefits is between $25,000 and $34,000 for individuals ($32,000 and $44,000 for couples), you have to pay tax on up to 50% of your benefits. Above $34,000 ($44,000 for couples), you could pay on up to 85%, which is the highest portion of Social Security that is taxable. About a third of all people who get Social Security have to pay income taxes on their benefits.

For information, call the IRS at 800-829-3676 and ask them to mail you a free copy of publication 915 “Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits,” or you can see it online at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/ p915.pdf.

In addition to the federal government, 12 states — Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia — tax Social Security benefits to some extent too. If you live in one of these states, you’ll need to check with your state tax agency for details.

roc55.com

Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Steve Yablonski

Writers & Contributors

Deborah J. Sergeant, John Addyman

Melody Burri, Kimberly Blaker Mike Costanza, Todd Etshman, Lynette M. Loomis, Ken Sturtz Columnists

John Addyman, Laurie Haelen Jim Miller, Sandra Scott

Advertising Anne Westcott • 585-421-8109 anneIGHsales@gmail.com

Linda Covington • 585-750-7051 lindalocalnews@gmail.com

Office Manager Loni Zardus

Layout & Design Angel Campos-Toro

Cover Photo Courtesy of Elisabeth Cowley

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financial health

By Laurie Haelen

Tax Strategies for 2023

The new year began like many revelers who imbibe too much — with a hangover and residual headache caused by the many worries of 2022: inflation, stock market volatility and the continued conflict in Ukraine, to name a few.

In the midst of this barrage of anxiety-causing news, some good news sneaked into the newsfeed from an unlikely source: the IRS.

Although some strategies cannot be used for the 2022 tax year, you can do some planning now to help mitigate taxes and perhaps keep more of your hard-earned money moving forward.

If you are still working and have not yet contributed to an IRA, or an HSA (health savings account), you can still contribute for the 2022 tax year by April 18 of this year. You also can contribute for the 2023 tax year earlier in the year (anytime in 2023 or until April of 2024), which allows your money to grow longer tax free — especially with the market still well off 2021 highs.

Here are the increased contribution limits for 2023:

• IRA : $6,500 vs. $6,000 in 2022, plus $1,000 per individual catch up contribution for those over 50.

• HSA : If you are eligible to contribute, you can put in $3,850 for self-coverage, $7,750 for family coverage, along with $1,000 more in catch up contributions if you are 55 or older.

Also for 2023, the IRS has expanded tax brackets, as well as increased the standard deduction. The expansion of the brackets mean you may have more taxable income before being bumped into a higher tax bracket. In addition, the standard deduction goes up to $27,700 for married couples — an increase of $1,800 — and also goes up to $13,850 for single filers, an increase of $900.

Although the standard deduction

increase allows you to deduct more than last year, it is advisable to see if itemizing can help you pay less tax. Major deductions include state and local taxes (up to a maximum of $10,000) home mortgage interest, charitable deductions and medical and dental expenses. You may want to consider combining or “bunching” charitable contributions into one year if you are close to being able to itemize in order to capture a larger write-off.

If you do itemize your return, you can deduct donations of appreciated assets — such as stocks — that you have held longer than one year. The benefit is that you can deduct the fair market value of the stock and not have to pay the capital gains taxes on the appreciation.

Roth conversions continue to be a good strategy for many people, particularly with the stock and bond markets still at lower values. A Roth conversion involves transferring funds from an IRA into a Roth IRA. You will pay taxes on the converted amount, but the longer-term benefit is that the funds continue to grow tax free — and be withdrawn tax free — as long as certain rules are followed. The fact that the market is down means that you can convert more shares of an investment for the same dollar amount and same tax liability. Finally, consider that tax rates are projected to increase in 2026, so you may pay higher tax rates if you

wait to convert.

Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) continue to be a very effective strategy to reduce taxable income, for those who are at or over the age where they have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs). If you are charitably inclined, a QCD is a great way to donate funds and, in turn, reduce your taxable income.

Instead of taking your RMD, you send the funds directly to a qualified (i.e. 501(C)3) charitable institution. Keep in mind, however, that there are some limitations to this strategy They include that you must be over the age of 70 ½ and the limit is $100,000 per individual (but, if you are married and filing jointly, your spouse can also do $100,000 contribution). There are various benefits to this, but one of the main ones is that a QCD excludes the amount donated from your taxable income.

One more long-term strategy to consider relates to the sunsetting of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which is set to happen at the end of 2025. The estate and gift tax exclusion, which has increased substantially, could revert to the pre-2018 level. One way to ensure your assets pass estate tax free to your loved ones or charitable beneficiaries would be to accelerate your gifting–donating in the next three years. Currently, you can gift up to $17,000 per donor to as many persons as you like, and if you are married, your spouse can do the same—without the gift considered to be taxable.

Tax planning is not just something to focus on at tax time. It can be beneficial to plan throughout the year to capitalize on available opportunities. A tax professional can help you navigate through the many changes and also work with your financial adviser to ensure your total financial picture is as tax efficient as possible.

How Much Do You Have to Make to File Taxes?

By Jim Miller

Whether or not retirees are required to file a federal income tax return this year will depend on how much they earned in 2022, as well as the source of the income, age and filing status.

Here’s a rundown of this tax season’s IRS tax filing requirement thresholds.

For most people, this is pretty straightforward. If your 2022 gross income — which includes all taxable income, not counting your Social Security benefits, unless you are married and filing separately — was below the threshold for your filing status and age, you may not have to file. But if it’s over, you will.

• Single: $12,950 ($14,700 if you’re 65 or older by Jan. 1, 2022).

• Married filing jointly: $25,900 ($27,300 if you or your spouse is 65 or older; or $28,700 if you’re both over 65).

• Married filing separately: $5 at any age.

• Head of household: $19,400 ($21,150 if 65 or older).

• Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child: $25,900 ($27,300 if 65 or older).

To get a detailed breakdown on federal filing requirements, along with information on taxable and nontaxable

income, call the IRS at 800-829-3676 and ask them to mail you a free copy of the “1040 and 1040-SR Instructions for Tax Year 2022,” or you can see it online at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf.

Check Here Too

Be aware that there are other financial situations that can require you to file a tax return, even if your gross income falls below the IRS filing requirements. For example, if you earned more than $400 from selfemployment in 2022, owe any special taxes like an alternative minimum tax, or get premium tax credits because you, your spouse or a dependent is enrolled in a health insurance marketplace plan, you’ll need to file.

You’ll also need to file if you’re receiving Social Security benefits, and one-half of your benefits plus your other gross income and any tax-exempt interest exceeds $25,000, or $32,000 if you’re married and filing jointly.

To figure all this out, the IRS offers an online tax tool that asks a series of questions that will help you determine if you’re required to file, or if you should file because you’re due a refund. It takes less than 15 minutes to complete.

You can access this tool at IRS. gov/Help/ITA — click on “Do I Need to File a Tax Return?” Or you can get assistance over the phone by calling the IRS helpline at 800-829-1040.

Tax Preparation Help

If you find that you do need to file a tax return this year, you can free file through the IRS at IRS.gov/FreeFile if your 2022 adjusted gross income was below $73,000.

Or, if you need some help, contact the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (or TCE) program. Sponsored by the IRS, TCE provides free tax preparation and counseling to middle and low-income taxpayers, age 60 and older. Call 800906-9887 or visit IRS.treasury.gov/ freetaxprep to locate services near you.

You can also get tax preparation assistance through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide service. Call 888-227-7669 or visit AARP.org/ findtaxhelp for more information. You don’t have to be an AARP member to use this service.

Jim Miller is the author of Savvy Senior, a column published every issue in 55 PLUS magazine.

Cutting Costs: Ways to Save Without Sacrifice

By Kimberly Blaker

Today’s cost of living for households headed by someone 65 or older is $52,141 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest estimates, based on 2021 figures.

The average retiree household income is only $47,620. That means many seniors are trying to make ends meet on incomes well below the average cost of living. Fortunately, there are many ways

to keep your costs down without sacrificing your quality of life. So follow these cost-cutting tips and watch your savings grow.

Entertainment

Keeping entertained doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg — or anything at all. Make visiting your library a regular activity. Libraries offer a wide variety of free entertainment, including books, newspapers, magazines (print and digital editions), DVDs, music CDs, and more. If your library doesn’t carry the item you’re looking for, ask about its interlibrary loan program.

Local, county and state parks offer a variety of scheduled activities and programs from bird viewing and nature hikes to concerts and festivals. Parks also provide paved biking trails, hiking and nature trails, fishing, wildlife viewing, and more.

Dress for Less

Save on household and clothing expenses by trying these moneysaving ideas. You’ll be helping to protect the environment, too.

• Hit the end of the season sales and save 60% to 80% on clothing.

• Visit resale shops for super savings on like-new clothing. You can find these stores locally as well as online resale shops. If you like designer clothing, look for an upscale resale shop in luxury communities.

• Reel in savings the way people of all ages and income brackets are doing today. Hit garage and estate sales for clothing and other household needs. You can find topquality, top-condition items, for next to nothing

Auto Economizing

There are many ways to keep your driving expenses down. Try these for starters.

• Increase the deductible on your collision to $1,000, unless you’re accident-prone. The cost difference can be significant. Also, carefully review all the other charges on your policy. Insurance agents often prepackage or tack on unnecessary coverages or higher coverage than you need.

• Avoid purchasing a brand new vehicle. Opt for a low mileage model, one to four years old. You’ll save a fortune on depreciation.

Food costs

• Despite the rising cost of food, this is one of the easier places to cut costs. Coupon clipping can net substantial savings—as long as you only buy items you’d purchase anyway. For the best savings, look for grocery stores that offer double coupons. But do your math at these stores to make sure they don’t have a higher markup, or else your savings will go down the drain, or may even

cost you more. Also, set guidelines so you don’t use coupons for unnecessary purchases or when it’s a better deal to buy another brand.

• Another strategy, which can cut your grocery bill by at least a third is buying only what’s on sale. Flip through your store flyer each week, then stock up with a four- to six-week supply of the sale items. After the first month, you should have plenty of stock to eliminate most non-sale purchases. Although you’ll invest a little more upfront, within a few weeks, you’ll recoup your investment and begin to see your grocery bill drop.

• Avoid wholesale food clubs as well. When comparing prices, the savings are usually minimal and rarely compare to grocery store sale prices. Food clubs may be good for just a few staple items you’ve researched and

know are always a better deal and that you really need and use.

• When grocery shopping, always compare the price per ounce on various size packaging. Contrary to popular belief, smaller packages are sometimes the better deal. Manufacturers have learned people go for the larger bulk size items because they’re often a better price per ounce. As a result, some manufacturers switch the pricing around knowing consumers will assume the larger package is a better deal.

• Also, don’t let eating out eat up your spare cash. Keep plenty of simple or frozen meals on hand to toss in the oven when you don’t feel like cooking. Better yet, make large batches of soups, casseroles, and other dishes and freeze them in single-serving containers for simple meals.

banking and loans work for you rather than against you.

Finance Savvy

The following suggestions can yield significant savings and make

• If possible, double up on mortgage and loan payments. If that isn’t in your budget, you can still save by breaking each monthly payment into two. Pay half of your monthly loan and mortgage payments a couple of weeks early. Just contact your lender to make sure both early and partial payments apply to your regular monthly installments, and that interest will be adjusted accordingly.

• Open your checking account at a credit union or bank that offers free accounts with no maintenance or check fees. Also, look into the many banks offering a $300 or $600 bonus for opening a new account.

• Store your credit card rather than carrying it with you, which can lead to impulse buying. Unless you’re disciplined enough to pay off your balance monthly, credit card interest eats up a lot of spare cash.

Energy Efficiency

There are plenty of ways to cut overall energy use without sacrifice. Best of all, it’s better for the planet. So make the following part of your energy-saving strategy.

• Run your dishwasher only when

full, and use the no-heat or air-dry setting.

• Keep your refrigerator out of the sun.

• Turn off the oven a few minutes before your meal is done cooking. The heat already built up in the oven will finish the job. In winter months, open the oven door after turning it off to utilize the heat.

• Wash all laundry in cold water, except for sheets and towels, which need hot water to kill bacteria and odors. As an added bonus, it will reduce shrinkage and fading of colors.

• Clean the lint filter on your dryer before each use, and don’t over-dry clothes. Better yet, hang your clothes to dry.

• Evaluate your lighting needs. Use the lowest watt bulb possible that provides ample lighting. Better yet, use LED light bulbs for maximum energy savings.

• Keep your hot water heater between 115 to 120 degrees, as recommended by The Department of Energy. Warmer temperatures are wasteful, unnecessary, and can lead to scalding.

• When purchasing new appliances, compare energy efficiency. Paying a little more for the more energy-efficient appliances can save a lot of money in the end.

• Turn your computer off overnight and during lengthy interruptions.

Buyers’ Remorse

Home buying tips to avoid regrets and costly mistakes

By Kimberly Blaker

Buying a home is often a highly emotional experience. It begins with the exciting prospect of finding your perfect home and the exhilarating idea of new beginnings.

But as the hunt progresses, it can become an emotional roller coaster.

After viewing many homes, you might fear you'll never find the right home. You may experience anxiety over whether you'll find a home within your budget — or because you've fallen in love with a home that's outside your budget.

When you find the perfect house, you'll be dealing with frustration if another buyer beats you to the punch. When you do make an offer, you may be worried you offered too little or too much. You'll also experience disappointment if your offer is rejected.

But once you've closed on your home and you're confident you made the right decision, you'll rejoice – and

bask knowing it was worth every bit of the turbulent ride.

Still, there's no greater stress than making the mistake of buying a home that, for any number of reasons, you come to regret.

So follow these recommendations to get you started on the right foot and help you stay on course in finding your perfect (or near-perfect) home.

Before you begin shopping

The first thing to do is to make a list of your objectives. Are you trying to reduce your work commute? Downsizing? What about proximity to shopping or recreation?

Also, think about the specific features you want in a home. Would you like a larger garage, finished basement, fenced yard, low maintenance lawn, a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms, a walk-in shower, an updated kitchen, ample closet space or a home that's turn-key ready? Make

your list as detailed as possible.

Now, go through the list again. Next to each item, mark if it's a musthave, prefer-to-have, or nice but not necessary.

The reason for creating this list and then breaking it down is two-fold. First, buying a home is a significant investment. The home you ultimately choose is going to affect your lifestyle. Since there's seldom a home with every feature a buyer wants, you should prioritize what's most important to you.

As you begin your search, you can always add to your list or amend it. But it serves as a blueprint to narrow your search and help keep you on track.

When you find a home that wows you, look at your criteria to make sure the house has all or most of your musthaves. If it doesn't, maybe you'll decide your criteria have changed, and this home is just what you want. On the other hand, it might also bring you back down to earth and encourage you to continue searching for a home that better suits your needs.

How much of a home can you afford?

Determining this is a two-step process.

First, prepare a budget and figure out how much you can comfortably spend each month on mortgage and interest payments, property taxes and homeowner's insurance. Also, consider whether there'll be a substantial difference in your monthly utilities. Include an allowance for home repairs and maintenance as well.

Second, you need to get prequalified through your bank or a mortgage company. Despite what you think you can afford, a lender will ultimately determine the maximum you can afford. So don't risk getting your hopes up on a particular home until you know how much a lender will loan you.

Another reason to get pre-qualified is that most real estate agents won't show homes to prospective buyers until they've been pre-qualified.

Getting started in your search

Now you're ready to find a real estate agent. Working with a professional has multiple advantages. First, they have access to the MLS system, the database in which all homes listed by real estate agencies appear. They're only able to access the MLS for listings within their own MLS region, however. If you're moving to a new area, choose a realtor in the area where you'll be relocating.

Another important reason to work with an agent is so you'll have someone to represent you and advance your interests.

When you meet with an agent, make sure the agent feels like a good fit for you. The agent should ask plenty of questions to gain a solid understanding of what you're looking for in a home. Also, find out if the agent is available to show homes during your usual hours of availability. Finally, be cautious of high-pressure tactics to get you to sign an exclusive contract. Ultimately, you'll want to do this when you find the right agent. But if you're not comfortable with the agent, be prepared to say you need time to think about it and stand your ground.

The home inspection

Once you've made an offer, getting a home inspection is a crucial step. This will help ensure you're making a sound buying decision. Unfortunately, too many homebuyers learn the hard

way that inspectors are not required to be licensed or have any special skills or training in many states.

You can ask your agent for a recommendation. But unless you're confident your agent is someone you can trust, this may not be the best option. Unfortunately, a few agents favor less thorough inspectors to avoid the risk of too many uncovered issues during an inspection, which could cause a sale to fall through.

So do your homework before hiring an inspector. Ask about their qualifications and how long they've been in business. Also, check with the Better Business Bureau and online reviews.

A knowledgeable, skilled inspector will look at every aspect of the home, including windows, foundation, attic, roof, plumbing, electrical components, and much more. Your inspector should alert you to all defects, big and small. He should also note any aging features that could require repair or replacement in the not so distant future.

Tips to ensure you don't make a decision you regret

Regardless of what the bank says you can afford or if an agent pushes you to go higher, you're the best judge of what's really within your budget. Don't make a decision you're not confident you can afford. Remember, your financial well-being and lifestyle are on the line.

Don't get impatient. Sometimes it takes a while to find just the right home. Although you may never find a home with everything you've ever dreamed of, make sure it meets enough of the right criteria so you can live happily in your home for some time to come.

When you do find the perfect home, don't drag your feet. If it's a buyer's market in particular, or merely a desirable home, it might get snatched up before you act.

If you see flaws that'll require costly repair, weigh it out carefully before making your offer.

Finally, once you make an offer, try not to get your heart too set on the home until it's been inspected. That way, if the report comes back reflecting costly repairs, you'll be able to make a wise decision on whether to proceed or back out.

Dining Out

Dining Out

RESTAURANT

GUIDE

FIT FOR ALL PALATES

Little farm-focused café has big ambitions

This trip to Local Palate in Phelps came as a recommendation — from a stranger, actually. Funny enough, they were a staff member of another restaurant, which ended up being closed.

This was my first time actually stopping in the town of Phelps.

Similar to many small towns in Western, Central, Upstate or whatever region you’d like to refer to this part of the state, Phelps has a particular charm. It parallels others, including a Main Street with parallel stretches of buildings.

Where it could come across as a

By Christopher Malone

welcoming committee.

Yes, food welcomes you.

The darkened dining area is brightened with natural lighting pouring in through the large windows, glazing the minimalistic wooden, rustic décor and plants.

one-horse town to some, the place has its distinct feel and infinite intricate details coaxing you to look around to see what can be found.

After all, these places may boast some of the biggest surprises — gems that are not so hidden, like Local Palate.

The eatery is part café and part shop. Upon entering, a plethora of local products sits on shelves to the left along with craft beer and other beverages in the line of glass-cased fridges. In front, before the staff greets you, a case of baked goods, including muffins and bagels and more, is the

Acoustic music lightly played through Local Palate’s speaker system, including Caamp (yes, with two a’s a band I highly enjoy — give them a listen), complimenting the aura.

After sitting down, I ordered the dunkel on the tap list — whimsically called “Dunkel Breakin' My Heart” — caught my eye since I’m a fan of dark German lagers. The malty forward beer was neither heavy bodied nor potent in ABV; it added warmth and comfort on such a wet, snowy and windy day.

The boujee beef wrap caught my eye. Instead of opting for chips, I substituted the side with the soup of the day, a buffalo chicken tomato bisque. The combination came to $16; opting for the chips would have kept the price at $13.

The personal-sized pizza, also called the mountain man flatbread, boasts a plethora of ingredients, including butternut squash.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Façade of Local Palate on Main Street, Phelps; The boujee beef wrap at Local Palate. It comes with medium rare roasted beef and Boursin cheese; Salad image00008.jpeg

The blackberry autumn harvest salad with chicken: It comes with spinach, rugula, cubed butternut squash, goat cheese, pecans and pepitas (unshelled pumpkin seeds). And, of course, blackberries.

Boujee, not to get confused with bougie, someone who is socially or economically mobile or is in a higher economic class compared to others. The latter pertains to people who act like they are in a higher class. Knowing this, I wanted to know if it lived up to its name.

The fact the wrap contained medium rare roasted beef and Boursin cheese also helped with the decisionmaking process. Then consider the fresh arugula, tomatoes and maple Dijon mayo all cozied up in a spinach wrap.

It tasted as great as it sounds. It was great because everything was fresh. The red roast beef didn’t taste bland or repurposed (leftover), the Boursin was bright in flavor, and the veggies spoke for themselves.

The Buffalo chicken tomato bisque lived up to its name. Yes, the flavor matched that of a Buffalo chicken wing (dip or no dip) but it wasn’t overpowering in flavor. The tomato balanced it well. What is noticeable with the Buffalo part is the resonating medium heat kick.

In the large bowl of soup were generous amounts of pieces of grilled,

tender chicken. The smokiness of the char added to each bite and that’s all the flavor the chicken needed.

Going for a guilt-free option, the blackberry autumn harvest salad ($17) with chicken ($4 extra) seemed to be a great choice. The salad was made up of spinach and more arugula, cubed butternut squash, goat cheese, pecans and pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds). And, of course, blackberries.

Put it all together, dress it up with Local Palate’s in-house blackberry vinaigrette and what do you get? A hearty, sweet and savory salad. Eating healthy never tasted so good.

But then I opted for the mountain man flatbread ($14) The personalsized pizza, which is still shareable (if you want to be generous with others) also boasted a variety of ingredients, including more butternut squash.

A sweet hot honey drizzle also topped the flatbread with main ingredients shredded brussels sprouts, mozzarella and a garlic sauce. The pizza can probably be eaten in one sitting despite its hearty qualities.

Before tip, the meal came to $54 and change.

The chic Local Palate goes big with

its offerings. They cater to all diets and preferences. And it goes beyond food and beverages. The communityfocused eatery hosts events, including live music from regional artists east and west of Phelps. I’m sure musicians come from the north and south, too, but it’s just a saying.

What I’m also saying: Check out Local Palate, fill up and come back for more.

Local Palate

91 Main St., Phelps, 14532 (315) 548-0101

localpalate.square.site.com facebook.com/localpalateflx instagram.com/localpalate_flx

Sunday: Closed

Monday – Thursday: 6:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Friday: 6:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Aging Alliance Works to Improve Lives of the Elderly

New alliance aims at creating a more age-friendly Monroe County

By Todd Etshman

The member organizations of the Monroe County Aging Alliance banded together in a collaborative effort to help make Rochester a more age-friendly livable community and to promote the value and well-being of older adults.

That collective effort has recently become a joint initiative between the Rochester Area Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes.

Leading the alliance are representatives from each organization: United Way consultant Leanne Rorick and Patricia Campbell, former senior director of the Community Foundation’s community programs department.

Rorick is principal of Leanne Rorick Consulting and a research assistant for Cornell University’s Institute for Translational Research on Aging, where she provides training to long-term care facilities.

Campbell, in her role at the Community Foundation, initially convened local leaders in the field to set an aging agenda for the community. The meetings allowed organizations providing or supporting

aging-related services to understand existing systems and structures that impede successful aging, identify strategies to create a community where people age well, share what they were working on, find opportunities to collaborate, and pinpoint gaps that needed to be addressed.

Previous studies by the alliance provide specific areas that need to be addressed in our community and factors the Alliance will focus on improving in the future.

In August 2021, the alliance published a report titled “Poverty in Later Life,” which made some key

findings regarding the issue of poverty among the elderly in Rochester.

It found that the number of impoverished older residents in the city is increasing and that elderly Latino residents are the most impoverished. Recommendations to improve economic security for older adults are included in the report and can also be found in a livable community plan titled “Creating a Community for a Lifetime,” released in December 2021.

In 2023, the alliance will team with the Gerontological Society of America to lead the Reframing Aging Initiative in Monroe County, a long-term social change endeavor designed to improve the public’s understanding of what aging means and the many ways that older adults contribute to society.

The initiative will guide the community’s approach to ensuring supportive policies and programs for people of all ages in Monroe County.

In the future, the Aging Alliance will engage dozens of community partners, including government offices, community-based organizations and businesses to carry out the recommendations identified in the 2023 initiative to create a more agefriendly Monroe County.

Leanne Rorick and Patricia Campbell are leading the Monroe County Aging Alliance.

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Benefits to purchasing burial property pre-need: It eases the emotional burden for you and your loved one It gives you control It’s peace of mind.

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Our mission is to provide unique end of life options in a serene park-like setting, bordered by hardwood forest and meadows, where loved ones are forever memorialized, and all of life is celebrated. Beautiful places to remember.

Meet a Clown. A Real One

Lillian Faison worked 41 years as a nurse. Now semi-retired, she spends a great deal of time working as a clown — her goal is to bring joy and a smile in every face

By John Addyman

Maybe it was the gold foil eyelashes and how she flashed and fluttered them. Perhaps her smile. Big. Her hair — every color of the

rainbow and then some.

The little heart glued to the end of her nose.

And the jewel in the middle of her forehead.

Her dress, covered with stuffed animals and toys and all kinds of buttons like “Smile Inspector” and “If You’re Looking for Fun, Follow me” and “My Last Name is THE CLOWN.”

She wasn’t 10 seconds into the Irondequoit Library in a recent visit, but already kids had found her. They didn’t quite know what she was, but with her big smile and soft voice, kids felt something coming out of her and they flocked to it, every one with an unbidden smile. Every mom and dad with the kids was smiling, too.

That’s Lillian Faison’s effect on people when she clowns; when she dresses up and finds her inner child to share with others, when she senses the negative energy and overpowers it with warm and delight and fun. She reaches inside to find the core of her

Clown Sunny Hope welcomes kids to the Irondequoit Library in a recent visit.

being and shares it with others.

She’s a clown.

Faison, 63, from Rochester, is semi-retired, but walking astride two semi-careers: taking care of elderly patients in their homes as an LPN and home aide, and bringing joy and smiles to anyone who’s grumpy or blue as a clown who’s known as Sunny Hope.

Her nursing career began 41 years ago after graduating from the Rochester School of Practical Nursing. She began at the Jewish Home and ended at St. Ann’s Community.

Along the way she tried her hand as one of the few female Rochester police officers and became the sales manager at WDKX–FM after starting as a volunteer and supporter at the first Black-operated station in Upstate New York. She was also a school nurse for two and a half years.

She got heavily involved in Toastmasters and eventually became the District 65 director, and even picked up a real estate license.

Faison retired as an LPN from St. Ann’s Community last March.

“I’m still a nurse,” she said. “But now I just do home care. When I semi-retired, I started looking for jobs and then I got all of these LPN jobs offered to me. There was too much on my plate. I had so much LPN work; I

didn’t have time for clowning. There’s such a great need for LPNs. I saw these people in need and I said ‘I can take care of you and I can take care of you and I can take care of you — then all of a sudden I realized, ‘No, I can’t do all that.’”

“The light bulb came on: ‘Don’t you know you’re semi-retired?’ So, I had to make that adjustment on how to fill my time,” she continued. “Being a nurse used to bring me down at times, depending on how my co-workers were acting, just the frustration I would see at work. I would have good days and some days I wanted to crawl under the bus, under the bed, quit the job and go work at McDonalds.”

One day, she just told her coworkers, ’I’m going to go be a clown.’

“They would laugh every time I said that. For six years I said it: ‘I’m going to go be a clown,’” she said. “Then one day I was at St. Ann’s working in the rehab unit and one of my co-workers came through with a balloon flower in her hand. She said there was a clown in the other hall that got a knee replacement. I immediately went over there.”

She met Terry Holland, who is a clown named Wannabe. His wife, Kathy, is also a clown known as Kiddo.

“They were members of the local

Grease Paint Alley Clowns. I told them I wanted to be a clown. Kathy said, ‘We have a clown class coming up and I’ll let you know when. Meanwhile, would you like to come over to my house and make some balloons?’ So I went over to her house, making squeaky balloon flowers and animals,” Faison said. “She called me when the class opened up and I went. I graduated on April 1 nine years ago.”

In clown school Faison learned makeup and props and the nature of clowns. She found out that a clown is unique in the entertainment world, being both an audience and a performer at the same time. A clown opens a door inside themselves to set their inner child free. It is that purity of soul that brings the reaction that clowns learn to expand.

Clowns are always turning themselves inside out to reflect what their audiences give them.

Faison explained it more simply: “I react to my audience. I have to read them and see who’s receptive. It’s very interesting. I did a gig at Salvatore’s for four Saturdays on East Ridge Road. There were people coming in and I didn’t think they’d like clowns or care for them, but then I eventually got to playing with them — they just lined up. You never really know. You

makeup and costume (inset) — is also known as Sunny Hope, the clown.

have to read people. You have to feel them. I try not to be too overwhelming because sometimes people don’t like clowns or to be around clowns and then you can offend people.”

Stephen King didn’t do clowndom any favors with the main charter in the novel “IT,” and all clowns know there are people who think that clowns are creepy.

The first reaction of the kids in the Irondequoit Library was telling. Some stood back, trying to figure out what Sunny Hope was. One girl, perhaps 8 or 9, had no such qualms. She lunged at Faison with a big hug.

“We don’t normally touch, especially with COVID-19,” Faison said. “I have this big hand prop because kids love to do high-fives and I hold it up and they do their high-fives with it.

“Sometimes people are a little scared of clowns, but when they see me, I’m a different kind of clown,” she explained. “I know the power of people smiling and the energy of it, that’s why I want to do it. I feel there’s a very negative energy out here in Rochester. I’ve been experiencing it. I’m trying to promote people being happy and smiling. I don’t really find that type of energy here. I feel there’s a barrier or wall that’s keeping people [from] being friendly, but I still have a mission to do what I do. I’ve seen the results when people see me.

“As a nurse, I know the value and health benefits of laughter, smiles and being in a good mood. I love to see and make people laugh and smile. A smile creates a whole other look to a person’s face. Laughter creates endorphins and has the potential to help heal your body, mind and spirit.

“For me, clowning gives out positive energy to generate more positive energy. I know it works. I am pulled to be happy, positive and my spirit is comfortable with bringing whatever happiness I can into this world. So, my one of many vehicles to do this is by being Sunny Hope the Clown. Clowning calls me because it encompasses so many things I enjoy and strive to be.”

Faison doesn’t want to be alone in her quest to make as many people happy as she can. In the last year, she’s brought three new clowns to the Grease Paint Alley clown school and they’re all out there doing their clown things.

“There’s not many of us in Grease Paint Alley,” she added. “We used to have 80 members. Now we’re down to 40 and we have many 75-year-old members. We don’t have a huge influx of people coming in. Why? We’re not making people aware of what we do assertively, the value of clowns.”

She ticked off the things a person needs to be to be successful as a clown: friendly, happy, spontaneous, kind, imaginative, creative, smiling, patient.

“And don’t take yourself too seriously,” she advised. “Have a desire to bring joy and happiness and elevate another person’s mood.”

The mission statement of Grease Paint Alley is “to enrich the community with the art of clowning. Generously volunteering with commitment and

unity, teaching to create smiles. We provide hope and love by practicing manners and kindness. Creating sunshine, laughter and friendships through each one of our colorful and unique characters spreading happiness and joy to everyone, young and old.”

You can follow these local clowns on Facebook or their website, www. greasepaintalleyclowns.weebly.com

Faison’s website is sunnyhope. agency and she, too, is on Facebook.

Faison has a simple way of looking at her role as clown: “I believe when people are in a happy mood and I am in a happier state we can be kinder to ourselves and our world. Laughter and smiles are food for the spirit, mind and body.”

TOP: Aaliyah, Lena and Barb Spector meet clown Sunny Hope at the Irondequoit Library.

BOTTOM: Eliana DiBenedetto and her dad, Steve, meet Sunny Hope, also at the Irondequoit Library.

arts

Creator of Fairies

Donna Antonucci of Webster enjoys creating mystical, fantasy art

By Lynette M. Loomis

When some children are daydreaming, it can be a challenge for adults to envision that those daydreams can turn into a career.

Donna Antonucci, 63, is a day dreamer and a self-taught artist who has loved the magical realm her entire life.

She bought her first fantasy art

book, “The Land of Froud” by fantasy artist Brian Froud, while in high school.

“He is considered the godfather of fantasy art. His book was magic to me. It was full of all kinds of magical creatures, trolls and fairies. I was very influenced and inspired to create my own style of fantasy art. I am and have always been a daydreamer and I have

always had a very vivid imagination,” Antonucci explained.

Her style is highly detailed. She likes to hide little sprites and creatures into her paintings. And everything must have wings! She smiled as she said, “People are always saying the more they look, the more things they find that they did not see the first time. My paintings are fanciful little worlds filled with magical creatures and beings.”

Her preferred medium has been colored pencils with mixed media, including airbrush, watercolor, acrylic and some pastels in her colored pencil work. She also designs some retro and kitschy crafty gift items for different holidays.

“I have a great love of animals and I love to do wildlife art,” she said.

She has volunteered at the Seneca Park Zoo Society and donated a great deal of original wildlife art that was gifted to guest speakers at their events. She also set up art displays for art auctions at their events.

Antonucci is the first one to say that she can’t sew, but she expresses her artistic passions by creating costumes, fun hats and headbands. She also loves to try new art projects. “I have worked with Kirks Folly Jewelry company, which specializes in fantasy jewelry, home decor etc.,” she said.

Antonucci has collaborated with Helen Kirk, owner and designer, for many years, working with her in designing jewelry, windchimes and greeting cards that sell on QVC and on their own website.

This talented artist makes greeting cards, prints and canvas prints of her work. Part of her trademark is the hand embellishment of her prints and cards with fairy dust (glitter).

“I like to have some sparkle on my art and most of the subjects have wings. I get so much pleasure painting little fairy animals, real and imagined creatures,” she explained.

Antonucci custom mats and frames her work and embellishes the frames to match the art with pearlized paints, glitter and other decorations.

She also has created her own line of products showcasing her art on umbrellas, mugs, magnets, messenger bags and pillows.

With such a vivid imagination, Antonucci said she has so many ideas in her head; they swirl around as she decides how she will interpret things.

Artist Donna Antonucci working on one of her paintings. Photo provided.

Art Available Locally

Donna Antonucci’s art is sold locally at The Art Stop in Penfield; Mythic Treasures on East Main Street in Rochester; Artisans Annex inside Rehouse on West Ridge Road; and Shambala Cove a booth inside The Shops on West Ridge Road.

She spends a few days thinking about what she wants to paint. Next, she sketches things out and refines it on vellum tracing paper. She then takes that drawing and transfers it to my art paper.

“As I work, things change from my original idea. It’s almost as if what I am creating takes on a mind of its own. I get more ideas as I work, and I add those to my painting,” she said. “I get excited about trying new mediums and new crafty ideas, too. There are too many wonderful new products and so many ideas in my head; it’s hard to try them all!”

A recent development was securing an art licensing agent, Paul Wheeler of Looking Good Licensing in Vermont. Her eyes shined with excitement as she explained that she got her first licensing job with a fabric company in New York City, Benartex.

The company specializes in quilting fabrics and Antonucci is working on a fantasy line of fabric that should be released in the fall.

Her work can be found at www. facebook.com/donna.antonucci and at https://instagram.com/ fairymagicfantasyart.

Does her home in Webster reflect her passion? Of course!

“My studio looks like a fanciful toy shop! I enjoy being in my studio surrounded by things that make me happy. I am a maximalist! I have a love of all things Egyptian, too. My dining room is decorated with an Egyptian theme,” she said.

She is working on a new fantasy Egyptian mermaid.

Antonucci is a huge Halloween lover and has Halloween decor around her house and in her studio yearround.

She and her husband, John, have been married for 33 years.

“John has always been incredibly supportive of my art and decorating. He kids me sometimes, but he likes it and enjoys giving me the freedom to do whatever I want. He’s a saint… even though he doesn’t have wings!” she said.

While this daydreaming artist says she is really a child at heart, she also has a philosophy.

“I believe that as our world gets more complicated and crazier, we need to reconnect to the magic and fantasy that's within us all. The mystical dreams that were part of our childhood are all too quickly lost. I want my art to recreate the wonder that just dreaming makes real. I honestly hope my art can take the viewer to a happy place and that it can make them smile every time they look at it,” she said.

Donna Antonucci makes greeting cards, prints and canvas prints of her work. Part of her trademark is the hand embellishment of her prints and cards with fairy dust (glitter).

LIVING TOGETHER AT EAST HILL FARM

Rochester Folk Art Guild’s intentional community thrives in its 56th year

By Melody Burri

It was 1972 when Annie Schliffer first stepped foot onto East Hill Farm soil. She’d planned to visit the Finger Lakes homestead of The Rochester Folk Art Guild for just one month, but fell so deeply in love that she stayed for the next 50 years.

Was it the natural beauty of the 350-acre hilltop farm overlooking Middlesex Valley and Canandaigua Lake?

Was it the lifestyle of the Folk Art Guild members’ “intentional community devoted to offering support and nourishment to all who are searching for a more conscious, creative and responsible way of living?”

Was it the impressive cadre of respected artisans whose work ranked among the best in the region?

Was it the members’ shared belief system, centered on the teaching of Greek-Armenian teacher and philosopher G. I. Gurdjieff?

The answer, quite simply, was yes — Yes to it all.

And it’s likely that’s why the Rochester Folk Art Guild is still thriving on a hilltop outside of Naples after all these years.

“I really don’t know another life at this point,” said the 74-year-old Rochester Folk Art Guild master potter. “I’ve basically grown up here. I met my husband here and we raised

our family together here.”

Schliffer said her original intent back in ‘72 was to apprentice as a potter with guild founder Louise March. The RFAG community was just five years into its 56-year history at the time.

She was immediately drawn to the quality of the pottery, but also to the way of working. It emphasized not only the product but also the process that went into making it. What kind of attention should she give to the piece and what kind of care and love would go into it?

“What I discovered is that the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff gave me clues about how I could go about my work,” she said. “I saw that most of the

time I’m acting in a very mechanical, ‘asleep’ way, and that by noticing that, I could start to move myself gently, the same way I learned to center a pot, to center myself and aspire to have more attention and care about what I do.”

Beyond the potter’s wheel, a second aspect of Schliffer’s halfcentury connection to East Hill Farm is that she fell “deeply in love with the land.”

“I’ve watched it over these 50 years and watched the trees grow and the sun shine and the angle of the sun right now because it’s winter,” she said. “I’ve watched the ice freeze and thaw and have gone through all the seasons. I’m very attached and need

very much the nurturing quality of nature. That’s just part of who I am. So I walk every day and in the summer I swim in the pond and in the winter I cross-country ski.”

It’s not hard to understand her connection and passion.

The setting is rural and idyllic, the views spectacular and the work fulfilling.

Rochester Folk Art Guild’s 12 residents and 35 or 40 members have an established tradition of organic agriculture, fine craft work and personal development. Projects include organic gardens, orchards and vineyards; food preservation; sustainable forestry; firewood

production; grounds maintenance and construction.

The farm boasts multiple meeting and residential buildings and art studios for daily life, cooking and sharing meals, creating art and pursuing personal development.

East Hill Gallery, which is front and center at the farm, showcases some of those unique crafts made on site by resident artists, including turned wooden bowls, toys and furniture, glass jewelry, hand-sewn clothing, handwoven scarves and ponchos, stoneware and porcelain pottery, ecoprinted pieces, stationery, greeting cards, books and original musical recordings.

A short walk from the gallery takes guests into the creative heart of the campus. Well-appointed working studios — each one active, spacious, intuitively laid out and multi-functional — live in separate buildings clustered near the epicenter of the farm.

They’re home to resident artists, their tools and materials, and often students specializing in graphic arts, natural clothing design, pottery, weaving, woodworking, wooden boat building and repair and more. Step across any of their thresholds and the hum of creativity is palpable.

A few more steps down the lane is weaver Truus Radin’s loft studio. She began her relationship with RFAG more than 40 years ago, and before she began weaving in 2000, she served as a cook and also a shepherd for some 20 years. Radin said at the guild she enjoys the independence and freedom to make what she wants in the way she wants and can work flexible hours to create her colorful wool scarves and wraps. In her secluded second-floor studio, she can “go weeks without seeing anyone,” or may have fellow artists drop in for a visit. It’s a rhythm that feeds her creative spirit.

Connected by purpose

Master woodworker David Barnet came to East Hill Farm in 1975 after a series of visits. Steeped in a passion for Asian thought, religion, philosophy and language, he had graduated from the University of Rochester with majors in history and Asian studies. Barnet was eager to take the next step beyond exploring “the science of being,” and “how to be in life,” into experiencing it.

RFAG’s spiritual community became his new home, and its members became his adopted family.

But that change came with continued adjustments.

“Working and living in community is not a simple path, like rolling downhill,” said Barnet. “It’s always a sacrifice because there are elements that are uncomfortable, that require compromise and accommodation and reconciliation with other people. That is something that one learns and develops a taste for. And you either accept it or not.”

Nearly 50 years later, he still lives on site, contently, with a core group

of about 12 people. In addition to woodworking, Barnet also manages the orchards and the guild’s publicity.

“When you throw your lot in with a group of people, they’re not necessarily the people you would have chosen to live with,” said Barnet. “But there’s a kind of a gravitation toward the same aim and that unites the people together. In a way, it is a family, but not a family by blood.”

Schliffer said she treasures the opportunity to be able to cook for one another and gather for meals each day.

“It’s just wonderful to be able to share not only resources, because it’s much cheaper to cook for 10 or 12 or 15 people than one, but also enjoy the feeling of community coming together,” she said.

Schliffer said she bakes 13 loaves of bread once each week and loves it.

She raised her kids to bake as well. So it was especially rewarding when Schliffer’s youngest son, after going off to college and traveling around the world, came back and became a “super good artisan bread baker.” For a time he even took over his mom’s role as the guild’s main breadmaker.

“But then you have the challenges — this person leaves a mess here, that person makes something that tastes all wrong, who’s going to clean up. Group living isn’t easy,” said Schliffer. “It has its challenges — it’s not all hunky dory. But life isn’t. You work on it. You work to not judge that person because they left a mess.”

More than creativity

Even at first glance, it’s obvious that life at East Hill Farm provides an ideal climate for artists to birth new ideas and stoke their creative fires.

For instance, Barnet may take inspiration from a pattern that Schliffer uses in the pottery studio and adapt it as a wood carving on a turned bowl.

But for guild members, community life is really more about character growth and inner development than anything else. It’s not so much about becoming a more proficient or capable artist, Barnet said. It’s about becoming a more complete, considerate person.

And there’s a deep-rooted respect for the “we” in the creative process, rather than the “I,” he said. Yes, there is a wonderful opportunity for artists to express themselves, but it’s not the end in itself.

“The guild members don’t sign their names to their work, we just put a guild symbol on it or write Rochester Folk Art Guild rather than our own names,” said Barnet. “And that is emblematic of indicating that I’m not the sole maker of the piece. I’m just a part of the process. So that is more honest provenance than saying ‘this is all about me.’”

Guild members agree that the creative process is a collaboration between the artist, the community and all of the natural processes that produced the tree or the clay or the wool.

Learn More

East Hill Farm is located at 1445 Upper Hill Road, Middlesex, NY 14507

Phone: 1-585-554-3539

Email: info@folkartguild.org

Web: www.folkartguild.org/

A LOOK AHEAD: COMMUNE AT EAST HILL FARM TURNS 56

With preliminary groundwork laid in 1957 and the East Hill Farm dream realized in 1967, the Rochester Folk Art Guild is now in its 56th year.

Guild members know the nonprofit is reaching an important crossroads, said master woodworker David Barnet. They’d like to see the guild position itself to be “a place of sanctuary and refuge — a haven for developing stability in today’s world.”

“And to that end,” Barnet said, “we’re working on the infrastructure to make the place safer and more accessible to outside groups that want to use the beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces that we have, and avail themselves of the place as a retreat center, for workshops and retreats. Not so much for weddings, but for gatherings where people want to get together and further their connection with each other.”

And like a favorite pair of blue jeans, old leather boots, fine wine and friendships, the founding East Hill Farm residents have aged well over time. But the dream doesn’t have to end with them.

“We’re realizing that all of us — the older members are in their 70s — are getting older,” said Schliffer. “And if we’re going to have this farm continue past our time, we need to make all of these capital improvements.”

Soon guild members will welcome a new, young family with a 2-year-old into the resident community, Barnet said. They hope it marks the start of more growth to come.

“We need to replace ourselves,” said Schliffer.

EXPERIENCE IT FIRSTHAND

Carrying a longstanding tradition into the future, the Rochester Folk Art Guild continues to open their studio doors for public tours and to offer multiple apprenticeships, internships and summer craft weekends for various ages and in assorted formats. These are open to interested members of the public.

• Apprenticeships in the areas of pottery, woodworking and wooden boat restoration last one to three years and offer a practical, hands-on approach to learning and living.

Apprentices take part in the daily life of the community, sharing in meal preparation, cleaning, maintenance, farming and gardening as well as the seasonal celebrations and special events.

Study of the Gurdjieff teaching is available to apprentices, but is not required.

• Internships are offered in the various craft disciplines and in community life for those interested in shorter stays at the guild.

Summer interns work alongside guild members in the areas of organic gardening, orchards, cooking, food preservation and storage with an emphasis on agriculture.

• Craft Weekend is offered from

Aug. 10 through 13 for school aged children through adults. Courses often include filmmaking, pottery, weaving, woodturning, poetry, indigo vats and shibori and earth camp.

Attendees enjoy 15 hours of studio time and instruction, kicked off by a welcome dinner and celebration of creativity at the close.

This is popular for individuals, friends or parents and children to attend and take the same or different courses, Barnet said. Options are available for guests depending on age and housing needs.

• Classes in various disciplines are offered throughout the year to members of the public, including but not limited to group pottery, fiber work, reiki healing, Iyengar and chair yoga, orchard workshops, sourdough bread baking and woodturning.

RFAG programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

For information on classes, event space rental or apprenticeships and internships, visit www.folkartguild. org, call 585-554-3539, email info@folkartguild.org or find @ TheFolkArtGuild on Facebook.

ABOUT THE GUILD

The Folk Art Guild is an intentional community and craft center located in Middlesex. For 56 years, guild artisans have been producing fine crafts including pottery, woodworking, weaving, natural fiber clothing and folk toys.

Membership includes both non-residents and residents who live on-site year-round, sharing meals and working together in an effort to live more sustainably.

As a nonprofit institution, the guild offers education in traditional crafts through classes, residencies and apprenticeships.

The 350-acre farm is home to the East Hill Gallery, open May through October and displaying the work of guild artists.

The Folk Art Guild is part of an international network of groups studying the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff.

DAILY LIFE

Awareness

Guild members seek to pay close attention to what is happening in both their inner and outer worlds as each day unfolds. Striving to cultivate a finer quality of attention, they acknowledge the diverse impulses that arise inside them. This can ultimately bring a greater sense of inner balance and relatedness with themselves, others and the world.

Practical Work

Work is a laboratory where guild members learn about the laws of nature, about their own desires and resistances, and about interacting with others. The challenge of working with crafts, farming and other natural processes can be a great help.

Working with Our Hands

When the mind and the body together find the corresponding

rhythm of work, guild members feel closer to their sense of being alive and the purpose of their time here on earth. With their hands and body, they plant the seed in the soil, knead the bread in the kitchen and pull a pot from a mound of clay. When the mind is open and attentive, not interfering but rather quietly interacting with the intelligence of the hands and body, the heart awakens to a new understanding.

Living with Others

Guild members celebrate the joys and face the frictions and difficulties of daily life together. With the help of others, they become both a teacher and a student, listening with less judgment and seeing some of their own shortcomings. Through personal effort combined with mutual support, cooperation and trust, they continue to build a community that nurtures all through acts of service, love, encouragement and self discipline.

MEET GURU G. I GURDJIEFF

Mmbers of the Rochester Folk Art Guild follow the teachings from Greek-Armenian George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (pronounced GURD-jeef). He was an influential spiritual teacher, writer and musician of the first half of the 20th century.

He taught that human life as ordinarily lived is similar to sleep. He said transcendence of the sleeping state requires work, but when it is achieved, an individual can reach remarkable levels of vitality and awareness.

Gurdjieff’s legacy of writings, music and movements, or sacred dances, engage the intelligence of body, heart and mind and are studied at the Rochester Folk Art Guild.

According to RFAG master potter Annie Schliffer, making a beautiful pot requires that a person participate in a universal process of awakening the intelligence of the body and the hands. The same forces that shape a pot can also shape a person’s life, she said. As one attends to what one is doing in every moment, simple acts come to have inner meaning.

So it is that guild members all share in community tasks that include cooking, cleaning, gardening, care of animals, building maintenance and general upkeep. These daily chores, the discipline of the crafts, and the practice of music and movements provide opportunities to practice that “attention” and offer a model for transformation.

Gurdjieff’s message is one of hope, that there is the real possibility of evolution and discovering what it means to truly be a human being.

Here Comes Gen X

The newest 55-plussers: How will the next generation change the demographic’s approach to finances?

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

While the baby boomers and millennials have been duking it out on social media as to who ruined what, the generation in between, Generation X, has been quietly growing older.

Depending on the generational cut-off, the oldest Gen-Xers are between 55 and 57. How will the next generation of 55-plussers change the demographic’s approach to finances?

Their tech savviness will make a big difference.

“This population is the first generation to grow up in the personal

computer era,” said Phil Provenzano, insurance agent and financial adviser at The Financial Guys Insurance Agency in Rochester. “I say that first because this population is one that has had the benefit of technology to help with retirement, savings and finances in general, amongst other things.”

He doesn’t mean that Gen X necessarily handles its money better, but that this generation has different tools and resources to build wealth from previous generations. The thrifty baby boomers — brought up hearing about the Great Depression from their parents or grandparents — have prized

thrift and eschewed debt. Growing up in the glitz of the 1970s and ‘80s may have skewed Gen X in a different direction, with less emphasis on saving and investing.

“The Gen X population is vastly different in their approach and view of finances and retirement,” Provenzano said.

Gen X has become a “sandwich generation,” caring for their own children while helping their aging parents. This puts additional financial strain on a generation that likely has not been as frugal as baby boomers.

There’s also the “drastic increase in the costs of education for their children, increased cost of healthcare and insanely high inflation,” Provenzano said.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics states that prices for college tuition and fees are 1,461.32% higher in 2022 versus 1977. The bureau also states that the prices for medical care services have grown by 7,123.08% from 1935 to 2022. The buying power of a dollar is only 18.127% of what it was in 1975. To make times even tougher, Gen X faces

a retirement of hardship.

“There’s a lack of pensions and diminished pension,” Provenzano said. “The days of employer pensions are virtually gone. Seventy-nine percent of Americans work for an employer that utilizes a 401K. That can be good. However according to the US Census Bureau, only 41% of Americans actually contribute to such 401K.”

He advises Gen-Xers to improve their financial status by eliminating debt, especially credit card debt.

“Prioritize retirement savings,” Provenzano said. “Start, in any capacity, to contribute to an employer sponsored retirement plan and if you don't have one available seek professional advice on how to start saving. Start with contributing small amounts and then go from there. An easy one is that if you get a raise with your employer, pretend that raise never happened. Just take the amount your income increased by and put that amount into your retirement account.”

Starting early on retirement planning is ideal. However, starting at any age is better than not starting at all.

Diana Apostolova, investment consultant at Rochester Investments, said that because pensions — if any are available — have not kept pace with inflation and Gen-Xers have not saved much, “the remaining years from now until retirement could be the most important years for them to catch up and retire as planned.”

She advises finding a financial adviser to create a plan for retirement that makes sense with the person’s obligations, income and goals.

“Planning for retirement can be fun and exciting and having a financial adviser to help can make a whole world of a difference,” Apostolova said. “The difference maybe finding yourself out of money at a time you’re unable to have any other income or living happily without worrying that your money will run out before you do.”

Brighton Judge, a Magician, Juggles Many Acts

Longtime Brighton judge recently announced she is retiring in 2023

By Todd Etshman

Brighton Town Court Judge Karen Morris is happy on a day she is officiating a wedding in her courtroom.

“It’s a great part of the job. It’s fun because everybody’s happy,” says Morris who for nearly 30 years as a town judge has seen both fun, sadness and concern in her diverse role not only as a judge but in other ways, too.

Clearly, she prefers the cheerful aspects of her position. She’s cheerful

herself, but recognizes there are serious criminal matters that must be dealt with, too.

Driving while intoxicated, larceny and spousal abuse infractions are among the serious violations of the law commonly heard in Brighton court and other town courts as well.

Life-altering criminal actions require her judicial action and attention. They are all too common issues that she wants to make a

difference in curbing. It’s gratifying for her to hear from people whose lives she’s saved or favorably impacted.

“It seems to me that the people most deserving of respect are those with whom you’re sharing your life with,” she said.

Unfortunately, one look at the town docket shows that is not always the case.

Saving potential victims from harm because a defendant changed

Brighton Town Court Judge Karen Morris at her office. She said she plans to retire at the end of the year. However, she won’t be retiring from magic, book reviews or writing.

their destructive behavior is a goal she strives for. Saving defendants from themselves is, too — when it works as it often does.

Morris informed the local Democratic Party that this would be her last term as judge, concluding at the end of 2023. But, she will be seen and heard from in a host of other endeavors and plans to remain in the town she’s called home since she chose it early in her 43-year-long legal career.

She’s pleased the town electorate voted her in eight times and doesn’t regret not ascending to the county Supreme Court or any other court. She means it when she says she’s always been happy here.

She is however, still mulling over the possibility of becoming a mediator for the opportunity it presents of helping people come to a peaceful resolution of their disputes.

A program she created in 201516 called “Ticket to Ride” is one of her many career accomplishments. It provides bus transportation for justiceimpacted people otherwise known as defendants to get to court, parole or probation meetings or court-ordered appointments for treatment or job training.

The service is no small thing since it is not uncommon for justiceimpacted people to not have a license or car or even the money to get to court which typically leads to a bench warrant being issued for their arrest and possibly spending a night in jail.

A failure to appear also creates the expense of having the police enforce the warrant at a time when their services are so desperately needed in other areas. The pass can be used for any area court appearance and kept for an entire day for a defendant to take care of ancillary matters.

Light side

Off the bench, Judge Morris is a magician and more.

Not only does she wear a judicial robe, she wears a magician’s robe and Harry Potter-like wizard cloaks, too.

Author JK Rowling’s classic Harry Potter novels have stood the test of time.

“Harry Potter is incredibly nonending. Kids love it and the audience keeps expanding,” she said of the book series older adults love, too.

She was about to embark on a

trip to a magicians’ conference in Columbus the day after we recently met.

“Magic conventions are great fun and inspirational because they offer opportunities to meet and greet fellow magicians, learn from some of the greats, focus anew on my performances and purchase new props,” she said of the Harry Potter inspired magic-wizardry she uses not only to entertain children (free of charge) but to promote a greater understanding of the world of law for her students at Monroe Community College where she’s been teaching since 1980.

Teaching remains in her “retirement” plans since she enjoys introducing young students to law and being a part of their path to success.

She wrote a book titled “Law Made Fun Through Harry Potter’s adventures” in 2012. Since many books and news stories have underpinnings in law, Morris likes to use them as teaching tools for her students.

She wrote another Law Made Fun book in 2016 based on the events of Downton Abbey. Both Law Made Fun books are available at Amazon.com and bn.com/ebooks.

She won’t be retiring from magic, book reviews or writing even if it only means updating her prodigious law books on New York State Criminal Law or Hospitality and Travel Law.

In early February, she and Regional Transit Service vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, Tracy Archie, lead a discussion on the compelling case and

book of Alabama v. King by Dan Abrams and Fred Gray at the Prism Multicultural Center at MCC.

You can catch Morris giving book reviews and leading discussions at public libraries and other venues. At noon on March 2 she’ll be reviewing Amor Towles 2021 historical fiction novel, "The Lincoln Highway," at the Brighton Public Library on Elmwood Avenue.

Off the bench, Judge Morris performs as a magician. She recently attended a magicians’ conference in Columbus, Ohio.

Turning Hobbies into a Business

Penfield retirees founded and own Firehouse Wood Works, which sells handmade works of wood and ceramic tile

Mike Costanza

Paul and Carolyn Robbins have turned their hobbies into work they love and an old firehouse into a business. The Penfield retirees founded and own Firehouse Wood Works, which sells handmade works of wood and ceramic tile. The Robbins came to start their

business by a roundabout path. Carolyn had ground eyeglass lenses into the proper shapes while employed as an optician, and wanted to try her hand at working with ceramic tiles. Paul supported her — for Mother’s Day, he bought his wife a “wet saw,” a special type of saw for cutting such

materials.

As one of her first projects, Carolyn made a tiled tabletop to cover the fire pit that the couple had had installed in the backyard of their Penfield home.

“It’s really beautiful and I was completely hooked,” the 60-year-old said.

Soon, she was making original works for her friends.

Paul was employed in alcoholic beverage sales and marketing, but also enjoyed working with wood. On his off time, he made farmhouse-style tables and other objects for the couple’s neighbors and friends.

By 2017, they were ready to focus more upon the kind of work they really enjoyed. Plunking down their own money, they bought the Old Northside Firehall, a former village of Fairport fire station that was then the home of the Perinton Food Shelf.

The Old Northside Firehall, a former village of Fairport fire station that was then the home of the Perinton Food Shelf, is now the Fire Wood Works.

For five months, the couple renovated the picturesque North Main Street building while working part-time at their day jobs. Firehouse Wood Works opened its doors in June of 2018. By then, Carolyn had already retired from her full-time job. Paul retired that December.

The smell of sawed wood filled the air of Firehouse Wood Works one recent winter’s day. Cutting boards of mahogany, walnut, purpleheart and other types of wood gleamed on shelves and a table, along with charcuterie boards and other objects.

“Right now, my biggest interest is working with all the different varieties of hardwoods,” said Paul, 61.

Engraved and painted signs offered words of welcome and jokes, and a rough “live edge” walnut tabletop waited to be smoothed and finished for a customer.

Paul particularly enjoys working with that type of wood, which he obtains from a local man who operates a small sawmill and a wood kiln as a hobby.

“To be able to take the wood and the character of it, and turn it into a piece of furniture, I think, it is probably

the most remarkable thing,” he said.

Next to it sat a small oak side table in the shape of a trapezoid, a piece the shop custom made for Fairport resident Pam Ryan.

“I have a trapezoidal-shaped space between my reading chair and our window to our deck,” Ryan said.

Ryan has also turned to the Robbins for mosaic tile tabletops and cutting boards.

“They do great work and they’re fun people to talk to,” she said.

Serving boards, plaques and other intricate works of specially cut ceramic tiles offered colorful counterpoints to the shop’s wooden products. Above and behind the shop’s desk stood a large work bearing a bright, cheery jungle scene. Fairport resident and regular Firehouse Wood Works customer Susan Papa ordered the piece, which was a gift for the granddaughter of her husband’s office manager.

“Whenever I ask Carolyn to make something, I give her free rein,” Papa said when she picked up the piece. “I give her guidelines and she comes up with something magical every time.”

That kind of response helps keep

the Robbins coming back to their shop.

“What I love is the reaction that I get from the customers when they see the finished piece,” Carolyn said.

In addition to offering individual items, Firehouse Wood Works takes on larger projects. It recently sold 17 handmade tables to a new village café.

Folks who aren’t in the market for ceramic-tiled tabletops, charcuterie boards or other goods might head to Firehouse Wood Works to peruse the Robbins’ collection of fire department memorabilia. Ranks of antique fire extinguishers hang on one wall, a display of fire department uniform patches adorns another and firefighter helmets, coats and pants hang on hooks, seemingly ready for action.

Much of the equipment in the collection was made by American LaFrance, a now-defunct company that once made fire engines and firefighting equipment in Paul’s original hometown, Elmira. Herbert Robbins, Paul’s late father, was a lifelong member of the West Elmira Volunteer Fire Department, and Paul was an active member of that department from the 1970s to the early 1980s. He and his wife of 33 years have two grown children.

LEFT: Carolyn Robbins and her husband Paul Robbins kept their day jobs while renovating the Old Northside Firehall, which they bought in 2017.

RIGHT TWO: Carolyn Robbins operates equipment to cut ceramic tiles while her husband, Paul Robbins, puts together a wooden frame.

Old Guys Still Dream — Joe Janowicz Is Exhibit A

After 37 years at Kodak, prospering in a career that had him traveling the world to produce, direct and write movie and video projects for the company, Joe Janowicz is writing, producing and trying to turn his comic books into video

By John Addyman

It was that itch. The one he couldn’t ignore.

“I had retired. When I did, I said, ‘I’m done.’ I had offers to work with other companies, but I said, ‘I’m done.’ The first thing I did was shut down the computer, the cell phone, the messaging service, the Blackberry — everything,” Joe Janowicz said.

“And this was a blessing. We had two grandchildren here in Rochester and they were just babies. Our daughter and her husband both had

jobs here, so my wife, Debbie, and I helped as much as we could in those formative years for the grandkids,” he continued. “Our son is in Denver and he’s married. Then we started helping him with his kids. Then Debbie and I started to travel and enjoy our time. We began to really enjoy our special time together. As grandparents, we happily enjoyed our time with our kids and grandkids.”

Leaning forward, he changed the direction of the dialogue.

“But I began to get that itch.”

Janowicz, 74, was sitting in the middle of his basement man cave in Greece, surrounded by the things that marked his career achievements and the creative things he loves so much — comic books, movie posters, autographed photos of celebrities he worked with, videos he produced, books, records and playsets his grandkids enjoyed under his watchful eyes.

After 37 years at Kodak, prospering

in a career that had him traveling the world to produce, direct and write movie and video projects for the company, he pulled the plug and walked completely away from a job that had absorbed all his time and taken him almost everywhere.

He had an office in Paris where he managed European productions. He put on a parachute and took his camera on a sky-diving photo shoot that was going fine until the plane’s engine started to burp. He took a crew to the top of Mount Rushmore to X-ray cracks in the stone. On very little notice, he found himself on his way to Tahiti to direct a production there. He interviewed the top photographers in the world in their studios and watched them create their art.

The video productions won awards for PBS Television and Kodak.

“I became the director for 110 films for Kodak that were used by the company or sold to the public or shown on TV,” he explained.

And then, he had had enough.

Debbie Janowicz had weathered the long hours and the many long trips, but now the couple was ready for their time. And for four delightful years, they enjoyed each other, the kids and the grandkids.

Then the itch.

Janowicz reached back to a hobby that was born in high school – creating comic books. “Just before I turned 70, I started a second act in my life and created a new business venture of publishing comic books, books and screenplays,” he explained.

Wait a minute. “Second acts” are usually scaled back and tame. Janowicz was taking a three-pronged dive into the deep end of the pool.

Or was he?

When he was a student at Greece Arcadia High School in 1965, he and a buddy, Steve Cruz, put together a comic book, “Bazooka,” and sold copies at school, benefiting from a cooperative teacher’s access to a mimeo machine. (Remember those?) “Steve and I collaborated on my first comic book idea, sort of a “Mad Magazine” approach to superheroes because we were young and wanted to have some fun,” Janowicz remembered.

Cruz, Janowicz notes, has gone on to establish his own studio in Dallas.

But until recently, Janowicz only had filaments of a dream tickling in his brain.

And now he says with conviction, “Old guys still dream.”

The dream

He unraveled his thought process: “I wanted to do something, because I had a successful career. Because I have all these professional pictures and because I collect movie posters and because I collect and still read comic books — I said I’m going to get back into the creative end. But not being as young as I used to be and no longer able to carry camera equipment and cords and work from dawn to dusk with a film crew, I asked myself, ‘What can I do from home that I can satisfy myself and keep me engaged with my family?’ Then I realized as I was reading my comic books, which I’ve collected since I was a kid — they were always my brothers and sisters because I had no brothers and sisters growing up. My comics took care of my time growing up.”

The problem for Janowicz was that he can’t draw much beyond stick figures. When he says he writes comic books, that’s exactly what he does. The illustration is left to someone else. He jumped from retirement into the world of creating comic books about five years ago.

“I decided to write my first comic book, “Black Man/White

THIS PAGE: Books by Joe Janiwicz:“Black Man/White Man,“Dreamer” and “Ghosts,” which he published last year. OPPOSITE PAGE, INSET: with illustrator Ken Wheaton.

Man,” a murder mystery, with Nigel Carrington, an artist from Trinidad living in Rochester. We just chatted one day in a comic book store. I told him I’d like to do a real mainstream comic. I had an idea. ‘Tell me about your idea,’ he said to me. A Black police detective goes to sleep at night and transforms into a white serial killer who goes out all night long. Neither of them know they’re one and the same and they’re both trying to kill one another. It is dark, but it would make a good TV series. I didn’t write it as being that dark, more of a mystery.”

Nigel illustrated the comic.

“We released the comic just locally in 2017 and it sold out at all the stores,” he said. “I was very lucky it sold out, probably for two reasons — Nigel

is very well known and the idea of the comic just caught a lot of fans’ attention.”

Today’s comic books are not like what some of us remember from years ago — they’re slick, graphic, go well beyond the basic color palettes of our memory and are much more in-yourface.

With the local success of “Black Man/White Man,” Janowicz wanted to take his dream to a different level. “I wanted to transfer from writing comics to writing books,” he said.

The idea for the first book came out of visits he made to a nursing home where Debbie’s mom was.

“I sat in the lobby and talked to some of the older folks — I realized they all have stories to tell, stories

that unless someone hears them, they’ll be forgotten because they’re all alone living in those facilities,” he said. “Being inclined to do a murder mystery, I came up with the idea about one night in this retirement home when a methodical killer goes from apartment to apartment, and in each chapter, hears the whole life story of another person, and at the end of the chapter decides if they’ll live or die. He’s the judge, jury and executioner.”

“That book, ‘Bang-Bang You’re Dead,’ came out in 2018, did remarkably well on Amazon and Barnes & Noble,” Janowicz added. “My reputation began to grow from comic book to novels.”

In promoting his first comic book, Janowicz had traveled to shows in Buffalo and Syracuse where he signed copies and talked to fans. In a Rochester show, Nathan Squiers, a writer of some note, approached Janowicz.

“Nathan said, ‘Let’s work together,’” Janowicz said.

They collaborated, with each writing about 50% of the book version of Janowicz’s comic, “Black Man/ White Man;” each editing the other’s work.

Meanwhile, Janowicz had written another book, “The Naked Dead” in 2020 and followed with “Ghosts” in 2022.

He produced the comic “The Undead” with illustrator Eli Johnson and started the “Dreamer” series with Ken Wheaton doing the drawings. “Dreamer” is a departure for Janowicz because the audience is kids and their parents. The main character, Franklin, is young boy in a coma, from where he can enter the dreams of other children and help them with their disabilities.

Janowicz tapped Rochester clinical psychologist Kelly Newby to add her expertise into the messages for kids in the “Dreamer” series, which has its fourth issue coming out this summer. The town of Greece honored Janowicz and Wheaton with an award for helping children with disabilities through the “Dreamer” series.

Frustration, hope

With the success of the comic books and novels, Janowicz has been ready for the third leg of his stool and the one he’s most familiar with — taking something in print onto a screen

Joe Janowicz and Nigel Carrington (back), an artist from Trinidad living in Rochester, with whom h his first comic book, “Black Man/White Man,” a murder mystery.

in a theater or television production.

That’s where he’s been frustrated.

In his career at Kodak, he was connected. He could pick up a phone and move things. He had access. He had a Rolodex of people who could make things happen.

“Everyone has said positive things about the comic books and books, but I can’t get anyone to talk to Joe Janowicz. If you know someone, please introduce me,” he said. “I’ll cut a deal with anyone. I’d rather sell than not,” he said.

He noted that Netflix and many other streaming services have turned comic books into video. “The point is, I don’t have any contacts. That’s the connection I’m looking for,” he said.

Janowicz has developed “treatments” — scene-by-scene descriptions of how he’d shoot a movie, screenplays without dialogue. For “Black Man/White Man” he’s broken the story into nine segments, perfect for a bingeworthy TV series. He’s prepared sample scenes for “Dreamer” and new ideas-only productions including a heavenly comedy (“Pearly Gates”) and a Godfather-type story involving indigenous peoples (“Tribes”) plus a story about four female motorcycling vampires (“The Undead”).

Until recently, no one has been knocking on his door. But his “Ghosts” novel may break the ice, with Jordyn Gualdani, a director and former

Rochesterian, thinking of pitching an eight-part adaptation of the book to Netflix.

“I’m not giving up the dream,” he promised. “I’m enjoying the writing; I’m not enjoying the frustration.”

What’s obvious about Janowicz is that he’s working the dream.

And on a dime, he spins into a proselytizer for guys who maybe think they’ve lost their juice.

“If you’ve got a dream, don’t give it up,” he said, determined, urging. “Even if none of these stories gets made into a video or movie in my lifetime, I’m hoping that some day one of my projects will be made into video. I want to share the excitement of these stories that have thrilled or excited or scared the daylights out of people or made them cry. On one hand I kill people; on the other hand, I save people. I’m looking for a middle. I gave it some time before I had that creative itch to do something, then I set about to do something — when I became the dreamer. I wanted to make a comic book because I always enjoyed reading comic books. But I wanted to make a professional one. And then I said I wanted to write a book; I’ve always read books. The dream was do it. I wanted to write a screenplay and make it sellable or marketable — and hopefully see my screenplay, book or comic actually turn into something on a streaming service, movie platform,

whatever — where I have a legacy, where my grandkids, my family and friends can all look back and say — ‘Wow! He did it, he followed his dream.’”

“No matter what age you are, you should do the things you want to do. You should write and paint and draw. You should do carpentry. You should do anything you’ve never done before but that you said you wanted to do,” he said. “Follow your dreams. I say, be a dreamer, be a doer, make the dreams as real as possible, don’t live with regrets, saying, ‘Gee, maybe I could have. Gee, I should have. Gee, why didn’t I?’ Be that doer. Be that dreamer. And live and leave accomplishments you can be proud of or at least be able to say to yourself, ‘I did it.’”

“I guess that’s what I’m all about right now. I could just put my pen down and my computer away and just watch TV — I don’t want to do that. I want to still be active. I want to continue to do what I’m doing while still enjoying my family and friends,” he continued. “A lot of our life is based on the intersections we go through — you can either go right, left or straight, or back up. But a lot of times, you make the right choice and meet the right people. It just develops your own inner strength and character: it gives you different perceptions and the choices are so interesting. Old guys still dream.”

Cutting Calories May Slow Aging in Healthy Adults

The key to living longer could be eating less. In a new study published in the journal “Nature Aging,” researchers found that a calorie-restricted diet had substantial health benefits, including delayed aging.

"The main take-home of our study is that it is possible to slow the pace of biological aging and that it may be possible to achieve that slowing through modification of lifestyle and behavior," senior study author, physician Dan Belsky, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

The phase 2 clinical trial included 220 adults who either made a 25% calorie cut to their diet or no changes at all. The body mass index (BMI) for participants ranged from 22 to 27 (a BMI of 30 is the threshold for obesity).

In the first month, those in the calorie-restricted group were given three prepared meals each day so they would be familiar with portion sizes. They were counseled about their diet for the first 24 weeks of the two-year study.

The other group had no counseling or restrictions.

Despite the plan to cut about 500 calories in a 2,000-calorie daily diet, most cut only half that, said physician Evan Hadley, director of the geriatrics and clinical gerontology division at the National Institute of Aging (NIA), which funded the study.

"But that 12% was enough to have significant changes," Hadley said.

Researchers used an algorithm based on past data for 1,000 people who were followed for 20 years, to see how certain DNA biomarkers changed in the study group.

The algorithm was like a "speedometer," Belsky explained, to help gauge the pace at which participants aged.

Those who cut their calories slowed their aging by 2% to 3%, reducing the likelihood of dying early by 10% to 15%.

"We all have the power to change the trajectories of aging," Belsky contends.

Quilting With Margaret

Former teacher finds a hobby, then turns it into a thriving business

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

The pieces of Margaret Spevak’s life fit together like one of her colorful quilts.

Owner of Quilting with Margaret, a quilting art studio and notions shop in the Box Art Building in Charlotte, her background and education pieced together to provide her with the experience she needed to lead popular quilting workshops and retreats.

Spevak, 65, grew up in Chillicothe, Ohio. Her husband, Jeff, moved them to Rochester for his work with the Democrat & Chronicle as a sportswriter. He is currently the arts director for WXXI.

Spevak met him while studying home economics education at Ohio University. Moving so often — nine times in 10 years — made it difficult for Spevak to obtain employment teaching home economics. She worked as a secretary for a few different firms and eventually taught GED classes.

When the couple moved to Rochester in 1989, she took a retail job at Sofro Fabrics. She eventually learned so much about the fabric business that she became manager.

Customers asking about quilting piqued her interest in the fabric art until she was bit by the quilting bug. Her proficiency in quilting grew so much that she left the retail business and started teaching quilting workshops at different fabric stores.

By 1992, she taught quilting fulltime. Nearly daily, she led a quilting class each winter. She also started hosting getaway weekends for quilters. In 2012, she opened her own studio so she could teach in a more private location that wasn’t her home. She began offering quilting classes after the store closed so students could get away for a few hours of uninterrupted quilting. She served dinner and offered door prizes.

“What I discovered in teaching

classes is that people who take quilting classes weren’t doing it to learn to quilt only but to meet others with similar interests,” she said.

That is why she thinks that the quilting retreats have been so successful. Some participants are younger women who have children and want “to get out to do something for themselves,” Spevak said.

Launching overnight getaways has also proven successful. Spevak finds upscale venues like Beaver Hollow Conference Center in Java Center, just south of Darien Lake. Spevak likes the ambiance and the distance from Rochester: not too far, not too close. Participants feel like they have left behind their stressors and can relax.

“It’s a nice hotel with beautiful rooms, gourmet food and you don’t have to make the bed,” Spevak quipped. “They don’t have to go cook dinner for their family, help someone with homework or put someone to bed. They can sew, have a cocktail in the evening and spend time with people. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is waiting for them. People make friends.”

A month before the retreat, she hosts a pre-event party at the store where participants can meet, sip champagne or sample wine and

purchase supplies if they wish. Oftentimes, participants reconnect with people they’ve met previous years.

She averages 20 to 30 guests per retreat and has had as many as 35, pre-pandemic. Although she has not returned to that number, she always has at least 20 sign up.

COVID-19 tabled the annual retreat for a year, but once she started up again in April 2021, the response has been positive.

“I had people calling from outside the state,” she recalled regarding the first retreat after the pandemic. “I gained new people.”

That year, she offered a fall retreat because many participants indicated on their post-event evaluation that they wished the retreat had been longer. In 2022, she chose to add a day to the one retreat rather than offer a second.

Spevak said that the pandemic increased growth among “makers,” people who engage in creating crafts and artwork, and has probably contributed to her retreats’ success. Some more experienced quilters may finish the “official” project of the weekend and then pull out something else to work on. Although originally intended as a quilting retreat, some

participants bring other projects, like knitting or crocheting, to work on as well.

But the makers’ movement predates the pandemic. Traditionally, many makers are women homemakers who use any spare time to create and craft. Although the rate of working mothers has nearly doubled during the rearing and maturation of Generation X (born from 1965-1976), a growing number of Millennial and Generation Z mothers have opted out of the cubicle and briefcase life and either work from home or focus solely on homemaking.

“The grown children of families where both worked aren’t both working,” Spevak said. “Maybe that’s why more women decided to stay home. We tend to do the opposite of what our parents did.”

The “mompreneur” movement has allowed mothers greater flexibility with their time, allowing more opportunities to get back to making things. Fueled with Pintrest ideas and the explosion of other “maker” media, younger women comprise a growing population in groups such as Spevak’s retreats.

“A lot of younger people who are either single, newly married or have small children are starting their own

businesses,” Spevak said. “They don’t go to work for the same employer for life. A lot are more independent.”

Interest in becoming a maker aligns with the homesteading trend in which young people live off the land and raise their own food and other goods. Spevak admires that kind of independence. Her father was selfemployed.

“You know the sacrifice you make,” she said. “You don’t go in 9-5. You’re always thinking about it.”

She had to think of more ways for her business to thrive when the pandemic shut down her shop in 2020.

Initially just to keep busy, she made more than 100 masks. At first, she gave them away to fill the need for masks. But at the urging of friends, she eventually began selling them to pay the rent. The need to post them online spurred her to set up her website so customers could buy handmade things she makes at the studio, such as novelty potholders and other items.

Her studio opens by appointment and also on first Fridays and second Saturdays to the public, plus extra hours during the holidays.

The three-day getaway package is $819 per person for a double (two full beds) or $869 for a single (one double bed).

Margaret Spevak (inset) holds regular quilting classes in the Rochester area (larger photo) and regularly organizes retreats that gather dozens of women (opposite page).

Running Cold

Do you always have cold hands or cold feet? It may be Raynaud’s Syndrome

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Although spring is slowly springing, people with Raynaud’s syndrome experience cold extremities year-round.

Everyday activities can cause a flare-up.

The condition affects the extremities as a reaction to pressure, cold temperatures or emotional upset.

Raynaud’s is significant enough to cause the ends of fingers and toes to appear pale and feel completely numb. Some people feel the effects in their ears, nipples, knees or nose.

Raynaud’s happens because the small arteries of the extremities narrow so that less blood flow causes both the lack of color and numbness.

The condition tends to affect women more than men. Raynaud’s affects 5% to 10% of the population and 20% of all women of childbearing age. But only 10% of those affected are aware that their pain and discomfort have a medical explanation.

Ninety percent of Raynaud’s occurs on its own as primary

Raynaud’s, but about 10% of the time, it manifests secondarily to an inflammatory condition such as lupus, scleroderma, inflammatory myositis, rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune thyroid disease. Raynaud’s symptoms are aggravated by caffeine, tobacco use and alcohol.

Work-related injuries can cause Raynaud’s, including using power tools or repetitive impact actions such as typing or playing piano.

Some medications can worsen Raynaud’s, including beta-blockers, chemotherapy, cold remedies, migraine medication containing ergotamine and estrogen-containing medicine.

“So many doctors don’t fully understand it,” said Lynn Wunderman, chairman and founder of The Raynaud’s Association, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Redding, Connecticut. “There is not a formal test for primary Raynaud’s. A doctor has to sit and listen to patients to understand.”

She encourages seeking help from a rheumatologist because many of

them see rheumatoid arthritis patients affected by Raynaud’s and can offer advice. Many general practitioners who do not understand Raynaud’s dismiss it by telling patients to “move South” or “wear gloves” but because triggers are more than just exposure to cold weather and the condition is more serious than simply cold hands, these strategies are not enough.

“As the blood rushes out of the extremities, they start turning white,” Wunderman said. “In a few minutes, they turn blue. When we get warm and calm, the blood rushes back quickly and the extremities turn red. It can be very painful.”

Some patients experience a flare up during times of stress. The effect’s mechanism is similar to when people worried about public speaking experience clammy hands facing a large audience. But imagine the fingers going completely numb and pale. Most people’s hands feel a little cold after rummaging in the freezer for that lost bag of frozen peas. Those with Raynaud’s lose circulation in their hands just by picking up glass of ice water, even during the summer. Raynaud’s causes a much more severe response to what is minimal to moderate stimuli for the rest of the population.

Treating Raynaud’s is important

for quality of life. Numbness can contribute to injuries. It’s also unpleasant to feel extremely cold and endure the redness and painful, pins-and-needles feeling of circulation returning.

In extreme cases, untreated Raynaud’s can cause skin sores to develop on the affected skin. The lack of circulation can cause death of the tissue and amputation. However, this is very rare, as treatment can prevent this from happening.

Treating Raynaud’s includes avoiding exposure to cold and repetitive activities to prevent triggering a flare-up. Patients should quit smoking, exercise regularly, stay hydrated, manage stress and discuss taking medication that helps reduce blood vessel constriction. It is also vital to manage any related conditions such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

During a flare-up, swinging the arms like a windmill or placing hands under the armpits or under warm water can improve circulation and warmth.

No FDA-approved medications have been indicated for Raynaud’s although a few have been used off-label to help patients, such as calcium channel blockers, which open blood vessels and topical creams. Wunderman encourages patients to discuss medication options with their physicians. Surgical procedures that sever nerves can also offer relief. However, surgery is considered only in the most severe cases.

Strategies such as dressing in layers, avoidance of directly touching cold items and using rechargeable handwarmers helps Wunderman. She selects insulated tumblers or stemware for cold beverages to protect her hands. Gloves and socks with temperature regulating copper or silver can help patients stay warmer.

“I know the second it’s 60 degrees outside, I have to wear boots and gloves,” Wunderman said. “I know better. Once I learned what is going on, I began amassing a whole portfolio of gloves and socks to go with my outfits. People always ask, ‘What are the best gloves?’ but there’s no right answer.”

Some find relief by tapping into the mind–body connection through tai chi, acupuncture, massage therapy and biofeedback to “train your mind to deal with the cold and find relaxation,” Wunderman said.

Karen and Dan Menachof, Owners

Making Bill Paying Easier

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

For a variety of reasons, some older adults need help when it comes to the task of paying their bills.

Snow birding or other travel can mean mail goes to different addresses at different points of the year. People who struggle with vision problems, manual dexterity or cognition find that filling out paper checks accurately can be challenging. Some newly widowed people have never handled finances before and feel bewildered facing this new challenge. Nearly all companies accept automated billing. Many banks provide means to pay bills directly without paper checks after signing up for online banking.

One of the impediments to choosing autopayments is fear.

“I see this all the time with my baby boomer clients,” said Phil Provenzano, insurance agent and financial adviser with The Financial Guys Insurance Agency in Rochester. “They are not accustomed to utilizing technology to accomplish tasks and that is scary to them.”

He thinks that writing paper checks feels more comfortable to some clients because of the familiarity of the ritual and because it seems like the process is entirely within their control. However, that is not entirely true. Writing down the wrong address, forgetting to apply a stamp, unclear handwriting, checks lost or delayed in the mail, or the wrong account number may derail even this tried-and-true method of bill paying.

Once established, autopayment places the process within the control of technology. It is not without proper oversight. Online banking allows customers to look at their accounts anytime to ensure the balance is sufficient and the bills have been paid. Most banks provide automatic bill paying and automatic transfer services to ensure seamless bill payments.

“If you have the money to pay your bills when they are due, set up automatic payments,” said Diana Apostolova, investment consultant

with Rochester Investments. “Combine automatic payments with alerts from your bank, so you know when bills are paid and the amount.”

A notification email or text alerts customers that bills have been paid.

She also advised using a credit card to make automatic utility payments to prevent a missed payment causing a disconnection or late payment charge. Since the amount of these bills can be widely variable, using a credit card to make these types of payments makes sense.

“If you prefer to make the payments manually you can talk to the companies behind the bills to see if you can change the due date to group payments,” Apostolova said. “Then, ideally, you only sit down once a month to pay bills.”

That can make bill paying less arduous. For people who need help filling out checks, consolidating bills into the same due date can also require just one short session a month rather than separate sessions. Many older adults who require this assistance rely upon their adult children for help.

“You can hire a bookkeeper to manage your payments and meet with you regularly for signatures on checks,” Apostolova suggested. “This can be particularly useful if you have a hard time dealing with money and numbers, or travel.”

dating

Yes, Spring Is Coming

Take your sweetheart out on a date to these romantic points of interest

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

With spring’s blooms just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to freshen up your dating game by trying a few new ideas for a romantic date.

Plan an evening of entertainment at Eastman Theatre or Geva Theatre Center in Rochester or The Smith Center for the Arts in Geneva.

Regardless of the film or live performance you see, the historic architecture of these structures adds a touch of luxury to the evening. The Eastman Theatre maintains is 1920s ambiance. Its Kodak Hall boasts a chandelier bearing 20,000 imported crystals. Geneva Theatre was designed in 1868 by Andrew J. Warner, a well-known Rochester architect. After decades of assorted uses — from meeting site to convention center to hospital — the building was renovated in 1985. The Smith was founded in 1894 as Smith Opera House. The Richardsonian Romanesque-style theater has been recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. Explore fine art hand in hand at Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery Check the website for current exhibits. Weather permitting, bring along a picnic to enjoy in the Sculpture Park.

Enjoy an out-of-this-world show at

Sonnenberg Gardens

Strasenburgh Planetarium.

In anticipation of warmer weather, book reservations now to cruise the Erie Canal on the Colonial Belle in Fairport or Sam Patch Tour Boat in Pittsford. Both tour companies offer special events listed on their websites.

Cuddle up for a movie at the restored Vintage Drive-in Theatre in Avon or Silver Lake Twin Drive-in in Perry. The retro vibe sets the right mood for romance.

Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua offers more than skiing. This spring, go exploring together on Bristol’s Aerial Adventures course, including zip lining and high ropes.

As spring begins to bloom, check out Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua. The 50-acre estate is home to historic,

themed gardens and a mansion appointed with period antiques to view. Have lunch at the High Noon Café on-site or bring a picnic. On weekend afternoons, enjoy wine tasting at The Finger Lakes Wine Center , located in the cellar of the Bay House on-site.

Finding a romantic place to dine is tough because of so many choices. Roux in Rochester offers a feelingfancy French flair while still providing a casual dining experience. Tapas 117 prides itself on appetizers and entrees designed to share — perfect for date night.

Plan a sweet experience to enjoy together at Laughing Gull Chocolates in Rochester which offers workshops, tastings and pairings of chocolate and wine or beer, cocktails, or nonalcoholic alternatives.

For a more upscale experience, try Avvino, The Inn on Broadway or Pane Vino in Rochester or Pittsford.

In addition to fine dining onsite, Belhurst Castle , a Georgian Revival mansion in Geneva, also operates Isabella, a full-service spa that offers couples massage packages and three distinct lodges, including Chambers in the Castle, for an overnight getaway.

YOU NEED

10 CASTLES TO VISIT IN NEW YORK STATE

By Sandra Scott

Did you ever dream of staying in a castle?

If so, there is no need to go to Europe to fulfill your dream. New York has several castles. Wealthy Americans, looking for status, built mansions many of which were inspired by castles in Europe. Today some offer accommodations, others operate as a restaurant, while others are open for visitors.

Here are 10 castles worth visiting:

Bannerman Castle

The crumbling castle is located on Pollepel Island in the Hudson River, near Beacon. The history of the island dates back to pre-Revolutionary times but gets its name from the family, the Bannermans, who purchased it n 1900 and constructed a Scottish-like castle. It was used as a summer residence. It was destroyed by fire followed by further destruction by vandals and the elements. In the late 1960s it was given to the Taconic Park Commission who is working to preserve it.

Boldt Castle

The most visited castle in NYS is Boldt Castle and Yacht House on Heart Island in the Thousand Islands a short boat ride from Alexandria Bay. Boldt Castle was built at the behest of millionaire George Boldt for his wife, who died before it was finished. Upon her death, Boldt ordered all work to cease and never returned to the island. For seven decades the buildings were at the mercy of the elements and vandals. In 1977 The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the property and has spent millions of dollars rehabilitating and restoring the buildings. The property is open to the public during the summer for daytime use only. It is a popular place for weddings.

Singer Castle

Also in the Thousand Islands on Dark Island, Singer Castle was lived in by members of the Frederick G. Bourne family from 1904 until the mid-1960s. Frederick Bourne was the CEO of the Singer Sewing Machine Co. There are many fascinating aspects to the castle including the servant tunnels and underground passageways. Much of the original furnishings are in the castle. It is a wedding destination that can include a stay in the royal suite. Tours are available.

Beardslee Castle

Located near Little Falls, Augustus Beardslee used craftsmen from Ireland and Switzerland to design and construct the limestone building in the style of an Irish castle. The interior suffered from two fires, one in 1919 and another in 1989. After a two-year restoration, the new owners opened Beardslee Castle as a restaurant. It is a popular venue for weddings and popular with ghost hunters who claim the building is haunted.

Amsterdam Castle

Located high on a hill overlooking the city of Amsterdam, the castle was built by Isaac Perry in 1827. Perry is best known as the designer of the Capitol Building in Albany. It originally served as the National Guard armory for Montgomery County, then as a B&B, before being purchased in 2015. The new owners spent four million dollars in renovations. Great Hall with a medieval flair with armament and heraldry is spectacular. The walls are covered with artwork reminiscent of art museums. The accommodations are large and modern, with walls of artwork. The castle host functions including weddings. There is no restaurant, but the accommodations come with light snacks.

Belhurst Castle

Belhurst Castle in Geneva has a complicated and convoluted history dating back to when the site was a Seneca Indian village. In 1852 the land was purchased by Harrison G. Otis and dubbed the property “Bellehurst” meaning beautiful forest. The property changed ownership within the Otis family until it was purchased, in 1885, by Mrs. Carrie Harron who was responsible for the construction of the castle. Fifty men worked for four years using some materials imported from Europe. The colorful history continued when it was purchased by Cornelius J. Dwyer who opened a restaurant and a gambling establishment that operated as a speakeasy during probation. In 1992 the property was purchased by Duane Reeder and has become a popular restaurant and wedding venue.

Highlands Castle

Most of the castles of NYS are more than 100 years old, but dreams of castles never die. In Bolton Landing on Lake George, the Highland Castle is the result of a dream and promise. In 1978 John A. Lavender said to his 3-year-old son, “Someday, Jason, I will build you a castle.” And he did, with the help of his son. On the property there are three castle buildings and a restaurant. “Build it and they will come.”

Olanda Castle

The castle, near the city of Hudson, was once the home and studio of painter Frederic Edwin Church. Church was a member of the Hudson River School of landscape painting. It is now a NYS historic and a National Historic Landmark popular with tourists. Church and his wife raised their four children there. The name comes from the old Latin name for Persia. The Persian-inspired castle has a panoramic view of the area. There are no accommodations but there are tours including one along five miles of Church designed roads.

6 7 8 9

Belvedere Castle

The castle is one of the highlights when visiting Central Park in New York City. The Italian name translates to “beautiful view.” The building was completed on a high rock mound in 1872 and as the name suggest it offers one of the best views in the park. Originally it was designed as an open-air lookout tower so there were no doors or windows. In 1919 the U. S. Weather Bureau added windows and door when it converted the building into a weather station. Today it houses one of the park’s visitor’s centers and a gift shop. Guided and audio tours are available.

Falaise

There are several castles on Long Island’s Gold Coast. Falaise is one of few intact historic homes. It was built in the 1920s in the style of a 13th-century Norman manor house for Harry F. Guggenheim and his wife, Caroline Morton. The medieval theme includes archways and thick wooden beams. The Guggenhiems furnished Falaise (French for cliff) with 16th and 17th century antiques gathered from their European travels. Docent-guided tours are available.

hearthat?

His volume, or yours? Up and down it goes. If hearing the TV has become challenging, we can help. Schedules and registration for free programs are at hearinglossrochester.org

A Helping Hand

Bodies of faith assist senior congregants

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Better Hearing = Better Living

Whether you are looking to help older adults or you as an older adult could use some help, contact your local body of faith.

In recent decades, it has become routine to seek help from a paid agency, government organization or volunteer group. However, many congregations maintain ministries to assist older adults in numerous ways.

The pandemic halted groups’ interactions with older adults. Some pivoted to virtual assistance and some paused until COVID-19 subsided.

But as the pandemic wanes, many faith-based groups are getting back to their previous senior ministries.

St. Benedict Parish in Canandaigua offers Stephen Ministry for homebound people.

“It’s not counseling, but they can express their problems to someone who has no judgment,” said Mary Ellen Gysel, co-chairwoman of the church’s social ministry committee. “They can listen and if they choose, pray with that person. It can be anything they want to discuss like a death in the family or aging or illness.”

The ministry is intended to extend the church’s reach through trained laymen, as the priests and ministers tend to be stretched thin.

St. Benedict also offers a visitation ministry to facilitate parishioners calling on people who are sick and

homebound to offer communion and prayer time.

In addition, “there are a lot of people within the parish who do those activities on their own and not through a formal ministry,” Gysel said.

This may include performing a minor home repair, assisting in running errands or offering a ride.

Stephen Ministry is also part of the ways in which Church of the Holy Spirit and St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Penfield, sister congregations, help their congregants. Although it serves people of any age, lonesome seniors are often those who ask for a home visit.

Fran Glanton, Stephen Ministry leader, said that participants receive 50 hours of training before visiting people and also participate in continuing education.

“It helps people going through difficult times, like losing a spouse, having to move after losing a spouse and losing contact with family as they’ve moved away,” Glanton said.

The weekly visits are about an hour long.

“Some people say, ‘You’re the only people we talk with,’” Glanton said.

A friendly house call can help break up a week otherwise spent alone as well as provide a check-in to ensure the senior is doing alright.

“If we find that there is some type of help this person needs, we try to

help them find help in the community or at church,” Glanton said. “A lot of times, it’s a big issue as you get older. A lot of the things you could do when you were younger, you’re not physically able to do it. There’s a great need for that type of service.”

The churches also take communion to parishioners and say a rosary with them if they are unable to make it to church.

St. John's Lutheran Church, a small church in Victor, helps congregants with small home repairs and occasionally has offered more substantial assistance. Minister Jonathan Deibler said that in 2021, an older member needed major home repair, as her trailer was deteriorating.

“It was clear she needed to move out,” Deibler said.

The church helped with a few short-term repairs that enabled her to stay in her home for 18 months until she could make better arrangements. Then the church helped her move.

Deibler said that many instances like this were efforts of the church body but not necessarily of a formal committee or group.

“I’m seeing an authentic expression of their faith,” he said. “It’s an awareness of the needs of the people around them.”

St. John’s mails a paper copy of the weekly worship bulletin and sermon to homebound people. Some of those are able to connect to the worship service via Zoom. The church also provides rides for seniors and others who no longer drive. The church’s prayer chain ministry quickly informs congregants of urgent prayer requests, which helps homebound older adults share their concerns and participate.

“People who can’t connect otherwise can still feel a part of the ministry in a meaningful way,” Deibler said.

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Along with an exceptional inventory of today's finest wigs, Grasta's also offers many accessories, products and guidance to help you complete your individual look!

Due to COVID-19, strict safety policies are in effect and apply to EVERYONE. We cover our styling chair in disposable vinyl. I also wear protective coverings. There is no way an operator could be three feet apart from a client while working, which is why the client and I are covered. You will receive foot coverings, vinyl gloves and a sheer vinyl cape which you will wear out to your car and discard at your convenience. Temperature will be taken at the door. No wigs are touched by bare hands. ONLY THE CLIENT IS PERMITTED INSIDE!

Due to COVID-19, strict safety policies are in effect and apply to EVERYONE. We cover our styling chair in disposable vinyl. I also wear protective coverings. There is no way an operator could be three feet apart from a client while working, which is why the client and I are covered. You will receive foot coverings, vinyl gloves and a sheer vinyl cape which you will wear out to your car and discard at your convenience. Temperature will be taken at the door. No wigs are touched by bare hands. ONLY THE CLIENT IS PERMITTED INSIDE!

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By John Addyman Email: john.addyman@yahoo.com

Yes, I’m an Oreoholic. And It’s All My Wife’s Fault

I’ve been having dreams about cookies.

Some men dream about getting stranded on a tropical island with a “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit model, or of winning the lottery, or making some great golf shots…or just being able to remember why you walked into a room.

But I’ve been seeing Oreos gayly dancing over fences of chocolate chip cookies and through fields of Girl Scout thin mints.

My wife is at fault, of course.

She looked at me the other day as I came through the back door.

“Do you know what people see first when you come through a doorway?” she asked.

“My nice smile?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“What then?”

“Your pot belly. It appears a couple of minutes before you’re able to direct the remainder of your lardbucket self through,” she said in her best Weight Watcher Queen voice.

My wife has a way with words. She, of course, watches her weight carefully. Turns out, she’s watching my weight, too.

Personally, I think this weightwatching thing is a great program. My wife cooks all these nutritious low-calorie dishes for herself that anyone who hadn’t eaten for a week and loves kale would treasure. She shies from all the authentic culinary pleasure this life offers — the ones on my side of the dinner table: pizza, subs, Baconators, Reese’s Pieces sundaes. Cider doughnuts…stuff like that.

And certainly, she doesn’t want to hear about Oreos.

One of the things that endeared me to my sweet wife in the early years was the way she could pack away a complete package of Oreos. Give her a big glass of milk, an unopened

package, and watch the crumbs fly.

I loved the way my wife dispatched Oreos because I have a similar affinity for peanut-butter-andjelly sandwiches, which I can make disappear by the loaf-of-breadful.

My wife and I used to play these little food games when we were on diets. I’d bring home a package of Oreos and put it someplace where she couldn’t find it right away. Then, right before we’d go to bed, I’d eat one cookie…just one.

“What’s that on your face?!!” my wife would ask a few minutes later as she sits bolt upright in bed and stares down at me while my head lays to rest on the pillow. You might not think that asking such a question is a big deal, but it’s really quite an accomplishment — the lights in the bedroom are out. It’s pitch black. You’d think she couldn’t possibly see my face in the dark.

Wrong.

“Are those cookie crumbs on your face?” she asks.

I say nothing.

“Are those Oreo double-stuff cookie crumbs on your face?” she asks. Now she’s shaking my shoulders for an answer.

I say nothing.

Her index finger is poking me in the chest. “I told you not to bring those things into the house.”

I say nothing. But now I’m smiling.

“Where are they, you rat?”

So I tell her where they are — on the kitchen counter downstairs.

When we were in our first 20 years of marriage, when we were dealing with four kids in the house with us, she would rumble out of bed and disappear down the stairs. A few minutes later, she’d reappear in bed.

“Did you leave any Oreos for your husband or children?” I’d ask.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she’d say. “And it’s all your fault.”

The longer I’ve been married, the more certain I am that everything is my fault.

“You made me eat all those Oreos,” she’d say, pulling up the bedcovers.

“So what if you ate a few cookies?” I ask. “Who’s going to care?”

“I’m going to care!” she said, sitting up in bed again. “I have to face all those people at Weight Watchers and stand up in the middle of the meeting and say, ‘My name is Gayle…and I am an Oreoholic.’ I have to get out my calculator and show them how many points I’ve blown away. Then all the people in the class will wag their fingers at me and say, ‘Shame! Shame!’”

“But honey,” I said reassuringly, in my best former-scienceteacher voice, “those cookies you ate have no calories so you don’t have to confess to anything.”

Despite the darkness in the bedroom, I knew she was scowling at me.

“Come on,” she said, “everyone knows that cookies are loaded with calories.” I hear in her voice a certain desperation for a compelling argument for Oreo-eating forgiveness.

“Do you remember that old philosophical discussion everybody had in high school? The one about, ‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there, does it make a sound?’”

“Sure,” she said.

“Well, science has proven that if no animal is there to hear the tree fall, no ‘sound’ is made. And if no one is there to see you eat a cookie, the cookie has no calories.”

“Come on...”

“I’m serious,” I told her. “and I bet you didn’t know that cookies are held together by special organic chemical bonds that absorb energy when they’re broken — and that energy comes from the calories in the cookie. As soon as you break a cookie, all the calories get absorbed. You never see a fat person eat a broken cookie.”

“Get serious…”

“I am serious,” I say with heartfelt sincerity. “Haven’t you ever eaten a cookie that’s been in an open package for too long in humid weather? Doesn’t that cookie taste a little soggy and heavy? It’s because all the calories are still in it.”

“That’s amazing,” my wife says. “Do you mean that because I ate those Oreos in the dark where nobody could see me and because I like to break them into pieces to dip in milk, that they don’t have any calories?”

“Not a one.”

“Thank you, dear,” my wife says, kissing me on the forehead, leaving an outline of Oreo cookie lips on my skin.

“Sleep tight, darling,” I say, and off to gentle dreamland she goes. My wife and I have been married for 53 years. She still does Weight Watchers, and she looks great.

By Melody Burri

to retirement, I got some sage advice from my wife, Rebecca. She suggested that going from 50 hours a week at the chamber down to zero might be a shock to my system. So I resurrected a hobby from my youth and started a trading card business online and I sell at area trading card shows. I also got involved as a volunteer with the Victor Farmington Library and still do some volunteering at the Ontario County Chamber of Commerce.

Q: How has your own life changed since retiring?

A: I have more time on my hands but it’s easy to fill. The big change is that I get to be more selective about what I spend my time doing.

Q: What was one unexpected challenge you encountered, and how are you handling it?

A: I thought I’d get to nap a lot. But nope, I’m having too much fun! Let’s see: take a nap or play with the grandkids? It’s no contest.

Q: What advice would you give to others about thriving in retirement?

Mitch Donovan, 74

Retired Victor Chamber of Commerce president talks about career, trading cards, trust and family

Q: Of your many career accomplishments, which has been the most fulfilling?

A: I was fortunate to have two careers. One in newspaper advertising and one working for the Victor Chamber of Commerce. While I fondly remember helping retail clients market their businesses, my chamber work was more gratifying. One annual project sticks in my mind: Hang Around Victor Day. It was more work than I ever imagined, but building

that into what it became was the most fulfilling part of the job. It reached so many people on so many levels that the memories still stay with me. Kitty Van Bortel told me she remembers when ‘Hang Around Victor Day’ was just two tents on Main Street. Over those 10 years, we came a long, long way.

Q: What hobbies and passions are giving you joy these days?

A: As the retirement calculator on my phone counted down the days

A: A couple years after I retired, my wife did, too. We both agree that retiring at different times was helpful for us. It may be for others as well, if that choice is available. Also, I didn’t think much about saving and planning for retirement when I was early in my career. But, eventually working with a professional to plan our retirement helped a great deal. People keep asking me if I like my new lifestyle and of course, the answer is yes.

Q: What’s one core value that has served you well through your career and into retirement?

A: It’s all about trust. I trust the people around me and they trust me. I think I got that right.

Q: What’s one dream you have for your community and the people and businesses in it?

A: There’s always room for growth and improvement. I’m not done growing as a person and Victor isn’t done growing as a community. Change can be uncomfortable and that’s OK. So let’s explore some exciting opportunities.

Mitch Donovan grew up in Canandaigua and spent as much time as he could on the lake. He believes living in Victor gives him all the advantages of a small town with proximity to a larger city. He said his wife, Rebecca, and their families are the most enjoyable and important parts of his life.