Honeybees and Ham

Waiting. No biggie. But waiting for the car. Yes, I am finally getting the snow tires off my car and it has been not the single hour that I was promised but it is going on two. I was going to go back to the office between my two Ithaca appointments today...and now It feels as is the two are going to blur. Ah, well. Thank goodness there are no crazy deadlines today other than the great meeting of the Farmers' Market. And thank goodness I have discovered and changed to Google Mail, Google Drive and Google Calendar and I can use a dumb p.c. here at the car dealership and actually get work done. I like how simple and portable things are getting. Nice change, that.

We are on the verge of Grassroots. The cherries have been picked. The raspberries and strawberries are going full bore. Garlic Scapes are on the outs--and bunches of delightful dill, cilantro and basil are in the future. It is the season of produce and fruit, and we can plot the course of the summer by their  appearance at the CSA and at the Farmers' Market. It has gone from mild to hot very quickly with many fans and cold showers before sleep marking the change in the season. We have been in the lake to start our summer drifting under the high cloud bowl.

 How is it that the sky over the lake is so vast, so high, so much part of the moment, when, even on our plateau, it doesn't seem to loom above us? The water must change that relationship as it is a constant--and mirrors the dome above it. The cloud bowl has been particularly dramatic in the last week with massive cumulus clouds--changing from puffy, angels sit on them, clouds to towering castles changing from white, to pearl, to grey. It has been the sky of full on Summer--giving us cloud bursts and within a half hour, scrubbed skies.  It is the mid point of the year...and such a sweet spot that we are all trying to hang on to the quiet moments together before being spun into our respective other lives.

My America. I have been worrying about another body of work- stressing that nothing was clicking. Well it did. Rob asked my why I couldn't do something like the Advent Calendar annually and it forced me to think about the triggers around the Advent work. I guess what I love about it are all the "knowns" like palettes, distinct traditions and expectations, the iconography, the ideas and the global aspects of the holiday. I have been mulling over all of that and somehow it just pinged, American things... my America. It has symbols and colors. It has traditions and  expectations. Plus, there is more...things that have been bothering me that I think is time to surface. There are womens health issues. There is Uncle Sam. There is the religious right. There are the Masons and Mormons. There are honeybees, and hams. There are guns and grain. And so it begins. The research, the prep, the sketches...and then we are going to load the cannon and start firing to see where we go. It will be a fun ride, with I hope good results and interesting learning. I am ready for another journey--and you will be coming with me. It has been 6 months since the last big push...so I am ready (as is my portfolio).

More on this later.

Hairhoppers

Hairhopper four, Q. Cassetti, 2012, pen and ink.To Marina (excerpt)

by Kenneth Koch

Let’s take a walk
Into the world
Where if our shoes get white
With snow, is it snow, Marina,
Is it snow or light?
Let’s take a walk

Every detail is everything in its place (Aristotle). Literature is a cup 
And we are the malted. The time is a glass. A June bug comes
And a carpenter spits on a plane, the flowers ruffle ear rings.
I am so dumb-looking. And you are so beautiful.

from “To Marina” by Kenneth Koch, from The Collected Poems of Kenneth Koch. © Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. from the Writers Almanac (01.12.2012)

Isnt that lovely? I was stunned this morning listening and actually hearing the poem versus Garrison Keillor’s delivery and voice. I am thinking of snow, of course, with many schools in the “2 hr. delay” area of the state, kicking into full 2 hour delays. They are talking snow for us tonight, and tomorrow though for Rob’s sake and his travels, I hope it isnt too horrendous as he has many miles to go. I am ready for the white stuff.

I am ready to settle in with my pens and focus on my new body of work (yes, I have a direction for another 30 or so pix…), “Hairhopper”. Its about hair. Its about line. Its about hair becoming other stuff. Its about hair assuming other roles. Its about hair engaging in environments. its all about line, line and line. Its quick and inspired by the Madhubani work last year around this time. I am not limiting it to be just scans but I can monkey in photoshop/illustrator to work reverses into the mix (like the piece that got into Society of Illustrators LA) but to keep the work in general linear. Rob was very insightful in suggesting I work with this a bit more as this is a technique that is made for children’s books, their stories and it is quick enough that I could really have a run at that. I used to love linear books…black and white, maybe a single color (Lorraine Fox was the queen of that approach)— and settle in to lok at the detail of the images presented.  Maybe the fast pace of the little electronokids today is different…but when you are dealing in the imaginary, time is a different thing.

The holiday break student staffing is winding down. Gotta get a few things done with them tomorrow to make sure we use up the time. Tucker did something interesting. He decided he wanted to scare off the deer and did some research to do things that are nonevasive and are without a shotgun. What he discovered is if you put Milorganite on deer pathes, they will not come back as they hate the scent of the stuff. Milorganite is a fertilizer so its not going to hurt anything…and if it works, between this stuff and the little buzzers he discovered, we might be able to keep the deer on their side of the property and not in my hosta and peonies next summer. Wouldn’t that be a gift? They were staying away today. We will see tomorrow. If the winter team could lick the deer varmit problem…how remarkable that would be.

Need to go. Night is on us.

Fall on the Horizon

GreenMan in Nature, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkWe have had guitars and drums early in the morning today that I had to squelch as my poor clients cannot operate with the crash bang noise in our background while we attempt to communicate with them. Then darn it, but Time Warner pulls the plug—so while I am midstream with a client on a topic…and there is silence with all the lights on the phone…on. So, I phoned on my cell and apologized for this tech wiggle. Must be in the air. But thankfully, Baka has the Tower of Power….so maybe that will be good/great by the end of the week. There is hope.

Its wool undershirt weather. It is chilly to say the least. Sweaters are in order and the green in the trees have changed to olive. Fall is on the horizon just as the big sculptural clouds we have on the horizon each night. I think it should be a pleasant weekend for our CMU guests though swimming might not be in the cards. I have got to get some things made and readied for the dinner on Saturday. Feels like we will have around 20 (plus or minus)—so I need to get the right amount of nice chicken out of the freeze to marinate in Cornell Chicken sauce. Two blueberry cakes. A salad, Rick’s Corn, and maybe some tabouli with feta. I have got to figure out what we are offering for breakfast (sounds like bagels with…cheese, cream cheese, freezer jam, and maybe some salmon?). I see a trip to Ithaca in the offing.

All the summer workers are migrating back to school. Lunch is no longer a competitive activity.

I have pubs to do. Portraits to do. Work to do. I was saddened that the two dual portraits (of a farmer and cow, boy and chicken) will not be used in packaging. That project was deep sixed. And that was really hard work (only 3 colors of grey and black to give a complete grey range that is believable). Tough going.

I am working on the Sagamore hour. I woke up this morning with a better grip on what I am going to do…show how good planning and great resources can create a leadership image for pennies using the farming work I have done for Wide Awake and Farmer Ground. I think I will talk about image programs and templates (designed well and easliy implementable by the client). I will give them my virtual rolladex (a backslash on my site) for all my great resources (to do soon). I am feeling like there is traction here. I love waking up with solutions left on my mental table, all figured out cleanly and focused. What a miracle our little chemical machine of a brain is….presenting us with gifts when we least expect it. I am so lucky!

Recycled soup awaits.

IF: [Nature is my] Influence

Greenman, Q .Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink, manipulated in Adobe Photoshp CS5“I trust in Nature for the stable laws
Of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant
And Autumn garner to the end of time.
I trust in God,—the right shall be the right
And other than the wrong, while he endures.
I trust in my own soul, that can perceive
The outward and the inward,—Nature’s good
And God’s.”

Robert Browning

Feels like Fall

Green Man 15, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkSummer is winding down. Fall is on the horizon. I feel it. It’s not just the weather, it’s going from those indolent days to those that are jammed packed with my own work, other people’s work and needs and then those of the locals who have work and needs. So, I watch these last golden days of summer and reflect on the time, the people and the feeling of those rich days in anticipation and apprehension of the future.

Rob left way too early this morning to catch a plane to spend a day and night in New York on a project. Kitty had a fun day at Petrune modeling clothes for the Etsy website. I will link as soon as it or some of it posts. Alex had meetings and gatherings with friends—playing and listening to music with others. Its great that there is more to do than slothful behavior in the t.v. room. I tidied up some ends, directed few things, made a phone call or three, and started the beginning of a true fall activity, the making of restoration soup.

Restoration soup is soup that is compiled of leftovers that is magically bound by tomatoes and any sort of starch (leftover/ preferably pasta with pesto). All the random little single servings of leftover vegetables are mixed in. Some beans. The odd ear of corn, shucked. Italian Seasoning in the winter. Fresh basil as we speak. Sometimes it goes by Recycled Soup. Others, Garbage Soup. With leftover chicken from the grill, and the random leftover link of sausage I have a terrific starting point for that. Regardless of what goes it, it is surprising that it always turns out well…and is downed immediately while it is cleaning up the clutter in the refrigerator. I also have a pot of carrot soup going…for the ravenous at the lunch table (count ten)…that is on the menu for today’s entertainment and consumption. Kitty, my soup eater, practically dances in anticipation.

Speaking of sausage, Sausage Fest 2011 is planned for Saturday. Sausage Fest is an annual tradition for the Trumansburg Cross Country Team. We invite all the boys and cook sausage. There are tee shirts, games, swimming, and generally bro-ulation. Alex invites the team and many of the Cross Country alumni (that he has run with), so its very convivial and truly is an event that they all look forward to as part of the pre-season entertainment. I don’t know what it is about Cross Country, but it is a sport that is for many, more about the team than it is about the running. Sure, they all run and run hard…but its the cuddly boy thing too. They hug and support each other. It’s very cute and special.

I did something semi intelligent as well. I signed up for a few of the Entourage classes to be better at the Yearbook this year. This is the Last Year of Yearbook—and what with the chops I got with InDesign last year, and hitting the deadlines early, I think it will go swimmingly. Hopefully, we can figure out how to make the technology work so the students can engage more than just taking pictures and retouching them. We have a new powerhouse member of the team who will sell and advertise like no one’s business…so that will be good too. So my goals are—get the work done. Parse it out quickly. Sell the books like crazy. Do not have a big time burden at the end. Hand off the project to either a mom team, the PTA or let the school worry about it. No one seems to care until there are no more books to buy as they did not order them. Time to up the ante.

Good news. Rob has been asked to speak at the Sagamore Museumwise conference too in September. Maybe he can tag team with me? Maybe not. We will be going to Sagamore over a weekend, come back for the only home meet on a Tuesday and then drive back for the remainder of the week. Should be a wild one. It is so beautiful at that time of the year in the Adirondacks and the Museumwise people and participants are so lovely and charged up, that its a treat. I need to get some questions in to better understand my audience. Today.

I entered the current body of Green Men illustration on my Behance page (and Prosite page too)—and was made a featured portfolio on Behance, an editorial decision where they highlight the current images of interest. How nice is that? So I have been getting comments and insights from all over the world—and it is interesting to see what is coming out. Might I consider drawing a tarot deck? This mythological critter thing always has interesting legs. I am not “feeling” the topic as much as others, but it is good to have a process when it is not felt as much just to see if there can be success. Emotional engagement does not have to happen in order to make a picture. Yes, its is more of a personal boost, but certainly not imperative to design and make a good picture. This process has been more about design and figuring out how to do this sort of thing versus the man, the mission, the history, the entity of Green Man-ness.

Up Early

The Green Man 4, Q. Cassetti, Pen and ink, manipulated in Adobe Photoshop CS5Up early to take Rob to Elmira to get on a plane to go to NYC. Lucky duck, he is staying at the new Standard Hotel on the High Line…so cool. Granted its work galore for him, but the perk of a cool  hotel is a nice cherry on top for him. We should see him late tomorrow.

It was a pleasant and quiet journey with shaggy, grazing Scottish Highland cows en route in the beautiful blue, green and gold landscape. Lush and summery. Promising rain with the clouds in the sky.

Kitty did a ton of work for me yesterday…remarkable how having extra hands, voice and legs working for you can really move the needle.  We are off trying to get answers for Hampshire questions, getting things to the bank and in the mail. She was great. Alex is plugging away with music and getting college essays started along with SAT coaching etc. It really is a wiggly, uncomfortable time for him…or at least thats the way it feels. I wouldnt want to be in that space.

I have a few portraits to do (just added to the mix) which should be fun. Additionally, there are some new pubs added too.

Lunch with the Hangar today. Should go get the plates spinning and get all the plans in place.

IF: Perennial

The Green Man, Q. Cassetti, 2011 pen and ink, manipulated in Adobe Illustrator CS5

A summer moment

Monarda, Q. Cassetti, 2011Cool this morning. The full moon illuminated the night such that morning segued without much fanfare. We had a peaceful evening at the lake talking about fashion and how one transitions their look. Kitty is all over this with interest both from Jacob and Alex. The weekend stretches in front of us— with a pickup from Sweet Land, maybe some raspberry picking and grocery shopping. Some may start on GrassRoots projects, I may party with my pens. Summer full bore.

I am musing over my friends at the Hartford Art School and where they are this week. For those new students, they are dying. The dream project is pushing them all out of their corners, their safe zones, to a place of challenging discomfort. This clever punishment is devised by some pretty amazing educators to get folks off their illustration tookies and into the fray. It is hard work but accomplishes the creation of a class group, shoves everyone to accept change and personal growth, and gives everyone a common day one. But ooh. Ouch right now.

Then there are the confident second year students. They have time with the program. They have friends. They have work. They think they are on track for their thesis. The world is theirs. School is one fat slice of wonderful.

Then there are the third years. They have been dragged through a keyhole backwards. The thesis, the papers, the illustration, the travel, the ancillary papers have all added up. These students want to savor the last crumbs from the slice of wonderful but are distracted with all the to dos to finish. It is a complex time of trying to grab it all,  and yet not being able to really embrace it the way you could during the summer of the second years. It is a bittersweet time during the first week. The second week for me was ” get me out of here…!” It is a tremendous thing, these MFA students are doing for themselves. They are opening themselves up to change, to evolve, to self discovery, to learning. Nothing wrong with that!

Tonight, Amelia and Leah, my friends are singing with Mary Lorson to open for EmmyLou Harris at Greek Peak. This was a spur of the moment thing and I am  so excited for them to get this exposure and chance to sing to a new and different audience. Very cool.

The GrassRoots machine is beginning to whirrrr. Projects are beginning. Tents are arriving. The buzz is in the air.  More later.

Making a Joyful Noise

Rockin’ Steady #3 2011, Q. Cassetti

Rockin Steady: Tribe Stocking Reidy performed last night at the Rongo, part of the pre GrassRoots music scene. It/they were wonderful with daughters, sons, aunts and uncles, all singing and playing fullheartedly. And those of us who were not part of the tribe enjoyed their songs and renditions. Kitty had Hampshire friends that were a delight and fun to get to know. We mixed it up a bit…and then sat outside at the end and tried to take pictures in the dark (to some success).

Waiting on the porch, Q. Cassetti 2011Shady and I did a tour of the house and backyard and were greeted by dragonflies, bees in the thick monarda and the damned deer.  I took a picture of this nice stationery dragonfly on the steps, giving me a chance to push things a bit to see if I could capture him. I love the new point and shoots. What amazing tools.

Our new team member this summer is Tucker. Tucker is a football player and very funny. He chased a pair of baby deer yesterday trying to tackle them.  We had $50 bucks riding on it…and I bet, by the end of the summer, Tucker will win his bet…

I am beginning to move some ink around on my sketchbook pages. Need to get in a new groove. I am feeling a bit betwixt and between with lots of big idea work coming over the desk that the magic moment to ink and think has not arrived. I am eyeballing some czech illustration. Also, am thinking graphic…flat and shapy. Who knows. I will need to think about advertising in the 3x3 Annual Directory. What to run? One page or two? Does it make sense (I seem to think so)…and how to take advantage of this advertising. Plus, the fall is within reach, are there images I need to work on for the up and coming shows? or will the advent and rapture work be a shot? the bunny rabbits?

Clear skies. No humidity. Summer perfection today.

Perfect Sunday.

Kitty at Felicia’s, Q. Cassetti, 2011Kitty is one of my good models. As is Alex, when he is amenable. However, the light at Felicia’s Atomic Lounge was perfection on Friday evening, and Kitty obliged. I hope this is the basi of another Kitty portrait as it has the range of tone and expression that makes for good work. At least, that is my hope.

Kitty, our dancing princess arrived safely at her destination to be picked up by two of her dear friends to be whisked away to eat dinner and attend a dance at Greenfield. Tonight is the big Dawn Dance which I hope will be all she wishes and she twirls and spins to her hearts delight all night. She has the bus ride home to sleep!

Gloria has flown away, back to Los Angeles to horse and friends, work and beautiful locale. However,, Central New York is pretty matchless today. Though thunder and rain have been promised, we have a bit of an overcast day despite the sun and humidity that beats down. The purple, white and lavender wild phlox has popped, dotting our stands of big, verdant, perfect early summer ferns which right now, billow and grow. We have a piliated woodpecker that is letting us see his grandeur as he wails away at our trees. We can hear an owl and other more tropical sounds such that it prompts me to get some recordings of birds so I too, can be like a real Tburger and be able to identify the birds according to sound.

I have chicken marinating in my own version of Cornell marinade ready to grill tonight. Rob has a bit of work, being Manager on Duty tonight as Memorial Day is the opener for the summer of fun at the Museum of Glass. So, Alex and I will be laking it….and as I have a yummy new book to dive into. Its a bit grisly, but somehow summer and real crime is just so enticing. Certainly not cocktail party talk with the adults and “nice people” but more for those of us who revel in reality t.v. and tales of John Wayne Gacy.

The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases

So thats it for now. The sketchbook is beckoning.

Morning thoughts

Hive in My Heart, Q. Cassetti, 2010, mixed mediaLast night we had a rocking thunderstorm. I am happy for it as everything was beginning to dry up…the thick thatches of grass,  my little apple trees, the monster monarda that has taken over a part of the yard (thrilled about that). In that vein, I treated myself to a few more tree peonies to plant this fall—as this plant is so much of a thrill when they flower in an outrageous way, a better than Disney explosion and then settle down and become a pretty leafy bush for the other 51 weeks of the year. Our herbaceous peonies are starting to open…and the deer have not devoured them unlike half the hosta I have. Urg.

I have recolored some of the bee work and found that a bit of image editing (in this case adding, in yesterdays case, subracting) have helped the pictures. I am on the Zydeco piece and am redrawing it (having rediscovered my love for the Pitt Pen…particularly the jumbo one). Am musing about a style I was beginning to work with during the week of Ted and Betsy Lewin at Hartford and may do a small body of work using this to gain a bit more confidence and familiarity before coming back to the bees.  I used it once on a job for a client…and they loved it…so an alternative (can you do a portrait, an animal, a type combo, a this a that ) might be nice to have. I find that these sidebar explorations are deriving somewhat from the discipline instilled in me from high school and college training with Arnold Bank, a mentor and extraordinary teacher and calligrapher. He  taught visual people to think, but to develop their hand skills and eye with those skills through a prescribed series of requirements when one was learning a particular “hand” or hand lettering style. In order to master these hands. one had to do a small, medium and large flat piece working in text, headline and caption sizes using the plain letters and some embellished. Additionally, one had to do a small book (hand lettering at least four pages of text). I find that sort of slop over…(can I do a portrait? can I do an animal? Can I do something with type) that same approach to forge confidence in that particular “hand” or style of illustration. The more I tune what I do within the context of a body of work (at least 6 pieces), I can move to the next project or idea. This training from Hartford for the final thesis was such a valuable experience.

Ithaca Festival is today as is the Senior Dessert (no dinner so I am Providing) Dance. Alex is going with one of Kittys friends. Kitty is taking an old friend, Thea.  And another couple makes up our party. Must go.

TED Happiness

"George Washington" So-called 'fraktur' drawing. Done by Pennsylvania German artists in a style reminiscent of medieval illuminated manuscript art. The name, "fraktur", actually means "fractured writing" and is a reference to the pointedness of Gothic German script. The painter who created this portrait of Washington is not known by name; art historians refer to him as the "Washington-Sussel Artist" because his work was first studied by a collector of that name. Ink,watercolor on paper, H 20, W 16 cm Independence National Historical Park, INDE 2678Spring morning with a cold start.

Some of my poor daffodils are lying on the ground frozen in place, though the grape hyacinths and frittilaria seem to flourish in the frosty bite. I socked the two hellebore I just bought right next to the one that was a legacy plant. The new hellebore are a blue green on one side, and  a ruby/ivory color on the other. I was surprised at the depth and heartiness of the roots on these plants and am excited already for next spring and these beauties' debut Chez Camp.

Our little birthday celebration was very nice. All the food was consumed and the menu turned out to be paced so easily, that we actually had time to relax a bit prior to showtime. It seemed everyone had a nice time and hung out after the dinner to continue the various conversations that were in place from geneology, local food, real estate, education, learning approaches.  Now, we can get on the business of work and living until Friday's after school play event and Saturday's cast party that I am on for.

Did I talk and point you all to one of my new favorite inspirations? Probably not. As we have been watching TV (we just got one and we watch it tout en famille these days) and can get a link to YouTube, we have been watching various presentations that are made at the TED conference. Are you familiar with TED? Here's what TED says about TED;

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

The annual conferences in Long Beach and Oxford bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

These are riveting, brief and thoughtful presentations that can really jar your thinking and perceptions. I have learned so much from these talks which we have right in our living room.  I encourage you to go and seek TED out. Anyway, the TED talks are on the TED site but also on YouTube.  My most recent, "Oh my Goodness" moment was with Temple Grandin's talk, "The world needs all kinds of minds"

What was startling and inspiring was Grandin talking about visual learners which I truly am. No wonder math never worked for me. Grandin is remarkable in her straight-forward, Mid-Western, matter of factness---talking about different learners, different people, the odd ones that are often in a group--explaining their oddity (and the wonderfulness of different people's approach to learning and information). Her speech is now something I deliver to all my friends and particularly to those that will hear in in my involvement with the Committee for Special Education (CPSE) at school. I wish I could tell you the story of one of my experiences but it's inappropriate to go there. However, it has helped me to get beyond the stigmas of autism, and all the other isms as everyone learns...and may learn differently from the methodology that is in place for the "norm" at school. And who is to say that the "norm" is right. I am thankful that my crash and burn in algebra was replaced with art history and mythology as this is a place that fueled my fire and was additive for my life. I thank goodness that Chemistry wasn't pushed down my throat, but extra English and Latin.

The day begins. My phone is ringing.

Gotta love it.

Hive Alive, Q.Cassetti, 2010, mixed mediaIt looked like it was going to be a dark, cloudy day...but an hour into the day and we have a perfect Spring moment. The yellow willow wands are coming in complementing the little patches of daffodils and the brilliant forsythia which has popped. The muscari have come up. Shady Grove was busy sniffing up all the promising scents while I gazed skyward to our dear turkey vultures, silent silhouettes pirouetting overhead.

I did this illustration in black and white pen and ink. The plan was to reverse it out like the  silhouette inspired illustrations I did earlier this year...and the effort I put into it made it look like poop. But, I brought it up and reworked it yesterday after the fun conversation I had with my mentor, Murray Tinkelman--who was pleased with these new pictures. So, with that push, I revisited this...and color seemed to emerge. The vector work was done in illustrator on a high res reversed out jpg. Then I brought it back into photoshop for more work. You can see the black and white and the color here>>

I just reordered a mess of buttons from Busy Beaver>> as I have depleted my supply with friends, family and clients. New ones are a bee goddess, a fraktur angel, a rooster. More gimmes.

Trumansburg is doing a community build for our new farmer's market shelters. Our farmer's market has been al fresco for the last few years, but Deirdre Cunningham, the clever and stylish manager of the market wrote a grant and got a chunk of money to start us on the way to having some structures. Alex and Rob were involved in cement work last weekend...and now every weekend from now  through May will have building projects both days. Here is a bit from Dierdre's report:

Community-build pavilion project update:

First week: 42 steel plates were welded at Durand's Forge and driven up to Elderlee's in Oak Corners to be galvinized; 10 - 12 volunteers installed 42 footers (backhoe donated by Carson Excavating) and made concrete stools and table pedestals (checkers, anyone?)  -

great job!  thank you all!  

To feed the troops during the upcoming work days, Suse Thomas has pulled together donated baked goods (home bakers, Ithaca Bakery) and lunch (Hazelnut Kitchen, T-burg Rotary Chicken BBQ, Maxie's Supper Club, The Pourhouse, Dragon Village, Subway, Stone Cat Cafe, Falls Restaurant) for each of the nine work days (stellar job, Suse!) Gimme! is donating coffee on the three Saturdays. She asks that everyone bring their own beverage containers.  

Gotta love this community!!