Time to Restock!

      The shop in Cooperstown, Cooper Country Crafts, has been open for about a month now and, luckily, it's time to restock so today after my appointment with the dermatologist in Hartwick Seminary (park of Bassett) we went to Cooperstown.  I hadn't realized how much I had sold so I didn't take much...just a few baseball hats.  Guess I better get knitting and really get my display filled before the 1st big summer holiday hits:  Memorial Day weekend!

  We did some 'exploring' on our trip to the doctors, taking Rte 51 or the Ilion Gorge to Cedarville, then to E Winfield before heading and back to Richfield Springs on Rte 20.  The scenery is nice but Rte 20 is in lousy shape until you get to Otsego Country, then the road really becomes a 'scenic highway.'  We stopped and ate our lunch along the creek in the gorge in one of the large parking areas.  Lunch was McDonald's and while the price wasn't bad the portions weren't 'hearty', leaving us both hungry.  

   After we turned off Rte 20 at the light in Richfield Springs we took Rte 28 to Fly Creek and turned right at the blinking light by the fire house (that road cuts a few miles off between Cooperstown and Index.)  There's a nice settlement in there and today I saw a sign that identified part of it as a bible college.  After the road rejoined Rte 28 we were in Hartwick Seminary before you knew it!  We were a few minutes late for my appointment but I blamed it on traffic.

  I had my regular 'mole check-up' and no new growths were found.  (I had had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my back in 2018 without any problem or regrowth.) Today I had 2 large moles frozen, (1 on my chest and the smaller one on my upper arm.)  The larger one may have been caused by the radiation treatments I had had for Hodgkin's Disease 40 years ago. It's about the size of a nickel!  The smaller one on my upper arms was probably caused by the sun and irritated by clothing.  If they don't drop off in 2-3 weeks, I have to schedule an appointment to finish the job. After that we went to the shop before heading back to the Valley.

      All day Jeff and I had talked about where to go for supper.  When we had gone thru Cedarville this morning, he saw the sign for the Cedarville Country Store (diner) and I saw the Matteson Hotel.  Both looked look for supper but by the time we were headed back to Mohawk, he had decided maybe Denny's would be the best bet and that's where we ended up.  (He had his steak dinner and I had salmon.) Once we got home after stopping there and were greeted by the dogs, I fed them, and we all settled down for a nap. Now everyone is awake and bright-eyed again!  I think I 'll pick a tome from the bag of books I picked up at the library Thursday and settle down for the night. Jeff had the dogs outside and Fanny is stretched out next to me ready to sleep, while Zoey followed Jeff back to his PC.  No knitting tonight, maybe tomorrow!

Good Bye, Billy

   Every year my family seems to get smaller. I am an 'only' who grew up in a big Italian family in a large Italian neighborhood.  Everybody seemed to be related to everyone else!  I never felt lonely.  There was always somewhere to go, someone to visit, someone to talk to--in 2 languages English and Calabrese! (Never mind me trying to speak Basilicata...my grandmothers couldn't even understand each other's dialects and spoke to each other in broken English!) 

   While I have plenty of cousins, I was born at a time when I had the attention of both my grandmothers and most of my aunts to myself.  I was made to feel special.  When I went away to college my father's sister (Bill's grandmother) crocheted an afghan for me that I still use!  As the younger cousins were born, I was not jealous of them.  I enjoyed watching them play and grow, and to be perfectly honest, I was glad they took the spotlight off me.  (To this day I do not like having my picture taken because it seemed I had it taken every day for the first 5 years of my life by one aunt or another. When we moved out of the neighborhood to the country and found that our next-door neighbor had a horse (actually, a pony) anyone could ride, a trip to our house was high on the to-do list for younger my cousins...and I could be behind the lens!!) I was always proud of my younger cousins' achievements and supported them.  (Try explaining to your 85+year old mother why the band, Classified, Billy was performing with that night was so good-- even if it was so loud...and we were outside!)

   When Diane called me to say Billy was gone, I just sat here at my PC staring at the screen.  I couldn't believe it...or didn't want to.  Please read his obituary...especially the last paragraph.  It is so important to prevent this happening to any other family.

Herkimer - William M. (Bill) Mirgo, 64, a life-long Herkimer resident, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

He was born on July 19, 1958, in Herkimer the son of the late William and Phyllis (Fiorentino) Mirgo. Bill was a graduate of Herkimer High School, class of 1976, and he furthered his education at Herkimer County Community College, graduating in 1978.

Music was Bill’s life. As a talented and respected self-taught guitarist, he entertained Central New York as a member of many bands including Honeybush Brothers, Lonesome Dove, Classified, Southern Grace, Joe Angerosa, and most recently Vinyl Logic and Groove Machine. In addition to performing, he shared his knowledge and passion of music to others through teaching.

Mr. Mirgo was of the Catholic faith.

Survivors include his sister, Diane D'Amelio and her husband Dean of Frankfort; a niece, Melanie D'Amelio; a nephew, Paul Dack and his wife Katie Hong; a cousin, Mary Terico; and the numerous members in his musical family.

Bill was predeceased by his parents and an infant brother, Eric Mirgo.

Graveside services at Calvary Cemetery, Herkimer, NY will be held at a time to be announced. Arrangements are under the caring guidance of the Vincent A. Enea Funeral Service, (next to Hannaford Markets), 527 E. Albany St., Herkimer, NY. 

Some of Bill’s colleagues have organized a musical tribute to his life at Masonville at Station 233 in Westmoreland on Friday, April 21 at 6pm. Anyone who has performed with him before or who would like to honor him is welcome to attend.

His family appreciates the outpouring of support, well wishes, and fond memories from so many of the members of his musical family.

Depression is a serious illness. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to someone, seek professional help, or contact Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. Please don’t allow this to happen to another family.

               I know Heaven's got a hell of a band!

  

   

 

Happy Easter!

   Happy Easter!  Hope everyone had a beautiful day.  The weather definitely cooperated with blue sky and sunshine! 

   We had invited my cousin, Ed, to join us for dinner and Jeff did the honors.  He put a pork roast in the slow cooker, and it did its magic!  I asked what flavor packet he used and was blown away when he answered, 'beef stew'.  The potatoes and green beans he had added to the roast were cooked perfectly and the roast itself was fork tender!  There were very few leftovers!!

   Because yesterday was also my birthday, Ed brought a cake for dessert...a chocolate layer cake topped with delicious, whipped frosting.  We managed to eat half the cake!!

   I made a traditional Italian Easter bread, braided and trimmed with eggs.  The arthritis in my hands has been bothering me a lot the last few weeks as I finished things to take to the shop and I was worried I wouldn't be able to make the bread.  I finally decided to use the bread machine we had to mix and knead the dough, and everything came out right!  I did make 1 mistake when I ran out of lemon juice and did not add water, so my bread was a little dry and flavorless but with butter on a slice it tasted almost as good as my mom's!  Jeff had cleaned out the flatware drawer and threw away the old pastry brushes I had had for years.  I had to use a bunched-up paper towel to spread some milk on my bread before sprinkling on the candy sprinkles.  Oh well, we really didn't need all that candy!!  My braided wreath always comes out lop-sided! 

This is what half the dough the recipe made.  I also formed 2 small, straight, braided loaves with 1 egg each.  For some reason the candy sprinkles

 stuck better to them!  My cousin took 1 home with him and the other was my sample!

    

It's That Time Again!

    It's that time of the year again...the shop in Cooperstown opened this week for the 49th season!!  I decided to stay...one season at a time...and made some new hats (not many, but a few)!  I'm not a 'worker', it would be too much for me.  The ride to Cooperstown was exhausting...when we got home both Jeff and I had a cup of coffee and a nap before doing anything else!!  

   Since getting my stock ready to take to the shop last Monday I've been bothered by the arthritis in my hands...especially around my thumbs!   I've even been woken up in the night with shooting pains in my fingers and this week when we stopped for coffee at Stewart's on the way to the library, I managed to spill my coffee!  The hot liquid felt good on my hand, but I felt like a fool making a mess!  I haven't knit a stitch since April 3rd but my thumbs are still sore.  And the strangest thing, Thursday night was a really restless night for me with strong pains in my hands but when I woke up Friday morning my left hand was pain-free.  And there was a black and blue mark on my left thumb the size of a nickel, too.  I have no idea where it came from but it's still there! This is what my thumb looks like:

    Here are my new hats for Spring!   I made just 2 Bunny hats because the shop opened the Thursday before Easter! 

   

This other hat is more of a Spring hat.  I think it's so cute!  A friend of mine crocheted the flower for me.  It really finishes the hat, doesn't it?  All three spring hats are hand-knit with 100% acrylic yarn and are machine wash and dryable.  The shop, Cooper Country Crafts, is located in Doubleday Court in Cooperstown, NY and is open 10am-5pm, 7 days a week.  You can always call ahead to make sure it's open 607-547-9247.  Parking is free in front of the shop!