Adirondack Family Time™

Laugh all you want until your child/niece/nephew or friend takes a leap off the toilet when the automatic flush goes off. The tears and clean-up that ensue can be easily handled by just placing your hand over the sensor until business is taken care of. Another tip, unless you have really long arms, pull off the paper first so you don't have to become a contortionist.

Assistant to the Curator Stephanie Pfaff leads us on a whirlwind tour of the Miner family in Chazy. It is astounding how one family could shape a community. She touches on some of the basics like Heart’s Delight Farm as an experiment in modern farming, starting a K-12 school that became the 1st centralized school, building a hospital, church and the Alice T Miner Museum. The unusual part of the museum is that Alice Miner had the museum specifically built to replicate a house to highlight how people lived in the mid 1800s. Her directive was to showcase American history. This isn’t a renovated building altered to fit the museum’s vision but a specific example to allow visitors a glimpse into the Colonial Revival time period. We are shown the downstairs sitting and formal rooms. The children are asked to identify various articles from the collection and play three guesses. For the first item my son guesses a spoon warmer correctly. His recent fondness for soup has him rethinking our tab

Since 1915, Seagle Music Colony has been training talented singers in opera and musical performances in Schroon Lake. Located on the web at www.seaglecolony.com.

My husband and I are alone. My daughter is worried as she goes off to a play date that we will be lonely. We are soon in the middle of a pond, completely alone. There are no young voices yelling to see a cobweb, bug, rock, or floating stick. There are never long moments of silence. The dynamic children bring to any activity can fill the air and allow one to see things differently. The enthusiasm for the simplest of things is refreshing. That said, they also have the ability to vacuum the positive energy right out of a given situation with life altering decisions like they no longer like bread while dramatically claiming starvation at the same time they wave a sandwich overhead. Another way is when is when they have to go to the bathroom only after being life-jacketed and paddling in the middle of a lake no matter how many times they are asked before to take care of business. It happens and we survive but during all that I am not always tuned into the hermit thrush’s call. I

Items needed: photo album, color printer, photo paper, digital camera In our household children and clutter go hand in hand. I do my best to keep ahead of the paperwork coming home but it can become overwhelming. On the same thought, children put a lot of work (and sometimes glitter) into their school projects. In the house it can create a mess and a build up of projects. I want to create an environment that acknowledges their creativity but also doesn't overrun the rest of us with egg cartons and shoe box dioramas. At the beginning of each school year I give my children an empty photo album just for school projects. We set a time limit that each project will be "on display" in our house. Our time limit is one week after the school presentation takes place. Of course if family is coming to visit then we will postpone so our children can demonstrate for the grandparents. We make a big deal when it is time to take the photos. Take as many angles as necessary and let the chi

My son turned to me the other day, after I asked him to pick up his clothes, and informed me that he was not my servant. Clearly, this is true. Since sarcasm is not an appropriate response, I cock my head to the side and go over the course of an average day. He has to put his own clothes away after I wash, dry and fold them. He has to set the table while my husband and I alter between cooking and cleaning up the meal. He has to pick up the toys, books, and games he plays with. He has to make sure his lunch and snack (that I make) get into his backpack. He has to buckle his seatbelt while he is shuttled from baseball, birthday parties, play dates and other activities. He has to take off his own dirty clothes and put them in a laundry basket, not around a laundry basket. He has to make the bed that he sleeps in. He has to get himself dressed. He has to make sure his own toys are off the floor when I vacuum. Those are some of the things he has to do. There are additional tasks but that i

I realize not everyone is in the midst of school finals, half school days and science projects that I find myself finishing. Yes, that I am finishing, if the number of times I’ve reminded my son of the importance of penmanship and timeliness counts toward my partial credit. I repeat to my child that I did finish the 3rd grade and find no need to repeat the curriculum. We are dealing with last minute details and lessons (we hope) learned that waiting to the last minute is not an effective way to plan. We are not above taking away privileges or dangling the occasional carrot (or should I say circus) in front of my child’s head. I only hope he will remember that procrastination causes stress. This is a lesson I already know well. I do not need to keep reliving that as well as the awkwardness of 3rd grade. This Saturday the Saranac Lake Youth Center will be holding its first annual circus at Lake Colby beach from 11:00 a.m. – 4: 00 p.m. There will be a traditional midway where the variou

1 tablespoon corn starch 1 ½ tsp. water 2 tsp. cold cream food coloring In a small container, mix the water and corn starch until it is smooth. Blend in the cold cream. Make sure there are no lumps so the when the color is added it will be consistent. Add a few drops of food coloring at a time until the color you wish to achieve is created. Basic colors: Blue = 4-5 drops, more for darker color Red = 7-8 drops Pink = 3-4 drops Yellow = 4-5 drops White = leave as is Orange = even amounts of red and yellow Green = even amounts of yellow and blue Purple = even amounts of red and blue *Please do not put anything on your face or anyone else's without doing an skin allergy test first. Apply a small amount on the skin and wait at least 5 minutes before applying to larger an more visible portions of the body. If any food coloring remains gently scrub the area with toothpaste. It should come right off and you will smell minty-fresh. To wash off use mild soap and warm water. The cold cream th

3 cups flour 3 tsp baking powder 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup white sugar 1 can of beer (various flavors will alter the taste. The darker the beer, the stronger the taste.) DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.* Add beer and mix. The batter will be lumpy and sticky. Pour into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan. Bake for 50 for 60 minutes. *For a quick hostess/housewarming gift put all the dry ingredients in a glass jar, close the lid tight, print out the directions and attach with a ribbon. Alterations: Try using a carbonated beverage like a sparkling juice or seltzer

Even with criticism of over-scheduled youth, there is still a part of me that believes carefully laid out plans and a boxed lunch can accomplish anything. The voice in my head warns me that we’re one pit stop away from complete chaos. The other devil argues that just a small percentage of kids are over-scheduled while a good portion do nothing at all. So I justify our carefully laid out plans knowing we will be waylaid along the way. That said, the June 6th Plattsburgh Museum Day seems more museum marathon than museum day. This is not an open door to one museum but eight different venues offering lectures, children activities and free admission. I spin briefly wondering how to fit it all in. The earliest event is the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association Conference at SUNY Plattsburgh (8:30-10:00 a.m.) where one can learn about the Champlain Valley Underground Railroad Canadian connection. Then perhaps to the Feinberg Library where films on the Underground Railroad,

Speakers from the Nature Conservancy were on hand at the 2nd annual Wildlife Habitat Day at Wildlife Refuge in Wilmington on Saturday, May 30th. Handouts and demonstrations were given to educate the public on invasive species to the Adirondack Park. The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) is one program partly sponsored by the Nature Conservancy that helps to coordinate t the Aquatic Invasive Species Project and the Terrestrial Invasive Species Project. Aquatic Invasive Species include: Eurasian watermilfoil Curlyleaf pondweed Water chestnut Terrestrial Invasive Species include: Garlic mustard Fly and tatarian honeysuckle Purple loosestrife Japanese knotweed Common and smooth buckthorn for a complete list of invasive plants and how best to education yourself and children on their removal, please go to Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (www.adkinvasives.com) for more information.

What to do if you or your children come across a wild animal baby: 1) Do not touch. Leave the animal alone for the first 24 hours. In most cases the animal is there for a reason. 2) If a bird fell out of its nest, try to put it back. It is a myth that the mother won't return if a human touches it. 3) If the animal is obviously injured than call the experts like the Adirondack Wilderness Refuge at 518-946-2428

1/3 cup butter melted and mixed into 3/4 cup milk = 1 cup cream in baking and cooking.