It's free live music season!

I am nearly giddy with excitement, because free outdoor concert season is here.  I have loved listening to live music since I was a little girl listening to my uncles jamming folk tunes around the campfire in my small town in Minnesota. As a teen, I'd drive an hour to see my cousins wailing out the 60s rock in their band Lost Weekend. In college, I was all about Brenda Weiler and Steward Davis any other midwestern singer songwriter who would make the trek to play at my small liberal arts university. As newlyweds, we'd stay out late on Tuesday nights to hear my cousin's band The Kung Fu Hippies. And in California, I lived the rock start dreams by singing in a church band that also played secular music for local gigs.

Now that I'm a mom, I love to taking my kids to hear live music. It's such a treat to see them engaged with the musicians, making the connections of sound to instrument, beats to drums and lyrics to voice.  Some days we love to dance and twirl, or some days just sit and soak it in. Whether it's folk, rock, pop, hippie jams, or zydeco; you'll see us out and about filling out ears and hearts many evenings this month.

My personal favorite concerts are at the Ellis Hollow community center on Tuesday nights. They start early (6pm), parking is easy, and the atmosphere is very laid back. The fabulous lineup of music downtown on Thursdays also starts at 6, though the concrete ground makes it less comfy for those not dancing. The the fun on Saturday nights at Taughannock State Park is infectious, with hundreds of people enjoying the tunes. I still haven't made it to a concert at Meyers Park or at the Cornell Arts Quad, but I've heard they are great, and both series start THIS WEEK! I'll update the blog with details once I get there!

You can find details on local concerts at the Ithaca Family Fun Fairs, Festivals and Concerts tab, or the Community Calendar.

Fireworks!

It's that time of year! The 4th of July is near, and love them or hate them, the fireworks are about to start. Here's the info on fireworks displays I've heard about in the area. If you know of others, please post them in the comments and/or send them to me!

Sunday, July 1:

The Lansing Community Council will be holding a fireworks celebration on July 1, 2012 starting at 6pm in Myers Park in Lansing, NY. The event will feature Technicolor trailer Park at 6pm and The Dixie Kats at 8:30pm, and hamburgers, hot dogs, and sausage will be available. Dave Hatfield and the Lansing Community Council will be providing food for the evening. A portion of the procedes will support the Community Council. Fireworks at dark!

This event is free and open to the public though donations are accepted at the event.

There will be limited parking in the park. Please use the free shuttles from the Lansing School parking lots. Rain Date: July 7th.

Monday, July 2:

The City of Ithaca will be hosting the Community Fireworks Celebration at Stewart Park on Monday, July 2nd. The celebration will run from 6 to 10pm with the fireworks being launched at 9:45pm. Live music and other entertainment will start at 6pm on the Ballpark Field at Stewart Park. Entertainment for the kids will include a bounce house, face painting, balloon animals, plus games and prizes. All are welcome to join in the picnic fun which is free and open to the public.

Parking will be available at the Park and at the nearby schools. Donations can be received at these locations or in buckets located throughout the celebration. Viewing will be best from Stewart Park, however the fireworks may also be seen from Cass Park and other locations throughout the City.

Candor Indepenence Day Celebrations July 1-7:
Don’t miss Candor’s annual July 4th celebration featuring a parade, carnival, fireworks, special music, barbecue, special music and displays. Festivities begin Sunday, July 1 with the Little Mr. & Miss Candor Contest beginning at 4 p.m. at the Candor Fire Station followed by the Candor Community Chorus Concert at the Candor High School at 7 p.m.

　
Candor’s Fourth of July Parade, July 4, 10 a.m. This year’s theme is commercials of the 1950s. Chicken BBQ follows at the Candor Ballfield.

　
Kiddie Parade, July 5th, 6 p.m. (line up at 5:30 p.m.) Theme: Favorite TV show.

　
Carnival, July 5, 6, & 7 at the Candor Ballfield

Fireworks, July 6, beginning at dusk.

　

It's Strawberry Picking time!

Several local U-Pick Strawberry places are now open for the season! Although I'm unaware of all the places around, I know that Indian Creek Farm on the way to Trumansburg, Silver Queen Farm between Trumansburg and Mecklenburg and Brookside Berry Farm in Freeville are ready for picking! Grisamore Farms north of Lansing should be ready by June 15th. For more information on picking your own food, visit the Farms and Food Tab of Ithaca Family Fun. As always, if you know of places I don't have here or on the website, email me or post them in the comments! Have fun picking!

Midwest Parades vs. Ithaca Parades

Last year after we went to Ithaca Festival parade, my friend and I were comparing notes on Ithaca Festival parades vs. parades in the Midwest. I grew up in a small time in Minnesota and she lived in Madison, Wisconsin for a while. She now lives right on the parade Ithaca Festival Parade Route, which makes for a great way to hang out with friends and score some sweet parking.

Our #1 observation was the shocking lack of clowns in Ithaca. Not a one in the parade last year. Here are others.

Midwest Parade: Lots of floats, usually driven by lawnmowers or nice cars loaned from the dealership.
Ithaca Parade: Mostly people walking, some in costumes, many with dogs.

Midwest Parade: Shriners driving little cars in choreographed movement.
Ithaca Parade: Volvo ballet (Volvos driven in choreographed movement)!

Midwest Parade: Clowns!
Ithaca Parade: A guy covered in plastic grocery bags shouting "Buy everything! Max out your credit cards"

Midwest Parade: "Princesses" from all the neighboring town lookin like Cinderella in there prom gowns
Ithaca Parade: Belly dancers looking a little more like Princess Jasmin


Midwest Parade: Tractors, horses, bands and firetrucks!
Ithaca Parade: Tractors, horses, bands and firetrucks!


Midwest Parade: Leave with tons of candy
Ithaca Parade: Leave with one piece of candy and a beaded necklace.


Take home message: Parades are awesome no matter where you are.
See you all at the parade on Thursday evening!!! 

Summer Camp Guide

Did you know that Tompkins County Youth Services puts out a comprehensive yearly Summer Camp guide?  The camp guide can be found in the Ithaca Times, as well as online, where you can search by age, camp type, or by using keywords. Day camp, sleep away camp, sports, outdoors, arts, nature, religeous, whatever! The camp guide is a great way to find a fabulous camp for your child! Find the Tompkins County Youth Services Camp Guide at http://www.tompkins-co.org/youth/campguide/index.asp. 

Easter Egg project!

It's only 2 weeks until Easter, and I'm sure many of you are thinking about dying eggs. I love to get creative with my eggs, so I asked my friend Stacy if I could repost her ingenious egg decorating entry from her blog, Enjoying Motherhood.

Silk Tie-dyed Easter Eggs Tutorial

Few things scream "EASTER" as much as dyeing Easter eggs....let's face it...what other time in the year do you care what color the outside of an egg is?!?! In the event that you want to mix up your dyeing process this year (or you're like me and don't want to have to run out to get colored tablets) try this fun way to spruce up your eggs.

You'll need some pretty simple things:

Eggs, silk pieces (ours are an old tie that we cut up), twist ties or short pieces of wire, and plain cotton pieces...it simply has to be undyed.  You also need a pot of water with 3 tbps vinegar added.

　
　

Next you take your silk piece and wrap the egg with it. Secure the ends with the twist ties.

　

　

　

Do the same thing with the cotton pieces, placing over the silk piece.  Place the eggs into the pot of water/vinegar.

　
　
 Then place on the stove. Bring to boiling.

　

　

　
Once you hit boiling turn it down to simmer. Let simmer for 40 minutes...it can go longer if you want.  Then use the scraps to play. :)

 When they've been in the allotted time unwrap and enjoy!

　

　
 Rub with vegetable oil to get them to shine!

Thanks to Stacy for this Fabulous project! Happy Easter everyone!

About Stacy: Stacy is a stay at home mom living in Minnesota on her 4th year of formal homeschooling (she says, "But let's face it...ALL families homeschool to some degree, right?") who started her blog because I wanted to ENJOY, rather than SURVIVE motherhood. "The blog was a way to keep myself accountable to that goal while encouraging other Mommies (and Daddies!) to do the same." Stacy's is raising her children in a Christian life to "KNOW that they loved by their Savior and live out His love to others" through values such as creativity, honesty, humility, servant-mindness and love for others.

A Colorful Life

I grew up with white walls. And, for some people, there's nothing wrong with white walls. But I am not a white wall person. I LOVES me some color.  So, like I was saying, my first 18 years were spent with white walls. Then I lived in dorms or apartments with more white walls, where painting was not allowed. Twenty-nine years of my life, I lived with white walls. But Then we moved to Ithaca and bought a house.....and I went a little crazy.

My favorite color is orange.  I'd dreamed of having an orange kitchen.  That was the first room we painted. I heard somewhere that if you want to make sure contrasting colors will look good together, find colors that go together in nature. Like, if you look at a flower or a piece of fruit, it will have many different colors in it. I took this and ran with it. 

The next big room I tackled was about 2 years later when the nesting urges came with baby number 2.  This was the family room.  This room is a large open space that acts as our play room, as well as one of the main entrances to our house.  I wanted a fun but classy feel to the room. After thinking about the color for what seemed like forever, I kept coming back to our daughter's play table and how much I loved the lime green color. I found the EXACT same color in Lowe's Olympic Premium low VOC paint and figured it must be a sign.  Our family room has some beams that I didn't want to get paint on, so I created a white boarder all along the top of the room.  I taped out "frames" to keep white and hand painted the murals. I painted some of our mismatched furniture off white to match the couch and chair.

We had these beautiful couches and after much contemplation, we decided to paint the living room and dining room red and tan.  This is the only room I can find before pictures of. What a difference some color makes! If only we'd known to use a tinted primer.  That red took over 5 coats.

Finally, I wanted our entry way to be warm and inviting and flow with the living room and the family room.  I found this color combo on a piece of clearance fabric I had purchased a year earlier. If you look closely at the pillow on the living room couch and the top of the shelf in the entryway, you'll see the fabric. It contains the red, the green and this entryway coral color.

By the way, I used that Olympic Premium low VOC paint in every room except the kitchen (and also in rooms not pictured). Its fabulous color has held up well.  The green gets visible scratches and prints more than the other colors, but I'm very happy overall. 

Looking at these pictures made me laugh at how bare all the rooms feel.  They were taken soon after the painting, and before the rooms had been well lived in.  I doubt my house will ever be that clean again, but that's okay. Our rooms are filled with toys and papers and shoes and clothes and messes; but most of all, they are filled with love and happy memories.  And that's what makes a house a home.