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By: Pamela A. Gibbs
       Contributing Writer

WILTON - Asked if she could be described as a woman with a lot of junk in her trunk, sculptor miChelle Vara hooted with delight.

"You could definitely arrive at that conclusion," said miChelle, her laughter continuing. "But then again, the stuff really isn't junk to me."

The "stuff" in her trunk, and all around the grounds of her Wilton studio, includes antique metal tools, pipes and chains, bicycles, long-retired farm equipment, old car bumpers, a huge assortment of keys, and hundreds of other interesting metal objects rescued from a slow death-by-rust and now slated for new relevance in one of the artist's sculptures.

By Stacey Morris
Contributing Writer
Photos by David DeLozier
 
TROY - When Larry Schepici moved to Troy from Boston ten years ago, one of the first things he did was hop in his car and check out the farms in his new neighborhood.

"Where I come from, I was used to dealing with farmers," said the long-time chef. "It's just part of the restaurant scene in Boston."

By Wendy Hobday Haugh

Imagine a restaurant that recycles its glass, cans, and paper products, uses biodegradable take-out containers, purchases all its green produce locally, composts every kitchen scrap imaginable, serves only fair-trade coffee and made-from-scratch, cooked-to-order food, uses no trans fats or chemical additives, delivers its customers' plate-waste to families with pet pigs, gives its leftover bread to folks raising chickens, changes its cooking oil frequently, and donates its discarded oil to a local man who processes it and uses it as fuel - to power to his car!

COHOES - Jane LaCivita's plan for her Golden Years was unfolding perfectly. It included a newly purchased condo Thailand where she would spend her days kicking back after a career in nursing home administration.

Then her cousin-in-law came to town.

Doug and Aimee Azaert's Sustainable Living at The Glen:

Wild Waters Outdoor Center and The Glen Lodge & Market

by Persis Granger

Doug Azaert grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and settled in the Adirondacks in 1982, teaching kayaking with some buddies. After a year or so, they realized that guiding rafters was more lucrative than teaching people how to paddle.

Looks like the long Winter has finally broken and Spring is here.  One sure sign that Spring has Sprung is the return of the Maple Weekends.  We are fortunate to have the producers of the finest sweetener on the planet right here in our backyard.  Of course, I'm talking about the annual ritual of Maple sap collection to create Maple syrup.  Checkout the article "March Maple Madness" in my previous blog post here at Saratoga.com and read about some of the characters involved in this right of Spring.

by Donna Pochaski of Vintage Chic Furniture

I started painting distressed furniture "shabby chic style" first out of necessity. I pulled a piece of furniture off the curb that someone was throwing away. I just moved into a small and super cute old cottage style house and I realized I needed more furniture.  I found great candidate that somebody had left on the curb. I loaded into my vehicle, went to home depot, bought some paint, a brush, and some sandpaper and went to work. I chose white paint - I love white, and it's the cheapest paint to buy!  After priming and painting, I proceeded to sand the edges to give it that aged distressed look. I loved the way it came out.  Then it hit me - this is how I'm going to decorate my whole house!! The white finish was light and bright and I just loved it.

Virgil's House came onto the Saratoga scene two years ago when the old auto parts store on Lake Ave, next the Parting Glass Pub, was rehabbed for new commercial use.  Opening another coffee shop and eatery in the already crowded marketplace of downtown Saratoga Springs would seem a bit crazy, but not to Kathleen Quartararo. Having been burned out from the techno-gadget world of telecom, she and partner James Hahn wanted a place where they and others could defrag from the "connected" world.   Full of ideas and freed from the corporate rulebook, Kathleen and James gathered their collection of old furniture, board games and hodge-podge of coffee mugs and opened Virgil's House.  Virgil's has become that tech-free haven and a whole lot more.  When you come to Virgil's, turn off your cell phone; leave your laptop in the car.  Instead, engage a conversation, make a new friend and play a game of cards.  The giant chess board may beckon, and you just might stay awhile.  Welcome to Kathland. 

By Stacey Allen
Contributing Writer

This time of year, more than ever, there's probably not one among us that hasn't imagined being off the grid... not having to worry about the cost of heating our home throughout the winter chill. Tucked away in the middle of 80 acres on the borders of Greenfield Center and Corinth, photographer Tom Stock and his wife, Roberta, are living just that life.

By Stacey Morris
Contributing Writer



GLENS FALLS - It's a Friday evening and Red Fox Bookstore is in the midst of hosting what is probably one of its more fragrant book signings.   Celebrated chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur Suvir Saran is on hand not only to sign copies of "Indian Home Cooking" and "American Masala," but to encourage customers to sample the fruits of his recipe collections.


At one end of the store is a table laden with Indian and Indian-inspired dishes from his books: Tamarind-Glazed Meatloaf, Better-