Spring Message from Wendy Martin
ThreeVillagePeople.com is growing every day! We now have a new calendar where you can find out about all the exciting ThreeVillagePeople.com up and coming events. We are also having our Grand Opening Celebration Party on Thursday April 26 at 6pm at Patty Buchanan's Pub across from the Stony Brook train station. This is an opportunity for our whole community to come out and meet our neighbors and make new business acquaintances. Patty Buchanan's is planning a wonderful buffet for only $10 per person. This is the first of our planned monthly networking events and we hope to see you there. If you would like to know more you can call me on 631 687 7260. I hope you have a wonderful Spring season.
Best wishes, Wendy Martin
Meet our Villager In The Spotlight
by Charlene Burton
Once again it's time to spotlight one of our villagers from a different angle; not the work that they do, rather some personal insight into who they are. For this edition I chose Dr. Richard Bronson, Reproductive Specialist/published poet! Wow, what a combination! If you have had the pleasure of reading his book, Search for Oz, you will be touched by his tender, observant, brilliantly conceived poems.
I was shocked at first when I made the connection between the book of poems and the man who had written a very interesting article about Why Women Can't Conceive in our first two issues. How can a doctor who must often find it necessary to shield himself from the huge pressures and sometimes sadness of his profession have such a soft, perceptive side? Upon reexamination however, it makes perfect sense. Couldn't a giver of life have an even more heightened sense of the world around him and be blessed with the ability to put it all into words? The answer is a resounding yes. It was a pleasure and an honor to interview Dr. Richard Bronson. I look forward to meeting him and having him sign my copy of his book. I don't usually like printed interviews, but I think you will enjoy this, a lovely glimpse at our Villager in the Spotlight.
Have you always known you had a gift with the written word or did you discover this as an adult?
I've always had a creative mind, high on imagination. One of my favorite TV shows as a child was hosted by "Mr. I Magination". I was a member of the creative writing club while in high school and wrote poetry during those years.
Were you exposed to poetry as a child?
Yes, and music, through my mother.
Does your emotional nature sometimes make the work you do as a doctor difficult, or does it give you an added empathy that allows you to help people through a difficult process?
It works both ways. A good doctor maintains the proper balance between empathy and clinical distance. I believe that I listen more than many doctors, and poets have to be observant, a good quality for a physician as well.
Many artists, writers are focused on certain issues or topics...from what I have read so far, your work has no boundaries. You find a passion for such a wide variety of things. What do you attribute this to?
My curiosity and ability to focus. Good time management allows me to find time to read...and I don't have the TV habit ( I'm an ex-TV addict., who grew up with "the tube" on all day long, We even ate our dinner watching TV! Now, I stay away from it. and spend a lot of time playing the piano and writing.
Does your love of poetry help to balance out the emotional situations you must deal with in your medical work......is it a release.....where as you might have to remain detached in certain situations as a doctor?
No, music is a release, but not poetry. Writing is actually a pretty intense creative process for me, Though sometimes the thoughts flow rapidly, especially in the early morning hours, editing takes a lot of concentration.
One of your reviewers mentioned the stereotypical doctor needing to be cold and unemotional. Do you think you are a rarity , or is it that you just allow people to see that emotional side of you?
Many doctors are friendly and "people oriented", which is why they chose the career in the first place. The pressure of an office overbooked with people, due to the medical economics of the times creates a certain dulling of the spirit in time.
The poem about your father and his violin so deeply touched me.....it put into words things that I feel often.
Glad you liked this poem. My father believed that he was the best doctor in the Bronx, (big ego) and was very involved in his family's medical care...but he was so busy caring for his patients, we rarely saw him at home for days on end. He was very proud of being a provider for people,including us. Finding the violin was very special.
Finding the poem about the violin was very special to me, as was the opportunity to interview fellow villager, Dr. Richard Bronson.
Thank you Doctor for taking the time to correspond with me. It was truly a pleasure.
You can find Dr. Bronson's book "Search for Oz" at amazon.com
Also, look for him in the village reading room.
An Interview with Eileen Koff
by Charlene Burton
Taking it "To The Next Level": Transforming your life through organization.
I remember taking a long ride in a limo with a renowned matrimonial attorney. I decided to seize the opportunity and glean some wisdom from this wealthy, powerful, successful, perfectly groomed mother of two. I asked her to select one thing that she could attribute her success to. She thought very carefully as I awaited this miraculous secret that would open untold doors for me. She looked up and said, "I lead a well organized life." That was it? How anticlimactic! None the less, I stored those words in the back of my mind until I could someday unlock their magic. Someday would come eight years later, thanks to threevillagepeople.com
Editing the newsletter for Threevillagepeople.com has given me a wonderful opportunity to get to know local people that would have otherwise possibly never crossed my path. I must say, that I am intrigued and interested in all the people I have met thus far, and look forward to those I will meet in the future.
One of the first people that I connected with was Eileen Koff, a professional organizer, who graciously submitted articles that were wonderful additions to the newsletter. Straightforward, palatable advice about being organized, something that I have to say is alien to me. Ironically, in a past life, I was a manager at a bank and also at a restaurant; regaled for my organizational abilities, but when it comes to my personal life, it was an entirely different story. No matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn't get my act together. I read books and articles, instituted elaborate resolutions, but still I'd be rushing around looking for my keys, late for an appointment I had forgotten about, with no clue of the address. I was an organizational nightmare.
By the time I had read several articles by Eileen Koff, I was so intrigued, I felt compelled to interview her. Who was this wizard who could take chaos and miraculously create order with such ease? More importantly, what could she possibly say to me that would change my intrinsically scattered, messy mind? I was skeptical, but I thought that perhaps I could learn about her services, write about them, and help someone who was not as organizationally challenged as myself. I was in for a surprise.
I walked into Eileen's lovely and comfortable home looking for a quick road to "order", but I quickly learned that that is simply not what her business, "To the Next Level", is about. "Desperate people call, overwhelmed" truly needing help. Every case is different. Eileen goes in with what's called "the eyes of a stranger" with no emotional attachment, able to assess the situation and find real solutions. Sometimes people aresituationally disorganized, going through a transition or stressful period of their lives such as changing jobs, divorce, marriage, etc. I could definitely relate to this, still acclimating to being divorced. Others are chronically disorganized. OK, I could relate to this too. I started to realize that a professional organizer really needs to get to know their client before they can dig in to help. So the beginning of this journey starts with an assessment which takes about two hours. Two hours to talk about yourself, figure out your learning style and what you want to accomplish. This session not only helps the organizer, but for her clients Eileen says "learning about yourself is your biggest asset." What are your values and priorities? Are you sentimental? All these things need to be taken into consideration. This is not a one size fits all proposition. Unearthing what is important to you, what you're comfortable with, and what's standing in your way, are all tools that enable you and your organizer to drastically improve how you live.
So where do we go from here? After the initial assessment, Eileen has a sense of her client and their needs.
She spends very focused time helping them sort out whatever issue she has come in to resolve, whether it be a garage, years of paperwork, time management, or an entire house. "Clutter is postponed decisions" so having someone guiding you,cheering you on through out the process is invaluable.
"Organization is "the process that allows you to meet your goals and fulfill your purpose." Clutter stops people from being effective and meeting their full potential. "Empowering clients to find their purpose" is Eileen's passion, her gift, her calling. I spent two hours with this amazing, spiritual, intelligent woman. I gained so much from my meeting with her, I think that if people truly understood what this professional organizer does, they would not hesitate to take advantage of her expertise.
I will gladly share with you all the wisdom that I walked away with that is truly transforming my life, and continues to each day. I reflect back on our talk often and it works it's magic for me daily, calming me and helping me to find order in my life and in my mind.
1. Write a personal mission statement. What's important to you? Your work, your family, charity, your art? Then look at your schedule, does it reflect what is important to you or are you expending a lot of unnecessary energy on things that are actually low on your list? ( I know I spend WAY too much time looking for my keys:)
2.Now look through your clutter. Are you hanging on to things that aren't truly important to you? Let them go. This can be a metaphor for our emotional life as well.
3. Don't feel overwhelmed by a big job. Take it in small steps. I was a little skeptical when
Eileen said "you can accomplish a lot in fifteen minutes." Now, whenever I have a free fifteen minutes I pick a small area or task and go like gangbusters completing it. You really can accomplish a lot in fifteen minutes when you have purpose, focus and attention. All gifts that Eileen shares with you.
4. Here is another one I was skeptical of. I told her I had a paper problem and she suggested I try the Freedom Filer. She seemed so confident in a product that really didn't look like much and cost $40. But after meeting with her I trusted her advice. Sure enough, two years of paperwork that has been accumulating on my bedroom floor, in spite of my desperate efforts to make them disappear are now gone! More magic! AND it has stayed that way for a month so far. Every time paperwork comes in now from school, insurance and all the other countless sources that paper seems to descend upon us, I am actually happy to run up and file them away in my color coded easy to follow self purging system. Truly amazing!
5. Go step by step whether it's a junk drawer, closet or whole house the procedure is the same. Think of the word SPACE
S ort
P urge
A ssign a home
C containerize
E equalize (maintain)
According to Eileen, most people do C,S a little P, no E, and rarely A
Think about it, it was true for me. That missing A solved my continual problem with lost keys. they needed to be assigned a home!!!
6. "Organization is no longer a luxury." In our face paced world, being organized helps us to be more effective, comfortable and ultimately at ease.
7. Being organized helps you throughout your life in so many different ways. "Crisis' happen all the time, but being organized helps you to get through it and rebound faster." I found this to be so true in my own life. When my best friend suddenly passed away and I wanted to write her eulogy I luckily had three appropriate outfits all set from undergarments to purse and could focus on paying tribute to her. I didn't have to run to the store for stockings instead of having a good long cry, and reminiscing of our sweet childhood together.
From my brief, very pleasant, personal experience, a professional organizer does so much more than teach you to be neat and effective. They really are empowering people that help you to take back control of your life. In this totally out of control world we live in, a little control and peace is priceless. Thank you Eileen for that gift.
Learn more about Eileen Koff
Member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.NAPO.net)
Get ready for SPRING……
… in the garden.
Let's Get Growing!
By Janet Cucharo
Pinching Pansis Garden Club in the Garden Path
Despite our St. Patty’s Day late winter snow and ice storm, SPRING IS HERE and it’s time once again to get busy in the garden.
Start by cleaning up those garden beds. Give them all a good raking so your emerging bulbs and perennials have room to breathe. Cut or pull away dead stalks from your mums, coneflowers, peonies and anything else you left in the fall in order to provide “winter interest” for your garden.
Early spring is a great time to prune your trees since it is easy to see the branches while they are still leafless. I am able to take care of most these myself using a tree pruning pole. I also prune my hydrangeas and butterfly bushes at this time. But be careful! DO NOT PRUNE any spring flowering shrubs until after they bloom. Bring the outdoors in by cutting bud laden forsythia and pussy willow and let them do their blooming in a vase. Check out Forcing Forsythia on my March page.
A word about azaleas. After the flowers have faded and begin to fall off, do not be afraid to take your shears to them. I see way too many scraggly looking azaleas around here and they don’t have to look that way! Try the thirds method. Each year, evenly prune 1/3 of each bush. This will encourage new growth and in three years you will have successfully rejuvenated your shrubs. You will be so proud of how bushy and healthy they look. Visit The Miracle of Spring web page to find out more about Azaleas.
Once you’ve cleaned out your beds and the last frost date has passed (Mother’s Day is the benchmark date around these parts), it’s time to plant! Take advantage of the rich acidic soil the Three Villages offer us and plant acid loving plants like hydrangeas, holly, azaleas and rhododendrons. If my garden is any indication, these will absolutely thrive. Every hydrangea I have planted has taken off like an SST, profusely blooms all summer and provides me with gigantic flower heads for drying in the fall. Find out more about Hydrangeas on my August web page.
Last, but certainly not least, get out that wheelbarrow and start mulching. The time and effort you spend mulching in May will pay you back in all that glorious leisure time you will have for the rest of the summer since you won’t be spending it weeding and watering as much! Click here for the merry month of May page and find out more about the magic of mulch.
And don’t forget! You are always welcome to visit me at my website: pinchingpansies.com. I would love to hear from you. Visit the Setauket page and submit photos of your very own Three Village Garden and get a glimpse of mine while you’re there. And please! Visit my advertisers! They keep me going and you growing!
HAPPY GARDENING!
Stone Walls and Grading
by Steve Antos
The Importance of Grading and how beautiful stone walls can help achieve a proper grade... and possibly save the world.
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Setauket Landscape, Design and Contruction
631-689-6082
www.setauketlandscape.com
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Grading, and particularly, the correct grading of the land in relation to your house, is crucial before any other landscaping is attempted. Plantings, hardscapes, driveways, etc. no matter how well installed; if they are set at an incorrect grade, will surely need to be redone.
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The first priority of setting and establishing a grade is drainage. The land should never slope/pitch toward the building, there should be a pitch leading away from the building ,and ideally at least six inches of the structure's foundation should be exposed above the soil surface. This is to ensure that the rainfall flows away from the building and it's framing and woodwork is high and dry and away from being subjected to mold, termites, critters, debris and rot.
The second objective of grading is aesthetics. Although this is a more subjective goal, drainage again plays a fundamental role. Personally, I find that a house always looks more prominent and permanent when the land is graded properly away from the structures and the garden displays a natural flow from all aspects. Futher more, I usually aspire to create leveled areas or terraces in a garden and address elevation/grade changes with shorter, steeper slopes or vertical retaining walls.
Terracing maximizes the usability of the land, and creates separate, interesting levels of the garden. Terracing slows the rainwater runoff of a property so that more rainwater percolates through the earth becoming clean groundwater, rather than a flooded basement or a pollution laden street runoff flowing into our watersheds and estuaries. Terracing also invites me to introduce my most beloved elemental feature of landscape design: the drystacked stone wall...And maybe even a stone stairway as well.
The stone wall is as integral to a landscape as the wheel is to automotive design - it has just got to be there. Aside from their universal beauty, charm and appeal, stone walls allow us to control slopes that present drainage, erosion and land usability issues on a plot of land. Stone walls can turn these liabilities into assets. For example: a hill sloping towards a home can be carved out in an arc shape in a way that water will flow around the home and the soil will pitch away from the foundation. The resulting stone retaining wall will be a dramatic highlight of the garden [ see photo 1] . Raised beds, sunken patios, garden walls, stairways and terraces all capitalize on the slope of a plot of land to create dimension and areas of interest, while solving the drainage and grading difficulties of a sloped garden.
Thanks to the most recent glacier which plowed the earth from the north and left a mound we now know as the North Shore of Long Island, most people here have a slope on their land with which to be creative. For these reasons, we have many stone walls throughout the hills of our North Shore.
However, this being said, the flat plains of the South Shore also can also have difficult grading and drainage issues that stone walls can turn into assets of the gardens. Many properties there have only a foot or so of soil before you hit the water table, and the placement of the home's septic system there creates unpleasant troubles that can make a family very unhappy.
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These domestic woes can be rectified by setting the cesspools above the grade, adding soil and encapsulating the area with a stone wall. This can result in an attractive, interesting and very fertile raised garden bed. [see photo 2.] Such raised beds add dimension to a flat plot of land, bringing the plantings closer to eye level and within easy reach so that less bending is required for tending the beds.
Another application of a stone wall to add interest and usability to a flat plot of land is the free standing wall. This type of stone wall has two faces, one on either side. They are usually built with mortar and finished with a flagstone cap. [see photos 3+4.] Free standing stone walls can be used for privacy, decoration, seating or as foundations for planters, structures, columns and lamp posts. They are formal solid arrangements that define spaces and entryways. Free standing stonewalls can be: minor accents a few inches tall, a comfortable eighteen inch high bench, a four foot privacy screen to make a cozy patio area or a twenty five foot tall fortification stretching thousands of miles long protecting civilizations from invasion.
So, in summary, proper grading and particularly stone walls: help save our backs, fertilize our plants, protect our homes from rotting, give us privacy, make our family lives happy, turn our liabilities into assets, clean our drinking water, protect our estuaries from pollution, preserve marine life, the food chain and civilization.
Steve Antos, Owner.
Get ready for SPRING……
……..to look great
Spring Cleaning Checklist for a Healthy Smile
by Edward Antos, Jr.
Spring Cleaning Checklist for a healthy smile-
1. Have teeth cleaned and examined.
2. Bleach teeth and dazzle everyone.
3. Consider crowns and laminates for a new younger you!
See You Soon
Doctor Edward Antos, Jr.
Health and Beauty Way
Get ready for SPRING……
……..to look great
Clearing The Brain
by Eileen Koff
Clear out all the worries and to do's in your mind and you will feel so much better!
We’ve all heard about spring cleaning for your home, but in the world of professional organization, spring cleaning begins in your brain. Creating what I call a brain clutter list is the first step in the process in finally getting your projects done, not just dreaming that they will be.
A brain clutter list requires about 20 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted time. This list boils down to everything in your head that you think needs to be done immediately and long term. Just get a piece of paper and begin writing everything you think of that needs your attention. I use my PC ~ seems I go faster if I type it. You list whatever comes to mind from the water bill to the laundry to the storm widows to the kitchen floor to paint your nails to shampoo
the carpets to hang that picture to clean out that closet to make out your will.................whatever. ALL OF IT! Don't think in terms of today, tomorrow or next week. Just sit and begin listing everything you need to attend to! The minuscule tasks to the big tasks will come to mind and you need to put them all down. JUST GET IT OUT OF YOUR BRAIN AND ON TO THE PAPER. You'll be amazed at what comes to mind. Don't let it overwhelm you. You are listing these things, not getting up to worry over them and do them right now.
When you are done.....breath......breath deep! Relax. This is so very important to relay to you! I highly suggest you don't really look at the list when you are done. Set it aside. Wait a day or two before doing step two.
Step two is looking at the things you wrote down and giving them some
kind of time in your life. I work best if I don't try to "over ~ do” scheduling. The simpler the better for me or I get all caught up in the scheduling and I don't get anything done. Maybe you would like to use post-it notes and slap one on each of the monthly calendar pages from a main wall calendar. For instance, my deck needs to be power washed. This has been on my mind forever. Well, I am finally putting it away in its proper place now. I will do that this May! Done and over with...I release that to may of 2007. And you know.........I feel sooooooo much better about that particular task now. It’s a Good....Very Good feeling!!!!
I think a brain clutter list is so refreshing! It helps me so much to GIVE certain things to the future so that I can zone in on the present. This acknowledgment of things and then the giving of them to a time later helps me relax about today. Spring is all about renewal and new possibilities. Un-clutter your brain and breath the fresh air!
Get ready for SPRING……
….to plan an artistic vacation
Take an Art Vacation
by Elizabeth Greaf
Take a shoret vacation in art. Try a plein aire workshop.
Get away from it all, pick up pencils, brushes, paper and attend a workshop. You can find art workshops all over the globe and right in your own village. They may take you away overnight, for a long weekend, a couple weeks, or just for a few hours. Most workshops welcome beginners as well as experienced artists.
I’ve taught workshops in Stony Book, Setauket, Paris, and on islands in Maine and Rhode Island. Even the local ones give you a break from your usual routine, obligations, and worries and let you get away to beach or park or roadside and just focus on enjoying the view and hopefully doing some form of artwork. If you have a group that wants a workshop, you might work with an artist to design your own.
Imagine sitting on a hillside on Block Island, the sea in the distant view, very casually dressed and being able to challenge yourself with pencil and paper in the company of others who are doing the same. In the evenings there would be shared companionship with other participants over dinner, maybe a sunset painting thrown in. You might explore local galleries, shop, read a good book or take a long walk during breaks from painting. Lunches would probably be picnic style at a painting location.
Can’t draw a straight line? You don’t have to. No artist started out painting great works, just like walking it takes a lot of practice, trial and error, and willingness not to give up if you aren’t at the level of your neighbor. Just treat yourself, don’t worry about the other guy. You don’t know how much more practice he/she may have had over years. Art workshops should be shared enjoyment and support.
You can find out about workshops given by Gallery North, local art councils, etc. by calling them. Check out my website Calendar for one to be given on Block Island in June and a local one in the fall www.artbyeliz.com . Look in the back of “American Artist” and “Artist’s Magazine” for many exotic workshops around the world or contact www.paintingfrance.com to see the workshops that Phillip Levine of New York City has organized for this year.
Paint, take a break, and have fun.
Elizabeth Greaf
631 689-5604
Get ready for SPRING……
……to move on
The Climate Has Changed
by Michael Ardolino
Thinking of buying or selling a home in the area?
Today’s new real estate climate presents new challenges. However, for sellers with experienced agents, it also presents opportunities. An experienced agent can employ the proactive and aggressive marketing strategies that successfully sell homes in such a market.
I have spent over 20 years studying economic trends, home prices, and market fluctuations. I am experienced with all different markets, whether buyer’s, seller’s, or balanced. I have seen housing booms, housing slumps, and market corrections. The key lies in understanding that market changes, like climate changes, are cyclical in nature.
I can help you with real estate. Call me at 631-941-4300.
