South Grand Island bridges. In Tonawanda, facing Grand Island. Today’s post about the Grand Island bridges marks the start of a series about walking along the Niagara River. When you live on an island, as I do, you put a lot of thought as to how you are going to get on and off that […]

It’s not everyone who celebrates her 65th birthday with a debut as a jazz singer, but that’s exactly what Lorna MacDonald Czarnota did in March. And she didn’t pick just any place for her debut, which also doubled as a birthday celebration. She chose the famous Colored Musicians Club, located at 145 Broadway in downtown

In May, I took a tour of the Babcock House Museum with members of the Grand Island Historical Society. The Babcock House Museum is located near Somerset, in Niagara County, about thirty-three miles northeast of Buffalo. It is an interesting and distinctive structure because it is made almost entirely of cobblestone. Cobblestone houses were built

On September 25th, I had the opportunity to travel to Derby, New York, to visit Graycliff with members of the Grand Island Historical Society. Our tour guide was June Justice Crawford, an historical society member and a longtime docent at Graycliff. Graycliff is a summer estate that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Darwin

Today, I start a new Ultimate Blogging Challenge for the month of October, and my goal for this challenge is to share images and stories of places across Western New York. It will be a travelogue, which will include architecture, places to walk, and more. Please follow me for the month to explore the sights

Here are a few portraits of some of my favorite people. Aren’t they good looking? In the comments section, you too can choose your favorite. Vote by number! Please describe why that picture is your favorite. You can be silly if you like. For example, you could make up song lyrics to show your mad

I had picked up a book of historical dates and was looking through it when I heard something rapping at my door. “T’is some visitor and nothing more,” I thought, as I ignored the rapping. It couldn’t be real. No one raps on my door. I supposed that I had spent too much time reading

What would you like to read next? How about an interesting and colorful blog? One of the most delightful things about participating in a blogging challenge is the chance to meet other bloggers via the internet. I have truly enjoyed many of the blogs that I have read during this ongoing challenge, and I am pleased

Shortly after 9/11, I sang in a recital at the Community Music School in Buffalo. When I was choosing a song for the recital, I tried to come up with a song that felt inspiring and that gave a positive message of  hope and endurance. One song that has always given me that message is

Today, I went to the farmers’ market. It was one of those summer days that are pure delight. Everything is in bloom. The colors are delightful and dramatic. It was a good day to be outside. The blogging prompt for today was for me to ask you to ask me questions. You could ask about