When purchasing lakefront properties, many buyers want to know about grocery stores, banks and doctors,  Well right up there on  the priority list, should be a dentist.  As you get older you still have issues with your teeth.  However most of us would not willingly walk around with a broken tooth in the front of our mouth like a little kid, and then have to wait for an appointment to open up.

I have been fortunate to find a great dental office and wonderful dentist.  I have had the misfortune of breaking a front tooth and Dr Jason was there to the rescue. His entire office team is friendly, efficient, and inviting.  They are very adept at  minimizing the pain and stress of going to a dentist. 

You can find Dr Jason Tanoory and his staff at :

Saturday, January 28th from Noon to 5 pm for our annual visit McGregors for their annual ROBBIE BURNS DAY
CELEBRATION.

And of course Haggis is on the menu ! So if you are craving traditional Scottish dishes, this is the place to be Sat.

Mc Gregor Winery contact info: 5503 Dutch Street Dundee, NY 14837-9746
(607) 292-3999 www.mcgregorwinery.com

Don’t be surprised that this Scottish named winery would be celebrating Robbie Burns Day, there is quite a large contingent of Scotts in the area as evidenced in Dundee every year, where you can find the quite sizeable Scottish Festival.

McGregor Winery is another fine example of wineries you can find on the Keuka Lake Wine Trail located in the heart of the Finger Lakes.

This information brought to you by Mary St.George Realtor, Associate Broker, Wine Trail Properties, 315-719-8377

www.winetrailproperties.com

The Nest Egg Gift Shoppe in Penn Yan, NY chosen the “Business of the Week ” by the Finger Lakes Times !

Congrats to Joan Hansen for offering shoppers such a lovely store,  always neat, lovely selections, quality merchandise and all done with a fun presence. The custom wood facade is easily recognized by shoppers, as is the ever-changing window display, done up with the seasons best offerings.

Both local  residents and visitors from afar frequent this adorable and fresh gift store to make purchases for both themselves and for friends,  I do not know anyone that leaves the Nest Egg empty-handed.

The Nest Egg is also very proud to promote both Penn Yan and Keuka Lake with their selections.  And… Vera Bradley collectors from all over come to check out the newest selections of Vera Bradley items, as Joan has one of the best selections around.

Stop by to see what Joan has to offer.  She will even gift wrap it for you free of charge !

James Bupp is one of the great people I have had the pleasure to meet, all because of Facebook.   As many of my friends well know, I love to post “stuff;  pictures, links, comments and updates. Some of it is real estate related, some about wineries, some justinspirational and some just funny little quips. 

Just as I am a sponge for information, James loves to learn more about the great people  from the Finger Lakes such as Glenn Curtiss, the aviation pioneer.  As he wanders through the Finger Lakes, he finds out more about the people, where they came from, what they are famous for and how our lives have benefited from these folks.  Jim also likes to take  pictures as he makes his way around.

Jim is no stranger to the Finger Lakes, he currently resides in Canandaigua, but spent many a year in the Southern Tier working for IBM.  A great gentleman to have a conversation with.

In the very near future, look for links on our individual web pages to link to the others’ page.  I will also have a link to James’s store area where you can purchase online note cards with beautiful photos of the Finger Lakes area.  You really will love them !

So through Facebook a new cooperation is born.  We look forward to everyone reading our blogs.  If you have any ideas for us, please let us know by commenting on our pages.

We look forward to your page visits !

Budget travel is having a contest for the “Coolest Small Town” and after the initial rounds, Hammondsport, NY  has made the final cut with 9 other small towns across the US.  Vote for your favorite! You can vote once daily,  so be sure to get all your votes in before the contest closes on January 31st. And remember to vote for Hammondsport.  Let us make Hammondsport the “Coolest Small Town “.

So what makes Hammondsport special ?  You have to ask ?

• The wineries
• The quaint shops
• The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum
• The restaurants
• Keuka Lake
• The beauty of the hillsides
• Historical Homes
• Antiques
• Farmers Markets

There are so many reasons to love Hammondsport !   So vote today !

Coolest small Towns :     Beaufort, NC  Cape May, NJ  Cooke City, MT  Damascus, VA  Hammondsport, NY  Jerome, AZ  Nashville,  IN  Port Townsend, WA  St. Genevieve, MO  Weaverville, CA

Read more: http://www.budgettravel.com/contest/americas-coolest-small-towns-2012,11/#ixzz1ipREzLm8

Because many folks that purchase properties from me are not familiar with the area, and actually there are some natives that miss out on some of the newer places, I like to talk a little about the new places. 

Wohlschlegel’s  is one of these places.  I had finished showing some properties and took the back roads home. I drove by a couple of metal signs with the name” Wohlschlegel” on them, saw one more and decided to follow the sign.  What was this Wohlschlegel’s ? I had never heard of them.

So Wohlschlegel’s makes maple syrup and other maple products.  You can see the huge evaporating machine used in the making of syrup,  located in the facility, a very nice new stainless steel monster, gleaming away.  The young lady that was working was very friendly and told me a little about the business as she stood there all bundled up.  She was cold, I was cold, but of course we were standing in a very large barn  located atop the Naples Hills.  With all of the bottles of maple syrup looking at me, I could only think of a nice warm stack of pancakes coated with butter and dripping with maple syrup. Yum…..

You can find Wohlschlegel’s at:

8064 Coates Rd

Naples NY  14512

585-775-7770

Take a drive up to Wohlschlegel’s and prepare to savor the view as much as the maple syrup you will find inside.    There is nothing like fresh natural maple syrup, the “real” stuff !

Effective Jan 1, 2012 The Ontario County Soil & Water Conservation District will be handling all of the septic inspections for closings in Ontario County.  In the past calls were made to the respective Towns for the homes being sold.  This has now been handed over to the County.

Realtors will be receiving information about the change as well as septic system companies.

The contact for inspections is Tad Gerace and he can be contacted at 585-396-1450

The Conservation District is also a great source for all things water related, such as ponds, rain control plants, runoff issues and more.

They always put on great information classes for Realtors to encourage a better understanding of systems as they relate to conservation and the protection of our water systems.

Have any questions, give them a call.

The Finger Lakes area allows all of us to enjoy uncompromised beauty in the form of diverse lakes,  streams filled with trout, hillsides painted with vineyards, farmlands, and woods and the subtle beauty of the vistas created by their combination.  Imbedded in all of this spectacular glory, are towns and villages, each offering their own attributes. Some sit as little college towns, while others boast a diversity of quaint shops and still others have the honors of boasting historical distinction

With all of that said, and even in the midst of a down turning real estate market, this area is still the perfect venue for investments. From opening up seasonal gift shops, purchasing lakeside housing as rental income, starting a farm winery to offering tour guide services, the options are endless. People come from all over the country and world to savor the offerings we have.

The more investments made into the area, the greater the demand will be to offer more services and options for tourist.  With lakeside developments in discussion in various communities, the serious investors should be thinking outside the box as to the greater needs of those that will be benefiting from these actions.  When you draw more visitors to your community, there needs to be a balance of services.  More people will translate into more shops, restaurants, builders, landscapers etc., etc.

Investing in real estate, will allow you to be a part of these changes and benefit from them. Call Dave Reeve or myself and we will work with you to achieve your investment goals.

CSA you say…what is that ?  It stands for Community Supported Agriculture.

It is a community effort of families and individuals to bring healthy, and locally produced farm fresh food to the table.  Members have a share in the produce that is grown.  I have belonged to the Keuka Lake CSA and membership is $500.00 per year. This allows me one share per week.

Every week different crops are available and are picked up at one of the participating farms.  In the Spring it starts out with asparagus and rhubarb May/June to winter squash in the Fall.  Usually when you pick up your vegetables, folks have recipes available for the produce you are picking up, to make the most of your fruits and vegetables. When you sign up,you are given the names of the farms involved in the CSA.   Almost all farms involved in CSA’s grown their produce organically.

CSAs benefit the farmers as well as the community share member.  For the farmers, they know in advance what they need to grow for the share supply and they have upfront money to purchase their seeds.  The consumer is guaranteed fresh and healthy produce every week and every week the produce is a little different. These programs are a huge win/win for all involved.  New relationships are developed between the shareholders and the farmers.

These types of community efforts are also part of the reasons that folks from other areas want to purchase real estate here.  A little way of being green.

If you are interested in eating healthy and would like to be an integral part of your community and its efforts to support local farming, CSAs are fo you. Contact one of the local CSAs in your area now, since most are going through their sign up periods.  If you miss out on the deadline for your area, you can still inquire into the farms that are supporting the effort.  They may have additional produce to be purchased for non-shareholders.  This is a program that will make you feel good in many ways !

This information brought to you by Mary St. George, Associate Broker, Wine Trail Properties, Your Personal Connection to Lakefront Living in the Finger Lakes. 315-719-8377 www.winetrailproperties.com

$2,000 “up in smoke”

We have all done embarrassing things in our lives, most we don’t tell anyone about, some are witnessed by others and become the basis of a good laugh and some even become lesson learned teachings.  I have actually spoken to the gentleman this tale is about.  He is bright, intellectual and a real people person.  I  contacted him because of the business he created in the Finger Lakes and his conversation led me to believe he was very passionate about his endeavor.

So what was the embarrassing moment?  Apparently he was heading out on a trip and realized he had some cash in the house and decided to hide it in the fireplace wrapped up in foil and then carefully placed within the ashes.  What a perfect place.  The problem is that when he came back home from his trip, there was a chill in the air and he decided to start a fire in the wood stove. Ouch !       

The story now takes a turn.  Because he wrapped the money so carefully in aluminum foil, the money was actually in such a condition that it was legible to its denominations.  After a trip to the bank, he mailed the money to the Federal Reserve as directed, thinking it would be a lost cause.  But fortunately 18 months later he received a check for $1995.00 which was $5.00 less than the $2000.00 that had been wrapped in the foil. 

He should not feel alone.  My grandmother used to hide money in kleenex and tuck the tissue in her clothes.  When it came time to do laundry, she would forget about the money being tucked inside and toss the kleenex out.  Sometime she was fortunate and able to withdraw from the trash other times she would send the kleenex on its way in the toilet bowl and only realize what she had done as the water-soaked kleenex exposed the bills in hiding as they swirling down the bowl… Never to be seen again.

I must have picked up her habits of hiding things.  I used to hide money in my car under the rugs, but usually did not remember it until after I sold the car. I hide things so well, I can never find the items when I need them.   Needless to say, I am trying really hard not to hide things, as I have not been as fortunate as the man with the singed bills.

If you are planning on stashing away the money that will eventually be used for your down payment in purchasing your home, always remember where you are putting it and most definitely do not hide money in the fireplace.

This information brought to you by Mary St. George, Associate Broker, Wine Trail Properties, 315-719-8377  www.winetrailproperties.com