Welcome Back!

Glorious Fall by Rachel

Somehow, the past couple of months have positively flown by in a complete blur. I apologize for not having an opportunity to post for a while. I wanted to keep this site out of the election ruckus, but then got incredibly busy with all kinds of things going on in Mountaindale, Hurricane Sandy, wonderful new business developments, and all the community groups I support. I want to thank the many, many readers who still checked in regularly and went back to re-read some of the older postings that are archived on this site.

Some interesting things have been occurring locally.  We congratulate Chef Robert Uccelli of Uccelli Restaurant for reaching a one year anniversary in Mountaindale a few weeks ago. This is an important milestone for a Sullivan County restaurant. We also see a lot of growth in Mountain Charm Market Cafe on the corner, which is filling a big need we had in our community. Please stop in for coffee or lunch if you haven't already done so. Classes have resumed with Janet Gula of Radiant Yoga of Mountaindale. Upstate Karate of Mountaindale enjoyed a few very busy events. Studio owner, Alexandra Lalieu was recently promoted to 5th Dan Master level and celebrated by hosting the annual fall Region 2 Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan Testing. It was held at the Fallsburg High School and brought between 100 and 200 visitors to the Town of Fallsburg last month. Upstate Karate also held a Buddy Week and it was wonderful to see so many friends and parents participating in classes all week. For anyone who comes to town to visit Evadne Gianinni at HospitalityGreen, she can be found in their new location at 58 Main Street in Mountaindale.

Lastly, please stay tuned for news from Louisa Pabon of Verde & Co, our local sofrito verde manufacturer. She is hoping to re-open the cafe and offer a special pre-order menu, with both single serving and family sized take out portions. I am also trying to convince her to offer some evening cooking classes for some of her special cuisine. The items would include delicious sofrito and might instruct in dishes like empanadas, eggrolls and soups. Please let me know if this would be of interest to you - 845-434-4747, so I can encourage her to schedule this sooner.

I hope you are enjoying the glorious autumn landscape above and to the right by Rachel. She is currently taking a Photography class at the Fallsburg High School with Pam Garritt. Ms Garritt is the wonderful teacher who previously helped Mountaindale build the flower planter boxes as part of a Technology Ed student class assignment. With Rachel's enthusiasm and assistance, we will be updating the photos on the blog for the season.

Hummingbird Happiness

Ed Frampton Hummingbird Photo

In the next few months, our area will have a number of visitors known as Leaf Peepers who come to see the spectacular colors of autumn as our trees prepare for winter. However, those who visit Mountaindale now will be in for a very special treat. Our resident ruby throated hummingbirds LOVE their neighborhood, with the numerous hummingbird feeders on Main Street and hummingbird attracting flowers in town,

This month, the 'hummingbird ballet' will particularly delight our Hummingbird Hailers because the immature babies that hatched this summer are now able to seek their own food, and are doing it in droves. Certain feeders in town are especially popular and it's possible to see several feeding simultaneously while others are chirping, hovering and jockeying for position. A deliveryman who was visiting Eddie's Mountaindale Inn was quite impressed recently and remarked that Mountaindale seems to have more hummingbirds than he sees anywhere else on his Mid Hudson route. The other day at Upstate Karate of Mountaindale, a child exclaimed, "I see hummingbirds!" His mother replied, "Yes, Dear," in that mommy way. So I explained that her child REALLY was seeing hummingbirds so they sat for a bit on the karate school porch to watch the acrobatic antics.

Now that our community has a new business, Mountain Charm Market Cafe & Deli, you can now pick up a delicious cup of steaming coffee or tea, and even a sandwich while you relax and watch the non-stop entertainment provided all day by these ruby throated jewels. The cafe also offers free WiFi to customers so you can even enjoy nature outside while you work comfortably on your laptop. We hope to see you in town to enjoy our wonderful hummingbirds before they start their big trip down South in early October. Then you can come back and enjoy our fall foliage,

3rd Annual Sullivan Striders Rail Trail Race

We were blessed with perfect racing weather on Sunday for the 3rd Annual Sullivan Striders Race/Walk on the Town of Fallsburg Rails to Trails. The deluge started AFTER everyone went home & the electronic timing devices were removed. There were 84 participants who completed the race by crossing the finish line.

The winner of the 4 Mile Race was a 39 year old neighbor from Wurtsboro, NY, Raymond Revell, who finished with a time of 23:44.3. That's an impressive average pace of 5.56 Minutes per mile!  Even more inspiring was William Rosenberg, a 71 year old runner from Wallkill, NY, who finished the race in just under 35 minutes.  Please visit Race Results for the full listing of all runner & walker stats.  

Janet Gula and Alexandra Lalieu

There was also great support from several of our Main Street Mountaindale businesses.  Janet Gula of Radiant Yoga of Mountaindale led a pre-race stretch to help everyone prepare their muscles. Alexandra Lalieu of  Upstate Karate of Mountaindale strongly encouraged her students to participate in full karate uniform so that there were 16 students & their families involved in the activity. Joan Collins, Woodridge Village Board Member and Kiwanian, was the Grand Marshall and started everyone on the race. The Mountaindale Fire Company permitted the Firehouse to serve as the registration base, and the Mountaindale Action Commitee assisted the Striders in hosting and providing refreshments. As usual, everyone was greeted by our delightful former Legislady, Leni Binder. Although she no longer holds public office, she is still a very active community volunteer. Speaking of volunteers, the Mountaindale Ambulance Squad stood ready to help anyone in need, and there was great support from Woodridge Kiwanis and the Village of Woodridge who are both important members of the Town of Fallsburg Rail Trail Committee.

It was also nice to see the runners supporting each other.  When one runner mentioned she was disappointed that she hadn't improved her run time of 43 minutes since last year, veteran runner Brian Cavanaugh suggested she do some upper body strength training to overcome her plateau. The morning ended nicely with the awarding of beautiful plants as prizes from the Manza Family Farm. Maryann and Tom Manza deserve a huge round of applause for all of their hard work in coordinating this significant fundraiser for the Rail Trail. You can find out how to join the Sullivan Striders running club at http://www.sullivanstriders.org/. Click here for more Race Day photos.

Main Street Banners & Flowers

The design committee of the Mountaindale Community Development Project worked over the winter to develop a new set of banners for our Main Streets.  They were funded with our Phase II Sullivan Renaissance Award from last summer. We were all so delighted when the banner delivery arrived. But then it rained, sometimes torentially, every day and then it was brutally hot, which made climbing a ladder to install them on the telephone poles around town an unpleasant task. Luckily, today's balmy weather was just perfect! Our new banners are a wonderful addition to our charming street and will be greeting all the summer visitors to Mountaindale this season.

Our interesting recent weather also created some challenges for the volunteers who worked on our flower box enhancement project this year. The original design of our Main Street flower boxes came to us from the Technology Education classes of the Fallsburg High School. They look terrific but had a flaw in practical application in the scope that we use since there are nearly 30 of them around town. A lot of water would leak out of the side slats, which was inefficient from both a water conservation and volunteer labor standpoint. A portion of our Renaissance winnings also went toward refurbishing the planters as well as enriching the soil with a precise mix recommended by the knowledgeable staff at EarthBox.

With a lot of support from local Girl Scouts of Troops 401, 580, 234 and 738, as well as students and parents of Upstate Karate of Mountaindale, we got the planters planted and out on the streets earlier this month. The Girl Scouts will continue to assist during the summer with watering tasks as well as working in the Communty Garden behind 51 Main Street and Radiant Yoga of Mountaindale. The Scouts are hoping to be able to grow enough vegetables to be able to donate some to people in need in the community. They will also have a small herb garden in an EarthBox planter that we purchased.

Yoga Students Lisa & Greg lending a hand

We are very fortunate for the support from the Scouts, Karate families and Yoga students who helped with other tasks to keep Mountaindale looking beautifully in bloom. They helped with maintenance of the Hummingbird Garden. It needed a lot of weeding and trimming after the winter. We are lucky to have Janet Gula in town as she is also the owner of My Secret Gardener and was the original designer of the Hummingbird Garden. I have also noticed how wonderful our Rock Garden at 37 Main Street looks next door to HospitalityGreen, thanks to all of the extra TLC that Evadne Giannini has been giving it.

I guess what I am saying is, "It takes a village" to keep our hamlet looking so great!  Thanks to everyone who participates in this effort!

Main Street Matters

There are a lot of things going on with our Main Street Mountaindale neighbors that are worth sharing:

Photo by Vi Carpio, talented wife of
featured artist, Virgelio "Billy" Carpio

With the weather turning warmer, Uccelli Restaurant guests will be able to enjoy dining al fresco at the outdoor seating in front of the restaurant. Plans are underway to build a large deck before the summer for additional outdoor dining. Chef Robert is also busy creating an all new Lunch Menu that he will begin serving on April 24th. He will resume Sunday Brunch with a new menu and new daily hours. Please visit the Uccelli Restaurant site for updates this month.

We have been glad to welcome Ahleana back to Main Street with her Tuesday evening Bellydancing classes in 62 Main Street. The new time is 7 to 8:15PM. I have heard that her students are getting a very enjoyable workout while learning an exciting, exotic art form. Please call 845-436-8945 for more details about weekly classes. The suggested attire is comfortable, loose clothing and fun hip scarves may be purchased before class.

Alexandra Lalieu of Upstate Karate of Mountaindale and several of her advanced students will spend the day at the Sullivan County Community College tomorrow to participate in the 3rd Annual Health & Wellness Fair. They will be providing information and demonstrations of Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan, the Korean martial art that they have studied at 81 Main Street for the past 8 years. Congratulations are in order for all of the champions of this karate school who attended the Mid Hudson Regional Tournament at the New York Military Academy last week and came back with loads of trophies and medals. Next, they will be attending the Soo Bahk Do National Festival in Cherry Hill, NJ in June.

The Look Up Cafe added a colorful banner on their railing to help you look up to find this charming place for breakfast and lunch at 6 Main Street. Speaking of banners, the Mountaindale Community Development Project will soon be installing all new banners along Main Street in Mountaindale. The new, larger banners and bracket hardware were purchased with a portion of the funding awarded by Sullivan Renaissance for our efforts to enhance the gateway to the Rails to Trails last summer.

Busy Upcoming Mountaindale Weekend

This weekend in Mountaindale is going to be exceptionally busy with a wide variety of things to do from Friday straight through to Sunday and beyond.  The Valentine's Day weekend romantic activities in Mountaindale begin on Friday night with a very special 4 Course Feast of Love Menu, created especially by Chef Robert of Uccelli Restaurant.  These special delectable dishes will only be prepared on Friday,

Romantic Tango - Harold & Betty Fried

Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday nights, and will include Chicken & Shrimp Alfredo, Paella Catalana, Chicken Gruyere, Shrimp Saag and Steak Pizzaiolla. Live entertainment will be provided during dinner by songstress, Marilyn Kennedy.  Reservations are encouraged by calling 845-434-4447.

Romance will be in the air as you stroll down the block to 62 Main Street in Mountaindale on Friday night for a  Valentine Lesson in American Tango and other romantic dances with the return of the wonderful dance instructors, Betty & Harold Fried. They will give the first lesson at 7PM, have Open Dancing from 7:45 to 10PM, and include an additional lesson sometime during the evening. Their class in Mountaindale last month was very enjoyable. They brought great music, but I honestly thought that the best part was seeing all the wonderful dancers, who just love a great party that allows them to dance in a nice room.  I observed some who were quite experienced, some not as much; some who brought a partner, and some who enjoyed the experience of dancing with a brand new partner. This dance workshop is hosted by Janet Gula of Radiant Yoga of Mountaindale. The event fee is $12/person or $20/couple and includes tea and a dessert tasting in the Sweets for the Sweet Valentine's Dessert Competition. You may RSVP by calling Janet at 845-866-7822.

Double Primary by Michael McKee

Should you happen to miss a visit to Uccelli Restaurant on Friday, you are also welcome on Saturday. From 2 until 4PM, there will be a wine & cheese reception for local artist, Michael McKee of Moydan Art. The display that he is exhibiting in the Uccelli dining room is based on "Intuition, Mathematically Composed." Michael's style is unique and this particular show of his work includes his realism, abstracts and color balanced geometric designs. After the reception, the Feast of Love menu will be available for dinner.

Another very special event will be taking place on Sunday at Upstate Karate of Mountaindale. After the usual schedule of classes, there will be the monthly Testing for eligible students - Adults & Red Belt Evaluations will take place at 12:15PM, and Children's Testing will begin at 1:30PM. However, what makes this day unique is the special event that begins at 3:30PM. Master Instructor Alexandra Lalieu will be hosting a Dan Promotion Ceremony for a hardworking, dedicated student who is only 8 years old, but has achieved her Midnight Blue Belt, which will be presented to her that day. This traditional ceremony will be conducted in the Korean Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan style. Her family, friends and fellow students will be there to wish her well as she continues her martial arts studies.

A Lot to be Thankful For

Tonight is the 3rd night of Chanukah and Christmas and New Years are just around the corner. As I sit here, I think of all I am thankful for. Many of you know that a disaster was quite narrowly averted at our Main Street neighbor Upstate Karate of Mountaindale. Our good fortune was largely due to the time that the owner, Alexandra Lalieu, arrived at the studio to discover the early stages of smoke; the quick thinking of Ken Schmitt in shutting down the electricity and the amazing response time of the Mountaindale and Woodridge Fire Companies. Our local first responders worked together like a well oiled machine to check everything out thoroughly, while at the same time minimizing property damage and keeping Main Street safe by managing traffic around the three trucks on the scene.

It was also fortunate that Upstate Karate had access to a very suitable alternate space to utilize across the street in our community room so that classes continued all week and the students and families were very flexible about training in a temporary new space. Happliy, we can now report that Ed Porter of Dominick's Plumbing & Heating worked quickly and efficiently to remove & replace the former heating system and the karate school is warm and cozy as of this writing. DuraClean also arrived today to shampoo all the rugs so that all will be clean and fresh when the karate students return for classes after the holiday.

Ode to Isis

Isis and Alexandra Lalieu

History is full of famous dogs who are known for their loyalty and love for their masters. These dogs include Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, Hachiko of Japan, and Toto, too. Another name needs to be added to this list, and that is Isis, a beautiful Doberman Pinscher, beloved by all of the students of Upstate Karate of Mountaindale. Isis was an incredibly obedient dog who loved her owner, Alexandra Lalieu, with every drop of her soul. They often arrived together at the Main Street karate school, where Isis would relax quietly all afternoon and into the evening while Alexandra taught her students the art of Soo Bahk Do. Except that Isis would always be carefully listening for the sounds of the commands for the closing ceremony of each class. As soon as they were heard, Isis would poke her head out of the office curtains to see who might be interested in playing with her in between classes. She would patiently await permission from Alexandra, and then bound out to the glee of all around.

Isis was also a working dog who assisted Alexandra by demonstration in Dog Training classes. Ms. Lalieu is a very talented Trainer, who taught Isis in Dutch. This way, Isis could obey the Dutch commands without confusing the Loving To Please dog clients who were learning in either English or another language. The ‘tricks’ that Isis could perform were spectacular. There was obviously a tremendous amount of mutual love between Alexandra and Isis to achieve such a high level of canine obedience. Isis’ desire to please was palpable, whether she was in Heel, Stay, waiting to eat a treat on her nose, or not stepping in the martial arts training mats. Of course, my absolute favorite game with Isis was playing Hide & Seek with her squeaky tennis ball. At this, she was the Master! I might come up with a hiding place to stump her for a few minutes, but she ALWAYS persistently sniffed for that slobbery ball until she proudly found it and would then immediately give it back to me to play again, after she had chomped it a few more times for some victory squeaks.

Doberman Pinschers are often bred to be aggressive and fearsome as guard dogs. Isis was always loving and gentle with all of the students. She had a wonderful temperament. It began with her looks. She was sleek and muscular in her build and noble in her stance. She had a natural long tail which hadn’t been docked as a puppy, and also retained her natural ears, which Alexandra had ordered not to be cropped at birth. Her joyful, expressive face and her loving warmth will be missed by the Lalieu family and all of the students of Upstate Karate of Mountaindale.

written by Barb Schmitt

Get Belly Fit on Tuesdays

“Momma’s got a brand new bag” and it starts on Tuesday, May 3^rd at 62 Main Street in Mountaindale. The new experience is called Belly Fit. These classes will join the other already successful health & fitness courses offered weekly on Main Street. This includes martial arts at  Upstate Karate of Mountaindale Sunday –Thurs, Zumba on Mon & Wed, and Yoga at Radiant Yoga on Tues & Thurs – Sun. But, what, one might ask is Belly Fit? These Tuesday night classes will be taught by Ahleana, who has been studying Middle Eastern dance for over 20 years. She has artfully combined gentle, light aerobic moves with traditional belly dancing techniques to create a fun cardio workout, set to Middle Eastern Pop music and rhythms.

Students will enjoy a warm up, stretching and learn invigorating choreographed combinations and routines. “Belly dancing,” says Ahleana, “provides not only body toning, but also an important connection to the dancer's inner femininity. There is the chance to bond with other women, to dress up, and to feel beautiful.” Participants should wear comfortable, slightly form fitting clothing. Jingly hip scarves are encouraged and can be purchased at the studio right before class. Sessions will run from 6:30 to 7:45PM and the class fee is $10/class. All of Ahleana's proceeds go to help animals in need of food or medical care. To enjoy this exotic art form as a way to exercise and build self-confidence, please call (845) 436-8945 to reserve a space in the Mountaindale Belly Fit first class.