Jeff McKinney

Local Toy Drives

There are more families than ever before that need a little help at this time of year. One thing we can all do is make a toy donation to help kids have a more merry Christmas.

There are many organizations and websites that organize donations, so I encourage people to look online for one in your area. I will also let you know whenever I spot a donation box and will publish your boxes when you spot them.

So far I have spotted one in the Price Chopper in East Chatham. More to come.

Follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent.com on twitter @CoCoCurrent

Operation Christmas Spirit Begins!

Welcome to the first of December or, as we like to call it in our house, operation Christmas Spirit! It’s nothing but Christmas music and holiday movies from now until the 25th!

Happy Holidays!

Follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent.com on twitter @CoCoCurrent

Setting The Table

You don’t have to dine at the plaza (do they even still have a restaurant?) to enjoy a proper table setting. Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse to bring out the good china, that full set of utensils that never sees the light of day, and your white AND red wine glasses.

Here is a handy diagram from The Old Farmer’s Almanac to help you set the table.

1. Napkin
2. Salad fork
3. Dinner fork
4. Dessert fork
5. Bread-and-butter plate with spreader
6. Dinner plate
7. Dinner knife
8. Teaspoon
9. Teaspoon
10. Soup spoon
11. Cocktail fork
12. Water glass
13. Red-wine glass
14. White-wine glass
15. Coffee cup and saucer

A Chilly Start To September

Welcome to September 1 and morning temperatures in the 40s for us up here in the hills of northern Columbia County. I sure am glad I risked electrocuting myself by installing a ceiling fan in the bedroom two weeks ago. Oh well, I guess I can always repurpose the fan blades as fire wood.

Here’s my calender for September,

The Crandell Theater

I’ve always been a huge fan of going to the movies, which means leaving my home and traveling to a movie theater to watch a movie as apposed to renting/buying the movie and watching it at home. During high school and college going to the movies was almost a weekly treat but then, shortly after graduating, I moved to the big city–Jersey City–and eventually over the bridge into NYC.

While living there, going to the movies became an ordeal and unless I went in the middle of the week during an obscure time, the theater would be packed with obnoxious, loud assholes who seemed to be under the impression that they were watching the film in their own living rooms, where taking a phone call or having an outdoor-voice conversation with the person next to them was completely acceptable. City crowds ruined the movie experience for me and I rarely went unless I had a few stiff drinks in me first.

Now I live in the bucolic setting of Upstate New York and going to the movies is like traveling back in time thanks to The Crandell Theatre in Chatham.

movies

The Crandell was built in 1926 by Walter S. Crandell, as a vaudeville house, and not much has changed since then. The stage has been replaced with a screen but they still have one of those soda vending machines where the cup drops into an opening and then fills up with the beverage of your choice. There’s one large screen and all the movies are just five bucks!

I saw the new GI Joe flick at the Crandell on Wednesday and I’m pretty sure I saw a girl in a poodle skirt necking with greaser in the balcony. If you ever have the chance to see a movie here, I highly recommend it.

Here is a lovely little film, made by a local film maker, all about the Crandell. Enjoy!