Hammondsport, New York

Melissa and Joe owned the gallery that I worked in in Durango, Colorado. They quickly went from being my bosses to being my friends, to being my best friends to being my surrogate parents. Even though they moved to the Finger Lakes last April, we have remained very close, and I still think of them whenever I walk into a gallery, order a salmon salad, send a text message, drink a cup of coffee, or listen to Bruce Springsteen. So I only think of them about 75 times a day.

Anyway. One of the anticipated highlights of the trip was going to be surprising them with a visit. They already knew that Brit was going to stop over for a couple of days on her trip out to Vermont, but they thought that a prior engagement was going to keep me tied down in Colorado and away from them (although, Joe really always knew I was coming, and Brit and I later learned that Melissa had received an anonymous tip-off).

So at around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Joe met us on the outskirts of Hammondsport. We parked the Subaru and climbed into the back of his truck and lay face-down on our bellies. He drove up to the gallery, got out, and went inside. He asked Melissa if she could start unloading the truck, and she went outside to do so. She opened the trunk . . . .

And the whole town must have thought someone was being murdered, cause I don't think they've ever heard a scream like that :o). Nor have they seen four happy people dancing in the street the way we did either.

Monday, July 13, 2009. Telephone conversation - Rebecca Finn and Melissa Carroll.

"Hi Becky!"
"Hi, Melissa, how are you?"
"I'm good, how are you?"
"Great, thanks. I actually called you because I was looking for the girls."
"Girls?"
"Girls. Wait, I mean girl. I just found Brit. And Tay's in Durango. And . . . and I gotta go. Bye!"
(click).

Gracias, Mama.

Going to Lime Berry is like going home. After working in the Durango gallery for a year, stepping into the New York space is like breathing in a breath of fresh air. The uplifting light of the colors, the uniqueness of the pieces, the knowledge that everything in the shop has a story behind it, and I actually know most of those stories . . . Just being around the work makes me feel safe, secure in a time that has already passed but lives on in my heart. I love quietly flipping through the stacks of paintings, listening to Melissa greet the next client, or running my hands over the thick stacks of rugs. For me, Lime Berry will always be that place I can go where, no matter what is going on in my life, whatever is going on in those walls is always right.

One of the coolest things about the New York space is that, because it is in a house, there is room for a garden on the side. So Joe has been able to grow flowers and veggies, and almost any sort of delicious detoxifying plant you can imagine. For dinner we picked our own salad from the garden, and used bread dough we had prepared to make a delicious pizza. The wine was, of course, all finger lake local :o). I don't think I've ever eaten so healthily, so freshly, and so happily.

The Finger Lakes are home to over 60 wineries. Each one boasts their special vintages, their specific tastes, and the loving way in which they craft their delicious concoction.

Which was all lost on the elder Chase twin. As the woman behind the bar gave Brit the detailed ins and outs of the different tastes of wine ("The 2006 vintage is the only one that was in steel, and you can tell, because the 2004 and 2002 have a much woodier taste"), you'd have been proud of the way this one held her own ("Yeah, I can't stand that hint of wood taste in my cab sauv.").

While on their stay at the Lime Berry Estates, the Chase girls underwent a tutorial in breadmaking. This is one of the most delicious things to know how to do, and Joe awesomely schooled us in it :o).

As a housewarming present, Joe and Melissa gave Brit her first major art piece - a 30x40 painting by Leland Holiday called "La Cantina". We had seen that her house would need some color, and there is nothing like a Leland to brighten a place up in a hurry.