Skip to main content

Author: Kacie Cotter-Harrigan

Making Decisions in Uncertain Times

Written by Kacie Cotter-Harrigan on . Posted in Families Today.

AS WE NAVIGATE THE START AND POTENTIAL STOP OF A NEW SCHOOL YEAR, DAY-TO-DAY LIFE CAN FEEL ANXIETY-PROVOKING, OVERWHELMING AND DIFFICULT.

The fall season has always been a time of changing weather, shifting priorities and new intentions.  It marks a point in time when we begin to make plans for fall festivals and upcoming holidays. 

From childcare to holiday planning, decision-making can feel burdensome and never-ending.  It seems many decisions rest on the cliff of choosing between sanity and safety.  For example, you know to preserve your sanity you need to get a babysitter a few times a week to bring more balance to your life but you have anxiety about bringing someone into your family pod.

 How do you make healthy decisions during this time of uncertainty?

1. EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS
If you are not sure what decision is best for you and your loved ones, talk or write each possible scenario out. One of the things I do when I feel stuck is to speak out all of the different possibilities. Whether I am talking to a loved one, friend, or simply saying it out-loud to myself, this ritual allows me to hear the options I have stated in an organized, orderly way.

2. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY
Our bodies are so wise. They have an internal GPS system that guides us along the right path in any situation. As you state or write out your options, pay attention to your body.  Is your heart rate accelerating at one of your choices? Do you feel uneasy or anxious as you are considering one of the options?

This is your GPS alerting you that this is not the right option for you. Whether it is an increased heartrate, pressure in your chest or overall discomfort, your body will let you know what options you can cross off the list.

Use your body as a built-in GPS to help you make better decisions in every area of your life.

3. FOLLOW THE PEACE
If you feel anxious, drained or fearful about any of your options, this is the opposite of peace. A very simple way to make decisions in this time is to honor your peace of mind. Do not let outside noise in the form of well intentioned family members or friends move you off the path of peace. When in doubt only go forward if you have true peace and resist the urge to over-explain to those who don’t agree with you. 

In a time full of rapidly changing information, guidelines and rules, it’s important to slow down, keep it simple and honor the basics when it comes to making decisions. State your options, listen to your body and follow the peace.

YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Meghan Fritz is a psychotherapist practicing at Fritz, Stanger & Associates.  For more information email meghanfritzlcsw@gmail.com

Back to School in 2020

Written by Kacie Cotter-Harrigan on . Posted in Families Today.

School starts for my boys and many (most?) of your children next week, and I know many families who have already started.

My back-to-school pieces in past years have tended toward tips and tricks for a smoother beginning of the school year, or sometimes verklempt pieces about how fast time goes. There seems to be little room for those topics this year, though, as we’re all grappling with other concerns.

From what I’ve seen among my own family and friends, as well as on social media and in the news, there are parents who are eager for their children to return to in-person school, and parents who are scared for their children to return to in-person school. Some parents are choosing to keep their children home and utilize whatever virtual options are being offered by their school, or are choosing to fully homeschool, while other parents don’t have a choice, whether because their schools aren’t offering it or because the parents’ jobs don’t allow the flexibility for their preferred choices. I know parents of children with special needs who are scared for the unavailability in many places of the services their children need to succeed, and scared for the risk to their children’s health posed by receiving those very services. I know teachers who can’t wait to get back in the classroom, and teachers who are terrified to do so; the same can be said for the students. I don’t think any family with school-age children or teachers are untouched by worry about this upcoming school year.

I thought I’d offer two thoughts that have been helpful to me as I try to remain mentally and emotionally healthy in the midst of all the worry. First: a delay in the kids’ educational path isn’t the end of the world. This is something I can start freaking out about if I think about it too much! I’ve really loved the pace and direction of my children’s lives thus far. It’s been easy for me to plan and prepare for each step of their development, because it’s all been laid out neatly: elementary school, then middle and high school, grade by grade. Extracurricular activities and sports at the youth level, then modified, then JV, then Varsity. Academic opportunities, PSAT and SAT prep and test taking. College visits and applications, then college itself. Then adulthood, with all its jobs and relationships and fulfillment of so many of the things I’ve hoped for them. I don’t do well with uncertainty—I definitely like to know what’s coming and when—so this past spring, when it was unclear at first whether the school year would be able to finish normally, or if everyone would fall behind, I tried to stave off panic. What will life look like for my kids if the normal flow of things is interrupted? 

Around the time that I was at peak panic, back in early spring, I’d been reading up on a particular psychologist named Mihalyi Czikszentmihalyi because of his theories about tapping into what he calls “flow” (that feeling of being “in the zone” when working on something—something that I often can’t find just when I need it!), and in reading about his work I came upon more personal information about himself. I was amazed to discover that he’d had to flee Budapest with his family as a child during World War II because the Russian soldiers were coming (the bridge over the Danube blew up right after his train crossed it), and that he and his family had lived in a refugee camp for a time. Of course his educational path was derailed, and he wasn’t able to start college until he was twenty-two; even then, he had to grapple with language, cultural, and financial challenges. And yet, he went on to be incredibly successful and respected in his field, and married and had children as well. Reading about this man living through things much worse than my family and I have had to, and for much longer, has given me some much needed perspective and peace.

The second thought that’s been helpful to me is that what’s going on right now is not only happening to my children. The fear of “falling behind” begs the question: “Falling behind whom?”  Local peers? National peers? We know that students, teachers, administrators, and families locally and across the country are all dealing with new guidelines and protocols, worries about their own health and those of their loved ones, and uncertainty about how the school year will proceed despite everyone’s best efforts. Whatever difficulties or delays we encounter this academic year will be encountered by all of us, everywhere. I find great solace in the thought that, despite our differing opinions about how best to proceed, we are, truly, all in this together.

I very much hope and pray and that the 2020-2021 school year sees an end to this pandemic and a return to the best parts of “normal life” for all of us: hope for our children and their futures; peace for all the adults trying to keep everything on track; good health for all, including the most vulnerable. 

Kate and her husband have seven sons ages 15, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 2. Follow her at www.facebook.com/kmtowne23, or email her at kmtowne23@gmail.com.

Ferraro: A Unique Racing Background that has Carried His Career for 30 Years

Written by Kacie Cotter-Harrigan on . Posted in Winner's Circle.

As the Saratoga Race Course season ends its 2020 season, James W. Ferraro is also wrapping up his 30th year as a trainer at the track. While he may not be a household name to current horse racing fans, he does come from a unique horse racing background that does merit some attention. 

His father – James Ferraro – was a trainer and later a bloodstock agent, as well as a close friend to late Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens, often known as “The Chief.” Because of that, the younger Ferraro had good insight on training horses.

“My father and him were good friends,” he said. “Some of my best memories are going out to dinner with them and listen to them talk about training philosophies, taking care of horses, how to handle certain problems, and what to do about them.” 

After spending his teenage years by helping his father train horses, Ferraro eventually became a stablehand for Jerkens from 1974-1977. At that point, “The Chief” thought it was time for Ferraro to train horses on his own.

“He said get out there and learn now,” Ferraro said. “His theory was go out there and start training because you are going to make the same mistakes now that you will also make five years from now.  I learned that from both my father and the Chief. I knew I could always go back to them for advice.” 

As soon as he got his trainer’s license, Ferraro saddled his first winner with a maiden claimer coincidently named Talking Partner on Dec. 20, 1977 at Aqueduct, which has been part of his home base for over three decades.

Ferraro’s thought of coming to Saratoga didn’t happen until three years later after his first winner. When Ferraro came to Saratoga, he made it worth the trip with just two horses: Lorine who finished first and second in two claiming races, and Table for John, who was second twice in an allowance race. 

While Ferraro continued to train horses throughout the 1980s, his father stopped training horses to become a bloodstock agent.

It has been reported that his father was the one who helped Sam Rubin purchase the great Hall of Fame gelding John Henry for $25,000. Later, John Henry earned several accolades that include becoming the oldest horse to win the Eclipse Award for Horse and a Grade 1 race at the age of 9 in 1984 after earning the same honor in 1981.

Over the years, the younger Ferraro has posted a respectable career with more than 300 winners and earnings over $11 million from horses that include New York-bred stakes-winning mares Double Dee’s, Board Elligible and Aunt Babe. However, there is still a mare who has Ferraro’s memory: Courageous Karen, whose 2-of-10 career wins came at Saratoga.

Even though she never won a stakes race, Courageous Karen was a versatile mare on both turf and off track. In fact, Ferraro recalls one moment at Saratoga where she dominated an off-the-turf event in 1988. 

“We had shipped up here a day before the race, which was supposed to be on the turf,” Ferraro said. “That night, it started downpouring. That filly won on the turf, but she loved the mud, too. Once that race came off the turf, she took off and won. I still remember that race well.” 

Today at 64-years-old, Ferraro believes his “old school” style of training is still effective for his stable, just as he learned from his father and “The Chief.” However, he doesn’t dismiss some of today’s technology and science that can benefit horses.

“That was definitely old school then with the way they took care of problems with the horses,” Ferraro said about their approach to training horses. “Years ago, you were able to give horses time. You didn’t necessarily rely so much on the veterinarians. I’m not closed-minded. I try to mix it up a little bit. You have to still use technology and modern medications.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March that halted New York racing, it seemed like things were moving forward for Ferraro as his horses found the Winner’s Circle at Aqueduct five times while finishing in-the-money 10 other times. However, with New York racing not resuming until the beginning of June at Belmont, some of his horses were kept on idle. 

“Some of my horses were taken out of training and they lost all of that conditioning,” he said. “All we did was hand-walk them for 45 days. That’s kind of frustrating because you see the track right there and you are losing conditioning every day.”

Now that racing has resumed, Ferraro’s horses have gotten back into shape with two of them winning near the end of the Belmont meet and Bank Gala winning her first career race halfway through the Saratoga meet. 

“We had a slow start at Belmont, then we picked up a couple of wins during the last week,” Ferraro said. “Saratoga is nearly impossible to win up here, especially with small stables.”

As challenging as it may be to compete at Saratoga, Ferraro, who is on multiple committees for the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association that include backstretch and safety, as well as a representative for the trainers, still enjoys the scene and people around the Saratoga backstretch. 

“Saratoga is fantastic,” he said. “A lot of people say the same thing. It’s that banter. Even though we are very competitive, we are close-knit. We rekindle friendships. It’s that comradery.”

Avoiding the Fall Invasion

Written by Kacie Cotter-Harrigan on . Posted in Home & Garden.

Soon it will be time to move any houseplants that spent the summer outside back inside for the winter.  Before we do, we’ll want to take precautions to make sure they don’t bring home pests picked up during their summer vacation.  If we bring a plant indoors with only a couple of aphids on it for instance, it can become a big problem in a small amount of time.  Once inside with heat and no natural predators to keep them under control, these insect pests reproduce quickly and can infest your other houseplants.  The last warm days in September gives us the chance to take preventative measures. 

The first step is to thoroughly spray your inbound plants with an insecticide.  My favorite is insecticidal soap.  It kills just about any insect commonly found on houseplants on contact.  It also kills mites which often go undetected since they are so small.  Spraying outside while the weather is still warm gives us a chance to be thorough without making a mess inside.  Spray every inch of the plants until the insecticidal soap is dripping off the leaves.  Pay special attention to the undersides of the leaves since this is where mites like to hide.  Spray again a week to ten days after the first spraying.   

In addition to the spraying, put some systemic insecticide into the soil of inbound houseplants especially hibiscus that seems to attract pests.  Systemic insecticides are drawn up into the plant through the roots and are pumped out through the stems and leaves until it permeates the entire plant. 

Any sucking insects like aphids or scale suck up the insecticide and die.  Systemic insecticide lasts for several weeks so it kills any insects that hatch from eggs after the plant was brought inside.  It takes a couple of weeks to get absorbed by the plant so it is a good idea to use it a week or more before the plant comes inside.  Naturally, you shouldn’t use systemic granules on any edible plants you plan to rescue from outdoors like herbs.

After spending the longest days of the year outside, our houseplants have become spoiled.  Long, warm sunny days with breezes required them to drink plenty of water.  Once they move inside, their demand for water will drop off considerably as the days get shorter.  Don’t water on a timetable.  Check the soil before you water.  If you even think it feels moist, don’t water, and check it again a couple of days later.  NEVER let the plants stand in water for more than a few minutes.  There is no quicker way to drown a plant than to leave it standing in water. This is what kills most houseplants…overwatering. 

Even though our houseplants live all year, they slow way down once inside.  Once they come inside, stop feeding them until March or so when they start to show signs of new growth.  Then feed them, but mix your food at 1/4 strength until it’s time for them to go outside in spring.

We love houseplants for the greenery they provide during the grey days of winter, so let’s help them make the transition as gently as possible.

THANKS FOR THE READ!

Spin Class for Foodies

Written by Kacie Cotter-Harrigan on . Posted in Food.

Hello my Foodie Friends!

The summer sure went by fast with this being Labor Day weekend.  With the weather still being warm comes the yearning for lighter fares such as salads. Creating imaginative salads was always a favorite thing to do by my children. When they were young (and still occurs) our eldest child, John would be accused (by his sister Aubrey) of not wanting to help in the kitchen with the making of the salads.  One of the best and fun solutions was to get a Salad Spinner. This tool assisted us back then and still does today. How did we know our son liked it? When we would come home and the video game would be on pause and salad ingredients everywhere (we knew he was having fun and using the tool).

Why would you consider using a salad spinner? No one likes a wet salad. But there are two important reasons that go beyond personal preference that make spinning your salad a necessity. The first is that most salad dressings are oil-based. Water repels oil, and so salad greens covered in water will repel dressing. This will result in the dressing pooling at the bottom of your salad bowl instead of coating the greens.

The second reason to remove water from your salad is to retain its freshness. The more moisture that’s in your salad, especially if you’re not dressing the whole thing at once, the more quickly it will go bad. The leaves will turn brown and everything will lose its crisp texture if it sits in excess moisture. If you’re not planning on consuming all of your salad immediately, make sure each of its components is as dry as possible before combining them. 

If those two essential warnings against wet greens have not convinced you that you need a salad spinner in your life, fear not, there are plenty of other reasons to get one. Many people think of salad spinners as one-trick ponies that only serve a single purpose and otherwise occupy more than their fair share of precious space in your home, but they actually have quite a number of alternate uses. Salad spinners are useful for washing and drying a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. They are ideal because you can wash and dry things in a single container, and the spinning action they use is delicate enough that it won’t damage or bruise your produce. The next time you need to wash berries, broccoli, green beans, or mushrooms, try using a salad spinner. You’re sure to delight in how dry its contents become, and how quick and easy it is to use. You can also use the internal compartment of your salad spinner as a colander for fresh-cooked pasta. If you’re making a cold dish like pasta salad, spinning the noodles to remove the excess starchy water will cool them more quickly and also help keep them from sticking together.

The basket is also great for defrosting meat and drying before cooking. Vegetables from which it is good to remove excess moisture before frying like zucchini, eggplant, and shredded potatoes, can also be dried in a salad spinner, rather than squeezed out by hand. It also works well as a small dryer for hand-washed delicates.

Do you wash your greens and berries?  Washing your salad ingredients can reduce the risk of illness.  Listeria and E-Coli are dangerous food-borne illnesses that have been present in unwashed salads.  It is difficult to wash salads. The Salad Spinner is a tool that has become a kitchen must-have. 

One of our favorites and best sellers is the OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner. We have them in larger and smaller sizes. Dry salad greens with a simple press of the soft, non-slip knob. The non-slip base keeps the bowl steady on the countertop and the built-in brake button stops the Salad Spinner for unloading. The basket doubles as a colander, and the lid comes apart for easy cleaning. The OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner was selected as one of People Magazine’s 2017 50 Food Faves. Salad Spinners, they bring siblings together! Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place to check out the OXO Salad Spinner and an assortment of other cool tools for cooks.  Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen.” Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day Weekend.

 Take Care,
John & PaulaREARDON SevenLayerSalad

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market Is Also A Gift Market

Written by Kacie Cotter-Harrigan on . Posted in Food.

The Saturday Saratoga Farmers’ Market in the Wilton Mall parking lot is exceptionally busy. In addition to selecting veggies, meat, fruits, and prepared foods, customers can explore vendors offering gifts to purchase. 

It’s easy to start the Saturday market with Something’s Brewing coffee. Beth Trattel roasts her coffee beans and sells many varieties of Battenkill Coffee. 

Other foodie gifts include packaged cheese. In addition to yogurt, Dave and Marge Randles, Argyle Cheese Farmer, prepares cheese varieties. “Amazing Grace” won a silver medal at the NYS Fair. Lee Hennessy, Moxie Ridge Farm, specializes in cheese from his Alpine goats. You can choose fresh cheese such as chevre or feta, or ripened Valencia and Cannonball. R&G Cheesemakers in Troy uses goat’s or cow’s milk from nearby farms. Sean O’Connor continuously creates new flavors to accompany his goat’s milk chevre, Camembert, and cow’s milk cheeses. Nettle Meadow also has a unique variety of hard and soft cheeses and chevre.

Or for a sweet treat, shop Saratoga Chocolate Company founded by Hank and Allison Rose. They use “only the highest quality chocolate and ingredients. Each selection is paired with complementary flavors that highlight the tasting notes of each chocolate.” 

Marcie Place, The Chocolate Spoon, bakes notable cookies, teacakes, and other treats that come in giftable packaging.

If your friends enjoy sipping, try a variety of sparkling cider from Slyboro Cider House. Dan Wilson is in charge of their “small dynamic farm, cider house, and farmstand in the foothills of the Adirondacks. His orchard, Hicks Orchard, continues a tradition of direct connection with the local community that dates back to 1905.”

When visiting friends who have dogs, be sure to bring gifts from Mugzy’s Barkery, named after their Old English Bulldog. The Barkery specializes in natural and organic dog treats that are “handmade, healthy, safe, and delicious.”

As you explore the Market, you’ll notice several talented crafters, including Balet Flowers and Design. Suzanne Balet Haight, a second-generation Market vendor makes functional, creative pottery, such as coffee cups, bowls and plates, and lovely containers that hold the flowers and plants they grow.

After you leave Balet Flowers, go to Feathered Antler where Gretchen Tisch will create a portrait of your pet from a photo. She illustrates clothing with birds, deer, moose, or their feathers and antlers. “They stand out as being the most stunning parts of animals who wear them from the sky to the ground.”

On her Kokinda Farm, Laurie Kokinda produces vegetables, fruits, jellies, and jams. Equally practical are her sewn products, including aprons and one-piece quilted hot pads. In the future, she’ll bring catnip pillows. 

If you’re looking for handmade jewelry, Big Breath Wellness has handmade earrings and pendulums.

Mary Jane Pelzer, Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, a third-generation soap maker, has been producing a large variety of natural handmade soap in small batches for over 40 years. Look for basic body bars, hand soaps, and soap in special shapes such as lambs, flowers, fish, and eggs.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs at Wilton Mall 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter -www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/weekly-newsletter.

A Rare Double: Raia Still Working with Both Standardbreds & Thoroughbreds

Written by Kacie Cotter-Harrigan on . Posted in Winner's Circle.

It is not often that trainers handle both harness and Thoroughbred horses. In fact, it is challenging for a lot of horsemen and horsewomen to make that transition of working with both types of equine athletes.

For nearly 40 years, Francis Raia II has made a career of training both harness and Thoroughbreds, well as driving the trotters and pacers at various tracks.

One of those moments occurred Aug. 18 when Raia was in the sulky – the two-wheeled cart – driving T’s Electric at Saratoga Gaming and Casino. Within the next 24 hours, he was hoping to saddle his 4-year-old filly homebred Renninas Rose at Saratoga Race Course.

However, a small physical setback for Renninas Rose forced Raia to scratch from the last race on Aug. 19. That would have been his first Thoroughbred runner since December 2018 and his first Saratoga in nearly two years.

“I have no luck,” Raia said while shaking off the disappointment. “I would get a horse ready for a race. I would train them. I would have a rider on them once a week, then something would happen.”

While it can be frustrating for the 64-year-old Raia from Mechanicville, he has learned how to manage these situations based on his experience and extensive family background in both Thoroughbred and harness racing.

His 90-year-old father, Francis Raia Sr., played an integral part by purchasing a 20-acre farm with a third-mile track in Tolland, Conn.

At the farm, Raia learned how to jog harness horses at nine years old. A year later, his father brought him to Foxboro Raceway for a summer job through driver Irving Foster by caring for four horses at $5 a day.

During the summer when he was 14, Raia worked at Belmont Park for his idol Phil Horn Jr. before coming to Saratoga where they were stabled on Clare Court. In the evenings, Raia crossed Nelson Avenue to the harness track to watch the races.

While Raia was learning how to care for and handle horses, he really wanted to be a jockey. His desire of becoming a rider stemmed from his uncle John Raia, who was a successful jockey in New York and Florida, and at one time, he rode the 1958 juvenile filly champion Quill early in her career. 

Approaching his last year at Tolland High School, Raia needed just two credits to complete his high school diploma. Because he had an opportunity to ride in Florida, Raia made a proposal to the superintendent that he could complete the all of the required classwork outside of school.

“I told the superintendent that I had a shot to ride and wanted to go now,” Raia said. “He let me do it as long as I got the work done. I went back to high school and graduated with my class and I never went back.”

Once the superintendent agreed on the proposal, Raia went to Calder to gallop horses for Nick Gianos Jr. in 1975. At that point, his uncle John Raia had stopped riding, but he was also getting other riders from Hialeah Park.

“There were riders who came from Hialeah to work horses at Calder,” Raia said. “My uncle picked me up in the morning to gallop horses. I would sit on horses 10 a day for time.”

While Raia was learning how to ride through galloping horses, his dream of becoming a jockey started fading because of his growing body.

“I was close to getting my license of being a jockey at Calder, but I was too heavy,” he said.

Rather than staying in Florida, Raia came back to the northeast and worked for the late veterinarian Dr. Albert “Doc” Grass of West Brattleboro Harness, was training and driving horses at Saratoga, Vermont and New Hampshire, in fall of 1976.

During his time with Grass, Raia became familiar with the northeast harness circuit and eventually made his own career in training and driving horses going into the 1980s for the next two decades between Saratoga and Foxboro.

Raia had good horses, including Mountain Jester who once held the Saratoga Raceway record for a gelding before being retired with 14 honors in 1989. However, he knew that ride could not last forever since many of his owners passed away and it became a challenge finding new owners. 

 “I had as much as 30 heads where I would drive 5-6 races a night for about 20 years,” Raia said. “I was doing good, but all of my owners had passed away. It’s hard to replace them.”

By 1997, along with training and driving Standardbreds, Raia went back to working with Thoroughbreds across the street with his first horse being Jr. Lord, a gelding who was easily outrun at Saratoga and Belmont. After purchasing Jr. Lord for owner Helen Casson, Raia sent the horse to Finger Lakes under the guidance of Robert Attanasio where the gelding won his only race.

Over the last 23 years, Raia has picked up Thoroughbred winners at small circuit tracks like Finger Lakes and Northampton Fair. One of his multi-winners was Shrewd, a horse he bought at Finger Lakes before owner Nick Barone brought the horse

With very little success from Shrewd competing in West Virginia, Raia convinced Barone to bring the roan gelding back to his barn. After working with Shrewd for two months, Raia confidently brought him to Northampton where he won two races with his first one by a nine-length margin.

“He was taken from me and brought to Mountaineer,” Raia said. “I told him to bring him back. I know what I have to do for the horse. When I brought him to Northampton, I told the owners that we are going to win for fun and they laughed at me. He won by the length of the stretch.”

Today, Raia is working with a small stable of his filly Renninas Rose and three Standardbreds – his “old class horse” T’s Electric, stakes-placing Fifth Son and hopeful pacer Jack Rock. Like many owners and trainers, as well as drivers, Raia is still chasing the dream after four decades.

“It’s the dream,” he said. “I could never let go of the dream. I’m always waiting to get the big one.”