October is Spooky Season. Favorite Spooky Photo!

Theme for Next Week: Favorite Jack-o’-lantern Photo!

Poor Beau has been through it! He was brought to a rescue in 2023 and was an absolute mess. He had an upper respiratory infection, needed eye surgery as well as dental care and tested positive for FIV. He was nursed back to health and his intake file says “sweet as pie”. Beau was adopted in 2023 and was recently surrendered to HOPE because although his owner loved him very much, she could no longer care for him. He is still sweet as pie and has been enjoying his time at our cat adoption center. He is a talker and loves attention. Beau is almost 8 years old and his FIV just means that his immune system is not as strong but cats with this condition can live long, healthy lives. He deserves a home where he can be the only pet and receive lots of attention and love. He recently had bloodwork done and all of his levels came back perfect. The veterinarian gave him a clean bill of health. He is microchipped, neutered and FeLV negative. Come visit Beau and see how special he is.

The HOPE Cat Adoption Center is located in the Wilton Mall and is open to the public Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 11-4 or by appointment. Online adoption applications may be found on our website at www.hopeanimalrescue.org. For any questions give us a call at 518-450-7013.

It’s Finally Fall! Favorite Fall Photo!

Theme for next week:

October is Spooky Season. Favorite Spooky Photo!

My name is Jean Ellen Sotansky. I am a local Saratoga artist and have been practicing art professionally for 5 years now! I own a freelance art business called Loves Colors LLC, primarily creating large scale murals and smaller commissioned pieces. I’ve added color to the walls of our public schools, including Maple Ave Middle School, Caroline St Elementary School, Malta Ave Elementary School, and Ballston Spa High School. In addition, I’ve created works in many local restaurants – Hattie’s, Juicy Burger & More, Scotia Sweets, and Cafe Italia to name a few. I’ve also collaborated with local nonprofit organizations such as Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga where I hosted a community “paint by numbers”, BEST with the Saratoga Race Course to raise money through a track-side paint and sip, and Saratoga PLAN, painting birdhouses for their donors. In addition to running my own buisness I work as a graphic designer for Druthers Brewing Company, designing all of the artwork that goes on their canned beer labels. I also created the large scale mural in their Saratoga outdoor patio. I love this community and I’m thankful to have grown up here. Now, as an adult, I’m thrilled to contribute and create art for everyone to enjoy.

Instagram @loves.colors

Meet Sunshine and Ollie-two brothers who are bonded and will be adopted together. They are roughly 4 months old and when we say they have kitten energy, we mean it! They love to run, jump and play together but also enjoy curling up and snuggling on a fuzzy blanket. Ollie is very confident and has no fear and Sunshine is a bit more vocal and loves attention. They will do well in a home where they will get a lot of attention and with humans who understand that kittens are much like toddlers. Both are very inquisitive and are sure to provide a lot of entertainment-who needs TV when you have Sunshine and Ollie?  They are both neutered, tested negative for FIV and FeLV, are up to date on vaccines and are microchipped. 

The HOPE Cat Adoption Center is located in the Wilton Mall in Saratoga Springs and is open to the public Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 11-4 or by appointment. Online adoption applications may be found on our website at www.hopeanimalrescue.org. For any questions give us a call at 518-450-7013.

A hometown business that grew without losing sight of what made it special

At some point, it felt like a civic obligation to sit down and write about Stewart’s Shops. Not because Stewart’s needs an introduction. Around here, the familiar maroon-and-white sign is part of the landscape. But every once in a while, something small happens that reminds you that Stewart’s has become much more than a convenience store.

Last week, I watched an elderly woman approach a cashier at a Stewart’s in the Saratoga area. She was trying to find a cemetery and wasn’t quite sure how to get there.  The cashier could have pointed her in the general direction and moved on to the next customer. Instead, she stopped what she was doing, listened and carefully explained how to get there. It probably took only a few minutes. But I watched the woman’s face change. She walked into the store uncertain and left looking relieved and confident. That small interaction seemed to capture exactly what Stewart’s is about.

For generations of people in Upstate New York, Stewart’s has been woven into everyday life. It’s where you stop for ice cream after a Little League win. It’s where you run when you realize there’s no milk in the refrigerator. It’s morning coffee, a hot sandwich on the road, fresh flowers on the counter, local beer in the cooler and an ice cream cone on a summer evening.  Sometimes, it’s simply the place with the lights still on.

As a partner at Global Epoxy Services, I’ve had plenty of early mornings and long nights. There have been more than a few times when Stewart’s was there when seemingly everything else was closed. It’s always there for us, it’s always there for the guys and it’s a place that I can rely on consistently.  There is something strangely reassuring about seeing those lights. You pull in, grab a drink, something hot to eat or a cup of coffee, and for a few minutes, everything feels like it’s going to be OK. It sounds simple, but that kind of consistency matters.

Stewart’s has managed to become many things at once: a gas station, convenience store, neighborhood eatery, coffee stop and ice cream shop. Its shelves and coolers carry the things people actually need—from sandwiches and pizza to local beer, milk and the ice cream that has become synonymous with the Stewart’s name. Products aren’t really the reason I’m writing this. It’s the feeling.

Stewart’s has grown substantially while holding onto something many growing businesses eventually lose: its hometown identity. The stores remain familiar. Employees know their customers. The company supports the communities where it operates and has built a reputation for sharing its success with its employees and giving back locally. That deserves Recognition.  Businesses are often celebrated for how large they become. Maybe we should spend a little more time recognizing the ones that manage to grow without forgetting where they came from.

Stewart’s still feels like the place you stop after the game. The place you grab milk on the way home. The place someone will take a minute to help an older woman find her way to a cemetery and on an early morning or a long night, when most of the town has gone dark, Stewart’s is often still there.  The lights are on and somehow, that makes home feel a little closer.

· Kelsi Lee Lytle ·

Kelsi Lee Lytle is the artist behind “Imbued Ink.” Raised in the Adirondack region, Kelsi developed a quiet fascination and natural talent for the visual arts early on. Her practice spans graphite, acrylic, ink, and watercolor, as well as the temperamental medium of pyrography, or “wood burning.” With careful attention to detail, clients far and wide return again and again for her soulful, realistic pet portraits and other commissioned work.She exhibits in person at select art events, including the LARAC June Arts Festival. Since 2018, her work has been part of the permanent collection at Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, appearing on tabletops, the Legacy Donor Board, and more, adding to the venue’s warm, hometown atmosphere. Kelsi illustrated her first two children’s books, HUGE and There’s a Ghost in My Closet, in collaboration with author Mark A. Clarke – I Need Space is the latest publication, now available on Amazon.

Instagram

@imbued_ink_customs

Facebook

@ImbuedInk

Youtube

@imbued_ink_arts

It’s apple season…Favorite apple picking photo! 

“I got it Mom”

(by Josie Duffney)

Theme for Next Week:
It’s Finally Fall! Favorite Fall Photo!

Meet Gemini and Posie who are a 4 month old brother and sister pair that will be adopted together. They have been in a foster home since coming to our rescue after they were found on a property along with their siblings and mother when they were between 4 and 6 weeks old. Gemini is a bit more outgoing than her sister but with time, Posie will become an attention seeker like she is with her foster mom. She loves to cuddle up on a lap once she feels safe and secure.  They love to play like typical kittens then curl up for a long nap, usually together.  Both have been fixed, are up to date on vaccinations and have tested negative for FIV and FeLV. Online adoption applications may be found on our website www.hopeanimalrescue.org. Give us a call at 518-450-7013 for more information or to schedule a meet and greet with Gemini and Posie. HOPE is located in the Wilton Mall in Saratoga Springs and is open to the public Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 11-4 or by appointment.

I am an oil painter drawn to portraying the more unsung locations and the people of my surroundings. My paintings depict the sublime beauty of the everyday, allowing shape and light to reveal the underlying beauty of overlooked spaces and those who inhabit them. Through the act of creation there is a sense of connection, of grounding, and of presence. My hope for the work is that those who engage with it will experience the same. 

Kristen Burke is an upstate New York native whose first public show took place in her grandmother’s attic where pencil drawings could be purchased for 10 cents (Her grandmother was an avid collector). Her painting beginnings were in line and wash, a suitable medium for scratching her itch to draw architectural details and splash on some color.  She later developed an affinity for oil painting and the rich colors and creamy texture it offers.

She is drawn especially to buildings and people at work or play. Her work has been shown at the Spencertown Art Academy, the Adirondack Artists’ Guild Gallery, the Eden Compton Gallery and Spa Fine Arts.  

She is grateful to God for the practice, sensing that the desire to create is the fingerprint of our Creator. May He be glorified in all.

She is also a teacher in the Saratoga Springs City School District. She teaches English as a New Language at Geyser Road elementary in addition to painting in plein air or in her home studio as much as she can! All her work is for sale and available on her website! https://www.kristenburkefineart.com/

Art Instagram: @kburke.art