She calls the business Flotsam, a maritime term for what floats to the surface after a shipwreck. The things left behind that still have somewhere to go. It is a fitting name for a studio built entirely on wood that someone else gave up on. Amy spent a decade at sea, most recently as a mate for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Living in Boston between voyages, she kept noticing furniture put out on the streets for trash pickup.

I walked into the Newburgh Food Show at Adams last month, I wasn't just there as a journalist. I was there as my mother's daughter, taking in the whole experience and looking for something new. The food show itself was built for grazing. Vendors set up across the store to sample everything from small-batch pickles to fresh mozzarella, and the energy in the room made it clear these are people who love talking about what they make. Here's who I met.

If you have ever needed a reason to break out of the mid-week slump, Great Life Brewing in West Park has one for you. Actually, they have several: wood-fired pizza, an oversized Chicken Parmies, cold pints, and an open mic that welcomes musicians, poets, comedians, and anyone else brave enough to grab the microphone. Wednesday nights launched this June, and already they are giving people something to look forward to in the middle of the week.