Ann Stewart:  

Life I live in Orange County, NY, about 1.5 hours northwest of NYC and have a 106 year old Queen Anne Victorian house on an acre of gardens that we've been renovating [both the house and gardens] for the past 19 years! At least it is now the way we want. Last year Jeff put in a new larger pool, hot tub, several large decks and patios and a full outside kitchen that we just love using. It's turned us into party givers as long as the weather is warm...The gardens have been a labor of love and we've put in brick walkways, stone retaining walls, fountains and garden art, torches, and lots of plants, trees and bushes. Living at the top of a hill, the walls were a really needed in order to make the yard work out. With all the renovating and restoration we've done on the house, I can now say that I really know how to paint, wallpaper, plaster and strip woodwork! Other than restoring an old house, building up gardens, and throwing great Bar-B-Que parties, we like to use our jet-ski boat whenever the weather is warm. We are hoping to up grade it this year to a bit larger size. Living so close to NYC we also spend a lot of time there and the train from Orange County only takes a little over an hour for the trip. It's the way to go! We also like to travel and always keep our passports current - you never know when you will get a great opportunity. We took the girls to both Paris and Egypt 2 months after 9/11 and it was the trip of a lifetime! We thought it was important for them to understand the other culture and see the place civilization started. Our love for travel seems to have rubbed off on the 2 girls. Amy spent time at the NYU campus in Italy during college and was off to Europe any chance she got. She majored in international studies and speaks 3 languages, including Arabic. Sarah spent last summer touring Europe on an organized tour for high school kids where she also got school credit...Expand for more