Niagara on the Lake

Many years ago we were traveling through

Canada and discovered the beautiful little 

town of Niagara on the Lake.  I always tell 

people who are going to visit Niagara Falls

to see the wonder of the Falls and then get 

in your car and drive about 20 minutes north

to Paradise.

Today is our 24th Wedding Anniversary.  We

wanted to take a little vacation to celebrate and

ended up going the week before our anniversary

since the kids were still home from school and could

puppy sit.  When we were thinking about where to 

go, Mr. Wonderful suggested the Niagara area and

we decided to go for High Tea as a treat.

And the place to go for High Tea is at the

Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara on the Lake.

It is a beautiful old hotel that was built in

1864.  Queen Elizabeth stayed here during

 her visit to the town.

We decided to have our tea in the Drawing Room

since it looked like the perfect place to do so.

This is the table we chose, we were told it

was the best place in the room for tea.

We saw a large party have tea at this table

and though it looks comfy, they were having

trouble juggling tea cups and plates.  It is much

better to sit at an actual table if you can.

The tea arrives first, you have many choices.

I went with a spicy blend that was a lot like

Constant Comment,  Mr. Wonderful went with 

an orange pekoe.

Then the tower of treats arrives.  There are

tea sandwiches, scones and sweets.  On the

side you have a choice of Devonshire clotted

cream, jam and butter.  We took our time and

slowly climbed the tower, we couldn't finish

all of it.

After tea we strolled around the town

to walk off all we had eaten. The flower 

displays in this town are spectacular.

I wish I knew their secrets for such lush

blooms.

The Main Street is filled with shops to 

browse through.  Try to get off the crowded

Main Street though and walk along the side

streets to see the beautiful homes of the town.

For theatre lovers, this town is the home

of the Shaw Festival.

While admiring a floral display, I found a 

feather, I always think that is good luck.

After our walk we visited a few local

antique stores and then took a drive 

along the Niagara Parkway.  Winston

Churchill said this road was "the prettiest

Sunday afternoon drive in the world".

The area is filled with wineries that 

offer tours and tastings.

And there are countless fruit stands.  This

area is filled with fruit farms.  We were on

the hunt for the tiny golden plums that our

son Brennan had discovered many years ago.

Success!

They were delicious.

We ended the day with a visit to one of North

America's natural Wonders, Niagara Falls.  I

have been lucky to visit the Falls many times

and I still find it breathtaking.

Hale Farm and Village

...and the beginning of an adventure.

Last week we took a little vacation but since we

were staying in the woods there was no phone,

no internet, no service.  I thought I'd blog this

week about everything we did last week.

First of all, we had not been camping in over a

decade,  I completely gave it up after Cub Scouts.

It was just like my Mommy job at home, only harder.

We left at the crack of dawn since we had a long

drive ahead of us, we were camping on the most

northwestern part of New York State right on 

Lake Ontario.  It was about a 9 hour drive with

a stop along the way and then we had to set up

our campsite.

In order to break up the trip, stretch our legs and

because I'm a nut for living history museums, we

stopped in Bath, Ohio at the Hale Farm and Village.

We were not the only ones!  This little village

that is run by the local historical society was

hopping with people.  It was the annual Civil

War Reenactment.  There were reenactors, 

horses, encampments and an entire vendor 

area selling merchandise and equipment from

the time period of the Civil War.

It certainly is a family affair for these

history lovers.  Entire families were decked 

out in full costume and I felt for them.  It was

a hot day and if I had to wear a uniform or a 

hoop skirt, well, I would have been a bit cranky,

to say the least.  This group is enjoying lunch and

of course, all the foods are appropriate to the time.

The village has a glass making demo.  

Generally you do not see this is a village 

this size, it was very interesting.

The potter was hard at work,  I can

watch this for hours.  I think I need to

find a place so I can take pottery classes

again.

The village had many nice examples of

local buildings such as a church, a general 

store, log cabins and a variety of houses

showing different economic levels.  This 

house was spectacular, inside it had such 

gorgeous natural light and great cross

ventilation that made it comfortable to 

be inside even on a very hot day.

I always end up liking the kitchen the most.

The garden was spectacular.

I want this variety of cosmos in my

garden next year.

This was a sewing machine style I had

never seen before.

Isn't that a beauty of a quilt!

One of the houses even had an old crib 

which is something we rarely see.  I

wonder what the age is?

Then it was back in the car for another 4+

hours of driving until we hit Lake Ontario.

We set up our campsite, this was to be home

for the next three days.

We had appetizers as we watched the sun

go down over the lake.  We could see the

skyline of Toronto across the lake.

After sunset we had dinner and then into 

the tent to finally sleep.  It had been a long day...

Elle's Kitchen: Homemade Granola Bars

Mr. Wonderful and I are heading out for 

a road trip/camping trip.  I thought these 

tasty treats would be perfect to snack on.

Is that tin so me or what?

Years ago when I was a stay at home Mommy

I used to make these granola bars every Sunday

for my kids.  I would listen to NPR and bake.  I 

loved those days, making things from scratch was

such a joy.  I liked the idea of my kids having things

that tasted good.  We tried the packaged granola

bars and they tasted like cardboard and they were

also quite expensive, even when we bought them on

sale.  My baby turned 21 today and I was reminiscing

about all the fun we had while they were growing up.

Even the weekly chores like making these bars was

fun.  They were made with love.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 9'' x 13'' pan.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup flour

1 teas. baking soda

1 teas. vanilla

2/3 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Craisins or raisins

1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple

3/4 cup butterscotch chips

3/4 cup peanut butter chips

In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, baking

soda, vanilla, butter, honey and brown sugar.

Take a look at the spoon, I bought it on a recent

trip to Grand Haven, MI.  I was shopping with my

sister-in-law Pat and we were having such a nice 

time.  I think of it every time I use it.

Stir in Craisins, pineapple and chips.

Press mixture into pan.  Bake for 18 to 22

minutes or until golden brown.  Cool 10 minutes

and cut into bars.  Cool completely before removing 

from pan.

I like to wrap each bar in a little square

of decorated waxed paper (available in

a restaurant supply store, they are basket

liners that I cut into quarters).  I store them

in the fridge.

When Kate was in her first year of foods in

4-H, the young kids made cookies as their

entry.  She told me she planned to make this

recipe for her project, that's when I knew she

really must have liked them.  On the day of 

judging there were dozens of entries and 90%

of them were chocolate chip cookies.  There 

were no other bar cookies.  I stressed through 

the entire judging thinking, oh no, I should have

read over the instructions, maybe bar cookies

are not allowed.  I thought she is going to be so

upset if she gets disqualified for an improper 

entry.  She went up for the tasting with the 

judge and I could see her talking and smiling

and by her hand motions I could tell she was 

telling the judge how she made the cookies.

When the winners were announced, she won

reserve champion!  

Enjoy!

Elle's Kitchen: Quick and Tasty Mini Pepper Appetizer

One day many years ago, the kids and I 

stopped at our local grocery store after 

school and they happened to be sampling

these appetizers.  We tasted ~ we loved!

And we have been making them ever since.

Ingredients:

Mini sweet peppers

Whipped Cream Cheese

a hot pepper jelly or jam

Wash and dry peppers and cut in half 

lengthwise.  Scoop out the ribs and seeds,

I use a spoon to do this.  

Filled the pepper halves with the whipped

cream cheese, again, use a spoon and flatten

along the top.  Add a spoonful of the jam or

jelly to the top and serve.  I used a Cherry

Jalapeno jam that I found at a Farmer's

Market in Grand Haven, MI.  It was delicious!

Enjoy!

An American Homestead: James Whitcomb Riley Boyhood Home

Along the Old National Road in Greenfield Indiana

sits the boyhood home of the Hoosier Poet, James

Whitcomb Riley.  The National Road was the Gateway

to the West, the pioneers traveled it in their covered

wagons.  Riley's parents had traveled west in their

wagon and settled in Greenfield where they built a

log cabin.  Eventually, they built this large beautiful

house for their growing family.

The house is filled with many items from the

family including the yellow eyed dog statue

and the clock on the mantle.  These items would

later appear in one of Riley's poems.

This settee was one of the items the Riley's

carried in their covered wagon.

As well as the family bible.

Riley's father was a lawyer and had his office in

the front room of the house.  He also made this 

magnificent desk.

As was the custom in those days, the clothes

were hand made in the house.  This is a Howe 

machine made by the man who is considered 

the inventor of the sewing machine.

I wish I had one of these sewing birds.

Of course there are gorgeous quilts

on the beds.

The tool on the right was one I was not 

familiar with, it is a glove stretcher.  When

you would wash your gloves, they would 

shrink and you would have to stretch them

to get them to fit your hands.

A crazy quilt, very popular at the time.

This was the bed of the poet when he was 

a child, his father made the log cabin to 

remind the children that they didn't always

live in such a beautiful house and came from

humble roots.

Just next to the boys room was the little room of a

12 year old orphan girl that lived in the house and 

worked as a servant in exchange for room and board.

The girls name was Mary Alice or Allie and she had

a vivid imagination.  She was always telling the kids

scary stories.

The goblins gonna getcha if ya don't watch out!

Years later, Riley remember the little girl that

lived with them and wrote a poem called Little

Orphant Allie but due to a printer's error we 

know her as Little Orphant Annie.  Allie was

always making up a story and as the maid she

had to clean each of the steps to the upstairs

by hand.  She named each of the steps since she

knew them so well.

Many years later, a family descendant wondered

what had happened to Allie.  He put an ad in the 

newspaper and many woman showed up claiming

to be Allie but when questioned they just didn't

seem to be authentic.  Finally a woman showed 

up and pointed to the steps and named each one,

they knew they had found Allie.  She is pictured

above in front of the house, she is dressed in black

and on the right side of the photo.

Allie would have spent much of her time here 

in the kitchen, it is always my favorite room.

Riley was not a great student and ended up

painting signs for a living before his writing

career began.

He ended up becoming very wealthy and wildly

popular due to his poems and stories.  He traveled

extensively reading his writings to packed houses.

The display above shows all the products with his

image or named the Hoosier Poet or Little Poet.

When his father returned from fighting in the Civil 

War he was injured and war weary, he was unable 

to work at his law practice and the family had to sell

the house.  The poet swore he would buy it back some

day and eventually he did.  He allowed family members

to live there and he would come to visit in the summer

months.  The house stayed in the family until the town

took it over as a historical home.

Riley is still well known.  School children come to visit

as part of their Indiana history lessons and people from

all over visit the home.  Of course his work lives on today

in Little Orphan Annie and Raggedy Ann, as well as many

of his other stories and poems.