Harrison Place and Kenan Center: July 31, 2015

My friend Pam and I went out for a few hours today.  Our first stop was at HARRISON PLACE to go to BEAR BOTTOM ANTIQUES and LOTTA BOOKS.  We went into the book store first.  Its really more than a book store, the owner (who is very friendly) has a lot of other items for sale.  We talked with him a while about his collection and I purchased a small tin tray with a picture of the HODGE OPERA HOUSE on it for $1.00.

We spent more time in the BEAR BOTTOM and I purchased a four items totalling $3.50.

Then we had lunch at COUSINS CAFE.  We split a sub and then shared a piece of custard pie.  Both were very good.

Then we went to the KENAN CENTER

to the art gallery so we could see the ONTARIO PLAIN GROUP OF TWELVE.

 The Kenan House is beautiful both inside and out.

Here are some pictures of their gardens.

By the time we were done at the Kenan Center, it was starting to get VERY hot outside, so we called it a day

JELLO Adventure !!!!!

My friend Mary Ann and I sent to LeRoy today in order to go to the JELLO MUSEUM.  We really enjoyed it and I took a lot of pictures.  The museum is in a former school.  The first part was narrated:

The rest was walk through with lots of old photographs, displays and information.   

The museum is in a former school.

Downstairs there is a transportation museum, this is also interesting.

There is a very nice gift shop which offers JELLO in all of the flavors.  I purchased two boxes: black cherry and peach, which I have been unable to find at supermarkets in Lockport.  

By the time we were finished at the musueum, it was lunch time.  We located the D and R DEPOT RESTAURANT.  It is a very nice place

We both had the special. a prime rib sandwich.  It was delicious!  Then we did some geocaching.  The first one was in Saint Marks Cemetery

and the second one was hidden outside the JELLO MUSEUM.  I had info. about a third one but we could not seem to pinpoint it.  

We headed back towards Lockport, only stopping in Oakfield for ice cream.  It was a great day.

OLD OLCOTT DAYS: July 25, 2015

My parents used to take us kids to Olcott Beach often when we were kids.  We usually picnicked and swam.  Occasionally, we would go on the rides in one of the small amusement parks.  My grandparents also took me there at least once when I was older.  AND, my friend Jane and I drove out there once or twice during summer vacation from high school.  So Olcott Beach holds a lot of memories for my family.

This was my first opportunity to go to an annual event (since around the year 2000) OLD OLCOTT DAYS.   I asked both of my sisters to go with me.  They said yes, and Peggy brought her husband, David, along.

We started out with lunch at MARINER'S LANDING. It was very good (we all head either fish fry or broiled fish).

We went into a few of the shops.  

This was very interesting:  

I think the best part of the event was the historic trolley ride.  A narrator told about various buildings and locations, with accompanying

photographs.  The narrator is the owner of IMAGES FROM THE PAST a very nice gift shop which has a small museum upstairs  Here are a few pics from the museum: one of the original windows from the trolley.

end pieces from logs which were in the old log cabin, which was demolished and is now being replaced with a replica and a photograph of the trolley from way back in the early twentieth century.  

It was a fun afternoon, but it was SO HOT, we finished up around three thirty p.m. and went back to Gails house in Burt.  On the way home, I stopped for a small custard cone at Reids.

Neighborhood Appreciation Picnic at the Community Garden: July 22, 2015

  Faith Tabernacle Church along with Refuge Temple has a "community garden" on the corner of Hawley and Ontario Streets.  Individuals are given small plots and allowed to grow both flowers and vegetables.  Each individual gives a certain percentage of their products away.

This year, the two churches hosted a "Block Party".  Part of Ontario Street was blocked off. The garden was open and a fellow had a bunch of early harvest vegetables available for people to take. (I took a HUGE cucumber and made refrigerator pickles).  Best of all was the FREE FOOD: hotdogs, chips and a desert, a drink and later on Refuge Temple brought some sweet corn on the cob.

This is the registration table where people got their tickets.  Then they brought the tickets to the food table.  I greeted and handed out napkins and plates and then people moved along and took the rest of their items. 

 For the kids there were THREE bounce houses, face painting an a fire engine!

 I really enjoyed talking to people especially a grandma and great grandma from Refuge Temple who could not get out of their car.  The daughter took their food to them.

It was a great event and I hope to go to it next year, too.

Return to Little Italy ADVENTURE: Monday, July 20th, 2015

I had a meeting just outside of Niagara Falls, and when it ended, I decided to go into Niagara Falls, NY, USA and visit Little Italy again.

I parked the car and walked down the Main street in Little Italy a bit.  There are many vacant storefronts like this one:

I went into this Indian store: 

and into Latina's Market, where I purchased a loaf of Italian bread and a pound of Frey's bologna.  I actually made myself a bologna sandwich for lunch and ate it in the car.  (it was very good)

  I went into the original DeCamillo's and purchased a day old BABKA for $2.50.  I visited this hardware store, just to see what it is like:  

 they have a lot of nice kitchen items!  But I did not see a non electric hand mixer, which I need.

I took a different route back to Lockport (Route 31) and arrived home around 2:30 p.m.  I finished up this mornings laundry and washed up the mornings dishes and made a few phone calls and  then met Peggy at FaithTab.  We went to two hospitals in Buffalo, first to visit our Uncle Norman, who is in ICU at ECMC following a car accident and surgery, and then to Womens and Childrens Hospital to visit a week old Amish girl who is in PICU there. We really wanted to talk with her mother, but we could not find her.  We found her father and sisiter, but they were both sound asleep in a waiting room and we did not want to wake them up. 

It was a long day!!!!!

Buffalo Dolls, etc. etc. etc. Adventure Saturday July 18, 2015

Betty mentioned wanting to go to the Community Market especially to see the Buffalo Dolls performance.  I checked the paper and found out that they would be singing between ten and eleven a.m. today, so we made plans to go. We arrived a bit early and checked out some of the vendors. At this booth, the Salvation Army is having people sign large Christmas greetings for our active servicemen and women.

We had front row seats for the Buffalo Dolls and they sang hits from the forties, fifties and sixties.  This little girl was dancing up a storm.  

 Unfortunately, it was VERY VERY HOT and about halfway through I escaped to Lake Effect Ice Cream where I had a small cone.

Betty also escaped and had a hot fudge sundae.

When we left the community market we headed out towards Appleton for the Pay it Forward Basket Auction and Vendor/Craft Fair.  It turned out to be smaller than I anticipated but we spent about a half an hour and Betty bought tickets and placed them for the basket raffle.

Then we headed towards Olcott.  We decided to check out the little shops and then purchased a steak sandwich at Stevie V's

and found a cool spot on the boardwalk and ate our lunch.  We checked out the vintage arcade games and played skeeball.  These look exactly like I remember them, and they certainly are old:

Then we looked for a geocache SOME TREES ARE BIGGER THAN OTHERS, but we were not successful.

We headed to Wilson where we went to a few yard sales, but neither one of us found anything.  On the way back to Lockport, we stopped at Coulter's Farm Market and I purchased some raspberries.  We passed more yard sales along the way, but we were both starting to fade, so we didn't stop.  It was a good day.

PAINTING WITH PERSONALITY Adventure

I asked on facebook if anyone locally offered painting groups in the afternoon rather than in the evening and Jessica Malloy responded and she agreed to set up an afternoon session at Emma Roses in the old post office. She even let me pick out two pictures to offer the group.

The friends I asked were not interested but my sister Gail and my cousin Becky wanted to go.  Gail had already participated in something similar in Florida.

I met up with Gail and Becky at Emma Rose's Tea Parlor in the old post office.  We were given a choice of a sandwich or desert and a drink.  The sandwich choices were egg salad, chicken salad or grilled cheese.  I chose the grilled cheese.  It was very good.

Jessica gave us the choice of DANDELIONS or SAILORS DELIGHT and passed out supplies and we got started.

 Gail and I chose SAILORS DELIGHT Becky chose DANDELIONS. 

This is the reporter from the Union Sun and Journal with the server at the tea parlor.  

It was a fun couple of hours and we all went home with a painting ready to be hung up!  I hope to do this again.  

Batavia Adventure

I connected with an old friend from the seventies on facebook and we decided to meet up in Batavia today for lunch.  I decided to go early and do some geocaching and go to a museum that I have driven by many times.

I found the two geocaches quickly in two separate parks and then went to the HOLLAND LAND MUSEUM.

right next door to the museum is the War of l812 Peace Garden.  

After that, I went to SETTLER'S RESTAURANT and met up with Carol.  We spent two hours together and reminisced and caught up on news.  

On the way home I stopped at a farmstand and purchased some sweet corn and a tomato

Lockport in Bloom July 12, 2015

Lockport held its annual event LOCKPORT IN BLOOM this weekend.  I decided to go on Sunday.
Here are some of my favorite pictures:

 I met this man who I will call THE GARLIC MAN since he grows garlic from many different countries, even some countries that no longer exist. 

I particularly like these lilies.

and these yellow flowers

I saw a lot of flowers that I had never seen before.