Wholesome Snacks

We could fill a daily blog with acts of kindness.

You might want to try this one. Fill a tote-bag with a variety of wholesome snacks. A friend made up a dozen snacks for us. (She had observed that I wasn't always eating right.) It is easy to forget to eat regular meals ~ which can lead to scrambling for the wrong pick-me-ups.

By having tempting, ready-made snacks available, a busy day does not have to mean low energy and unnecessary tiredness by mid afternoon.

The friend who created this gift is my niece, Lisa, mother of two who cooks everyday not only for her family but for the YWCA daycare and runs her own business, Vavoom Photography. Thank you, Lisa, for your act of kindness.

Lisa's pretty tote bag contained: baggies of walnuts, pistachios, almonds, salt-free pretzels and homemade granola ~ all with colourful twist-ties. Make up your own snacks. Make them ahead of time and keep them wholesome. This practice can be motivation for staying fit. Create a tote for a friend! It can make a difference.

Spell Check or Delete Key?

Spell Check did not "catch" the error in yesterday's blog-post. (I think we had Arthur C. Clarke ~ bless his scientific soul ~ dead before he was born.) It was particularly funny because the post is about intelligence.

An animated e-mail from a friend this morning is humourous. In a colorful cartoon: A puff of dust, a detached Computer cable and ~ poof! ~ an empty desk-top. Gone is the computer, with the caption: "All I did was hit the delete key."

Most days we wouldn't have it any other way. The essentials in life include our computer and, yes, the Internet. However, it feels like a world of contradictions, a constant tug-of-war for some of us between the human mind and the electronic brain. May the human prevail.

Note: Our thanks to the human reader who caught the error.

Your Smile for Today:

"It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value."

~ Arthur C. Clarke, British Science Fiction writer (1917 - 2008)

Earth Hour ~ Today's Question

The Neat Little Bookshop wants to know:

1. What did you do during Earth Hour?
2. Did Earth Hour change your thinking? Do you have plans for Earth Day on April 22?

Next time you are in the bookshop, please sign our guest book and tell us your thoughts.

Photo: by Vavoom Photography

Earth Hour

Today, lights will go out all over the world to raise awareness of the urgency of global conservation of energy and resources. A WWF* initiative, we are encouraged to turn out our lights between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.
In 1837, pioneer Anne Langton relied on supplies ~ including candles ~ from England. By 1840, according to her journal, she was making her own candles.

"Tuesday, March 10. I got my candle-making over today and now I have only to fill the moulds a few times and I shall have made up my half-cask of tallow. Ten dippings made very respectable candles today, where as what I was obliged to make in summer after four-and-twenty were most miserable pig-tails."

From the journal of Anne Langton, 1840. A Gentlewoman in Upper Canada, Irwin Publishing, Toronto, Canada, 1950.

Note: A Gentlewoman in Upper Canada, blog-post March 23.
*World Wildlife Federation

Your Smile for Today:

"The best thinking has been done in solitude.
The worst has been done in turmoil."

~ Thomas Edison, (1847 - 1931) American inventor

Precious Solitude, Ruth Fishel, Adams Media Corp., 1999

Photo: by Lorna, Parrothead Cove, Lake Erie

Caledonia Along the Grand River

Well-known author, columnist, Barbara Martindale, has been documenting the history of Caledonia and surrounding area in books and in articles. The former publisher of the Grand River Sachem, continues to write a weekly column in the Sachem, "For What It's Worth."

Actively involved in many organizations in her community, including the Chamber of Commerce and the BIA, Barbara still found time to be Member Services Director of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association. She was a member of the Media Club of Canada (founded originally as the Canadian Women's Press Club). She is recognized nationally within the Canadian print media.

Barbara Martindale will be in The Neat Little Bookshop on Thursday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. Everyone welcome. Thursday afternoons are designated for discussions with fascinating personalities.

Caledonia Along the Grand River, published by Natural Heritage/Natural History Inc., Toronto, Ontario, 1995

A Gentlewoman in Upper Canada

Open Anne Langton's journals at any page and imagine life in Canada in the 1800s:
"I am not a backwoodswoman yet in this, that I cannot feel easy when near the end of my stores. John thought my anxiety very laboured when I saw the bottom of my candle box. Here they have been so accustomed at times to be without things, that they take matters over and above easily. There is a very good store at the Falls, that is as good or better than any in Peterboro, but the difficulty of getting up goods makes the supply uncertain, and you are not to be surprised when told that the tea and rice are still on Lake Ontario, and that there are only three candles left. What should you think of a few pounds of tea coming at the bottom of a sack (without paper) and a few rusty nails at the other end of it?"

Langton Letter, 1837. The Journals of Anne Langdon, edited by H. H. Langton, 1950 Irwin Publishing Inc.

Photo: Black Creek Village, Kingston, by Lorna. Click on photo for larger image.

Early Settlement along the Grand River

Only the keen eye of title-searcher, Penny Plunket-Dmyterko, while doing research in the Haldimand County Museum, Cayuga, brought to light a missing document that the Land Registry Office believed to be lost.

During early Canadian land-settlement, thousands of acres were being mapped and planned. The maps would be registered and filed for future reference. It is not difficult to imagine that during the early 1800s when the only populated site was York (modern-day Toronto) a map might remain in the possession of an individual or individuals.

For well over a hundred years, a land tract on the Grand River in Haldimand County was subdivided and changed ownership many times without the advantage of the original plan. Thousands of dollars were spent over the decades re-surveying each time property changed hands.

This tract of 3,190 acres was originally conveyed to Warner Nelles from the Crown in 1836. Nelles had it surveyed, subdivided and conveyed in large parcels to friends and offspring. The 1844 map or plan was never filed in the Land Registry Office.

The recent discovery of an 1859 copy of the map is an exciting highlight in Penny Plunket's research.

Survey of Warner Nelles Tract

Title searcher, Penny Plunket Dmyterko, describing the 1844 Warner Nelles Tract to the York Grand River Historical Society. Conveyed from the Crown in 1836, the Warner Nelles Tract was then surveyed and sold off in parcels.

Tomorrow: The strange story of the historic map that was missing for generations.

Photo: Courtesy Neil Dring, The Grand River Sachem, Caledonia, Ontario.

(The Village of York is located between Caledonia and Cayuga ~ on the Grand River)

Clearing the Land ~ Pioneer Haldimand

Dense bush or forest was all the pioneers in Haldimand had to work with when they arrived. John A. Turnbull describes a stump fence that defined his Grandfather's farm property-line.
"I remember one fence made of the biggest pines I ever saw. Some of the roots stood in the air all of twelve feet and were fully as wide. The underside was cut off close to the stump so it rested flat on the ground. It stayed there without much repair for all of seventy or eighty years.

"I know little about stumping but a green stump of some of the large trees must have presented a problem to those old country men who for the most part were factory employees before coming to the new country. Bees ~ gatherings of neighbours working together ~ were common.

"The stumping machines were of a three-legged variety. The legs made of pine trees. The lower end rested on a large slide made from half a log fitted to the foot of the pole or leg. The top end of the three legs was capped with a large cast iron header through which a large screw -- probably three inches in diameter -- and a large hardwood pole which reached the ground outside the legs was mounted. Men dug the hard earth away from the roots. A horse hitched to the end of the pole circled the stumper thus raising and pulling the stump."
John A. Turnbull (1890 - 1975) third generation Seneca Twp., Haldimand

Early Canadian Settlement Seneca Township

"In the early days of this district, bees* were common, as the pioneers were rather inexperienced. When they came to the new country, the work that faced them was so unusual compared to what they were used to at home. Most were factory workers. With the bush and starvation on one side and their wives and young families on the other, they buckled right in to the task ahead of them and relying on each other they learned many things. Things that we of this generation have long ago forgotten if we ever knew them.

"Think of this country as it was around 1840 as a dense bush -- no roads, no cleared land, then think of it as it was about 1890. We wonder how men did so much in fifty short years. Roads had to be chopped out and fixed. That was it. They were just chopped out and of necessity followed the course of least resistance and so were bad for many years until a township road system put roads along surveyed lines."

Exerpts from writings of John A. Turnbull (1890 - 1975), third generation rural Seneca Twp., Haldimand County.

Tomorrow: *Stumping Bees, gatherings of neighbours

Haldimand Land History

R.L.Moore, United Empire Loyalist, looking for his century farm on the Warner Nelles Tract in Seneca Township, Haldimand County. Land surveyed and conveyed in 1835."Every property has a history," Penny Plunkett-Dmyterko, of P.L.P. Titles Ltd., explains to the York Grand River Historical Society.

Since the 1980s, Penny has spent much of her time in the Registry Office in the village of Cayuga.
Recently, she has focused on historical research for anyone interested in knowing how many times their property has changed ownership and acquiring a copy of their Crown Patent -- the first document (or deed) granted by the British King or Queen.

Penny can be contacted at info@pinprints.ca or P.O. Box 582, Cayuga, ON, N0A 1E0

For more information visit http://www.pinprints.ca/

Photos: courtesy York Grand River Historical Society

Canadiana

The make, model and owner of this vintage vehicle are unknown to us.

We imagine that the owner felt at home parking in front of the 1800's Cayuga Post Office on Cayuga Street ~ currently the new home of Grand River Chiropractic.

Photo: taken last summer by Lorna. Click on photo for larger image.

Kindness

Your Smile for Today:

"Imagine what would happen if there were an outbreak of kindness in the world, if everybody did one kind thing on a daily basis."

Random Acts of Kindness, Conari Press, 1993

Loss of a Friend

Today we have lost someone dear in our circle of friends. Someone who lightened our hearts, made us laugh and who leaves us with many treasured memories. Day to day, we have jobs and responsibilities that consume our time; however, the moments spent with family and friends is truly all there is. Treasure that friend.

Photo:  Banks of The Grand ~ lbwalker

The Carrousel Bed & Breakfast

The Carrousel is a popular Bed and Breakfast at 51 Winnett Street N. in the Village of Cayuga.

Owned and operated by Bernadine Tompkins the B & B features three comfortable country-decorated bedrooms with an immense family room over-looking a picturesque lawn and gardens.

The Carrousel is located one block directly east of the Courthouse.

http://www.bbcanada.com/carrouselbb or telephone: 905-772-5348

Photo: by Lorna. Click on photo to view larger image.

Your Smile for Today:

Yesterday was International Women's Day. We searched our mind for witticisms; after many thoughts, we came to the realization that many of the women's organizations of the past seem to have had their day.

Does the same wisdom that applies to MEN, now apply to women?:

"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' ~ and get busy and find out how to do it." ~ Theodore Roosevelt, Amer. Pres.

"The world fears a new experience more than it fears anything. Because a new experience displaces so many old experiences...The world doesn't fear a new idea. It can pigeon-hole any idea. But it can't pigeon-hole a real new experience." ~ D. H. Lawrence, English Author

"It is a very funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it." ~ W. Somerset Maugham, English Author

Great Words of Our Time, Hallmark Cards, Inc., 1970

Dr. L. E. Barnard

A major landmark on the corner of Cayuga St. and King is looking a little more stately. Dr. L. E. Barnard, chiropractor, opened his new office on Monday.

The "old" Post Office has been renovated and redesigned for Grand River Chiropractic. Congratulations and welcome Dr. Barnard and staff.

Photos: by Lorna. To view larger image click on photo.

The Dear Little Shamrock of Ireland

The Dear Little Shamrock

There's a dear little plant that grows in our isle,
'Twas St. Patrick himself sure that set it:
And the sun on his labour with pleasure did smile,
And with dew from his eye often wet it.
It shines thro' the bog, thro' the brake, thro' the mireland,
And he called it the dear little shamrock of Ireland.
(CHORUS:)
The dear little shamrock, the sweet little shamrock,
The dear little, sweet little shamrock of Ireland.

~ Andrew Cherry, Irish songwriter (1762 - 1812), son of a bookseller, Limerick, Ireland.

Have you noticed? Green is showing up everywhere!
Wreaths, garlands, hats, t-shirts, streamers, shamrocks and leprechauns.
The above lyrics appear on an Irish-linen apron ~ made in (where else?!) Ireland.

Your Smile for Today ~

"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul."


~ Marilyn Monroe, American singer, actress (June 1, 1926 - August 5, 1962) Treasury of Wit and Wisdom, 2000