Home with a Hearth

"I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and a dog, the footsteps of friends ~ and you!"

In her journal on Sept. 25, 1910, L.M. Montgomery wrote, "How I do love an open fireplace. I love it so much that I feel sure I shall never have one of my own. No, I shall be doomed to stuffy stoves or -- worse still! -- a radiator all my live."

Lucy Ward Montgomery, Canadian author (1874 - 1942) The Selected Journals of L.M.M. Vol.II, Oxford University Press, 1987

(Journals, letters, scrapbooks, photographs, personal papers and library are the property of the University of Guelph, Ontario.)

Click on photo to view larger image. Scroll right to find the snowblower and shovel. Photo: Michaye Walker

Mark Twain's Fireside

"I know the look of an apple that is roasting and sizzling on the hearth on a winter's evening, and I know the comfort that comes of eating it hot, along with some sugar and a drench of cream...I know how the nuts taken in conjunction with winter apples, cider, and doughnuts, make old people's tales and old jokes sound fresh and crisp and enchanting."
Mark Twain, American author and humourist (1835-1910) Extract from his autobiography.

And from a letter written by Mr. R.J.Burdette after a visit to Twain's home:

"I am not a man addicted to cold weather. I am not sufficiently 'British' to wander through December and January in short checked coat and no ulster. I am given to much wrapping up when I do go out in the snow, and to very little going out in the snow at all. I begin to shiver with the first frost, and I keep it up until the following April. And so when I can sit down before a bright wood fire and burn up cigars while somebody entertains me. I love the icy winter."

Janice Anderson, Fireside, A Family Companion, MQ Publications Ltd.,2004

Six Nations 'Ready to Negotiate' for 'Perpetual Care'

In a press release to The Hamilton Spectator, Six Nations Elected Council Chief, William Montour states that "The only land settlement that the Six Nations Elected Council will support is a global settlement that, by modern treaty, secures our perpetual care and maintenance for basic services such as education, health, social and public infrastructure."
"Further, any lands that become available," Montour goes on to say, "must revert to Six Nations title.....In addition the Six Nations Elected Council will not settle any land right for money and then sign a paper that absolves Canada of any future obligation to negotiate further grievances."

Chief Montour makes it clear to the community precisely what the Minister of Indian Affairs and the people of Canada are being asked to deliver ~ "perpetual care."

Source: The Hamilton Spectator, Jan. 28, 2010.
http://www.thespec.com/ Quick Search: Chief William Montour

Decisions

Your Smile for Today ~

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

Theodore Roosevelt, Amer. President, 1858 - 1919

"A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking," words spoken by comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

Yet another e-book was unveiled this week; this time by Apple. We are excited by all the attention these new devices are receiving. There is a measurable renewal of the popularity of the written word. Author Margaret Atwood assures us that the electronic book will never replace the paper book, "You can't take it into the bath." So with this assurance, we restock our used-bookstore shelves.

One certainty is that there has never before been the unlimited opportunities for publication of one's imaginings, experience, knowledge, views ~ all the reasons that writers and readers share their thoughts ~ generally ensuring that future generations will in one form or another know what we were thinking.

Visions of Dusty Rose Farm by Lorraine Toth Pierias, is a collection of poetry and prose. The reader will recognize Lorraine as a Haldimand Press columnist. Stories from the country and Dusty Rose Farm entertained Press readers for many years.

Now living in Cayuga and retired from teaching, Lorraine divides her time between her family and various volunteer organizations including T.E.A.D., The Equestrian Association for The Disabled, and Victims' Services.

The Neat Little Bookshop, Thursdays, 1:30 P.M. Series of Fascinating Personalities. Coffee pot's always on. Everyone welcome.

Visions From Dusty Rose Farm, Cayuga Print & Copy Centre, 2000

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt Disney.

Your Smile for Today ~

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."

~ Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize Physicist, 1879 - 1955.

Dr. David Marshall has left the people of Haldimand a diverse legacy including his book Dr. Marshall's History of Haldimand County.The Marshall family is in their fifth generation living in the area. In this valuable history, the author goes as far back as the ancient stone age people and includes the native people, early settlers, the lower Grand River Valley, the Grand River Navigation Company, Haldimand's military and political histories. There are sixteen photographs and illustrations in the book.

The reader will agree that we truly live in a "chosen land, ...a piece of paradise." The people, the land, the culture, the United Empire Loyalists, Butler's Rangers, Chief Joseph Brant, the importance of canals, the growth of the villages and towns, the arrival of the railroad and the colourful characters along the way that contributed to what we today call The Town of Haldimand and The Town of Dunnville.

For further reading, click on Labels: Friends. November 21 and 23, 2009 blog posts
Dr. David Marshall, North Shore Publishing, 1997

Caramel Bars

(You have asked for the literary-hour bars. The recipe is from an old Woman's Day magazine. They are pretty good!)

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (Reserve 1/3 cup flour for caramel topping.)
2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or morsels)
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup (12.25 oz jar) caramel topping

Combine 2 cups flour, oats, sugar, soda and salt. Stir in melted butter.
Reserve 1 cup of mixture for topping. Press the remaining into ungreased 13" x 9" pan.
Bake for approximately 15 min. at 350 degrees.
Sprinkle with chocolate and walnuts.
Combine caramel topping and 1/3 cup flour. Drizzle over base.
Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake additional 20 minutes at 250 degrees.

Your Smile for Today~

"My first and last philosophy, that which I believe in with unbroken certainty, I learned in the nursery. ... The things I believed most then, the things I believe most now, are the things called fairy tales. They seem to be the entirely reasonable things. They are not fantasies: compared with them other things are fantastic. Fairyland is nothing but the sunny country of common sense."

~ G. K. Chesterton, English writer (1874 - 1936). Orthodoxy, Chapter IV: The Ethics of Elfland, 1909

"Shake the Grandmas' Hands"

They are two years old ~ maybe three years old. Winter togs half on. Tripping over each other. Happily scrambling to dress. Colorful boots, hats, scarves, mitts. Spaghetti legs. Stiff arms. Children not quite old enough to dress themselves. A preschool visit to a retirement home.

Adults lining the walls. Their focus ~ a group of carefree children preparing to leave. This is an experience not commonly occupying their day. Then a teacher's voice, "Shake the grandmas' hands. Shake the grandpas' hands." On cue, boys and girls leap to line up. Circling the room, children touch each expectant grandma and grandpa. The slow procession of young saluting old ~ the old seated in over-stuffed chairs and sofas. The young obediently shaking hands or playfully giving high-fives.

The image will remain in our mind. There are few words spoken ~ the odd "Come again." "Good-Bye." The adults ~ alone in their thoughts ~ will remain seated and silent long after these clowning little folk go back to their daily, busy routine of snacks, naps and playtime.

World Organization of China Painters

The World Organization of China Painters is dedicated to the preservation of the ancient art of hand-painted porcelain. Pauline Salyer (1912 - 1991) published the first issue of The China Painter in 1962, a magazine that today reaches over 7,000 artists worldwide. The first worldwide convention of the organization was held in 1977 in Oklahoma City, U.S.A.

Author of several books, including Great Artists of China Decoration and Oriental China Painting, Pauline Salyer based her publications on visits to the premier porcelain factories of China.

Molly Cooper ~ known affectionately in The Neat Little Bookshop as "Fascinating Molly" ~ will share with us today some of her own pieces and demonstrate the art of porcelain painting.

Chat with Molly, 1:30 P.M. today.

Thursdays, 1:30 P.M. Series of Fascinating Personalities. Everyone welcome.

China Painting ~ Ancient Art

Handpainting on china is a distinctive form of art. This beautiful craft will be the subject for tomorrow's literary hour.

Thursday, 1:30 p.m. at The Neat Little Bookshop where the coffee pot's always on. Everyone welcome.

Tomorrow: Stories and photos of china.

Your Smile for Today ~

The centipede was happy quite
She dreamed of dancing through the night.
With, fleet of feet and fair of hair,
A many-legged Fred Astaire.

Herb Martindale's "literary fun" included people, places, politics ~ nothing or no one escaped his humour.

The minister lost his spare tire ~
Imagine his anguish and ire.
A ruddy great crow
Picked it up, flying low,
And they found it next day on the spire.

And then there is this one: (Anyone frequenting Herb's bookshop showed up in his verse.)

TO LORNA
Her hips and bust are thirty-five
And everything is so ALIVE.
A work of art to ponder on
And all this stuff belongs to John.

(This ancient verse was found recently by an antique dealer in Devonshire, hand-written on a scrap of faded, lined paper, in the centre drawer of an old bureau which once belonged to the Ridd family.)

Herb -- it must be noted -- collected copies of the old R.D.Blackmore classic, Lorna Doone, 1869.

Our Horses Get to Vote at All Our Meetings, Good Clean Literary fun in Verse and Prose, Herb Martindale, 1992. First owner of The Neat Little Bookshop.

Your Smile for Today ~

The firefly's flame
Is something for which science has no name.
I can think of nothing eerier
Than flying around with an unidentified glow on a person's posteerier.

~Ogden Nash, Amer. poet, 1902 - 1971.

(Anyone who knew the first owner of The Neat Little Bookshop, may make the comparison of Ogden Nash's light poetry to Herb Martindale's whimsical limericks. Herb always had a comical verse for his visitors, usually scribbled on a homemade notepad ~ scrap paper stapled together. One had the feeling that the visitor's response determined whether the verse would see publication.

Tomorrow: Excerpts from: Our Horses Get to Vote at All Our Meetings, Herb Martindale, 1992. )

Winter in Canada

Can you say, "Snow?"
"Snow?"

Eccentric Maybe ~ Definitely Clever

When a person lives with someone for a long time, little idiosyncrasies inevitably surface ~ although, collecting walnuts in quart jars outdoors during the winter months did seem to push the limit a little.

There they were, neatly lined-up on a wooden bench, six glass jars each systematically being filled with nuts. Watching this domestic process, I wondered if the walnut tree could randomly fill jars. It didn't make any sense. Ice and snow came and went ~ drifting over the bench. The strange outdoor pantry was soon forgotten.

With the reappearance of the canned nuts in the spring,it became apparent that the humans were not losing their minds (the discussion had to take place at some point). One by one, the precious morsels vanished.

This winter I cannot help but wonder if our furry little friends are okay or if we could have perhaps made their lives a little easier by not recycling their mason jars.

World Travel and Retirement Activities

Thursday Literary Hour this week will be of particular interest to anyone planning to travel or spend their leisure time productively

Pam Thomas, exciting personality (Can you hear her laughing?), will be our guest. Many of you know her from the Cypres Active Living Centre. Pam is seldom idle; if she is ~ certainly only long enough to tell a good story.

Be entertained, share ideas, learn. Come by The Neat Little Bookshop on Thursday, January 14. Have a cup of tea. Pam will be here around 1:30 p.m. to talk about her time spent in China and her most recent trip to the Dominican Republic. Everyone welcome.

Wild and Unbridled

Aspiring writers are dreaming of and in many cases actually producing their first novel ~ all made possible by self-publishing. Pay up-front and hope to sell enough copies to cover costs.

New writers, fresh ideas and stories ~ But are they? The disappointing outcome unfortunately can be an abundance of proper and boring text.

Natalie Goldberg calls it, "wild and unbridled." Get your first thoughts down; don't worry about punctuation, grammar or spelling. That can come later. Commit yourself to a time limit. Don't stop writing. Don't pause to reread. "That's stalling," according to Goldberg, "and trying to get control of what you're saying."

She teaches, "Go for the jugular. If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy."

AND writers, may we add ~ get a good editor!

Reference: Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg, Shambhala. Natalie has a website.

First Thoughts ~ Fresh Thoughts

As I try to describe my Grandmother's candy dish today, the best I can do is to say that it is a silver-plated, pedestal dish about four inches high. Try as I do, I cannot capture in words ~ not even in thought ~ at this point in time, my first stunned reaction when my brother held it up as we were emptying my mother's cupboards. After how many years, I knew that dish was Grandma's.

I can try to describe my astonishment, my delight at the discovery but looking at the tarnished item now, those initial, fresh thoughts are gone. If I had penetrated my thoughts at the time, perhaps I could have remembered the connection of that dish with my Grandmother. Did she reach down to me and offer me colourful, tinsel-wrapped candies? Did I envy it sitting out-of-reach?

Natalie Goldberg, American writer, talks about first thoughts having "tremendous energy. It is the way the mind first flashes on something," she writes. "The internal censor usually squelches them so we live in the realm of second and third thoughts, thoughts on thought, twice and three times removed from the direct connection of the first fresh flash."

Today, it is an old dish ~ not particularly attractive ~ that holds intrigue for me but fails to excite.

Tomorrow: Writing from First Th0ughts

Cayuga Street This Afternoon

Caledonia Christmas Light Show

The Caledonia Light Show runs until Sunday, December 10 inclusive. If you have not had the opportunity to see it, there is still time!

Bundle up, take along a hot chocolate from one of the Caledonia businesses ~ French vanilla cappuccino would be good ~ and settle in. You may want to watch the sequence more than once. Kids and adults alike can appreciate the arguing snowmen.

Showtime is 5:30 P.M. until 11:00 P.M. (See our December 20 post.)

Photo: Compliments of Joel Smith Photography

Literary Hour Alive and Well

In a used bookstore ~ where the coffee pot is always on ~ we regularly hear the most interesting book reviews. Just by suggesting Thursday afternoons as a good time to meet someone other than the crazy book lady, we created an informal literary gathering. The discussions are never limited to any one topic ~ or book.

Local historian, author Cheryl MacDonald ~ professor of creative writing ~ left a telling email, "My goodness. What a place! Complete bedlam but so much fun." [We should add, It isn't always bedlam.] Cheryl goes on to say, "You have created this wonderfully vibrant, comfortable place for people to gather and talk about books and writing. (and costumes for dogs, lining up for celebrity writers, finding a husband...) Complete with hockey team members. I just grinned all the way to Caledonia."

Graphics by Amy and Megan, former storytime readers/regular visitors

Post Script: The usual Cast of Characters are currently in Kingston, Florida and Grenada for the holidays or at home reading a book. Everyone welcome. Drop by any Thursday after lunch. Bring your crocheting, rug hooking or whatever it is that you do. Enlighten us.

Your Smile for Today ~

"Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who you are" is true enough, but I'd know you better if you told me what you reread."

~ Francois Mauriac, French author, laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1885 - 1970

Caledonia Mill

The mill in Caledonia has presented a spectacular light show during the holiday season drawing people from miles around.

Built in the 1850's by postmaster, James Little, the mill was supplied its power from an existing dam on the Grand River built earlier in 1835 by Ranald McKinnon.

Throughout the decades numerous individuals made their living milling local grain. Under the name, Balmoral Mills, J.B. Holden and John Scott ran the business from 1861. Donald McQuarrie and James H. Thorburn bought the mill in 1869. Wm. Munroe later joined the business known as McQuarrie, Thorburn and Munroe. They ran a flourishing business in flour operating under the name Grand River Mills and in 1875, they purchased and repaired the dam.

In 1879 the mill was sold to Samuel Scott and later the Scott brothers. In 1892, Wm. Scott organized the Caledonia Milling Co. with about a hundred shareholders. It was the last operating, water-powered mill on the Grand River.

The light show begins at 5:30 each day. (See our December 20 post.) When the date-ending becomes available, we will post.

Photo: courtesy of Joel Smith Photography http://www.joelsmithphotography.ca/
Information from The York Grand River Historical Society

Gratitude and Optimism

"Looking forward.., moving forward..." You have heard the expression. Everybody is using it. The words have almost lost their original effectiveness.

Looking at this indomitable kid's face, I cannot stop laughing. Truly blessed with three sons, we look forward with gratitude and optimism. I am wrenched from my complacency, my relatively peaceful existence back to the sleepless nights, chaotic events and the prevailing sheer fear of the next crisis ~ if not a calamity ~ that raising three well-adjusted males entailed.

For a while, I am just going to glance at this laughable photo and look forward...

Moments

"We do not remember days,

we remember moments."

~ Cesare Pavese, Italian poet & author (1908 - 1950)

It is only of late that I am observing that children naturally live in the moment. I am not a psychologist but it appears that children are not distracted by cumbersome past and future thoughts. Yank them from their immediate activity and one quickly learns how important the moment is to them! They will protest.

Living in the moment is a skill that adults may be able to relearn with practice. I am working on it.

Cayuga O.P.P. Flags at Half-Mast

Flags fly at half-mast over the Cayuga O.P.P. Detachment. Five Canadians lost. Four soldiers and one journalist repatriated to CFB Trenton, Ontario today. December 30 was the third worst day for casualties in the Afghan mission. A total of 138 soldiers and 2 civilians dead.

Olympic Torchbearer Fizan Jaffar

Olympic Torchbearer # 129, Fizan Jaffar, identified himself in a photo that we posted. As Fizan was unable to take pictures the day of his historic run, he welcomes any additional photographs that may exist. If anyone has pictures, or knows of anyone who may have pictures, taken along Munsee St. between J. L. Michener Public School and the Cayuga ball park, please contact us at lwalker@mountaincable.net and we will be pleased to put you in touch with Fizan.

Certified Service Dog ~ Gordon

Gordon wishes to say "Happy New Year" to everyone. Suitably dressed for our Canadian winter in his warm coat and red boots, Gordon visits the bookshop. A certified service dog, he enjoys his leisure time.

His original owner had expectations for Gordon on the racetrack, but greyhound racing was never Gordon's dream. (Second only to the cheetah, greyhounds are the fastest animal in the world.) Trampled on the track early in his non chosen career, Gordon became shy of the sport.

We join Gordon in wishing all of our friends a Happy New Year and all the best in 2010.