It's WHATEVER Time or Christmas Comes to Lilydale

It's that time again to share The Whatevers photo and our own creative storytelling take on it!

It seems like time has flown by since Mama and Papa made the decision to move our family to Lilydale, NY. So many visitors, most importantly Auntie Esmeralda and her two daughters. That was a huge surprise for us all! I think Mama and Papa have accepted their arrival and enjoy having them here. I love having other girls to play with around the living quarters of the hotel, not just my brother.

Fall has come and gone and Christmas is right around the corner. Mama and Esmeralda have been busy getting the hotel decorated, cookies baked and all the necessary preparations. Even though they would be humming and singing as the busily worked I could tell something was wrong…they couldn't hide it. It seems since moving to Lilydale I can see what others are thinking…it's a weird feeling and I try to hide it.

I was soon to find out what the worry was about. Grandma Effie, a widow and her sister Belinda, my maiden great-aunt announced they would be coming for a Christmas visit. Mama  was worried because Grandma never thought she did anything right and Esmeralda hadn't seen her mother since she ran away with the Gypsy prince. I wasn't sure about them, they seemed larger than life to me…they were very stern and really disliked noise and fun. They would say that children were "to be seen but not heard".

They arrived dressed up like the "Queens of Sheba" …at least that's how Mama described their outfits. Grandma Effie and Great-aunt Belinda expected everyone to wait on them. They were stern with us, even when we were just sitting. I dreaded their arrival just like everyone else in the hotel. The only good thing about their arrival is they would bring with them my favorite Christmas treat.

Christmas finally arrived and after opening our gifts a very grand dinner would be served. I didn't really remember what we had to eat because I was saving room for after dinner desserts. There would be roasted chestnuts and dried figs, a variety of cookies and a huge plate of my favorite, STRUFOLI, a Neapolitan dessert that is traditionally prepared at Christmastime by my Grandma Effie.

Although the time they stayed with us was tense it seemed like they were happy to have Esmeralda back. Of course they spent several hours in adult conversations that we were always sent out of the room. Grandama tried unsuccessfully to convince Mama and Papa to move back to NY city. She told Mama and Papa that Lilydale was not the place to raise children with all the strange going's on. Everyone had a sigh of relief the day Papa took them back to the train station. Mama and Auntie Esmeralda fell into each others arms laughing and giggling and we went back to all our mischievous fun before the visit. Christmas had come and gone and we did survive the visit.

Here is the recipe for STRUFOLI. Since my grandmother never wrote this recipe down I was able to find this recipe from Franco Lania { http://www.huffingtonpost.com/franco-lania/struffoli-italian-christmas-tradition_b_4378585.html }.

In Italy, Italian home cooks traditionally make large quantities of these tiny honey balls for friends and family. When one visits relatives during the holidays, a plate of struffoli often is brought along as a gift to spread holiday cheer and in keeping with the theme of Christmas as the season of giving.

Struffoli: (serves: 10-15)

Ingredients: for the dough

Sugar - 1 cup
Butter - 2 oz. (unsalted)
Eggs - 5
Vanilla - 2 teaspoons
Flour - 4 cups
Baking powder - 2 teaspoons
Lemon - 1, grated

The honey syrup:

Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Honey - 16 oz.
Cinnamon - 1/4 teaspoon

Frying:

Vegetable oil - 6-8 cups

Garnishing:

Candied mixed fruit - 1/2 cup, chopped
Sprinkles - 1 tablespoon

• In the bowl of your electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment in place, blend together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. This should take 5-8 min on medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl down from time to time as needed.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
• Add the vanilla, flour, baking powder, grated lemon zest and blend well until a soft dough is formed. (If dough seem to sticky, add a little additional flour in order to achieve a workable dough that will not stick to your hands.)
• Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured board into a long rope the diameter of a pencil. Then cut each rope into 1/2 inch size pieces. Lightly roll between the palms of your hands to create small ball shapes.
• Heat the oil to 350 F.
• Fry the dough pieces in the hot oil about 12 at a time. Cook until golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a sheet pan lined with absorbent paper to drain. Repeat until all dough had been fried and drained. Then transfer all to a clean bowl and reserve until needed.
• In a medium pot, combine the sugar and water. Stir over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then add the honey and the cinnamon. Continue to stir until mixture reaches a simmer.
• Remove the pot from the heat and pour into the bowl with the fried dough balls, mixing and tossing the balls gently and simultaneously with a spatula to make sure that all are coated well.
• At this point, you can toss some of the candied chopped fruit into the bowl and mix in reserving the rest of the candied fruits for the garnishing.

Here are links to the other creative stories about The Whatevers. Please stop by and see what these fabulous artists have created.

• Catherine Matthews Scanlon
• Cuchy Sanchez
• Nathalie Kalbach  
• Vickie Chrisman

If you would like to play along it's not to late to join in. Here are all the details that you need to know.

Here is how it works ~

• Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Nathalie and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!
• There is no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page

HERE IS THE PHOTO FOR THIS MONTH'S WHATEVERS:

Thank you so much for taking time of these busy, hectic days as we prepare for the upcoming holiday season. 

If you would like to share your Whatevers here is the link:

It's WHATEVER Time or Who is Esmeralda and Why Does She Visit Lilydale?

Welcome back to The Whatevers. I hope you have enjoyed the stories and recipes so far. Let's take a look at the goings on at Lilydale, NY.

Who Was Esmeralda and Why Did She Visit Lilydale?

 I remember the first time I saw Esmeralda pull up in her brightly colored wagon. She was so different from all the others who came to visit at Lilydale. It was like all the colors in the world just got brighter and brighter, like the colors exploded and sparkled.

She pulled up in back of the hotel kitchen and when Mama saw her pull in she got a terrible expression on her face. She quickly wiped her hands on her apron and ran out the back door right to the wagon. The minute Esmeralda saw my Mama she fell from the truck and into Mama’s arms. It was such a curios sight because I never saw Mama act like that before.

They were hugging and crying at the same time. I thought Mama was happy but she kept looking around the yard to see if others had seen the new arrival. She was tense and nervous as she quietly spoke to this strange woman.  Esmeralda opened the small door to the covered wagon and out jumped two young girls, dressed in the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen in my life. Nothing compared to the simple dresses I wore everyday. They even had headdresses on that matched their dresses.

At the same time Papa came around to the back of the hotel and he too had this very strange look on his face when he saw the new arrivals. He quickly ran over to Esmeralda and grabbed her in a big bear hug but I could see he was also nervous. He quickly went to the horses and moved the wagon behind the barn where no one ever wandered while Mama ushered Esmeralda and her two daughters into the kitchen. They were speaking a language I had never heard before even though I heard both of my parents speak in different languages, Mama often spoke German while Papa spoke Italian and French.

Analetta and Rosella hid behind Esmeralda as they moved into the kitchen. They were as curious to see me as I was  to see them. Finally Mama brought them over and introduced us to each other. I would soon discover that Esmeralda was my Papa’s sister who many years ago had run off with a Gypsy Prince. She was never allowed to come back home but somehow Mama and Papa stayed in touch.

When the Gypsy Prince died suddenly Esmeralda started off hoping to find this place called Lilydale. She knew that Mama and Papa had finally moved to this strange place. Little did I know the extent of the entire goings on at Lilydale but I was soon to find out the real truth.

It was decided that Esmeralda would help Mama in the hotel kitchen but there was no room for them to stay. It wasn’t really a problem because the small wagon really was where they preferred to sleep; it was the only home they had ever known.

It was getting close to the hotel dinnertime and Esmeralda pitched right in to help Mama make her famous meat pies. Mama called them Bierocks but I called them delicious! All the young ones were sent to bed while Mama and Papa caught all the news with Esmeralda. I wish I could have stayed and listen because I could tell this story wasn’t over and that it really had just started!

Here's the RECIPE:

BIEROCKS/RUNZA {10-12}

Frozen bread dough or 16 ounces hot roll mix

1-1/2 lb. ground beef

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups cabbage, shredded

2 cups onions, chopped

1 shredded carrot {optional}

3 minced garlic cloves

OPTIONAL:

1 teaspoon caraway seed

1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubes or 1/2 lb swiss cheese, grated or 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Brown ground beef, onion  and minced garlic in skillet.

DO NOT DRAIN!

Add shredded cabbage & carrots, salt and pepper to meat and onions and cover. Stirring occasionally.

While cabbage and meat mixture is cooking, follow the recipe steps 1 - 4 on the Hot Roll mix. Don't form into shapes.

When dough is ready, pull off small balls of dough and roll out.

Place meat mixture into middle of the dough.

Fold the dough around the meat mixture.

Place on baking sheet and cook at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Here are links to the other creative stories about The Whatevers. Please stop by and see what these fabulous artists have created.

• Catherine Matthews Scanlon
• Cuchy Sanchez
• Nathalie Kalbach  
• Vickie Chrisman

If you would like to play along it's not to late to join in. Here are all the details that you need to know.

Here is how it works ~

• Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Nathalie and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!
• There is no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page

HERE IS THE PHOTO FOR THIS MONTH'S WHATEVERS:

Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me. I'm looking forward to next month's Whatevers. 

It's WHATEVER Time or Visits To The Fairy Trail at Lilydale

Welcome to this months creative storytelling with THE WHATEVERS.  I hope you are enjoying all our stories. You will find links and more information at the bottom.

The Whatevers and the FAIRY TRAIL FESTIVAL:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the fictional Sherlock Holmes not only believed in spiritualism and all of the phenomena of the séance room, but he also believed in fairies. He even wrote two pamphlets and a book The Coming of the Fairies. When he would travel to Lilydale it was often for the FAIRY TRAIL FESTIVAL held towards the end of the summer season. The Fairy Trail is a winding path cutting through the heavily wooded forest.

It always started with a long walk to the Fairy Trail with the adults leading us. They often told stories of seeing fairies, and fairy legends. Once we arrived a new Prince Fairy and Princess Fairy would be crowned. I had always hoped it would be my turn but it never happened.  This year it was my cousin Franz and his sister Gertrude {we called her Tootsie behind her back}. They traveled from Germany for a visit {really it was to move to here} and spend time with Mama and Papa at the Hotel. What I didn’t know at that time was ALL of my family would become permanent residents of Lilydale. But that is a story for later and I will tell you more about Lilydale and my dislike for Tootsie.

Ahhhh…..Back to the Fairy Trail Festival. Once crowned the Prince & Princess would lead the parade through the trail. All the children would be looking and looking for Fairies. We looked under stumps, beneath decayed fallen trees covered in kelly green moss, monster-sized mushrooms and overgrown forest ferns. We would find little trinkets along the way and there would be squeals of excitement. The grownups would clap and laugh and continue on with the conversations that we were never allowed to hear.

It was along walk back to the hotel but always in time for afternoon tea. Mama would be waiting with cold pitchers of lemonade for us. The adults would get small glasses of MAMA’S CHERRY BOUNCE and one of her special desserts. The children were never allowed to try the Cherry Bounce. Mama always said that when we grew up then we could try it.

I can tell you that once I grew up and became an adult I knew why Mama said “not for children”. It has quite the kick to it. I carried on the tradition of making Cherry Bounce for Christmas Eve.

Recipe: Cherry Bounce {6~12 oz. bottles}

CHERRY BOUNCE

2 qts. fresh sour cherries, washed and stems removed

1 lb sugar cubes

48 oz. vodka

1 gal. glass jar

Directions:

Place sugar cubes and sour cherries in sterilized gallon glass container with tight fitting lid.

Pour over sugar cubes and cherries and shake.

Store in cool dark place, shaking once a day for one week and once a week for 2 months.

Strain vodka, pour into clean, sterilized bottles.

Enjoy.

WEll I hope you enjoyed my story. I can attest to the fact that Cherry Bounce is real and it is something I often make for Christmas gifts. I usually make it around the 1st of July when sour cherries are in season and know it will be ready around the beginning of Dec.

Here are links to the other creative stories about The Whatevers. Please stop by and see what these fabulous artists have created.

• Catherine Matthews Scanlon
• Cuchy Sanchez
• Nathalie Kalbach  
• Vickie Chrisman

If you would like to play along this is what you need to know:

Here is how it works

• Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Nathalie and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!
• There is no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page

HERE IS THE PHOTO FOR THIS MONTH'S WHATEVERS:

Don't forget you can link up your Whatevers also.

Have a great day and see you in Nov. for the next chapter of THE WHATEVERS!

Arabesque Stencil Blog Hop with Nathalie Kalbach

I'm really honored to be a part of todays blog hop showcasing the Arabesque Stencil designed by Nathalie Kalbach for Stencil Girl Products  I've been waiting with great anticipation for her designs to come to the market place and I know that you will love them as much as I do. Let's take a look at the stencil and what I created with it.

I've been playing with my Gelli Plate for printing and have a stack of backgrounds ready to go. I thought the fluid nature of the Arabesque stencil would be perfect for this already completed page that had parts that I liked and parts I didn't. I love this page now and love the richness of the navy blue acrylic paint I used.

Once completed I then turned it into a  Art Journal page background by scanning to my computer and then have printed at my local office supply store on 80lb. cover paper. I've been doing this lately and use them has parts of other Art Journal pages. I love the fact that I can go back and use this design again if I so chose. Here is the completed background and I have provided a link at the end of the post where you can download this page for your own personal use.

Here is how I completed the background page. I've been wanting to use this photo that my husband took of HIS incredible Clematis {does anyone else have a husband who gardens and calls the plants his???}. This background was the perfect page to display this photo.

Thank you for stopping by and I'm pretty sure you might find a GIVEAWAY over at Nat's Blog BUT...she tells me if you comment here too you will have another entry into her giveaway! As a matter of fact she will give you an entry into the giveaway for each blog you comment on--how cool is that! Nathalie will give away one Arabesque Stencil. You have five chances to win it. Leave a comment on each of the listed blogs and on my blog  and let us know how you like the projects and Nathalie will pick randomly one lucky winner. You have time to comment till September 25th, 2013 - midnight EST.

Blog Hop Participants:

Nathalie Kalbach 

Stephanie Schütze

Marjie Kemper

Maria McGuire

Here is the art journal background page 

for your own personal use.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Just want to take a quick moment to welcome Nathalie to the US...so glad you are here. Also thank you for asking me to join in on the blog hop fun...LOVE your stencils Nathalie Kalbach!

The Whatevers or Guess Who's Coming for Lunch

Welcome back to The Whatevers Round 2. I hope you have decided to play along and enjoy the fun we are having. I'd like to share my story for September.

GUESS WHO'S COMING FOR LUNCH?

I always knew when someone important would be coming for lunch in Lilydale…the hotel and it’s staff would be bustling about frantically getting everything in tip top shape. They knew that the owners of the Maplewood Hotel, 2 brothers, would be coming by the day before to inspect and make sure everything was in order. I never knew their names but Mama and Papa called them Fric and Frac…then giggle to themselves.

The luncheon menus were always filled with Fric and Frac’s favorite foods. Mama would spend hours making sure every ingredient was the freshest it could be for these meals. One of the often-requested desserts was Mama’s Date Nut Bars.

As children we not allowed to be present on these special days but brother and I had the most perfect place to hide ourselves and watch the goings on. We found a small closet behind the dining room, in back of a huge mirror, that for some strange reason we could see them but they couldn’t see us!

Among the notable visitors to Lily Dale Assembly were Mae West, Harry Houdini, Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Susan B. Anthony, Russian Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, and many others.

I didn’t know until I was an adult what Lilydale was really all about. That is a very long story but here is the best way for me to describe it now.

“The Lily Dale Assembly, a gated compound in far western New York State, was known as one of the most famous and aristocratic spiritualistic camp in America." Freethinking, forward leaning, this was a place for prophets of all kinds. Seekers from around the world looking to explore the continuity between life and what locals refer to as "so-called death.”

The lakeside town was a haunt of the famous Mae West, who was rumored to have had a medium-boyfriend in the lakeside hamlet.

Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created a bond during their visits. They were there to witness the "Lessons from the Spirit World". Houdini was looking for a message from his dear Mother and Doyle was from his young son.

Susan B. Anthony visited half a dozen times, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Susan B. Anthony, the grande dame of the women’s suffrage movement, made the first of her several public appearances in Lily Dale in 1891. That day she spoke to an audience of 3,000 people in an amphitheater decorated with flags.

Brother & I always hoped that after these luncheons there might be a date nut bar left for us. It never failed that Mama always wrapped one up in a napkin for us. Here is Mama's recipe for you to try.

MAMA’S FAMOUS DATE NUT BARS

PASTRY LAYER

1 ¼ C. flour

1/3 C. sugar

½ C. butter, soft but not melted

Blend with pastry blender or fork until resembles fine crumbs. Pack firmly into 9” sq. baking pan.

Bake at 350 F. for 20 min. or until edges are golden.  {While crust is baking make top layer}

TOP LAYER

Combine well in bowl:

1/3 C. light brown sugar

½ C. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Then add to mixture:

2 Tbsp. flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. nutmeg

Combine thoroughly

Fold in:

1 C. chopped dates

1-8oz. pkg. chopped dates

Pour batter onto baker crust and bake 20 min. more.

Cool & sprinkle with powdered {10x} sugar. Cut into small bars.

Here are links to the other creative stories about The Whatevers. Please stop by and see what these fabulous artists have created.

• Catherine Matthews Scanlon
• Cuchy Sanchez
• Nathalie Kalbach  
• Vickie Chrisman

If you would like to play along this is what you need to know:

Here is how it works

• Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Nathalie and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!
• There is no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There is no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page

HERE IS THE PHOTO FOR THIS MONTH'S WHATEVERS:

Thank you for stopping by today! 

Martha Richardson