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!

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

It's WHATEVER Time or My Flamboyant Uncle and Cantaloupe Jam

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 August.

My FLAMBOYANT UNCLE & CANTALOUPE JAM

Once a week my Uncle Mike would drive to visit us while we were at Lilydale. It was always a party when he came. One never knew what to expect other than a loud rumbling noise and the horn blowing on his new automobile. Mama would always laugh and shake her head at her youngest brother and mutter under her breath…”he’s so flamboyant”.

On those times he visited we would all scramble into his automobile and take off for the backcountry roads where we would stop at all the farm stands along the road. It was always an adventure, especially when he started going fast down the roads.

Mama was always on the look out for fresh produce, especially fruit, for her pastries and homemade preserves. The visitors at Lilydale clamored for these and wanted jars of her now famous Cantaloupe Jam to take home with them.  Before we headed back home Uncle Mike would stop at the Pharmacy where he would let us pick out our favorite ice cream cone and perhaps even a banana split.

We hated to see him leave because it was like someone just sucked all the fresh air out of our bodies. We were back at the very strange place that I didn’t like…but that is a different story for a different day.

Here are links to Catherine, Cuchy, Nathalie & Vickie's creative stories about The Whatevers. Please stop by and see what they have created.

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 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 ;)

If you are playing along you can link up your story here: