Wednesday, we headed for a grand tour of the local wineries.  There are two.  Yeah, I know whee!  Two whole wineries.  The first one we visited is the 1000 Island Winery located right near the bridge to Canada.  Their wines were interesting.  The had a few good ones, and some that were downright awful.  Our favorite was one affectionately called Girls Are Meaner, or a gewürztraminer.  It wasn't mean at all.  It was quite smooth, so a bit of it is coming home with us along with some blueberry wine, raspberry wine and another local semi-dry Riesling.

I totally would :)

The other local winery is called Coyote Moon.  They charge to taste their wines, so we took a pass.  The last few places we found that charge for tastings do so because their stuff is pretty foul.  I was already happily buzzing from the previous tasting, so it didn't break my heart much.  From there we went into a cute little town nearby called Clayton.  The have a nice little downtown district with shopping and a few coffee houses.  We were practically forced to stop at one have something called a Mocha Loca.  It was so awful we may go back today and have another one.  Thankfully the lovely staff at the Lyric Bistro has no issue with using our almond milk in their drinks.

Another little spot in Clayton worth noting is Bella's.  Partly because you can dine right along the river and the scenery is divine, but the other reason is that you can get GF/SF food.  Their staff is well versed and you can even get dessert.  Which for those of us with food issues, this is HUGE!  Add to the fact that it was a mint brownie and it's bonus points.  I think we'll head back there on Friday evening, our last in the area.

Thursday it rained here.  Well, it was more of a downpour, all day.  So, I did what any person on holiday would do.  I looked around for a day spa to get a massage or a mani-pedi.  Oh, right, did I mention we had no electric?  Yeah, it does that when it rains around here.  So, using the 3G interwebz on the phone I hunted down someplace to get relaxed and prettied up.  I thought at first my phone wasn't working right.  But no, there are no spas.  No day spas either.  The best I could swing was a mani-pedi in a shop that also does tattoos.  Awesome, a two-fer kind of day!  I should have know when the girl doing the pedi was impressed with my own paint job on the toes to run.  But, I stuck it out.  I repainted the mess that were my finger nails this morning, a nice shade called iced merlot.

Today we are headed to the great nation of Canada.  A little drive down the river and maybe a brief stop at Fort Henry.

Fort Henry Guard

It was incredibly windy here yesterday, and the 90 degree temps went down to the upper 70's during the day.  It was feeling a little chilly, so we decided to spend a few hours on the water, and visit a few castles that are in the middle of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

We visited Singer Castle on Dark Island first.  The 11 mile boat ride took about an hour, but we had a tour guide filled with info to impart on us for most of that ride.  For instance, did you know the Skull and Bones society owns an island on the St. Lawrence?  The 1000 Islands island chain isn't made up of 1000 islands, it's actually 1864.  The largest is 11 miles by 9 miles and the smallest is 3 feet by three feet and a tree.  1000 Island dressing was indeed created here by some fisherman who forgot to bring salad dressing along on a fishing trip with a silent film star.  He whipped that up for her, she liked it and introduced it to her friend, George Boldt, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria, who then put it in his hotels and the rest is history.

Singer Castle, Dark Island

Singer Castle is currently for sale, in case any of you are in the market for an investment property.  For a mere 25 million it can be yours.  However, for your cool 25 mill you get secret passage ways that are cooler than any Scooby Doo mystery, a boat house, 2 ice houses, a squash court and a workshop.  In its heyday it took a staff of 27 to run it, but there are sleeping quarters for 6 currently in the attics.  The rest of your staff will have to sleep in the spaces provided in the kitchens and secret passages.

The winding staircase

Clay Wine Cellar - Holds 600 bottles

Alcove in the drawing room.  Secret passageway located above it

Secret passageway in the library

Windblown and overlooking the workshop and Canada

The next stop on our trip was Boldt Castle.  For any of you not familiar with the story, it's your average  richest boy in America wants to build his lady love a house story.  Boy buys girl Heart Island and commissions a castle be built on it.  Stone masons work diligently on it night and day for years until the poor lady love drops dead of TB.  Work halts and boy never steps foot on the island again.

The receiving room

Clover, the youngest daughter's bedroom

Other side of Clover's suite.

In addition to the bedroom, Clover also had a bathroom, 2 closets and her own reception room adjacent to this.  The reception room had window seats, and honestly, I'm still drooling over them.  Parts of the castle are still unfinished.  The Bride Authority currently owns the island and castle and without turning a profit have sunk 40 million into the place thus far.

Today dawned without the noise of loud talker guy.  Loud talker guy is based next door and after waking at the butt crack of dawn yesterday, he proceeded to laugh like some wild drunken hyena all morning.  Thankfully, our hosts have had a chat with him and he's quieted down between the hours of 11pm and 9am.  I'm fairy certain our mild mannered and retired hosts have threatened loud talker guy with being fed to the river monster.

Yes, I'm fairly certain there is a river monster that eats unsuspecting swimmers here.  Anytime I can't really see the bottom of where I'm swimming I can't help but wonder what might be lurking down there, ready to nom my cheap white sneaker clad feet.  It didn't help that while I was pondering that fact, the King was more than happy to feed that fear by asking what things were in the water.  They were mostly schools of fish, some water weeds and rock outcroppings, but they could have easily been man-eating piranhas or the seldom seen but well fed river monster.

We decided to go explore Alexandria Bay today.  After strolling down and back on the main street, all I can think of is Admiral Akbar saying "It's a Trap!" And it truly is, a tourist trap  Like most tourist areas, there are a number of shops, all of which sell the same overpriced tchotchkes.  But, unlike some places this town felt like carnies might crawl out from nowhere and just set up a cheesy carnival somewhere at any moment.  Truly one of the oddest places I've been, and not somewhere I would choose to go after dark.


This evening's meal was one of the highlights of the day.  We had spaghetti squash with grilled veggies and a fra diavolo sauce.  The kitchen here is a bit smaller than I'm used to, and I don't have all my usual staples at my fingertips, but we're still eating really well.  Strawberry banana smoothies were dessert and we had a lovely view to sip at them.

Say hello to Canada, Mr. Sun

Since we're on vacation, I'm taking advantage of the downtime and getting some reading done that I've been putting off.  I can tell you that Sookie hasn't gotten any smarter after 12 books, and Eric needs to get his head out of his self serving vampire butt.  Pam seriously needs her own book, and I still don't like Sam, he should have died, no one would really miss him.  Mr. Grey is far more vanilla than I was expecting.  The story line is interesting (it's neither erotic fiction or romance), and I'm curious as to how the series will end, and I'll be finding out as soon as I post this.

I've been a bit lax in blogging the last few days.  I have a good reason, though.  The King and I were readying ourselves for a holiday.  It's the first one we've taken that was longer than 2-3 days since 2001.  Needless to say, we've been looking forward to it.

Our plan was to spend a week in the 1000 islands region of New York.  So we found a lovely cottage to let.  Because we live in south central Pennsyltucky, it's a rather long drive to here, so we stayed the night in Corning, NY.  For those of you in the know, Corning is where some seriously awesome glass is made.  So, being the adventurers we are, we decided to learn how to make some simple things out of glass.

The Corning Museum of Glass offers different workshops in glassmaking.  One is making glass beads, which we decided would be fun.  And, there was fire involved, so how bad could it be?

Aren't the dark glasses sexy?

After getting all dolled up in a denim apron and forearm protection, we donned dark glasses to protect our eyes from the 3-4000 degree flame we were working with.  I should also mention the glass, when heated that way does get a wee bit bright.

Heating up a clear glass rod to put it on a mandrel

The process was a good bit easier than I thought it would be.  Carefully warm the rod then super heat it to melt it.  You pretty much just get a glop of molten glass on the end of the rod and drop it on the mandrel as you spin the mandrel and poof, you have the base of your bead.  The trick is to keep the mandrel spinning in your left hand while your right hand starts to add in the fancy things, like colored glass.  I made little nobby dots on my bead in dark and light purple.

Yep.  I laughed too.  And I laugh each time I read it.

I've become more and more dismayed each year as the stores put out their Christmas displays earlier and earlier.  This year, I've noticed the Hallmark stores are already putting out their ornaments and the craft stores have aisles cleared to devote to the many boxes already sitting in said aisles marked Christmas and Made in China on them.

Don't get me wrong, I have no issues with the way stores make money.  I like capitalism, what I don't like is dealing with a holiday before its time. I like to get though one holiday before I have to deal with another one. For instance, there is still Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Veterans Day and That Day we all eat Turkey and Watch Football.  All of those days come before Christmas, at least on my calendar.  Maybe retail runs by a different calendar than we do?  I mean with spring clothes coming out at Christmas, and Fall clothes coming out in the Spring, they must have a secret calendar they don't share with the rest of us.

What it does do for me is change how I feel about holidays.  I'm the first one to say that while I'm a spiritual person I'm not religious in the expected way.  I do feel the pull of holidays and celebrating certain times of the year.  However, with the stores advocating so strongly that it's stuff that makes the holiday special, it's really turning me off to the holiday and making less special and magical.  Christmas is probably the biggest culprit of this.

So, for any of you shopping anywhere in Central Pennsyltucky, if you come across a manger scene complete with zombies in it, I've probably been there.  If there is also a post it note attached to the manger with "Aim for the head, Baby Jeebus!"  I was definitely there.

The linky for the challenge is now alive and running.  Link up with Becky & myself for a chance to win this little lovely.

Freshwater pearl bracelet

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Beans Beans the Musical Fruit!

Every doctor and nutritionist I've ever heard of or talked to will tell you all about how you need protein in your diet.  They're right, you do.  But, it can come from places other than meat.  Beans and legumes are great sources.  I won't go through the list, but a few of my favorites are black beans and chick peas.  They're also cholesterol free!

Whole Grains, Pastas and Flours

There is a difference in taste between whole grains and those that are refined, or enriched (definitely stay away from the enriched ones).  Not only is there more fiber and less chemicals in whole grains, but you get different textures too.  I'm a fan of Bob's Red Mill Baking mix because of the complexity of the grains used.  It just tastes better.  Just don't forget if you're baking GF to add some xantham gum to your baked goods so they don't crumble as easily.  The mixture of quinoa and corn makes a great pasta.  It's not sticky and can be reheated unlike rice pasta.

Non-Dairy, Non-Soy Milks

The biggest thing that turned me off to dairy milk was that I could never tell by smell if it was good or not.  It always smelled of baby spit up rotting grass to my nose.  When I tried soy, it had an odd after taste.  Then I tried almond milk.  There is no smell to it other than a hint of almond.  The taste is about the same as the smell, a hint of almost with the slightly thick texture of dairy milk.  There are a few different nut milks as well as coconut milk available these days.  Some are sweeter, some are plainer and then there are the flavors.  You can even get some of the varieties in chocolate now!  I've not tried those yet, but I may.  I used to love chocolate milk.  For right now though we all drink the unsweetened vanilla almond milk at our house.

Different Fats and Vinegars

I used to use a lot more olive oil than I do now.  But, the truth is, with the right pans and starting whatever you're cooking with things that make their own juices or oils you don't need them as much.  Avocados are a great fat to use, and infusing small amounts of olive oil with different herbs is nice too.  Same for vinegars.  Make sure you have balsamic, white, rice (sushi) and cider vinegars about, and maybe try infusing them too.

Nuts, Seeds and Butter

Raw nuts are a great way to get your fats and proteins.  Add in some seeds and you nearly have a party mix.  You'll need to have some milled flax seed about for egg substitute and if you're looking for a vegan gf/sf butter, earth balance makes one.  The only soy free thing they make, but they do have one.

Nutritional Yeast

This is an inactive yeast that smells a little funky, but can be used as cheese.  It's also a great source of B-12.  Top your pop corn with it.  Add it on top of your pizza, or toss a bit on pasta if you're looking for your Parmesan fix.  Be sure to keep it in a tightly sealed container.

Condiments

Yeah, you'll find that once you're vegan, these aren't needed as much anymore.  It's crazy, but in all honesty, the food tastes better and you're not as willing to cover the taste with the sugars of condiments.  There are still a few you're going to want though.  Mustards, some really nice flavorful course ground stuff maybe with some bite, maybe not.  Chili sauces, usually for your Asian dishes, and if you can't live without ketchup, there is an organic reduced sugar variety out there.  Agave is a popular sweetener and depending on your preferences, honey.

Herbs and Spices

Being gluten free tends to make you very careful of your spices and everything else that can potentially be a source of contamination.  Eating gluten free also tends to lend itself to trying more ethnic foods.  I can tell you that all of McCormick's spices are gluten free, and many of the ethnic stores will carry fresh items as well that you aren't going to find at the chain grocers.  Grow some of your own if you can, and try some others out.

Canned items

Most canned veg are fine as long as it's just a vegetable.  Anything containing a sauce is going to be full of sodium and maybe even wheat or soy.  Commercially canned items rarely taste as good as fresh, but there are times where we don't have the option of fresh so keep some things on hand where the taste and quality isn't an issue.  If you are able, can things yourself, even sauces.

Fresh Fruits and Veg

Most fresh fruits and veg need to be refrigerated, but a few thrive in cool dark places like your pantry.  Onions, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squashes all can hang about in your pantry until you're ready to use them.

When I was a little girl I actually believed that the guys on tv and print picked out their own clothes, and made themselves look amazing.  Then, I grew up.  I taught more than one boyfriend that it didn't matter how much you liked something, stripes and plaids just didn't go together, and fluorescent yellowy green goes with nothing, even if it is your favorite color.
 Here are a few of the pieces all my guys have.  Linen shirts, shorts, and pants.  Wifebeater type undershirts for layering on the non-sweltering days.  Long sleeved shirts that can easily have the sleeves rolled up by themselves, or under a jacket.  Printed T's that can be worn from the boardwalk to the office under something else and shoes.  Sunglasses are a must, and if your guys tolerate them, white jeans are nice too.

Minion #1 (sporting the faux hawk and brooding look)

Minion #2 (rarely seen without a hat)

The King, surveying his domain

The court jesters hamming it up

And there you have it, a few pieces for guys that can make up the most of a summer wardrobe by just mixing and matching.  Doesn't really matter if it's office, going out, or staying home.  The fabrics all go together and if you stay within a color palette, all the pieces will mix and match.

Last week, I spend a few hours with a friend of mine who has been diagnosed with celiac disease.  We chatted about some of the crazy things that happen with auto-immune disorders, food intolerances and allergies, and walked through a grocery store to see some of the things that I use frequently, and talk about what to buy where.

One of the things the little towns do around here is celebrate the 1st Friday of each month all summer long.  The businesses stay open longer, there are things going on, and generally it's just a nice way to connect with the other locals.

Tonight we're headed over to Carlisle to enjoy First Friday, eat at one of the local places and wander through the shops. The first stop will be at Amy's Thai Cuisine.  They're more than willing to adjust their cooking so I don't get sick from the wheat, soy, egg, and just about everything else under the sun.  I can't say how nice places like these are when you have a multitude of food issues.

I'm hoping the architectural elements place is open tonight.  I've been dying to wander through there for ages, but they're only open when I'm at work! After walking about in the heat I'm sure the last stop will probably be to the Malt Shop for something cool.  If I'm lucky they'll have something non-dairy!

I'm wearing a dress for the added "ventilation".  100+ degrees in the shade isn't my idea of great weather, but I'll just take along a few water bottles and it will be fine.

Beating the heat in this ensemble.

When we brought our home, years ago it was the middle of winter, and the entire 'yard' was cleverly hidden by leaves.  There were a lot of things about our house that were cleverly disguised, but I'm not going there today.  When spring came around, and we got rid of some of the leaves, we were horrified.  We had no idea these people were testing missiles on their property.  I mean, by the looks of this place, there could be no other explanation.
After a few years of attempting to fix it, we finally threw in the towel and brought in the big guns.  No, not mortar rounds, though, it's not a bad idea.  We hired a landscape architect to put together something that was more us.  Plants I couldn't kill, and easy to take care of.  Yep, definitely more my thing.

Front Garden of Despair

Beware! - Missile Testing Zone

Another Garden of Despair

I can't tell you how excited I was to get these plans.  Imagine a five year old on Christmas morning.  I was that excited.

Notice the lack of Missile Testing Areas?

The Great Big List of Deer Feed!

I had a request not too long ago from Becky about doing an inspired outfit.  She's hooked on Drop Dead Diva, which I'd never heard of, let alone seen.  But, by the power of Netflix, I was able to fix that!  After watching a few episodes, and visiting the shows website to take the which cast member are you quiz (I'm most like Kim, btw) I decided I'd fashion up a Kim outfit from my closet.

The clothes are all from White House Black Market, the shoes are Aldos.  I chose some diamond half hoops for my ears, put my hair up, because it's going to be 100+ , and brought some black flats along in case I had to do any real walking.  Stilettos look fantastic, make you taller and make the line of your leg look great, but aren't made to walk distances in.

Also, this is my 100th post.  So yay!

As usual I'm linking up over the Pleated Poppy.

I was scrolling through a few of the blogs that I follow this morning and one post caught my eye, intrigued me and made me think a little.  Patty, over at Lather, Rinse, Clean had a post about her summer bucket list, and all the things she wanted to see, do and accomplish before fall sets in.  I thought it was an awesome idea, and a bit of a challenge to set those goals for yourself and strive to make them happen.

My actual bucket list can be found on Pinterest.  It has everything from exotic places I want to go see to some just off the wall crazy things I want to do.  You know, like hand some random person a briefcase and tell them quietly, 'you know what to do', before I smile and walk away.

This summer though, I have so many things on my list of to dos, that it's almost laughable.  I am however great with check lists, so maybe I'll get more done if I write them down and I can just check them off as they happen.

• Start on the reclaim the yard from missile range project.  (check back Thursday for plans and other details)
• Have a BBQ on the veranda for the 4th.  Entertain more in general.  I miss having people over.
• Go fossil hunting.
• Visit Kings Dominion.
• Get the Minions to various Birthday Parties and other fun things they get invited to.
• Spend an evening catching fireflies with my boys.
• Have an evening picnic and watch the sunset with some wine.
• Enjoy a winery tour, or three.
• More kayaking!

• From the King's birthday trip

• Get out the supersoakers on a hot day and chase the minions around while drenching them from head to toe.
• Spend a few evenings stargazing from the hot tub, with faux mojitos and margaritas in hand.
• Finish the family room.
• Tour Boldt Castle.
• Enjoy the convertible on sunny days.
• Go on an adult vacation.
• Finish stripping and repainting the ugly furniture I've been working on.
• Spend an evening at the drive-ins watching movies in the open air.
• Go to the lake a few more times.
• End the summer with a day trip to the York Fair.

What's on your list for the summer?

The king told me a few weeks ago I should really cut back on my caffeine intake to go along with my new and improved vegan lifestyle.  I actually got pissed about it.  The king was rather smug as he was telling me if I was mad about it, maybe I had a problem.
Of course I have a problem.  It's the King.  His telling me I need to let go of my caffiene laden travel mug is the problem, certainly not my coffee!
It might also be a little of my adult ADD.  I control it with that caffiene, so it's not that bad, but as one of my dear friends has informed me, I'm a bit more random these days.

So I thought it might be fun to subject you to the top 10 random thoughts of my day!

10 - I'm completely obsessed with my blog stats, new users, and how to make my blog more appealing to the people that visit.  I'm also a little perplexed sometimes about what people choose to click on and look at.  The Sonic the Hedgehog cake tutorial is still #1 in hits.  How is that possible, oh and "Hi!" to all my new followers!

9 - I'm so excited about Wednesday's outfit.  Becky asked for a Drop Dead Diva inspired one, and I have it all ready to go.  I think.  Is that skirt out of the laundry...

8 - Why can't I find a freaking bee, or bees for the instagram challege today?  Curse you global warming, killer bees and insecticides.

7- What am I making for dinner? I could seriously use more coffee.  Maybe I can convince them that almond milk lattes are a balanced meal option?  Especially when had with biscotti.  Mmmm...biscotti.

6 - Where am I going to find my item for the craft challenge?  Will I find what I want for the price point I want?  Why do I make things so difficult sometimes?

5 - Can I really pull off the Journey project, if I give myself a tiny bit of leeway, and a dollar amount to stay under?  Shoes...*sigh*

4 - Still excited over the new yard plans...oh crap! I forgot to post those.
So, right, we hired a landscape architect to fix the missle testing area that is our yard.  Plans are awesome.  Look for those on Thursday.  I'll show you where we are so far with implementing them.

3 - Wonder if there is any food left after leaving the boys home alone today.  I did run to the market, but they're boys...  I hope they didn't find my stash of chocolate.

2 - Between dealing with 'that woman' and a few other members of the king's family lately, I'm so ready for a vacation.  And then there's still the IEP foolishness to deal with, and oh, crap, that reminds me, I need to call my brother. Why does it remind me? I have no idea.

Man Lab - BBC Network

1 - You can go, go, go on your picnic table! I cant get the song out of my head either.

So there it is, my completely random of the day.  I'm blaming it on the lack of coffee, but coffee...if you're out there, you had me at hello.
;-)