Pasticcio

After stowing away the food we picked up from our local distribution point for Angel Food Ministries, I sat down to make a couple of adjustments to the menu, grocery list, and work plan for this week. I decided to purchase a small frozen lasagna to cook for Wednesday and decided that I needed two bags of Simply Potatoes to make the Mary Potatoes for Thanksgiving day. I had wondered whether the hash browns in this month's Angel Food signature box would work and decided that they'd be too much bother. I also had let too much of Saturday go by before I went to the grocery store, so I decided to use canned beans instead of dried beans for the chili.

I also went through the shopping list that I had put together and removed any of the items which I already had on hand. I want to make sure that I use up the older canned goods and stuff from the freezer. During my time off work at Christmas, I plan to do some “cooking ahead” and make some “mixes” to make cooking easier in January.

Results

My goal on Saturday night was to get into the Angel Food and make a quick assessment as to the quality of what I had purchased. That would help me decide whether to consider ordering next month's offering or not. So, as soon as I had stowed away the Angel Food order, I set out two of the four pork chops and the one pound of ground beef so they could thaw. At dinner time, I opened a bag of frozen corn and one of broccoli cuts and took out 1/2 of each bag to cook for dinner. While the veggies were cooking in the microwave, I quickly browned the pork chops in a skillet with some Mrs. Dash original seasoning. I then splashed in approximately 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, put a lid on the pan, and let the vinegar steam off, cooking the pork chops the rest of the way done. Results were yummy. Hubby fixed a bowl of ice cream for dessert, while I exercised newly discovered discipline to resist over-eating and eating empty calories.

On Sunday morning, after a breakfast of cottage cheese and blueberries—my new favorite breakfast—I chopped an onion and sautéed it with the ground beef until the meat was browned. I then poured the meat into crockpot with the canned items and taco seasoning and set the crockpot on high for a couple of hours. Early in the afternoon, I dropped the temperature to low and then forgot all about it until supper time. An hour before supper, hubby put brown rice into the rice cooker. Our dinner was excellent and I have two portions of chili in the refrigerator for lunch later this week and two portions in the freezer for whenever.

I just got in from my pickup. Received the signature box with substitution of beef stroganoff instead of lasagna, so that will mean an adjustment in my plan for Wednesday. The "dessert item" in the signature box was a sweet potato pie, and I'm not sure when I'll fix that. As you might notice from the posted meal plans, we're not really big on desserts. Grandma has already been asked to bring pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, so we won't need sweet potato pie as well. Hubby took one look at the "Sugar Rings" cereal that they were about to put into my basket and asked "can't we just leave that here?" The Angel Food volunteer was OK with that and set the box aside to add to the food pantry for the needy. I had been worried about the cereal any way and had come up with ways to use it crushed in toppings for apple/pear crisp and berry crumble rather than eating it in a bowl with milk. I can just use the corn flakes or Cheerios that hubby keeps in the pantry for his breakfasts.

The Thanksgiving box contained an iced lemon loaf cake as it's dessert item. The roasting hen was HUGE, and I mean really HUGE. It's easily the size of a small turkey. The only disappointment was in the produce box—Special #4 Fruit and Veggie box. It contained one badly damaged Bosc pear and 3 Bartlett pears instead of the 4 Bosc pears that were expected. There were only 4 sweet potatoes—really big ones—which relieved some of my anxiety about whether we were going to have 'way too many sweet potatoes this month. I really was having trouble envisioning 3 pounds of sweet potatoes. The Idaho potatoes are small. I may adjust my plans for those meals where I thought we might have baked potatoes. Hubby was glad to see that apples were Red Delicious, which are his favorites.

All-in-all, I think that the quantity and quality looks satisfactory. We'll want to eat several meals before we decide whether to order next month or not.

For the meals planned next week, these are the recipes that I will be using:

Easy Crock Pot Chili

1 pound ground meat
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2-3 cups cooked beans
1 can condensed tomato soup
1-3 cups chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 envelope taco seasoning

Brown meat with onions and garlic and place in crock pot. (Can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if you wish. Vegetarians can use TVP or tofu crumbles instead of beef.) Add beans (I used both kidney beans and pintos), and all other ingredients. Stir in 1-3 cups water and cook on low heat for several hours to let all the flavors mingle.

Taco seasoning (homemade alternative to envelope)

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

Pear/apple crisp

2 bosc pears, peeled, cored and sliced
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice (or water)
1-1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup breakfast cereal, crushed
1/3 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup frozen (thawed) fat-free whipped topping

Heat oven to 375-degrees F. Spray bottom and sides of square baking dish, 8x8x2 inches, or rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches, with cooking spray. Place pears and apples in baking dish. Mix brown sugar, orange juice, and spice in small bowl; drizzle over fruit. Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with crushed cereal and pecans. Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until fruit is tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm or cold with whipped topping.

Cucumber salsa

1 cucumber, peeled & chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 c rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. lime juice (if you have it)
2 Tbsp. oil

1 Tbsp. sugar

Stir together, chill. At serving time, place lettuce in serving bowls & top each serving with 1/4 cup of the salsa. Serve with choice of dressing. (Ranch, mexican ranch, spicy vinaigrette)

Crispy potato wedges

Cut baked potatoes lengthwise into 6 or 8 wedges. Place on baking sheet or in shallow baking pan & coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle generously with desired seasoning mix (any of the Mrs. Dash flavors, spike, or even seasoned salt). Bake at 400 or 450 until edges begin to crisp.

Green bean casserole

2 cans Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 cup milk
2 bags frozen cut green beans
1 can French Fried Onions

Cook green beans according to package directions. Spray a 3-quart casserole with cooking spray, then stir the soup, milk, beans, water chestnuts and 1/2 of the onions together in the casserole. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture to ensure even heating. Sprinkle with the remaining onions. Bake 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

Mary Potatoes

1 package shredded potatoes (Simply Potatoes brand)
1/2 stick of butter
2 cups of half and half
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish. Mix all ingredients together with a little salt & pepper and pour into the prepared dish. Bake until browned on top -- about an hour.

I will try to use the hash browns from the signature box instead of the shredded potatoes. I'm also going to double all the ingredients and bake in a 13x9 "brownie" pan to serve the ravening hoard that will be at my house this Thanksgiving.

Since I pick up my first Angel Food order on Saturday morning, my weekly menus will run Saturday through Friday. I'm only planning the main meal—which is usually the evening meal, but on Thanksgiving we'll eat a massive lunch around 1pm. Breakfasts and lunches will be built from pantry items, the things that are always available in my refrigerator or freezer, and leftovers from the main meals.

Saturday: 21 November
-- pork chops
-- corn
-- steamed broccoli

Sunday: 22 November
-- chili
-- rice
-- spinach salad w/ mushrooms
-- viniagrette dressing

Monday: 23 November
-- fish sandwiches
-- Pear-apple crisp

Tuesday: 24 November
-- breaded chicken breast
-- Crispy potato wedges
-- green peas

Wednesday: 25 November
-- Lasagna
-- Salad w/ cucumber salsa

Thursday: 26 November (Thanksgiving Dinner)
-- turkey
-- Mary potatoes
-- cornbread dressing
-- cranberry sauce
-- green bean casserole
-- dinner rolls
-- candied sweet potatoes
-- pumpkin pie

Friday: 27 November
-- rib-eye steak
-- sauteed mushrooms
-- baked potatoes
-- green salad

These meals will use the following items from my Angel Food order:
*   2 pork chops from signature box
*   2 corn cobbetts from Thanksgiving box
*   1/2 bag frozen broccoli from signature box
*   1 lb. hamburger from signature box
*   2 fish patties from signature box
*   2 bosc pears from produce box
*   2 apples from produce box
*   4 potatoes from produce box
*   lasagna from signature box
*   hash browns from signature box
*   1 bag frozen green beans from Thanksgiving box
*   dinner rolls from Thanksgiving box
*   1 rib-eye steak from signature box
*   4 onions from produce box
*   1 cup breakfast cereal from signature box
*   1 cup pecans from produce box

Shopping List:
*   1 bag frozen green peas
*   1 bag frozen green beans
*   1 lb. dried beans
*   1 lb. rice
*   1 bunch fresh spinach
*   1 package fresh sliced mushrooms
*   1 tomato
*   1 cucumber
*   1 bunch cilantro
*   1 bag salad mix
*   1 small jar tartar sauce
*   1 pkg. dinner rolls (12 count)
*   1 pkg. hamburger buns
*   1 can tomato soup
*   2 cans mushroom soup
*   2 cans tomatoes
*   1 can water chestnuts
*   1 can fried onions
*   1 envelope taco seasoning
*   1 qt. half-and-half
*   1 tub cool whip

Shortly after we moved to this very small town in North Central Texas, I saw a flyer on a bulletin board offering low cost food from "Angel Food Ministries". I thought about it, spent some time researching online, and decided I'd give it a try. So I looked up my local host site, and called the phone number that was listed. The lady that I talked with wasn't very helpful and she suggested that the best way to place an order was to see her after church on Sunday morning and be sure to bring a check with me. Problem was that she didn't attend the same church as me, and I didn't really want to try to find this stranger after services on Sunday, so I just passed on the opportunity.

Then, about 3 weeks ago, I stumbled across the Angel Food Ministries web site and noticed that they now had online ordering with payment online via credit card. OK. Now we're getting somewhere. Just my style. I noticed that there was a Thanksgiving Holiday Box special which had to be ordered no later than 28 October. Regular monthly order was due by 12 November, and delivery of both orders would be on 21 November. I ordered the Thanksgiving box which will contain a large roasting hen, boneless ham, frozen veggies (sweet potatoes, corn cobbettes, and green beans), frozen cranberries, cornbread dressing, dinner rolls, brown gravy mix, and a dessert item. When I told the family that I'd ordered this box and thought that chicken and ham would be good for Thanksgiving dinner, I faced a small rebellion. They demanded turkey, so of course we will have turkey.

As I looked again and again at the Angel Food Ministry web site, I thought some more about their signature box and specials offered in the November delivery. Since I had been telling myself that we needed to cook and eat at home more often and reduce the number of meals eaten in a restaurant, I decided to go for it. I went back online and ordered the signature box and a fruit and veggie box. The web site says that the signature box will feed a family of four for a week. Well, since hubby and I are empty nesters and I had ordered the Thanksgiving box, I figured that these two other boxes would totally cover all our evening meals and quite a few of our lunches!

I spent a couple of days studying how we might spread these foods out through the four weeks after pickup. Hardest part was thinking about the several food items that are not ones we normally eat—particularly the breaded chicken and fish patties. But, taken as a whole, the variety is good and it's mostly basic foods; just the two breaded items and two ready-to-eat main dishes (chicken fried rice skillet meal and a pan of lasagne).

In the next couple of days, I'll post the weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and recipes.

Over on Facebook, a high-school classmate asked, "I'm feeling the need for a good camp stew or brunswick stew. The weather is getting cool and we have a nice fire built in the firepit. Anybody have any good stew recipes they want to share? PLEASE?" So, it's definitely time to post a recipe to share.

The thing with Brunswick stew is that it is flexible. Ingredients are variable, and quantities are inexact. Beth and I use some version of this which started out once upon a time as a recipe we read in the Tallahassee Democrat sometime around 1981.

Brunswick Stew

1 stewing chicken
1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef
1/2 to 1 lb. bulk sausage
2-4 onions
3-5 potatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen black-eyed peas
1 cup frozen baby lima beans
4-7 carrots
1-2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 bottle barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup

Put chicken into large dutch oven with enough water to cover. Add an onion and some celery if you have it and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for one hour. While the chicken is cooking, chop 2-3 onions and saute hamburger, sausage meat, and onions together until meat is cooked through and onions are done. Now is also a good time to peel the potatoes and carrots. Dice potatoes and slice carrots. (Put diced potatoes into water to prevent browning.)

When the chicken has cooked for an hour, remove it to a large bowl and remove any solids which remain in the broth. Stir hamburger mixture, all the vegetables, canned tomatoes, ketchup and BBQ sauce into the broth in the dutch oven. When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, pull all the meat from the bones and chop or shred then return the meat to the dutch oven.

Simmer for at least an hour until veggies are all done and flavors have mingled. If it's not soupy enough, add water. You probably won't need to add any salt, but feel free to adjust seasonings to suit.

This stew is never exactly the same, but it's always good. You can saute some garlic with the meat and onions if you like garlic and have it around. Same with bell peppers. Pick a sweet barbecue sauce or a smoky one or even a hot and spicy one. Add a couple of tablespoons of Tabasco it you want. Stir in some green peas near the end of the cooking time.

If you try my recipe, let me know how you made it your own.

We're on our way home from Jeff & Evelyn's wedding in New York City. It was a gorgeous event which I hope met all of their expectations.

For us, the event began on Wednesday, 5 November. Steven, Mom & Dad boarded American Airlines flight 728 from DFW to LaGuardia. I was able to book them into first class seats which (I hoped) would greatly reduce the stress of traveling. I was in Philadelphia working and joined them in NYC on Thursday evening. Our rooms were in the New York Hilton on Avenue of the Americas, just blocks from the Ed Sullivan Theatre from which Late Nite with David Letterman is broadcast.

On Friday, we went to the rehearsal at The Riverside Church. This is a magnificent building which once was a Baptist Church but is now interdenominational. In fact, it appears that John D. Rockefeller, Jr. was a member and contributed significantly to the Church. After the rehearsal, we went to Cxxxx's Cafe for an intimate dinner with the immediate family and wedding party.

Saturday morning, Mom and I dressed at the Hilton and then took a taxi to Affinia Manhattan where Evelyn had booked a small suite. Her hairdresser and a make-up artist were there to help all the women get ready. The hairdresser worked wonders with everyone's hair and she took on my long and heavy mass without fear. She put it up into a very tidy bun that amazingly did not feel heavy and pull against the back of my head. I had already put on basic make-up, but did ask the expert to help with eyeshadow. After all that, I do have to admit I looked the best that was possible! Piling into a stretch limo with Evelyn, her bride's maid, sister, mother, mother-in-law, and the photographers, we were borne efficiently—if not too quickly given traffic in Manhattan—to Riverside Church.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Vows were given; rings were exchanged. Documents were signed. Photos were taken.

While the photographers took the newlyweds outside to catch the remaining daylight of what was a gloriously bright and sunny day, the rest of us headed up to the ninth floor and the reception. To keep the guests busy until the bridal couple arrived, drinks and appetizers were served. Heck! It was enough to make a whole meal and there was dinner yet to be served.

Finally, Jeff and Evelyn returned and were introduced to the gathered family and friends. Evelyn was still wearing her wedding gown which had a VERY long train and even longer veil. They danced their first dance as husband and wife, visited with well-wishers and then Evelyn escaped to change into a beautiful (but shorter) dress.

Us old folks called it an evening shortly after the cake had been cut and passed around. And now, we're seated on American Airlines flight 731 winging from near perfect weather in NYC to almost identical conditions in Dallas.

I'm on vacation today and was looking over the various memes for Fridays at The Daily Meme and found Skywatch Friday. The "meme" here is that participants post a photo of the sky on a Friday. It couldn't get any easier. So, this made me think of the pictures I took out of the airplane window last week.

October 29, 2009. Somewhere between Philadelphia and Dallas. This was the 8th of 18 photos I took through the window during the flight. I took the first couple of photos shortly after takeoff, looking down onto the fluffy and bright white clouds. Then, about 2 hours later I noticed that the clouds were taking on brilliant orange and pink colors at sunset and a 3/4-full moon was hanging up in the darkening blue sky. It was a scene that was changing by the minute and although all I had with me was the little point-and-shoot that stays in my backpack, I was pleased that I got several very nice images.

I'm actually quite prone to pull out my camera when I'm sitting by the window. I find it nearly impossible to recognize any landmarks—well maybe I could figure out if I was looking down into the Grand Canyon—but that's not even important. I just find the landscape with its patchwork-quilt appearance if you're anywhere east of Colorado terribly interesting. And even when there's nearly complete cloud cover, it's still intriguing to look at the fluff below. Sometimes there are "seams" or rifts running straight through the clouds. I haven't been able to find out whether these are naturally occurring or if they've been cut by the passage of an airplane through the cloudbank.

At any rate, this is just another situation where the kids would moan, "Oh Mom" in exasperation as I pull out the camera to take a picture of something they think is just trivial and not worth recording in film (or digital image).

I know that I need to finish posting all about our trip to Ireland. I have hundreds and hundreds of photographs to sort through and upload. I have notes both hand-written and in simple text files on my computer. I have postcards and brochures and tour guides. I just have been very busy in the month since we got home and finishing my blog messages about Ireland have been a lower priority.

So what have I been doing? Well, first of all I've been reading. Although I took my Kindle and the loaner BeBook Mini with me to Ireland, I didn't spend much time reading except during the flights. I made up for that in October, however, by reading 17 books during the month—four of them in a 24-hour period as a participant in Dewey's Read-a-Thon for October. I blogged through the Read-a-Thon over at my Reading Blog. The individual posts:

• 07:01: Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-Thon
• 10:24: Read-a-Thon Update
• 13:03: Another Read-a-Thon Update
• 14:51: Read-a-Thon Pause
• 15:53: Elsewhere in the world
• 17:24: Hit my first dud
• 19:36: Dinner-time reading
• 21:01: 14 hours and going strong
• 23:19: Status at Hour 17
• 01:15: Six hours to go
• 03:11: Time for a mini-challenge
• 05:09: Down to the wire
• 06:40: Winding it up
• 07:34: 24-hour Read-a-Thon summary

And the other big thing in October was having my gall bladder removed. Two nights in a row, I suffered extreme chest pain and took myself to the emergency room the second night. When they ruled out a heart attack, they started looking around for other causes and with an ultrasound, they discovered that I had gall stones and the gall bladder was infected. So I was admitted to the hospital, received IV antibiotics, and at 7am on Sunday, 18 October, I was wheeled into surgery and the surgeon took out my gall bladder. I had a very fast recovery with very little pain and only a moderate amount of discomfort. Was back at work in a couple of days and even took my next business trip on the 27th.

I can hardly believe that it's already November. Thanksgiving is 3 and a half weeks away. Christmas is a month behind that. I have two new [almost] daughters-in-law carrying my soon-to-be-born grandchildren. Lots to do.

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Even though I'm not much of one for breakfast, I could get used to having someone cook it for me every morning! There were quite a few people staying at Rivermount House, and Mrs. O'Sullivan has several ladies in to help with breakfast and cleaning the rooms. We ate a leisurely but filling breakfast and then finished up a bit of Internet stuff before getting into the car and heading into Kinsale for the day. Our first objective was for Jan & Chris to drop off their washing at a laundry and then catch the walking tour which left from the Tourist Info center around 11:15.

Our tour guide was Don Herlihy and he spun a lively story about the history of Kinsale and particularly the use of the harbor during wars and rebellions in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. He recommended that we visit Charles Fort in the afternoon and I'm very glad we followed his advice. But first ... lunch!

Someone had recommended Fishy Fishy Cafe which was located a couple of blocks from the Tourist Info center and just a short distance from the quay-side road. The prices were a bit higher than we had been paying, but it was a restaurant and not just a pub or bistro. I ordered the Mushroom and Herb Risoto which was very good, while Steven ate the "Fresh Local Prawn Scampi" which was fried shrimp.

Now it was time to drive up to Charles Fort to look around. It was yet another property and tour covered by the Heritage Cards we had purchased, Again, we availed ourselves of the guided tour. Our guide took us all over the fort explaining the construction, modifications, and use of the massive star-shaped fort.

Heading back into Kinsale, Chris picked up the clean clothes and we returned to Rivermount House with cheese, fruit, wine, and chocolates to have a quiet picnic before retiring for the night.

Monday, 21 September, 2009

Finally some time to catch up on documenting our trip—of course we're coming to the end of it.

On Monday morning, we checked out of Glendale House Farm B&B after another generous breakfast provided by Mrs. Cody. We had enjoyed our stay, but the lack of Internet access there and our inability to find a public Wi-Fi site in Waterford or New Ross made us anxious to move on. I made sure that the sites I was booking from now on advertised Wi-Fi availability.

From Glenmore, we drove south and west to Kinsale by way of Dungarvan, Youghal, Ardmore, and Cobh. We stopped at a small woolen/knitting shop along the road and had a nice look around at the lovely sweaters for sale. Many were in Aran cable patterns and Jan wound up buying a sweater for Alex before we left.

Several guide books recommended taking the short tour of Dungarvan Castle due to its unusual design. The castle was constructed in the 12th century, changed hands frequently, and by the 18th century was being used to house British troops. Apparently the wooden barracks within the castle's courtyard were burned in 1922 when the British removed from the site. A portion of the barracks have been restored and now serve as the Visitor Center.

Just as we were coming into Youghal, we pulled off on a small road next to the coastline. We took pictures and just enjoyed the stiff wind blowing off the water. I needed to find a Post Office or at least a postal drop box, so we asked the GPS unit to help us drive to the Post Office. I stepped inside to discover that they wouldn't accept stamped mail over the counter; I had to put the cards into the drop box outside. But I did ask the lady how to pronounce the name of the town. She said "yawl". Yep. Can you believe that "Youghal" is pronounced exactly the same as "y'all" which I grew up with all my life.

At Cobh, we spent some time at the Cobh Heritage Center. I had heard about the statue of Annie Moore which is located there. We browsed through the various shops and then got back on the road toward Kinsale. Having missed lunch, we pulled in to the Five Mile Inn (which I think is in the town/village of Five Mile Bridge) and ate a very early supper. By 5:30, we had checked in at Rivermount House and had met our hostess, Clare O'Sullivan. We were quite excited to have Internet access again, so we all caught up on e-mails and various web sites.

Yes, we're having so much fun that I'm finding it difficult to sit down and write about where we've been and what we've seen.

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Mrs. Cody offered a traditional Irish breakfast which Jan and Chris chose, while Steven decided to eat French Toast and an egg. I made do with cereal, toast, and a taste of the sausage from Jan's plate. Hoping to find some kind of Internet connection in a pub, cafe, or even one of those places selling Wi-Fi time, we headed into Waterford. I had noted that Christ Church Cathedral was a recommended site so we walked over to the building. When we got there, Mass was still going on and rather than wait for it to be over, we just wandered around the area.

That wandering took us to Reginald's Tower. The admission charge was covered by the Heritage Cards we had bought on Thursday, so we asked for the guided tour. Our guide was marvelous. And, unlike Kilkenny Castle, there were no restrictions on photography. We probably should have taken many more pictures, but we were just caught up in the story he was telling about the tower.

Although we could have stayed much longer, everyone was beginning to think about lunch. As we were looking for some place to eat, I approached a man who was walking by and he recommended a nearby hotel which offered "an excellent carvery" for Sunday lunch. It was excellent. Chris, Steven, and I filled our plates from the salad bar and Jan got the roast beef with potatoes and veg.

Having eaten our fill, we continued toward New Ross and the JFK Memorial Park and Arboretum. Again, the admission fee was covered by the Heritage Cards. (Hmmm... these are good for 12 months. Wonder if I can talk Steven into a return visit next summer?)

Jan and Chris took the map and wandered around the grounds, while Steven and I checked out the Visitor's Center. We watched a short video about the establishment of the arboretum, how it is being used to study the effects of the environment on trees—and vice versa— and plans for the future. We also took in a small exhibition of local crafts including Irish lace-making.

Wandering over to the tea shop, we purchased a soft drink apiece and shared a piece of chiffon pie while watching children playing on the extensive grounds and playground equipment.