“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”

C.S. Lewis quotes (British Scholar and Novelist. 1898-1963)

This past summer I fulfilled my burning desire by traveling to Quebec, Canada.  My grandmother Clara Rice went on this journey with the AAA Travel Group in the 1960's when she was in her 80th decade.  From her journey she brought home stories of her adventures, pictures and a small oval medal for me from the Catholic gift shop @ Saint Anne de Beaupré.  I still have this tarnished medal in my treasures collection box.

http://www.moytura.com/stanne.htm

Along with many people in America my husband has been affected by the economic down turn that began in Fall 2008.  While I was packing my belongs on a truck to attend graduate school at SCAD he was given the heads up that the career we moved from hometown Pittsburgh, Pa. to Western NY was going to come to an abrupt end before the year was over. 

His career as a Facility Manager began with a chance meeting of a man in St. Thomas Moore Church in Upper St. Clair, Monday night Praise and Prayer Service. Both men were in the vestibule with their very restless toddler sons.   I am as protective of my children as a mother Tigress. You can imagine the eyes I flashed at Jim when he returned to the pew without Barry. Jim had left Barry in the church vestibule with a man he had just met.  Little did I know that man who would soon hire Jim as part of his start up team at the prestigious PPG Place in downtown Pittsburgh.      http://www.ppgplace.com/

Bob became his mentor and is still his friend to this day.  August 4th, 1983 Bob called Jim to begin working at PPG the next day.  It was that same morning that I realized I was pregnant with Kara. Since that day I have been aware of miracles happening in my life.

The day before Thanksgiving 2008, after twenty- five years service with one company, Jim comes home with a box of chocolates and an ergonomically correct chair from his office to alleviate his chronic back pain. 

By a strange coincidence the next day while we were delivering Rice Rafferty Devore Scarves for sale in the Burchfield Penny Art Museum shop, Jim gets a call about a position for hire as a project manager for a bank.

Fast forward since April, Jim is now on a new career path as a Facility Manager with EFS,Inc.
He was offered this position by the owner of the company who at one time worked with Jim.  Having awareness of Jim's expertise he felt confident that Jim would be a good fit for his company.

Three jobs in two years has not allowed Jim much time off work for vacation aside from visiting and moving me back and forth to Savannah and a few trips to Pittsburgh to visit his mother and his aunt who recently passed away.

Sorry I digressed. 

Kara agreed to escort me on my pilgrimage to Quebec in July 2010 so I would not have to journey alone. Three days into the journey we finally arrived at the cathedral.

Saint Anne de Beaupré Church

 



Saint Ann my patron name saint





The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is a major Roman Catholic place of pilgrimage and has the only copy of Michelangelo's Pietà (the original is in the Vatican City).

The basilica is also known as a place of miracles. One of the builders of the original church, Louis Guimont, helped build the church despite having severe scoliosis and needing the aid of a crutch. When the church was complete, he was able to walk independently. Subsequent visitors to the church who have prayed have left their canes, crutches and walking aides behind as testament to their healing. The main wall when you first walk into the basilica is now completely covered with crutches.



Votive candles represent the prayers of the faithful





wish you could smell the wonderful fragrance of the burning wax and
 feel the heat generated in the room

 

St. Anne Chapel in the lower level of the cathedral

At the time I arrived at the church I had no clue to the next challenge I was about to enter.  I prayed for peace in my heart, the wisdom to know the Lords will in my life and the grace to fulfill it.
  It is a very good thing life is revealed to us " One day at a time."

YES !!! Miracles are all around you if you only have eyes to see.

                  I am very grateful for my adventures with Kara to Quebec and Montreal, Canada.



Come back to visit me again

Have a VERY CREATIVE DAY ;~)



A Taste of HONEY - Nectar of the Gods

“Nectar” is derived from Latin nectar "drink of the gods", which in turn has its origins in the Greek word (néktar), presumed to be a compound of the elements nek- "death" and -tar "overcoming".

"Honey, a pure, natural sweetener prepared by bees from nectar collected from wild and cultivated flowers, was the first sweetener known to man. It is frequently mentioned in the Bible and depicted in cave paintings from prehistoric times. Early civilizations, like the Greeks and Romans, called honey, "the nectar of the gods". It has been said that honey bees were not native to North America; and that early settlers brought bee colonies to the East Coast States. Native Americans termed them the "white man's fly".
http://resources.alibaba.com/topic/157799/HONEY_Golden_Sweet_Healthy_and_Natural.htm


How does a trip to Quebec City end with a plate of Baklava & Espresso in Clarence, New York???

Outside of Quebec City when you cross the bridge over the St Lawrence River going north east to visit the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupr%C3%A9  make sure you stop at the Musée de l'Abeille.
                                               http://www.naturoney.com/english/default.htm

                                           

 

The museum has a nice collections of bee hives from around the world.

 Products made from honey or bees wax.  and

My favorite, a classroom surrounded with glass walls that allow you to see the live bee hives in action.

We were told these are Italian bees. The Queen bee, you can see her in the center, was marked with a white dot on her wing.  Unfortunately, this hive too was affected by the infection that has been depleting the bee population around the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder

To support Musée de l'Abeille, I bought large jar of honey with the intent to make Baklava when I got home.

As always I began by researching the history of Baklava.

Read numerous variations on recipes for Baklava then make my own version, this one is not easy to make into a health version so just make the tray, cut it into small pieces and share the bounty with friends and family.

http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Baklava.htm

I just bought the frozen Phyllo Dough in a one pound package. Thawed one half lbs and keep the other half frozen for another day... 

Melt 1 cup fresh, unsalted butter. Paint the bottom of the pan with butter then begin by layering one sheet at a time of the phyllo leaves onto the pan surface quickly painting each layer with butter between each layer until you have eight layers down on the pan.  Important to keep a clean, tea towel that has be dampened with water over the remaining phyllo leaves at all times until you are ready to coat it with butter. 

Don't follow this directive and good luck with your broken, cracked, dried out phyllo leaves.

 " Two principal ingredients, the pistachio and honey, were believed to be aphrodisiacs when taken regularly. Certain spices that were added to baklava, have also helped to fine-tune and to augment the aphrodisiac characteristics of the pastry, depending on male or female consumer. Cinnamon for females, and cardamom for males and cloves for both sexes. "

I used fresh, chopped Walnuts, better still if you can find the pistachio nuts. 

 Add spices to the ground nuts.  Repeat layering process, Phyllo, melted Butter, Ground Nuts, HONEY... 

until all of the ingredients are consumed.  

I like to finish the top layer with a final painting of butter and dusting of the nut spice mixture. Cut into small pieces, drizzle with a mixture of more honey, fresh lemon juice and spices into all of the cut sections.
 Place into a 350 degree oven for around a half an hour until crispy and browned and the fragrance of the sweet honey, nuts, spices and butter blossom into a delightful pastry.

Be sure to call a friend to enjoy this lavishly rich pastry with you.

                                          Enjoy with a fresh hot Espresso capped with Frothed Fresh Milk.
                                                                                Bon Appétit !!!
                              
                                      Please leave a comment. Tell me your favorite recipe for Baklava.

A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia.

"A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia. "

-- Author Unknown

 

Traveling with a group is an exercise in the fine art of negotiation skills. My first experience was in 1972 with a group from Canevin High School to Austria and Germany for two weeks.  In 2006 I traveled with college students and Professors to Slovakia and Poland for an Artist workshop.

 

Booking a trip with a group of totally unknown individuals can be an adventure in itself.   Last Sunday, Kara and I boarded a bus bound for Quebec City at 7:30 am with a group of strangers.   By the end of the adventure it was like leaving a group of old friends.

 

Thankfully, the bus was less than half full so we had plenty of space to move around until I found the perfect place to set up  my nest.

Kara my faithful travel companion set up her nest too ;~)

 

First stop,  across from Bolt Castle @ 1000 Islands, NY for a lovely lunch by the St.Lawrence River.

http://www.1000islands.com/alexbay/

We've been here before in 2004 when we toured Bolt Castle, Singer Castle and a weavers museum in Clayton, NY.  We also had lunch during that visit at the Thousand Island Inn where the famous dressing was first served. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Island_dressing

 1000 Islands, the playground for the wealthy families of Manhattan to escape the heat of the city in the summer is still a lovely, relaxing place to visit.

Kara getting back on the bus.  Here are Dan our tour guide and Lee the best bus driver in the whole world. 

We traveled for hours over many bridges past Montreal until we arrived in Quebec City sometime after 6 pm

Here is a pic of our room before we started nesting in here too.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g155033-d185639-Reviews-Hotel_Chateau_Laurier-Quebec_City_Quebec.html

Set up our room quickly, then out on the streets of Old Quebec City for dinner with the group.

I have to stop here for now as I need to attend the Opening of the Fiber Art Show @ Impact Women's Gallery tonight     

stop by if you read this blog in time   then on to a Three Dog Night concert @ Lockport Canal Fest ;~)