Baking up a memory

At Roger's mother's funeral back in July - all the kids decided that a great way to remember mom on her birthday would be to have apple dumplings (her signature dish) in her honor.  So, we made them! We emailed the recipe to all of our children and they had apple dumplings too.  But, ours were definitely NOT as good as hers were!  (they were still pretty good, though! We ate them all anyway! ha!)  Your title of Apple Dumpling Queen is still intact, Mom - at least in our home! We'll try again next year!

Boldt Castle

Today we went to pick up our car, finally finished with all the body work in Ogdensburg, NY. The original date that we were headed to see Boldt Castle was the day of the accident. So, now that we had to drive all the way back here, we decided to try one more time to see Boldt Castle... especially since it would be closing for the winter in a couple of weeks.  Boldt Castle is located in the Thousand Islands area between Alexandria Bay, NY and Gananoque, Canada. This castle represents quite a love story.  George Boldt worked his way up from hotel dishwasher to Hotel Owner/manager of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.  He made the Thousand Island Salad dressing popular - taken from the salad dressing made in the Thousand Islands area.  In 1900 he began building the mother of all Valentine's Day gifts for the love of his life - his wife, Louise. It was a 127 room castle on a heart-shaped island.

We started our tour from the American side. We got tickets on the Uncle Sam Boat Tours which took us all around the Thousand Islands area and then finishing by dropping us off at Boldt Castle to spend as much time as we wanted.

It was a Glorious Day !! We just needed a sweatshirt. You can see Boldt Castle in the background. But first, the tour takes us all around the Thousand Islands to see some of the amazing homes on them. There are actually over 1800 islands. Some are only big enough for a small cabin, all the way up to the biggest island - 40 square miles.  We also found out the definition of an island... it is any piece of land that is above the water 365 days a year and must have a tree growing on it.  We passed one of those islands barely big enough for a cabin...in fact, it's hard to see how they fit it on there in the first place.

We saw some medium sized islands with homes:

All the way up to the huge Singer Castle - built for the president of Singer sewing machine company as a hunting lodge:

Then, of course... there was  the two islands joined by the world's smallest international bridge.
The island on the left is in Canada and the island on the right is in the USA. The people who live there are from the Netherlands and so they put their flag in the middle.  I'm guessing whenever the loving couple has a fight, one of them just "leaves the country" !

Then after the hour-long tour of the area, they dropped us off at Boldt Castle to wander around and tour the Castle and the grounds for as long as we wanted.

It was such a beautiful Fall day... the leaves were just starting to change all over the area. We brought our lunch and sat outside on the many picnic tables that are on the grounds and ate overlooking the water. It was spectacular. Imagine actually LIVING in that house and having that view everyday!

The story goes that it took almost 4 years to build and furnish and then just before it was completed, Boldt's wife died suddenly. So Boldt sent a telegram to halt all construction. The 300 workmen dropped their tools and left. George Boldt never set foot on the island again!

In the next 73 years it was deserted...then taken over by the homeless who left note of their presence on the walls, but also, sadly- broke up furniture, mouldings, mantles, and even flooring to use for firewood!

Now the Thousand Island Bridge Authority owns the property and is slowly renovating it to its former glory with the money made from tours.

The structure on the left edge of the island is the play house- Alster Tower. Boldt modeled it after a defense tower in Hamburg Germany. It was built solely as a place for his 2 children to play. They are in the process of renovating it now, so we didn't get to go inside.
In the Main Castle, the third and fourth floors are still graffiti-laden and have not been remodeled yet. The staircase is from the first to second floors only. It has magnificent wood-work and marble stairs. All of the renovations were re-done from pictures and original architect drawings and pictures.

The skylight above the staircase is on the 4th floor, but is directly above you as you walk up the stairs. On the outside, it is covered by a clear glass structure, so as not to be exposed to the harsh elements. There is ornate detail all around the castle like this...in every room.

The dining room...with seating for 18 !

The Ballroom that leads out onto the terrace:

The Billiard Room: this mantle is one they had to re-construct as it was torn apart to use for firewood.  Notice the "heart" inlay on the flooring. You see hearts everywhere.

The living room:

The bedrooms: one for the daughter:

and one for the son:

One for Mrs. Boldt -

And the Master Bedroom for Mr. Boldt:

All this was powered by a power house, built at the other end of the island. Even it looks like a miniature castle. Many weddings come here to have pictures of their wedding party taken on the stone arched bridge that leads to it.

Then, there is the huge Yacht House that housed all the boats they owned. It is located across the
water in a separate mini-mansion. They take tours of it too, but we didn't go. I mean, how much luxury can two people handle all in the same day?

It really is an incredible area and beautiful island and castle. We loved spending the whole day seeing this beautiful place!

District Study

Here is our great district. Sister Cannon has asked each District and Zone to cook their own meals and not go out for lunch when we get together each week- which is too costly.  So, we all make food & bring for the lunch. Today was funny because the companionship that had dessert brought Oreo cookies.. and on the day that the Zone Leaders visited ! ha!  So, here we are- holding up our yummy dessert - Oreos !!
LtoR: E. Hansen, ZL-E.Heder, E.Marcus Smith, E. Brandt, E. Kastendieck, ZL-E.Pohue, E.Boone Smith, DL-E.Prawitt and Sister and Elder Mahaffey.  (We have 3 Elder Smiths in the mission and 2 of them are in our district. We can't even go by first initals because 2 of them are M.Smith !)

The Eisenhower Locks

Today we decided to stop and see something we pass every time we go to the states - The Eisenhower Locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Of course, we didn't know that the big Visitor's Center and viewing area and gift shop closes each year on Labor Day - so we didn't get to go in there. We had to drive through the tunnel on top to the opposite side of the locks and up onto a big paved area on top of a hill where we could view it .

We were lucky enough to get there just as a huge ship was preparing to go through the locks.

This picture is taken toward the west where the water level is higher.  The ships going either direction must enter the locks, have the water level either fill or recede inside the lock bringing it to the level on the opposite side of the lock.

From start to finish the ship is in the locks only 20 minutes.  It takes 7 minutes to completely fill or empty the lock with 22 million gallons of water. The ships are raised or lowered 42 feet.  The lock is only 80 feet across, which allows only 12 inches on each side of these huge ships.

In this case, the ship was traveling from West to East - so it had to be lowered.  By the time it got all the way through the locks, this was all we could see of that huge ship!  Ships are able to travel on the St. Lawrence from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Lake Superior by using locks placed along the way. It was really fascinating to watch.  Had we been able to be across on the other side of the lock, we would probably have been able to see a little better as the ship exited.  Still it was an amazing thing to watch.

September Transfers

Here's the group going home this month.  We met them at the temple for their final temple session before going home. I love this time we get to have every 6 weeks when we meet the missionaries that are going home and we get to say good-bye. It is very bitter-sweet. It has been fun to see how they have grown and matured and now will be such wonderful assets to their wards back home.
Front: E. Jaquier, Fitzgerald, Gervasi, and Day.
Standing  E. Rollingson, Taylor, Resek, Gibson, DeSousa, Blackhurst, Johnson, and Brown.
              Sister Sandoval, Sister Cannon & Pres. Cannon

Sister Sandoval was in the MTC with us and now has to go home a little early with some medical problems. We always have felt extra close! She lives in San Jose, CA.

Work Projects

This was the week for some heavy duty service! Today we spent the day helping paint the back deck and stairs for a part-member family. Vince Bluff - a non-member - actually let us come & help.  His wife, Gillian, is the Gospel Doctrine teacher in the ward.  They are both from England. (love their accents) Before we arrived here, Vince wouldn't allow missionaries to come over or stay for dinner, etc.  But since we met - we have gone over many times to visit and been invited for dinner and we have become very good friends.  He's still not ready to hear anything about the gospel, but now he'll even agree to have the young missionaries come to his home for dinner. They are such a great family!

The next day we went over to help the Hynes family.  He's the first counselor in the Bishopric. He's building a new front porch onto his home. They tore down the old one, and here they are beginning to set the forms for a new foundation for the porch and stairs:

Brother Gerry Mazzerole, Bro. Jim Hynes, and Bro. Earl Bridsen were also there to help.  The ladies HAD to stay inside and SUPERVISE, eh?
We're just hoping that after 2 very long days of lots of work that we are able to walk the rest of the week! ha!