Last Post

While the dream was great, and it started off well, it seems that this blog will have to close down. For those of you who came by regularly, thanks. For those of you stumbling upon this site, take a look around. There are some bits and bobs to inspire you to visit my two home towns: Greater Niagara and Dutch Country PA.

Have fun exploring,
Bridgette

Saturday Artisan Market Canalside Buffalo

One of my favorite things to do over the course of the summer is to visit the local fairs. Now, I will admit, the county fairs and firemen's fairs usually put me off because I don't like carnivals. What I like visiting are the artisan fairs, historical fairs and farmers markets.

Both Buffalo and Lancaster have a long history of festivals. This coming Saturday (June 7), Canalside in Buffalo (across from the First Niagara Center where the Sabres play) will have it's Saturday Artisan Market. The market showcases handcrafted goods from local artisans, and usually takes place on the first and third Saturdays of the month.

One of my ponchos, available at the Market

The Saturday Artisan Market has jewelry, pottery, birdbaths, photographs, purses, ponchos, soap and other goodies. The prices are reasonable, and you can meet the creator, ask for a custom order, or simply enjoy what others can do.

The market opens at ten and runs until five. There is plenty of parking, and one of the nice things is the museum there as well called the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park. Not to worry, it's on the list of explorations.

If you visit the Saturday Artisan Market website (link above) you can see their schedule and a list of artists who are there.

Long Time Gone

It's been almost two months since I last posted, and for that I am sorry. I've been working on gathering up stories, ideas and what-nots for the blog. We should be back to a more regularly scheduled posting in the weeks ahead. The second to last weekend of June looks to be a little hairy since I will be heading to a funeral in Lancaster PA.

Come back to visit and learn more about the two places I love so much.

Book Signing Today

Broadway Market

Finally, after twenty years in Western New York, I made it into Broadway Market in Buffalo NY. Since Easter is two weeks away, Broadway Market just opened April 4 for the 2014 Easter season. It's open year round, but the big Easter kick-off was on the 4th of April.

View from Upstairs

Today happens to be my mom's birthday, so this year, she and I went up to Buffalo leaving at seven. A little over an hour later, we arrived at Broadway Market, parked in its free parking, and entered through a pair of double doors into the center of the market. When we arrived a little after eight, the market was just beginning to open. It opens daily at 8 am, but make certain to visit their website for events and holiday hours.

Broadway Market was founded in 1888 as a place where people could purchase their daily food items. Primarily known for its Old World food items, the Market is the go-to place for many people in Buffalo during Easter season. In fact, it's probably the busiest time of the year.

What I found interesting about the place was the variety of food available from almond pastries to traditionally Polish treats. Broadway Market was in the heart of the Polish portion of Buffalo, and many of the traditional foods they have are from Eastern Europe.

For me, when I go down the ethnic food aisles in the local grocery store, I find Mexican and Chinese cuisine. I rarely find anything beyond that, but today, I found other items. One of the odder items were the butter lambs - it's a tradition in the area, but I don't know why. There were Polish Easter eggs both real eggs and wooden eggs which are given as good-luck gifts, or talismans for the year. The egg is a symbol of fertility and hope because from it young are created.

The back part of the market was the meat section including the normal fish, pork, and steaks, but you can also buy tripe and pig snouts. I'm not nearly as adventurous with meat as I am with fruits and vegetables.

If you're visiting Buffalo, make certain you stop by at Broadway Market. It's worth a look, and you can find something sweet to brighten your day.

March Madness

For those of you into sports, you realize that March Madness is the NCAA big basketball tournament. This year, Buffalo hosts some of the first rounds of the game, so downtown Buffalo is a hopping place this weekend.

For others, like me, who don't follow sports too much, March Madness was our weather this week. While the photo below was taken late last year, it does show what my week looked like:

Add to it, this morning when I woke up, the world looked like the first photograph. We had no snow earlier this week, snow on Thursday which remained through Friday then no snow Saturday morning. Yes, welcome to Western New York in March - it's mad out there.

I think most of us in the Mid-Atlantic are ready for winter to end. It's been entirely too long, but we're in the midst of another cold-snap. The only encouraging thing about all of this: it's March which means April and May approach. Eventually, we'll keep the snow away ... eventually.

One can only hope.

Inaugural Museum

Buffalo and Lancaster are both home to former presidents, but only Buffalo is the home to an inaugural site: The Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural Site.

Taken in early March

The museum is open daily, but the only way to actually see the house is to take one of the tours with the first one at 9:30 am on weekdays, and 12:30 pm on weekends. I happened to be there on a slow Saturday in early March. You can click visit the museum's site (here) to see about pricing.

The house itself was built in the 1840s as officer headquarters for the Buffalo Barracks, but in 1883, it was purchased as a wedding present by Dexter Rumsey for his daughter, Mary Grace. She married Ansley Wilcox, a local lawyer, and the family lived there until 1933.

The house sits on Delaware Avenue, one of the main north south streets in Buffalo, and home to many of the old beautiful mansions. Sitting just south of North Street, the home is in what was once considered the society center of Buffalo. Many of the old mansions have now been destroyed or turned into office buildings or hotels, but you can still get a glimpse of Buffalo at the turn of the 20th Century.

The tour itself takes about an hour and walks you through both the house and the events surrounding the inauguration. One of the pieces I most enjoyed was a ten to twenty minute overview of the American culture Roosevelt faced: the balance between the workers and the owners, race relations, gender inequalities, and the nation on the global stage. Much of it I knew from history, but much of it I didn't know.

When the overview is finished, the tour takes you to the room where the inauguration took place. I found this room the most interesting because it actually has actors playing the scene for us. There are no actors, just a voice recording, but it sounds as though you are in the room with them. For a writer, it was absolutely fascinating to see the combination of actual location with invisible acting.

Once finished downstairs, the tour goes upstairs for a visit to Teddy's Oval Office which is more interactive. The last portion of the second floor is a rotating gallery so what I saw will probably not be the same someone else might see.

All in all, I found the tour to be interesting and educational. I don't know if it would work for children much under school age, but it would work for those in school and older. If you are a history buff, or even just someone who likes the Victorian Age (though technically, Teddy was president during the Edwardian Era), the Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural Site is a place to visit.

First Book Offer

On my website, Bridgette ni Brian (here), I have an offer for the first books in my two series: Azure Maris and Shamrocks of Stone. You can purchase signed copies of both books for $30 this weekend without shipping costs. Beginning Monday, a $5 shipping charge will be added. The first twenty orders also receive a handwoven gift, but you have to visit the website to see it.

Azure Maris is a contemporary story of a mermaid princess-priestess grounded in the Chesapeake Bay for political reasons. She is sentenced to exile above the waves unless she can figure out a way to return home.

Shamrocks of Stone is a historical mystery set in 1405, Ireland. Orfhlait (pronounced OR la) was dedicated to God from her birth, but her training to be a nun sets uneasily on her shoulders. When her friend Aidan is found murdered, Orfhlait decides to find the murderer.

Saturday Reads

I'm on a Victorian/1920s theme between this blog and the Bridgette ní Brian site. If you're interested in learning about the unusual Victorian woman, click here to link to today's book review, Wild Women.

Here in Buffalo it is currently cold. We're expecting to be in the mid-thirties today which will feel like a heat wave. Since the temperatures have run close to twenty degrees below normal, all of Western New York has had to bundle up and stay inside. I have the perfect book for you to read - well, perfect if you like murder, mayhem, mob and money.

Gangsters and Organized Crime in Buffalo: History, Hits and Headquarters by Michael F. Rizzo tells the stories of Buffalo criminal underworld. It is a collection of stories that focus on organized crime and the small time gangs that robbed Buffalo.

I picked the book up from the library to research for one of my current series which takes place in 1920s Buffalo. The first murder the main characters investigate is connected to the mob in Buffalo.

I found the book and easy and enjoyable read. There are plenty of photographs to give you a sense of what the city looked like at the time. For me, the only element I didn't like was the fact that most of the books focused on the time period between 1930 and 1960. Still, I found even those stories entertaining, and helpful as I develop storylines for characters.

Saturday Reads - Lancaster

Today's Saturday Reads focuses on Lancaster PA. The book, After the Fire: The Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish by Randy-Michael Testa follows one man's travels through Lancaster County in the late 1985 (the same summer as The Witness was released). With that said, the book is out-of-date, but due to the quirky nature of Lancaster County, it is still very much in date.

I picked the book up through my library system for some research. Having grown up in the area, I knew more than the average visitor might know, but I never had any Amish friends. I knew the Amish the way one knows about America - the culture permeates the world in ways that we don't readily recognize.

The book was an enjoyable read, more travelogue than anything else. We follow Testa as he talks, visits and travels around Lancaster County. Here, we see the initial reaction to the film, The Witness which basically set the Amish community on the world stage.

They haven't left the stage yet.

For me, it was interesting to read a book about Lancaster Pa, during a time when I lived there. As an adult reading it, I found insight into the culture that I wouldn't have otherwise. If you're looking for something that goes beneath the surface of Lancaster County, this is a good book. I also recommend reading books by those who have left the Amish community ... but those reviews are for another day.

By the way, it's warm in Western NY, and Lancaster County has dug itself out of the snow. Spring is a month away, and hopefully, this will be all the snow we receive until December.

One can only hope.

Saturday Reads-Buffalo

I picked up this book from my library system for two reasons: first, it focuses on Buffalo political history, and second, it provided a history for the current state of things in Buffalo.

The book Power Struggle: Politics, Patronage, And the Economic Future of Buffalo, New York (Prometheus Books, 2006) is written by a Buffalo native, Diana Dillaway. She interviewed Buffalo's political and cultural leaders to gather insights about the time covered: 1950-2005.

One thing I have enjoyed about the book is Dillaway's ability to explain the different parts of the situation. While many of us focus on one item (manufacturing leaving town), we ignore or do not realize the other struggles happening at the same time.

Every city struggles with the tensions between the different ethnic groups, and Buffalo is no different. During the time period covered, there were three primary groups at play. The first group was the WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) that were in the upper echelons of the economic system. The WASP group ruled the banks, papers, and many of the large businesses. The second group was divided into three parts: Italian, Polish and Irish factions. This was the immigrant/middle class section. Some aspired to enter the WASPs (some became rich enough), but were never fully accepted for one reason: Catholicism. The third group was the African-American community. Buffalo has always had a large population of free blacks because of its proximity to Canada. Indeed, to this day, houses around Western New York are rumored to be stations on the Underground Railroad.

The combination of economic and political troubles led to the situation in Buffalo. The premise of the book is when leaders fail to lead, which, Dillaway suggests is part of the reason that Buffalo went through the economic crisis it faced beginning in the Seventies, and is only recently recovering from.

If you're looking for a book to give you a good overview of the modern economic/political history of Buffalo, this is a good starting point.

One interesting side-note about the publisher, Prometheus Books, it is located in Amherst, NY.

Saturday Reads - Lancaster

Today's book is based in Lancaster County, and is probably the book that helped put Lancaster County on the radar of most people. For some people it is also the best and worst of Lancaster Co. It is everything kitsch, and it is what defines Lancaster County.

The Shunning follows the story of Katie Lapp, an Amish woman who longs for more, but because of her Amish community, feels constrained. As the series progresses, the character learns she is not Amish by birth, but by adoption, and she proceeds to seek her birth mother ... and find herself.

The story follows, in essence, the standard coming-of-age storyline where the main character must find herself both inwardly through her desires and dreams, and outwardly through her community and chosen path.

To that end, the story is an enjoyable read. It isn't a mystery with dead bodies, but it is an exploration of what it means to be English and Amish. The author, Beverly Lewis, is from Lancaster County, so she writes about a world she knows.

I first read this book while in high school. Oddly enough, I finished a good portion of the Amish romances before they became what they are. For me, the books by Beverly Lewis, the author of The Shunning, was a whiff of home while I was away. Many of the books, The Shunning and its two sequels, The Confession and The Reckoning came out in the mid-nineties, just about the time I moved from Lancaster area to Western NY. My personal favorite series, Summerhill Secrets, is currently out-of-print, but I will discuss that series at another date.

As I said before, The Shunning practically defined the Christian Amish romance genre: main character is Amish, may or may not remain Amish, but the romance is chaste, and the apple streudel fresh from the stove. The ones who are not Amish find peace and healing among the Amish community, and while they rarely become Amish, they feel as though they have discovered family.

I stopped reading most of the Amish romances about the time they started kicking off among the rest of the Christian community. For me, they had become predictable, and if there is one thing to be said against the genre, is its predictability. We know that the main character will ultimately remain among her people (unless of course, like Katie, her people aren't her people). In The Shunning and The Redemption of Sarah Cain, Beverly Lewis does a good job of exploring the relationships between the two peoples: Amish and non-Amish, whom they call English. I'll discuss The Redemption of Sarah Cain later. Beverly Lewis has written several books set in Lancaster County, so you'll hear about her often.


One other aside about the Amish genre: many of them take place outside Lancaster County. In fact, a good majority of them only refer to Lancaster in passing. Part of the reason is that the Amish community is moving away from Lancaster (this has always been a problem, and is nothing new), but if you want to find the heart of Amish country, Lancaster is still your best bet. You can visit it through the novels by Beverly Lewis, or you can visit if physically ... or find the film at your local bookstore or library

Saturday Reads

I'm gearing back into a fuller writing schedule, though I won't be back to full schedule until March at the earliest. Starting today, I'm going to focus Saturdays on books and series that take place in and around the Buffalo and Lancaster areas. Not all of the books are written by local authors, and not all of the books are still in print. Some, to be honest, aren't even really all that well-written, but all take place in and around the areas.

The first book is called, Black Irish by Stephen Talty. You can click on the book to take you to Amazon*. I borrowed this book from my library for a couple of reasons (a) it happens in Buffalo, (b) it's a murder mystery, and (c) I liked the title.

I expected a good read, and what I found was a great, edge-of-my-seat sort of novel. It kept me guessing from the beginning of the book until the end. The story follows Absalom "Abbie" Kearney, a Buffalo detective who has returned home to Buffalo to help care for her father who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. When a man in her neighborhood goes missing, she's the one who is called in ... when the murders begin, it's up to her to wade through the history and opinions that make up South Buffalo.

For those not from the area, South Buffalo is a heavily Irish territory, and it holds onto that history. I found Black Irish provided a good look at the views - good and bad - that make up the area. Ironically, for me at least, I could relate to Abbie as she struggles with trying to fit into the community. I felt that Talty captured Abbie's desire to be a part of the community, and her frustration of being on the outside.

All in all, it's an interesting read. It paints a good picture of Buffalo now, as well as some of the regions within the city itself. If you're looking for a mystery, Black Irish is a good one to read.




*Full disclosure - for every click on the book, I receive money as part of the affiliate program.

Visit Local; Reach Global

When I lived in Lancaster County area, much of the tourist activities were there, but not the greatest. There were a few places to find buggy rides, visit Amish farms, and the ubiquitous quilt trails, but we tended to remain away from them. On a funny side note, I've done most of the tourist things (Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls, quilt trails in Lancaster) while living in the other location.

One place which did not exist when I lived in Lancaster area was HOPE International. This company works with communities and individuals in developing countries to build their economic infrastructure through microloans and community banks.

Headquartered in Lancaster PA (actually northwest of the city), they offer a walk through display called Pathways out of Poverty.

Screenshot from Pathways out of Poverty website

Last March, while back in Lancaster for a book signing, my mom and I took the opportunity to visit the display. It's free-of-charge, but they do recommend you sign up before you arrive. The website has a form you can fill out and someone contacts you to finalize the days.

Having been to Lancaster a multitude of times, I thought it would be easy to find the building ... not so much. While HOPE has a large sign facing Route 30, you can't reach the building from 30, but have to take the next exit, turn around and go in that way. That being said - make certain you have directions.

Once inside HOPE's offices, they staff is helpful. The Pathways out of Poverty consists of an audio recording which has someone explaining the gallery for you. The first room is a community in Kenya, and the guide is the daughter who lives in the house. This proceeds around the world from Kenya to India to Belarus, to the US, to South America. In each location, you learn about a different part of the world and how poverty looks.

Personally, I thought I had a good handle on world poverty ... until I walked through the display. One thing that surprised me was the smell. Somehow, they had managed to incorporate the scents of places, not the olfactory overload, but the scent that comes from items from those locations.

If you're visiting Lancaster area, and want an indoor activity, but not with bonnets and buggies, this tour is something that might interest you.

E-book available

I realize that this has very little to do with Niagara Falls or Lancaster County, but I am a local author, and one thing I hope to do with this blog is introduce you to the authors and artists found in these two regions.

My second novel, Azure Lights, is available as an e-book right now. You can either click on the image or click here to purchase the book.

In the first book, Azure Maris, Azure is a mermaid from the kingdom of Deep Waters, in the Indian Ocean. Her father is the king, and she is a priestess. After being swept away from her home, Azure finds herself in enemy territory where she learns of an alliance between her kingdom's enemy and another kingdom in the Atlantic Ocean. Neither kingdom wants the knowledge to reach Deep Waters, but neither are they prepared to provoke war with Deep Waters with the slaying of the princess-priestess. To satisfy their troubles, the kings decide to ground Azure Maris in the Chesapeake Bay, and place a band around her tail to alert them should she attempt to escape. Added to the beacon on the band are elements which react to the water in the Atlantic Ocean making it very painful for Azure to swim in the waters. Both are excellent deterrents.

Alone and lost, Azure is taken in by the Frankel family. Hiram, the father, is a doctor, and he sees to Azure's wounds. Throughout the course of the book, Hiram and his wife, Helen learn just who Azure is, and why she came to their home.

In the second book, Azure Lights the book picks up with Azure's arrival at Hiram's parents' home on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Though Azure is closer to home, she is in the midst of enemy territory.

The books are geared towards young adults, but have captured adults as well.

Frozen (ish) Niagara

So Mom and I went up to Niagara Falls last Friday just to see frozen falls. Turns out the Falls themselves were not frozen, but the river portion was frozen ... ish.

Even the Viewers were pleased

One of the many merry viewers watching the American Falls last Friday (pictures not from today since we are, once again, without snow. Don't worry, we should have more snow soon ... it always happens.)

From Observation Deck looking upriver

As you can see by this photo (above) the water flowing over the American Falls was indeed, flowing. Below the spray had frozen into impressive shapes, as had the river, but the Falls were unfrozen. Now, bear in mind I did not go up there when we had the -20 degree wind chills (are you crazy?!)

Downriver with Rainbow Bridge

From the Observation Deck looking north (downriver) you can see that the ice disappears, but it was rather thick.

To put this into perspective, I'm standing over a hundred and fifty feet (50 meters for the remainder of the world) above the river. I'm guessing the ice to be around three feet maybe in thickness at that point.



Canadian Side

One last shot from the Observation deck, looking to the Canadian side of the river. I believe this is where the Maid of Mist docks for the Canadians.

All in all, it was a nice trip up to the Falls. I only got lost once on the trip (Dad usually drives, or we come in the back way). Honestly, I doubt if you can go wrong with a visit to Niagara Falls regardless of the season. If you come in the winter, just pack some thermal underwear, and you can venture forth into the cold, windswept mist.

It Snowed ... Again

I'm back from vacation, and working on gathering up items for reports. Unfortunately, because of the season and weather (yeah, we did get a little snow these past few days), posts will be limited until closer to spring. Both Western New York and the Lancaster County area run on a April to December tourism season, but there are places still open.

The post could be entitled: I survived the Blizzard of 2014! According to the local weather folks, this is the first blizzard we've had since 1993. After twenty years up in NY, I am finally experiencing and "authentic New York winter." We came away with around a foot plus of snow; it's hard to tell what with the wind blowing the snow into the neighbor's yard. The good news being we had very little shoveling to do.

Genesee County, where I live, rarely receives much in the way of snowfall, all things considered. To our south (the Southern Tier snow country) and to our north (Ontario Lake Shore) receives more snow, on average. The Blizzard of 2014 (sounds cool, doesn't it), instigated lake effect that swept over Erie County (Buffalo) and Genesee County. While we received a foot plus, the towns and villages to our south received maybe six inches. Ah, lake effect, you have to enjoy it.

On a side note, apparently the American Falls in Niagara have frozen. While it is known to happen, it doesn't happen all that often so we're planning to take a drive up tomorrow to see what we can see. We're expecting a warm spell next week (fifties!), so the falls might be unfrozen, but I'll take my camera with me anyway.