4th of July Cookout at the Cottage

This is one heck of a place to get to. Because of it's proximity to, well, nowhere, we don't get a lot of visitors. When our good friends from home said they'd be at a volleyball tournament in Columbus we begged and pleaded for them to make the drive to the lake. Actually, it didn't take much begging or pleading. Being the good sports that they are (and probably really curious about what actually goes on at the lake), they drove the four hours from Columbus to Conneaut Lake to spend two nights with us before returning to California.

Here are our visitors during our 4th of July cookout. I wonder what they're thinking.

We had a lot of family over for the 4th. Kate with her little cousins below.

 Our very casual cookout.

Usually I put more thought and effort into this. This year, though, since Bob wasn't here and we had house guests, I decided to relax, provide hot dogs, sausages, and s'mores and have guests bring everything else. So easy!

My sister-in-law and my nephew. Being a two year old boy, little Charlie was only interested in the 'pinchers' (aka tongs).

We have a new darling cousin in the family. Don't panic anyone - it's an empty bottle and he was closely supervised!

My daughter (left) and her friend. I think they must have been separated at birth.

After dinner by the cottage we moved down by the lake for a fire, s'mores, and fireworks.

Every try taking a picture of nine kids between the ages of 11 months and 14 years old? This is the best I could do! Good looking group, isn't it.

Part II Girls' Trip - MacKenzie Childs and Aurora

The MacKenzie Childs farmhouse and studio where all of the pottery and furniture is made is on the east side of Cayuga Lake.  Click on the website if you're not familiar with MacKenzie Childs' zany designs. Believe it or not, I think it's toned down quite a bit from when I remember visiting the Manhattan store 17 years ago. Regardless of whether or not this is your style, it's an impressive place to visit. 

The property, overlooking Cayuga Lake, has a large studio, shop, pond, fields, barns and renovated farmhouse. The farmhouse, below, is the showcase of everything MacKenzie Childs. I have never seen an old building so meticulously restored.

Every inch of space oozed with MacKenzie Childs details.

A view of the lake from the farmhouse, below.

After visiting MacKenzie Childs, we ate the most delicious lunch at Pumpkin Hill Bistro in Aurora, which was also in an old farmhouse that sits amidst picturesque fields. Not only was it absolutely charming, the food was local, fresh and wonderful.

Is that the best looking salad, or what?

I love an open kitchen.

We spent our mornings and evening relaxing at our beautiful Bed and Breakfast. Below, my aunts and cousins sip their morning coffee on the porch swing.

The inn's darling dog Bender.

An old barn on the property.

We weren't there long enough for me to see everything. Did you know Ithaca and Cornell are at the bottom of Cayuga Lake? I had no idea. It's on my list for next time.

Part I of the Girls' Trip - Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls, New York

Ready for Part I of the Girls' Getaway? Nine of us from three generations just returned from a wonderful two night escape. I am forever amazed by what can be found within a few hours of Conneaut Lake. I discovered so much more than I expected during our girls' getaway to Cayuga Lake. And, I feel like we barely scratched the surface of what was to be seen. Our Bed and Breakfast was in the small town of Seneca Falls. Seneca Falls, it turns out, was the birthplace of the Women's Rights movement and is home to The Women's Rights National Historical Park.

Four women, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, held the first Women's Rights Convention in the very small town of Seneca Falls in 1848. Above, we're all sitting on the porch of the Stanton home. You can see the home's entry and stairwell below.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton had more energy than anyone I know. While raising her seven children (without help for the most part), she oversaw the renovation of her home (at a time when women weren't even allowed to own property), and organized the first Women's Rights Convention.

The Women's Rights Convention was held in the Wesleyan Chapel (below). On the first day of the convention, only women were invited so that women could speak freely without the influence of men. Prior to the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, among others, drafted the Declaration of Sentiments, which was very similar to the Declaration of Independence, but gave women equal status to men.

I loved the chapel renovation, which left as much of the original structure exposed as possible. You can see the original ceiling beams and brick structure below. Three hundred people, including Frederick Douglass and Lucretia Mott, attended the convention. By the end of the convention, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration.

Happy Fourth of July!

Flag outside of Pumpkin Hill Bistro in the Village of Aurora on New York's Cayuga Lake, above.

Below, flags on Main Street in the Village of Aurora. 

Vidler's in East Aurora

I snuck away with the girls for a few nights, and went to explore the Finger Lakes. Eight long, finger-like, lakes make up the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Cayuga Lake, the Finger Lake that we visited, is just four hours from Conneaut Lake, but we made a day of getting there.

We stopped mid-way in the drive for lunch and exploring in the darling town of East Aurora, New York, home to Vidler's Five and Dime. Vidler's is packed with good, old-time, dime store fun. They stopped short of calling themselves the world's largest dime store, but it must come close. 

The candy department was stocked with every type of candy imaginable.

There was absolutely nothing you couldn't find. Rabbit's feet, hair nets, etc.

Even corn cob pipes.

Definitely worth a stop if you ever find yourself in the area. Or in need of a corn cob pipe or rabbit's foot.

The Cottage Garden

I can finally say 'the cottage garden'. Honestly, it's been an embarrassment. Without the lilies that line one side of our cottage, we would have had no color. We removed a boring old hedge that surrounded the cottage porch and hired someone to fill in the bed with plants. That was three summers ago. This is the type of pace that is typical around here. Anyway, this gardener finally planted hostas around the edge of the bed this year. 

I liked the hostas well enough, but wanted to fill in the empty space. Kate and I found this old dresser when we went 'picking' in the sheds. We huffed and puffed and drug it up to our cottage. This is the dresser when we finished with it. Maybe I've been looking at Pinterest too much. 

As an added bonus, I discovered this sweet nest (below) in a hedge by our kitchen. It's much better than last year's fiasco with the chimney swifts. Can you believe that those chimney swifts are back? I can hear them in the chimney, but up high in the chimney where they are supposed to be. They must have improved their nest building skills. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you have to read last year's post about the baby birds.

"Picking"

Do you watch American Pickers? Since we can't get enough of the show in our house, we jumped at the opportunity to clean out two sheds. The dumping grounds for many years, for many members of the family, the sheds are about to be demolished. 

Whatever we didn't claim would be destroyed with the sheds, we were told. Wasting no time, the five of us braved dust, spiders, rickety boxes and the dark to comb through years of accumulated junk. 

The sheds contained mostly garbage, but we did manage to find a few items that were worth saving. Will, our youngest and biggest American Picker fan, had quite the eye. When I spotted some old signs, he reminded me that 'condition is everything'. 

Will found this tin can sized fire extinguisher. I think Mike and Frank would be proud!

A stool from the Hotel's coffee shop!