The Old Man In The Mountain

The Land of Rip Van Winkle
A Condensed Version Written By Thomas J. Illari

2018 will celebrate the anniversary of the most prominent resident of the Catskills who actually never resided there. Rip Van Winkle. It was in June 1818 that Washington Irving penned the classic short story. It was published a year later in a book which is a collection of short stories called “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.”

Although the story is set in the Catskill Mountains, Irving later admitted, "When I wrote the story, I had never been on the Catskills”? Irving’s first trip up the Hudson wasn’t until 1832.

In the opening of the story of Rip Van Winkle, Irving makes reference that the tale was found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker. A fictional character made up by Irving as narrator of the story. The word Knickerbocker later became synonymous with Dutch Americans living in New York State. The story of Rip Van Winkle itself is widely thought to have been based on Johann Karl Christophe Nachtigal’s German folktale "Peter Klaus”. This story, set in a German village, tells of a goat herder by the name of Peter who goes looking for a lost goat. Peter finds some men drinking in the woods and after drinking some of their wine he falls asleep. When he wakes back up, twenty years have passed. Sound familiar? Nonetheless it was a hit.

The story of Rip Van Winkle gripped the imagination of nineteenth century America and it seemed that no matter what part of the Catskills you visited, Rip Van Winkle had been there ahead of you. Although Irving wished to keep the location a secret, it didn’t stop local towns from laying claims that they were the home of Rip Van Winkle.

When Irving himself was asked to help solve the exact location of Rip’s home he only made sure the mystery did not fade. In a letter dated February 5, 1858 Irving writes the following in response to a letter inquiring the location of Rip’s hometown: “I can give you no other information concerning the localities of the story Rip Van Winkle, than is to be gathered from the manuscript of Mr. Knickerbocker…perhaps he left this purposely in doubt. I would advise you to defer to the opinion of the very old gentlemen with whom you say you had an argument on the subject. I think it probable he is as accurately informed as anyone on the matter”

Some Fun “Rip” Facts:

• When Rip wakes from his twenty-year slumber his world has changed. Many of his friends are dead. The image of King George III over the tavern has been replaced by one of General Washington. Rip has missed out on the entire era of the American Revolution. Some critics have pointed to this as evidence that Rip Van Winkle is a symbol of America itself, baffled by rapid political change and freed from tyranny.

• Rip Van Winkle is full of symbols. The most noteworthy is the relationship between he and his antagonistic wife, Dame Van Winkle. She symbolizes the relationship between America and Britain prior to the revolution.

• The infiltration of Rip Van Winkle on the Catskills is profound. Rip Van Winkle Tours once ran from NYC to Sullivan County, one may cross the Hudson at Catskill over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, or fill your gas tank at the Rip van Winkle Gas Station, drive along the Rip Van Winkle Trail, sleep at the Rip Van Winkle Lodge on a mattress by the Rip Van Winkle Bedding Company or rest on a Rip Van Winkle Recliner.

So as we approach the 200th anniversary of Rip Van Winkle, let us not forget how this fictional resident of the Catskills has played a significant role in the identity of the region. To this day we see his name associated throughout the Catskills and even throughout the US. However, it is Greene County, NY that remains identified as the Land of Rip Van Winkle.
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Today's Quote

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Hope you enjoyed the "story" of Rip Van Winkle and how it came about. Let me know what you think of it. Until next time dear friends and family, be blessed.

Memorial Day Remembered

Each year I re-post this blog entry as a reminder for the holiday. I for one, never considered Memorial Day a holiday. To me it is more of a Remembrance Day. I've had members of my family seriously wounded in many of our wars starting from WWII. As a young girl, I remember the many trips to different cemeteries on Memorial Day with family that spent the day crying over their losses. So, today I spend in prayer and praying for the wounded men and women and the families of our youth who lost their lives for our freedom and our country. I will also spend the day praying for all the young men and woman who are deployed and fighting what seems like a never ending war, that they get home safe and soon to their homes and families.

I remember all those lost heroes in poem also
War Heroes Remembered

Remembering the day in early morn
Going to grave sites and silently bow
Quietly proudly to love and mourn
These heroes of wars then and now

I will always give my heartfelt thanks
I kneel before your gray marble cross
You who answered our country's call
Now laid to rest and covered with moss

The world may now have forgotten
Those who served this country well
Veterans who have given their all
Yet returned home in a box from hell.

But I remember and will never forget
Our war heroes and the price it cost
They proudly fought to keep us free
And paid with lives now forever lost.

Toni Taddeo ©~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know many of you are spending the Memorial holiday with family and friends. I hope the weather is perfect for your 3 day weekend. Until the next time, God bless you all.

Friday Foto Friends ~ Outdoor Plumbing?

Some may not remember what it was like before indoor plumbing but when we first bought land here in the country it was completely bare of any buildings. It was 35 acres of wooded area. My ex and my Mom worked every weekend to clear a good couple of acres to put a home on. I just had my first of four children, my daughter Elena. So we had an outhouse built for bathroom privileges. Nothing fancy just a necessary one. So I thought I would show you some modern ones from one of my Pinterest Boards. So different and cute.
Lighthouse Outhouse

Room With A View Outhouse

The Cream Of The Cr*p Outhouse 😇

My Favorite The Cartoon Outhouse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There you go, my light fare post for this Friday. I love odd things that make me smile. I hope you do too.
If you're interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit ~ Debbie ~ by clicking on her name. It's a wonderful group of ladies that participates. Until next time dear friends have a lovely weekend.

Real Easy Cream Cheese Squares

Thought I would post something different for today instead of a Wednesday Poetry Day post. I haven't done a recipe in awhile so I'm posting this delicious and real easy recipe from Allrecipes.com for a change. I'm an anything lemon in desserts no matter what form they take in pastries and other goodies.

Cream Cheese Squares
Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract  (I might use lemon)

1/2 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Spread over the crescent layer. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer. Do not press down. Pour the melted margarine over the entire pan. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is crisp and golden.

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Today's Thought For The Day

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Let me know if you make this or thinking of making them, I'm curious to know. And when I make them I'll let you know how they came out. Until next time dear friends and family, be blessed.

Street Art~Grounds For Talent 3

All around the world artists are at work, saying what they want to say on their own terms. And the talent shines. I've always been fascinated by street and building art and murals so I usually manage to find something that catches my eye and believe me these three did. I applaud the artists unique talent. I hope and think you will find them fascinating too. You can Google the artists to see more of their masterpieces.

Artist Ant Carver (Yes His Name Is Ant)

Artist Seth Globepainter

Artist Ben Slow's Ode To Love

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Thought For The Day

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Hope you enjoy me presenting street artists and their paintings here on my blog every so often, just let me know what you think. Until next time dear friends and family, be blessed.

Armed Forces Pride

Secretary of Defense in 1949 Louis Johnson announced Armed Forces Day on August 31st, 1949, and President Truman proclaimed the first Armed Forces Day on February 27th, 1950 to be observed on May 20th that year. The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated nationwide with parades, air shows, receptions and open houses. Several nations of the world hold an annual Armed Forces Day in honor of their military forces. It is similar to the Veterans Day of the United States or the Remembrance Day in many other nations. The U.S. Armed Forces are made up of the five armed service branches: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy.

Here Are 10 Interesting Things You May Not Know About The Armed Forces.

• The Department of Defense (DoD) is the largest employer in the U.S. There are more than 1.4 million active-duty personnel, 1.1 million National Guard and Reserve personnel and 700,000 civilians working for the DoD.
• 31 of the 44 presidents have served in the military. President Teddy Roosevelt earned the Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the military. The only enlisted President who didn’t become an officer was James Buchanan.
• The U.S. Military is one of the largest providers of international aid and disaster relief. Ships called Marine Expeditionary Units patrol the oceans watching for signs of danger and can reach the shoreline of nearly any location on Earth within 48 hours.
• The DoD owns nearly 30 million acres of land worldwide. In the U.S., it is the single largest consumer of energy.
• Only 28 percent of Americans ages 17-23 are eligible for military service. Nearly 1.4 million Americans, or .4 percent of the U.S. population, are active military personnel.
• Military uniforms are not covered by taxpayers. In boot camp, military personnel are given an allowance for their uniforms. However, this comes out of their paycheck. Military members also have to pay for the medals they earn, which can range from $15 to $60 each.
• Military members are more highly educated than the general population. Those who enlist are required to have a high school diploma or a GED. That means that 99 percent of the military has a high school education. On the other hand, only 60 percent of the general population has a high school education. 
• The Lewis and Clark Expedition that mapped out the west would not have happened without the U.S. Army. We may remember them only as explorers, but the members of the expedition were actually a small Army unit.
• The U.S. military began to desegregate long before civilian institutions. Schools and other public institutions were ordered to desegregate in 1954, but many lagged behind into the 1980s. The Army, on the other hand, had the first desegregated troops during WWI.
• The first time women were allowed to enlist in a non-nursing role was during WWI. The first women in the military worked in clerical roles and as Signal Corps operators. This allowed more men to take on combat roles. In 1948, President Harry Truman signed an anti-discrimination bill. This attempted to put an end to racial discrimination in the military, but also discrimination against women joining the military. This bill allowed women to enlist in times of peace, rather than just war time.

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Hang up or out a Flag today. Until the next time dear friends, Have a day of blessings.

Friday Foto Friends ~ Precious Gifts

This is different from my usual posting for Friday Foto Friends. At my niece Joelene's baby girl's dedication, three of my niece Christa's kids  (her fourth Bella age 2, is too young yet to write)  presented me with these precious treasures for Mother's Day. To see larger Click on the photos.

Dear Aunt Toni,
Happy Mother's Day!
Imagine seeing a Yankees game on this special day! I hope today is as wonderful as you.
Love Eva.

Dear Aunt Toni, Happy Mothers Day!
I have always enjoyed our time together! I remember seeing the Yankees bobble heads at your house. I also remember you teaching me (with many other people) hand and foot. Happy Mother's Day!
Love Winter.

The Rose is from all of them
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Thought For The Day

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They are truly precious gifts that I will save from my precious great nieces and nephew.
If you are interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit Debbie by clicking on her name. It's a wonderful group of ladies that participates. Until next time dear friends have a lovely day ahead.

Wednesday's Poetry Day ~ Day In The Sun

Looking forward to the "real" summer weather in my area and seeing how families enjoy spending a day in the sun made me think and write a poem about it.

A Day In The Sun

Sitting at the beach taking in the sun
and watching families near the shore
Kids chasing each other and having fun
splashing, laughing begging for more

How wonderful the summer days are
when families spend days together
Playing in the sand by the seashore
and enjoying the summer weather

Not a cloud in the bright blue sky
nor call for rain or thunderstorm
I watch the seagulls flying on by
the soft breeze is slightly warm

So fast this day now passes on by
and the families now get ready to go
They pass me waving a friendly goodbye
as the sky turns to an evening glow

I too now dress and get ready to go
folding my chair I turn once more
And see the seagulls circling slow
I watch as waves now kiss the shore

How wonderful the summer days are
when families spend days together
Playing in the sand by the seashore
just enjoying the summer weather

Toni Taddeo ©

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Painting pictured is part of a Beth Ellis' collection. You can click on her name to visit her site. Hope you enjoyed my "Day In The Sun" poem. Until the next time my friends, have a day of blessings.

The Perfect Gift

A happy post today. Here is a gift to me from my sister Phyllis. I do not sleep in a bed as I can't lay down flat. I sleep in a recliner and the one I have now is doing a job on my neck and shoulders. She took me shopping and this is the one I picked out. It's being delivered tomorrow.

This is a photo from their website.  I love this Samir coffee color Ashley power recliner with its heat-and-massage element incorporated within the back cushion. It's a sleek design, with a unique crescent back and double-stitched tailoring, plus it has a battery backup in case of power outages. It fits perfect in my small apartment and It matches my Ashley love seat shown below.

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Have a blessed day ahead dear friends until the next time.

A Tribute To Mom

I thought I would repeat Annie's Meme list of questions she had on her blog a couple of years ago as part of a tribute to my Mom who is with Our Lord. I miss her more and more each day.

1. She is sitting in front of the TV, what is she watching?  She likes watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and other shows.
2. What dressing does she eat?  Her favorite was blue cheese
3. Name a food she hates That I can't answer for I never saw her not eat anything that was in front of her. My mom was an excellent cook.
4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what would she have to drink?  A glass of wine.
5. Favorite music to listen to?  She enjoyed Italian music.
6. What is her nickname for you?  My Italian mother never used nicknames for me.
7. What is something she collects?  She wasn't a collector.
8. Where is her favorite place to visit?  I would think Italy where her sister and sister's family lived. Although she loved to travel and went many places with her late Canadian cousin.
9. What is her favorite breakfast?  Not sure, she ate whatever she made.
10. What would she never wear?  Makeup. She would only use lipstick when going out. My mom had perfect young looking skin.
11. What is her favorite sports Team? I think like me she liked the NY Yankees
12. What is something that you do that she wishes you didn't do?  LOL!! Too many to name but she loved me anyway.
13. What's her favorite animal?  Her cat Buttercup who passed a couple of years after she did.
14. What could she spend all day doing?  Working in her garden and walking before her illness.

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My Mom Who Walked In Beauty

The saying goes, "She walks in beauty"
Her smile and kindness never ending
A mom now gone, did that for all to see
And oh her faith was never bending.

The perfect wife and mother was she
Her strong example shown each day
The love she held in her heart so special
To all of her 5 children in every way.

Now looking down and still protecting
Her son and daughters here on earth
With prayer and open arms she holds
Just as she did from their early birth.

Oh yes, my mom who walked in beauty
Her smile and kindness never ending
A mom now gone, did that for all to see
And oh her faith was never bending.

Toni Taddeo ©
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Happy Mother's Day To all you Mothers and Grandmothers out there. Hope your day is full of love, joy, blessings and family. I will be spending the day with part of mine at the park celebrating my adorable great niece Lily's dedication. Isn't she beautiful.

Matthew 19:14

"But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me;
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Friday Foto Friends ~ Photo Memories

Going through one of my Flash Drives I found memories of photos I've taken from past trips and some around here as recent as last year that just caught my eyes. Here are five I chose to post for today's Friday Foto Friends that I thought you might like to see.

Year 2005: in May The Nobska Lighthouse taken on a trip to Cape Cod, MA

Year 2007: in July Pink Clouds decorate the early morning sky.

Year 2011: in October Beginning of Autumn of the Hudson Athens Lighthouse on the Hudson River. The Hudson River Clearwater Sloop founded by Singer Pete Seeger was a delight to see.

Year 2017: Top of Olana looking toward the Hudson and Catskill Mountains with Dominic & his Ashley during Christmas week.

Year 2017: May 3rd. Sunrise out my window

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If you're interested in joining the Friday Foto Friends you can visit Debbie by clicking on her name or her Logo on the left side menu. It's a wonderful photo meme and a wonderful bunch of ladies who join in. And now until next time dear friends have a lovely weekend.

Wednesday's Poetry Day ~ The Maypole

I wrote this poem from memories of my childhood. I remember being at a park with my parents and dancing round the Maypole with other children. I must have been very young for it's mostly a faded memory now.

Round The Maypole

Round and round under and over they go,
The little children with streamers in hand.
Hanging from the metal pole in the park,
With music playing from the local band.

Passing their parents holding little ones,
With others watching applauding them all.
Round the maypole they happily go,
Laughing, skipping, hoping not to fall.

So long ago I too danced around the pole
As a child with a streamer in my hand
Round and round, under and over I would go
While music played from the local park band.

Toni Taddeo ©

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Have any of you memories of dancing round the Maypole? Sad to say I haven't seen one in years myself only in old films and photos like the photo up above. Until the next time my friends, have a day of blessings.

Did You Know!

Coffee Facts: The Bean

Coffee farmers devote a lot of energy and time into growing and harvesting coffee trees (YES, that’s right coffee does grow on trees) to make sure you get that perfect cup of coffee. In case you didn’t know, the coffee bean is actually the pit of a cherry after these cherries get pitted the coffee bean is then dried and processed. And before you ask, yes, they are edible and non-toxic to humans. Coffee cherries, as they are properly called, are a thin papery skin and attached mucilage (what we think of as the flesh of the fruit). Coffee cherries are consumed as a drink, cascara, by coffee farmers in Latin America they are mild in flavor and slightly sweet. The flavor is somewhat reminiscent of other red fruits, like a mild mix of fruits like raspberry, red mulberry, currant, cranberry, cherry, raisin.

There are basically two verities of commercially viable coffee beans the Arabica beans (Coffea Arabica) and Robusta beans (Coffea canephora var. Robusta). However, there are actually around 70 types of Coffea (the flowering plants that produce coffee beans), but most are simply not palatable. If you want the best tasting coffee opt for the Arabica beans since they have a wider variety of aromas and balanced flavors. Arabica beans also tend to have more trigonelline and diterpenes (kahweol and cafestol).

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Me! As a coffee drinker all my life but not from birth...LOL! Never knew this. And now that both you and I now know these facts my friends, how about joining me in a cup of delicious hot coffee. I'll pour, you drink. Any tea drinkers here please bring your own tea. I'll supply the water, creme and/or lemon and honey.

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My hands are feeling better but I won't push it like I did before and I will be visiting blogs. I've cut down on drawing new graphics and less writing. With that aside my friends, be blessed until next time.