Inside “Anne’s House”…

(photo © kiwidutch)

We are visiting the Green Gables House made famous by the author Lucy Maude Montgomery’s novel ” Anne of Green Gables” .

The house is located on Prince Edward Island in Canada.

The interior of the house has been restored and decorated to give and idea of the typical  items that would have been inside it at the time that Maude  knew and loved the house…

It’s an insight into a simple way of living, with many of the modern labour saving devices we take for granted today absent, it would have also been a hard way of life as most every day chores were very labour intensive.

The emphasis was on home made and hand made and implements were made well and used daily. cast iron pans in the kitchen stood up to  constant use and look as good today as they  did 100 years ago.

Maybe there were feathers in the comforters on the beds, naturally we couldn’t get close enough to check, but I hope that they were warm because  the simple wood fires would have struggled to keep out the deepest cold of a Canadian winter.

Certainly the feeling  and character of the house is a warm one,  the sense of community, family and the lives lived here, are present in a way that dominate the tourist aspects of the house.

Since we arrived here later in the afternoon, took time for the woodland walk and then went into the house as it was closing up for the day, we had the benefit of  having the place almost to ourselves, and once our children had dashed outside to expend yet more energy in the garden, and the other adults in our party followed them, I was left  peacefully alone in the house with my camera.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

It doesn’t matter if you are an artist with words or with a visual media,  any place that inspires someone, will often inspire others… and alone in the house I felt that inspiration. Am  I an avid ” Anne fan?” … No. Did I enjoy the books as I grew up reading them?, Yes….

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

Maybe it’s about learning to just “do” the thing that you’ve been meaning to do for ages but kept putting off… (like this blog has been for me for the past several years), or just just pausing to remember that often it’s the simple things in life that  make our happiness, ( like my kids  excitedly squealing with delight the whole day as they discovered new things all around the Green Gables house and the Avonlea Village)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

Was I touched by the Green Gables House? ….   in a very quiet subtle way that I couldn’t at first, quite put my finger on, I certainly was.

A walk in the woods… haunted?

(photo © kiwidutch)

The “Green Gables” books made famous by L.M. Montgomery (1874-1942) of Prince Edward Island owe much of their inspiration to the beautiful setting of the Green Gables Farm, where Maude was bought up.

To the northeast are the ruins of the authors home from 186 to 1911,  is the Cavendish farmhouse where she lived with her maternal grandparents: Lucy and Alexander Macneill, following her mother’s illness and death.

It was here that Montgomery wrote her most famous novel “ Anne of Green Gables” (1908), and her beloved “ The Story Girl” (1911) as well as numerous other stories and poems.

Outside the house there is a walk,  that follows the paths that Lucy Maude would have taken when she went to the schoolhouse,  or to visit nearby houses.

These walks show us a glimpse of the beauty that is depicted in the books that tell us of  the adventures of Anne.

She drew inspiration in much of her writing from these surroundings, including the house to the west, now known as Green Gables, and places such as the Haunted Wood and Lover’s Lane, which are cherished by her fictional character Anne Shirley.

This landscape of rolling farm fields, woodlands, and winding paths provided Montgomery with great joy in her early years, and remained dear to her throughout her life.

Let’s take a walk towards the schoolhouse site and “visit” around the vicinity…

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

Site of the Cavendish House…

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

… and as far as being haunted is concerned… who knows?

(photo © kiwidutch)

Implimenting an easier way of life on Prince Edward Island…

(photo © kiwidutch)

The original barn that stood on site until 1940, is now replaced by a new building that houses various displays to help visitors understand the rural way of life as it would have been in Montgomery’s time.

The courtyard on the other other side of the barn has been restored.

Mechanization of farms began in the 1800′s and horse drawn threshers, binders, seeders and reapers were all essential pieces of farm equipment.

Horses such as Percheron’s or Clydesdale’s suitable for farm work were a very valuable commodity and cost as much as $400 each (more than a year’s income for most farms) but were an essential part of  farming life.

(photo © kiwidutch)

Turnip Pulper and Seeder

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

A staple or people and livestock, turnips were almost as important as potatoes on Island farms. They wintered well, if kept from freezing in a pit or root cellar. Some farmers fed them to their livestock whole. Others chopped them in a pulper, added grain and chaff for filler and boiled the mixture to make a delicious mash. Special seeders were used to plant fields of turnips.

Hayfork

(photo © kiwidutch)

This labour saving device consisted of a large set of tines that hung from a pulley, which in turn ran along a metal track. A team of horses pulling a rope could easily hoist up a loaded hayfork to the loft where it was then pulled inside to drop it’s load. Lifting great forkfuls at a time a hayfork could make short work of a loaded wagon.

Threshing Machine

(photo © kiwidutch)

The threshing machine was used to separate the edible kernels from the inedible straw and chaff. Bundles of wheat, oats or barley were fed in one end of the machine which was connected to a horsepower by a drive belt. The resulting grain was either made into flour, used to feed the livestock, or kept to plant next year’s crop. The straw was used for animal bedding and the chaff as “filler” in the livestock feed.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)



Life on the farm, as it was in “Anne’s” time…

(photo © kiwidutch)

We are on Prince Edward Island, visiting the  house that inspired L.M. Montgomery’s book : “Anne of Green Gables“.

Before we get to the house itself we look around outside, and see what farm life was like in “Anne’s” time.

In the new barn there are displays of photos and objects that show us how life was lived on a PEI Farm in L.M. Montgomery’s time, and together they build a picture of the life  Maude led whilst she lived here, and the things of daily life  that inspired her writings.

Life was hard on the island, nothing was wasted and many things, if they could not be hand made, were done without.

“Modern” machinery and the use of working horses,   which certainly did much to relieve some of the back-breaking manual  work, but the days would still have been dawn to dusk, long hours of toil. Everyone on the farm helped with the day to day running of the property and  the leisure time that we nowadays take for granted would have been truly a luxury.

The Green Gables farm was about 100 acres in size and produced wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, turnips, and hay. Livestock would have included sheep, cattle, poultry, pig and horses.

They made their own cloth, butter and cheese. The cows provided meat, leather, and dairy products and any excess cream, butter and cheese was sold as a small but steady source of income.

Here is a small ” tour” of life in the ‘good ‘ole days” of farming….

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

Avonlea Village …a sweet ending to the afternoon.

(photo © kiwidutch)

We are visiting Prince Edward Island, Canada, and are spending a good part of the day in the Avonlea Village, where buildings, memorabilia, history, fun, festivities, activities and games have been bought together  in celebration and memory of one of PEI’s  most famous citizens:  Lucy Maude Montgomery, author of ” Anne of Green Gables“.

The “village” had been a hit with the kids, they have played in the playground, listened to shanties, taken a ride in a horse drawn dray, seen animals, dressed up in period clothing (O.K. .. at least the three girls did with enthusiasm, Little Mr. not being in the mood today) and marveled at the exhibits.

I would be remiss not to point out that one shop in particular drew our children’s attention faster than the speed of light,  … they, as most children are apt to do when they learn to read,  appear to be able to spot the word “Chocolate” faster than most other words ever printed.

So, no surprises when I heard my eight year old squeal ” Chocolate shop!!!” and then say ” Maaaamaaaaa?” in  a certain tone of voice, which captured the attention of Mr. Four with record speed, I knew that some of their very best wide eyed and beguiling  begging was about to follow.

And follow it did… and a bartering  conversation ensued…  they could only chose one item each, despite desperate pleas to stretch that to two and three items,   took rather a lot of deliberation to try and work out which sweet  selection could be the biggest. They also took pleasure in looking though the glass window at the back, where they could watch chocolate making in progress.

(photo © kiwidutch)

I was very interested in some small cast iron chocolate molds for sale which delighted my daughter who envisioned some delicious chocolate making sessions at home. It was therefore much to her consternation I wouldn’t  buy them since the molds worked in two parts and none of the parts  on sale were a proper functioning pair…  these were really just intended for display, a real shame for someone who loves to use kitchen equipment.

One product  that delighted Mr.Four: these little solid chocolate cars, foil wrapped as police, ambulance, taxi, race cars etc. Without him knowing I bought one for each of our party, and he marveled later at them and he excitedly  “allocated” one each to us  as he thought best matched our personalities.

(photo © kiwidutch)

I did buy some chocolate as well,  but sadly, we are spoiled rotten by having access to some beautifully made Dutch confections perfected with the help of  best-in-the-world-chocolate imported from our neighbour Belgium. European chocolate being of exceptionally good quality, so it’s hard to find some to compare here, and with our high standards,  these just didn’t.

It was perfectly edible of course, but not in the same league. In the end I didn’t mind because I assume that any profits go to back into the running of the village.

Children and adults alike however were delighted with the ice-cream, locally made and very tasty.

(photo © elmotoo)

I add a few more photos to round up our time here…

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

There is plenty here for a family to enjoy, and we are very glad that we stopped, but of course this doesn’t contain the actual “Green Gables” House and now that the afternoon is progressing we need to press on and find that.

Café /Take Out Review: “The Picnic Basket”, Avonlea Village, PEI.

(photo © elmotoo)

We are in the “Avonlea Village” on Prince Edward Island, and everyone is hungry. We ask where the possibilities are to buy lunch and are directed to a house opposite the Church  where we will find a cafe called ” the Picnic Basket”

I haven’t called this establishment a Restaurant because it’s open for very limited  hours, with a very  limited selection of food and no real kitchen facility that I could see.

There is a savory meat  pie on the menu…  and since I haven’t seen one of those on any menu anywhere so far, and miss them from my New Zealand days, I order one.

I was disappointed to see that it arrived in a styfoam  box, it looked like it had been badly microwaved and  that despite that,  was sadly, barely warm.

The staff  were friendly enough but didn’t act like they were particularly skilled or interested in producing amazing food. The very first thought that popped into my head was ” here is a cafe with an almost “captive” audience, and that they are doing the barest of anything, and that so much could be done, if anyone had an ounce of culinary spirit , hard work in simple preperation and a little inspiration.”

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

I’m not talking about adding a full kitchen even… just any small decent oven to heat food for a  start, a warmer cabinet, for things like sausage rolls, small home made pies, or grilled sausages:  and definitely a move away from disposable  serving ware, especially the styfoam monstrosities. If disposables were the only feasible option then recyclable paper plates would surely at least be the next best thing.

Maybe the simple introduction of a Salad Bar, where customers could choose from a selection of five or ten ingredients viewed though a glass or perspex screen,  for set prices that staff could then dish up for you…. lettuce, a variety  of olives, shredded carrot, cheese, celery, beetroot, blanched boiled broccoli and  green beans,  radishes, tomato, cucumber, red, yellow, orange, green capsicum peppers, pickles, thinly sliced onion, picked onions, mushrooms.. all possibilities that spring to mind in an instant.

…add bread and cold cuts for a simple Ploughman’s  lunch and you could transform the place.

.. or the installation of a very simple hob and a commercial warmer.. to supply home made chili…  or thick veggie soups hot, or summer soups, chilled.

Squeeze in a freezer, a bigger fridge and offer some amazing desserts.

Granted, the premises are tiny, but if it was me, I’d severely sacrifice some of the indoor  table space and create a well run, highly managed snack-bar. It would be a  quick-turnaround service counter with a country kitchen feel and style,  stocked with  food of excellent quality,  some healthy choices and a menu that could be largely made in advance.

Then I’d  plant an array of   picnic tables and parasols outside, because the space inside  is already too small to accommodate more than a handful of people anyway.

(photo © kiwidutch)

This is a Café that for me reeks of potential, but is appallingly under-developed.  My second thought was “Give me a week here in high summer , a free hand with the menu, a sous chef  to help me do the Prep work,  and someone to interact with patrons as I trained  them to and I could probably bring in ten-fold the  turnover on a daily basis, in one week alone.“

My kids were not inspired to eat here at all, no matter how I tried to convince them, Still they filled up on bottled drinks, and used the convenience,  but getting food into them was a failed mission on this occasion sad to say.

I felt sad because this is a sweet little café,  there is a steady influx of potential customers and it’s so underutilized it’s depressing for any real foodie.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

Picnic Basket open 10-4 until Labour day.

Avonlea Village
8779, Route#6 Cavendish, PEI, Canada
Phone: 902.963.3050

When quite literally you are trying to move Heaven on Earth…

(photo © kiwidutch)

We are in the “village”  of  Avonlea, on Prince Edward Island… well it’s not really a village in the conventional sense, but it is at least the place where many historic buildings pertaining to Lucy Maude Montgomery, the author of “Anne of Green Gables“  have been transported and preserved.

It’s the relocation process of the Church that truly fascinates me.

Wow! what an undertaking…. and to look at the result you would never think that it had been dismantled the way it was.

This is the original Presbyterian Church from Long River, built in 1872.

L.M. Montgomery attended this church with her Montgomery and Campbell cousins.The architect was Mr. G. Baker, and Mr. Dempsey was the main builder.

The Montgomery Family pew was on the right hand side towards the side, A choir sang hymns in the church and an organ was added in 1901, although church records show that introduction of music into services met at first with some opposition.

(photo © kiwidutch)

Over time, the families who used the church moved away from Long River and the church was less frequently used, the last service was held in 1967. It was later bought by a private investor and was then acquired and bought to the Avonlea Village in 1999 for restoration and preservation, where a site for it had already been decided.

It quickly became clear the the church could not be relocated in one piece, so experts decide to make three horizontal cuts would be made to make four manageable pieces suitable for transportation. Under each cut, massive iron beams were inserted so that the sections that needed to be realigned on top of them could be supported.  Then two of the islands largest cranes worked together on the back and the front of the sections to load separate transport trucks for  each section.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

The route that the convoy needed to take needed to be meticulously planned, the quicker main roads contained bridges that would be too narrow to be passable, too much traffic would be disrupted and too many overhead power lines would need to be cut to allow the transport trucks to pass.

An alternative route needed to be found and the solution was found in less used back roads where the route might be less direct, but the disruption of traffic was less and where it was possible to temporarily lift bridge guard rails.

(photo © kiwidutch)

Hand chiseled blocks of sandstone and gravel that made the new foundation were put in place, and cranes were bought in to re-build the dismantled pieces in reverse order, base first, the upper window sections and finally the steeple.

(photo © kiwidutch)

With  excellent teamwork from masons, carpenters, electricians, crane operators, glaziers, laborers, plumbers resulted in the entire project being completed in an amazing eight days.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

The Church is not the only building to be re-located here… amongst others, the  Cavendish House  and the Belmont School where L.M. Montgomery taught from 1896-1897 were transported too. Lucy Maude Montgomery is shown at the far right  in the photograph below, with the pupils that she taught.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

Avonlea, a model village… …or is it?

(photo © kiwidutch)

We are on Prince Edward Island, have driven to the far side of the island and are looking for the Anne of Green Gables House.

We see some hopeful looking signs and turn into what is obviously a large car park , but realise when we get closer that this isn’t the actual “Anne”  house but something  a little bit the same, but at the same time altogether different.

This is the “village” of  Avonlea, which is the  storybook village based on Author L.M. Montgomery’s novel, “Anne of Green Gables”.

At first it looks rather pricey, and I wasn’t certain if it was just a collection of static displays that the kids would be bored with in 10 minutes, but closer inspection of the brochure and a few questions with the staff reveal that in fact this is a highly interactive site, where all manner of activities catering to children and their parents, are all on offer.

By the time I have finished paying,  I turn to find that I am alone and that the kids have dragged the other adults out into the first activity already, I follow their shrieks of laughter to find  that they have coerced Hubby into  balancing perilously on some wooden stilts and are roaring at him to walk on them, and shortly later, have him on “push duty”  as they take turns on the swings.

Of course there are also shops on the premises, and a cafe… and they operate under the usual rules,  we go and look around…

(photo © kiwidutch)

It’s also nice to find out that the entrance fee covers a number of  activities, so we don’t need to queue and pay extra if the kids want to take part in some old fashioned games, dressing up, a dray ride behind the horses or the musical show.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

It’s very quickly apparent that the decision to come in was a good one.

A short time later, some people dressed in historical costumes  call to us that there  will be music starting in the Fishing Shanty any moment now.. so off we go to learn all about Lester the Lobster of PEI.. Opps… sorry I mean Pizza Eggs Ice-cream… or was it Indigo?  .. anyway.. shhhh that bit is a secret and you’ll need to come along to the Avonlea Village yourself to properly solve that mystery.

(photo © kiwidutch)

So.. we begin here with much laughter…

(photo © kiwidutch)

What sets this “village” apart from many modern tourist attractions is that many of the buildings here are the real buildings with a historical significance and with actual connections to Lucy Maude Montgomery.

Quite a few of these buildings were originally located around the immediate district and in order to preserve the history  of the Green Gables books and Author, they have been painstakingly dismantled and re-located here, all in one place. So, transplanted, their future is secure and they can all be visited on one site.

It’s an excellent idea, one that I know from first hand knowledge has been done on a much larger scale equally successfully in the Netherlands in the Openluchtmuseum te Arnhem (Open Air Museum in Arnhem).

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © elmotoo)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

The washing machine….

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

and even dress up clothes, plus a place to take photos of everyone all dressed up…

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

It’s hard to pick our favourite bits…

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

PEI: A bridge too far ?

(photo © kiwidutch)

It’s our second day in New Brunswick,  and we are itching to get out and about.

I grew  up in New Zealand and was bought up on a particular series of famous books,  and since we are so close to Prince Edward Island, I have put in a special request to visit a place special to me… something that no one else in our group understands.

My Dutch Hubby has, not so surprisingly, ever heard of this author or the titles,  but more surprisingly to me, our American friends haven’t either.

So, Where do I want to go ?

To the “Anne of Green Gables House” of course.

First we have to drive to get to Prince Edward Island…  known locally more often as “PEI”.  I know quite a lot about what’s famous on PEI, but didn’t even think anything about the logistics of  getting onto the island itself. My normally sea-sick self didn’t have to worry…  in the last 10 years there has been a bridge to PEI, a very long bridge indeed, 12.9 kilometres (8 miles) long has replaced the previous ferry crossings.

The Confederation Bridge is the longest bridge in the world that bridges ice-covered water and it took four years to build.  It cost one billion dollars and opened for business  in the spring of 1997.

Once we have made the crossing we can enjoy the views as we cross to the other side of the island, along small winding, scenic  roads.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

It takes 10 minutes to commute from one side to the other, it’s a toll road and the  Strait Crossing Bridge Limited website says:

Engineers designed the bridge with graceful curves to ensure drivers remain attentive, and to reduce the potential for accidents that experts believe happen more often on straight highways or bridges. The highest curve at the Navigation Span reaches 60 metres above water, allowing large sea vessels, including some cruise ships, to navigate under the bridge between its piers, which stand 250 metres apart.

http://www.confederationbridge.com/en/index.php

There are some free photos available for download on the website… posted here with appropriate photo credits.

©2008 All photos property of Strait Crossing Bridge Limited.

©2008 All photos property of Strait Crossing Bridge Limited.

©2008 All photos property of Strait Crossing Bridge Limited.

Restaurant Review: Fisherman’s Paradise,La Paradise du Pêcheur, Dieppe, NB, Canada.

(photo © kiwidutch)

We are in New Brunswick, Canada,  in a small place called Dieppe, outside Monckton.

We are hungry and have been recommended a restaurant within walking distance of our motel.  In fact it’s pretty much across the street,  if you count crossing  two car parks and a very large intersection. It’s called “Fisherman’s Paradise, La Paradise du Pêcheur”  and is a seafood and steak restaurant that is apparently well known and of long standing in the region.

We don’t have reservations and it’s fairly busy, but there is space for us and we sit down to a menu in both French and English. I of course knew that Quebec is a French speaking Canadian province, but I didn’t know that New Brunswick was too, so hubby and I dusted off our French with delight and ordered and asked questions in French.

For me it was an excellent opportunity to practice and the lady serving us was more than a little surprised upon inquiry as to where I was visiting from  to find a Dutch New Zealander who was ordering in French.

For me, that she was impressed was quite a boost to my confidence, as I’m well aware of my linguistic limitations and that I need more practice.

My friends daughter wishes for lobster as we enter, but the seasonal price is  $48  each, so sorry kid… no lobster today. Luckily for us our picky kids wouldn’t even consider lobster, but had it been cheaper Hubby might have. This time since the side-trip to Canada is a ” extra” in our North American trip, we have decided to be a little budget conscious.

We eat well,  and there is no doubt that the meals were tasty, but I was still surprised to find this this restaurant has collected a whole slew of awards,   it is us? … are we just exceptionally used to a different style of cuisine?

(photo © kiwidutch)

We arrive just as dusk is falling and the inside is cavernous and dimly lit. I take photos with the flash, but without a tripod the results are quite literally shaky. Oh well,  not great photos are still better than no photos I figure.

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

I’m not bowled over by the food as I think I would have expected to be… I think that the food is definitely good enough, but I wouldn’t call it  anything better than “O.K.” No-one at our table issued any murmurs or expressions of wonder, amazement or culinary rapture and nor were there any comments along the lines of   ” oooh, you have to try this…”

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

Did we just not order a specific dish that is the award winner? The wine was good, the food was OK, but no one was ecstatic. It wasn’t cheap either so maybe our expectations were too high. C’est la vie…

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)

(photo © kiwidutch)