Lee Harps

I received an email from a friend this week who happened to mention that he has not seen any entries to my blog recently! Well, I guess it is time for me to explain why.

First of all, there’s this matter of the local temperature:

I’ve purchased a new digital thermometer for the kitchen window. It didn’t focus well, but in the photo it is reading 101.8 F! (Okay, so what if the sun was shining on it and, if you will look above that figure, it says the maximum temp for the day was 115.9. Shucks, it wasn’t anywhere near that. It was only about 99.6 in reality!). SO, with temps like that, there isn’t a lot being done by this person who would prefer to find a cool place and wait for cooler weather. ALSO, wife and I have been enjoying cooler parts, having just returned from a couple of week drive thru Canada, more specifically, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. There, the weather was GORGEOUS!

I took hundreds of photos on our trip (and will not bore you with ALL of them), but for this entry will simply give you an overview with a few photos, hoping to revisit the various stops in detail at a later date.

Our trek began with a drive to Kingston, Ontario, where we revisited some old haunts we learned to love when we used to take our children there for a music camp. Beginning with Kingston and continuing throughout the trip, we were awed by the beautiful flowers everywhere.

In Kingston, Ontario, we joined up with good friends from Bermuda and enjoyed the remainder of the trip with them as a foursome. We enjoyed some excellent eating and shopping in Kingston, I managed a trip out to old Ft. Henry, where I got to see the goat:

lots of “toy” soldiers

a bagpiper

and some kite flying.

After spending two nights in Kingston, we proceeded on to Quebec City, Quebec. We spent three nights in the old city of Quebec, staying at the Alberge du Tresor hotel.

There we saw many wonderful sights, ate more delicious food, saw more “toy” soldiers at the Citadel, and enjoyed the craftspeople, musicians, actors, artists and performers who graced the streets of this fine city.

Here is a photo of the changing of the guard at the Citadel:

Here is a photo of the Hotel du Frontenac which was located just across the green from our hotel:

Up the hill from the hotel, there was a flattened area where street performers do their thing. This photo was taken, I would guess, on a Wednesday evening and, as you can see, this is quite the tourist mecca.

While in Quebec, there was again much good eating to be enjoyed, and one of our most enjoyable meals there was at the Restaurant aux Ancient Canada.

You’ll hear more about this later as well.

I have many more photos I could share with you, but will do so at a later date. From Quebec, we drove to Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, which is a lovely little fishing village sort of area, very quaint and picturesque.

Here is the famous Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, famous because it houses a real live post office in the first floor and people send postcards to their friends postmarked “Peggy’s Cove”.

We spent two nights in Peggy’s Cove, then continued on to Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Here we stayed at a very lovely bed and breakfast called “Duffus House”, located right on the water in Baddeck, Cape Breton.

Cape Breton is a wonderful get-away island with the St. Lawrence Seaway to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Here we enjoyed many more wondrous sights, more delicious eating (surprise, surprise), and some really unique experiences. This was the summer home of Alexander Graham Bell and we not only were able to visit the museum in his honor (hardly anything about the telephone exhibited there…) where I enjoyed seeing his huge, propeller driven hydrofoil boat:

Also, via connections of our Bermuda travelling partners, we had the honor of receiving a private tour of the Bell estates which are still used by the family and which are not generally open to the public. Our tour began with Bell’s first home, “The Lodge”,

and I will have much more to show of the tour later. We also drove the 180+ mile “Cabot Trail” which goes around the perimeter of Cape Breton and saw sights such as this:

From Cape Breton, we headed west once again, returning our friends to Ottawa where they planned to remain an additional week, spending time with friends there. In Ottawa we enjoyed seeing the Rideau Canal.

Along the way, we enjoyed some very good food, and some that was a bit more marginal. This, for one, tasted good, but was a bit lacking in quality and nourishment. Having heard about it from our son who recently “enjoyed” it in Montreal, I ordered a hot dog with POUTIN.

French fries with gravy and CURD? Sounds awful, but it really is edible. We had much better food at a lovely new restaurant in Peggy’s Cove called “Rhubarb”.

For my wife and I, it was a rather pleasant, however long drive from Ottawa to Pennsylvania. It took nearly 10 hours and, having been away for 16 days, it became immediately evident that my work was cut out for me on the home front, what with the grass being very tall and the weeds having had a real heyday growing while my back was turned. We did have some rains in our absence, so the corn was tall:

The tomatoes had gotten some size, however NONE were yet ripe:

My soy beans were ready to yield some delicious edamame:

The zucchini had grown a bit larger than it should have:

The cantaloupes were really looking good:

and the potatoes were overdue for digging:

Other activities that awaited our return were a lovely wedding:

Repair of a friend’s harp:

repair of a hammered dulcimer:

And repair of, yes, a didgeridoo! I was shopping in Kingston, Ontario, found this item standing upright , in a basket, saw that it was badly broken and, before I knew it, I was being told by a sales clerk that I was welcome to take it if I wanted it. I was not anxious to drag it along for the whole trip, but decided the price was right.

This week I used a bit of epoxy and some plastic wraps and, here it is, all ready for some Austrailian aborigine to play:

Remember the French Repro Harp? Well, there hasn’t been a lot of progress, but there has been SOME! I am attempting to give myself some feel for the perspective of the 3-D carvings by using modeling clay (a first attempt with chisels and wood helped me realize I have a few things to learn before wasting more expensive wood). Here’s my initial feeble attempt; I feel there may be hope.

Sometimes one needs to “smell the roses” and enjoy things that lie before you that have charm but that you take for granted. The events of the past couple of weeks have been one such example. It all began as I enjoyed a cup of delicious, fresh-brewed coffee at church. Remember the church with the spire extending up thru the falling snow a couple of weeks ago?

This is Market Square Presbyterian Church, the “Beacon on the Square” located on the square of downtown Harrisburg, PA, diagonal from the Hilton. This church serves up the best coffee in town, thanks to a lady who both attends church there, but who also just happens to own and operate a very quaint coffee, tea and spice shop across the river in Lemoyne called “Kauffman’s”. Her shop is an experience in times past and offers a certain serenity of friendliness, space and delightful aroma. As you approach her shop, you will see TWO signs hanging from the building:

To the left is her shop, Kauffman’s, and immediately on the right is Fraulie’s German Deli, owned and operated by a very German lady named Margot. The two shops are separately owned and operated, but with respective entry doors facing each other, the ladies who operate these two shops have become great friends (they even choose the same colors of dress for each day – yesterday it was cranberry!) When you enter Kauffman’s, first you notice the aroma of freshly ground coffee, then you see the inviting store interior.

You will be greeted by Betty, who, with her warm smile and manner, will make you feel welcome.

Around the walls of the room are slate chalk boards which list her menus of goods.

The shelved cabinets (originally pharmacy shelves) have rows and rows of containers of spices, nuts and dried fruits. When Betty moved the business to Lemoyne from the Shipoke community in Harrisburg, she had to find quarters that would accommodate the extreme height of these shelves.

In the rear of the shop, stacked 6 high, are dozens of bright green metal cans with lids (as a boy, we always called these “lard cans”.) Within these cans are Betty’s stock of wares. She takes considerable pride in being unlike what has become the “norm” for Yuppie coffee shopes these days. She has no espresso machine, she makes no lattés, and she carries no pre-packaged, commercial versions of her wares! When you ask for a cup of coffee, it is freshly ground and served to you in a coffee press.

In the cabinets to the left are burlap bags with tops rolled down, each containing a different variety of whole roasted coffee beans.

Note the wooden paddles which label the coffee varieties. More about them later. We’ll come back to Kauffman’s, but first I’d like to move next door to Fraulie’s.

As you enter the doorway of Fraulie’s Deli opposite Kauffman’s, you will first see wall shelves of German products: cookies, marzipan, mustard, candy, flavorings, etc.

To the right is her display cabinet of meat and cheese items.

Since there is almost always a line of customers ahead of you, one will find the aisle standing with people, mostly speaking German, if not steadily, sharing a few German phrases with Margot who is the only person in the shop and who will most likely be seen at the register.

As you wait and slowly work your way, in turn, toward the register to be served, one has plenty of time to enjoy the banter of conversation and to peruse the purchase possibilities of the deli cabinet. Shall it be German sausage (wursts), Bavarian salami, havarti cheese, or Black Forest country ham?

One of my favorite things to do is to arrive at the shop around lunch time and to have Margot create for me a delicious sandwich like none one can find anywhere in the area. First, she will have you choose the bread you would like.

Then you choose the “innards” for the sandwich from her deli offerings, choose a mustard, and your sandwich awaits. Mine was a rye bread with German hot mustard, Leberkäse and Danish cheese. As you leave, Margot bids you “auf wiedersehen”.
What I like to do, then, is take sandwich in hand, return to Kauffman’s, have Betty prepare for me my coffee of choice in the coffee press, and enjoy lunch there in Kauffman’s.

As you can see, the coffee in the coffee press is timed with a sand timer — four minutes, if I’m not mistaken. While having lunch, it is common for local postal deliveryman, Jerry, to stop by with Betty’s mail, to sit for a spell, and sometimes having a cup of Betty’s coffee as well.

I said I would return to the subject of the paddles and labels in the glassed-in cabinets. Betty happened to mention to me, as she shared a cup of coffee with me, that she was no longer able to find the wooden paddles she used in her display case and would like very much to find someone who might make her some more. I guess she presented her case properly; at any rate, I found myself saying to her: ” I could probably make you some of those. How many would you like?” She replied, “Oh, I could use four or five of them.” That was 17 paddles ago. I knew they would be within my capability, and would probably be fun to make, so I proceeded. Using some of the sycamore lumber I had around the shop, I resawed it into 1/4 inch stock, cut them out and adorned them with the wheat chip carving “trademark” that adorns most of the things I make.

Assembled, they look something like this:

I hope I’m not stealing one of Betty’s favorite stories, but she and her son (who helps her in the shop when available) have come up with a very interesting coffee blend. First, you have to understand that Betty’s late husband was a Presbyterian minister, making her a preacher’s wife. Here is a photo of a bag for their famous blend perched under the grinder:

Note the name. The ingredients of the blend, if I’m not mistaken, are the following: Sumatran, House Blend, Italian, and Tanzanian coffees, hence the unusual name. Betty loves to tell the story of the local minister who wanted to purchase some of this delicious mixture as Christmas gifts, but to prevent his giving “S.H.I.T.” to his staff, they decided to rename the blend as “Special Blend #2″ for his use. Imagine its name if they also add Yrgacheffe coffee to the mix….

It’s always a pleasure to visit both Kauffman’s and Fraulie’s.

I am a member of the instrumental ensemble, Still Simple Gifts, and having had a busy December playing schedule, we celebrated by taking ourselves and our families for an evening out at one of our very favorite eateries, the Thai Palace.

Located at 3608 Market St. Camp Hill, 763-8800:

Ownership and operation has recently been resumed by our favorite Thai chef, Xsy. Since he’s back, the food has returned to being the best Thai cuisine in the area (in my humble opinion). He has redone the interior and the atmosphere is welcoming and most pleasant.

At the entrance, sitting on the end of what was once a buffet counter was, of all things dear to my heart, a very ornate Thailand Hammered Dulcimer!

To the left, near the wall by the cash register, is another Thai instrument, a very large wooden glockenspiel (don’t know what they call it in the Thai language).

Xsy and his new partner do not have a state liquor license, so there was fine wine (BYOB)

and the entrees were well presented and delicious!

A wonderful time was had by all, and after the meal, photos were taken of our group

and, before I managed to go on home, well fed and happy to have dined with good friends, I had to give it a try:

Ordinarily we get together to rehearse or to perform, and it is such a rare treat for us to get together just to enjoy each other’s company!

I had intended this entry to be entitled “Breakfast of Royalty!” For years I have enjoyed eating Weetabix for breakfast – a product of Canada which has always had printed on the package, a graphic of the Royal Crown and a statement basically saying, “Endorsed by her Majesty, the Queen of England”.

Today, as I checked out the box of ORGANIC Weetabix that I received as a Christmas gift from Jon (along with this web site), I could not find the reference to the Queen! I was devastated! For some reason, a California company has gotten permission to market an organic version of the product that, I guess, the Queen does not approve of! Happily, it tastes just as good as the one the Queen eats, so I’m still a happy camper! For those of you who have not tried it, Weetabix is a Canadian variation on shreaded wheat cereal. It is much lighter in texture and is very easy to eat (and it tastes good and is good for you!)

Weetabix, for some reason, reminds me of our family trips to the More-Than-Music music camps in Kingston, Ontario, years ago when the kids were small and still taking piano and violin lessons. These were week-long family times together and we would always get the kids up around 4 AM and leave well before dawn. As we would drive north with the sun coming up, I would be play Zamfir panpipe

music via cassettes on the car radio. Ah, memories!