Horseshoe Falls, Canadian Side
There are two large waterfalls at Niagara: the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. Right next to the American Falls is a thin waterfall called Bridal Veil Falls.
American Falls at Niagara Falls
A great way to see the falls is to take a ride on the Maid of the Mist boat. You can get on one of these boat rides from either the American or the Canadian side. It is quite popular, and you wear a plastic rain coat and stand for the whole trip.
Maid of the Mist
Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls, Canadian Side
The Canadian side is the touristy side. There is plenty to do and movies about Niagara to see, but you might want to watch your credit card. If you want the less expensive tour, stay on the U.S. side.
From the top of the Ferris Wheel on the Canadian side, we could see the American Falls, the smaller Bridal Veil Falls to the right, and two Maid of the Mist boats.
Horseshoe Falls, taken from the Ferris Wheel
And here you can see the whole horseshoe shape of Horseshoe Falls, taken from on top of the Ferris Wheel.
I’ll save my Cave of the Winds photos for another post: that was my favorite attraction at Niagara Falls. It was my daughter’s least favorite; I think she got scared of the powerful waters.
Niagara Falls, Canadian Side, Rainbow Bridge at Dusk
We just came back from a visit to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. See photos of the falls.
This early evening shot of the Rainbow Bridge that crosses from the U.S. to Canada shows a piece of the urban gardens and nightlights of the Canadian shore in the foreground. The American side is more rustic, as it is preserved as a state forest. We really did see a rainbow on the bridge as we waited at customs on our first day.
As this is straight of my camera, it is perfect for:
Finally, we had a day without oppressive heat and humidity! It’s been raining almost all day, and in the morning I enjoyed photographing raindrops on my raspberries.
Last week was the final performance of my daughter’s summer at Middlesex County College Theater Camp. The children performed Willie Wonka, based on the first movie, the one with Gene Wilder and many great songs like Oompa, Loompa, Doopa De Do. The scene above shows Charlie, who is poor and wants to win a Golden Ticket to visit Mr. Wonka’s factory, his mother and his four grandparents (in the bed).
When you have read the book, sometimes movie or play versions can be a little irritating. In this play, Charlie throws down the chocolate bar when he doesn’t find a Golden Ticket in it. In the book, he savored every morsel of a chocolate bar; he would never throw one down. I tried to explain that to my daughter, and since we own the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, she was able to read that scene for herself.
You can see all of Charlie’s grandparents wearing white nightgowns. In one scene when all the grandparents are in the factory, they and Charlie float upward. This was accomplished by turning off the lights, and teenagers wearing dark colors came in and held each grandparent up. Since the grandparents and Charlie were wearing white, they glowed, and they really looked like they were floating. Clever!
In this scene, a patient sits on the couch and tells of her dream of finding a golden ticket while her psychoanalyst listens.
One minute later the analyst is demanding to know where the ticket is. She chases her patient off the stage demanding.
My daughter played one of Veruca Salt’s sisters. Here they are, looking rich and snobby on the stage.
One minute later they break into song.
When Willy Wonka finally appears on stage, at first, you think he is a decrepit man who can barely walk. He then jumps into a jig and produces a contract.
Charlie is the first to sign; after all, he is poor and has nothing to lose.
Veruca Salt wants a hen that lays a golden egg. Her father tries to bargain with Mr. Wonka.
If you don’t mind spending about one half hour taking pita bread in and out of a hot oven, you can easily create some delicious, homemade pita. This recipe is from Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.
Recipe for Pita Bread
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Mix the flour and salt in a warmed bowl. Make a depression in the flour.
Combine yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup lukewarm water (make sure it’s not hot anymore) in a small cup. Mix and set aside for 5 to 6 minutes. I wait until the yeast gets frothy. Pour the yeast mixture, 1 cup lukewarm water and olive oil into the depression. Gently form a ball and add more water if you need it. You will probably need another 3 tablespoons. Once you have a ball, knead it for 10 minutes or until smooth. (Leora’s comment: or use a mixer like the Kitchen Aid with dough hook). Put the ball in a bowl and cover with damp cloth for about 2 hours.
When it has doubled in bulk, punch the dough down and knead until smooth. With surface dusted with flour, roll out the dough and cut into 12 equal parts. Roll each into 1/4 inch rounds and lay these on baking sheets that are lightly dusted with flour. Cover with dishcloth and let them rise for about 45 minutes.
While the pitas are rising, preheat your oven to “broil.” Put a cast-iron skillet or griddle on the bottom of the oven if it’s gas or the middle if your oven is electric (I used at large stainless steel skillet). Allow to heat. Put one or two pitas, depending on size of skillet and immediately return the skillet to the oven. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. The breads will puff up. I then flip the breads (not part of the original recipe). You can also toast if you want the tops to brown. Wrap in damp dish towel to cool them down.
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Note: like the Children of Israel coming out of Israel, I didn’t have enough time to allow the dough to rise in the pita bread in the photo. Hey, the pita still came out OK!
Fox standing in the ruins… too much color. I copy the layer, desaturate, make it a revealing mask, highlight the fox, select the inverse, and allow all color to come through for the fox but not for the rest of the painting.
Now the fox stands out in the grayed background.
The story:
Shortly after the destruction of the second temple, a group of rabbis went to visit Jerusalem or what was left of it after the Roman conquest. When they saw the destruction, they ripped their clothes in mourning. On getting closer, they saw a fox coming out from the site of the holiest part of the Temple. This was too much for the rabbis. They all broke out crying. Rabbi Akiva, however, started to laugh. “Why are you laughing?” they asked, in amazement. He replied: “now that the destruction prophecy of Micha has been fulfilled, we may look forward to the prophecy of Zecharia that Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt!”
Mrs. S. adds: ‘The end of the story is that the other rabbis said in response, “Akiva, you have comforted us; Akiva, you have comforted us.”‘ (thank you, Mrs. S.)
If I have time tomorrow, I’m going to put up a post telling the story of Rabbi Akiva and the fox with cartoon bubbles – update: no time this morning and no energy this afternoon – I’ll aim for next summer.
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