Tag Archives: Virginia

Nov27

Visiting Virginia – Delta – British Columbia – Canada

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

You have heard Tin Man speak of his love many times…….

When Tin Man started his blog one of his first followers was Virginia…a friendship blossomed….

In the Spring of 2014 Tin Man rode a train across the entire country of Canada and ended the journey by spending the day with Virginia and the Good Husband…

You can read about that trip HERE

This time The Tin Man was able to spend three delicious days with Virginia and The Good Husband..

Virginia’s home is Paris….

We had a delightful time on the front patio, surrounded by beautiful flowers…….

sipping bubbly, noshing and waving to the neighbors as they drove by…..

Then one day ………off to the beach we went…..

…but first …..the red lipstick from Theadora of Paris: People, Places and Bling…to match the cute red handbag also from Theadora….

Our Theadora, as she has become to known, lives in Paris and is another blogger who has become part of the family…

Off to a friend’s home for an evening party….

Magic and Delight abound when one is in the presence of Virginia….

Of course……..culinary delights abound…..Aromatic, Marvelous Chicken Curry…..Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Sauce…..Cheese Puffs…..oh swoon….

Of course these delights are picked fresh from the garden………

The Back Porch is the perfect place to take an afternoon nap or enjoy a good book….

A pleasant evening of companionship and conversation….

The Good Husband builds model Ships….intricate and amazing work….

Forever the beautiful ambiance and culinary delights….

Three Days of Pure Delight….Tin Man rested in the lap of Buddha receiving blessings for the journey home…

Jun25

CLAFOUTI : Toronto – Canada

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

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It began by a chance meeting in the virtual world of Blogging….and so the journey continues…

We booked passage on Uncommon Journeys Canadian Panorama cross country Train Excursion……..two weeks…yikers I thought….

Our Second Day was to be spent in Toronto….not caring for Large Cities….I saw her looming before us…construction cranes everywhere..

You see, in Canada, there are two seasons: Winter and Construction

Virginia of BEL OCCHIO’S BLOG had already told us of Queen’s Street and Clafouti…home of the BEST croissants outside of Paris…….off we went

Pure Victorian Delight……….peace, tranquility and not one construction crane in sight…..only the rumble of quaint street cars going by….

Then we turned the corner and there it was…………Clafouti….mecca of the Croissant and the Crookie………….more about that later…….

We came to the well worn steps leading to her front door….

Inside………the aroma of fresh baked goods and coffee….

Clafouti reaches out and throws a Parisian Wrap around us….

Just look at the Delectable Delights……….

We grab the table next to the window……….Virginia’s favorite, so we could look out at the beautiful Trinity Bellwoods Park across the street….

Our Croissants so flaky and delicious………the coffee, rich and fragrant…..

We did not try the Crookie……a Croissant with an Oreo Cookie baked inside…..Clafouti created this masterpiece…

The Bell on the Door was always a-tinkle with customers coming and going…..

The Bohemian Interior of Clafouti so enchanting….

Alas, time to go explore the Park and seek out those mysterious albino squirrels, Good Husband of Virginia has spoken of…..

We look back at our Clafouti……..and think of all the times our friend Virginia sat here gathering strength…..

The Park is full of Flowers………but not one albino squirrel to be seen…..

Time to hop the streetcar and head back for dinner…….What a treat is was to escape to Paris for a couple of hours……..

Until next time…………

Jun3

The Yellow Brick Road

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

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Though it has been said time and time again, it must be said again:

“Oh you are the best friends anybody ever had, and its funny,

but I feel if as if I’d known you all the time, but I couldn’t have, could I ?”

We’re off to see Virginia, The Wonderful Virginia of Bel’ Occhio’s Blog.
You’ll find she is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz! there was Virginia of Bel’ Occhio’s Blog is one because,
Because, because, because, because, because.
Because of the wonderful things she does and creates and writes and paints and plants and cooks……….oh my!

We’re off to see Virginia. The Wonderful Wizard of Bel’ Occhio’s Blog……… Also known as The Goddess of the Rainbow…..The Iris Goddess

Recently The Tin Man and his Spouse ventured off on a two week train trip across beautiful Canada.

Their trip began in Niagara Falls and they trekked across the woodlands and plains, then over and through the majestic Rocky Mountains..

as they traveled each day brought them closer and closer to Virginia.

Virginia, known only through her most amazing blog: BEL’ OCCHIO’S – The Beautiful Eye

Tin Man and Spouse were all a dither when they finally arrived in Vancouver to Meet Virginia and the Good Husband

The day arrived ………..the elevator door opened and so it was begun…

…the Friendship of a Lifetime……..Hugs that did not want to be released…..

Arms tucked together like lost lovers in the side streets of Paris….

Giggles and Whispers……..Eyes Moist with Emotion…

so it began….

Here is the Story in Virginia’s Words…..CLICK ME

After a delightful respite with coffee on the patio of the hotel, we ventured off to the Center of Oz

FINALLY, I enter into the magical world I have seen on Virginia’s Blog…..

Oh, to be surrounded by Paris……every nook, every detail……a personal touch…..creations all by the hand of Virginia….marvelous

The Good Husband has built Ships………ships on which we can carry our dreams and desires….

This Parisian Refuge is tucked in the Canadian Countryside…..lush and green, a place where human sustenance begins….

On the Back Patio…..a Garden Bed, in which to lounge and read as Oswald The Gentleman Rabbit comes to visit….pure magic, I say, pure magic lives here….

We began on the Front Patio…..with fresh baked scones, prepared by The Good Husbands….

We spoke of Theadora Wizard of the magic kingdom of PARIS: PEOPLE, PLACES AND BLING!

and our friend Goddess of the Beach THE COASTAL CRONE

There were even Poppies…..not the Poison Kind, after all this is real life – not the movie!

Story after Story……..Laugh after Laugh……..Introspection after Introspection….the bond was formed

but………..it was time…….The Culinary Goddess began her Magic…..

She pulled out her Magic Wand and we were under her spell….

Silence and Let the Magic Work…

It was if The Good Husband and Virginia entered into a beautiful Viennese Waltz….and allowed us to join them….

The Magical Elixir was produced….a Grand Cru ’81 Margaux….oh my…

The Rooms filled with the Fragrances of the Culinary Magic and the air felt as if it was filled with Fairy Dust…

Check out the menu and recipes CLICK HERE

The enchanting table inviting us to sit……..we, hesitant knowing that the day was coming to an end….

Then The Magical Culinary Goddess produced Humming Bird Cake……baked especially for the Tin Man because Virginia remembered that Mother of Tin Man made this when he was a wee tot…such love….

We lingered as long as we could …..our embraces new again….one last look back and there was the faithful Buddha holding a flower in his lap for our safe travel, as always…

Never, Ever, Ever…….in my wildest dreams did I ever think that a blog would lead me down The Yellow Brick Road of Life to find soul mates waiting at the end!

Never turn away from the gifts that life brings you, for they are abundant..

To Virginia and The Good Husband……..our Most Dear and Marvelous New Friends,

Thank You for Such Beautiful Memories!

If you want to read more about this day, here are Virginia’s Stories….

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

DINNER WITH THE TIN MAN

DINNER WITH THE TIN MAN……TALES OF THE EMERALD CITY

May29

Does Your Vote Count?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

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Let me begin by informing you that the photographs and much of the historical content of this blog is not my original research.

I received an email containing much of this information from my WONDERFUL friend of many decades (since she was my undergraduate English Professor, actually)

To see something of her click on: Reflections – A Visit to Pennsylvania

………..so the story begins………A True Story of OUR Mothers and Grandmothers who lived only 90 years ago…..

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote……..

…………at one point, innocent and defenseless women were jailed for picketing the White House….

…… carrying signs asking for the vote……..

……..and by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden’s blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women. Women wrongly convicted of “obstructing sidewalk traffic”!!!
Lucy Burns, pictured below, was beaten and then left hanging from shackles on her wrists that were chained above her head…….she was left in this manner, throughout the night, bleeding and gasping for air………

Dora Lewis (below) was hurled into a dark cell, causing her to smash her head against an iron bed frame. She was knocked out by the blow; her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Dora was dead and became so terrified that she suffered a heart attack. Affidavits describe the prison guards as grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.
Thus was the unfolding of “The Night of Terror” on November 15, 1917.

This was the night that the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to ‘teach a lesson’ to the suffragists who dared to picket Woodrow Wilson’s White House for the right to vote.

For weeks, the women’s only water came from an open pail; their food was infested with worms.

Alice Paul, pictured below, was one of the leaders among the women and began a hunger strike. The guards tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. Alice continued to be tortured like this for weeks until word of her treatment was leaked to the press

Pictured below is Mrs. Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving her 60 day sentence.

………Miss Edith Ainge of Jamestown, New York………

……..Berthe Arnold Graduate of CSU…….

……….conferring over ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution at the National Women’s Party Headquarters, Jackson Place, Washington D.C.………
Left to Right: Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Politzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing)

It is jarring to imagine Woodrow Wilson and his cronies attempted to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized.

To his credit the psychiatrist stated that Alice Paul was strong and brave and that did not make her crazy.

Below is Helena Hill Week from Norwalk, Connecticut, serving a three-day sentence in a Washington D.C. prison for carrying a banner that stated: “Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

……….so it is with this recollection of facts that I implore you to not let all this hard work and suffering be in vain…..VOTE

Iron Jawed Angels (gloucestercitynews.net)
The Suffering to Gain Suffrage (jdjournal.com)
Iron Jawed Angels: America’s distorted history (intrepidreport.com)

Tales and Travels of the Tinman

Lessons We Have Learned Since Oz

Tag Archives: Virginia

Visiting Virginia – Delta – British Columbia – Canada

CLAFOUTI : Toronto – Canada

The Yellow Brick Road

Does Your Vote Count?

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