Ladew Topiary Gardens

Just another rainy day here.

The rain has kept the folks close to home.  Saturday, they ate lunch at a Chinese buffet.  They have yet to find one in this area that they really like.  They visited Wolfgang Candies.  There was conflicting information as to whether there were tours given. The only employee that was working was not friendly. She stood with her arms crossed and just stared at them as they shopped.  Mom was scared to ask her about a factory tour.  BOL!  They bought some candy and left.  If it was up to Mom, they wouldn't have bought anything.  There was no thank you, just SIGN WITH YOUR FINGER.  Yep, she definitely loves her job.  They stopped at the Amish market and found a "I Love My Greyhound" sign.  They had to buy that.  They also bought scrapple.  Mom fixed it on Sunday, but she didn't like it. They bought some last year and thought it was good.  Saturday night, they ate at the Corner Stable.  The restaurant is really small on the inside and the parking lot is even smaller.  Their ribs are from Denmark and they are excellent according to Mom. I had the chicken and it was great! Dad said the crab cakes are the best he has ever had.  There is another restaurant, Pappa's, who many say have the best crab cakes.  They ate there Sunday just to compare.  Dad says Corner Stable has the best. 

Ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and apples

Sunday was supposed to be a sunny day.  It was mostly cloudy and windy.  The folks decided they were going to go to Ladew Topiary Gardens anyway.

Harvey S. Ladew purchased the house and property in 1929.  The farm house was built around 1747.  It needed a lot of updating.  Harvey enjoyed traveling to England and spent 20 or so winters there.  His passion was gardening and fox hunting.  His house is full of fox and hound items.  The house remains as it was when he died in 1976.

Windows purchased in England.

Harvey Ladew

This is the table Harvey stood in front of for the above painting.

Feet of 1st and 2nd foxes that he killed.

This is the dining room.  The walls are from a barn that he bought because he wanted a plant that was growing on the side of it. The owner wouldn't let him have the plant, so he bought the barn.

All the plates have fox and hound scenes.

Greyhound statue that Mom spotted but couldn't get close enough to for a good photo.

The mantel is not marble, but it is wood painted to look like marble.

Stitched art table.

A stitchery wall hanging.

Harvey's bedroom.

Picture is of Harvey.  Mom liked the plate.

Nice book holder.

A few trinkets. Some were won at carnivals.

Beautiful window over door.

Library that he added so that a desk he bought would fit in his house.  This is a secret door that he used when he didn't want uninvited guests to find him.

See, the door has disappeared.

Front of house.

 The gardens were inspired from those he saw in England.  He may have been the first to create "garden rooms" here.

Mom liked this hanging plant.

The house can be seen from here.

See the hounds (shrubs).

Lead dog is getting close to the fox.

The fox.

Full scene.

Scottie dog.

Camel

See the giraffe?  His head is missing.  Oops!

Unfortunately, many of the plants were not in bloom. There is a rose garden that is probably beautiful, but it was too early for it. The butterfly house was not open.  Too cold, I guess.  It has been chilly here....50's.

The folks enjoyed the house and the gardens.  They thought the price was a little high though.   It was $18 per person for everything. The gardens were $13 on their own.  Dad said he would have been disappointed if they had not toured the house. One of the things that the folks got a kick out of was that Ladew was friends with the owner of Hampton Mansion.  They played poker one night and Ladew won the family's silver. The folks toured the Hampton Mansion last fall, so they felt a connection having been there too.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Saw The Sun Last Friday

We Are Going To Set A New Record!

What record are we going to set?  Well, it is not us actually, it is the area we are currently residing.  It has been raining here.  The record is 17 days and we are going to break that record.  Mom said that we have come this far, so we may as well break it.  Tomorrow will be day 17.  Thankfully, we have not had all day rains.  It is mainly just showers, off and on.  The worse day was last Friday.  The rain was moving in a circle, so it kept coming back to us. Marty, the weather guy, said it was like a boomerang.  Mom was getting down on that day because it did look like it might never end.  We are still running our heat.  Can you believe that?  We had a nice warm winter and now we are running our heat in the spring.  It feels like March instead of May.  It is warmer this week than last, so we are on the right track.

What am I looking at?

The rain.

The folks went to Lancaster, PA last weekend.  I think this was their fourth trip.  Mom wanted to shop at Central Market.  It is the country's oldest continuously running farmers' market. The location has been a farmers' market for 275 years. It was smaller than Mom expected, but it was nice.  It is held indoors.  There is a parking garage across the street from it which made parking easy because the street parking was totally full.  Mom said if we lived in Lancaster, she would probably shop there because they sell meat as well as fruit and vegetables.

They ate at DJ's Taste of the 50's while in Lancaster.  As the name indicates, it is a 50's style restaurant.

 

The waitresses actually wear "poodle" skirts.  The folks enjoyed eating there.

Loaded fries.

On the way home, they stopped at a pet store that they like.  Last year, they saw a toy that Dad said I would like.  Mom wasn't sure I would like it, so they didn't get it.  Grandma gave me treat money when we visited her in April, so Mom decided I could have that toy, but they no longer carry it.  They found a different one and I really like it.  It squeaks really easily and that is important to me. Mom said it took them about a half hour to pick it. 

Me and my dinosaur.

Mom and I have had to stay inside more than I would like due to the rain. We take long walks when we can.  We went on a walk on Monday that was tougher than I expected.  I chose the route and apparently it was all uphill. I don't know how that happened. Mom and I were both out of breath and tired when we finally made it home. 

A chipmunk

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Plans To Spend The Rest Of His Treat Money This Weekend

It's Been Rainy And Chilly

The weather was beautiful the first three days here.  We enjoyed sitting in our yard and watching the birds.  It was in the 80's on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, the temperatures dropped to the 40's and it started raining.  Today, we are actually in the 50's, but it is still raining off and on.  We will have rain until Saturday or Sunday.  Thankfully, it is not raining enough to flood and we haven't had any storms.  We know the south is experiencing much worse weather than us.  It is just depressing when there is a long stretch of raining days.

Rainy days are boring!

We are watching the birds from inside these days.

Since the weather has been nasty, the folks didn't do any sightseeing this past weekend.  They did visit the Snyder's Hanover Outlet Store and they stocked up on snacks.  They also visited Camping World and bought a new grill. The grill we bought for $15 last year wasn't worth the money.  BOL!  It flared up way too much and Mom only used it twice because she burned all the meat.  Dad used it a few more times.  This new grill seems to fit all our needs.  It is sturdy and the lid locks in place.  It has an infrared grill grate instead of the regular one.  It is supposed to heat more evenly and doesn't have flare ups. It does need to be treated with oil, like a cast iron skillet.  Mom didn't now that until she read the instruction.  We used it twice this weekend and so far, so good.  Dad grilled rib eye steaks Saturday night and last night, Mom grilled bison burgers.  It was her first time grilling bison burgers.  The folks visited a bison meat market and the lady explained how to grill them because they don't have much fat and they dry out quickly.  You are supposed to put a little oil on them.  It worked and they were delicious.

Our new grill.

The first rib eye grilled on the new grill

The folks also visited a few restaurants this weekend.  They ate at Primanti Brothers on Saturday.  They ate there a few times last year.

Mozzarella wedges

Burger with pastrami.  Dad's of course.

Yesterday, they ate at Friendly Farms.  They ate here last year and liked it.  The food is served family style.  Everyone gets cottage cheese, peaches, coleslaw, apple butter, sugar rolls (Mom's favorite), regular rolls, green beans, corn and fries.  Each customer orders an entree.  Dad ordered shrimp and a crab cake.  Mom and I had chicken.  I wasn't there, but Mom brought me a piece.

Mom still says the best place for chicken in Stroud's in Kansas City.  They serve food the same way, but you get to take all the leftovers home and they have mashed potatoes and gravy which Mom prefers over fries.  Babe's in Texas is also a good family style place.

We were able to watch the Blues hockey game yesterday.  It was a nice day with the folks.

Asking for treats.  Scout taught me how to wear Mom down.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Hopes To See The Sun Soon