Hasn't this autumn been simply lovely?

These beautiful autumn days have seemed to go on and on. Here are a few of our highlights from the past few month...

Tea Time: Sipping a cuppa at Mad Hatters in Anoka

Take the kiddos - and maybe grandma, too -- to Mad Hatters Restaurant and Tea Room for a delightful lunch out.

Looking for something special to do with Great-Grandma, we stumbled upon the tea room online, and I knew we needed to visit it. I've admired the historic Woodbury House from Ferry Street for years.

We felt like we were stepping off the beaten trail into a mysterious and lovely house on the hill when we pulled up on a Friday afternoon. The leaves were falling and it was slightly rainy, adding up to the perfect day for tea. We followed the signs that promised we were almost there - and stepped inside to a Wonderland. It's simply gorgeous inside. The owners, Tim and Liz Koch, did a fantastic job renovating the 155-year-old house. We were seated in a wood-paneled room with a fireplace and amazing tin ceiling.

The tea arrived in cute white teapots with the cup underneath. The kids simply loved them, and polished off the tea quickly. It was flavorful tea - well worth the slightly steep $3.50.

We opted to dine off the regular lunch menu instead of doing one of their fancy tea services because of our dietary restrictions. It looks like they accommodate gluten-free, but I didn't know if they could also do dairy-free.

The Woodbury House, designed in the Greek Revival and Federal styles in 1857, is the third-oldest building in the county, said Todd Mahon, executive director of the Anoka County Historical Society. Dwight Woodbury, who bought the two-story house in 1860 from Anoka’s first doctor, was a state legislator. He helped develop Anoka with his water-powered flour and sawmills on the Rum River where City Hall now sits. During the Civil War, Union army volunteers rested at the house on the way to Fort Snelling.

Mahon said Anoka area people have a deep interest in the old mansion, owned from 1985 to 2006 by former legislator and civic leader John Weaver....

At least two Minnesota governors, writer Ignatius Donnelly and several early legislators have visited the house. It sheltered area settlers who fled their outlying homes during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The home was added in 1979 to the National Registry of Historic Places. ...

Anoka County’s oldest building is the Banfill-Locke farm house in Fridley, now housing an arts center. It was built in 1847 as an inn and tavern on the Red River Trail, which ran up the Mississippi and through Anoka, Mahon said. The second-oldest building is also in Anoka. The Shaw-Hammons House, built in 1852, sits a few blocks north of the Woodbury house. 

From The Star Tribune

After lunch, we wandered around to check out the whole building. Don't miss the bathrooms - they are simply adorable! Upstairs is a cute shop with fantastic hats, tea, and more. Some of the proceeds benefit cancer research, because Liz's former partner died a few years ago of cancer. I am always impressed with business owners who give to worthy causes. (And if you're interested in a worthy cause, check out Team Yarn - Head Huggers, a group I help run in the Twin Cities area.)

ABOUT THE MAD HATTER

The Mad Hatter began as a small Tea Room & Boutique in 1999 in the historic post office. Sixteen years later, it has grown to become a full–service restaurant located in a historic Anoka home built over 150 years ago. Offerings include Tea Service, Dinner, Lunch, Brunch, Beer & Wine and more.

IF YOU GO:
1632 S. Ferry Street, Anoka MN 55303
Hours

Tuesday – Friday | 11:00am - 8:00pm
Saturday | 10:00am - 8:00pm
Sunday | 10:00am - 3:00pm
{ Closed every Monday }

FIAR: 'Grandfather's Journey' gives us a virtual travel tour through Japan

The lovely thing about rowing FIAR books is that we get to experience other cultures. While rowing "Grandfather's Journey" by Allen Say, we dived into Japanese culture, learning as much as we could about this place across the sea. While we didn't do as much this summer as I had intended to at the start of it, we did have fun with "Grandfather's Journey" and our own virtual journey to Japan.

WE READ
Under the Cherry Blossom Tree by Allen Say
Tea with Milk by Allen Say
Tree of Cranes by Allen Say
Shibumi and the Kitemaker by Mercer Mayer
Look what came from Japan by Miles Harvey
Crow Boy by Taro Yashima
The Magic Fan by Keith Baker
The Badger and the Magic Fan: a Japanese folktale by Johnston, Tony
Little Oh by Melmed, Laura Krauss
Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog by Pamela S. Turner
Suki’s Kimono by Uegaki, Chieri
Tea with Milk by Allen Say
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Snyder, Dianne
The Paper Crane by Molly Bang
Guyku:  A year of Haiku for Boys by Raczka, Bob
Grass sandals : the travels of Basho by Spivak, Dawnine
The Wakame Gatherers by Thompson, Holly
My Japan by Watanabe, Etsuko
A Pair of Red Clogs by Matsuno, Masako
Volcano Wakes Up by Lisa Westberg Peters
California by Mari Kesselring
Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw
Maneki Neko: The Tale of the Beckoning Cat  by Susan Lendroth
Under the Cherry Blossom Tree: An Old Japanese Tale by Allen Say
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Dianne Snyder
The Funny Little Women by Arlene Mosel
Hurricanes by Gail Gibbons

WE DID
We didn't do as many projects with this book as we have with others, as The Girl wanted to be outside and wasn't into doing anything with paper. (ie. no books, worksheets, etc. as long as the days were long and the sun was out.) Instead, we took field trips and read books. We did build our study around the PDF available over at HomeschoolShare.

It was quite interesting to read as many of Allen Say's books as we could find as they all continue the story of his family in some way. Grandfather's Journey is about his grandfather, who left Japan for California, got married, and then later brought his family back to Japan. Tea With Milk is his daughter's tale, which begins in California and ends in Japan. Tree of Cranes tells Allen's own story as a boy. It is fascinating to watch this family pulled between two nations. Rowing Grandfather's Journey came on the heels of my Book Club's reading of "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand, a tale of a World War 2 prisoner of war in Japan, which made for an interesting and complex journey.

Our neighbor, who lived most of her life in Japan, invited us over for authentic Japanese food. We had such a lovely time! (See full post here)

We spent a fascinating morning at the United Noodle store, a large Asian grocery store in south Minneapolis. It's hidden in an industrial area, so you have to know where to look. Once you get there, you'll be so glad you went. The store is divided by country. There's different types of teas everywhere. Just walking through is a cultural experience and we paid attention to all the packaging, language, sights and smells. We left with our arms full of rice noodles, bubbles for bubble tea, rice vinegar, barley tea and more. (See full post here)

When we got home, we made our own spring rolls, which The Girl loved. I think she loved making them more than eating them!

My Neighbor Totoro was playing at the Riverview Theater in south Minneapolis so we headed over there. What a fun Japanese cartoon. The kiddos are still singing the theme song.

I've been wanting to check out Midori's Floating World Cafe at  2629 E Lake St. in South Minneapolis, and so we used this as an excuse to head over one evening for dinner. (See full post here)

We recruited our older friend to teach us origami -- that was a blast.

We drew Japanese characters with sidewalk chalk. Used a fork to paint puffer fish.

Branching out from Japanese culture, we learned about continents and volcanoes and hurricanes. Our continent song is sung to the tune of "He's got the whole world in his hands"...

He's got North and South America in his hands.

He's got Europe, Asia Africa in his hands.

He's Australia and Antarctica in his hands.

He's got the whole world in his hands.

We also did some experiments centered around pollution and birds. We also had fun with a bird beak experiment (inspired by this post)! (See full post here)

We did a little about our family history, and I intend to do more in the near future with that.

There was so much else we wanted to do, such as delving into similes, making candy sushi, fashioning a carp kite, experiencing a Japanese tea ceremony, and more... But it was time to move on. Another time...

WE WATCHED
Netflix has "Japan: Dr. Merry's Nomad Traveler," an older movie but I still felt like it gave us a good look at Japan.

We really enjoyed checking out a exuberant style of Japanese drumming, The Taiko Project. I think the kiddos could watch those movies all day! We're planning to see the Taiko Project live when they're at the St. Paul Ordway in April 2016.

Grandfather's Journey: Eating out at Midori's Floating World Cafe

Come on, the name got you too, didn't it? Intrigued by the name, we dropped by for dinner one night during our study of "Grandfather's Journey" in order to taste a Japanese meal.

The Girl loved her flower tea - isn't it gorgeous?

IF YOU GO

Address: 2629 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55406

Phone:(612) 721-3011

floatingworldcafe.com

Other posts in this series on "Grandfather's Journey:"

• 'Grandfather's Journey:' Authentic Japenese meal courtesy of a friend 

• FIELD TRIP: Discovering Asian food at United Noodles grocery store

 

FIELD TRIP: Discovering Asian food at United Noodles grocery store

Did you know that Minnesota's largest Asian grocery store is tucked into an industrial park off Minnehaha Ave. in Minneapolis?

We headed over to United Noodles as part of our FIAR study of "Grandfather's Journey" by Allen Say, upon the recommendation of a friend who is originally from Japan. Walking through the store gave us a fascinating glimpse into another culture via their food. Well, into many cultures as United Noodles has products from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Hawaii and more. Their cafe inside the store serves ramen, BBQ pork, house made kombucha and creative weekly specials.

The family-owned and operated supermarket has been serving the community for more than 40 years.
 
We brought home a pile of fantastic products, including a bunch of gluten-free noodles. Oh, and bubbles for bubble tea! Plus I had to get Barley Tea after drinking it at a friend's house. (See post here on our Japanese Lunch.)

And then we started cooking. First up on our Menu were spring rolls!

IF YOU GO:

Address: 2015 E 24th St, Minneapolis, MN 55404

Phone: (612) 721-6677

info@unitednoodles.com

www.unitednoodles.com