Thursday, September 30, 2010

Goetz Auction

The blacksmith and I went to another auction on Sunday. We spent the entire day there, if you call 10 AM to 5 PM a day. I spent 50 cents on a cup of coffee. He spent that plus $17.50 for a vise.

Here are two things that caught my eye. The cedar chest was neat, had 2 small pieces of the wood trim missing. I didn't want the chest, but I did appreciate it.


Now this oak basket was a different story. It was big, probably 48 inches long and 24 inches wide. If I had been able to tell if it was hand made not a mass factory production I might have bid higher. I went to $60 and it sold for $65. However every time I bid, she raised me by $5, so who knows how high her goal was.
Just another fun day in the country!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Surviving Munichburg 2010

It was a beautiful morning at 6:45 as we drove out the drive way. As we got closer to Jefferson City we could see the fog rising from the Missouri River. Arriving in Munichburg at 7 AM, we could still feel the dew on the grass.

The area was quietly busy. Canopy's were going up every where. It took us a little over an hour to set up the blacksmith shop, both the demonstrating area and the sales area. We had three 6 foot tables full of wares, both our's and our friend Terry's goods.



Shortly after we were up and running, this obnoxious red balloon thing goes up across from our booth. The motor buzzes all day long as the crazy thing flapped in the air.

This is an early view taken of Dunklin Street. I was so busy with sales the rest of the day that I never got any good action shots. However, blogger friends like Missouri Gal stopped by. You can view a few of her pictures here. In the first picture on her blog, not only do you see me, but fellow blogger Rural Rambles is in the navy blouse. It was my first in person visit with her.

Terry helps the Blacksmith out here as they double strike. That is always an attention getter.



The blue canopy is the funnel cake booth. We thought maybe it was a requirement to have a large waist line to purchase one, but that was just our opinion.


Grandson Alex helps Grandpa out here.



Here the grand kids rest up after the bouncy house and kidsville. Shortly after this we had a visit from My loves, my Life. When Elizabeth woke up Deanna filled in cuddling her while I was busy with a sale.


I was luckily enough to met up with another blogger friend, Opulent Opossum. She and her dad are really into the history of Munichburg and I loved visiting with them.



Just behind us at 4:00 the strong man pulled two beer trucks with his hands. (Thanks Brady for taking this picture for Grandma!)
The weather was just picture perfect. Not too hot, not too cool, and always a gentle breeze blowing. It was a great day with great customers, great friends, great bloggers and great family all showing up. Thanks everyone!




And then when I got home I had these waiting in the mailbox for me. If only they had come the day before!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Oktoberfest and German Heritage

This Saturday, the area that is known as the southside of Jefferson City, will celebrate Old Munichburg Oktoberfest. This area was established in the 1800's, mainly by German emigrants.

When the blacksmith was asked to participate, little did they know that he had ties to the area.

The Sunday News Tribune paper ran an article July 1934 about a house in the area. Here is an excerpt from that paper:

In 1850 John and Margaretta Asel bought an acre of land to built their log house. They had two sons to fill the house. Three more sons and three daughters would later fill this small home. The house was located only a short distance away from a group of Indians. Mrs. Asel at first was very terrified of them. Later they would become not only her friends but her customers. As many as thirty loaves a day were drawn from her huge oven in the side yard, to be replaced by as many pies. All of which found a ready market.

Great piles of logs, salvaged from Missouri River driftwood, supplied the fuel for this oven and for the little log smokehouse now resting in a corner of the flower-filled yard and wearing a modern coat of cement. A great ice house, forty feet square and holding many tons of ice cut from the river during the winters months, also was built upon the premises and was a great factor in the success of their business. A never failing deep wall, in times of drouth, refreshed the throats of the Indian Camp, and citizens came with their buckets from far and near. A dry cistern was used as a storage room for the valuables of many residents during the Civil War. As the bounds of the Asel property widened, much of the butchering , curing and cooking of meat was done on the place.

Margaretta, with the aid of John after market hours, was said to have made a thousand dollars selling fried sausage to the soldiers. Many sandwiches of home-made bread, pig ears and pig snoots were handed out to neighborhood boys who stood with watering mouths.


The little house does not now belong to a member of the Asel family having been rented several years ago and later sold to Anton Monat (the Blacksmith's great uncle). And if no member of the Asel family longer cared to live in the little log house, no more fitting family could have been found to occupy it.

Seated at a shining walnut table in the center of the front room, when the writer approached the open door, was Anton's father, Peter Monat, playing solitaire. In the middle of the table was a vase of lavender, hardy sweet peas. Peter Monat understands and speaks no English, and so his son, Fritz, came from a painting job across the street to act as host. Peter Monat's wife died two years ago. An enlarged kodak picture of her standing among her flowers and shrubs was near him upon a dresser. Sacred pictures upon the walls bespoke the religion of this family and a furled flag of the United States standing in the corner of the tiny stairway landing attested their loyalty to the land of their adoption. Peter Monat and his sons were born in Germany. Since the mother's death Fritz has been the housekeeper. Shining floors, spotless furniture and crisp curtains evidence his ability and his efforts. Even the kitchen cupboard, with its rows of sparking glass and glossy china, was in perfect order when he opened the doors to show us a cup brought from Meiderich, Germany, bearing his father's name and his title of Reviser in the Artsverein.


Outside, along the porch railing, and all about the house were well-attended plants and shrubs. Could the little pioneer home built by a young German immigrant nearly a century ago, have fallen into better hands?


This was the home at the corner of Ashley and Madison Street. Unfortunately it is no longer there. In the early seventies it was torn down. A concrete parking lot covers the area now.



This is Anton and Fritz, the two brothers that occupied the house.


Great Grandparents Peter and Anna Nauerman Monat.

Saturday we will proudly display the above pictures to show our German heritage.


Monday, September 20, 2010

We had company

For weeks Deanna of My loves, My life and I had been planning to get together. She was going to show me how to use a serger that I had borrowed. After all I have 35 table runners to hem.

I figured I would capture the day in photographs. I mean all bloggers have a camera in hand about what 90% of the time.

The day started with good intentions. Here is the peach pie as it went into the oven. Note the cookie sheet. Note the burned stuff on the bottom of the oven. That was from the last peach pie. I wasn't going to make that mistake again.


And this is where all my good intentions went down the drain.

Did I photograph the hot rolls I made from scratch? No.

Did I photograph the Spinach-Strawberry Salad? No. But I will give you the recipe:

Spinach-strawberry Salad
½ c. light olive oil
1/3. c sugar
¼ c. red wine vinegar
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. Pepper
1 clove minced garlic

6 cups spinach
2 ½ cups sliced strawberries
1 c. shredded colby/jack cheese
½ c. toasted almonds, pecans or walnuts
1 c. Sargento salad creations

Did I photograph them arriving with a bottle of Adam Puchta wine? NO.

Did I take a picture of the husbands discussing which wife would be blogging about this first, while they were grilling pork loins? NO.

Did I take a group picture? NO.

But hey, I have a good excuse on my part. 3 out of 4 of us didn't feel our best today. Colds or allergies had us a little under the weather.

I did (just now) take this photo of what she left me! Her serger. Thanks Deanna!

Now on to sewing the 33 runners left to do!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Cookie Monster was at my house




And the cookie monster was a day early. It's not even Thursday yet!
(Thanks Grandpa for showing her where the drawer is and how to open it.)



Monday, September 13, 2010

Pictureless Monday

8:00 AM, got up and had my morning ritual . . .mocha cappuccino.

8:30 The blacksmith and I ground some fresh pork and added some Mennonite sausage seasoning. He fried patties while I made homemade biscuits. Well homemade thanks to Jiffy Mix.

8:40 Throw a load of clothes in the washer.

8:50 Eat breakfast.

9:30 Throw clothes in dryer

9:45 Wash hair, load up the recyclables in the Jeep.

10:00 Dry hair, change clothes, put on make up.

10:30 Fold clothes and put them away.

11:00 Leave for town.

11:15 Arrive at the post office to mail a package for the blacksmith.

11:25 Take the recyclable to New World.

11:45 Go to TJ Maxx. Find 4 pairs of new undies. Hubby says not a good thing to share on the blog. IDK why, I shared his before.

11:55 $$ Store. Pick up Halloween cards and plastic storage boxes.

12:10 Time for the dreaded Wal-Mart trip.

1:15 Visit Mom at the retirement center. Check out a new room she wants to move in.

2:00 Quick trip to Dollar General for a box of rice I forgot at Wal-Mart.

2:10 Stop at Weber's Meat Market. Order 2 fresh cut up chickens and 4 slices of head cheese. YUCK, double YUCK! But the blacksmith will love me for it.

2:12 Call BFF to see if I can make dinner for her. She tells me baby Lane has a 70% chance of getting released from the hospital today. Keep your fingers crossed.

2:30 Arrive home, soak the chicken in cold salt water. Make blackberry crisp. Make broccoli casserole.

4:00 Start frying chicken.

5:00 BFF arrives with news baby Lane and parents arrived home at 4:30. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

5:45 I Leave for my first aerobic work out.

6:45 Survived my first aerobic work out. Now if I can get out of bed tomorrow!!!

7:00 Dinner with the blacksmith, fried chicken, broccoli casserole, refrigerator cucumbers with onions and blackberry crisp.

Now you get the picture . . . busy day!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Boonville Tractor show 2010


The day started very cool and damp.

We saw small steam engines running.



We've always talked abut some day owning a teardrop trailer, but not this one!
It's all about quality.



There was produce to buy.


There were small hit and miss engines running.



There were trains running.



There were draft horses eating.




There was wheat threshing going on.



There was pondering happening too.
How could anyone build a smaller replica like that?
The blacksmith was amazed at it.

There was very slow board making going on by the Japanese.
It is almost a lost art.
Only 20 people are known to do it this way.
After watching them pull the huge blade through,
I understand why there are only 20 too.

The biggest working engine there.
300 horsepower.
Need I say noisy?



Then came the parade.
This picture was allowed as it wasn't Mennonites driving.



Large steam powered tractors made their way up the hill.



Hi Randy! He works with my son.



I just had to take a picture with the speed limit sign.
I really don't think you'd want to go much faster than 5 mph with steel wheels.
It looks like a very bouncy ride.



Santa even made an appearance.


A power horse, not what you think of when talking about a horse.



This is a classmate of mind, David Propst.
We graduated from high school 40 years ago.


This truck belongs to a fellow blacksmith friend of ours, Don Asbee.
We stuck our business card beside his in the window frame.



Cedar shingle making with steam power.



Hometown boy Daniel, who by the way didn't pull his best.
Better luck next time!



And to keep with the theme of this blog, i.e. Quilting, here is a barn quilt the blacksmith spied as we were walking the grounds.
It turned into a beautiful day. We spent 7 hours roaming the flea market, the food vendors, the tractors, the blacksmiths, and the steam engines.
It was amazing all people that we ran into that we knew.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Farmall wall hanging

I finished it up today while the little one napped. My next project will probably be 35 - eight foot table runners to hem. It was so kind of My loves, my life to help me. We will have two sergers hemming away!

I so love Thursdays!


Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Just for Rusty!

The pepper jelly that is, not the flowers, they are for me!
After all only 185 more days until he is officially my son-in-law.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Tow service anyone?

Oh the last, lazy days of summer are upon us. On Labor day we tried to squeeze in as much fun time as possible.



So we loaded up our dog and the boat and headed for the river. Soon after arriving on Luebbering's Island, we were joined by the blacksmith's brother and wife, and my god daughter.



The game of washers was on!



First it was Pat's turn.



The blacksmith took a turn.



I even took a turn, and I'm not a game player.



Larraine was last to go.




After two hours of fun and sun it was time to head home. We were invited to Pat and Larraine's for grilled steak. Who could turn that down? I had a fresh out of the oven peach pie to add to the meal.


So down river we went. Well some of us . . .


Pat and Larraine are enjoying the boat ride.



Until this happened! The battery was "dead". Pat waves for help.



I grabbed his foot and pull their boat next to ours. The guys attached a tow rope.


Down the river slowly we go.

Eventually it was decided, they should all get in our boat. That way the tow would be less of a pull.


Bentley was so glad to see company.



He makes a good hood ornament.




And that was our day on the river. Sorry god daughter, there are no pictures of you. Seems you took most of the pictures! Thank Melissa!