Floating Over the Tundra

Count Ferdinand von Zepplin took his first balloon ride in Minnesota in 1863.

Amazing what you learn while looking for something else.

Mr. Flannery

Mr. Flannery Can't Cook

  I graduated from high school in 1967 (when you do the calculation please remember I am an early Duggy Houser).  The brain trust that has always run American public education excluded me from the two high school classes that would have continuing relevance in my life.  Boys did not take typing or home ec.  So here I sit punching away on the computer with 4 fingers on the keyboard eating "food" that I made for myself.

 

  I have actually developed my own recipe for a slow cooked chicken stir fry.  I adapted a chicken recipe that I found on Pinterest and am eating right now.  I am using a low mileage crock pot that I am sure was a wedding present from 39 years ago.

 

  I forgot step one and did not spray the pot with Pam before I started.  Then I put a tray of chicken tenderloins in the pot covered with Walmart Smoked Honey BBQ Sauce, added drained pineapple chunks and a couple of sloshes of soy sauce.  Cooked on high for 4 hours then added chopped fresh broccoli, snow pea pods, chopped carrots, celery bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.  Cooked for another hour and served with white rice.

 

Mr. Flannery

An Expensive Junk Auction

    Its been tough getting out of the house during this infernal swath of horrific weather.  We haven't had too much snow recently.  Most of it went south and east of us to ravage the lower Midwest and East.  It went south because it has been too damn cold to snow here.  Day after day of -20* at night and low single digits for daytime highs.  We have cancelled two picking excursions because of the cold.  I am suffering from cabin fever.  I need to get out and search for some junk.

 

    Today I went to one of the few inside auctions that occur this time of the year.  This one was different.  Instead of the usual course of household goods and sleep inducing collectibles, the items at this auction looked and smelled like they had just been pulled from the barn or shed.  There were piles of pulleys, buckets of gears, boxes of tins and other good desirable junk.  Unfortunately normal summer junk prices were left in the in the dust.  I was outbid often.  Lots of people willing to spend more money than I would.  After the guns were sold the crowd started to thin out a little.  I bought the one item, a seed separator, that I specifically targeted from the ad.  I bought some other usable stuff, like copper coated electric heaters and milk strainers.

 

    I got my junking fix.  I got a few good items.  I got out of the house.  And it is only going down to -22* on Sunday night. 

 

The cart with my purchases.

Close-up of the graphics on the seed separator.

Mr. Flannery