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

Snow Blind in the Theater of Seasons

Here on the tundra if you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes and it will change.  Unfortunately, the change may be from cold to colder to why the hell would anyone live in this God forsaken country.

I was in a late evening dinner in extreme southwestern Minnesota yesterday. I left for home at about 12:30 AM. It was snowing, but nothing difficult. The further east and north that I went the worse the snow became. I was on State highways but they had not yet been plowed and few in any other vehicles had been through. I had to drive with my low beams because the glare off the falling snow was too much to see where I was going. The snow was drifting and more than a foot deep in some places. I occasionally heard the rumble strips chattering under my tires but I couldn't determine if it was the left or right wheel or if was the center or shoulder rumble.

The wind was blowing very hard from the south and later the east so my side of the road had considerable drifting. I often found the center line on the right side of the truck when I came to a clear area. It was a two handed steering wheel clencher drive all the way home.

The final 8 miles were on a small county road that revealed no signs of other traffic and drifts 1-2 feet deep or more. I just missed a mail box that suddenly appeared out of the blowing snow. This is a road with minimal shoulders so I was close to hitting the ditch. I finally made it to my driveway. I bulled my way through the 3 foot deep drift right near the top and slowly descended the 70 foot drop to the lake.

It was one hell of a trip. I was elated to be home and exhausted from the white knuckle trip. It was just another day here in the Theater of Seasons on the tundra.

 

Mr. Flannery

Picking at -32* Here on the Tundra

We had a couple of things to pick up on Minnesota's iron range yesterday, so we went picking.  It was mainly an escape from the cold induced cabin fever.  It was good to get out.  But, as we were traveling north of Grand Rapids, the outside temp was showing at -32* and we were questioning the idea of picking.  We stopped to pick up our stuff and the guy there had decided to sell us some 1952 Christmas displays, a large two sided Evinrude Outboard Motor sign and 4 vintage outboards that he had previously been uninterested in selling.  So our picking was going to be a success, even if we didn't find anything else.

We stopped at an old garage that we've picked 3-4 times earlier, after 45 minutes there it was clear that we've plucked that place clean of items of interest to us.  We then went across the street to meet Ron.  Ron lives in a large 1930's triplex that has been converted into a single family home.  Ron is in his early 80's and now lives alone in the family home and 4 generations of their leavings.

Ron has money and his ancestor's had money too.  There is a lot of stuff, much of it very nice, but Ron feels no need or urgency in moving anything on.  He was an engineer and graphics designer and is a very well read self taught historian.  Ron decided that I would be an interesting person to talk with.  He tested me on engineering concepts, he regaled me on ship design and naval architecture and he taught me the story of the opening of the great open pit mines that ironed America's great industrial expansion.  Chris and Morgan essentially had free reign of the house while Ron and I gassed.  Morgan and Chris found 3-4 boxes full of stuff that Ron was willing to sell, I looked at a great painting Ron had done 65 years ago and his collection of guns that he would never part with. It was an interesting time, but as far as picking goes, for me it was a bust.

It was good to get out and look around.  It was good to get some items that we had not anticipated, it was good to talk to a very interesting man, but next time I want to look in the closets and drawers while someone else entertains the seller.

Mr. Flannery

Of Flying Chairs and Other Chilling Events

Second Hand Rose in Buffalo Minnesota will be open this January for the first time in many years.   Usually we get to take January off, recognizing that the holidays and other events make getting ready for a sale in early January is very difficult.  This year we can add the difficulties of getting things done here on the frigid tundra to the other issues.

 

I finished getting my space ready on December 31st.  And I did leave a bunch of stuff from our last sales in place, just marked down to encourage sales.  It looks pretty good, but, as usual, I wish that it looked better.

 

 In the middle of my space I tried to set up a bar height table with 7 chairs.  They really filled the real estate.

 Behind the two chairs is a 4 section screen featuring women peaking out from behind golden colored umbrellas.

 This is a 1920's 3 section folding screen with an Italian garden scene.

 I have two of these red and white locker units.  One in the space and a second frozen in a snow bank in front of the shop.

 A store display for Jockey brand stockings.

 Five pieces from an European canister set.

Antique wall clock, small clock case and clock guts.

The table with 7 chairs used to have eight chairs.  I found out that chairs don't fly well at 60 mph.  It took the trip out of the truck bed to the highway when I was transporting the load from St. Cloud to Buffalo last Tuesday.  Damn!  I'd like to say that this was a surprise but unfortunately this was not my first instance of "flying chairs".

Mr. Flannery

Second Hand Rose, Black Friday and a Schuffle Across the Aisle

I'm ready for the December sale but it was a struggle this month.  The time between the November sale and the December sale was the shortest it can be.  Then it was decided that we should be open on Black Friday which shortened the set up time by another 5 days.  And I moved this month, a short schuffle across the aisle, but the entire November had to be disassembled and reset.  I was at the shop getting set up until 8:30 PM on Thanksgiving, but I was ready for the Black Friday sales.  Since then I've added a few pieces and reset a few pieces and hauled a few pieces for outside the shop.

 

 This is a cool 100 y.o. homemade ladder.  I wouldn't crawl up on it, but it will make a great decorating piece leaning on a wall or suspended from the ceiling.

 I really like this sleigh bed, it will make a cool Christmas tree stand.  (Kris did point out that the two curved uprights in the front look like cobras).

 Two of the school locker units made it to Buffalo.  This on is outside and has great festive holiday color.

 The buffalo and deer mounts are on top of pieces of old tin siding.

 Chilly Willy sits between two homemade Christmas candles from 1947.  They are all atop an antique desk that has been cut down to coffee table height.

 The other locker unit sits on the border with the next space.

 Nice stained glass window also hangs above the line.

 The coat is Labrador seal.  I tried to convince Babe that this is what happens to naughty Labradors, but he knew that he isn't a seal.

 The State had 100's of these signs made for the old rural burning permit program.

 A very weird box covered with a 1938 license plate.

 Gooseneck soup.

 The best stove topper that I've ever owned.

 School map of the World circa 1964.

 The red sign on its side is the tail of an old battery charging windmill.

The stop arm from a school bus.

Mr. Flannery

More Furniture Dancing This Week

I did it to myself again tonight.  I bought 9 heavy steel locker units from an on line auction.  They are beautiful but will involve a bunch of lifting and tugging to get them on my trailer and to the shop.

 

I also bought a pallet filled with 12 vintage stage lights.  I guess that I will be making industrial lamps this winter.

Mr. Flannery

I Do Like the Swans

The weather's getting colder and many of the denizens of the Great White North are headed south for their winter vacation.  The lake that I live on is deep and usually remains open well into December.  This means that many of the birds headed south congregate on the lake.  My favorites are the swans.  They feed right off my shore and are probably less than 50 feet from my office.  Right now there are about 100 swans, hundreds of geese and ducks and a couple of Artic loons right outside my door.  The swans are fearless in their element.  Babe will charge to the shore barking.  The swans will slowly paddle another 2-3 into the lake and honk at Babe.  Babe, who has learned that trying to swim after them is a losing proposition, walks away and the swans paddle back the 2-3 feet that they given up.

The photo was taken from my office door.  Sunny, but cold here on the tundra.  And the swans are wonderful to watch.

Mr. Flannery

The November Hog Pen at Second Hand Rose

It was a tough weekend for me.  I spent most of the day both Saturday and Sunday getting my space ready for the November 2013 sale at Second Hand Rose in Buffalo, Minnesota.  The other dealers have their spaces in their usual spectacular holiday order.  And as usual my space has the hogs lined up from wall to wall and floor to ceiling.  I have one of the most diverse presentations ever.  There is the strange, the unusual, the one of a kind and even a great big "what the hell is it".

 

I have 5 blow mold Christmas candles, four lamps that I assembled myself, 3 vintage Christmas tree stands,  2 cream can top urns and a heavy steel horse sign.

 

 A hundred year old buffalo head mount.

 A steel double sided Appaloosa Horses sign

 illuminated by a homemade spotlight on a steel stand.

 A cello in front of a steel ledger desk and

 next to a table that I made.

 Maple top work bench with a tray full of deer

 antlers and other cool things.

 The "tree" on the slab top table is a US Forest

 Service message board from 1937.

 This great old green cased clock is atop

 two coffee tables and under two end tables.

 Cast iron pot belly stove topper will make a great

 center piece on a holiday table.

 Four cast iron stands painted blue, pink,
yellow and white a long time ago.

 5 vintage blow mold Christmas candles next to

 2 big school roll up maps.

 Another great old wall clock atop a milk/butter mixing calculator.

Leather suitcase.

Everything is ready for the sale. So I can do some real work this week.

Mr. Flannery