Back in the 19th Century!

I have an Adam update but it can wait till tomorrow. It's late and I'd like to direct you to my other blog where I'm talking about the museum's root cellar. I personally find it fascinating, how they store food until spring right in the ground. Just fascinating. Why do I find this fascinating? I don't actually know. I just do.... if all goes well they'll be unearthing it in March to make soup for a conference we're hosting. How neat is this....That's a soup I want to try

The couple pictured are the proud owners of Maylee, the pioneer cat. She's the twin to my own kitten Amelia. And while Amelia sleeps on a toile cushion in my kitchen, Maylee is out hunting mice in the pioneer cabin. They do look almost exactly alike though.

 While I was looking through some pictures at the museum today I came across this shot of me as a pioneer. I love this one. I'm making (what else) butter. I don't look terribly good but I really look a pioneer. LOVE IT. I'm thinking of making it my Christmas card this year. 

Joking...kind of....

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Where I Decide Not To Forage For Food

Yesterday we went pumpkin and apple picking. While there, I noticed a large tree that had many many shiny gorgeous chestnuts surrounding it's base.

Sweet Chestnuts

I love roasted chestnuts. I love them plain and with roasted Brussels Sprouts. I love them in stew. I love them with a glass of red wine. Love them! I picked some up off the ground. My daughter told me to drop them because she didn't want them in the car.

I didn't listen to her and hid them from her in my pockets.

A while later as we continued to drive I was musing on my luck at finding the nuts and that I was going to roast them for dinner.

My daughter, upon hearing this, asked if I brought some chestnuts with us. When I answered "Yes" she freaked out. She cried and told me to throw them out the window. She told me I shouldn't eat them. That I couldn't eat them. I laughed at her (nicely)  because I roast them all the time. She got really irate. It was pretty crazy because she loves picking plants and eating them. This year especially, she has been all in my herb garden learning their names and which ones are edible. (don't worry, she knows exactly which ones are and which ones she can try and aside from a brief period when all she wanted to do was cut and carry chives around with her, all has been fine. Trust me, you don't want to travel around with a child who smells like onions.)

But she was so irate that I told her I would look them up on the computer when I got home.

And when I got home, I found out the chestnuts were Horse Chestnuts. Toxic to humans Horse Chestnuts......That look a lot like the Sweet Chestnuts that I love. 

Horse Chestnuts

From Poisonous Plants Website: "Horse chestnut poisoning is rarely fatal, but typically causes vomiting, loss of coordination, stupor, and occasionally, paralysis." Most poisonings occur from people roasting and eating the fruit in the mistaken belief that they are the same as sweet chestnuts. They aren’t!

I don't know how she knew I should not eat them or really, what made her feel that way. Did she have a hunch? Was her intuition kicking in while I blatantly ignored mine in the face of free food???? (God, I AM a glutton.....)

I told her I was wrong and she was right and that we should not and would not be eating those nuts. 

At any rate, this all became a very very good lesson about NOT just eating something if you aren't sure what it is/where it came from. And even if you are sure, you need to be really sure. (And possibly, just buy all your nuts at the store.)

However, I think I may be the one who learned this lesson....

10-10-10

10-10-10


Dug potatoes before supper & after Bess and I gathered wood & I sawed up xxxx for the fireplace.


W. cool, cloudy
R. 10

10-10-10

Emma better. Attended fall festival at nature center. Over Will home to drop Emma off w/ Mr & Mrs R to stay all night. Spoke to Deanna M on the telephone. Over Gary & Susan's to supper.


W. Sunny, beautiful fall day.
R. Undetermined at this point.

October 8 & 9, 1910

October 8, 1910


Started to work all day Saturday. Bess down to sewing club at hXXs to supper & I over home. Cut my fingers on lantern chimney. Got wood at xxx  xxxxx. 


W. Cold
R. 12


October 9, 1910


Went to S.S. & B & K and I walked (ok, he's using a fountain pen and it's HARD to read. Suffice to say they walked all over a number of streets whose names I cannot make out.) walked back through the park over home to supper. 


W. Cloudy Cold
R. 9:30

October 7, 1910

Dug potatoes before supper & sat  in the kitchen till about 9 & went to bed early.

W. Colder
R. 10

I meant to mention this yesterday, but I think perhaps it makes more sense today. Now that he's working 9 hrs a day, 6 days a week, I wonder if his schedule will slow down a bit. Her certainly seems tired this evening.



2010


Worked at the museum today and walked around on lunch taking pictures. Gorgeous fall day. Over Will's home to supper & saw Mr & Mrs R. Emma in bed sick this evening. Cat eating houseplants.


W. Sunny, Fine.
R. 10:50

Adam & Bess Are Back!

My oh my, look how much time has gone by with an update from Adam and Bess. How I've missed them. I haven't even picked up the diary because each time I did I felt mildly guilty. This summer was a busy one for me. (and Adam too!)

I've decided to start with October 1st and just tell you what happened in August & September. (And it's 10:09 when I'm starting this-I'm supposed to be in bed at 11, remember?!?!-That sleep thing is kind of working out for me. When I actually go to bed I early on time I feel great. However, I haven't done it every night. More on sleep another time.

So Adam and Bess. 

Adam spent much of August & September painting the house, staining the stairs, finishing the back porch. This one again, makes me feel like they have a newly built home. (Sometime I'll go to Syracuse and look for it.) In early August they went on vacation to their "camp" and they went with a lot of the people you're already familiar with. It seems like this is a place they've been before and plan on going back to as they do some work on the cottage while there. It rains A LOT and Bess wants to go home. One night, (not on vacation) Adam "gets Bess started" and she gets mad and won't talk to him all night. He gets up early the  next morning and makes sure to mention he "Made my own breakfast" and tried to get out before Bess was up. Bess however, comes down before he leaves and he goes to work "sulkey" That evening they don't even talk until bed. It must have been a doosie of a fight. They next day they go to someone's house and all seems fine. They went to the State fair. He also gets off early from work because of the Fair but he comes home and paints instead. His mother visits Rochester, which makes me wonder who she was visiting, were they relatives? Did that branch of the family end up with this diary???? He works more around the house. He bought 2 peach baskets for  5 cents. He develops pictures. He picks tomatoes. He goes bowling. He's making copper lanterns. 


October 1, 1910 

Did not wake up till 7 a.m. & telephoned Bob (this was the entry that I found after I assumed he had no phone) & stayed home & painted all day. It was very windy & could hardly hold the ladder up. Kathy up and stayed. 


W. Cold & Windy
R. 10

October 2, 1910


xxxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxx to see Clara & came over to the house. Bess and I to her church and I to S.S. I walked down to James st & down to the xxxxx house after supper. 


W. Cold
R. 12:30

October 3, 1910


Started to work 9 hours & 6 days at the shop. Some school teachers up in the afternoon & Kathy stayed to supper. Gertie over and B & I walked down to the Hair Makers & to the car with her. She is looking and feeling fine. 


W. xxx, windy
R. 9 

You may remember back in July, Gertie was sick in Philadelphia and they didn't think she was going to make it.  I'm sure you're glad to see her on the mend, I sure was. Does she need a wig I wonder?? What the heck is a Hair Maker (and that is capitalized in the diary.) And I it's also written very clearly. I can't find any use of those words together like that.

October 4, 1910 

Stayed home. xxxx over and I washed my aprons & dug some potatoes. King Manuel of Portugal dethroned by the Republicans. 


W. Windy, Warm
R. 10:00

Oh, my Historian Adam. Of course, he's not really a historian as much as he's a news guy, if you think about it. It's history now, but was news back then. 

Apparently King Manuel was the last of the monarchy.

From Wikipedia:
Between October 4–5, 1910, the Republican Revolution erupted in the streets of Lisbon. What started as a military coup commenced by soldiers, was joined by some civilians and municipal guards attacking the loyal garrisons and the royal palace, while the guns from a warship added to the cannonade. The Palace of Necessidades (then official residence of the young King) was bombarded, forcing D. Manuel to move to the Mafra National Palace, where he rendezvoused with his mother, Queen D. Amélia and his grandmother, the Queen Mother Maria Pia of Savoy. Strangely, popular reaction to the events did not materialize: pictures from the square in front of the City Hall in Lisbon (where the declaration of the Republic occurred) did not show an overwhelming multitude, and even some in the military were fearful that their actions would not be successful.^[7] One day later, once it was clear that the Republicans had taken the country, D. Manuel II decided to embark from Ericeira on the royal yacht Amélia IV for Oporto. It is unclear whether officials of the monarchy motivated D. Manuel to change his intentions^[8], or whether he was forced to change his destination enroute^[9]: the Royal Family disembarked in Gibraltar shortly later, after they received notice that Oporto had fallen to the Republicans. The coup d'etat was complete, and the Royal Family departed for exile^[10], arriving in England, where he was received by King George V. 

Also, he's digging potatoes. Remember all of those 250 hills of potatoes in his back yard. I wonder how his crop grew.  Mine was nice, but small. I still have some out there that I need to dig as well. 

October 5, 1910


Up home to supper & I went to the gym & met Bess at 9:45. 


W. Fine, some rain
R. 10:30


October 6, 1910


Bess up home and it rained steady after 4 p.m. & I up to Ma's to supper & met Bess at 9:15.


W. Hot all day till the rain. 
R. 10:30

I love when I'm caught up and I can compare it to the current day.

W. It was cold and rainy here today.

Prizewinning Pound Cake

I told you it was good. 

And I guess I was right because this weekend, I entered my favorite pound cake at the Agricultural Society Fair & Exposition at the Genesee Country Village & Museum and I took home the BLUE RIBBON for it!!

I entered the 21st century pound cake category because to enter the 19th century category you need to cook your entry in a cast iron stove, or over a fire or in a fireplace oven. I just didn't have access to that!

However, I did add a healthy dose of rosewater in place of the vanilla to give it a 19th century flair. What probably helped me win it though, was the rose cake pan that I borrowed from my MIL as well as the blue willow plate that I served it on.

I'll be perfectly honest, there were only 4 cakes in the pound cake category. Still, I've never won anything with my cooking or baking so I was pretty tickled.

I was also a judge-I judged flavored vinegar (all were fantastic) and 2 kids categories-cut & rolled sugar cookies and a 19th century craft. The craft was a woven (on a loom) scarf. It was the only entry in the category. But it was done by a CHILD and it was GORGEOUS. I'm SO taking a weaving class at the museum sometime.

We had a lot of fun.

We pet baby cows

I love looking at all the different heirloom produce displayed. 

 

We saw a horse powered threshing machine. I've read about this and have never seen it before so this was neat

 We visited my pioneer Deanna, the mid-wife over at Keiffer's Place. Check out that Prussian Blue door behind her! It's a color original to the house! Isn't that wild! (also check out her 19th century hair!) While we were there we also met an exchange student from Finland who was here through the Rotary Club-Just like my friend Mari 20 years ago!

I'd also really like to spin and dye my own yard, however, I doubt that I would like anyone enough to give away something I knit with this kind of yarn so perhaps not.... 

My girl had a blast in the children's hands-on exhibit in the Mackay Homestead.

And she visited the Romulus Female Seminary twice because she had so much fun at the desk. 

The only indoor toilet in the village. Look closely at this because it cracks me up. There are 2 seats here!!! Really?? Were people really sitting here together at one time??? Who would want to do that?

 They had these crazy dancers that my daughter loved. They wore bells and a lot of flair. They also did a lot of audience participation dances... I did one that we had to do all kinds of hand claps and another where we had to bang sticks together. (notice I'm not posting those pictures). This round I sat out and took pictures while my lucky husband got to dance in the circle.