Street Fair, Tailgating

In addition to coffee ⛾ I enjoy street fairs.
The Woodlawn Market takes place about four times a year. It has become a popular place because of the revitalization that is and has taken place in the area. Rehabbing of desolate buildings into updated homes or into new uses such as businesses, clinics, child care and growth initiatives.

Booths at the Woodlawn Street Market

On market days vendor tents abound.  Food, produce stand, artisan clothing, art, jewelry, human interest groups. There may even be a few freestyle dancers.

I always accept the business cards of the various booths I visit. Here are just a few. Many of the artists dislike having their work photographed and so I never do unless I ask first. 

Below are some of the items I did buy

I was told that the green tops of radishes are edible. I found a recipe online, cooking them the same way as turnip greens are cooked. They have a little more bite than turnips greens. I remedied that by adding a little sugar.  They were good but unpleasantly aromatic. I also took some of the bottoms and baked them in the oven the same way I've done other root vegetables in the past. Make sure you wash  everything well because they were pretty gritty.    

Radishes before cleaning

Radishes before baking

Cooked radishes and radish green

The bowl cozy comes in handy when removing hot foods from the microwave .

Next day tailgating

A friend invited me to her church for their annual tailgating event. Church service is first held inside. Afterwards congregants flood the church grounds where tents, food and activities abound.

There were car  and motorcycle exhibits .

Children enjoyed the whirly car rides

Train rides around the property were enjoyed. There were other 

attractions also. Inside there was even a Cake Walk.

Line dancers (I don't remember the name of the group.)😞

This will be my first attempt at trying to upload a video on Windows 10😐 I've got a feeling it's not going to show. 

That's it***

Trick or Treat

I haven't passed out Halloween candy in about 23 years. Most times I keep the outside lights off which deters trick-or-treaters from ringing the bell.
Many go to churches, businesses or  homes of friends for their Halloween treats.
A lot more children live on my street than what once did. So this year I put out decorations (for the first time in my adult life) to let them know I'm on board with the holiday tradition.

I bought this gauzy pumpkin  spirit at Dollar General for $4.00 But

I wish I'd waited and gotten something very similar from the Dollar Store.

It looked pretty plain just hanging on the tree so I decided to add some things.

I got empty water bottles and sprayed them black. There's also a

plastic cup I painted purple. 

Those "potion" bottles needed labels so I had these printed at Office Depot. 

You'll see down below what was done with the RAID.

Here are the potion bottles with their labels. You probably

have some of these in your pantry.😊

You can't mix your potions any old way. You need the correct recipe.

Broomstick Fleas won't always work in place of Brain Juice. That's why

you need a books of SPELLS.

After mixing the concoction  you need something to drink it from.

These plastic chains were dabbed with red and silver paint.

They'll hang from the tree limbs with the potion bottles attached.

No longer a plain pumpkin with no personality. Purple cup in right hand

chains of potions hanging from the tree and in one hand. Book of SPELLS

at the tree base in case you need that special spell for someone special.

Another $1 diddy. It too was lacking personality so you see what I did.

Couldn't let the door go undressed. Made the bats from heavy weight black paper. Dotted on the eyes and mouth.

Added eyeballs and blood at the mouth of the skeleton.

Spider in one hand and a can of RAID in the other. Anything could happen.

I enjoyed making these and setting them out. I made sure I bought candy that kids like but I don't. Anything leftover will be given away.

That's it***🦇

The Caffeinator

My flavor for that week

In case you didn’t know, I like drinking coffee. I enjoy going through the ritual of measuring the coffee and the water and hearing that click when I hook the fragrance filled coffee basket to the coffee maker.  That smell while brewing? Ummmm.


I haven’t always been a coffee drinker.  At one time I hated the stuff and wondered what the appeal was. I was a tea drinker. Lemon, sugar, good to go. While away at college I developed crazy hay fever and sinus problems which made me miserable.  There were no OTC “non-drowsy” hay fever relievers at that time. I had no alternative but to use what was available and they all caused drowsiness. Needing to stay awake at work I resorted to drinking coffee.  Strangely, after about ten years the problem went away. My seasonal allergies are so small now, I rarely take anything. Go figure.

At a recent library program the owner of Red Bike coffee extolled the wonders of coffee. Red Bike is a small operation located in Irondale, Alabama. 

 Jon Robles is the owner and what a coffee enthusiast he is.  He gave us coffee information from Genesis to Revelation. He really knows his stuff.  Jon orders coffee through fair trade methods. Fair trade allows workers in the coffee business to be treated and paid in an equitable manner.  

Unroasted coffee beans and their place of origin

Coffee goes through a lot before it reaches its purchaser.

• Coffee grows on a small bush or tree.

• Once the coffee cherries are picked, the bean must be separated from the fruit. This can take place by hand or machine.

• The beans must then be soaked removing any husks or unwanted matter. The beans will fall to the bottom of the water.

• Beans must then be dried.

Two unroasted coffee beans

• Once dried, the beans are bagged. Now the beans begin their journey to their new home to be roasted and brewed into java juice.

All of the fixings for YOUR coffee

The roasting process is similar to that of popping corn. The beans are placed in a container that is constantly moving. As the beans roast they pop and sizzle because of the small amount of water that has turned into steam inside the bean, the same as in a popcorn kernel. Trial and error on timing determines how long the beans should roast to give the best flavor.  

Short time= light roast.

 Long time =dark roast. 

Two of the four offerings presented by Red Bike Coffee

True coffee drinkers approach the drink like a fine wine. They sniff the brew, taste a little on the tongue and swirl it around. Then they look for hints of various flavors, and notes. 

Not me. I want that precious jolt of caffeine to get my body and my day started.

Red Bike offers only three or four flavors. They’re pretty much coffee purists and don’t offer pumpkin spice, peppermint patty or other cutesy names and flavors. No problem. You can always make your own brewed coffee and add flavored syrups of your choice.

For fellow coffee drinkers, coffee is a good mediator, ice breaker, soother and bonder.
That's it***

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center- Cincinnati, Ohio

The Freedom Center covers not only the era of slavery and all its limbs but also delves into women’s rights and accomplishments, Native American removal and resistance revolts, Civil War, and Reconstruction.

This vignette shows men displaying and haggling over the price and condition of human chattel. Chained African men are shown clearly exhausted from their torturous, shackled journey across sea.

A life size exhibit of an authentic slave pen. This pen was discovered at a farm in Mason County KY. Most of the wood is authentic with some timbers being replaced where needed. It was owned by Capt. John H. Anderson. This was a temporary holding site until slaves walked 750 miles to a place known as “Forks in the Road” to be auctioned off in Mississippi.

Found at Maplewood farm in Boone, County KY, this cast-iron pot most likely was used to feed slaves to give them nourishment. Cast iron pots were used by Europeans and Africans.  Africans referred to it as “potjie” (pot food).  Cast iron cookware is still a favorite today.

Bounty for a runaway slave

Dates of various atrocities that took place during the fight for freedom.

Exodusters-After being freed many former slaves exited (Exodus) their former slave homes seeking to buy land and set up homes and jobs of their own.  One such person was William “Pap” Singleton. Born into slavery he escaped to Canada later returning and opening a boarding house in Detroit. Other former slaves often joined together incorporating into towns. Some former towns were Africa Town, Rosewood, Sugarland and others.

Elijah Parrish Lovejoy gave his life as an abolitionist. Thinking free states would agree with him regarding the lynching of a Black man, he published the St. Louis Observer which constantly spoke against slavery. His press was destroyed three times by an anti-abolitionist mob. On the third time he was shot and killed.

William Lloyd Garrison, editor of The Liberator wrote against slavery and other unjust causes.

Those in league with the freedom of slaves most often provided “safe houses.” Often, they were hidden in cellars, barns, underground tunnels and hidden panels in floors and walls. Various clues were left in view for escapees to detect a safe house. A lantern may have been left in the window. A shawl thrown across a clothesline might signal a safe house.

Though much traveling was done on foot, other sympathizers against slavery might usher the slaves by hiding them in a false bottom of a wagon.

The Freedman’s Bank and Trust was established to teach the newly freed how to handle finances and encouraging them to save and gain capital with their funds. This was the first bank many had dealt with. Unfortunately, many lost their money through mishandling of funds and swindle. Frederick Douglass tried to help by investing $10,000 of his own money but, it was too little too late.

This former slave dealer’s home is scheduled to become a luxury golf course with slave quarters serving as bed and breakfast cottages.

So much to be seen and so much education. I could not digest it all with one visit. I was pleased with what I did learn and thirst for more.

In a later post I will address modern day slavery which was also covered at the Freedom Center. 

That's it***