Sales, Schneckens and Steaks

On Saturday morning we ate a quick breakfast, then headed out to the town of Princeton (WI), where there is a weekly flea market. They sell everything from fresh fruits and vegetables, to plants and flowers, socks and T-shirts, cheese and pickles, antiques, home-made crafts, used books, and anything else you could possible want and/or need.

Linda and I have been coming to this flea market for years so we're accustomed to how it is set up, and how each of us shop. (We both kind of wander, with me keeping an eye on her in the distance.)

One time I was driving home from the market. Also in the car were my husband Jim, Linda, her husband (also named Jim), and her brother-in-law, Mickey. Three men, two women. Got the picture? It was a two lane country road. The car in front of me was turning left. Oncoming cars were preventing the car from turning so we were waiting.

Mickey said, "Go around him," even though there is no lane there - just a muddy shoulder.

Jim, (Linda's hubby) said, "You'd better not. Just wait. Plus you'll get the car all dirty."

My husband wisely kept his mouth shut (for once).

"Go around him!" Mickey urged again.

So I jumped. I drove around the car. Done.

Did I mention that my niece, Kelly, was following me in her car? Let me give you a little background about her.

She drives like a maniac.

Anycop, I got to a small town and slowed down to 25 mph and all of a sudden saw a cop with his lights flashing come up behind us (both me AND my niece). So I immediately pulled over, and Kelly followed suit.

I laughed and said some snarky remark about, "Oh I wonder what Kelly did now!"

Boy was I surprised when the cop came up to my window and scared the bejesus out of me! I actually let out a little scream!

"Sorry I scared you," He said.

"That's okay," I replied. Like, duh, what else am I supposed to say?

"Do you know why I stopped you?" He continued.

In my head I'm thinking, "ME? You stopped ME?" But I said, "No, I don't."

"Well, back there a mile or so, you passed that car that was turning. You drove on the shoulder. There was no passing lane."

"Oh." All the while I'm thinking, "WHY DID I LISTEN TO A MAN TELLING ME TO GO?"

"Well, I'm not going to give you a ticket, but this is just a warning. You can't pass on the shoulder like that."

"Okay, officer, thank you for telling me."

Did I also mention how Kelly beeped her horn, smiled HUGELY, as she drove by, while the cop was talking to me? Why I oughta.....

All of us in the car had a good laugh over the incident.

But I digress....

Linda is always looking for things to put in her garden (both at home and in Wisconsin). She bought a few garden items and got a good deal on a kid's bike to leave up at the trailer.

I scored on a baby swing for Lily and picked up some paperbacks.

Pam only bought socks, but they were a steal at a buck a pair!

I didn't bring my camera with me (shame on me!) so I had to rely on my cellphone again in a pinch.

I came across this couple who were peddling their bakery goodies. I asked them if I could take their picture for my blog and the wife said, "Do you hear that, honey? We're going to be FAMOUS!"



As they posed for this photo, she turned to her husband and said, "Don't look short!" (She was about 2 inches taller than him.) So she bent her knees a little so he would appear taller than her. Her secret is out now, though!

Here is the menu of what they were offering.



I loved the way the man pronounced the words, like "schnecken". Say it. "Schnecken". Isn't that fun? It means "snail" in German. This is what the pastry looks like.



You can see why it's called that, yes? Oh, and that's Linda's pretty plate that the pastry is on. Yep, we bought one to taste, along with this oatmeal/raspberry/orange scone



and this chocolate croissant that had a thick piece of dark chocolate in the center. How it didn't melt during baking is a mystery.



They also had some ciabatta bread (which literally means "carpet slipper" in Italian) (Gosh the things you learn from my blog!). The bread was THE BEST. Crusty on the outside, fresh on the inside. We ate it for lunch, along with our homemade tomato salad, some provolone cheese, and fresh fruit. Delish!

Here is Pam re-enacting the grasshopper scene with Linda's garden statue.



We wiled away the afternoon playing games - dominoes and Bananagrams.



Did you ever play that? It's a fun game, similar to Scrabble, but each player makes their own puzzle.

Our menu for supper was steaks on the grill, baked potatoes and corn on the cob. Mmmm...

Here's a quick and easy recipe for steak.

Take meat out of refrigerator to bring to room temperature before cooking (around 20 minutes prior)

Drizzle both sides with olive oil and rub in

Salt both sides

Pepper both sides

finely dice or grate one garlic head for two steaks; then rub pieces onto each steak

Grill (usually about 8 minutes per side for medium)

Enjoy!

And finally, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this sign with you. Somebody sounds like a braggart!