Trying a Tiny House on for Size

After The Colonel and I attended the 18th Century wedding in Sainte Genevieve, MO and began our return trip back home, we made a little side trip to Dover, TN. There, we stayed in a tiny house Air B&B for three days.

We have always wanted to stay in one (once we knew they were a thing). This tiny house was beautiful. It was owned by a mother/daughter team. It was situated on high ground along the Cumberland River. 

We drove along the winding, hilly road until our GPS told us our destination was on our left. We pulled up to this pretty house. You get a sense of the size of the house next to our truck parked alongside.

It stormed the whole time we were in Dover, so sadly we did not take advantage of some of the amenities the tiny house had to offer like the firepit and riverside seating. The house was cozy so that did not impact us much.

We walked up to the front porch and then opened the door. What we walked into made us almost giddy. It was beautiful and spacious for its size.

The main room flowed into the kitchen. Down the short hall, on the right was a set of bunk beds and on the left was the spacious bathroom with a huge shower (cannot believe I forgot to take a photo of it). At the end of the hall was the master bedroom. Up the ladder in the kitchen was a good-sized loft. I slept in the bedroom and The Colonel slept on the bottom bunk in the hall. We chose not to use the loft because the ceiling was a bit too low for us and our older knees did not want to crawl around on the hardwood floors. We both thought it would be a perfect place for youngsters to sleep. There was also a full-sized washer and dryer (stackable) which we took advantage of. 

The tiny house had an electric fireplace in it, and we turned it on for atmosphere more than necessity. The back porch was a very nice spot but again we did not use it as the weather was very stormy. 

We walked down to the river. It was very steep and thank goodness they had installed a rope handrail to assist us in the coming and going. The tiny house was perched on top of the hill above the river.

This is the pretty firepit we passed along the way. Too bad we could not use it during our stay.

The tiny house was very near to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and Fort Donelson.I will tell you about that in another post.

The Colonel and I enjoyed our stay in the tiny house and believed we could stay in one as a vacation home but not live in one full time. There was not enough room for an office or craft area. I suppose you could add a couple of out buildings if you chose to live tiny all the time. Being able to spend time out of doors would be beneficial too. We are glad we had the opportunity to experience living in a tiny house.

A Stop in the Land of Lincoln

The Colonel and I are history geeks as you know if you have been reading my blog for any amount of time. While we were visiting Missouri earlier this year, we crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois and checked out some of the bits of history there.

We happened to stumble across this gem...

…this rock with a plaque attached and these life-sized statues of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas as well as a couple informational boards within a beautiful, shady park.

These items memorialized the third senatorial debate between Lincoln and Douglas which was held in Jonesboro, Illinois.

In 1858, Lincoln and Douglas participated in seven debates about the fate of slavery which were held in various cities in Illinois (a non slave state). The main issues of the debates were slavery extension into the territories of the United States. Douglas charged Lincoln stood for racial equality and Lincoln accused Douglas of being unfaithful to the intent of the framers of the Constitution by promoting states rights as a means to perpetuate slavery. Douglas argued that whites should decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery, while Lincoln claimed slavery was immoral and should eventually be abolished. Douglas chose Jonesboro for the location of the third debate because of its southern sympathies.

This debate (as well as all of the others) lasted three hours and it was attended by less than 1500 people-the smallest crowd in the series of debates.

In the 1858 midterm election, Douglas would keep his Illinois Senate seat but Lincoln won national acclaim. He would win the U.S. Presidency two years later in 1860.

What a nice little memorial of history. You never know what you may find and learn when you travel the roads of this great country of ours.

Rockin' History in the Middle of the Mississippi River

When The Colonel and I were in Sainte Genevieve, MO in October of 2023, we had wanted to stop by an historical, natural landmark on our way back home but the weather was stormy and we were time constrained. So, when we left Ste. Gen. after the 18th Century wedding festivities this May, we made sure to stop by Tower Rock. The weather was perfect and we had plenty of time.

We made our way along the narrow, gravel road (pictured above). This road runs alongside the Mississippi River. We finally arrived at our destination (I had to remove a black bra from the sign before I took this photo).

Smack-dab in the middle of the Mississippi River is Tower Rock. It is also known as "Grand Tower" and is a rock formation and landmark island in the river. It is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. 

Over the centuries it has gone by several other names such as, Cap de Roche, Cap St. Croix, Croix la Tour, La Roche de la Croix, Rock of St. Cosme, Castle Rock and Devil's Tower.

Earliest mention of Tower Rock was in 1673 by French missionary Jacques Marquette. He wrote the rock was dreaded by the "savages" and a Manitou or demon lived there and it devoured travelers. 

Earliest European inhabitants of Tower Rock were River Pirates. In 1803, the pirate haven was destroyed by U.S. Army Dragoons from Fort Kaskaskia.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed by Tower Rock on their Corps of Discovery adventure. Lewis stated, "Rivermen who passed it celebrated in a similar way as sailors crossing the equator, by raising drinks of spirits."

The Colonel and I stood along the Mississippi River admiring the majestic beauty of Tower Rock. The waters of the river were swiftly passing the rocky monument. There were huge tree trunks being carried along the strong current and there were some eddies swirling between us and the rock. We could see how this could be a hazard to navigation to those traversing the great river. 

We were very glad to have added Tower Rock to a stop along the way home this time. If ever you are near the town of Wittenberg, Missouri or across the Mississippi River in Grand Tower, Illinois, look to the middle of the river and enjoy the view of Tower Rock

Potluck Pitch-In

Three weeks before the wedding of Ron and Justine, The Colonel and I made a trial-run, half-batch of the Creole Red Beans and Carolina Purlow Rice that we wanted to take to the wedding reception potluck. It was so very delicious and would be perfect to take as a dish for the potluck. 

The Colonel found the recipe on line from Sense and Edibility. Once we knew that the recipe was a winner, The Colonel began getting the ingredients in order (for a full batch) so that they would be easy to transport for the 16-hour drive from Florida to Missouri when the time came. First he bought the bacon and andouille sausage, cut it up and froze it. Next, he got together all of the dried herbs and spices and put them in a sealed, glass jar. He sorted the red beans and sealed them in a 2-gallon zip lock bag. The Colonel would buy the fresh ingredients, onion, green bell pepper, celery, garlic, jalapeno and tomato paste from a store when we arrived in Sainte Genevieve. He measured out the dried rice and put that in a zip lock bag as well. 

We wanted to put our potluck dishes in something nice. I suggested terrines. We visited our local Goodwill store and to our amazement, found two terrines right off. They would be perfect. One of them had what looked like a crack in it. When we got them home, we filled the "cracked" one with water and left it in the sink overnight. No leaks! We also purchased serving spoons from the local dollar store. We had no intention of bringing the terrines or serving spoons back to Florida. 

Time to hit the road...we packed the truck and especially made sure we had all the bean and rice fixings with us and our favorite pot to cook them in. We also packed our crockpot (and bought a smaller one for the rice at a Walmart near Ste. Gen.). Not knowing if our Air B&B would have a sharp knife and cutting board, The Colonel also packed those. 

We stopped for the night about 5 hours outside of Ste. Gen. When we gassed up the truck the next morning, we also purchased a couple of bottles of water...it was time to start soaking the beans. The Colonel opened the huge zip lock bag and poured the water over the dried beans. The bag was then placed in a large plastic bowl with a lid. 

We arrived in Ste. Gen. and checked into our Air B&B on Thursday. We would begin cooking the beans that evening after we had dinner at a little restaurant down the street from us. We wanted to cook the beans then, because as we all know, beans, soups and stews taste better when they have a day to meld together all their yumminess. 

Time to start the beans...The Colonel began to sauté the bacon and sausage.

Then came the vegetables.

In went the soaked beans, herbs and spices and the water.

The beans cooked until they were tender. It was time to cool them down so that we could put them in the little, college fridge in the kitchen. I suggested we fill the sink with ice and put the bean soup back into the big plastic bowl that was used to soak the beans in and put the bowl into the ice-filled sink. That did the trick. Soon the beans were cool enough to put in the fridge. The fridge needed a little help to keep the beans cold enough, so we put the ice in the sink into a zip lock bag and set that bag on top of the plastic bowl in the fridge. Perfect. Now to let them meld until Saturday morning.

Saturday morning arrived and it was time to get the beans warmed up for the wedding reception. The  Colonel woke up at 6 am to start the heating up process. He put the cold beans in our large crock pot and put it on high. We stirred them occasionally. While the beans warmed, The Colonel began cooking his rice.

The rice recipe was a purlow style (a rice that starts with a flavorful base). The Colonel chose to use four rashers (a thin slice of bacon), boiled in three cups of water. Once the rashers were completely cooked, they were removed and the 1-1/2 cups of rice was cooked in the bacon flavored water.

When the rice was done, The Colonel transferred it to the small crockpot to keep it warm.

We took our crockpots of red beans and rice to the house where the wedding reception would be later and plugged them in to keep everything warm. We had our two Goodwill terrines with us too and two large serving spoons.

When it was time to set out our dishes for the reception, The Colonel spooned the red beans into one of the terrines. It looked like an old 18th century terrine. Perfect. 

The rice went into the other terrine.

The Colonel made signs for the red beans and rice. He even put a QR code on the bean sign that once scanned, would send you to the recipe he used. One of the other guests loved the beans and told us she scanned for the recipe. That pleased The Colonel very much.

All of the food we partook of at the potluck was delicious but I must say, I think The Colonel's red beans and rice were the most delicious and I am not just saying that because he made them (okay, well, maybe just a little).

Night of the Werewolf

The second time The Colonel and I visited Sainte Genevieve, Missouri (that was when we first met Ron and Justine from YouTube) was in October of 2023. Because we had been watching Ron and Justine's YouTube channels, we heard, through them, about a very interesting event being presented by The Centre for French Colonial Life. When we heard about the event, we knew we had to attend.

The event was called Nuit de Loup-Garou or Night of the Werewolf. It was held on the third Saturday of October and the weather was perfect. The event is an annual, family-friendly one designed to share the lore of the early French settlers and their love of fun social family gatherings while offering some educational activities before Halloween approached.

While staying in Ste. Gen., we lodged in a very beautiful log cabin. It had been a former corn crib built c. 1840.

The upstairs bedroom.

The downstairs bed, right off the front door and across from the sitting room.

There was a microwave hidden in a cupboard along the wall, perpendicular to the sink.

There was a television hidden behind the quilt on the wall of the sitting room.

Such a darling place and Kandye who owns and runs the Air B&B (Sassafras Creek Cabin) was so very friendly. It felt as if we had known her forever. 

Evening was approaching and it was time to head to The Centre for French Colonial Life and the Nuit de Loup-Garou. Ron and Justine are associated with the Centre and would be key players in the night's program. We briefly spoke with them before the program began.

A little history about werewolves...The word werewolf literally means man-wolf. Werewolves are thought to have been purposely placed under a curse or affliction from a bite or scratch of another werewolf. Their transformations happen on a night of a full moon and they return to their human form by day.

By the Middle Ages, many Europeans believed wolves were instruments of the devil and so they were hunted. Trials of supposed werewolves emerged in what is now Switzerland in the early 15th century and spread throughout Europe in the 16th, peaked in the 17th and subsided in the 18th century.

When hunting werewolves, the French did not want to kill them, they regarded them as a human gone astray and believed that there was a possibility that they could be redeemed. 

It was time for the night's program to begin. The Colonel and I joined the others around a roaring fire. An 18th Century French priest told tales of the werewolf.

The town's Militia were on duty, awaiting the call to arms and to patrol the nearby streets to protect us from possible werewolves.

Suddenly, Justine ran into the Militia's camp and told us that she and her fiancé Ron had been walking together when all of he sudden an animal attacked Ron. She believed it was a werewolf. Soon the call rang out. A werewolf had been sighted and Ron was missing. It was feared the werewolf had bitten him and he was now in danger of becoming one himself. Ron, must be found. The Colonel and I, as well as others, joined the Militia and Justine as they walked the shadowy, dark streets of historical Ste. Gen. by lantern light. We all called out Ron's name as we searched for him by street and alleyway. The Militia's boot steps rang out and echoed against the homes that were clustered along the streets.  All of the sudden, one of the Militia men shouted he had spotted the werewolf on the porch of one of the old houses.

A shot rang out and the Sulphur smell of the riffle's smoke filled the air around us. The shot missed its mark and the werewolf escaped. Our search for Ron continued. Finally, Justine spotted Ron standing on a wooden fence. It was as we had suspected, he had been bitten and was now a werewolf himself.

Justine pleaded with Ron to come to her so that she could help him. The Militia shot at the beast that was Ron and he disappeared only to reappear along the fence he had been standing on moments before.

Justine was able to coax the beastly Ron to come closer to her. When he was close enough to her, he grabbed her and tried to carry her off. The Militia fired their guns in order to scare him away from Justine. He released her and then the Militia surrounded him, fell upon him and subdued him.

They carried him to the Militia camp and tied him to the fence.

If it were possible, the Militia wanted to save poor Ron by shooting him, not to kill, but to wound him. Only special silver bullets that have been blessed with holy water and marked with the holy cross could be used. When the werewolf's blood comes in contact with the blessed silver bullet and holy water, the curse is broken and the werewolf returns to his original human form.

It was a success! Ron was once again returned to his human form.

Justine ran to be by her fiancé's side. After Ron's redemption, there were tours of the Bolduc House, s'mores and apple cider for those who wanted them.

But where did the werewolf go that attacked Ron? It was not seen again that evening. Perhaps the Militia's gunfire scared it away? Or maybe not...

The Colonel and I loved participating in the werewolf event. What fun! We always enjoy our time while in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri.