Another history lesson was uncovered as Steve finished his trenching project. It kind of makes me want to dig up the entire yard. Hmmm.

Sadly, all that remains on this one is an almost completely disintegrated label with only the words, "New York" visible.
My best guess, based on the fluted design on the bottle, is that this once held catsup. What do you think?

I had no troubles identifying this Acme Beer bottle's origins.
Everything I needed to know about it was embossed on the bottom. Looking at  the logo from major glass house, Owens-Illinois (a 'l' inside a diamond over a 'O'), its history is as clear as can be. What is also prominent is the company name, Duraglas, which was used from 1940 through the mid-1950s for bottles treated to be extra strong.

Karen and I were going to spend the morning being creative. I had found, on instagram, a clever craft using corncobs to make sunflowers.

Armed with all the supplies to make numerous greeting cards, we watched several tutorials online.
The anticipation grew immensely.
Then we put paint to cob. Oh my gosh, neither of us could make the image promised by instagram. Anticipation turned into frustration.
Karen then began reading the comments. Little did we know, or could imagine, that this art lesson was created by AI. There was no way a human could make the desired image. I was so disappointed and a little angry.
We vowed to always read the comments first and then abandoned the creativity goal and went out to lunch instead. I'm laughing about it all now. Sheesh.

With this year's event at a new location, with a great deal of restrictions, we didn't quite know what to expect. ALL seven of us agreed that the day was a HUGE SUCCESS.

Cyndi joined our little Haerr Horde. What a blast.

The tried and true shows were loved by all. Capt. Jack Spareribs had the grandchildren cracking up most of his show.

Daring Daniel is always a hit with our group.
Who doesn't love the Imperial Knights and their jousting feats of bravery.



The grands (and their grandma) had such fun with Knottingans, little rope people hidden which are part of interactive scavenger hunt game. Throughout the day, we collected tiny handmade rope dolls/figures while completing challenges, winning points, and earning thematic prizes. It really added an extra layer of excitement to our day.
The costuming was fantastic. At least 90% of attendees had the medieval spirit! I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story!







We even met the Queen.


Oh man, do I love clever!

Steve had a small trench to dig in our backyard. What surprise finds he discovered.

There were several remnants of old cans.
This sole from a pair of leather shoes was interesting.

The most fun find was the almost perfectly intact green bottle.
Fitch's Quinoil is a vintage hair treatment oil produced by the F.W. Fitch Company and popular from the 1930s through the 1940s and 1950s. It was commonly sold in distinctive green glass bottles as a non-sticky tonic meant to groom, condition, and treat the hair.
Frederick Walter Fitch's story is a long, interesting one. Born in Iowa in 1870, abandoned by his physician father, farmed out by his destitute mom at age 8, and basically an indentured servant to a farmer for thirteen years, he found his way to working for a barber and it was a perfect fit.By 1914, the business’ annual sales were over a quarter million dollars and was promoted as both a chemist business and a perfumer. So successful was Fitch that he moved his business to Des Moines creating the this district, F. W. Fitch Company Historic District, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
The company did well throughout the early 20th century and during World War II but saw a decline in sales after the war due to the loss of military contracts.

Our next round of guests is our younger son and his family. After a Friday of everyone doing their own thing, we gathered together and headed off the hill to Minden, Nevada for an exceptional evening of music and merriment.

The band, The Beatles Flashback, was fabulous. When we closed our eyes, it was as if we really were at a Fab Four concert. WOW.
And what a setting this park is, in the heart of Minden (1906). The kiddos were gifted beach balls and from that point on, we hardly saw them. Hysterical.

In the two hours, 51 Beatles songs were played. Since most are only two minutes long, that wasn't hard to accomplish.