Mountain Musings

A Month of Saturdays

Wow, a whole month has passed since farmers' market started back up again! We've been getting settled back into the routine of preparations during the week and getting up early every Saturday morning to set up downtown.
The first day of market was beautiful, though still a bit chilly, as you can see from my coat. :) Some friends from church blessed us by driving over to see our booth and encourage us on our first day.

One of the girls put together a beautiful bouquet that Hannah used to decorate her table the rest of the morning, and they also brought a snack for us to enjoy halfway through our time.

Our second week coincided with the Redbud Festival that Mom talked about in this post, so I enjoyed having Jonathan helping out with Hannah's soap that morning.

I brought a small decorated carrot cake, hoping to sell it, of course, but also to advertise my cakes in case anybody wanted to special order one for Easter the following week. That little plan failed, but I tried. ;)

Whenever I bring a little cake, though, there are numerous customers who comment on it and take my card. So perhaps it will lead to a future order for birthdays or other occasions after all.

The third week was Easter weekend. All holiday weekends tend to be busy with good sales, so we were hoping for that trend to continue. The weather was beautiful again, and there were lots of people out and about.

Usually every other week, the market has live music from 9-11, and on this week a co-worker of Jonathan's was one of the musicians.

One of the vendors down a couple spaces from us is an older couple who came over to America from the Bohemia area, and Willy came over to play a special Bohemian song on his accordion just for them.

Since it's been quite the cold spring so far, not a lot of vendors have vegetables yet, but there are a few greens and beets out.

Also adding some color to the booths are plenty of flowers! A couple of weeks ago, a customer of mine mistakenly left some pretty pink flowers on my table and left before I could catch her. We really enjoyed them, and they lasted until just a couple of days ago.

This past Saturday was also a very busy day, as there were other events going on downtown that drew a crowd to the area. There was a dance troupe performing that was very....interesting. You can see some pictures on this newspaper article. They had plenty of observers, who then made their way down our row - yay!  I was also asked for the first time this year if we were Amish, heheh. That's a question that has been asked multiple times over the past couple of years....I don't think people know what Amish people look like. ;)

All in all, it's been a busy and productive month. I've enjoyed reconnecting with my regular customers and meeting new ones. Come on by and visit sometime!

~Sarah

Spring To Dos

A peak into my week: pruning the Knock Out roses. I googled some how-tos and found the information helpful since I couldn't remember how much I pruned last year.

Tools of the trade: thick long gloves for all the prickly thorns, a good pair of loppers, and a deep wheelbarrow for all the debris. The task: 10 Knock Out rose bushes that need pruning. In the picture below I've pruned 8 of the 10, taking off about a third of each plant. Those last two taller bushes remaining on the back row still need pruning. They look so much better already!The rest of the story: this rose bed will need more mulch, and look who showed up just as I was finishing the pruning:I pointed out the official mulch drop off spot in our yard, and the delivery man said he already knew because he'd been here before! Here he is making sure he backed up at just the right angle: Go ahead and drop me some black gold, Mister! And here's what I'll be working with this week...and next week....and the month after that! The older I get, the longer it takes! Too bad we don't have more yard work lovers in the family!Oooh, the fun!

Come join me?

~Deb

He is not here: for he is risen!

Thanks be to God!

Happy Resurrection Day to your family from ours!

~Deb

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ April

For Today: Wednesday, April 16

 

Outside my window...a beautifully sunny but cool 30 degree morning with temps headed to a high of 52.

 

I am thinking...that I will wait until it's a bit warmer before planting spring flowers in my front porch watering cans. Below is another year's workday...I checked the date, and it was May 17. A whole month from now!

I am thankful...for family, friends, good health, and my home here in the Valley.

 

In the kitchen...Chicken Pot Pie tonight - snitching a couple of Sarah's pie crusts she made for Market. She's fine with that!

 

I am wearing...everyday clothes: navy skirt and green turtleneck, navy Crocs.

 

I am creating...haven't started the 7th row of the Row-Along which is leaves, but that's the one I'll be making before next Friday.

 

I am wondering...where I will plant the clump of Siberian Iris that my friend, Sue, dug up and gave me yesterday. Can't wait to dig in the dirt!

 

I am hoping...that the huge load of mulch will be delivered soon! Love the smell of fresh mulch!

 

I am looking forward to...Tom having a day off for Good Friday. He'll probably work in his shop sanding the 40 soap dishes he's making for a customer.

 

A favorite quote for today...

 

One of my favorite things... getting together with friends: Sue and Nancie at Panera Bread yesterday. I've known these ladies for 35 years.

A few plans for the rest of the week...a Tea Party at a friend's home tomorrow to welcome Granny back!

 

A peek into my day...a bit of clean-up, writing this blog post, 30-minutes on the treadmill, welcoming Tom home for lunch, organizing my desk, making supper.

 

Thanks for stopping by to visit my Daybook! Check out other Daybook entries over at The Simple Woman's Daybook blog.

 

~Deb

Farmers' Market, Redbud Festival, and a Giveaway!

How was your beautiful spring weekend? Ours was a busy but fun blur of activity! We were so thankful for the delightful weather that made our excursions enjoyable.

Early Saturday morning Jonathan and Sarah left for the downtown farmers' market with two loaded vehicles full of baked goods and soaps. Jonathan was in charge this weekend of setup and selling soap for Hannah since she would be elsewhere selling. Meanwhile, Tom, Granny, Hannah, and I made our way to Dayton's Redbud Festival with two loaded vehicles full of baskets, soaps, a big tent, tables, chairs, signs...and all the "stuff" that goes along with setting up a booth for a craft show!

Here's Granny awaiting her first customers. Isn't she beautiful at almost 86 years old? One of my favorites of her baskets was the yellow-handled potato masher basket on the second shelf of the baker's rack.

The potato masher baskets were quite popular, and six of the eight she brought sold!I don't know what we'd do without Tom helping with the heavy tents and all the unloading and organizing. In fact, we couldn't do the show without him and his toolbox! Here he is hanging some of the baskets for display:Here's what early morning on College Street in Dayton before the festival begins looks like...lots of white vendor tents. 100 vendors were scheduled to be at this event--much smaller than the fall festival: Here's Hannah getting her side of the tent ready with her soap. She was very pleased with some contacts she made--customers who came by asking if she could customize bridal shower favors using the small bars she sells--Yes!:Here's another view of the main setup before the festival started. Vendors often stop by each other's booth before the customers arrive because it's hard to get away once the day gets going: This lady thought Granny was a real salesman! It worked! She bought a basket! I'm not much of a salesman at all! I'm mostly there to take their money and bag up their purchases:Hannah and Granny--two entrepreneurs extraordinaire: The breeze was blowing just enough to direct the wonderful scent of Hannah's soaps toward the customers. These friends below stopped by to sniff her wares: And the folks were there as you can see below...although we've found that the Fall Market does much better with sales since customers are thinking ahead for Christmas gifts:Would you like a chance to win one of Granny's potato masher baskets, two bars of soap, and notecards and photo cards made by Hannah?

Steve over at Taste of Southern is having an Easter giveaway and delighted us by asking us to furnish his giveaway items.

If Taste of Southern is a new-to-you blog, head over and check out some of Steve's great southern recipes and enter his giveaway at the same time.

The giveaway is open until Sunday at midnight on April 20.

Comments for the giveaway should be left at Taste of Southern. Tell Steve that Mountain Musings sent you over!

~Deb

Dayton Redbud Festival ~ Come Join Us!

Well, the redbuds are not quite in bloom in our area just yet, but tomorrow we celebrate spring with the annual Redbud Festival in Dayton, Virginia.Since Granny and I returned from SC, we've been busy getting her baskets together...tagging, pricing, and packing them up in anticipation of coming home with an empty car after tomorrow's festival!

Hopefully, I'll be able to take some photos tomorrow of Granny in her glory surrounded by her baskets and Hannah selling her soap!

Come join us on College Street in Dayton, Virginia! Hours of the craft show are 10 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. 

~Deb

Adventures in SC ~ Meeting Christy Jordan

Tonight I made my way across town to Barnes & Noble where Christy Jordan of Southern Plate fame was giving a talk and signing her new book Come Home to Supper.

I arrived an hour early to get a good front row seat and started taking photos of the nice setup that Barnes & Noble provided.

Here's a photo of a wall of her books before she arrived:Once she breezed in and greeted us, she just let loose talking and thoroughly entertained us with her stories. So very interesting!Here she is autographing her new cookbook for me. I also brought her first cookbook from home, Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family so she could autograph that, too!And here's the page she signed complete with a scripture reference in Philippians 1:12 which says, "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel." Thanks to my sister for taking this picture of Christy posing with me: What I liked about her down-home stories was her emphasis on family. Her love for her husband and children was evident in everything she said and every story she told.

In fact, it seemed she could hardly wait to get home from all her book appearances to cook supper for her family!

Here she is interacting with some folks in the audience: I was so excited to find out that Christy was going to be in SC exactly when I was visiting my sister. Too bad they didn't give away a free book to the person who had driven the farthest to get there! Ha!

We've had some fun times. Tomorrow I'll be winging my way back to Virginia and bringing Granny home with me. Talk at you later after we get settled in!

~Deb

Spring in the South

Okay...I know...this definitely isn't the best picture to exemplify spring, but I wanted that snowy scene from a few days ago to be replaced by something much more enjoyable!Yesterday I traveled south to my sister's house in SC, and the farther I traveled the more spring-like it became. The trees and flowers along the interstate were just beautiful! She and Granny have been enjoying lots of spring weather already!

The photo above is the redbud tree just outside my bedroom window here, and I loved seeing it first thing this morning.

Meanwhile back at home...Sarah was up bright and early today starting her baking for Farmers' Market which starts the season tomorrow! I'll miss hearing all about the girls' adventures on their first day. 

Well, we plan to have some adventures here, too! Hopefully, post worthy! :)

Off to enjoy the day....

~Deb