Well, it was mostly about the fun!

OK. I had to keep the pumpkins in the picture for interest.  Amy, Jim and I headed out on this 30 degree day with our mandatory first stop at Day's for coffee.
We took the wagon since Amy needed to return a tote of camping supplies from her sister-in-law's wedding last week to a friend near the market.
Kristen, Ez and O met us at the market which made it all about fellowship and not much about the food gathering for the week!
I headed to the flower peeps-the last week for flowers :(-
before they got there and snagged these sunflowers and one tuberose that's in a vase in the window.

Aren't the colors beautiful in this squash?

Love these!

Then, we had omelets, oatmeal, apple cider and some pound cake. I grabbed a spaghetti squash and a pound of bison (in freezer) on the fly as we left to head to the airport.

Lots of photos and coffee

And hot chocolate

O had fun eating and drinking cider which required a clothing change mid-market

Who doesn't like a wagon ride?

Love life celebrations!

Our sweet Baby O is 1! Where does the time go?  We had a lovely celebration at Kristen's mother and step-father's home to commemorate it.
Despite a burned house we found plenty to celebrate and lots to be grateful for- especially this precious one.

Mom, Dad, O and Ez

She's pretty keen on ice cream!

Older brother, Ethan

Balls are quite popular these days.

May you celebrate with family many more happy birthdays, my sweet O.

Farmers Market

You can see things are winding down. But, we are still enjoying the market and there is a little burst of fall produce now, more greens and root vegetables-fewer tomatoes.

 I had a free latte at Days, which means at some point I had 10! Sheesh. So I chose to try the pumpkin latte complete with pumpkin with a heart inside design. So talented!

Then we walked to market!


So great just to be there and look at all the lusciousness!

Small but colorful bounty this week!

Okra- two mixed varieties

Big Bubba who was dinner last night!

Isn't this beautiful?

These gourds were 3/$1

I love that Charles's truck is filled with pumpkins!

more sweet potatoes and another Delicata squash

I don't know the variety, but I bought it for its purple stripes

The day started out well enough

But then it became heartbreaking .
I did go to the market and it was lovely. I promise some pictures of fabulous food soon.
But, the heartbreak is on my mind.
Oh, my.
I was reminded-most tragically-of a fire in my family's home when I was 7 years old. Nothing smells like a house fire.
Heartbreaking.
My DIL was going to try to meet us at the market this week. I was disappointed that she didn't but I know how things go with little ones and if they sleep in- ah....
I check my phone and looked at Facebook while there. After taking my farm photos I checked Facebook and saw a message from her.
Heartbreaking.
Their home burned beyond salvation this early morning. No car key, no phone, but gratefully their lives, with just minutes to spare. All that matters in the big scheme of things. We get reminded of that when stripped bare, you know. Her older son who had been living in the upstairs above the kitchen had moved out just recently to live with his brother. Thankfully. The firemen said no one on the second floor would have survived.
I don't remember the flames, but my sweet E does. He saw his kitchen engulfed just 12 feet from his bedroom and all of his toys charred and in a pile in the back yard with the rest of the smoky, soggy remains when he returned to see the house. He asked to. His short life has been filled with some uncertainties and disappointments that 6 year olds shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of and now this. The place of comfort and rest, the security he will rarely turn loose of to even stay at Jams' house, gone.
Heartbreaking.
I cannot do enough, no trips to Goodwill to find clothing, Target for containers to keep new belongings, laundering and folding. There is not enough busyness to take away the sadness of this. Nothing but gratitude for the lives that remain and hope for the future will put the heartbreak at bay.

Holy Cow!

Another beautiful Saturday!  Really, this time of year reminds me why I love living here. Splendor, pure splendor.

Beautiful sky and the moon was still hanging around, too.


I went really not thinking that we'd buy much.  I had a group on for a market box that will be home delivered this Wednesday. I knew it would have fruits and veggies so really didn't need too much but, flowers-beautiful and pumpkins! I fell in love with the one I got which is supposed to be very delicious. So, a week or two of admiration and then into the oven! It weighed in at a whopping 19+ pounds. So this week's haul was over 38 pounds. We walked 1/2-3/4 of a mile home.


I wasn't going to get fruit because 6 pears and 3 apples are coming Wednesday. But, I wanted a few apples for the meantime and Jim likes sour and I like hard and crunchy sweet ones.


We bought a whole chicken, cut-up whole chicken, two pounds of ground bison, apples, a nice small ivy house plant, two mini mums, one for my neighbor Judy, and one for my Mom.
I got Punkin' Sticks ( the little eggplant pumpkins from last week but still on the stick), little sunflowers, and tuberose- can you smell it? So sweet!  There were bunches of them.


I hope you enjoy the pictures from the market and the super heavy haul for this week. I know we will!
Amy, the vegetarian will be in residence for 10 days so I know all will be eaten. 
I'll give you a review of the box that comes mid-week, too!

mine is 2nd up from bottom left

pretty, huh?

gourds and zinnia

parsley and radishes

my omelet!!

tuberose

Punkin' Sticks

Zinnia

Oscar!

This week's haul! Can you believe it?  It took some effort on both our parts to get this stuff walked home.
Whew!

my flowers

more flowers

chicken

ivy

Mid-week market, can you stand it?

My cider being made

More cider making video

I was out of my favorite granola so I made a stop at the Phoenix Hill Farmers Market today!  Some of the folks I go to church with are farmers who sell there.  They are planning an apple cider making event that I will miss due to Miss O's 1st birthday celebration so imagine my delight when they were at the market making cider today!
So, I'm stocked up on granola-three of my favorites and one for Amy without blueberries, got a third of a gallon of just squeezed today apple cider, a dozen eggs (aren't they pretty?) and some kale.
Yum.

lots of egg varieties!

Leaping Lemon, Acai Berry and Cape Cod granola

Super Duper Saturday!

Another beautiful day here! Really too hot for me but since poor Amy is in cool, most often rainy Seattle I won't harp on it.
First stop was Day's for coffee and then off to market #1-Bardstown Road.  I didn't need a lot of basics today so I went wild with squash and pumpkin. Charles Hambley told me which were good prepared this way and that so 5 varieties came home with me. Talk about heavy! I added a summer squash to the mix, too. We still had apples and tomatoes, cheese, too and our chicken guy wasn't there. Green pepper and some cute little pumpkin shaped eggplants, flowers and skirt steak rounded out the selections. I carried my bag I got from my sister, Richey.

I love pumpkin to look at and eat!
The big on will be partly sautéed and baked for stir fry and curried soup

Summer squash for the grill tomorrow and peppers for the stir fry night

Aren't these little guys cute? Would you have guessed they were eggplant?

Spaghetti squash for stir fry, also!

I knew you wanted a close up of this beauty!

Mini sunflowers! I love them! 

After the market, we walked back home, took the photos, refilled coffee mugs and walked back to the Douglass Loop Farmers Market. Oh, pic! Rats. I bought bread there-honey wheat which was delicious!

I had a sample. Across the street, there was the Belknap Fair with arts and crafts, food, and bluegrass music on a small stage. Jim had gumbo and I had a slice of garlic butter, sun dried tomato, pizza.

 I bought a cute ring from Emily, who is wife to Brent, our omelet chef. Darn another missed photo op. She make rings with vintage buttons.

tomatoes!

Brent

my omelet

Tonight we are going out to dinner with friends to Harvest- we are becoming regulars there. Our reservation is later than we wanted but we are promised a window seat! More food photos to come I'm sure!

Ring 

Back with the heavy haul