Christmas Day, 2008

OK, so here I am, standing on my newly built deck, looking at the snow on my newly laid roof. The woodstove inside is cranking, making the house warm, and the cats totally zonked. It's my favorite time of the year. I can't remember warm weather right now, though I suppose it won't be long before we can start to count down to the '09 Market. Let's give ourselves another week to think about this great winter. Here are some holiday snaps.

 

Final Markets 2008 Season

Well, it's all over till next year. It might be cool to have an all winter market under a heated circus tent, but I look forward to hibernating. That feeling lasts through the holidays, after which I start to look forward to the next market season. I suspect that everyone has a way to mark the passage of time, a recurring time theme. Mine is the Market. There is Market season and not-Market season. Market season feels like one long blast of all encompassing activity. Galen calls it my "market head". Not-Market season works quite differently. My activity level is much reduced, and the Thanksgiving-Christmas season breaks up the interminable Winter. Sitting around the wood stove, playing with the cats, catching up on various indoor chores etc. make up our Winter. We enjoy the relative non-activity. Here are some pix from the last Wed and Sat Markets.

Last Sat-about 25 degrees

The "bonfire" could be felt inches away.

Last Wed Market. Martha thinking "I should have stayed in school".

Amanda's version of a Mona Lisa smile.

Saturday, 10/25/08

Well here it is-the last Market of the season. It's sort of sad and a relief. Next Saturday I can sleep in. Of course, there is a very cold Market the Saturday before Thanksgiving-Pretty strange-everyone runs naked and throws pumpkins at each other. I think there will be a brass band(also naked), and a bonfire. I wouldn't miss it.

I think the kid wants to sit in.

Katherine is an avid Market booster.

These guys are great. Kind of punk bluegrass.

Saturday, 10/18/08

Oct 10, the penultimate Saturday Market. Here's my question; Why say "penultimate" when you could say "Next to last" and use one less syllable? Oh, well.

Next week makes a full six months of the Brattleboro Farmers Market. It seemed to go by fast, and although I look forward to not waking up at 5 am. on the Saturday after next, I know I will almost immediately begin to anticipate the first Market next May. Guess I just like it here. It's a nice way to spend the day; outdoors, making new friends, watching kids play. 

Market makes people happy.

Mr. Natural pays a visit to Market.

Discussing farming issues.

MMM....Donuts.......

Saturday, 10/11/08

A great Columbus Day crowd. A cooler, more colorful, leafier Market day made for much celebration and rousing music and dance. We had good, down home fiddle music all day, and an afternoon performance by the Morris Dancers. See the video and pix below.

Our country's next Secretary of "LET'S PARTY!!!!!!!"

Saturday, 10/4/08

Well, we had a perfect Vermont  Fall day; cool, sunny, breezy, trees all colors. The license plate count was about 75% out-of-state. The difference between a good Market day and a great Market day is the number of visitors from other places. 

Food vendors had a hard time keeping up. That brisk Vermont air makes everyone hungry. I must have sold five gallons of coffee and two gallons of hot apple cider-we're in  high cider season. 

Kids raked leaves into giant piles and then staged running leaps into the piles. A good time was had by all. Check out these snaps of Howie's fantastic flowers.

Saturday, 9/27/08

A cool Fall day-some color has started-yellows and a little orange. I prepared for a day of rain, but it never happened. I think the Market must be in some sort of protected geographical area this season.
We had a great band of fiddlers, playing, singing and strolling through Market.
Political talk has faded in favor of economic talk. Vendors agree that when the crash comes, the Market will do pretty well. More people than ever will shop locally. Maybe I'll carry pencils and matches as an homage to tales my mother told me of life in the 1930s.

Isn't this a great shot of the bounty of produce from John and Tress at Walnut Ridge Farm.

Natasha Grubdalia, our Russian emigre athlete, shows her form in the pumpkin shot-put event. We expect great things from Tasha at the upcoming Vegetable Olympics competition. Watch the web site for dates.

Emily whipping up crepes at Market.

Four Fabulous Fiddling Fillies.

Saturday, 9/20/08

A perfect fall day in Southern Vermont-sunny, cool, breezy. Visitors can't believe how good the weather is here. We had such good weather that the usual political junkies took a break to just enjoy the day. 

This was the first day for hot apple cider-leaf season cannot be far behind-peepers stopping their cars in the middle of the road to snap pictures.

After Market we held a memorial for Dwight Miller. People talked of their memories of Dwight, and we sang several verses of "America the Beautiful". It was decided to plant a tree in his memory next spring-its a little late for planting this year. 

Priscilla returns from New Hampshire for a Market visit.

Kathy Miller and sister-in-law Mala.

Read Miller.

Don't forget to vote. This means you!

Saturday, 9/13/08

Sunny, warm September day-many international visitors (the weak dollar has its benefits).

Chocolate Chip Guy was there. He loves chocolate chip cookies. Also, Mr Conspiracy, Old Original Hippy, Miss Cape Cod, and Gold Dollar Dude, all among my regulars,  turned up for the sunny Market.

I notice the changing tastes of the kids as they grow. Donut eating toddlers turn into cookie crunching 8 year olds, and whoopie pie devouring teens. 

Kurt update-Kurt Hackler, our intrepid bread guy and awesome cyclist, has reached Germany on his bike trip from above the Arctic circle in Norway, to Spain. Follow his and Oracle Jen's exploits on his blog, The 411-2WDs Riding Chronicles.

Politics update-Everyone previously torqued off about the national election is still torqued off. Maybe I should sell them decaf instead of high test...Nah. See you next week. Rara

Patty Austin, who makes things like.. (see below)

...these perfect little confections.

Howie's flowers, plants and veggies-the most colorful booth at Market.

Two fisted coffee drinker.

Happy Birthday, Ingrid!!

Saturday, 9,6,08

Warnings of Hurricane Hanna-nothing at Market except overcast and quite humid. Some fair weather vendors failed to show up-good news for their competition who saw increased business. I felt pretty dopey all day-blah weather saps my energy. 

Everyone seemed to be caught up in the national political goings on. I heard many conversations about Sarah, Joe, Barack and John-Sounds like a Dion song; (insert musical notation here)" I saw them walking up over the hill, Barack-Sarah-Joseph-and John". 

Here's a few Market pix.

Dieneba at her Malian food stand

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Very colorful and creatively designed bags.

Thelma and Louise live!!

Lunch tastes better at Market.

Kids belong outside.

Saturday, 8/30/08

Overcast most of the day-temps in the 70s. A woman from Glasgow, Scotland told me that the proper pronunciation of the things I call "scones" is "scuns". So I looked it up on Wickipedia-turns out both ways are correct across the puddle. My scones are selling rather well lately. People frequently ask for the recipe. Here it is:

Mix together a cup and a half sugar, five and a half cups flour, two tablespoons baking powder, and one cut up stick butter, till mixture is coarse.
Mix three large eggs with one half cup milk (or cream, buttermilk, orange juice. You get the idea). Add one cup raisins to the mixture. Slowly add in the liquid till dough is workable but not sticky.
Use an ice cream scoop to plop (plop?) the scones onto a greased baking sheet. Brush the scones with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake in an oven set at 375 degrees, 10 minutes on the center rack and 10 minutes on the top rack. The size of the scones varies with the size of your ice cream scoop. That's it.

Here's some pics from Market.

This week's cute kid.

Amidons rock the joint.

Recycle. This means YOU!!!

Dwight Miller

Dwight Miller died Saturday in an accident at his farm. Read the Reformer article here.
I had the honor of knowing Dwight since I started selling at Market 15 years ago. Millers have been my next door neighbors for all that time. Dwight and I used to arrive at Market the same time, about 8 am. Dwight always came driving up in that gargantuan station wagon with the "FRUIT" license plate. He liked my donuts, so I made sure I had them unpacked early. Sometimes he would break out into song as he set up the booth. Now, when I break out into song, it's The Stones or Springsteen. Not Dwight. He broke out into operatic arias-had a pretty good low tenor voice, too.
Everybody who came past Millers booth, if they saw that Dwight was there, would stop to talk and listen to his latest story. Dwight was a great story teller and always had time for everyone and all their kids. Just like everybody else who knew him, I will miss Dwight and remember him with great fondness.

Saturday, 8/23/08

We had a very pleasant Market day, many visitors, good music, good company. Who needs to go anywhere else for vacation?
Will post more later after rebuilding my main computer. Meanwhile, enjoy the video.

Saturday, 8/16/08

A great Market day with some fast moving thunder showers adding to the excitement. The sounds of a jazz band filled the air. We had a local television crew taping the various activities. A visitor stopped by my booth and asked for 2 "gobs", thus revealing her home of Pittsburg, PA, where whoopie pies are called gobs. Some Southerners call them moon pies. I saw someone walk by carrying a huge rack of blueberries. Tons of cute kids, all perfectly willing to pose for the camera.

There's a happy kid.

No fear.

A real two-fisted Thai food fanatic.

Susan's pottery.

Saturday, 8/9/08

Finally! A totally sunny Saturday-temps in the 70s and a slight breeze. We had many visitors at Market, I'm sure thrilled at the opportunity to spend the day outside.



Ok, in spite of popular demand, I now post my mug on the blog, wearing my Market uniform.




Anya, all grown up. I remember when she came to Market with her mother, Linda Akaogi. Anya spent the day bundled up in a babushka, in the back of the family truck.


So, he goes "What are you doing later", and I was all like "As if", and then he got all "I can turn you and your little friend into 'toons", and I'm thinking "Shurrr you can", and then.......