Happy Valentine's Day

When I woke up this morning, I thought today was going to be a bust.  It was so cosy in my bed that I was powerless to get up and do anything productive.  So when Ben fired up his lungs at ten til eight, I had not done anything.  No breakfast, no teeth brushing, no dog walking.  That is never a good sign.  Plus, my head was so heavy from congestion.  (It appears that my cold has come back for a victory lap.  Benjamin is likewise snotty.)  Top that off with a cranky baby, and I was sure that today was the day I was going to throw myself in the river.  (That day is never very far away it seems.)

But Ben soon went down for a nap and I finally got my breakfast and coffee.  I decided to stop being negative and try my best.  The sun is shining and it is Valentine's Day and all.  Let's make it a good one.

So when he got up, we hit the Farmer's Market.  Now for those of you who don't know, Ely has two markets, one on Thursday and one on Saturday.  I knew that Thursday's was the general market with vegetables and assorted flea market goodies.  Someone had told me that Saturday's market was the trinkets and collectibles market, but I had noticed that sometimes there were other items too.  Turns out that on the second and fourth Saturdays, it is also a Farmer's Market.  My favorite!

I love, love, love Farmer's Markets.  I truly believe that we should support our local food growers as much as possible.  It is good for the economy and the environment.  Plus, it is usually a ton of fun.  Unfortunately, I have been a sissy about out local market.  Usually, I say something about not needing baked goods or jam and not buy anything.  But I figured I would really enjoy myself today.  

And I did!  My first stop was to Tom's Cakes, where I bought millionaire's shortbread and a date crumble.  Then I bought plum jam, an asparagus quiche, white rolls, wheat rolls, and fresh apple juice in a wine bottle.  For Joe, I bought habanero hot sauce.  I even bought meat from the butchers.  The great thing about the Farmer's Market is that it is mostly organic and free range.  I picked up two different types of free range pork burgers and one package of sausage.  (The girl reminded me that it has no preservatives, so I guess I have to eat it quickly!)  For lunch, I decided to go a little crazy.  I had an ostrich burger with onions on a wheat roll.  It was thick and very tasty.  The woman behind the counter picked up on my American accent and said I sounded just like her daughter-in-law, who is from Vermont.  (I think my cold must make me sound a bit nasally.)

However, the highlight of the trip was my new quilt.  I don't normally do quilts, but this one is lovely.  It has very bright warm colors and is so beautiful.  The best part was that it had just been reduced from 59 Pounds to 29.  I took it immediately.

I'm not sure Ben enjoyed it as much as I did, but he seemed okay.  I always try to show him the pet chickens, but I don't think he can see them in his stroller.  When we got home, he let me cuddle with him.  I think that was the best part of the day.