More From the Market

Nicolas is so loved by his loyal customers...though that guy to the right looks like he may be trouble - some kind of tomato spy? Looking for worms? Sniffing for chemicals? He won't find any of those in this market. Everyone has to be certified organic. Maybe he is noticing that Nicolas now has no hair on his head (nice, eh?). Just move on, Mr. Market Spy.
I'm glad that I was there to take note in case he shows up with that look again. If I were working behind the booth, I never would have noticed. Good thing the farm has me to fill the important role of counter-surveillance, while others fulfill the maybe more important role of serene counter help.
I decided to take more pictures of our Saturday farmers' market since a few people seemed interested. Also, it kept me from getting in the way of those who were actually working while I waited for the kids to show up. It is good that Helen, my MIL, loves doing it so much. It works out well for all of us. I'm sure that we make more money this way. When I was there I often gave away a lot of vegetables - you just had to look at me the right way for me to think that we were charging too much. When I wasn't giving them away, these precious vegetables that we had worked so hard to grow, I was often adding incorrectly in my head - always (Nicolas noted) in the customer's favor. Helen's way better with the numbers.She is (rightfully) protective of the value of the vegetables, flowers and eggs. Especially the eggs. Helen feeds her chickens only organic feed. Even charging $6 a dozen, she doesn't make much on the eggs. Though she brings in a cooler filled with cartons, these wonderful eggs would easily sell out before 7:30am, if one didn't have to be on the special list in order to purchase them. Only those customers who also order lots of our vegetables or flowers and/or have been our customers for over a decade are added to the list. I'm not kidding. We are all making so much more money since Helen started working at the market.
Below is Gloria, another amazing woman that I admire. This table and umbrella where she is sitting fold up into a wagon with wheels that Gloria pushes down the street from her home to the market almost every Saturday morning. For $1 a child she teaches any who are interested how to paint greeting cards with water colors. Lots are interested.
Gloria comes from Ecuador. I am not sure exactly where but it may be the location that was on this blue t-shirt last Sat. She is such a generous, placid force at our busy market. On the other side of the parking lot are the Swancys, who sell grass fed beef and pork. Charlotte sent me home today with many pork ribs. We have good reason to celebrate with local ribs, because-
The boys are back in town!!! Plus one - their cousin, Alexander, is here for a week: It is so good to be back in mom mode. My introverted side was grateful for the calm, but enough already! We are really happy to be back together again.

One of the things I did this week while they were gone was to finally put all of my boxed old pictures from the boys' wee years into albums. In comparison, they look so big to me. Or maybe they grew?