Song of the day: well, beside a really annoying children’s song from eons ago it was still “Things” only this time the one from Dean Martin and Nancy Sinatra.
Well, it was an incredibly busy weekend. First there was the Saturday market, which meant getting up at 6:20 in the morning and starting on the morning rituals involving a large mug of coffee that I basically scorched my throat on. *sigh* Hung the laundry quickly, and then headed up for the pancakes grandpa had made for breakfast. Had to hook the wagon up, got a phone call from mom with the whens and hows of this new market where we’ll be taking over someone else’s stand for the next few months. We arrived about ten minutes late but met with this fella who explained everything and then disappeared without a trace. We started setting up on the rather gray morning with clouds literally everywhere. Not a nice sunny market day, nor was it a nice market like on Sundays. There’s no friendly good mornings from the other stand holders. No smiles and waves to newcomers, just everyone shlogging through the motions of survival. Nothing against survival, mind you, but it does make the day less pleasant.
First off we had to set up the market tent mom borrowed from a friend and then I was basically on my own since big brother had to pee and there was not a single bathroom in the vicinity. Aaaahhh! Bless Funny Beach in that regard. Four bathrooms at a market are a blessing. Anyway, due to that little disaster, I basically did the set up on my own. Not that I mind all that much, considering I can bee incredibly fussy, but what the hey. Had it all set up to my satisfaction at a quarter to ten. Yay.
Only a short market in comparison, I assure you. I could easily stand there (my new shoes made it pretty darn comfortable, by the way. Got some new sneakers with extra spring (gel) in the heels. It made all the difference. My feet were tired afterward, rather than excruciating. Heck, I don’t even mind that they’re of this neon yellow. Hah) without hoping for the hours to pass. Did get the “need” to pee at around eleven, which got me a bit panicked. Cousin Ed and tenant were going to show up around that time, but didn’t, meaning that I kept postponing, and postponing some more until I was just about ready to just leave big brother the stand and head to a restaurant for relief.
Cousin Ed arrived around one, meaning I left them all to it and rushed off. Aaaagh. I made it, so I picked up tenant, and together we meandered around the market for a bit. Found a nice bit of ceramics for my kitchen, along with some of those beautiful pots with the permanent clips to shut them. I’ll need to find some more, but when I do, they’ll look grand on the shelves. Yay. Also these wonderful soup cups in the same style as that big set of plates I bought some months ago.
Also found a set of backseat seatbelts that we can use to replace the broken ones in the back of the Land Rover. Also found some oven dishes and had to call grandpa to ask if he could measure the new oven, but they were too short, darn it.
Tenant appeared to enjoy our short trip too, so it was a pity that her outing had to be cut short due to mom having an appointment for which she needed the car.
But anyway, by the time I finished my roaming of the stands it was almost two, and big brother had already started packing up. Took us about an hour and a half, which is nothing short of a record. Yay.
In the end we didn’t sell all that bad. The 2nd hand stuff definitely covered the expenses made, but regretfully there was no real profit. Did have a few nice chats with folks, but it was business, rather than just a nice day of watching people. Not even the customers are friendly. In fact they rush past as fast as they can, almost afraid to show any interest from fear of being hassled. Only few were up to a little chat, which is a pity, because it is those that make the day fun, don’t they? It would be so nice if everyone just figured out that a market would be so much more fun if everyone just relaxed and tried to have fun. It’s not as if a sour face and worries are going to make the profits any higher. *double sigh*
Had to go home the roundabout way because we’d agreed to pick up some stuff, and when we got home we had to unload prior to heading out again. Luckily it turned out that the trip was worth it in the end. Got some seriously nice stuff.
Once home there was plenty to do to prepare for Sunday market. There was some reloading, and of course the making of the yogurt sauce and a new pie. Opted for a lemon pie this time round and it worked splendidly. Yay! It was fluffy, the lemon piece just right, and yummy. Managed a few pages for the edit, but really had to head for bed early rather than risk a breakdown while on the market.
The day started off hazy, with clouds thick over the valley. It didn’t look promising, but I shlurped coffee, went to the coffee to bake the burgers and left at a quarter to nine with everything packed and a miserly rain coming down. *sigh*
We took a long time unloading, in particular since we didn’t dare risk unpacking everything with the threat of rain. It continued to look threatening, but everyone insisted it would pass (it didn’t) but since the temps were nicely warm we started with the tables and the big metal construction. Didn’t finish setting up until noon, but it did look rather splendid with the quilts hanging high, as well as my tie dyes. It all looked great.
Had a few more good responses to my patties, and even sold a packet, but the weather was appalling enough (even had stuff get wet at some point) for folks not to come to the beach. *sigh*
Did sequester myself in the restaurant at some point where one of the employees at some point came up to me, gave me a hug and two kisses claiming that my lemon pie was delicious. That sure made me chortle.
Turns out that another guy really liked it, because when we decided to start packing up (early, because the weather was not improving and we did get the expenses back) he came up to me and started asking me what it would cost to make him like eight or nine pies per week. There was some talk, negotiating, but he wanted to think on it some. Would be fun, because he wasn’t particular about which fruits, meaning I could experiment.
Did have a few nice chats, and this somewhat cute (if too young) drunk man started, with a lot of difficulty, asking me where the toilets were, made my day. Realizing he was English in about three seconds, I put him out of his misery and explained where the toilet was. He looked at me oddly (drunk, remember) and said, “You’re English, right?” which had me laugh and wave him off. Gawd, a bit of good news after all. Oh, and I did manage to write two pages for E.D., which is something at least. Loading took us about two hours and fifteen minutes, at which point we headed home and got there around six, for a change.
Tenant was in good spirits, and Sally a bit withdrawn, but according to her not feeling too bad despite a carpy morning. Totally didn’t feel like cooking, so I was happy to hear that big brother had baked spaghetti. Big brother was in a pissy mood, by the way. Turns out he worked with the computers most of the day, and hadn’t managed to solve the problem. Which reminds me. The problem is that both mom’s and little sister’s computers gave the spirits, and since they’re the same, big brother is trying to see if he can make one Mac out of two. He hasn’t succeeded yet…and kept on bursting out swearing like a sailor while we were unloading because he couldn’t put it out of his mind. The day got finished up with some edits, but not much.
What else?
Ticks. We’re facing a plague. Per plucking session I take off an average of 40 of the little pests, I check about ten to thirteen dogs a day, and some of them twice. You do the math of how many I’m putting out of commission per day. *sigh* Tack bath, asap…well, as soon as the weather improves again. Today it was downright nippy. Couldn’t do that to the poor critters.
Today involved catching up on all the neglected chores, then some more edits and practicing our Spanish. Didn’t manage a lot, darn it, which is very annoying. The dogs were rather happy with our being home, so they needed attention too. And the Knight needed to go to the vet with his stitches, of course, so we had to stop around four (again didn’t get around to eating meat, darn it) and head out.
Arrived at the vet, who was running a little late because she needed to make a house call later on. I warned her that Knight lost a stitch of two, only to have her discover that he lost all but one. But the wound is healing, so we’re going to see how it goes until Friday. Thank gawd we don’t need to pay for checkups, because it would cost an even bigger fortune. *sigh*
Also got new prescriptions for Sonia (who’s doing way better, thankfully. She’s actually running about again) and Empy, and much to my relief that doesn’t cost extra either. Let’s just hope that vets don’t start going bonkers like doctors and charge 15 (to 30) bucks just to prescribe something. *sigh*
Went past the vegetable distribution center afterward and got a nice batch of veggies for the dogs. Was really necessary too, considering grandpa used the last bit for tomorrow already. New plan, by the way, due to the teeth problem the dogs are always suffering from (aftermath of dog kibble, mind you) we’ve decided to follow mom’s suggestion to feed the dogs dry hard bread once a week, or so. It’s true, back in the day when we still did that occasionally, their teeth were downright beautiful. It should also help their gums. We’re going to have to see how that works, but it’ll be worth a shot.
Well, it’s late again, so I better leave it at this and see if I can get to bed in time for a change. I’m out.
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