Colorful Farmers Market Purchases

 It was busy this morning at the Winona Lake Farmers Market. I had to park across the street and walk a bit farther, but I only had a few items I wanted to purchase.

Last time I shopped a few weeks ago, most of the flowers for sale were zinnias and sunflowers. Today they were mostly mums (large plants) and in the bouquets cockscombs. 

I am enjoying the riot of color.

Not many small tomatoes for sale; the one container I bought also had a variety of colors.

Having some medical surgical procedures done this month. I probably won't feel up to returning to the farmers market until October as its season draws to a close. We had our last sweet corn from the produce stand last week. I see a slight tinge of autumn color in some of the trees. We are transitioning from one season to another.

Reciprocity

 My backdoor neighbor knocked on my patio door yesterday around noon. He had a butternut squash and a sack of tomatoes given to him by a gardening friend. 

I started thinking how I can incorporate these into this week's meals; they are already ripe and some getting squishy. I will save the squash for the following week when it gets colder after a warm weekend; baked squash, sausages, apples go well together. I don't think I want the oven on much during the warmer days ahead.

To reciprocate I grabbed my bowl of Costco candy and told him to take a handful to eat with his wife.

One of the former presidents of Grace College and Seminary died last week. Dr. Homer Kent, Jr. was president during most of my 11 years working at the college library. He had been in health care at Grace Village the past few years; I haven't seen him for about 2 years I guess. A very godly man. The memorial site is a huge indoor athletic arena at the college; we discussed attending tomorrow. I was relieved to see it is going to be live-streamed on You Tube. We have been going out more lately and involved in some smaller group activities, but avoiding large gatherings. This streamed service will suit us better.

At least the crowd size restrictions have been lifted in Indiana so a large funeral/memorial service is possible.

Zinnias and More

Today my husband drove south to an airshow at Grissom Air Force Base. It is a day for "me time", setting my own schedule and agenda. I ate for lunch the last Costco hot dog (well actually there are two more in the freezer), the sole remaining Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar, Cheetos, and one healthy item (tomatoes).

I arrived at the Warsaw Farmers Market later than I had expected. Some vendors had dwindling supplies. I mostly wanted small sweet tomatoes and a small pepper for the lettuce salad tonight. Only one stall had this type of tomatoes, and I bought her last container. 

I've had a hankering for snickerdoodle cookies the past few weeks. I hoped I would find some at the market. There were several packages available.

I also splurged on a small bouquet of zinnias.

I got up later than usual this morning. I didn't sleep well last night. It was 10:30 by the time I headed for Warsaw. I stopped at the public library to drop off 3 donations. As I looked down the hall from the circulation desk, I saw a book sale was in progress. By the time I browsed, then bought some books, it was after 11. 

My last stop of the day was Walmart. I was surprised that it was not as busy as when I go on week days. I bought some items for my Operation Christmas Child box. Usually, I have good luck finding a tote bag or purse. Not today. I will have to look at KMart which is shutting down in our town. They haven't marked the prices down enough for me yet, but since it closes October 21st, more markdowns are coming. Or I will stop at Meijers to see what they have; or since I have several medical appointments coming up in Fort Wayne maybe I will look at Penney's or Kohl's there. 

Lots of stores are selling mums now and other autumn decorations. I am not quite ready to let go of summer; however, the trees are showing tinges of red and undertones of yellow. Mother Nature is reminding me that the season is about to change. It is so pleasant today that I have the doors and windows open and the AC off. It has been a good day so far and will be even better when my husband comes home and shares about his outing.

Goshen Farmers' Market

After breakfast at Lux Café this morning, we headed over to the farmers' market on Washington Street. The eggs Benedicts we ate at the café were good, but slightly disappointing as they used ham rather than the Canadian bacon listed on the menu. A diverse menu; the pancakes looked huge, the crepes also generously sized. So many Amish/Mennonite folks in the restaurant. Even had a few buggies tied around back. This restaurant is on US 33, a busy road for bikes and buggies, but we saw a few. One table of 8 Amish ladies had a non-Amish lady eating with them; I suspect she was the driver of a hired van.

I meant to take my camera this morning but forgot; you will have to see my purchases rather than the lovely produce, etc. in the market. This market is in a building, and we found out there is a café. I would have liked to buy some of the baked goods in the café, but the line at the register to pay was a dozen deep. Instead we bought at a booth a pumpkin muffin to have with our scrambled eggs tomorrow. I learned this market is open on Tuesday afternoons in the summer though with fewer vendors than on Saturday.

I was glad to get the fall edition of Edible Michiana. This free magazine is always interesting to peruse.

A vendor was busy making a floral arrangement for a gentleman, but she paused long enough for me to buy my 5 stems. 

I also bought some heirloom tomatoes. The grower told me the name of the orangish ones but now I forget. She said they are one of her favorites for flavor. We'll try one at lunch. She threw in the little green zebra tomato for free when I mentioned I had never eaten one of those. A very pleasant and informative lady with dried dirt on her fingers and under her nails. The real McCoy.

I bought Jan Karon's newest book To Be Where You Are at Meijer to add to the Grace Village library. I need to make a bookplate as the book was purchased with money given in memory of a former resident. 

Not much color in the leaves yet. Still corn and soybeans unharvested in the fields we passed, too. Lots of pumpkins and autumn/Halloween décor though on porches and yards.

Time to make our lunch sandwiches and slice the tomato. Hope you are enjoying your mid-October Saturday.

Garden Gifts

My sister-in-law stopped by with some items from her garden. Green beans and tomatoes and some sunflowers.

It is a pleasant day with a nice breeze. We have the doors and windows open instead of running the air conditioner.

When I was shelving books in the retirement library after lunch, one of the Winona Literary Club members said she would be right back with a book. Her friend in Milford haunts yard sales, etc. looking for books and using the list of our series gaps has graciously donated a handful of books. Today the donation was Wanda Brunstetter's The Gift, a 2015 book that retails for $15.99. This copy looks like new. Thank you Nancy and friend for your efforts to improve the Grace Village Library.

Farmers' Market Day

Despite the light rain, I headed for the farmer's market this morning. I wanted some Ambrosia sweetcorn for tonight. I was rewarded with some little tomatoes.

There were fewer vendors than last Saturday. However, the tomatoes are starting to show up. My favorite vendor Patchwork Farm has yet to appear at the market. His tomatoes ripen later than some of the others however. The seller of today's tomatoes told me the little ones began ripening this past week; her bigger ones need hotter weather she said. We were actually pretty hot earlier this week, but maybe what they really need is more sun. This has been one of the wettest summers I remember.

We ate the last of the fresh blueberries I had put aside from what we picked July 14th. I made a parfait using the lemon-flavored pudding between bunches of blueberries.

This pudding is in the refrigerated section. We have several gallon bags of frozen berries left to eat at our leisure.

The whole front and corner of my landscaping is being reworked. It will be interesting to see what the landscaper puts there.

Two new bushes were put in yesterday; I will have to ask what they are when she returns on Monday. There is some sort of tall daisy around the corner now; also rudbeckia at the corner with the relocated irises.

The coreopsis I planted next to my patio seem to be doing OK. Next year I will have to add something else. I will deadhead the tickseed plants until autumn, then let them go to seed. I may get some new little plants next summer from this process.

Generous

One of my neighbors called this afternoon. He wanted to bike over to my condo with some fresh-picked homegrown tomatoes. Yum. They aren’t always pretty, but they sure are full of flavor.
 They can be colorful, too. A man in my previous neighborhood brought us some tomatoes as a thank you for a project my husband did fixing a plant stand. He was worried about us liking the Cherokee purple ones, but I think they are all great. I don’t think I will ever tire of homegrown tomatoes.