Wednesday, May 24, 2017

2017 CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD TRIP - 4-30-17 AND 5-1-17 - FARMERS MARKET

Sunday, April 30th, 2017

4.23 p.m. I am listening to The Dubliners while sitting in the back yard.  When they moved in Brother-in-law set up a sound-system outside.  

My sister-in-law and I are reading.  Gregg walked over to watch a game at the local baseball field.  There is some kind of tournament.  It is a nostalgia thing for him.  Not only does he enjoy baseball but he often tells me stories of when he and his brother spent their growing up years playing at their local sand lot. 


Today we went to a farmer's market. We also had brunch at a restaurant on the same street.  The road is closed off to regular traffic.  The restaurant was so popular, we had to wait an hour to get seated. The time flew by as we explored all the different stalls.  I really love a good street market.


















That big dome is a pizza oven.









Gregg found his beef jerky. 



A musician was selling CD's. 



We enjoyed its relaxing and melodic tone, and bought his CD. 




He enjoyed it too.



Another little darling enjoying the music.



I have never tried raw milk before.  



Here's Gregg's sister buying cherries.  We enjoyed tasting them that evening.  You can see by those empty baskets that they were selling fast.



She stopped by the flower stall also.



If we hadn't have been going to the restaurant, I may have stopped by here.



Or here.



There were also other restaurants trying to entise people inside.



These grabbed my attention.



With so much to see, it seemed like no time at all before our table was ready and we were ready for brunch.  I can't remember the name of this restaurant.



We all enjoyed our meals.  The one in the top left is mine, nutella and hazlenut filled French Toast with strawberries and two rashers of crispy bacon.  Top right was my sister-in-law's meal, waffles with strawberries and cream.  Bottom left was my brother-in-law's meal, huevos rancheros, and to its right, Gregg's beef tostadas with scrambled eggs and a small dish of black beans.  We all enjoyed them.



Later we went to a Best Buy around the corner and bought a replacement camera card, plus reader. (This reader works.  The last one must have been faulty.)  I also popped into a greeting card store and bought a few cards to send out.  

And now we are back at their home and sitting outside, relaxing on their comfy chairs, listening to Irish folk music, with a wonderfully restorative cool breeze gently providing a soothing balm for my sunburnt forehead.  I didn' realize the other day on the boat, even though I sat in a shady spot, the wind and the salt spray had its effect.  I will be peeling for days.



5.53 p.m.  Gregg has gone up to the store with his sister and I am still sitting outside in the garden. Brother-in-law knows I enjoy opera and I am listening to Rene Fleming over the loudspeakers. He is very kind as I am the only one who enjoys opera here.  I have been given a cider and I am blissfully sleepy with these favorite pieces being sung by one of my favorite opera singers.  

It is now after midnight.  We spent the evening outside. The table has a covered fire pit in the center. The coals were lit and I loved the warmth as the evening got cooler.  I enjoyed listening to everyone's conversation.  Our meal tonight - cheeseburgers cooked on the barbecue.  It was a lovely evening.



Monday, May 1st, 2017

I have stayed around the house all day, catching up on my blog. Gregg and his sister enjoyed a couple of trips to various stores.  

8.42 p.m. We have just finished a delicious meal. No pictures.  Sister-in-law cooked shrimp and scallops with asparagus, corn and red peppers in a lovely sauce.  In another bowl there were three different types of sliced sausages in another tasty sauce, and sauteed bok choy.  She is an excellent cook.  We also had a glass of red wine.  Listening to Gregg telling about his experiences on his two year exchange tour with the British Navy in the early 70s was a lot of fun, one story I had never heard before.  A very pleasant dinner indeed, not only because of the delicious meal prepared for us, but for the company also.

51 comments:

  1. Hello Denise, the farmers market looks huge. So much to see there. Your breakfast foods looks yummy.. Sounds like a lovely visit with Gregg's sister. Happy Wednesday, enjoy your day!

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    1. Thank you Eileen, it was excellent, great visit with his sister and her husband, the market and breakfast :) Happy Thursday to you and enjoy your day also.

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  2. more wonderful photos and all that sunshine and shadows makes for photos and phun

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    1. I agree, it certainly does. Love the shadows in photos. You have done some wonderful shadow photos and I always enjoy yours.

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  3. When you can't grow your own veggies the next best thing is a farmers market, I love fresh vegetables.

    I have never tried raw milk either, how was it?

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    1. Me too, in fact we have just returned from our local farmer's market this morning and bought several veggies and fruits. Just finished washing them and packed them away for a salad tonight and another tomorrow. We bought from three different people today. One of them was a farmer from what we call the Northern Neck. He travels two hours to get here.

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  4. Your traveling sounds absolutely perfect and like so much fun. All the foods you were surrounded with looked so delicious and it must have been hard to just walk past all of those interesting little booths. I hope you have a wonderful and blessed week!

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  5. That is quite an amazing street market, Denise! I love farmer's markets. We have a few here in Montreal, and they are always a great place to find fresh produce! It looks and sounds like you had an wonderful time!

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    1. I felt the same way Linda. I love them too and have just gone to my first one of the year.

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  6. This is what I like - a pleasant meal with family. I truly love your photos, Denise.

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    1. Thank you Gigi, and being with family is a wonderful thing.

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  7. I am loving my tour of Calif. with you. Thank you for sharing all of your trip with us. I love Calif. and one thing I noticed about San Diego area is that everyone includes their dogs. They run with them, bike with them, take them to beach and it seems like they include them in SF. also.

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    1. Thanks Pam, that makes me happy and you are very welcome. Yes, it's a very dog-friendly state. We saw them everywhere and as we love dogs, that was a neat part of our holiday.

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  8. That is some Farmer's Market!!!!!!!

    How close are neighbors, to their house? Wondering how the neighbors like the music, on loud speakers, out doors????? I admit, I would not like it one bit.

    Each person has his/her own choice of listening. I would hate to have to listen, to someone else's choices, a lot of the time... I would hate to not know I could find quiet, outside in my own lawn. Not, if neighbors were in the mood for music.

    Just me......

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    1. Well, I can truthfully say that my in-laws never have their music up so loud that it disturbs their neighbors, whom they get on very well with on both sides.

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  9. What a perfect day filled with good things!

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  10. Farmer's Markets are always such fun, and this one looks huge and friendly, and so fresh. I am very impressed with the variety! And the specialized booths, like the mushroom one. I see Gregg's sister came well prepared with a large tote bag! The music in the video is beautiful! What is the instrument he is playing? The lunches they are selling look so good, but I am glad you held out for the restaurant. All your dishes look really special and yummy. This was the perfect day!!

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    1. I agree Ginny, this one was one of the biggest markets I have ever been to. The instrument is called a Chapman Stick. I just found this out as it didn't say on his CD. I had never heard or seen it before but now I know a lot more about it because of this site on wikipedia. You can also play it with a bow.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_Stick

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  11. such a fun day, i really enjoy street festivals and farmers markets like these. i would have been tempted to skip the restaurant and fill up on the fun street food, everything looks so good!!!!

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    1. I agree Debbie, it did look like great food!

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  12. Is that a Masters bag your SIL is carrying? Has she been here in Augusta? Funny, before moving here I would have never noticed that since we are not golfers.

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    1. Well spotted Jacqueline, it is indeed. They were there two years ago. My brother-in-law is a big golf enthusiast. We are not golfers either though we enjoy watching it on the TV.

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  13. I'm way behind on reading blog posts. Wow! That is a very nice farmer's market for sure. The tree lined street is a nice spot for it. Those brunch items all look delicious. Happy Wednesday to you!

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    1. Thank you Ellen and I am wishing you a great weekend. Once again Happy Birthday to your Pop :)

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  14. The farmer's market is very busy- and those dogs are cuties!

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    1. I agree William, I enjoyed the dogs very much.

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  15. Another WONDERFUL day. I love wandering through markets too. And often weaken and buy things.

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    1. Me too, I was at a farmer's market today and came with veggies and fruits.

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  16. I would love to have been at the market...I would have been tempted to buy some of the music. I thought it was very pleasant to listen to.

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  17. We also enjoynoutdoor farmers markets and the one you went to looked great, Denise. The one here in Nashua starts in mid June, so we are still waiting. The food photos made me hungry as everything looked delicious. Hope you don't peel too badly.

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    1. Thanks Beatricee. we went to our first farmers market of the year today. It was fun. I peeled for a few days, looked L-U-V-E-R-L-Y ;)

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  18. It is a rare thing for my mouth to water at the sight of food, but you changed that with pictures and descriptions. I always seem to like what you have. As for those markets, I would have been in my element browsing the various stalls.

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    1. Thanks Valerie, I could really go for that nutella and hazelnut stuffed french toast right now ;) However, I have been pretty good since I got back and dinner tonight was a nice healthy salad :) Maybe I should have put a teaspoon of nutella on the top, lol.

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  19. It is wonderful that so many towns are sectioning get off part of their downtown as vehicle free areas, with farmers' markets and their ilk. It really humanizes the space into which humanity is increasingly overcrowded. I share your love for opera and Renee Fleming is one of the great sopranos of all time.

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    1. Totally agree, about the towns and about Renee. How lovely you are a fellow opera enthusiast.

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  20. That is a huge farmers market! I can tell you enjoyed checking out the wares. My husband likes beef jerky. We found a beef jerky outlet store recently; never saw such a store before. Sweet cherries...they were Mom's favorite fruit.

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  21. Looks like a fabulous market. I just wonder how they manage to get all their carrots the same size and length, mine never grow like that.
    Great day out by the sound of it. Diane

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    1. It was and yes, how do they get their carrots the same size? :) Well, I think it is wonderful that you grow your own carrots and I bet they taste great, and that's all that matters. Home grown produce is the best!

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  22. Farmers Markets are huge now. I think people want some connection with their food. I've had raw milk at a dairy near Tulsa. It was basically just minutes from the cow and it was still warm and tasted like melted vanilla ice cream and it was wonderful.

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    1. We have a lot of farmers markets around here too and hope to go to many over their growing season. I remember my father saying how he drank milk straight from the cow and how much he loved it. I will have to give raw milk a try one day.

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  23. I love that farmers market. You guys ate the most amazing food.

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    1. The farmers market was a really great one, and the food :)

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