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Recently my older daughter was married. She married a man who was born in Hong Kong so we tried to honor his heritage by combining our American Heritage (with Irish leanings) and his Chinese heritage. To begin with the wedding was a traditional Chinese Wedding Banquet. Course upon course of food. We did switch out the traditional soup and replaced it with the chef's perfect shrimp wonton soup.
The entire flower goes together and comes apart very easily. No glue is used at all.
Supplies: two microfiber towels, one spatula with a hole at the top, a sink drain cover, a Handiwipe, a strawberry colander, a planter, a cardboard flower center (I had these but you can easily make one or have your child make one), potato chip bag clip, and floral tape.
Husband took the stroll with me this week. He even pulled the wagon! We arrived early (a few minutes before the official opening time), met Younger Daughter there, and strolled the length of the market. By the time we finished, just forty-five minutes later, the place was very crowded. There were the regular contingent of people with coffee and puppies and kids who were there to be seen and buy cut flowers...but there are increasingly more people actually buying the fresh produce.
This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. Usually around these parts things get very quiet. Lots of people have very old grandmothers or great-aunts who have homes at the shore. The Jersey Shore. Starting Thursday afternoon the local news traffic guys were poised for reports of backed up traffic on all the major bridges from Philadelphia and all the major roads to the "shore points". And, if you listen to the local traffic, it seemed like business as usual. Lots of people leaving town to enjoy this unusually HOT and HUMID weekend by the sea.
For a number of years now I have sought out an organic, free range turkey for my Thanksgiving dinner. This year I got a fresh, organic, free range turkey from my regular meat source...Hillacres Pride Farm. The Saturday before Thanksgiving was the last open day of the Collingswood Farmer's Market for the Market season. The market will re-open in May. Saturday was a very cold, but sunny day. Older daughter and I went to the market to pick up our ordered turkey and to purchase, for the last time this season, local farmer's produce.
I love the Collingswood Farmer's Market. I have been shopping there for a decade. When the market closes the weekend before Thanksgiving I am lost. And when the market reopens in early May....I am found again. Fruits and vegetables here in the Garden State are seasonal. You can only get NJ strawberries in early spring. You can only get NJ asparagus in early spring. Blueberries arrive in summer with zucchini and peaches. Then apples come. And then....fall vegetables.
Observe my collapsible market wagon.
This is the second load. We didn't want the tomatoes to get crushed! They are becoming more precious with each week. So younger daughter took four bags to the car before this photo was taken.
The Collingswood Farmer's Market, where I shop, stays open until the Saturday before Thanksgiving. But we've had a hard, dry, hot summer here in New Jersey and the fruits and vegetables are winding down. There are smaller amounts of items each week. But I'm still there when they open and I still buy all of my fresh produce and meats, eggs, and cheese there each week. I will be sad, as I always am, when they close.
This week there were still summer items and some new fall items.
Recently husband and I took a saunter through one of my favorite stores...Home Goods! I love that place. There is a really good one on Rt. 73 in Marlton, NJ. (And just ten minutes either way there are two more...also good...one on Rt. 38 in Moorestown, NJ and another one on Rt. 130 in Cinnaminson, NJ). I have been known to do all three in a weekend!
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