What's your style?
I often give that question some serious thought. "What's my style?" It varies from day to day, weaving in snippets of old world, little touches of French country... Some shabby chic, a bit of primitive, some casual elegance... Music and colors, too... It's hard to pin me down to one single genre of anything. But...oh, honeys! I do love me an auction! Friday morning my two friends and I (the official Thelma and Louise and Louise trio), decided to go bee bopping off to Amish country in search of strawberries, fresh produce, angel food cakes... And adventure. We ran our usual circuit in reverse and began about 8 :30 a.m...
We made a couple stops at a general store or two and my favorite home... Then ....oh, my wonders! We dropped in on the huge produce auction. Farmers market entrepreneurs and Amish growers connect. It's awesome! One queued after another the restless Belgians and draft horses await their turns to pull in the lane cut through the east end of the metal pole barn. We sit in weathered wooden pews from some abandoned church. I was on the front row, just about four feet from the horses...
So, to sum it all up, I am auction style... I decided the mood lift it brought, I should make a CD with auction chants... Roast a hot dog with dry relish... And I'm good. Happy weekend. Today is that perfect, grey, rain all day weather. That's my style.
The auctioneer and his helpers begin their chant... I love that excitement of an auction. This one was swift, changed up, a little overwhelming. No little bargains here. We bid on individual boxes crammed full of tomatoes, strawberries, cabbage heads, zucchini... But we had to multiply that times the required number of units...sometimes two but more often eight or ten. I sat there rapt, all enthralled with the moment... And then I did it. "SOLD!" I bought zucchini for four dollars a box... About 35 in a box... Times SIX! 200 zucchini! We travel in a car that already contains several items... Six boxes? Three grown women, 20 pounds tomatoes? And, oh, wait homemade lemon chiffon cakes, fried pies, homemade bread and rolls... Then my friend slipped her hand high for 32 quarts strawberries.
My good sense kicked in, and I was able to unload resell four of my six boxes for my cost ($4/box). Yep. Zucchinis are one dollar each at the grocery store. My original purchase would have been $200 if bought there. I paid $24! I gave away half a box or more once I got home, so by selling and blessing others, I still have about 40! Calling all recipes!
My strawberry friend gifted me with 4qts berries, and I also ended the day with fresh Bibb lettuce x three and green peppers... Ten pounds juicy tomatoes... I woke up at four a.m. And stemmed, sugared, and froze my berries... Time for a last nap before watching Pioneer Woman.
Hugs and Whimsy! 
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