Rushing Like the Wind, only slower!

When fall comes, it sometimes feels like your in a race to get things done before the cold, blustery days come. Here in NW Oregon, it's not so much that we get really cold weather, but who wants to rake leaves in the rain? I think of all the seasons, autumn is traditionally the busiest season.
Our family is working on a list of to-do projects to get ready for our usually-annual cider-pressing party. I tell myself I need to have people over more often, we get more done!
Anyway, we've invited our whole church over to make apple cider. It's fun to get together with these friends we most often see from the backs of their heads lol. Seriously, it's not that bad, our church seems to find any excuse to get together! But we like to take the opportunity to have them in our home. So, that's one big thing we're getting ready for.
Kristin (my eldest daughter) and I went last weekend and had a LOT of fun doing the flea market at our friend, Lisa, and Sally's shop, Uncovered Ruby. I don't know why it takes so long to get up there, we've been so blessed by friendship with Lisa, & last weekend we had a chance to get to know Sally a little better, too.
One of the best things about doing these sales-the friends we meet! We have met so many nice ladies at sales!
Well, we're at it once more! Tomorrow morning I'm getting up early to bake Finnish bread, then we're off to Battleground again! This time, we're at The Vintage Gathering, Saturday. We're excited to get together with these talented ladies! If you love vintage, shabby, primitive...you'll love this flea!
We go tomorrow to set up, and this time we'll be much less tired, thanks to our friend, Natalie! Her and Lynn have graciously invited us to stay with them instead of driving back and forth! Even more generous, since Natalie's going to be busy working on her space at Barn House' sale! These 2 sales are very near each other, so that makes it all the more fun!
I'll try to post some pics tomorrow of previews if we get there to set up! The weather's supposed to be gorgeous, so that's even better! Last weekend we had some good laughs over dealing with the rain; it seems that when I'm with my daughters there's always something we find to laugh about!



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September Sale at Uncovered Ruby's

(Love this old photo! It was from my husband's family photos, and I used it to make my sale tags this year for Uncovered Ruby sale.)
We're getting colder nights here in NW Oregon, which means I MUST face the fact that the lazy summer days are gone, and the mad rush to get all the canning, yardwork, and last minute projects is NOW. I do teach my kids at home, but we won't be starting until next week, which is pretty normal for us, b/c of the hectic schedule.
My garden did not produce enough cucumbers, so yesterday we picked some up. $36. for a box? I'm not sure what I was thinking, but sheesh, THAT made some expensive pickles. I got a box of greenbeans to supplement the ones from my garden while I was at it. Got home, tried a new recipe a friend gave me, you know how that goes sometimes? Pour the boiling brine over the pickles, put on the lids, turn upside down for 15 minutes, and voila, you're supposed to have crispy not-cooked pickles. NOT mine! I was really trying to keep these crunchy. They do have a grape leaf in them, that's supposed to help. But, ok, that didn't seal, I tried steaming them just a bit, to try to get a vacuum on them. NO, not again! OK, so I waterbathed for 5 minutes; keep in mind, I was trying NOT to have to cook them for the 25 minutes for the usual kind. NO! Not again. I was about in tears, b/c it's getting late at this point. I finally got mad, took the jars, and vacuum packed them! Think it will work? I guess I'll find out, and it may cost me more that $36. by the time I learn my lesson! Either that, or try to talk all my family into adopting a few jars in each of their refrigerators for 6 months.
My beans did seal today, so I'm a little redeemed. Now I just need to get all that labeled and put away. Another possible redeeming thing that happened, was the man at the fruit market was talking to me about baking some bread for him. I'm going to be thinking about that. Especially if it's one product, and I'd only want to do it one day a week. Everyone who gets addicted to my Finnish cardamom bread will know that's the day I bring it. Am I talking myself into a job? We'll see. I haven't wanted a real job, but for the most part, I'd still be at home with the kids.
OK, now for something a lot more exciting, but definitely a ton of work getting ready for: Lisa and Sally, at Uncovered Ruby, is having their 3rd Anniversary celebration this Saturday. They're having an outdoor flea, and Kristin and I are going to be joining the fun! I don't know how they do it so often, (the vendors who do a LOT of sales), because it is a ton of work! We're about an hour or so away, and I borrowed my dad's trailer to haul stuff. We're actually a little ahead so far, b/c we got the trailer early, and have been loading it and getting it ready. We'll have it loaded completely tonight (yeah!) and will put it in the storage shed and theoretically, we'll just have to hook up and leave to get set up on Friday afternoon. That's the plan.
I'm bringing my Finnish bread to the sale, so in the midst of all this, I'll also be baking on Friday. If you're anywhere near Battleground, be sure to go, I think Lisa said there are 24 vendors there, AND the store itself is having all kinds of fun stuff, like drawings, sales, etc. Go check out here blog to see the list of all the great vendors she's got lined up.