Monday Musings

It is all about me ....

As I write this, it is Sunday morning and I am peopled out.

It has been a week. Market, photoshoots, marches, interviews and a wedding. Lots of people. Lots of obligations. Lots of smiles. Lots of customer service.

And I want to be a recluse today. Is there a rock I can crawl under? A door I can hide behind? A gate I can close?

Is it my anxiety?

Is it grief?

Is it aging?

I find I need a lot more “quiet” time. Just one-on-one conversation. I love coffee shop dates. One or two friends … chatting and having deeper conversations. A glass of wine. Maybe a few tears.

I used to love large groups and now ….. I just can't.

I wish I understood why. I know I miss out on great opportunities … when the panic sets in and I need to escape a noisy, chaotic environment where once upon a time, I would thrive.

So … that was my week. And I can't change it, regardless how much I want it to change.

Now I need to look forward to this week.

Put a cherry on it …

Six years ago, this tree had 3 cherries on it. Honey and I carefully watched those three cherries ripen. They were soooo close.

The day they were ripe … there were no longer 3 cherries. Birds had eaten 2 of them. So Honey and I split one small cherry.

That is not the case this year. I have harvested enough cherries to make 7 jars of sour cherry jam. And there are more ripening.

I think I will have fresh cherries for sale at the FarmHers Market this Wednesday as my North Star cherries are so close. I am making some cherry-chocolate bread this week for market. Something a little different.

I am also looking for some other cherry recipes.

Not the cherry on top ….

There is this …

A year ago, there was some roof damage. Unfortunately, the insurance would only pay for this 1/2 of the roof because the other side has had no damage.

And my insurance deductible is high enough … it doesn't cover this.

The wind recently caught the window and broke it. And the vinyl gutters have out-lived their usefulness.

So I called my trusted roofer for an estimate.

And wow.

Not in a good way.

I have to maintain this building. We built it right before we got married in 1999. So it's 26 years old and has had no updates.

Again …. It is time.

But the amount was not in the budget. Yikes!

Wanna buy some jam??

Newsie stuff ….

River Action writes a quarterly magazine called Eddy about the Mississippi River and life on it here in the QCA.

Christine from QC Pop Up Picnics made the front cover.

And where was this picnic????

Underneath the above mentioned cherry tree!!!! Yep … in the orchard.

And just to let you know … the orchard will get a new apple tree this week. As they say … The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

The FarmHers Market was featured on KWQC. Unfortunately, I can't get to a link I can successfully share yet. Estavania, the reporter, hung out with us to watch the Strawberry Moon rise. I really enjoy her company. And I think we will see her shopping on the farm.

The Quad City Times also did an interview. We had a ball with their reporters. Roxy and Kaitlyn were so much fun! I haven't seen any article yet but I will try to share it when published.

Bits and Pieces … I had a Hipcamper this week. I found this bumper sticker very funny.

It's a fairly busy week with photoshoots and the market … But I think we might be able to catch up on a few things.

Like maybe my veggie garden! I planted 18 tomatoes last week. I will be canning tomatoes in September. Which works for me as the farm slows down and the weather cools down.

98° in my kitchen is a bit warm.

And no one appreciates Nearly Naked Canning as much as Honey did. 🤣

On that note … I will end for today!

I will talk to you later.

Cathy

www.buymeacoffee.com/missMarket.

Thank you for spending your time reading my scribblings. You have no idea how much it means to me.

I will never put my writings behind a paywall. I write because I have to write. It has become an essential part of my being.

If you enjoy my Substack and want to support it … please consider buying a coffee. It will be used to help purchase a shingle … or a part of a window (at $400 each! And they are tiny!!! But they will go up and down. That's a new concept for this building).

I promise no coffee money will go to buy gutters. I will keep that opportunity for myself. 🤣🤣🤣