Farmers Market

Today, Russ and I decided to go to the Lyndale Farmers Market. We'd been to the Bloomington one, and I'd been to the one in Beloit, but we were totally unprepared for the scope of this one. The first clue was how hard it was to park. We got lucky, and only circled one and a half parking lots before we were in the right place at the right time. And only a block and a half away.

The first section surprised us a little, because it was mostly clothes, sunglasses, jewelry and decorative items. Almost the first thing we saw was a gorgeous iron bench that I really wanted to take home. If we ever get around to extending our porch, it would look lovely there. And it was quite comfortable and reasonably priced, too. But we didn't succumb to temptation. Not this time.

After that section, there was row after row of gorgeous fruit, vegetables and flowers. The smells were wonderful as well. Made me wish I could cook. Though a lot of it came in quantities that were too large for just the two of us. We bought: Raspberry Blues jam, local honey (from Jordan Minnesota - hope that's local enough), eggplant so Russ can make eggplant parmesan, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries because Russ wanted to make blueberry soda, corn, and garlic. Oh, and a banana chocolate chip muffin that I ate right there.

We didn't stay quite as long as I would have liked, and a bit longer than Russ would have liked, so it all worked out pretty well. I was surprised to find that it is open every day during the season (until mid-November!). May have to go back...

It does remind me of the first time we went to the Bloomington Farmers Market. It is really small in comparison, and doesn't offer a ton of variety. The most memorable thing to me was the watercolor exhibit. You see, the market is on the east side of the City Hall building, and parking is on the west side, so the easiest route is through the building. After we bought a few things at the market, we wandered into the exhibit from the Transparent Watercolor Society of America. There were some nice pieces, but to my surprise, my favorite was a still life. Which is NOT usually my favorite art form. But this one just spoke to me. It was of silver bowls and luscious red cherries. In fact, you can see it here. Isn't it gorgeous? It's the first still life I can recall wanting to own.

As I write this, I am listening to the classical music I have downloaded into iTunes. And wondering why I haven't been playing this music - or other music - in the hours and hours I've been spending on the computer lately...

On a final note, I had to laugh at this quote that I ran across on Robin McKinley's blog (speaking of the hours and hours I spend at the computer - much of which is reading back entries on her blog):

Ever notice that 'what the hell' is always the right decision?
-- Marilyn Monroe