Once Upon A Wet, Rainy Saturday Morning...

...the Workman family decided to pack up and head to the Asheville Farmer's Market where produce from all over NC is sold. We love to walk around and compare prices, dicker a little bit, and explore all the different nooks and crannies. Sooooooo....with great expectations of the bags and boxes of produce we were going to cart home, Ray and Dad took out the back seat of our van, and we all loaded up.

Can't waste all that precious time!

Musical earplugs....

Ray found his own little nook in the back. He carted along a nice squishy seat cushion, and it turned out to be so comfortable we found him fast asleep when we got there!

Half the fun was seeing the beautiful fall scenery as we drove through the mountains. It isn't quite the peak season for the changing leaves, but the trees had had a fair start.

As the elevation increased, so did the traffic. It seems we weren't the only ones with the novel idea of taking a trip to the mountains. : )

Conversation in the van was like a game of ping pong....going here, there, and yonder. As we were going along, Mom was taking pictures from the best view ~ the front window. : ) Being a little bit distracted, she asked Dad if we would stay on 74 all the way to the farmer's market. He answered in the affirmative, and she went back to taking pictures. Conversation lulled a bit, and Mom, leaning over and in a semi-hushed voice said, "Did I ask you if we stay on 74 the whole way?"
"Yes."
"Did you answer me?"
"Yes."
(pause)
"Do we?"
At this point, the whole van came alive with laughter. What a wonderful set of parents we have with such a wonderful sense of humor!

Reds, yellows, oranges....

...and pink!
Made it through once! Now to repeat and repeat and repeat......
(By the time we made it home, Keisha had finished three times that much! Not bad for her first big project!)

When we got to the Farmer's Market, we found where all the traffic was going. People and cars were everywhere! We parked at the top and walked down to the sheds lined with bulk produce.

Our first stop was the apples. Because we always buy from Moss Farms, we didn't have to look far. They didn't have everything we wanted, but we got 5 and a 1/2 bushels of what they did have (Fuji, Arkansas Black, Red Delicious...per Allison's request, Golden Delicious). A variety of apples always makes the best applesauce, and if you mix the tart apples with the sweet, the flavor is perfect even without any sweeteners!

Mmmmmmmmm.......turnips! (Not a bit sarcastic now, are we?) : )

We discovered a little part of the market we had never visited before. Wholesale bulk eggs, cheese, butter, etc. from the Amish. They even had a selection of raw milk cheeses! The eggs were all free-range (cage free), and they even had raw milk butter! It was a hard decision, but we finally came away with a big chunk of raw milk cheddar cheese and a pound of raw milk butter. A chill ran up and down our spines as we looked through all the goodies,....

...but only because it was 45 degrees in the walk-in refrigerator!


As the purchases were being made, some found a more relaxing occupation.

We made our way back to the sheds of produce in search of local sweet onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and a pumpkin. The sweet onions were all from Peru, so there was no success with those. We did, however, get a bag of cabbage and a box of sweet potatoes.
Now to find the pumpkin. And not just any pumpkin. A recipe had suggested Sweet Pie, Baby Bear, or a Cheese Pumpkin, but not being experts in this new, innovative field of knowledge, we had no idea what these varieties looked like. After all, a pumpkin is a pumpkin, is it not? Well, we found that that's what the vendors thought as well. Upon questioning a young man about the varieties of his pumpkins, he informed us that all he had left were the "regular pumpkins". Hmmmm....what a revelation! With no success up top, we headed down to the lower level of buildings. We moseyed along, looking at the different stands of pumpkins and asking the clueless vendors about the "regular pumpkins", when we spied a little old man sitting next to his crop of pumpkins. Aha! He looked like he would know something about the mysterious orange globe he was selling. And sure enough, he did!

For any of you who are as clueless as we were, these in the foreground are the Rhode Island Cheese Pumpkins and the dark reddish orange ones behind him are Cinderellas. (I wonder if they turn into carriages......) : ) : )

We finally made our selection after a thorough examination.

Hmmmmm....what's kitty cat up to???

We've found our pumpkin.....now where? Back up to the top sheds for a few quick purchases...

...then up to the buildings where the canned goods, meats, crafts, novelties, and smaller quantities are sold. This part is more for sightseeing to us than an actual necessity. We did come away with a jar of herbal tea, a cookbook, a jar of sorghum syrup, and a big paper lunch bag of hot roasted peanuts ~ compliments of Ray, Jr. : )

The displays are beautifully arranged, each trying to catch your attention.

Would you care for a cup of hot apple cider????

The bees sure would!

Do they always follow instructions that well????? : )

Well, we've had a wonderful day at the farmer's market, but good times must always come to an end...or at least there comes a comma where you take a short breath and get ready to begin again. : )

Readin' a cookbook and eatin' goobers.....what could be more heavenly?!?

We were a little unsure of the way to get there, but now it was time to find our way back. Dad thought he had figured it out, but then he took the wrong turn and we ended up back where we had started...the farmer's market. His next attempt was a little more successful, and we were happily and hungrily on our way home. It was now after 3:00, and we had had no lunch. Finally, we came upon an exit that had a suitable restaurant where we could grab a quick bite before rushing on homeward. Within a short time, we were on our way again. Everyone was preoccupied with different things, whether it be a project or a good nap, when, wait! there's exit 33! Isn't that the farmer's market?!? Oh, no! When getting back on 74, Dad had gotten a little turned around and had headed back the way we had come! A few questions popped up such as "Did we leave something here???" Then Allison queried, "How long does it take to get home from Asheville?" There were a few chuckles as we pondered.

The answer?

It depends on who's driving!!!

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30