249. V is for Vermont Day Out

At the last minute, Sandy and I decided to get up early and go to the Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival the lonnnnnnng way, via Waitsfield, followed by brunch at Libby's Diner.  To get the joke, perhaps a little visual will help:

Lemme tell ya, Waitsfield really knows how to do a farmer's market.  If you have the opportunity to go, this is no ordinary farmer's market, and I highly recommend it.  I did bring my camera, but it was raining, so I didn't take very many photos, but here is a hardly representative sampling:

There was so much more there.  I bought some luscious bulbs of garlic, and a delicious apple that I ate on site.  I also bought some fabulous blueberries and had a wonderful chat with the vendor who told me how to take care of my blueberry bushes (sawdust!).  I got the most wonderful seeded baguette and Sandy bought artisan cheeses that served nicely as the beginnings to dinner later, when paired with my garden tomatoes and basil.  The produce at the market was stunning, and many more fantastic artisan cheeses and artisan breads were on offer, as well as pies and sticky buns -- oh, I want to go back just for the sticky buns, which I sadly did not sample.  And donuts.  And honey, and jam, and flowers and plants and various artists' wares, including Woody Jackson's, and of course our own Ruby Charuby and her husband Ken, who took this shot of us:

Sandy and I now own a couple more of Ruby's scarves, modeled in the photo above.  We had so much fun there, even in the drizzle, and the day had only just begun!

We backtracked our way to Libby's Diner, where we joined Lee Ann and her family, Ann, and Paula, for a fabulous brunch.  Then we made our way to Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival for much fun schmoozing and klatsching.  We saw and gabbed like mad with Manise and Laurie and Chris and Joan and Gayle and Kathy and Dave and Judy and .... oy, I get nervous making these lists, because I'm always so afraid I will forget someone, but I don't mean to. 

Lee Ann, Jessie, and Sandy

Amazingly, I did not spend much money there.  I almost feel guilty for not enriching the festival economy more.  Sandy and Paula made me walk away from some stunningly beautiful alpaca jackets.  These grrls are nothing like the Utah ones when it comes to shopping, let me just say. I only bought a $3.50 jar of honey and gave $5.00 to a young man who was playing a violin slightly off-key and with a fairly bad sense of rhythm, with a basket set in front of him that said "College Book Money."  I said to him and his parents that I like his reason.  And even if it's not the truth (but I'm sure it is!), he gets A for effort and creativity.  We liked it so much that we had to go to the ATM machine and get some cash and buy something smaller (for me it was the jar of honey) to break the 20.  Sandy joined me and gave him a fiver also.  We both wished we'd given him 10. 

When we were done there, we drove up the road to see Jill and the clan at Kaleidoscope Yarns. I stimulated their economy a bit more than I did the festival one. 

Mongolian cashmere in the most delicious red.

Comments

[Sarah]

Woo-hoo! It's festival season! No, this is not just the lack of sleep. I am genuinely glad to read of the good times. No, this is not an attempt to steal your fabulous yarn. Enjoy it, Norma! Let me use more exc!amation points!

[gayle]

It was so wonderful to finally meet you in person!
And I apologize for drooling on your feet...

[Carole]

Sounds like such a great day!

[lisa]

V?!?!? I haven't even gotten around to P yet! Maybe I'll try to go to this next year, it is closer (only 4 hours) than Rhinebeck, and seems more do-able. If you ever get a hankering for the Maine Fiber Frolic, you can crash here...

[margene]

You all look so beautiful! Each scarf is gorgeous. Ruby does such beautiful work. The scarf she's wearing is fabulous. AND THERE IS NO WAY I would have let you walk away from an alpaca jacket given your climate and the amount of money you didn't spend. Must talk to your frugal NE friends!!

[Cheryl]

Righto, if your outings are such fun (and that's only in the reading of them), I must hie myself to your neck o' the woods in future! Are blow-ins welcome or is it by invitation only?

And as always Ruby's scarves are stunning.

[Marcia]

Thanks for the sawdust tip....we have a basement and workshop full of the stuff, and my blueberry bushes need all the help they can get!

[scoutj]

I went to high school there! The ski academy I went to - GMVS is there!

[Norma]

Look. That coat ON SALE was almost $300. Nice? Yes. But THAT nice? Mostly not. But I did say that you could go back at the end of the day. That was our first stop and you shouldn't make big purchases at your first stop, you know?
will you please hurry up with your shower? I have things to do, for cripes sake!!!
xoxo

[sandy]

Oops, I left a comment from me with your name on it. heh.

[marianne]

Hee... Sandy... her comment.. I read it and saw your name, giggled while thinking wtf.. then saw her next 'oops' comment. Fun fun fun!
What a wonderful whack of folks you're hanging with this weekend!

[Cheryl S.]

Well, maybe those alpaca jackets weren't quite as perfect for you as your necklace(s). I'll give Sandy the benefit of the doubt here.

And you might not have gotten much, but what's there is choice.*

* “Not much meat on her, but what there is, is cherce” (Spencer Tracy speaking about Katharine Hepburn's character in "Pat and Mike")

[Cookie]

We need photos of the alpaca jackets. Then we can decide. ;^)

[Laurie]

It was great good fun! I got some Malabrigo lace at the K store, and a skein of Judy yarn at the Festival.

[Ann]

Aha! I knew you would go see the girls at Kyarns, LOL! What was for dinner-you said no cooking! Sawdust on blueberry bushes-do tell...

[Diane]

Life is short, buy the alpaca jacket?

Waitsfield is wonderful. I rented a ski house there on Bragg Hill for about 12 years.
Wonderful bakery, skiing, shopping, food, et. Who knew they offered the complete package with the Farmer's Martket too? Love the photos.

[Mel]

That Lee Ann's always popping up in your blog. Is she trying for some sort of blogging-by-proxy?

[jean]

I absolutely adore the red cashmere yarn! I enjoyed reading about your farmer's market, I attend one at least every other week from March - October (I have a few photos on my blog). It is such a friendly atmosphere and there is also a musician there although his reasons for playing are different - he is retired and plays to stretch out his income, so of course money is dropped into his hat every time, I even look for him each time I go. I have just discovered your blog and look forward to exploring it further.

[Joansie]

It was great to finally get to meet you in person. You are as friendly as you are on your blog. You didn't get that jacket!!! It was so beautiful. Sweet to donate to the violinist. I didn't see him. I purchased quite a bit but was within budget!