What I Did on My Holiday WeekendDay One: Saturday

Dave and I had intended to go to the Dane County Farmers' Market early, before the rest of the herd, but we ended up sleeping late, until 7ish. Although we got there late, about 8:30, the crowd was still pretty thin. After a quick breakfast of apple pie scones & coffee at Michelangelo's, we headed to the market, joining the shoppers counterclockwise circling Capitol Square.


I thought these eggplants looked especially lovely, such a beautiful purple color and so glossy.
I was tempted to buy a few but had no idea what I'd do with them.




What in the world is "cardoon"?
And what does one do with it?



The nice weather and the Taste of Madison, to begin after the market, brought out the Bush-hating guy.



On the way home we stopped at the Saint Vincent de Paul store on Willy Street, so I could search in vain for an obsure, or shall I say "rare," Bob Dylan album (Dylan, 1973) that is reportedly so bad it is the only one never released on CD. We didn't find it, of course, but I did score two Rod Stewart albums, which should be plenty to torment Tim, and Dave found a copy of Billy Joel's Turnstiles, which I've been wanting. Our search for the elusive Dylan continued at Sugar Shack Records. Although I didn't find what I wanted there, I did score two Dylan albums, Infidels (which turned out to be too warped to play, but what can you expect for $.25?) and Slow Train Coming.

Yes, we really do still own a turntable, and we really do still play albums on it.

I've heard the restless audience's clamoring for more garden news and photos. I aim to please, gentle readers. Lately we've had a bit of wet weather here, which has caused me to neglect my herb garden. From the kitchen window, I've watched it growing, exponentially, as I thought to myself that the basil was starting to look a bit "leggy." Armed with nothing but my Polish market basket and a pair of simple kitchen scissors, I approached the garden to do a bit of trimming. Here's what I found:






As you can see, my herbs had gone way beyond "leggy" plants requiring trimming with scissors and advanced to jungle-like plants requiring a more serious tool, such as a machete.

So, I trimmed a bit, but ended up just pulling most of them out.



Below are the herbs that I saved. (They're now drying in the basement.)




What other exciting things did I do today? Let's see.... I took a nap, and I made refrigerator pickles. And to think, I still have two full days left!

Cheers,
Barb