Booth Talk

Happy Easter! No dyed eggs, baskets or bunnies here, just a nice quiet day.

39 this morning, chilly but no frost. No rain all day either, which should make many people happy-- you know the old folklore that rain on Easter Sunday will be followed by 7 rainy Sundays! It certainly held true last year.

The cherry tree is in full bloom, and the apples have begun to bloom. My lettuce and radish seeds are coming up in the gardens. Daffodils are almost all gone, except for some we planted very late. Tulips are blooming here and there, and will have some late ones that I stuck in flower pots at the end of January. I planted a few pansies the other day, just to brighten up some of the planters.

We spent Friday in our booths, not bringing in a lot new, but doing some rearranging. Sales are not nearly as good as they were this time last year, when people were still flush with the pandemic handout money. But still, we are doing okay, and hoping larger furniture will soon be selling again. I did sell a table and chairs set last week, and a tall decorative windmill.

Here's a look at a few changes in Ravenswood booths. This genuine Hoosier cabinet is Larry's pride and joy. I so wish we had a before photo because the transformation is amazing. It was very near ruin, but some love, hard work, and replacement back and one side have it good as new. 

This is an English cheese dish, larger than a butter, and has a few small airholes in the lid. It has been well used, but still so pretty.

I spent yesterday cleaning, working on my taxes, and cooking for a dinner and firepit evening with friends. I'm afraid they didn't get anything fancy, just a three-meat meatloaf, green beans, potato salad, creasy greens cooked with ham pieces, bread and butter pickles, deviled eggs, rosemary bread, and for dessert I made apple pie to serve with ice cream but none of us had room for the pie. (I tried it this evening, and oh my it is good!) 

We sat outside for several hours enjoying the fire, until it got too chilly. It was a really nice evening.

This morning we had hot cross buns. I had not had them in years, but picked some up when I saw them at the store. 

You know, I had kind of forgotten about Easter coming, since we don't really get into celebrating it, so I was surprised by the crowds at the store, and the short supply of many things. I grabbed the last of the green grapes and strawberries, and the celery I bought was kind of pitiful. Have you noticed that the stalks are getting thinner, and kinda sparse? A new variety, maybe? The price sure hasn't come down.

Today has been paperwork, and getting the electric fence repaired around one garden, since the seeds are coming up. Larry has worked on finishing up cutting up the fallen tree, and had some riding mower repairs to do too. 

I heard a program on the radio yesterday about whips. Bulletins, in Reno Nevada. Apparently owning and mastering the art of the whip had become a thing among the homeless in that city, to such an extent that the city enacted a ban on the whips. 

I was surprised at first that people would be so outraged over the whips. Seems though, that when the whips crack, they are actually moving so fast they break the sound barrier! The sound is actually very close to that of a gunshot, and the police were run crazy with 911 calls about gunfire. Who would ever have thought.

That story reminded me of my childhood. We lived about 25 miles from Washington DC, and so not far from several military airfields, including Andrew's and Quantico. I well remember the first time I heard a sonic boom.  We were scared to death, thought a bomb had dropped somewhere. After all, WWII wasn't a distant memory at all in the mid 50's! After that first time we heard the boom from time to time and always tried to see the aircraft that caused it. I wonder now if ol' Chuck Yeager caused some of them?

But you know, I have not heard a sonic boom in years. Have you? Do they just not happen any more, or have aircraft been made to not produce that noise when they break the speed of sound? I no longer live close to an airfield, so perhaps I am just isolated from that surprise? I wonder.

Well, enough rambling for today. I hope each of you had a lovely Easter observed in your way.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.