Further financial faux pas and even more disasterous decisions

moo2moo

and so my first forays into Country Marketing were officially disasterous. I sold nothing whatsoever which isn't hugely disasterous considering I wasn't actually there but goes to show that volume and variety is required. Should really do some homework but I'm getting the distinct impression that weekday Country Market shopppers are mostly little old laydees who buy traditional fruit jams. Much like the traditional Country Market producers who are all little old laydees who make fruit jams. Hopefully the weekend markets will be a little more forward thinking. As it is I need to come up with somthing a little differnt to the rest of 'em to avoid stepping on anyones toes and to make something just different enough to be interesting.... am thinking marmalade with treacle (to make it darker) and whisky, brandy and cointreau for a bit of oomph but will need to source some minatures for this.... heres hoping there are lots at the school summer fayre which is a mere three weeks away. Still the nice laydee who runs the show, and whom I have yet to meet, is taking my jams to another market next Friday to see what happens there.

Meanwhle DD2 still doesn't look like she has cornflakes wedged at the side of her mouth (that did make me chortle EE). Shes reached the whingy whiney stage and is driving me nuts. Meanwhile OH has an interesting looking zit on his chin. Have banned him from coming near me or the DDs on the off chance hes lurgi infested too.

Spent yesterday potting up seedlings. Went out an hour later to find the kitten has decided the beetroot pot is his own personal toilet and evicted the seedlings leaving a large steaming turd in their place. Replanted the seedlings but may need to do something to deter the kitten. Ditched an entire tray of unsuccessful seedlings. Which has liberated the worktop, just a windowsill to go now. Have made a start cleaning the kitchen by emptying and repacking the cupboard under the stairs much to OHs amazement. Next on the agenda is oven cleaning, oh joy! Figured I'd get the worst things out of the way first. Am going to avoid that until at least 7am though.

firesidemaid

in our village we have a jam lady that makes up concoctions that remind me of the lady from vicar of dibley who made bizarre cakes (think chocolate and pilchards:eek:).

just as i think 'oh lovely, lime marmalade' i find it has marrow in it or the like! and it puts me right off. call me old-fashioned, but i like my jams straightforward.

when i didn't make my own, my favourite to buy h/m was ALWAYS lemon curd - in fact i will always buy a small jar of hm l/curd any day. now though, i like to buy what i generally don't/can't produce myself. my mum meanwhile, will buy ANYTHING:rotfl:

MrsMoo2U

I love Ruthin, lovely little town.

I am sure that during the summer the country markets will be filled with tourists in the weekday ones so why not just put welsh labels on and give yourself a Welsh name for the jams?
I too love lemon curd!

moo2moo

Thank you all... perhaps I'm just a bit too adventurous.... and with that in mind todays creation is to be Rhubarb, Pear and Ginger jam as I'm bored of the vanilla, ginger and apple variants.

Like the idea of welsh labeling but sadly I doubt there will be any tourists at all in the local village markets, although they're much more likely in the big town one. Perhaps I'll go with bi-lingual labeling... "jamiau gwych gwneud â llaw yng nghymru" although "Gellyg riwbob a jam sinsir" doesn't sound all that appetising. Still anythings worth a try at least once..

Meanwhile the top of the oven is now free of stalactites, its not as clean as I'd like but its far better than it was and theres no longer an overpowering pong of burnt oil as it heats up. Left the shelves and trays soaking in the sink whilst we were out so will have to tackle them after lunch.

DD2 still isn't great. She managed her riding lesson with tons of enthusiasm but it wiped her out and shes been asleep ever since.

Whilst we were out OH phoned his mother and arranged for us to stay with her for a week in the summer and again this side of Christmas. Could have sworn we agreed to visit her once... on the brightside it is a free holiday.... assuming I don't end up ironing tablecloths or filling on for sick staff. Besides what could be more fun than having the hound from hell in a hotel full of people for a week or so?

moo2moo

Ugh. Its morning already. I've had no sleep at all and am officially Mrs Grumpy Pants. The hound from hell has been stampeeding round the house huffing and puffing and barking and howling and hurling herself at things in an attempt to let it be known to all that mating peacocks are not welcome on the outhouse roof no matter how transitory they are. DD1 is hoping thet they'll decide to stay so that she can have as many tail feathers as she likes whilst oH and I have been frantically googling to see if theres a way to persude them to buggger orf to harass someone else. The trail of destruction they're leaving in their wake is quite impreesive. DD2s beetroot seedlings are unlikely to recover, a third of the bean plants have been annihilated and they've had a jolly good go at the strawberries and the barely formed red currants.

So anyway I'm now wide awake yet barely functioning. It would be a great time to get the laundry pile out of the way but I'm seriously lacking in enthusiasm.

Managed to get plenty done yesterday. Cleaned the smaller of the two ovens and tided a bit more kitchen before doing two loads of laundry and briefly finding the bottom of the laundry basket. Finished reading this weeks book, made five jars of jam and generally pottered about.

Need to start up a Country Market folder to keep an eye on my expenditure as it could easily exceed my income, especially if I'm not selling much if anything. Also need to figure out whether its worth doing the odd bit of baking, clearly only for the market I'll be at in person as it has to be made the day before but this involves more stringent regualtions on presentation. Also need to source some sort of lidded storage boxes to keep the jars clean and separate from the household stash, am thinking the boxes that photocopier paper comes in are a good idea since they're free and I have an endless supply.

Also need to figure out when I'm working over the summer. Got the dates from the riding school but these clash with other things so the DDs are unlikely to be riding as much as they normally do in the holidays. OH is quite happy to keep an eye on them and has even suggested taking them camping again. Am still enjoying the novelty of him choosing to spend time with them and planning things to do.

Am debating whether to go to this mornings giant car boot sale or a charity fundraiser for the local childrens hospice or whether to go for the no spend booby prize which involves cleaning and vacuuming both cars. None of which will happen if it doesn't stop raining. Tis also free listing day on E-bay so thats a possibility too. One which needs a sudden burst of enthusiasm and quite frankly at this point in time I'd rather gouge out my eyes with a red hot poker.

moo2moo

and so I weeded one of the veggie patches, did a load of laundry, did most of the ironing including that of a load I'd forgotten was in the tuble drier and had been there for quite some time. Ironing was abruptly abandoned following the demise of a kamikazee giant spider who decided to crawl up the inside of OHs new white work shirts sleeve and promptly exploded, dying it varying shades of green, black and red upon contact with the iron. Incidentally burnt on spider is a !!!!!! to get out.

Did a bit more kitchen tidying whilst the DDs sucked up profusely and relocated their tat upstairs in the hopes of staying up late to Wii. DD2 still isn't scrusty enough for school. Just as I think its ok something happens and the scab cracks and starts to bleed. Will be ammusing her from home again today, at least OH is here to keep her company.

Need to do a spot more tidying today as well as give my boss the hours I'm planning to work next week, not that I'm quite sure what I'm going to do since my parents decided yesterday to borrow the DDs for the remainder of the holiday giving me another three child free days and totally negating the need for any childcare at all. It also means I don't have to try and do incredibly long days whilst they're away, there will be lots of time for fun stuff too! Just need to figure out what. Am planning a jam making marathon in order to have a sensible selection ready for the Country Market at the end of the holiday. Am also wondering about baking various scones for it the day before since I'll have nothing else on. Don't want to get carried away but baked stuff seems to sell when nothing else does. However that requires another form of packaging but I'm clueless as to precicely what. Will be harassing my friend later to find out more.

Chocforever

When I made some scones for a fete (I realise your proper market is in a higher league than my local charity fete!), I had a plate with a few on so people could inspect them. Then I packaged the rest in freezer bags at home in twos or fours ready to sell. I know it doesn't look great on the stall (and I got a few frowns from the old brigade) but it was very practical and they all sold. I think people like the fact that the scones are out of the elements and aren't being handled. Also, there is a tendency at these fetes and fairs to buy more fresh food than anyone could possibly eat before it goes off, so they can always pop them straight in the freezer when they get home! Depending on what other stalls there are, it may be worth making some cheese scones too if you have time for all the people who don't like sweet stuff - often there isn't much for them to buy.

Good luck with the sales! I love your diary by the way,

CF

firesidemaid

moo, my preserving book arrived today and it really is fab:j

moo2moo

Chocforever - thats an interesting suggestion but I'd be hung drawn and quartered for it. According to the WI bible which I was loaned yesterday I can package in butchers wrap and only butchers wrap which has a triple rolled seal to which two pieces of selotape 2.5cm inlength are applied. Theres also a precise measurement for the position of the label and the colour of pen which is used to write. Then there are dire warnings about using the word "biscuit" and many other such minefields to avoid. I'm sure its all common sense but some of it seems a little over the top. Didn't realise there was a uniform to wear too or a box on the application form to tick if you're over 75. What have I let myself in for?

Anyhow I've already had my first ticking off. Despite all the preserving books insisting that you leave an air gap in the jars apparently the punters aren't happy if this can be seen so I need to top up the jars I have which means breaking the seal, reheating the lids and doing this as quickly as possible without risking any form of contamination so I guess that means bunging my head in the oven and hoping I still have eyebrows left when I'm done. Fortunately this only affects the four jars I made last weekend, they're happy to accept my original jars as a novice mistake. I forsee a need for many many more lids that I had anticipated. Also need to obtain some snappy bags, which is apparently the correct term for bags made from butchers wrap, in order to sell scones and cookies but not biscuits because that would be very very naughty. Tis a veritable minefield.

Spent yesterday weeding veg patch no. 2. Completely forgot to water all the seedlings in pots, thats always assuming they haven't been blown away in the galeforce wind currently battering the house. Need to round up the recycling and put it by the bin... again... Also need to finish cleaning the bathroom. I was rudely interupted yesterday by a teary DD2 who announced she'd really like a Happy Meal for lunch. Am at the stage where I'll do anything to get her to eat. Shes getting skinnier by the minute but at least one side of her mouth has healed up although its looking less and less likely that she'll be back at school at any point this week.

£25 credit from the nice people at the Halifax has arrived in my account. Ingeniously shuffled wonga about and wrote alsorts of cheques before realising that two cheques totalling £110 have yet to be presented which royally screws up my maths and means I have £110 less than I thought as a saftey net until payday which is a bit dire considering I've allocated the imminent Child Benefit payment for this.

Am debating whether plans for today invovle a truffle making workshop after school. It sounds like fun but since the geriatric hound decided to go walk about at 12, 2 and 3:30am I'm absolutely knackered before I've done anything today.

Wordsmith

moo2moo wrote: »

... but since the geriatric hound decided to go walk about at 12, 2 and 3:30am I'm absolutely knackered before I've done anything today.

I had a dog that for some reason got into the habit of wanting to be let out at 1 a.m. every night. The vet suggested tying him to his bed so that he couldn’t wander. So I got a leather collar and a chain and fixed this to our bed, since his was by the side of ours. He was a big boy (a Great Dane), so I did have visions of him going down the stairs regardless, with a double bed bumping down behind him. It did the trick, though, and he soon got out of the habit. I only wish I'd had the foresight to tell the cleaner just why there was a large leather collar chained to our bed …