1. Earned $34.11 (after costs) at the farmers market. Given the fact that it rained almost the entire time, I think we can call that a success. Out of everything I took to market, the only perishables I brought back were chili peppers, some tomatoes, two loaves of white bread and a bag of cookies. The cookies were reused for a potluck dish, I froze one of the bread loaves, and we are eating the other one. Yay for no waste!
I am very happy with how the farmers market has been going this year. Last year I would bring home between $20.00 and $40.00 each week after costs, and I would also bring home a lot of products that didn't sell. This year I am averaging (and that includes rainy days!) a net profit of over $50.00 each week. I spend about half as much time baking, but this year I have eggs and garden produce to sell, which are 100% profit and very easy to do, compared to baked goods. Soap and jams are also cheap, reliable sellers to make. I am not selling as many books this fall as I did in the spring, but that is probably because anyone who wanted to buy one has already done so.
2. Recycled farmers market cookies for a potluck dish. There weren't quite enough cookies, so I used a box of cookie mix ($0.75 at the bent 'n' dent) to make some more.
3. Line dried three loads of laundry.
4. Sold three dozen eggs.
5. Picked up aluminum cans to recycle while on a walk and bike ride.
6. Harvested tomatoes, peppers, grapes, peaches, pears, lavender and basil from the garden. I also blanched and froze some green beans from last week and dried the lavender and basil. I did finally get a chance to make pesto with some of the basil.
I didn't have time to do anything with the tomatoes, grapes, or pears. But that is why farmers market is so great! Instead of just letting stuff rot in the garden, I can put it into brown paper bags and sell it at $3.00 per bag. I used a few pears that were left on the tree to make two pear tarts to sell, and ended up making a net profit of $9.32, which is pretty cool.
7. One of my hens hatched out a little chick! It is SOOOO cute! I posted a video on Instagram if any of you are on there.
9. Hubs helped me put a timer on the light in the chicken coop. Back in August I realized that the hens had slowed down with egg production. I thought it was because of the rain/bad weather, but as production dropped even lower in September, I realized that they needed more light in order to keep laying. Finally last week we figured out the timer, and now they seem to be picking up a little bit. I need to remember this for next year though, because I could have used some more eggs at the market last week.
10. Picked a 5-gallon bucket full of sumac fruits for my goats. I am going to save these, along with the tree hay I've been collecting, to use as feed this winter.
11. Bought packets of eggplant and marigold seeds on sale for $0.25 each. I will use these for next year. And no, I'm not really sure if we will actually eat eggplant. But it will be fun to try.
12. Got free admission to a museum. On Sunday we went to the Michigan History Museum in Lansing. Normally the museum charges $6.00 each for adults, but on Sunday the fee is waived. Hours are short on Sunday though, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.
13. Lastly, Shutterfly had a promotion for a free 8" x 8" photo book. I decided to make a book on our trip to Guatemala in 2014. Shipping for the book was still $8.50, so it was not entirely "free". However, my last "free" photo book from Walgreens was about the same price, so I'm confident that it's about the least you can pay for a photo book. I'm looking forward to comparing the quality of the two books.
One of my decorating goals is to get photo books for ALL of our travels, so I was pretty excited about the Shutterfly offer. As of today (Monday) it is still open, for any of you who would like to have a photo book made.
Til next time,
-Bethany