Elkin Farmers Market

Every Saturday I visit the Elkin Farmers Market for all sorts of amazing home grown, local and organic produce, plants, baked goods, even soap, and believe me, it never disappoints. I highly recommend planning a trip some Saturday to partake in the goodness. And while you are in town, visit some of the local vineyards and historic downtown Elkin for antiques, books and art. The Elkin Farmers Market is located in the parking lot at the corner of Bridge Street and Market Street. Vendors sell their wares from 9am-12pm.

Look at the amazing assortment of produce! Vendor Yer Vang grows fruits and vegetables native to North Carolina as well as Laos, which makes for an interesting display.

Those prickly things at the bottom right hand corner are cucumbers! I haven't tried them yet, but I plan to next weekend! How cool are they?

And you can find more than just produce at the market. Just have a look at the beautiful pottery by Georgie Stone. Doesn't it look like there are little fish swimming on the inside of the pitcher? Lovely!

Here are Eli's new obsession....little colorful tomatoes grown by Poke Berry Farms. They have a name but to me they look like little jewels. When Eli sees them he screams, "More!" In addition to these tomatoes, they also sell herbs and plants. I got my birthday spider plant here.

I am no stranger to these breads. Since weaning myself from buying only the yummy cheese bread, I have sampled the Extra Seedy Whole Wheat and the Raisin Breads. Superb! But I have to say that (so far) the cheese bread is my favorite.

Now, blueberry lovers, here are by far the best and sweetest blueberries you will EVER taste. I don't know what variety of berry these are, but they are like little sugar pearls.They are so sweet that I bought a container after picking 5 gallons myself. Eli loves them. You can purchase these from Ed and Cathy Powell of Blueberries at Cabin Trail. And I wouldn't pass up Cathy's blueberry muffins.  

Anyone that knows me knows that I am obsessed with handmade soaps. In fact, I have a huge stash in a basket in our bathroom cabinet. As soon as I have pared down a few bars, I plan on buying a nice fragrant bar from Carmen Lee O'Dell of Made By Willing Hands. In addition to bath soaps, she carries shaving mugs, soap holders and the like.

And if you are in the market for some beautiful plants, Kevin Campbell has a wide variety to choose from. I just love the ornamental pepper plants he carries. And this fall we may plant a raspberry plant. Kevin writes a blog called Foothill Plant Treasures. Check it out sometime for information about regional foliage.

Enjoy music while your browse the booths. Here is The Couch Family playing Bluegrass Gospel music.

And last but certainly not least, Beaver Creek Farms has some wonderful potatoes and squash.

And here is Yer Vang amidst her fabulous produce! Does she look proud or what?

Farewell for now, friends. Hope to see you at the Elkin Farmers Market this weekend.

XOXO

Slushy

Discount this!

Two days ago I received a coupon at checkout from the Food Lion in Elkin, NC. The coupon is for $5 off your next purchase of $65 or more. Needless to say, I was really excited about this coupon. It doesn't take much to excite me anymore. Sadly, as my husband pointed out, the coupon is only good this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and since we will be out of town during the coupon dates, we will not be able to redeem it. Bummer! Still, I thought why not ask the manager if they could accept the coupon a day early or give me a rain check. So I got on my cell phone and called the Elkin Food Lion to make my simple request. The answer was NO. What could possibly be her reasoning? Because the coupon is computer generated. I asked the lady if she could do something outside of the coupon to accommodate me. The answer again was NO.

My husband and I are self-employed antique dealers. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the economy isn't exactly booming. You would think that a store at which you spend $100 a week would make some sort of exception for you. After all, you are a valued customer. You are an MVP! What happened to the rain check? How about picking up your little manager card and overriding the system? How about loading $5 on a freaking gift card?

My husband had the idea of calling up the manager at the local Ingles grocery store here in Elkin, NC. Perhaps this grocery store would honor the coupon. His request: If we come to your store right now and spend at least $65, will you give us a $5 discount? The answer: NO. This grocery store took a hit when Wal-Mart moved into the same strip mall, but it's really struggling now that the Wal-Mart built a new super center and moved across town. The parking lot is deserted. There is never a line. The produce is always marked down to $.99. And the strip mall is for the most part devoid of businesses. If business sucks so bad, why are you not interested in stealing a customer from Food Lion?

Like I said, we are self-employed. And believe me, if someone walked into my booth at the flea market or antique show and asked for $5 off a $65 purchase, I'd jump on that. If giving a $5 discount meant this customer would buy my coffee table instead of our neighbor's, I'd do it!

It seems to me that the entire retail establishment has lost all creativity. I have worked in a grocery store as a cashier. We always went out of our way for the customer. We have stored groceries in coolers, freezers and bags, even when it meant taking all of the groceries out of their bags and re-bagging them. We have delivered groceries even though we don't deliver. What ever happened to customer service? Isn't the customer always right? I say YES, the customer is always right. And in this case, I, the customer, am RIGHT out the door.