You Can't See It All In One Day ......

There is so much to see at the Astoria Sunday Farmers Market, it takes several visits before you can take it all in.   There are a lot of talented craft people in this area who show up every Sunday with their best stuff.  Most of the items are very affordable ... occasionally there's something expensive, but for the most part, THIS farmers market fits my budget.

Patty and I took in the sights, petted the puppies all along the three blocks and taste tested a few items.  Unfortunately, we taste tested the wrong hummus ... garlic and avocado.  Sounds yummy, right??  WRONG!!  It was like eating three chunks of raw garlic!!  My oh MY!!!  When the fumes and fire finally died down, we hit the bakery store for taste testing to get rid of the garlic breath!!

There are lots of granddaughter things here too .... like these really cute mini quilts with matching pillows and reversible hats for American Girl dolls.   Now these I could make!!

This was one of the sweetest babies of the day.  Even his farmers market neighbors said he's the best behaved dog around.  Maybe some of that will rub off on my two!!  Or maybe not .......

I picked up another spoon handle bracelet from a couple who drive 3-1/2 hours every Sunday morning, just to come to this market.  They make all this jewelry themselves, and do a beautiful job!!

These are the "flower ladies" ... in a flash, they can make up the most beautiful bouquets that sell for $15-20.  They sell so fast, the girls can barely keep up with the demand.

The vegetable stands probably do the most business.  They have more variety and fresher products than the grocery stores around here.  This day we showed a little restraint.  In the past, we have been known to buy too much and end up trying to eat it all in one dinner!

This was an unusual sight ... this teenage girl wielding a hammer and anvil, blacksmithing.  Her parents have this booth, making all kinds of iron hangars, barbecue tools and decorations.  

This was a craft my dad did pretty well ... making and fitting horseshoes at the ranch.  This family has taken it to the next level!!

Everywhere you look, there are puppies ... in backpacks, in purses, some walking and some being carried.  This tiny baby is probably the smallest I've ever seen.  No idea what breed, but cute as a button.

From the market, we drove to Northwest Winds Kite Store where I picked up some 50 foot lines for flying in smaller areas and drooled over more Revolution kites.  No, I didn't buy another one ... I need to learn to fly the ones I have first!!  If I can't get it down, it would just be one more to bury!!

Back at the rig, I finished warping the loom after a little bad language!!  When I purchased it, they told me there were 75 heddles on each shaft.  That's little metal things to run the thread through.  NOT true, as I discovered when I got down towards the end.  Luckily, when I ordered the 20 extra I KNEW I needed, they could only be purchased in a 100-pack, so I had plenty.

I had to bend the rod holding the heddles, remove one side, bend the NEXT rod to free up one end, then slip the metal ends on and rebend them back into their slots.  The heddles fell off both ends and wouldn't go on straight!!  I'm hoping my neighbors didn't hear all the commotion!!

When finally done with that task, it dawned on me that I had based the warp on the number of threads per inch, not the pattern.  Trouble is, there are no books around that tell you all this information.  It's trial and error if you don't have a local loom school!!  RATS and double RATS!!  Like kite flying, there's a learning curve here!!

The plan was to go fly kites later in the afternoon with Nick and Terry Russell.  I drove up and down the beach looking for a little breeze, but it eluded me at every turn.  I guess I'll just have to be patient when it comes to flying ... and weaving, for that matter!!   That's a virtue I apparently need to work on!!!  Oh well, it's tough to be in paradise at the beach, but somebody's got to do it!!!