It is Tuesday morning; I have the day off and we are still slowly working our way through packing up the event supplies. Things have to be washed, sorted and organized. This has been an event saving policy for me. Nothing was forgotten this time, though I must admit supplies were not always found where they should have been. There was a scramble to find the hand soap and I thought I forgot to bring my camera.

We did adhere to Ron’s time line and were out of the house by 5:30 am and pulling into our spot just before 6:30, We were so early we beat the spot markers and had to wait for them to measure and draw the needed lines. But we weren’t the first vendors there. We made the “brilliant” decision to unload everything and get the vehicles parked. Ron’s favorite word used to describe both good and bad moves on someone’s part. Once our chalk lines were in place we jumped into down loading our stuff. We needed to get both vehicles emptied so we could get them parked and out of the way. Brother-in-law Don arrived early too. And his help was greatly appreciated as we struggled to get the tent up. It is a beast to maneuver and the fourth set of hands was a blessing. The forecast called for a rainy day and we needed the tent up fast. I thought we would then be able to take a breath and take our time getting the setup just right. I had forgotten who I was married to. I guess because we had not been the first vendor to arrive, the goal now was to be the first one ready to go.

This was easier said that done. We were able to get the cooking and samples section up and ready to go quickly, but we had to deal with how to set up our new T shirt display and a changed mushroom bolt set up. Ron’s shop class skills came into play again. He had a new sign printed and laminated but they would not able to give him the rigidity he wanted. So he needed to come up with a plan.

And he did. The wire hanger was strong but light and the sign did not flop over. Getting it secured to the middle tent post was another matter. That took some wire and the rubber bands I found.

Only a few hiccups in the process but soon everything in its place and ready to go. We have to tweak the T shirt display. The sign describing it was up too high and most people did not read it. The shirt itself, was a big hit and got a laugh out of everyone. I will be keeping my new location in the future. I liked having my skin care products on the front row as it was easier to catch attendees’ attention and make my pitch.

So there we were, set up and ready to go by 9 am. Just waiting for potential customers. One problem. They would not be arriving until 10 am. The vendor paper work clearly stated opening time. We just did not register that. Well, at least that gave me time to run over and get breakfast sandwiches for us. We were going to need the fuel in order to get through the day.

After a slow start, we had a steady stream of customers all day. The hook was Ron cooking shiitakes for samples and his constant stream of chatter. They listened and bought. Jo once again manned the sample prep table, handing them off to me for sharing with crowd. Don sold all our logs again. People who came asking about them told us again and again they had seen someone carrying one again. They wanted to know what they were for. I ran the register again. We had 11 credit card transactions this time. Ones we probably would not have made without using the Square, but cash was used for the bulk of all purchases. This is why I don’t understand why some keep pushing the idea we will and should be a cashless society.

We learned again that people can be odd. More than one person wanted to eat the shiitakes we had on display. Ron had to be vigilant in making sure they did not follow through on this process. We will have a sign at the next event stating for display only. Do Not Eat. I brought a jar of dehydrated shiitakes with us to show folks what they could do with an extra bag or two. I pulled one out to show a customer. She caught me off guard when she took it from me and bit off a piece to try it.

The rainy day did not materialize and this made the day better for all of us. The bread lady was next to us again and the garlic guy across the aisle. We had been shifted down the row a bit this year. The pickle man was on the end of the row across from us and he always has a line around his booth. The organizers wanted to make sure the aisle did not get jammed up. The crowds started thinning out after 4:45 and I was able to send Jo off to get something to eat. None of us had left the tent since the first customer stopped to watch Ron. Promptly at 5 pm everyone started breaking down their site. We pulled everything out of the tent so we could collapse it. Being so large, it would have blocked others from getting their vehicles close enough to load up their stuff. We dumped what we could back into bins and then sat down to wait for a break in the traffic congestion. I was able to get the Outback moved in and we loaded that up. Ron was finally able to bring in the trailer and we were soon heading home.

Once there we unload only what was most important, and collapsed on the couch. Jo had to work the next day so she was soon off to sleep. Ron and I talked shop while we each had a drink and decompressed. There are things we will change for our next event and others that worked out just the way we hoped. One of those was my idea to bring our “staff” Tiny House Farm T shirts and offer them for sale. And I sold one to a young lady who loved the mushroom house.

Sunday morning was unload day for Ron and me. Jo missed all the fun by being at work. We also had to head out to THF to check on the shiitakes and drop off the supplies. We took a chance and drove the Transit onto the property. It made it so much easier to unload the trailer. One trip in and out. Neither one of us was up for a lot of work. We picked what shiitakes we could and headed home. The plan was to dehydrate them for later use. Over the next few days we will get the rest of the supplies stored away. Lists have already been started with the things we need to replace and ideas for what we need or can change. One big take away is my taking time off before and after is a huge benefit. I was able to help Ron bring in the mushrooms and supplies. And now I am able to get the stuff all put away.

It was another good day for Tiny House Farm. And we are looking forward to attending again in 2020. It is anyone’s guess what Ron will come up with for us to add into our product line.