LOVIN’ THE WEATHER! But…

While I’m loving the price of fuel these days, I’m not liking the exchange rate. It’s been a while since our dollar was so far below par with the US, and that makes stocking up on my books for various fairs and whatnot a real stinker of a deal. My order was $50 more in Canadian funds than it was in US.

Ouch. And if those books don’t sell? Yeah. Double ouch. Ah well, fair and farmer’s market season is rapidly approaching, and that means I’ve gotta have the stock in. This’ll be the first year I’m doing the books at the market, and that’s only if I can have some of the other stuff ready by then, too. As it is now, we’ve got tables booked for a craft fair in April; Bean’s doing her paintings/prints, Jar is possbily going to have some forged items, and I’ll have baking and honey products besides the handful of Into a Long Ago Future, Ante Mortem and other titles… Hopefully it works out!

I want to earn $900 over the summer, through the fairs and markets. I’d love to make more, absolutely, but reality is, it’s not likely to happen. Either way, I want to be able to start taking on the responsibility of something that some friends have done since the girls were in school.

Honestly, I’ve been putting so much time into my freelance contracts, Belfire and the house-hunting the past week or so that I haven’t really got anything else to talk about. Well, I have made plans – sort of – for a straw bale garden. Why? Because if we move, we can move the bales.

Yeah, I said if we move. I’m honestly starting to lose hope, particularly now that the market has leapt up again. Some of these places wouldn’t have gone for 80k a year ago, now they’re listed at 300k and above. It’s crazy to think that someone wants, and will likely get, 250k for a one bedroom, one bathroom, one level, 550 sq.ft. house. In the city? Maybe… but out here? I have no idea what people are thinking, but they’re f’d in the toque…

Ah well. We’ll see what comes, when it comes.

And, just putting this out there into the world – if anyone has any canning recipes they’d like to share, I’d love to have ‘em! I’m looking forward, slightly nervously (okay, slightly terrified, perhaps) to having some instruction into pressure canning. With a new option for getting meat in bulk, I’m thinking canning said bounty is a better option than freezing, particularly with freezer space at a premium!

Also, I kinda miss canning the produce from the garden. Any garden. Even if I have to haunt the market tables for the beans and peas!!! *sigh* May Long weekend is just too far away… I want to start gardening now!

’til next week…
<3 JL