Attended the mixer @ Friendship West Friday evening. The vendors met each other, the pastor & event organizer over a light meal. We got to introduce ourselves & our businesses to the group. At West Wall Street, we got to introduce & sell our products to members & visitors. Quay assisted me & Nadeerah helped Janet at Tea Tea & Company. We all had a fantastic time!

I know cooler weather has arrived but we're starting to plan for a spring/summer garden. The compost bin finally got here and Ken assembled it. I've already added leaves, fruit & veggie peelings, egg shells, coffee grinds and grass clippings to the bin. Hope to add some chicken manure from the We Over Me Farm soon. It may look like I'm adding trash to the compost bin but, in a few months it'll have rich black soil! Please share any good advice on composting.
good compost material = healthy soil = great garden

So I know what I'm about to tell you has nothing to do with making preserves but, it is about food. An organization here in southwest Dallas County, Altrusa International  is scheduled to help feed some of the homeless population in Dallas tomorrow. We were asked to donate cakes. Members could easily buy store-made cakes and serve them. But these amazing ladies choose to bake pound cakes from scratch today for the meal tomorrow. We are, treating people like family; the way we would like to be treated if the shoes were on our feet.
My cake didn't turn out too well...it fell like the Berlin Wall, I turned it into bread pudding. But, not to shirk my duties, I purchased the main cake ingredients-flour, sugar, eggs, butter and oil and gave them to another member, Ms. Debra who is an excellent cook, to make it happen. It looks like Altrusa will be donating between 8 to 10 homemade cakes tomorrow. Its good to know people, like Altrusa International of Southwest Dallas County, are willing to make the extra effort for those who are unable to.

So Tuesday we made 3 different batches of jam. So glad we had frozen some fruit when it was in season because there is no local fruit available right now.. We got side-tracked and 4got to turn 2 jars right-side-up,  so... those 2 jars look a little different from the rest. FYI, we don't use concentrated lemon juice for our Peach and Berry-Peachy Jam. You get the real thing, fresh lemons! Sometimes you even get a seed or two...(not on purpose)
No shows this weekend. But, we'll be up and running Nov 16, 24 and 30th

It was a busy wknd & we are zapped! I'm still in pajamas and its 2pm Sunday afternoon! So to answer your question, "No I did not go to church this morning".
We sold produce grown by the students @Paul Quinn College at the market on Friday. It was a purple & gold kind-of-day. Next time I go to that market, I want to take a pic of me holding one of the chickens they are raising. Then again, maybe not...
My 1st customer was Melawn, a USMC veteran, She enjoyed sampling some of the products. Some of the yellow jackets tried to taste and see too!
Saturday's event at the 1st Christian's Disciples Church was also a huge success. As usual, we forgot to take pics. There were 4 ladies from Dallas, Duncanville  & Grand Prairie who each purchased several jars. Because of them, we will be back in the commercial kitchen this Tuesday making more product for the upcoming 3 shows this month. 
The gift box containing Mild Chow-Chow, Cinnamon Cucumber Rings and Hot Chow-Chow was a popular item this weekend.
It may be renamed "The State Fair Special" since they were all sold there last month.

We will be exhausted after having done 2 shows by Saturday evening.  On Friday, Nov 1st, Ken & I will be at  Paul Quinn College for their annual homecoming celebration. We will be selling some of our products made with the produce from Paul Quinn's WE OVER ME FARM. Expect to see Squash Pickles, Bread & Butter Pickles, Cinnamon Cucumber Rings, Chow-Chow and Peach Habanero Jam.
On Saturday, Nov. 2nd, We will be at 1st Christian Disciples Church from 9am until 4pm.. All products will be available for purchase. Four ounce, eight ounce and sixteen ounce jars can be purchased in a gift box if desired. You choose which products you want in your gift box!
​Looking forward to seeing you this wknd!

The Methodist Marketplace went over pretty well. It was great seeing some of my returning customers. At the advice of Ken, I did not take any Strawberry or Peach Jam since one of the ministries at the church had made some & was selling it there.
Believe me I wanted to bring some of my jams.
​Connected with Josie of Josie's Bistro who was also there selling her products.
Pics below: Me w/ 1st customer of the day & Josie & I with our products

We've been working at a Go Texan kiosk on Tuesday and Thursdays. Its been an experience! On day 1 we ran around  in circles looking for Will Call. We thought it was on the fair grounds but it was not. We had to have parking passes, car decal etc. to even get into the pavilion to set up. On day 1 , after all that running from pillar to post we had exactly 5 minutes to set up before people started coming to sample! Ken said trying to get on the fairgrounds (as a Go Texan vendor) was harder than trying to get on a military base. I'm about to agree with him on that one!
This Thursday will be our last sample date. The Fair ends October 20th. The Nourish Market stockers have been very good about keeping the shelves full & looking attractive. You can find our products on shelf #4. So, come and see us this Thursday and say hello. If you've already dropped by, thanks so much.  We will be sampling Chow-Chow, Hot Chow-Chow, Peach Habanero Jam and Cinnamon Cucumber Rings.
Pics of our jars on the shelves and us rushing to get the samples ready!

We did Preview Night on 9/26 and were 1st time samplers last Thurs.. Heading back to the fair to sample 2x this week. Maybe one of us will remember to take some pics. I'll probably be zapped of all energy by Friday! So we forgot to do pics...again... BUT a good friend & neighbor did. Thx for the post S & G!