bits and bobs: A random assortment of things; small remaining pieces and things
I made my first $10 at my end of the driveway vegetable stand on Wednesday. Giddy up! Only $490 more to go to meet my goal of $500 {and having all my seeds, compost and garden supplies paid for}. My guess is the tomatoes and heirloom squash are going to be the big money makers. I was thinking about setting out dried corn stalks at the end of September, but I’m not sure if thrifty New Englanders {and people who don’t live in suburbia} would buy those. What do you think?
What sold:
- 2 bunches of Swiss chard @$2.00 each {Apparently people buy this to eat. I grow it for the chickens}. Who knew?
- 1 bunch of basil $2.00
- 1 Quart of turnips in a wooden box {plastic just isn’t as charming}
- $2.00 tip
I’m pretty sure I only had one customer {there aren’t a lot of homes on our road and I suspect at least half of the peeps have gardens}. But hey, you’ve got to start somewhere, right?
Bug of the day. Can you identify it? To say I have never seen so many bugs in my life…. would be the biggest understatement of the year. Every single day, I find a new one. And I am constantly reminded to check the sheets before crawling into and night, and I never, EVER will go bare foot again {or even just walk around in socks} as long as we live here. Also, linen sheets. They are the bomb diggety and worth every penny.
Someone please explain to my why it is a crime to remove a tag from a mattress and/or new bedding. Curious minds want to know.
My new best friend. Flys-X. I’m not sure if you are supposed to use it on humans… 😉 BUT IT WORKS SO I AM. It’s a hippy dippy product full of essential oils {and I’m totally not an essential oil person except when it comes to making potpourri, which apparently is sooooo 1990}.
I spray it on my shirt, hat, gloves, the back of my neck and the bottom of my pants before heading out to work in the garden. And I spray it on Lucy too and HOLY COW MAN…. I have only found one tick walking on her in the last 30 days. I am sold! A bottle will set you back a WHOPPING $16.99, but you know, it’s survival of the freakin’ fittest out here and I’m all in.
Are there people out there who still buy greeting cards?
Ummmmm no.
Would you pay $5 to rent a set of workout clothing and shoes?
I couldn’t figure out why people were wearing those little white masks while they were mowing. Now I know. The pollen. It’s pretty intense. 😉
Wishing you the best of weekends,
~Mavis
Lisa L says
Congrats on the successful day one of your farm stand! So cool your neighbor left a note! You rock Mavis!
Lauralli says
Please tell us more about the linen sheets. I’m intrigued.
I guess the tags on the pillows are so that the consumer can know what all materials were used in it’s manufacture. I know it’s weird but I get much delight every time I cut one off! 🙂
I’m going to get the insect repellent today for my dad’s dog! They will be thrilled to have something that works!
I don’t work out (unfortunately) but I’m thinking “no way” to rent work out stuff! Eww! My husband and son work out and I have to be a laundry ninja to keep their workout clothes smelling fresh and I can’t imagine any company going to such great lengths. And the shoes….those need to be specific to each person. This is very weird to me.
One last thing: my family and I vacationed in New England last week and I used many of your suggestions when planning things to do and places to go! Thank you, thank you! We had a fantastic time! (I’m SO charmed by Mystic & Stonington!)
FarmGirl says
I still send cards to family and friends. They love it especially my nieces and nephews who are all under 14. They keep them in boxes with photos that we print out together which is too cute. It is such a rarity for people to print photos and send cards today. I think thoughtfulness it overlooked in today’s society with texting, social media, etc.
Susan says
I agree! I send cards, too. Sometimes a “thinking of you’ card…for no specific reason 🙂
Mable says
I agree. Even youngsters whose contacts with others are all via various social media seem thrilled to actually get something in the mail. Personally, I appreciate getting snail mail card much more than an internet card—the latter seems lazy to me. If you cannot be bothered to send me a birthday note (not necessarily a card, just a hand written note is wonderful) by putting pen to paper, putting it in an envelope, putting on a stamp and sending it out, then don’t bother. Too busy? Try doing it while you are watching some brainless TV program. And, really, who cannot find 10 minutes in a day. If someone is important to you, you make the time. Sorry for the rant.
AJ says
To find out about the corn, you could leave a poll at your stand, maybe? Like “here’s what I’m planning on putting out here this year, put a check next to ones you might be interested in” kind of thing?
Mama Cook says
My mom and I have a card that we send back and forth to eachother on our birthdays! It’s a funny and frugal tradition!
Elise in the SF Bay Area says
I LOVE this! How cute 🙂
Michelle says
Just wondering if you knew that Zaycon completely closed down and wouldn’t be fulfilling orders that people had already paid for?
Elise in the SF Bay Area says
Um. I HAVE spent the $5 to rent a running “kit” from a hotel. It was a quick overnight for my birthday to Union Square in SF, and I was jogging pretty regularly at the time. I decided late that evening that I’d love to go for an early morning run around Union Square for my birthday (my husband sleeps much later than I do). I got up some time around dawn (it was mid winter) and had a wonderful experience, still remember it 🙂 But it was a particular special occasion. And I don’t run anymore. I’m a walking fiend though 🙂 And one of the things I love about walking (besides having good knees again) is that I can do it in just about ANYTHING.
Kristina says
I love that someone’s left a note! Welcome home. Also, Ive been considering linen sheets, and would love to know what brand you went with and/or your thought process when choosing?
Daria says
That is a larder beetle
https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2010/01/21/larder-beetles/
Linda says
I LOVE Swiss chard, can’t stand kale.
Candy C. says
You just need to massage the kale and it will be tender. And kale chips are a great healthy snack. Quick and easy to make in your oven. Store in a clean glass jar if not needed right away. Hey Mavis, you could try a few day lily plants in newspaper pots..water well. You seem to not like them but others do. Instead of tossing on the compost try selling a few. Keep the price low as you don’t want them anyway..maybe a couple dollars. Pop in a Styrofoam cooler in their nifty newspaper pots..water well. Pot and all goes in the ground.
Linda says
Connie says
Read carefully ..Tag can be removed by consumer
Denise says
Cracks me up that people don’t know they can remove the tags. I was at Music in the Park last night and the folks in front of me had HUGE tags on their chairs. Would drive me crazy, if fact I wanted to cut them off so bad! LOL Maybe there are Tag Police out there somewhere.
Pamela says
well if people didn’t buy cards still, I wouldn’t have a job. We have lots of business—older AND younger (young moms with little kids) customers. In fact people are challenging us every week asking for titles that actually SHOULD be a card and are not as of yet.
Carrie says
I don’t care to receive store bought cards. My in-laws and grandparents love to receive them so I still send them out for birthdays and other holidays. I have a friend that makes her own cards at Christmas – they are really cool so I enjoy receiving those. I do get butterflies when my hubby leaves note for me to find.
About the $5 rental workout gear. I think if I was traveling a lot for work and didn’t have space for gym shoes I would give it a go. But it also sounds kinda icky to wear a sports bra that someone else has worn.
Toni says
Your bug looks like a larder Beatle .. They are harmless but they do get in your pantry…. They will get in your flour, cornmeal… All your dry goods.
Happy the puggle princess is feeling better.
Thanks for your fun blog.
Deborah says
Try bay leaves in your pantry. I even put them in my flour, cornmeal and everything else that bugs can get into. I know it works on weevils anyway. At least here in East Texas. I also put on my shelves that have food items on them.
Mrs. C. says
ANd rice, too! This works!
Lisa MTB says
I still buy a few greeting cards because out-of-state family members seem to enjoy receiving them. However, I try to stock up at the Dollar Store (where cards are 2 for $1). It kills me to see the price on some of the cards I’ve seen in Target and the pharmacy. The ones from the Dollar Store have cute/pretty graphics and usually a shorter, more to-the-point message, which I really like better.
Carrie says
I have the same thoughts on the price of cards! My husband knows nownot to spend money on cards. I always marvel after my kids birthdays how much people pay for them. I’m always saying “do you know what we could have bought with that money”. We do get cards at the dollar store for various events and usually I have the kids make something.
Lisa R says
I moved from Mass to Florida last year and I will take the bugs in New England any day over the bugs in Florida. There is one that makes me want to move back to NE in a heartbeat….cockroaches!! I cry my eyes out every time I see one especially when I have to get up in the middle of the night. At least most of the bugs in NE are outside and there isn’t a spray for roaches that works completely. I am living my old NE lifestyle through you Mavis. I miss it so much.
michelle says
I agree with you! We were stationed in Fort Walton Beach for three years and we could not get rid of the palmetto bugs (aka huge roaches) no matter how much we had the exterminator out. Our house was under several trees and they would just drop off onto the roof. I vividly remember sitting in bed reading and having one land in my hair from the vent over my head. Yuck!
Delores says
I would put the corn stalks out…let other people decide if they want to buy it or not. But it is not hard for you to put it out, you don’t lose anything by doing so, and you might actually make some money. I guess in short: why not?
I would never rent workout clothes. Ewwww!
Deborah says
Pollen is horrible here, too. Yellow on everything. Well, it’s passed for this year. But there is still dust, seeds and such as that when I mow. I have been known to use a white mask. A hat, too. The highs here are close to the 100-degree mark. Our grass is turning brown due to the heat and lack of rain. ☹️
Mary Ann says
I still buy greeting cards. I also get a TON of them from all of the animal charities I donate to. I’ll use some of those for some occasions (like thank you cards, blank inside for notes, etc), but I end up giving the rest of those to friends and family to use or donate them by the boxful to Good Will.
So cool about your fresh produce stand! Not a bad first day (and a tip!), especially for kinda non-normal items (to me, at least). I would think after you’ve done it a few times more people will stop to check it out and you should definitely have that $500 by the end of the growing season. I got my garden started late this year and have only harvested 6 cherry tomatoes, 2 zucchini, and a ton of cucumbers. My garden is small, so all extras go to my nephews (all 3 of them work for us, so they’re here almost every day).
As far as dried corn stalks to decorate with: When I lived in Massachusetts for three years it seemed like Fall holiday decorating (front porch) was HUGE. All of the local farm places sold the dried corn stalks (along with pumpkins and potted mums). I never checked them out since I’m from California and we don’t decorate for every season (well, we don’t really HAVE seasons – lol). So, I don’t know how much they were charging for them. You might want to ask around before you go through the trouble of bundling them and putting them out.
Work out clothes from a hotel? Um, hell no! I’m sure they thoroughly wash the clothing, but shoes? That’s just gross.
CT Bargain Mom says
Yes, put the stalks ou! During leaf peeping season they should sell. If not, they look festive. Nice job on the sale!
Lynne says
One of my NE joys is driving down random streets and buying produce at someone’s driveway. I pass any given house 2 or 3 times per decade maybe. You never know who will show up.
Mavis Butterfield says
It’s one of my favorite things too. 🙂
Deborah says
OMG, can’t believe you don’t eat Swiss chard! The small young leaves are the best. Some people use the stalk/stem like celery.
My whole family still does cards. But we always buy ours at Trader Joe’s, only .99 each. They never have the same design twice. I have even framed a few.
Or I make cards. They are very wasteful. We use a lot of them for bookmarks. We actually read real books!
Cecile H says
Mavis, I love you! lol Some days I wonder if you’ve just crawled out from under a rock and other days I am in utter awe of the information you have in your brain! <3 Absolutely no insult intended! Swiss Chard is so tasty. We usually steam it then cut it up into bite size pieces (Mrs HB- do as you please! lol) add a tiny bit of butter and sprinkle with vinegar of your choosing. Now our neighbour who is Portuguese she will use the leaf portion in salads and cut the stocks up into bite size pieces and quick blanch them and toss them with a vinaigrette and salt and pepper. Swiss chard also makes a beautiful olive green dye for wool, AFTER you take all the green bits out! lol If you grow the red or yellow variety it alters the colour ever so slightly!
Cards-my kids hate them because they are so expensive, but know I love getting a card that someone has actually picked out specially for me so they buy them! I save them, they toss them almost immediately which irritates me to no end! Hubs thinks we should just go to the store and show each other the card we would have picked out for each other and put them back! lol Men!
As for the corn, you betcha! On our trips south we are amazed at how people decorate for the seasons and holidays in towns along the I-90 and I-75 and various smaller off the beaten path roads. I think you would be surprised once the word gets out that you have it, how fast it will go! We vacation in the upper most area of NY state on the St Lawrence and you see decorative corn for sale at all the grocery stores, veg stands, even hardware stores! If it doesn't sell, think of how beautiful your stand will look with the root veg and squash! So glad to see Lucy girl all happy again!
Yankeegal says
Since I am in your area, I would recommend the corn stalks. Wait to you see how many fall decorations involving corn stalks, hay bales, pumpkins and mums are put up around here. Looks very nice though. So glad you made a sale with a nice note to boot-this is a wonderful place to live!
Rozy says
Those “linen” sheets appear to be polyester according to the tag; which can be removed by you, the consumer, but not by a seller so that the consumer knows the fiber content, washing instruction, place of manufacture, etc.
I grew up eating Swiss Chard and find it a delicious green! By all means put out the corn stalks, you never know who will be driving by and decide to buy them.
I enjoy hearing about your activities and frugalities, thanks for sharing.
Mavis Butterfield says
Luckily, the polyester label was on my shams. 🙂 I wonder what a fair price for a bundle of corn stalks is? $3 for 6?
Dawn says
My teenage son grows pumpkins and sells them from a stand at the end of the driveway. He always puts some bundles of our corn stalks down there. Some people do buy them, and they dress the stand up as well! I’ve put stuff down there as I have extra. Basil and lettuce have been my biggest sellers. His pumpkins sell really well, too. People like to buy cukes, but we don’t get many takers when we put zucchini out.
Larder beetles are a common pantry bug in New England. If you look them up online you’ll see they have a kind of caterpillar-y like stage as well. Be sure to seal up your cereal, flour, sugar, and stuff really well. They find their way in to the packages if you don’t.
Hope Lucy is doing better!
Linda says
I’m pretty sure the “don’t remove the tag” thing is there so the purchaser will be able to determine the material content of the item (kinda like an ingredient list but for textiles. It does say that the consumer – who is the purchaser – YOU can remove the tag. Cut that darn thing off – I always do.
marie says
It is interesting to read about your new life in NE ((I was born there), as we moved from Oregon to Alabama last year. To say there has been a adjust is a understatement. Very few bugs in Oregon, here we have pest control spray in and outside the house. Hardly anyone decorated for fall in OR, here lots of people, the only place I found corn stalks to buy was at Lowe’s. Yes, people will buy them. I love the idea of buying produce from a local stand, which I do at least once a week. We even have a stand that only sells bunches of flowers. To find a note is precious and thoughtful I’m sure that customer will be back many times.
Rebecca in MD says
So happy that you have gotten your farm stand started and had your first customer. I always stop at neighborhood farm stands, but they are few and far between where I live. We do have a local farmer’s market nearby that is open Saturday 7 am to 11 am only. Only producers can sell there, and the variety is excellent and also features local wines, baked goods, jams, jellies, etc.
Valérie says
I have one set of linen sheets I got when my Dad passed and I love them. It is another experience.
Congratulations on the farm stand! You have HUGE balls, moving across the country and setting up a garden the first year! Wow you are my idol!
I still send cards to my older friends, young people don’t get them
Paula says
I only send one card a year. It’s to my sister. In 1995, I sent her a “Peanuts” birthday card with Lucy on it. It says, to a smart, fun and wonderful sister. Inside it says, you can send this back to me for my birthday. She did! We have been sending the same card back and forth since then. We sign and date it. The only cost is a stamp. Of course, I need to find an envelope to send it in. Frugal sisters!
E in Upstate NY says
When I was in college, ahem, a few years ago, had a suite-mate who after attaching the stamp, would spray the stamp with hair spray. The recipient then could wipe away the cancellation and reuse the stamp! Those were the dayx!
wendy says
My hubby had a fit when he saw me cutting off a label one time. I asked him if the tag police were coming for me lol
We don’t buy cards for each other and I tell my kids not to buy them for us. Just too expensive to throw in the recycling.
Brook Hart says
Three years ago, I stopped in a Hallmark store at the mall. I bought a lovely I love you card. I almost fell over backwards when the lady charged me 8 plus dollars. That was the last card I bought. When college daughter went away her first year, she forgot to get me a card. She searched in my keepsakes drawer and found the card from the previous year. Now she just pulls it out and adds a short note and date. She is running out of room though. I half expect to find it glued into a notebook one mothers day soon. I love our traditions. Son is entering military next week. I imagine I will start sending cards often but not 8 dollar ones.
Lisa says
Thanks for clearing up the bug question everyone. I have had these bugs every year from May thru September. I thought they came from the woods behind the house. I never had them in the winter. The funny thing is they are oddly never found near any food sources. I usually find them in my hallways and the bathroom. 20 some odd years ago I named them “George”. Since they did not sting, bite, make marks on the walls or strange noises I was ok with them. I will never look at them the same way again. I do keep my flours etc in the freezer until i need to open a new bag and that bag is usually dumped into a plastic container with a lid.
I’m located along the Canadian border in Maine and everyone decorates here with cornstalks & pumpkins so they should be a hit at your farmstand.
Tracy says
I think it’s funny that people are skeeving out at renting or out clothes from a hotel when they’re sleeping on sheets that are used by zillions of people, and rubbing down their bodies it’s towels that have also been used over and over.
I’ve only slept on linen sheets for many years now. Nothing like the really good ones and they last absolutely forever. Even more ridiculous, I actually iron them! The most gorgeous, crisp bed.
Linda says
Ohio here. We are overrun with Japanese Beetles this year. They ,make lace of rhubarb leaves, cherry tree leaves, etc. I hung out beetle traps today (the stores were out of them because everyone grabbed them up- we got there as an order was coming in) and the bag is FULL after 24 hours. A gazillion Japanese Beetles all milling around in a plastic bag will give you the creeps if nothing else does.
You are missing out if you don’t eat swiss chard. Boiled with a little butter it is great, Yes, I send cards but the price is getting to be a huge deterrent,
I leave the tags on a lot of things, but cut them off others. It does say “except by consumer” after all.
And just once, I’d like to sleep on linen sheets to see if they really are worth all that money. So expensive!
I vote yes on corn stalks, and you have several varieties of corn growing, so wire together 3 of different varieties for a neat back door decoration in the fall. They’ll sell, too.
Laura T. says
Yay, on the first sale! That’s encouraging! I still send out cards but I make mine. I’m a Stampin’ Up demonstrator & our business is still going strong. I know some supplies are being used for scrapbooks & journals but there is a lot of card making going on too! I was being lazy the other day & was just going to buy a card for something & I couldn’t believe how much they cost now! I made myself go home & make one with all the supplies I have. If I lived closer I would buy your cornstalks! I buy them every year to decorate outside in the fall. Good luck on selling more at your stand!
Amy says
Mavis
That is a larder beetle. RUN, DO NOT WALK to your nearest Terminix location. We brought them into our home on plants from Lowe’s. And they are soooooo hard to get rid of!!! We treat bimonthly with Terminix. Hadn’t seen one since last Fall, and I found one last week. Before Terminix the larvae would appear 10 or more at a time in my garage and on the carpet in the room above. EVERY DAY. For real, don’t mess around. I’m pretty sure they laid eggs in our insulation. And for reference, my home is 19 years old and we are very clean, as in vacuum every day. The at home stuff didn’t help at all. I despise these things.
Good Luck
Elaine says
We always did cards. I have many memories of my mom and aunt howling with laughter inside the Hallmark store. They would just walk around, read, laugh, pass them to each other and laugh. You would hear them outside in the mall!! So I buy funny cards!! My son has inherited the knack for funny cards and we just laugh! A funny card is like a knock knock joke! And I have special cards that I’ve saved from my deceased parents. My dad always did a funny card and a serious card. One of my sons best friends finds the funniest cards. We make them too and I’m an amateur photographer so I use my best photos to make cards. Yeah, it’s an added expense but to me it goes along with the thought of giving to get the “right” card.
I do LOVE that some of y’all send cards back and forth! I wish I had done that with my mom. We had gift bags we used back and forth and I still have them with her handwriting on the tag…it’s nice. It’s like my mom is still giving me a gift every Christmas she isn’t here.
And yes on corn stalks! My mom put one on the door every fall. Unfortunately, after 30 years it was time to let it go so even though I’ll never find your farm stand, I’ll find myself some cornstalks this fall!
Keep at it, Mavis! You’re doing awesome!
Practical Parsimony says
I buy cards from yard sales after I inspect and smell them. So, each card is only pennies. Once I bought $12 of cards, new, donated to a charity. They were ten cents apiece. I bought $12 of those cards. I never buy cards unless it is for an elderly person who might want a religious card after a death.
Lynne says
Saute the Swiss chard and make a Swiss chard and roasted red pepper quiche. Super yummy. I freeze chard and roasted red peppers from my garden so I can make this quiche all year long.