Some Hutterite Lovin'

I have to admit, I'm questioning the title of this post. I mean are ya'll Hutterites offended? If so, I apologize. Not like I really think any Hutterites read my blog, but just in case...

And what is a Hutterite? Well, all I know is that they are kind of the Albertan (Prairie) version of the Amish. Dress similarly, live in community, etc. Another thing I do know for certain about those lovely Hutterite folk...they grow some excellent veggies!

Last night I finally got a chance to go to our local farmer's market. It literally is like 5-10 blocks from our house. I did go one week, but had forgotten my wallet and had zero cash, and was on the clock. So this time I returned, with cash in hand, kids in tow, and time to spare.

We have been trying to get to this Farmer's Market since the beginning of the summer, but something always came up. Lets take last week for example. We were going, I was determined. So we loaded up the kids, and headed in the general direction. Sure, it looked a little stormy in the distance, but it was way off. We get driving, and we can literally see the rain splattering the road up ahead. I foolishly mumbled..."Come hell or high water, we are going to the Farmer's Market."

Personally I think God finds cliches like that rather amusing.
"Oh really Holly, is that so..."

So within seconds of me muttering that foolishness, the rain was literally only hitting our side windows. Not the front window. It was raining sideways! Like seriously! But again, stubborn little me, "Well, maybe if we keep going, it won't be so bad." (The driveway was like 100 feet ahead. Right). It did calm a bit, so we rolled our windows down a bit (why I really don't know). Just then a giant gust of wind came up (it was gusting up to 70 Kph that night), and we were right beside a giant pile of sand that they must have been using for landscaping. So now we were basically driving through a sandstorm, a rainstorm, and well, it just really wasn't happening...

So I learned my lesson last night. No foolish mumblings. Although we did think Gabe may have ingested a paperclip yesterday, so then we thought I might be going to emergency with him instead of the Farmer's Market. And no, I did not forsake my son's health to get to the Farmer's Market, although who really wants to spend a night in the emergency? We decided to feorego the emergency and just keep and eye on him. Thus far he has done quite well.

Anyway, we finally made it. There are many produce stands, but I go straight to the Hutterite one. These people know how to grow food. There is trusty ol' Henry (who I've aptly nickname Henry the Hutterite). He is really great. He also had Eli helping him (they seriously do have name tags). They are from the Holden Colony. I spent $18, and got quite the bounty. As I was turning to walk away with my goods, Henry ran down from the other end of the table with some mini cucumbers, tucked them into my bag, and looked me in the eyes, and said "Family Special." Now if that isn't romance, I don't know what is. Be still my beating heart...
They also have a kettle corn stand with the big ol' kettle. Abbi was totally excited about that, so she got the medium sized bag for a whopping $3. Rob said its some of the best popcorn he's ever had. They were both thrilled about our find.
There were all sorts of other interesting booths. Mainly some with food, but some jewelry ones, or a guy selling birdhouses. You name it! There was also an East Indian guy busking with his guitar, playing folk music. He's actually quite good, especially at whistling. He even serenaded Abbi with a song called "Beautiful Woman." It was sweet. She walked up to put $1 in his guitar case, and muttered..."Look at all the money's." I was sure she was going to steal his stash.

So all in all, it was a good time. Rob couldn't make it because he had worship team practice at the church (which is also why we can never get there), but I'm hoping we can get him out to meet Henry one of these Thursday nights. You definitely have to keep your eye on a guy who is offering your wife free mini cucumbers. That just spells trouble.

PS. Make sure to enter my 100 Posts Giveaway. You have until Saturday at midnight to enter...