It's officially winter at the farmette - about five centimetres of snow over night, combined with a bit left over from Friday night. And it's still coming down.
The squirrels have been busy squirrelling away the black walnuts (not enough of them, mind you). Found this one this morning in the window of the tool shed. Pretty sure it didn't fall from the tree that way.
Anyhow, it's also the fall back day, so we got an extra hour - although the cats don't know anything about daylight savings time, so they were pouncing and pummelling at the usual 7 a.m. (6 in the new standard time). On a Sunday. Yay. Not going to complain. We love the little fur balls, even when they're a pain.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going to the Neustadt Holiday Craft Show. Holy smokes, it was massive. Held in the arena and adjoining community centre, there were a hundred plus vendors with everything from baked goods to honey to maple syrup, Christmas swag, knitted toques and more. It's put on by the Neustadt Recreation Advisory Committee and it's always a corker.
I chatted briefly with Terri Lynn Shoemaker, who had indigenous crafts on display. She's a lovely Ojibwe lady with a real spark in her eyes.
Since we seem to be running low on mugs right now, I also bought these beauties from her. They were $15 apiece and some of the proceeds go to the Native Women's Association of Canada, which has been around since the early 1970s.
It's a good deal - they do important work, including advocating to preserve indigenous culture and advancing the well-being of indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people including their families and communities. Glad I contributed my wee tiny bit - and in return, got these gorgeous mugs decorated with art by Maxine Noel so we can sip our coffee in style.
The best thing about a small-town craft show is the odd offerings you sometimes come across. For example, I'm not sure who would like to have the King of rock and roll gracing their bed, but this Elvis quilt was available.
All in all, it was a great day, and while my bank account went down a bit, my happiness quotient went way up and I did have a really fun time on my own, getting out and about in our little corner of Grey County. Until next week.