The run up to Christmas
Comments(13)
Photo: Gateside stand in the snow
“I’m more excited about the gate side stand than I am about Christmas.”
Danny remarked as he carefully avoided an icy patch on the country road. We were driving back from the market laden with fruit as we’ve run out of some lines.
I’m delighted about our stand too. Sales have been pretty good since I put out taster pots. I’m thrilled that people are buying our preserves and coming back for more. We are now making flavoured vinegars to sell when the bottle supplier is up and running again in January. I’m also experimenting with making soup out of the dehydrated vegetables so as to be able to sell really tasty packs on the stand.
We can sell all sorts of different things – I’m busy designing egg cosies at the moment and planning cute presents for Valentines Day. I might even have a go at making cards. We’ve sown herb seeds in pots in the greenhouse and now are hunting for another triple Jeroboam Champagne box to expand our empire.
It’s just the sort of distraction that I needed and I’m loving it.
Meanwhile like everyone else we are busy with the run up to Christmas. Our ham has been soaking for three weeks and is ready to be wrapped in butcher’s muslin and hung in the ingle nook fireplace over a smoking log.
There are the village Christmas cards to be delivered on foot.
And I still haven’t made my cake!
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Thank you for your comments. And a bit of silly bath time fun with the Frothing Sea Monster trick!
Cutting energy costs
Recipe for sausages baked with herby garlic infused beans, bacon and tomato
Tracing some of my ancestors has taken me on a long journey
Recipe for lamb shanks braised in red wine with shallots: slow cooker/crockpot
The cupboard was bare – so what was The Contessa going to eat last night?
HG
Egg cosies are a brilliant thing but people seem to have forgotten them. When I was small we had two knitted rabbits (made by my grandma) in the slightly less traditional colourways of jade green with an orange face and purple and yellow stripes. It was the 70′s!
Glad your stall is doing so well and really glad it’s given you a distraction. I hope you and Danny have a lovely chrimble and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Keep blogging – it’s a little bit of lovely sanity and inspiration in my day!
Ruth xxx
It is a beautiful stand filled with scrumptious goodies. I do not see how anyone could pass it up without being at least slightly tempted.
Happy Holidays!
So glad your road side stand is a success.
Merry Christmas
Where do you get your jars and bottles from? I’m always on the lookout for a good supplier. I have been using Wares of Knutsford as they sell in small batches which suits me, but if I could get a discount on large stocks I’d be interested too.
I hope to pass by your gate one day so keep yourself stocked up.
Have a very merry christmas.
Sounds fantastic, Fiona. Good luck to you, and a very Merry Christmas to you all.
P.S. I’d be interested to know where you get your jars from as well
Merry Christmas,
made some sloe gin this september using your recipe and bottled them up. Really enjoying giving them out as christmas presents especially given the seasonal weather.
Cal R.
Gosh doesn’t it look lovely! I wish I could stop and buy something from you. I hope this new venture is a roaring success, and also that you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Very best wishes.
“now are hunting for another triple Jeroboam Champagne box to expand our empire.”
Try your local Freegle group – there are always lots of weird and wonderful things being offered and requested. On my own local group we recently had a unicycle (punctured), torches for fire-eating and clown trousers offered…. You never know your luck!
Merry Christmas to you!
I’m thrilled that the stand is going so well for you and hope that it will continue to do so. Jacqui recommended ‘Freegle’, in my area we have Freecycle so check that out too.
Happy Christmas Fiona and Danny, thank you for a lovely blog.
I wish I could drop by your stand. Wishing you and Danny a very Happy Christmas and better health for the New Year, with love, Sally
Hi Fiona
Your stand has served as an inspiration to me since I was hoping to start a similar business at our farm during the summer months. You are lucky in that here in the U.S. to sell canned foods, we must make the foods in a commercial kitchen (which can be rented by the hour in most areas).
I love that you are adding crafts! Please do show us when you are ready.
Merry Christmas to you and Danny!
Hi Ruth
We use egg cosies a lot here as Danny sometimes has to answer an email or a call just as I’m serving breakfast! Those rabbit ex cosies sound funky.
Happy holidays to you too.
Hi Marigold
Thank you for your good wishes. I do hope that you had a good Christmas and will have a great New Year.
Hello Choclette
Marry Christmas to you too!
Hi Tamara
I get mine from Freeman Harding http://www.freemanharding.co.uk
These are the cheapest that I’ve found so far. They used so much bubble wrap that I could line half the greenhouse with it! So I saved on that too.
Hello Mary
The stand is great fun. Happy Christmas to you too!
Hi Cal Rabbit
Oh a present of sloe gin always goes down well! Happy holidays to you.
Hello Bib
Thanks for all your good wishes. The stand is a good break for us. I do hope that you have a great Christmas and New Year.
Hi Jacqui
Thank you that’s a brilliant idea!
Hello Sylvie
Merry Christmas to you too.
Hi Toffeeapple
Yes we have freecycle in our area too – I’ll check it out. Hope that you are having a fun Christmas and will have a great New Year.
Hello Casalba
Thanks for dropping by and leaving all your good wishes. Let’s hope that 2010 is a great year for everyone!
Hi LindaM
Merry Christmas to you too. Poor you with those sort of regulations canned food would be expensive to make. We are definitely going to do crafty gifts, fresh veg, flowers etc and we’re going to keep on changing the stock so people don’t get bored with it.