Cute animals and Christmas - good combination

[venetia_sassy]

It started off as a lovely cool morning but by the time we arrived at the farmers' market I was glad I'd brought my hat. Way too warm!

Bought some fancy sweets for Mum's stocking, some rabbit and bacon ravioli for dinner tomorrow night, some white cherries which I hadn't seen before, a marinated duck Maryland, a gift sampler of doggy treats for The Boyo (well, we get all sorts of nice food at Christmas, why not some for him?) which will have to stay down in the garage until the actual day so he doesn't sniff it out, and some more gorgeous solid purple carrots, some of which I'll use for making Jamie's Indian Carrot Salad. It looks absolutely spectacular made with a mix of julienned purple and orange carrots and it's great with lamb or beef mince.

We also met a gorgeous Akita, with the most amazing plush coat and lovely soft ears. He was taking all the attention as his due, quite calm about it. He was the second - no, third - Akita I've met, the first two were a few months ago, at a dog show going on near to the market. That one was younger and all 'Love me, pat me, oh you're nice people, pat me, cuddles, oh, I like you!' He was blowing coat at the time so every pat resulted in a little puff of hair. His three month old pup was also there, looking like a very sturdy bear cub.

(After that encounter, I must have looked smitten because Mum said, 'No, we are not getting an Akita.' I said, 'Oh, I know, we have completely the wrong lifestyle for one - but ohmygodwasn'theadorable?')

We mean to put up the Christmas tree tomorrow. To start getting in the mood ... have you seen the animals of YouTube singing Deck the Halls? It's hysterical and very cleverly done. But I think Jingle Bells with the laughing ferret and concerned cat is even better.

Comments

[northern]

Mmm, farmers' market! So much nice stuff. :)

[venetia_sassy]

It was a very good visit!

[turlough]

I envy you having a farmer's market close but really enjoy hearing you tell about all the nice stuff you find there :-)

I've never seen an Akita in real life but I love their plushy coats. (It must be hellish for them during Australian summers with that much fur!)

[venetia_sassy]

Are farmer's markets not popular in Sweden or is it just not the right area? They seem to be taking off in Australia or around Sydney at least.

I sometimes wonder about whether to post about the markets because it's mostly a list of what I bought but if people like hearing about it ...? I'm glad you do!

If you get the chance to pat an Akita, do so! Plush is definitely the word. Oddly enough, I've heard dogs with double layer coats do okay in the hot weather, as long as they're not kept outside. They shed for a lighter summer coat but the insulating aspect of their coats works somewhat for heat as well as cold.

[turlough]

Farmer's markets have started to become popular here in Sweden but so far you can only find them in the larger cities. And my town is really to small to even have a proper market day, but in the neighbour town a local producer or two might occasionally have stalls on market day during the growing season.

And yes, I totally love to hear what you've been buying. It's always interesting to compare the kind of things available in other countries compared to here.

[glitteryv]

I don't think I've ever seen a purple carrot. Wow!

[venetia_sassy]

Heritage varieties! I see white (cream), yellow and purple ones at the market fairly often. Orange wasn't always standard. And sometimes you get ones that have an outer layer of purple but are orange on the inside. But I like the full-on dark purple ones. The colour is fabulous, almost jewel-like.

[turps]

I do enjoy reading your farmer's market adventures.

Also, you're rocking the vids lately :D