The marketplace

This Sunday, Wes and I spent part of our day exploring some of Nashville's local culture. No, we did not listen to country music.

First thing in the morning we headed over the local Farmer's Market. Nashville's Farmer's Market is really great because it's open every day except for a few holidays and all year. It has a permanent structure to house it and includes a garden area in addition to fruit, vegetables, and a few other items. I was very impressed with the number of vendors and quality of produce. We got peaches, beans, peas, yellow squash, zucchini, and even some eggplant and okra to try. Not everything is immediately local -- some of the peaches are from Georgia and South Carolina. One guy's stand looked like it was straight from the grocery store, with packaged celery and bagged apples and even bananas, which are decidedly not local. I was kind of hoping the market would carry other things, too, like fresh flowers or baked goods or even a meat vendor, but what's there is fantastic. The prices are cheaper than the grocery store, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of the farms accepted food stamps. There was a lot more there I'd like to try -- a big watermelon, a cantaloupe, some bell peppers. I'm hoping to be able to establish a regular visit time even after school's bag to be able to take advantage of the market.

Later that afternoon, in the company of a dear friend and her husband, we also visited the Nashville Flea Market. This takes place at the fairgrounds (less than 5 minutes from us by car) the last weekend of every month. It would be an understatement to say that this flea market is extensive. They have everything. We saw furniture new and old (Wes and I both spotted a beautiful but beat-up pie cabinet we loved, with punched tin and all, only to learn it was hand-carved in 1810 and for sale for $950), dishes, bikes, musical instruments, toys, clothes, old video systems and games, art. Wes, ever the thrifty one, snagged a bag of socks for $5 and a shovel for $6. I bought a bag of toy airplanes for my father for $8 (I really need to learn to haggle...). Melissa and Drew even bought a bush for their backyard. I'll look forward to going back to the flea market when it's back in town, this time maybe when it's opening rather than closing, and would especially find it fun with Wes's mom, who has an eye for recreating and restoring old furniture.

Thanks to the day's excitement, Oliver skipped both naps and was completely exhausted by bedtime. He was also hot in his stroller that day and, we now realize, at the beginning of an illness. Hopefully he can enjoy the outings a bit more next time.