Well, perhaps it is a case of the bargain basement reputation the bazaar has and consequently the expectations people have of it.  It is nice that you similarly-minded people have affirmed the desirability of the little boxes.  I think that I will be able to find out today if they eventually sold and how low the price had to be if they sold.  The only discouraging thing is that when I last saw them on Thursday it was only a few minutes until closing time. 

Before we left, I did check over the items at the bazaar and saw a gorgeous hand knit winter hat.  I thought it was reasonably priced at 5 USD.  Apparently other people did not.  If it had been an adult size in a color that would look nice with my winter jacket, I would have gotten it for myself. 

Oh well, so much for that experience. 

Yesterday, we went to an estate sale,  not because it was advertised as anything that might interest us but because it was very close.  Actually, the address seemed very familiar to us.  As it turned out, we had been to a sale there a couple years ago.  It turned out that this sale was of residue from the previous sale.  Apparently the people conducting the sale had not learned from the previous one that the prices were a little high and used the same tags on the items.  Other people must have thought so too because no one was carrying anything away from the sale.  Actually, I think the people doing the sale should have been working through an art gallery to sell the artwork.  They probably will not be able to get anywhere near 25,000 USD for a dining room table and chairs even if the set is by George Nakashima.  It would be better to work through a major art and collectables auction house. 

On a happier note, Friday a woodpecker found the suet I hung out.  I watched the little fellow; it was on the corner of the porch where windows on two sides come together.  It progressed up the corner testing the wood with its bill.  When it reached the top of the windows, it moved along them toward the window where I was watching, again testing the wood along the way.  This is definitely not a good sign but may not be as bad as it seems because the woodpecker left.  It went over to the roof of the garden shed and then tested it too.  It did not waste much time there before flying over to the suet. 

The bazaar and dinner were yesterday.  First of all, no one wanted the little boxes either individually or in a set.  Even at rock bottom pricing, the boxes were still left.  I guess that I may have strangely different tastes and interests.  I know that I would have loved to have a fabric covered box, especially so if I did not know how to make one.  I wonder if we could have gotten rid of any if we were giving them away or if we would have needed to have paid people to take them.  I wonder if people detected the little imperfections and if the imperfections were just to great.  I did not think so but maybe so. 


Secondly, my English toffee was not an unqualified success. In this case, we think that the little packets were over priced.  Perhaps it is just as well that I did not have time to take any pictures of the candy.

If I have not been busy enough, Mooch, our little black cat, has been more than busy enough to make up for me.  The mice seem to be making a concerted effort to spend the winter in our house.  The tuck under garage makes that very easy for them.  Mooch seems to be determined to keep the mice at bay. 

Last night, Mooch got one, maybe more.  This morning there was an extremely messy trail of mouse parts running almost the length of the upstairs hall.  As much as I would prefer to not have to clean up after Mooch, it is far better that he make the mess than have mice running all around the house. 

Here are the little boxes for the church bazaar on Thursday.  There are some imperfections in each box but I think they are adequate.  The bazaar has such a bargain basement reputation that I hardly feel like making near perfect boxes. 

Together with the bazaar, we have a bake sale.  I have thought about making some gingerbread and candy for the bake sale. 

Currently we are having some glorious autumn days with warm temperatures and beautiful blue skies.  I hope to savor them as long as they last. 

Four squash have joined the little pumpkin inside.  The smaller pumpkin is still outside.  We want to remain hopeful that it will ripen but we are no longer certain. 

Warnings of possible frost encouraged us to bring in the fruits of the garden.  We have an abundance of tomatoes in all stages from very green to ready to eat.  Almost as plentiful are the red and green sweet peppers.  Although it was chill during the weekend nights, we dodged the bullet - no frost.  Just the same, we still need to get the garden ready for winter.  It is such a bittersweet task, sweet because all the good food we grew is coming into the house - bitter because we know that winter is coming and with it the end of the garden fresh produce until next year. 

Because of extraordinarily heavy rain, we are experiencing late season flooding on both the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers.  Fortunately the water will not rise as high as originally predicted.  The pictures show the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul. 

The bridge is the Smith Avenue bridge which is also known as the high bridge.  It has the highest elevation of all the bridges that span the Mississippi in the Twin Cities.  Yes, the bridge has a rather steep incline; the end that you see is anchored in the bluffs that lie south of the river.  This part of the river runs more or less west to east. 

The fabric covered box is progressing very well. 

I still need to line the inside and am not certain if I will do it today. 

I think I will quickly make two small boxes for the church bazaar next week.  I could easily make two over the weekend.  I wonder how well they would sell. 

Dinner today will be Cuban sandwiches.  Yesterday morning we decided that we could marinate a little pork roast for dinner yesterday and use the leftovers in Cuban sandwiches for dinner today.  The roast was wonderfully tender, garlicy, and delicious.  If we were to have thought this out sooner to marinate it overnight, it would have been even better.