I love farmer’s markets! Who doesn’t? And a farmer’s market on a sunny day after months of drizzly, grey skies…..well!
Now, here’s my farmer’s market tale for this lovely day: Ten years ago, when my son was first married, he and his lovely wife, Beka, owned a used book store. They even lived in the back of it and–amazing us all!–birthed their first child there! It’s the romantic sort of story of which pulitzer prize winning novels are made. The men would gather on weekend evenings to drink wine, smoke good cigars and talk about……books. Joe Brandybuck would smile and sleep and eat and grow strong.
And Bek would make cookies! She made wonderful chocolate chip cookies that soon became the highlight of the store. The cookies had a perpetual, devoted clientele–and Beka had a little pocket money of her own.
Fast forward to 2010. A family who’ve read Beka’s family’s magazine for years is suddenly inspired. How can the young girls learn about money: planning, earning, saving, tithing, paying bills, buying materials and preparing a product? She remembers the very article where Beka describes her entrepreneurial experiment, reads it to her girls again and gets out the chocolate chips and flour! 
The girls bake, package, make signs and rent a space at the local farmer’s market. They choose a patriotic theme, fill the change box, set out generous samples and…..
Voila!
This one’s for you, sweet Bek!
I’m not Bek, but that’s AWESOME!!!! THAT is a good story! (But you need an editor, Mom…it’s hard to fast forward to 1020).
D
Three cheers to those girls!! May their cookie business prosper.
I’m not going to say here what they’re making, but it was a good decision!
See? I have an editor. She was just a little tardy, since it was already published. But now I changed it and everyone will think your comment is half-witted. My whole reading public won’t be able to understand why you chide me……will you, Helda?
I’m feeling trapped now. Sort of put on the spot. Being low man on the totem pole, I’m going to take the weaselish way out and reply, “No comment; your hair is lovely, and now I see where Katie gets her good looks.”
Haf witted? Hooz gonna thenk that? HA! I laf in ther fase!
Wow. Putting Helda on the spot gets all the comments I was fishing for. Well, almost. You forgot, “You could be sisters!”
Honestly, I never meant to put you on the hot seat or make you feel like a bird in a snare. I was just afraid, for a minute there, that you might be my entire reading public. Now that my audience has swelled to five, my head is also proportionately…..uh, probably DISproportionately…….larger.
Oh…and the picture is great. I LOVE the way you’re in motion. It looks lively and you look like you’re completely enjoying yourself. AND, you look so classy and beautiful. As always.
Rest of the story: Paul and Connie had just walked up! I’m blabbing away, as usual.
And that’s JUST what I love about the pic. It’s SO you! Cheerful and talking with friends who come by.
My reading comprehension is suffering from an onset of incompetence. I’m confused. (Not about the date; I caught that, slick as I am, but I wasn’t going to be the one to say it.) Okay, so that is 2010? And that is Penne Pasta? Then who are the girls? Your friends’ kids? I think I’ve dislocated my brain joint trying to figure this out. Even if it were 2001, your girls wouldn’t have been looking THAT young. Throw me a rope?
Short rope: Daughters of a friend who loves NGJ!
Thank you. Now I can sleep tonight.
Forgot: It IS a lovely pic!
Photo by Gramps. Not his thing, but he’s always a good sport.
Aw, how cool is that! I do hope they sell as many as they want to bake!
You know (speaking of needing an editor) that recipe was printed with an error that read “2 tablespoons of baking soda” when it should have been 2 teaspoons. I’ve always sort of cringed when I hear about someone using my cookie recipe. I wonder if they caught the error or if they actually made the cookies with that much baking soda. Gabe corrected it on the NGJ website, so if they got the recipe off the website, then they probably were all right.
I think I actually got the idea from Katie, if I remember right… I believe she was the original cookie seller at the bookstore. It was more than pocket money for us!
thanks for posting this happy story!
Bek
Yeah, Bek, I remember several years ago going to make that recipe, looking at the baking soda and think, “Um, I think we’ll tone that one down a bit, yeah.”
Most people will catch it, I think, and the ones who don’t will have a fun learning experience. I loved the lemon juice part. Now I use that a lot in recipes with baking powder or baking soda. Thanks!
It’s only been the last few years that people have made the name connection between us and it’s fun to hear their stories of how this or that inspired them. I knew you’d like this. I’m guessing they have their own secret family recipe for the cookies–maybe two tablespoons of vanilla or a dozen eggs. Who knows?
So I guess it should have been titled KatinspiredBekinspiredGirls!
I’m sure someone inspired me. Let’s make that name a little longer. HAHAHAHA!
I think Gallup was the inspiration. I remember being able to make more money on rice crispy treats at a garage sale than on all my junk.
Annie and Izzy are taking a nap so I tried on my own to learn what photos, Bekinspired, Farmer’s Market meant. Lo and behold, I figured something out on my own – I looked at your blog!! Wonderful photo and dear story. I remember it well. I was there and ate more than my share of those delicious cookies. And Kate’s right, Penn, you do look beautiful and classy especially with the shades!
I have no idea who Helda is but she keeps me in stitches – a true comedienne. Keep writing, Helda!
Granny, You’re a rock star!
Granny! Granny has spoken to me, to ME! Oh, glory, I have made the big time.
Granny, you have actually seen my handwriting because it was our cards that went from G&B’s house to yours, because you liked the animals on them. Remember? And our packages have been using your house to rendezvous with G&B A. Everyone knows that it stands for green and blue alfalfa, but it’s fun to be cryptic sometimes.
Hope to meet you in person sometime, as well as all you ladies! I feel like if we were all in a room together, we’d be slapping our knees silly.