Of cheese and wurst and a farmers market

Today was bright and sunny -- cold, but not bitterly so. We bundled up and headed out to the Friday farmer's market in the town square.


This is the pedestrian shopping area near the square. I love this section of town.

We made our Most Important visit to the cheese truck there. The lady who runs the truck was excited to see us again (we don't venture out all that much in the winter), and, as always, offered extras to the children. She asked if they would prefer cheese or sausage (they have these cold sausages that you can just eat as a snack, just as it is).

I translated to my boys, and their response was violently negative. "I just want Gouda", Andrew whined. "I DON'T. want. her. cheese." said Elijah through gritted teeth. When a stranger (even just a semi-stranger like this woman...or sometimes just a Person Who Is Not Mommy) tries to engage them in conversation or offers them something, their responses are horrendous. (The other day on the way to childcare at the womens' Bible study, I overheard Elijah telling Andrew "Now make sure you don't let the ladies unzip your jacket for you." Oh, the horrors.) Not really sure what to do about it. I hope they just grow out of this stage.

We picked up a few soft pretzels at the bakery, and then, at the children's insistence, we had our first eis (ice cream) of the season at a nearby cafe.



I couldn't bear the thought eating something so cold, so I got hot chocolate.


It's just barely sweet, but entirely delicious, with whipped cream melting into the top

Jonah slept while we ate, wrapped like a jelly-roll in the stroller, but then after a bit he woke up screaming, so we made a quick exit.



It was good to have fun with the children. Sometimes I feel like it's "all work, no play", and that I'm kind of boring to them, not spending enough time doing happy stuff. As we sat around the table at the cafe though, I was able to be completely focused on them. They're such funny, smart little people, and I don't want to miss this time in their lives from lack of interest or letting myself be overly distracted by all of my responsibilities and other interests.

Once we got home we had a nice lunch with the pretzels, and cheese we'd purchased, and found that the cheese lady had also tucked a veal wurst (sausage) in the package with our cheese.



I cut it into pieces to give to everyone; Lavella took one look at hers and said "It's NAKED!" The boys found this hilarious, and, well, I probably don't need to tell you where their conversation went from there.