A visit to "Porch" and the Farmers Market...

Sunday was a busy day around here. I am sort of posting backwards because I love this photo of the fun little gnomes that were for sale in a wonderful store called "Porch" in Carpinteria.
For many years, five of us met every month for collage exchanges and dinner at each other's homes. Times changed and several of us still met as rug hookers but we missed seeing our original five, so we got together for a fun lunch at Giannfranco's Trattoria in Carpinteria. It was a warm and sunny day so we sat outside on the patio and got caught up on everyone's news. Carol's daughter is a partner in" Porch" so we all went for a visit after our lunch. Lots of fun things including the driftwood trees that Kristi makes. Each tree had different themed ornaments and decorations. I bought a little Christmas cactus and bird card that I loved.



I got up early for the local farmers market and was just setting up as Kate and Anna arrived with a basket of warm scones for everyone. Several kitties traveled home with them and joined their growing families. We had a great turnout and I had fun trading, bartering, and selling my creations. I came home with a new necklace, pomegranates, lemons, Asian pears, and goat cheese. It was fun to meet new neighbors and get re-acquainted with others from across the creek. I made an apple walnut cake and brown butter cookies to share and there was fresh pressed apple juice and decorated Christmas cookies as well. We had beautiful warm weather and I even got in a beach walk after the festivities.


Persimmons decorated the tree and were ready for picking.
My little table...best sellers were the cats and heart ornaments.
Tonight we have our annual Rug Hookers Christmas Party and ornament exchange at Penny's.
It's a potluck for dinner so everyone brings a dish to share. I made a baked artichoke parmesan
dip as an appetizer and someone gets a black kitty ornament!