It's 10:47pm Saturday, August 14th. It was 95 degrees (in freakin' SEATTLE!), it's humid, I ran around town all day, and I'm tired and hot
But I'm in a good mood ... our first day selling jams at the farmer's market is tomorrow, and I'm optimistic. Sometimes I get into a worrying mood, asking myself "what if we don't even sell 5 jars of jam?!" but Ian keeps reminding me ... we are not there tomorrow to sell jams. We are there to analyze the marketplace, and test the waters for the next couple weeks at this small market before jumping into the big year-round markets.
Above all, I just have to take notice of peoples' reactions. If they taste our jams and aren't interested, then maybe we should re-evaluate our recipes. Or, if they LOVE the sample but don't buy a jar ... why is this so? Do we need to lower the price? Do we need to raise it if we are selling too quickly?
There's so many things I could talk about right now but it's hot and I'm not in the mood (haha, sorry). At the very least, if this all fails miserably, it was a fun experiment for just a couple hundred dollars worth of investment. Am I going to look back and say that I regret the time spent trying to start a homemade jams business with a friend? Of course not.
Looking back over just the last two years, I've learned so much and had so many new experiences that I could have never conceived of. I started college just two years ago on a full scholarship, switched to all-online classes, and I'm set to graduate in just three years. In the time that I've changed to online classes, I moved to Hawaii for the hell of it for a year and worked as a real inpatient pharmacy technician in the Pacific region's only neonatal intensive women & children's hospital. I drove up the entire Pacific coastline from Los Angeles to Seattle - taking the long way, stopping plenty of times, and really soaking in everything that I could along the way - the winding mountain roads, cliffs hidden in the fog, the strawberry and tulip fields of California, the redwood trees, Oregon lighthouses. And upon arriving here in this gorgeous city, decided to really take a look at what I eat and how I live my life. I left the brand new car in Phoenix and opted to walk more and use public transit, I shop at a community-owned co-operative market for local produce sourced from Washington state farmers, and I've started an entire edible garden on a tiny 2 by 4 foot balcony - the amount of space three people take up when standing shoulder to shoulder. On that space, I now have a total of about 12 tomatoes growing (and many more on their way), salad greens, chives, garlic chives, green onions, thai chili pepper, turban squash, oregano, garlic, poppies, siberian iris, and green shiso all growing for my home cooking needs.
I've learned how to make jam and buttermilk bread, and I tried my hand at flour tortillas from scratch (which came out perfect). I'd like to make my own matcha green tea soba noodles by hand, so that's my goal this week. I'm going huckleberry picking in the forest soon, getting involved in extra-curricular orchestra again, and this is all just the beginning. I'd love to eventually have a little bit of land where I can plant a fruit tree orchard and grow all of the food I eat ... learn to raise chickens and goats while keeping bees naturally ... using the beeswax to make candles, but who knows - I might come across another stepping stone in life that leads me in a completely different direction, in which case, I won't be afraid to step out of my comfort zone and take that step.
For now, I have some jams to label for tomorrow's sale, so if you'll excuse me ...
Wish us luck!
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