For All It's Worth

So, despite all of my moaning and dreading of the FM, the Grateful Dumpling had a fairly good day at the big-city market, even in lieu of the ominous signs. To start, we are having significant problems with our supply chain regarding the wrappers, so much so that we had toyed with idea of bailing out on both markets, but of course, we can't let our customers down.

Also, the weather was lousy and was forecast called for rainy and miserable conditions for the entire day. What further inspiration did we need to stay at home?

Well, we went ahead and prepared for the big city market and decided to go ahead with it, and believe it or not, it turned out to be a nice day, even though assorted disasters awaited us.

As I mentioned, it was raining pretty much the day before as well as the actual day of the big city market, which made loading the car a bit more challenging. On the drive over, the rain kept coming, and I was asking myself, as were the children, why exactly we were doing this?

By the time we got to Hanover, however, the rain stopped, and we were left with gray skies, which worked in our favor because it meant less heat. We set up and R showed up from a rough day at work with a disposition to match my own, i.e., not the best frame of mind to sell dumplings. I can totally relate.

Anyway, before the market even started, people came streaming over to get the goods. In fact, the musical performers, who were part of the kid's orchestra, were all itching for dumplings, but according to market regulations (who follows these rules?), we're not supposed to start selling until the 3:00 bell. After the bell, however, they became immediate regulars.

Then, from the get-go, business was steady. Not crazy or stressful, but a constant stream of people such that business was good. I'm not sure where they were coming from, but they kept coming. I'd heard that a tour bus was passing through, and at one point a group of older people showed up and just started grabbing dumplings and eating them on the spot. They paid, but it was kind of humorous, like a bunch of old New Yorkers getting their rural fix by bus.

We did run into a crisis-we ran out of food boats, and then started using bags, which we started to run out of. Things were looking gloomy, and R and I started in on our standard disaster MO, which is to start pointing fingers at each other to determine whose fault it was. The irony is, we have millions of these boats at home, we just forgot to pack more.

At some point, as the bags dwindled to a short stack, we employed our kids (doe eyes, and all) to set out in search of something to serve dumplings in. They came back empty handed because nobody used the same boats. It turns out, however, that NL of Hogwash Farm came to the rescue. She sells locally raised and unique breeds of meats, and serves killer burgers made with her beef, grilled on the spot, which the kids had for supper.

Well, I noticed that she served the burgers on paper plates, and sent the kids over to ask if she'd sell us some. She gave us an entire package, which saved us. I learned later that the kids had asked her for boats and she offered them plates, but since they were not what we specified, the kids said no-thank you. Kind of cute.

Afterward, I spoke with NL and she said no problem with the plates, we didn't need to pay her but she'd take dumplings instead. The thing about situations like this is that you can't quantify the value of her assistance in monetary terms. She literally saved our behinds. Plus, we made a connection, and she commented on how much liked our kids and how well mannered they were. That wins points in our book, any day.

The irony of all this is that despite all the suffering, there are moments of the market that are rewarding and enjoyable, and again, we love connecting with the other vendors and for that matter, our loyal customers.

So maybe things aren't so bad, after all. Then again, talk to me on Sunday, when we have to make dumplings. That is, of course, if we ever get our wrappers.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Sigurd Decroos for the pic.