Market Day

     Tuesday is market day for me.  It used to be that way because that was my day off.  Now it is that way because senior citizens get a 5% discount on purchases.  It's part of my routine now and I'm out and back home again by 9 am to unpack and put everything away for another week.
     Some years ago we had the opportunity to vacation in the Provence region of France and noticed that each little town had their own market day on a different day of the week.  So we would go and see what the vendors had to offer.  There were lots of fresh produce and meats but there was a lot more, too, including artwork, jewelry, books and housewares.  Then paying a little more attention to the vendors themselves we noticed that they also traveled from town to town each day to hawk their wares.  It was a great way to become acculturated to a different country and people.

But in reality that really isn't much different from what we experience here in America.  There are certain designated sale days for markets here, too.  There is an indoor produce stand I recently learned about just outside Collegeville.  Jim & Ralph's only operates on Thursday through Sunday and is a cash and carry business.  Fresh produce is displayed and when your number is called a runner retrieves your order as you shout it out.  Prices are great and the selection varies from week to week.

But my favorite market day is Friday.  That is when the Green Dragon is in business in Ephrata.  It is an amazing amalgamation of indoor and outdoor vendors offering everything from breakfast to produce to meats and poultry, to furniture, shoo-fly pies, sticky buns, boots and linens.  It is open every Friday all year long.  Want a fried oyster sandwich for lunch?  You can get it there.  Need some dried fruit or honey roasted peanuts?  Just down that aisle over there.  It's only about an hour's drive west from where I live and an easy drive out the turnpike.  I often go with a buddy and we have breakfast at a little sit down diner inside then go around to compare prices on things like bananas and lemons and lettuce before we make our final purchases.  And that hard to find gadget that no one else seems to carry can probably be found in the hardware or dry goods store.  You can also get a genuine leather belt custom cut on the spot or get a replacement piece of Tupperware, too.

     It takes me at least two days a week to complete all my marketing, but that's because Tuesdays and Fridays are special days to "go to Market."