Cecily at the Winter Faire

Next Cecily stopped at the basket makers tent, it’s walls covered with baskets of all shapes and sizes, bales of reeds and grasses tucked away into the corners and rolls of floor matting stacked along the edges. She selected a few small woven containers for storing beans and grains, a new piece of matting for the hallway, and then found a floor cushion that reminded her of Zachary’s resolution to practice his meditation more often in the new year. That was her second Yule purchase- and it wasn’t even mid-morning yet! This was turning into a very productive expedition. She asked Maude if she could have her things delivered to her cottage later that evening. The basket maker agreed, saying she’d have her eldest deliver them as soon as he’d had his evening meal. Cecily thanked her and moved off to her next stop, the farmer’s stall.
Cecily hadn’t been able to dry enough grass seeds to last the whole winter, much less into the spring, so she arranged for delivery of a few bushels to be delivered later that week, along with a sack of dried beans, and a crate of late harvest apples as well. As the farmer was writing up her order she noticed a new display in the corner of lace doilies and snowy white napkins edged with beautiful embroidery. The farmer’s wife helped her pick out a matched set for her friend Jeanette, and that was her third Yule present picked out that day.
By then the sun was high in the sky, and Cecily was decidedly peckish so she headed over to the food stalls to see what was being offered. The delicious smells wafting through the air led her through the maze of tents and stalls. There was such a variety this year! Carrot and leek hand pies, lacy potato cakes, cheese stuffed mushrooms, roasted nuts, freshly baked rolls, piping hot squash soup, baked yams- and the tea shop had even set up a counter with tea service to boot! She paid for a mug of hot peppermint tea and a toasty hand pie then found a place to sit near the village green. The bakery had their doors wide open to let all the good smells advertise their offerings, and the warm air combined with the sunny day made the space right outside their door a very nice place to picnic.

The Story Continues…

Market Day pt. II
Cecily loved the winter faire! All the colourful tents, delicious aromas, and all of her friends together in one place at once- it was a really wonderful time of year. She swung her basket a little as she walked down through the village to the market square where the faire was held, twice a year – at the beginning of winter, and in the middle of summer. Today was the Winter Solstice, and Cecily intended to stock up on Yule presents and some winter supplies. She took her shopping list out of her pocket and headed into the Faire.
Cecily went to the weavers stall first for some soft downy mouse wool, strong spider’s silk thread, linen cloth for new kitchen towels, and coarser sheep’s wool yarns that would tide her over for her winter knitting. While she was there she saw the loveliest grey knitted gloves that would be perfect for Celeste, so that was her first Yule purchase of the day.

A bit of a Story…

Market Day-
In the Village Square, there was held a Bi-Annual Market. Twice a year folks from all over the land congregated to sell, and buy, and trade. Mostly…
The Winter Faire, as it happened to be named, was held at the Winter Solstice- that chilly time of year when the sun goes down earlier than it gets up in the morning, and it’s very cold, and usually very wet, and sometimes very white. It wasn’t, this year. But it was very cold, and the harvest had been quite good, so there was plenty to sell and that made it easy to buy what wasn’t harvested, but made.
Cecily got up that morning with a great sense of excitement, and expectation. She washed her face and her hands and her whiskers and put on her best dress, with her woolens underneath and her favorite knitted shawl over top, and went down to breakfast. She had a bowl of rice porridge with honey and chopped nuts and drank a mug of rosehip and lavender tea, then did the morning chores before the sun had even peeped over the edge of the world.
She swept the floor, cleaned the stone hearth, and pulled up water from the old well. She feed the birds their cracked seed, gave the milch mouse her hay, brought up some roots from the cold cellar and set the beans to soak for dinner that night. And then she fetched her basket from the pantry, tucked her list into her pocket, and headed off to the Winter Faire!

A new Idea…

Cobbwebb stalked down the trail, daring the woods to impede her progress.
No, no, no! I want a faeries tale!
Ok.
About market day in the village.
Alright.
Only it’s got to be Market Day- and it’s got to be in the Village Square!
Umm… who’s telling this story?
You are.
Ok.
…
Well, go on, tell it!
I’m thinking it up- takes a moment, you know?
Oh, alright! I’ll tell it.
Go ahead then.
All right- I will! There was a Market Day in the Village Square.
Then what?
I hadn’t got that far.
Shall I then?
Yes, please.
Alright then. Once Apon A Time…the Village was holding it’s Bi-Annual Faire, filled with stalls and tents and tables and events and goods from all the crofters from miles around…