Trade Days fail, men’s meeting, trip prep

Trade Days was mostly a failure as far as sales were concerned. The rooster I took sold quickly. He was a beautiful rooster and I am glad it found a good home. At least, I am pretty sure it did. That sale covered the cost of the spot at the animal side of the Trade Days area. I would have made $5 on the day if I had not spent twenty dollars on a portable scaffold. None of the goats sold. Compared to the prices other vendors were asking for their goats and sheep, ours were very fairly priced, but I did not see any animals change hands. I cannot be sure except for the animals I off loaded back into the areas we had taken them from the evening before. On the positive side, I did make three contacts with potential buyers of our goats at some future date. Two of the three were very interested and honest in their interest. With the third, I was not convinced we will hear from him again. But I tried.

Mama made a little money but did not sell any of her bundles of Color Street products. She did sell some individual nail sets. I did not get a sense that she did well on her craft items she spent so much time and effort preparing, but she came out in the black financially. Norman sold a couple of his $5 totes of junk and a few dollar items but walked away with most of his stuff still in his possession. It was not a wasted day, but, from my perspective, it was very nearly so. I got the sense from the vendors near me that people were not spending money unless there was a very unusual offering. Something specific they were looking for at the offered price, or something novel for a cheap price. We were offering neither.

I was surprised that some of the puppy vendors were unyielding on their prices. Dachshund puppies were priced at $900. Golden Doodles were $1300 each. French Bulldogs were $1800. That is horribly expensive. When I compare that to current news articles about local Animal Shelters being flooded with abandoned dogs and cats – due to the high cost of feeding and maintaining the pets – it is hard to believe that there would be an active market for “designer” dogs. Mama let the seller know that a contact she has is selling her Dachshunds for $500, the seller wrinkled her face and energetically shook her head in a negative, almost offended, response. I was both amused and relieved that she did not accept Mama price. I would not have paid it anyway as badly as Mama thinks she thinks she wants a puppy.

Sunday evening before church, I attended a men’s meeting to discuss awarding raises to our church staff. Several of the positions have not been given any raise for many years and it seemed like a good time to address the shortfall. It was not a friendly meeting, and I was disappointed in some of the participants critical spirits as they expressed their views. When the business of addressing the pay increases was finished I faced off with the men and asked if they would be willing to provide a solution to address their concerns. None were willing to do so.

They were willing to complain, but not willing to outline the expectations that would need to be met to address their complaints. I was sorely disappointed. My question to them we, “How do we address your concerns?” “What do we tell the pastor about your concerns.” No suggestions were offered. I asked if any of them had ever gotten a negative review. In that review, were they given a list of deficiencies they needed to address? If so, what are the deficiencies we need to address to meet your expectations or were we just there to air grievances and see how many shared those grievances? Not wanting to provide a remedy, but only to complain. That is wholly unproductive.

Fortunately, those who had complaints were a small party. The feelings of that few were not shared by the larger body of the men in the group, but it did have an impact on the whole group. We will pray and work our way through this little spat, but it will take some time. My hope is that it will affect beneficial changes that eventually bring unity as God changes men’s hearts. Time will tell.

Mama and I have a busy week ahead. Hers is full of appointments. Mine is full of little work projects and little farm projects. In the background, Mama and I will be making the final preparations for our trip to Honduras. I have all my duties at work covered during my absence and Mama and I have potentially covered the routine at the farm by having Norman stay at the farm during that time. That would provide the oversight needed for the farm and for Grandma and Grandpa. Both are a relief to Mama.  So, things are almost ready for our visit to Honduras.

We are praying and planning for all the other little details as the days fly by prior to our departure on February 1^st.