I learned the difference between having money and being rich when I was a little girl.
My mother had sent my little sister, Robin and I with our older siblings to the Ohio State Fair.
She had given them the money to pay for our admission. She had given us $2 each for spending
money. Two dollars didn’t seem like much to spend at the fair even back then.
There was so much to look at- so much to consider- and Robin had been talking about the
food at the fair all the way to Columbus. Many years later they made a movie out of “Charlotte’s
Web”, and Robin had sounded a lot like Templeton the rat in his rhapsody over fair food.
But when we got to the fair- not far from the entrance was a wagon- a dainty Victorian wagon,
painted in lavender and white stripes and with lavender awnings- filled- absolutely FILLED with
lavender. The fragrance was so potent that the air seemed to shimmer about the wagon-
and the sign on front said Lavender-$1.00 a cup. I spent both of my dollars within the first ten
minutes as the fair. I had two cups of lavender in my bag and I was rich beyond compare.
And – aside from the fact that it was unbearably hot and humid- that is all I remember about the
fair. I’m sure someone took pity on me and got me a drink and maybe something to eat. But I had that
bag- 2 whole cups of lavender for years afterward- and I knew that I had spent my money wisely.
I was RICH in lavender!
Richness for me means having plenty- enough to use and share.
So, when Allyson brought me a basket FULL of strawberries I became a rich woman!
I washed them, cleaned them and graded them.
Strawberries for pie.
Strawberries for jelly.
And strawberries for snacking.
Firm, ripe juicy, sweet Ohio strawberries- ready for whatever I wanted to do with them!
I made jelly- Freezer jam, actually.
and pie- enough to enjoy- and share!
I love being rich in strawberries, and family and friends and love- and lavender! 
I would love to be rich in strawberries! We’ve tried to grow them, but with no success, so we’ll have to just keep our eyes out for them at the market. And I think $2 worth of lavender sounds like a magnificent purchase! 🙂
I can’t grow them either- the snails and slugs have a feast at the ones we tried to grow!
BUT when they are growing in the fields around us- the U-pick farms only charge $1.49 a pound- and that is a bargain!
I still have stashes of lavender around my house- at least a quart or so! 🙂
Your strawberries, before and after, look absolutely wonderful!
Lavender was a good choice, too. It wouldn’t have been too heavy to carry, and would last a lot longer than the fair fries. 🙂
It certainly started a love affair with the scent for me. Lavender is always my first choice in fragrance.
I think I made a good choice, then- but I know my family thought I had blown my money in the first ten minutes and thought I was crazy.
And the strawberries- are wonderful!
Hi Heidi, Thank you for sharing a piece of the strawberry pie with me. It was wonderful, I loved every bite.The pictures you took of the strawberries look great. Next time give me a call and I would be happy to help you with them.
Cynthia- whenever I’m rich – consider yourself rich too!
I even share my grandchildren with you!
Your strawberries look soooooo scrumptious! We picked over 50 quarts this year and we got them for $1.75 a quart. I thought that was a good deal, too! The boys decided to be little businessmen and they sold about 20 of those quarts for $2.75 to our neighbors. We’ve been berried out this year…and no jam made…yet!
Luke used to like to make a profit on produce as well. One year when he was about 7 years old he sold bunches of dill for 25 cents each. I love the excitement children bring to commerce.
I made jam because we were out LAST year and I had to beg a jar from Allyson and make it last!