Saturday, September 18, 2010

Wine and Culinary Festival Tour @ Hilary's Cheese Sept. 18 & 19, 2010


I hauled my tent and tables and one tub of pottery out to Hilary and Patty's Farm to set up for the tour this weekend and had a good time finding all the hills. I left one of the tubs empty as that saved me about 50 pounds so the trailer only weighed around 175lbs. I hadn't ridden that far "under load" and was a bit afraid of the hill that plows skyward just before you turn off to the farm (after 'golf course hill' and 'that section on Koksilah' that anyone on a bike will remember well).
I met a very nice cyclist on Koksilah (coke-sigh-la) which has a very long slow hill, he chatted with me all the way up the hill and made it go by a lot faster. He had ridden all over Duncan from Cherry Point and was on his way back to his boat to motor back over to Salt Spring Island. We chatted and laughed until I had to turn right and he turned left, it is so funny that cyclists tend to be lovely people who will share a little, I could go to the gym and jog on the treadmill beside someone for an hour and never make eye contact let alone talk about life and our greatest accomplishments.
Just after we parted company I turned up the hill to find out that it was brutal and had me flopping the handlebars around like a frantic fish! I got to the top and was soaked with sweat and that was only with 175lbs good thing I hadn't brought the whole set up at once. I cycled/hauled out another tub full and some odds and ends for the sale, Saturday morning and was again soaked but I had a change of clothes and have learned to take some time at the end of the ride to cool down before I change into dry clothes as they soak up the sweat well too. I changed in the beautiful farm house and set up the display of pottery for the day in plenty of time before the show started at 10am.
Hilary (Mr.) came over later in the day and let me know that I was welcome to use the farm shower at the side of the house tomorrow if I liked and that I should take a look to see if there is a bar of soap. I was floored at the generosity and hospitality of the owner who was swamped by customers, vendors and cheese demonstrations, that he would take time to think that I might be uncomfortable and that I might like a shower!
What consideration and on a completely different topic he makes really amazing cheeses and the whole family has great taste in pottery!! I used a french butter dish making lunch there last year and seeing how well it worked was the reason I started to make them in my own studio. Thanks for everything Patty, Hilary and Bronwyn.
http://www.wines.cowichan.net/ check out the site for more info ((I am listed under "some of the finest crafters in the valley" ;0)

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