Hello, everyone! I can’t believe another week has gone by! They seem to be busy, and before you know it, another weekend has come!

I want to invite you to come out to the high school on Tuesday night to watch the Marietta Tigers Boys Basketball team play the Athens Bulldogs. It is a fundraising evening for one of our students at the high school who is fighting cancer. He moved to MHS last year from Athens, so there will be all sorts of baskets raffled, and it will be a wonderful evening to show that both of our communities are standing behind him and his family. At the very least, please keep this young man in your prayers.

I looked up the Farmer’s Almanac weather forecast for the rest of the winter for the Ohio Valley. It says this winter is supposed to be colder than usual with lower than normal amounts of precipitation, but more snow than usual. Maybe we will see some snow to come, but Accuweather shows highs that are above freezing for the next 10 days. For those of us who like a pretty snowfall, we may be waiting a while longer.

Here is what is happening outside at the market….

We are still counting down to Spring! 65 days to go…..Think of all the garden planning we can all do until then!

Did you know there are cold crops and there are cole crops? I didn’t know about cole crops until this week. Cold crops are plants that like cool or cold weather. You can plant cold crops way before the last frost in the spring and plant them again in the fall, because they can survive through the first fall frosts. Examples of cold crops are: lettuce, spinach, peas, radishes, carrots, turnips, and asparagus. Violas and pansies are cold flowering plants (I also just found out that all pansies are violas, but not all violas are pansies…Ha! I have a lot to learn!).

Cole crops are also cold crops because their best environment is cool temperatures. “Cole” comes from the Latin root “caulis” which means cabbage. These plants are all cruciferous. This means that you can cut the stem horizontally, and you will see a cross pattern. Broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, and collard greens are all cole crops. They don’t like temperatures to get much above 80 degrees. (fourseasonsgreenhouse.com)

Here’s what is happening inside at the market….

Our bakery stays busy baking all sorts of items for our customers. There are different varieties of breads, pies, and cookies. These are baked fresh every morning, and we even have a baker who bakes a few evenings a week as well!

We are now able to slice up our bread loaves. If you don’t see one out that is already sliced, just ask, and we can do that for you on the spot. It doesn’t take long, and we don’t mind doing it at all!

We really do love hearing suggestions from our customers. Last week, someone asked if we could bag up half loaves of bread for those of you who may not go through an entire loaf of bread in a week. What a great idea! We started to do that this week, and it seems like others liked the idea of half loaves as well! If you need a half loaf and don’t see one, we can separate it for you right then! Just ask!

Have you tried our from scratch Banana Bread, Banana Nut Bread, and Brownies? These are packaged individually to keep them moist and fresh. My favorite is the Banana Nut Bread.

Don’t forget your sweetheart and loved ones for Valentine’s Day. You still have a month, but it’s not too early to order a Valentine’s gift basket and/or a dozen chocolate covered strawberries! Our Valentine’s gift baskets will be out sometime this week. We are waiting for teddy bears to get here, but it should be in the next few days!

We now have decadent Hot Chocolate Bombs and Coffee Creamers made by local business woman, Vicky Hite. They are absolutely divine and are as pretty as they are delicious!

We have something new at Huck’s! We are going to be slowly adding some bulk items. We are starting with some spices and toppings. You can now find ground cinnamon, dried onion, course black pepper, imitation bacon bits, and Parmesan cheese.

If you haven’t tried the 4 oz. containers of September Farms yogurt, you are missing out! They come from Walnut Creek and have great reviews from our customers. They are so good!

If you are in the mood for Spring (ME!), take a look at our craft/gift area! I was able to find all sorts of pretty things on my trip to Columbus last weekend. There are porch signs, garden flags, hooked rug pillows, primitive runners, electric candles, tea towels, sprigs of Spring flowers, Valentine’s Day items, Easter things, and lots of this and that items. The ladies have it looking so nice!

I do want to highlight the Smith Redware Pottery that I found! Redware pottery was the very first pottery made in the colonies in the 1700s. It was made, because colonists had access to red clay in the soil. It has the most beautiful reddish color and beautiful designs painted on it. You can’t find many people that still make redware pottery, so I am happy that I found a company that does! The four plates that I got are in the pictures below.

Amazing products can be found from the following local small businesses: *Duck Creek Candle Co. *Duffy’s Designs *Florence Creamery *Hot Chocolate Bombs and More *Inspired Creations *Whispering Pines *Zimmerview Meats and Market

EVENTS:

We still have several spots available for our first class of 2023! You can sign up for a class by messaging us on Facebook, calling Huck’s, or in person at the register.

Friday, February 10th 6:00-8:00 p.m. (Valentine’s Day class) *Merrilee and Duffy will teach you how to make hot chocolate bombs, decorate sugar cookies, and make a carnation flower arrangement. You will get a little bite to eat and a Valentine’s Day mug as a favor. We can have 12 people sign up for this class, and the cost is $60. Please sign up by Friday, February 3rd, so we can plan accordingly!

Here are other classes on our schedule so far. More will definitely be added!:

*February 24th 6:00-8:00 p.m. (Spring Front Door Wreath class) *March 31st 7:00-9:00 p.m. (Round Wooden Sign and Bow Making class) *April 28th 7:00-9:00 p.m. (Porch Plantar with Garden Flag class) *June 23rd 7:00-9:00 p.m. (Americana Pallet Painting class) *July 14th 7:00-9:00 p.m. (Christmas in July Cross-stitching class)

Deli Specials this Week:

Virginia Smoked Ham $4.99 lb.

Colby $4.99 lb.

Soups available daily.

Online ordering for the Sandwich Shop is available.

http://www.hucksmarket.com/order-online

M-F 9-5:30 Sat 9-4 Sun 11-4 (winter hours)

Phone 740-373-2484 Fax 740-373-0084

Thank you for all your support! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Jim and Kirsten Goeller