( Event: Creek Fest. ) - Blog Posts

"Exactly, I think it'd make the place cozier," Leyla said with a bit of a laugh. She had found it endearing. As an only child, she hadn't shared a lot of space before, except with lovers, so it had been...dare she say, a fun experience. "A therapist-mechanic, that's quite a career choice, well, if you're as good a mechanic as a therapist, I know where I'll take my car if I have trouble," she offered, only a light passing reference to the fact she knew he was a good one. "Well, that's true, some people overdue it. When people don't know what you're talking about, that's a problem. I like that name, is there a meaning behind it?" She always liked hearing people's stories behind why their animals were named certain things. "Wow, that is decent-sized. I guess they're probably somewhere around here today too?"

"Nothing inspires trust among roommates quite like setting up cameras to catch them doing all of the things that they thought they were getting away with," he teased, broad smile on his face. He also couldn't see Leyla being too uptight about someone snacking during off hours… although people could be picky about their food. "When I'm not a therapist, I'm a mechanic -- in a garage full of men with big appetites. You learn how to get creative," especially if you didn't want your food to just up and disappear, and Josh didn't. His father, alone, wouldn't hesitate to eat his goodies. "Apparently we can be! I try not to be that kind of person, though -- I've already had conversations with people who are talking about 'my son' this or, 'my kid' that, and then it takes me far too long to realize they mean a dog. But mine's Toshiko. Toshi for short. And I hope, for your sake, you never have to part from the adopted dogs," he teased, letting out a laugh. "She has four kids, so a pretty decent sized family."

"I agree," she hummed, "they're just...majestic." Smiling as Elise mentioned cats, she admitted, "you have cats? How many? I've been spending more time than a normal person should at the cat cafe. If I'm not careful, I'm going to take one home." Leyla could talk about animals all day. People? She wasn't so sure about most times, but animals? Animals were trustworthy. "That makes sense, sounds like something you'd have to really dedicate too, like no other jobs. Doesn't sound like a bad sports career option, though. I bet it was fun as a kid though, to grow up that way?"

"There's a large and quiet elegance about horses," Elise said, nodding along. "I have cats and those are...fake elegant, whereas the horses are the real thing." She smiled at the interest, most people did not care about dressage in the least. "Nah, you have to be really good and have the time to do it as an adult, it's kind of like many other sports, except it's hard to do for fun if you're not competing."

"Caught him myself, but cameras aren't a bad idea," Leyla joked. Her qualifications for what a snacker was was admittedly rather low, since she had never been much of one. "Ah, you're a smart man, sounds like you've had some experience hiding some tasty things," she replied with a small laugh. It did sound nice, like this whole week was turning out to be. It was strange how comforting the small town had become, how well it seemed to suit her. If she'd grown up in a place like this, she had to wonder what else could have been different. "I'll have to do that then," she wittled down her thoughts to one non-committal phrase. Her smile brightened as he mentioned his dog. "Oh, are those people annoying? I've always dreamed of being one. What's your dog's name? I've sort of adopted my roommate's dogs for the moment, he's just not fully aware of it yet. But if one of us moves out, I might need a lawyer." She was joking...mostly. Nodding as he mentioned his girlfriend's children, she asked, "how many does she have?"

Josh found himself laughing as she outed one of her roommates as a snacker. "Do you set up cameras to catch them rooting through the fridge, or are they more obvious about the things that they're sneaking out of cupboards or cabinets?" Josh liked to snack, maybe not so much to a level where someone would label him as a snacker… but he liked to have a good treat here and there, enjoy something tasty. "Just find a box of some food that you know no one else in the house likes, and tuck it into that in the fridge. No one will touch it," surefire way to turn them away from a food was to disguise it as a food they didn't like, after all. "I think so," he nodded his head eagerly, "the wagon ride out there alone is nice, get to see some pretty sights, and then the actual pumpkin patch is really well done, too. If you don't get there during Creek Fest, I recommend coming out after," gathering up all of the pumpkins she might need in time for Halloween. Smiling, he shook his head, reaching for the next drink sample and downing it, "I don't. I'm one of those annoying, 'my dog is my child,' types. My girlfriend has children, though."

"Oh good because I do," Leyla admitted, not in a rude way--well, maybe sometimes in a rude way. Just not aloud. She also didn't have the most faith in people, so maybe that was part of it. "I feel oddly at peace with them, there is something about them, which is probably why equine therapy is a thing, I guess." Her interest piqued as the woman beside her brought up dressage. "I always thought that much be such fun. Nostalgic? So you don't compete anymore?"

"You can always judge for taste," Elise said, a bit cheeky. She had cultivated an image for herself that veered just an ounce into snobby territory, but never too far. "Yeah, it's an awesome place, and an awesome opportunity. They're the coolest animals out there, and Harmony Healers does such a good job." She patted the horse's neck. "We do, when we can. We both did dressage growing up, so it's kinda nostalgic."

Some people were more health-conscious than others, neither necessarily better than the other. It had taken Leyla some time to get there, to not over-think everything, but she did want most of her drinks to be on the healthy side to open that up to those who wanted it. Behind the booth was safe, but she didn't come here to be safe. She knew she had to push herself forward or she'd go backwards, even when everything still screamed within her to push people away. "I may have to hide the jam, I have three roommates and one is definitely a snacker," she joked, not actually thinking Darrius would come for her jam but who knew. She laughed about his comment on the grape juices. "Is the pumpkin patch worth adding to my list?" Speaking of things she could see Darrius or Aisha doing, she might need a pumpkin for roomie carving night or whatever they'd call it. "I bet it's fun for the kids. Do you have any?"

"That's very true!" Josh agreed with Leyla on the health ingredients, knowing that he always felt better about being hooked on a soup or salad, or a new smoothie than he did on something fried or full of sugars, not that he was ever someone to try to judge another person's food interests. Josh was very 'eat what makes you happy,' about life. Or more accurately, 'do what makes you happy' in terms of pretty much anything and everything. "Got it… alright," he nodded, taking a sip of the apple cider first, and then reaching for the next one while listening to her talk about her own experience at Creek Fest. He knew from many, many festivals and events spent working with the center that sometimes it was tough to get away, and was glad to hear that she had gotten some time for herself. "Oh, the jam is always so good! And I did see those crochet pumpkins, they're adorable," he beamed. "Just keep them away from any grape juices if you buy them and head that way," he teased, smile on his face. "I think I'll try to do some pumpkin picking after this. Got my fuel, now."

"Boss with a painful tendency to micromanage and not leave work back at the booth where it belongs," she joked, "all these beautiful pumpkins and I'm thinking about whether I need to grab more cinnamon sticks on my way back." Work was still her main--and sometimes only--priority, but she really was trying to enjoy Creek Fest fully. This guy had actually probably done her a favor by bumping into her. "Good," she said with a light laugh, "and yes, I am offering. What do you need such a big pumpkin for anyway? Or is it some 'go big or go home' thing?"

Vince picked up the phone and handed it to her with a smile. He was glad that they narrowly avoided making the situation more awkward. Chuckling softly, he nodded. “Boring work call, I presume?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Vince laughed softly again, dropping his head. “Thankfully the children won’t be scarred by me being a clumsy fool,” he smiled. “But I could use some help if you’re offering too,”

"Fair," she admitted, though she couldn't imagine being terrified of these gorgeous creatures herself, everyone had something. "I may judge the people who don't have taste a little bit," she joked with a laugh. Horses had been so much apart of her healing journey that her original love for them had only deepened in that experience. "A little, not as much as I would like, but I've been volunteering at Harmony Healers so I've at least been near them. When I saw they were doing the rides here, I had to selfishly get over here to enjoy some riding time. I'm not at all surprised Livvy has been inspiring you. I've never met someone so passionate about them. Do you two ride together a lot?"

"Well, I think some people are scared of horses." She stroked down the face of the horse she'd chosen. "And some people just...don't have taste." Elise had written competitively for a long while as a teen, but she was glad to be reconnecting with this side of herself. "Have you been riding at all recently? Livvy has inspired me in these past few months."

"I hope not," Leyla said with a slight laugh, "everyone has seemed to like them so far." She wasn't really afraid of that, not in a town like this, but still, she hoped for good feedback. "I'll take hopeless addiction, at least it's mostly healthy ingredients so you can feel relatively guilt-free about it." That was one thing she was really loving about Merrock, everyone was genuinely so kind and supportive of one another. "Apple Cider Mule," She listed off, starting with the one he'd just picked up, "then Autumn Spice, Pumpkin Pie Martini, and Ginger Pear." That way he'd know which one he liked best. "That's the idea, yeah!" She nodded as he asked about her experience, "a little bit. I'm trying to make some time for it because I really do want to see what everyone else has put together. I got some blueberry jam from the Newman Family Farm and this really cute crochet pumpkin." She pulled it out from her bag under the table to show him. "And I plan to catch one of the horseback rides if I can and maybe the Morris Winery. I don't think I'd try it, but I think it might be fun to watch some people grape stomping like that I Love Lucy episode. Where are you headed next?"

"Something tells me that you won't have anyone spitting drinks back out," Josh laughed, shaking his head. Sure, people could have discerning tastes, be picky about the things that they chose to eat and drink, but something told him that no one in this town was going to have a problem with a delicious, fall-themed beverage. "Alright, good deal, that way I know where to go to get my fix once I ended up hopelessly addicted," and then have to find another one that he liked once the Christmas and winter seasons rolled around, that was how this cycle inevitably went, every single time. "Ah, perfect, thank you so much!" He reached for the first drink, admiring the color, and broke into a smile. "I'll definitely end up taking one with me. Feels best to explore a place like this with a drink and snack in hand, doesn't it? Have you gotten the chance to wander around yet?"

Leyla laughed as they both moved for her phone, navigating around each other to not go full comedy of errors. Stopping, she let him get it, just holding her hand out for it. "Thank you. I invest in solid cases, not the first time my phone has hit the ground," she said with a warm smile as she brushed some grass and dirt off it, "but our conversation was done anyway, my employees probably wish you'd bumped into me earlier." She laughed again before teasing, "so you think you can manage to get that where you're going without taking out small children along the way or do you need some help?"

“Oh!” Vince said quickly as he realized she had dropped her phone. He tried to strategically move down to grab it, swerving his body quickly enough so that they wouldn’t bump into each other again, making a bigger mess of things. He laughed and grinned. “Hope the phone’s not too damaged, though. You can say there was a big doofus who doesn’t look where he’s going which is why the call got interrupted,” he chuckled.

That was the beauty of a small town, this was invaluable advertising because the whole town had to be walking around this week. If they hadn't made it to the coast yet, they would know her shop's name now and the delicious drinks they could find there. "Yes, as long as the feedback's good, but barring people spitting it back out at me, we'll have these for the season. And maybe a couple others. They are seasonal, though, so still for a limited time. Just not one week limited." For a young business, it might not be the best idea to donate all this money to a charity, but that's what she was going to do. She believed in the cause, and the mission of her place was to make the world better, safer, kinder. That's what Harmony Healers was doing. As she set the flight in front of him, she added, "and all of these are available full-size this week that you can take with you, if there's one you really like and want to take it as you explore the rest of the booths."

"You know what?" Josh nodded his head decisively when Leyla talked about the flight, the special that she had crafted up for the week, offering her a bright smile. "Let's go with that. Might as well try a little bit of everything, and then get hooked -- are you also selling these over at the coast, in case I need to stop by and get my fix?" After all, there was nothing worse than falling in love with the taste of something, only to never have it again. It happened all too often at fairs and festivals, he had come to find. But he trusted Leyla to find a way to make it happen. "Besides, always want to help with a good cause," and he did love the work that Harmony Healers was doing, after all.

When Leyla saw there would be horseback rides at Creek Fest, she knew there would be no needing to convince her to step away from her booth to do that. She had been volunteering at Harmony Healers for just a little while, but she hadn't gotten near enough time to ride herself. At the sound of a voice, she looked over to see the question was directed to her. "Who could resist, right?" She replied, "look at these beauties. I'm almost surprised people are doing anything else when this is an option."

Elise could never resist the siren's call of the chance to ride a horse. She'd been going on trail rides with Livvy over the past few months when she could, but she didn't have as much time for it as she'd liked. Now, though, all but ousted from her stand for a few hours, she found herself with the time to do just that. She was captivated for a few moments by the chestnut she'd chosen before she even noticed anyone else near by. "Oh, hello! Are you going for a ride as well?"

@leyla-tehrani

Leyla only thought she was going to leave her employees in charge of the booth for a little while to take a quick break, but here she was still on the phone as she browsed through various pumpkins to maybe add something with a design to the booth. As she hung up, her phone was knocked from her hand. "That's what I get for not putting work away," she joked, waving her hand to assure him he didn't need to apologize as she bent down to pick her phone up. "I've lived in New York, I've been whacked with stranger things." Well, maybe not, but still... "And maybe I walked into your pumpkin."

Who: Vince & open!! @merrock

What: Creek Fest

Capping at 6 (0/6)

Vince was walking through the lines of pumpkins. Every year they seemed to just be getting bigger and bigger, strange as that was. He picked up a rather large one and held the thing in his arms, and before realizing there was someone next to him, he turned his body. "Oh my god, I'm sorry!" he gasped. "I can't believe I just whacked you with a pumpkin!"

She still hadn't quite gotten used to running into Dr. Lane, and every time she half-expected him to yell 'hey, I know you from therapy!' Which was ridiculous because he was a professional as all her many therapists had been, and this only had to be weird if she made it weird. "The Autumn Spice is probably my favorite. The cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg really make it taste like the holidays," she suggested, "but we're also doing a special for Creek Fest. It's a flight I've curated, it's just $5 and has that one, our Pumpkin Pie, Apple Cider Mule, and Ginger Pear mocktails. And we're actually donating those proceeds to Harmony Healers this week."

WHO: Josh & @leyla-tehrani

WHERE: Creek Fest

WHEN: September, 2023

"So, what do you recommend?" Josh asked as he looked over the menu, eyes scanning the drinks. Not much of an alcohol guy, Josh had to admit that he was pretty excited to see the Mawk Tales set-up, liking the idea of having something booze-free to drink, but still feel fancy about. Other than the eighteen million hot apple ciders he planned on drinking that week, on top of the hot chocolate, coffee and tea, since they were bound to find their way to him, too. "Honestly all of them sound good, I'm not sure where to start!"