One of the shops that I fell in love with in Floyd was the New Mountain Mercantile.....they sold a variety of items from gem stones to incense to beautiful handmade pottery and crafts done by local artisans.  Another post will follow on the treasures that I acquired there.  But the sales girl, Kalinda, was extremely friendly.  We got chatting and I told her I knew some people in Floyd....and small town that it is she also knew Colleen and my friends Pat and Tom.  I then asked her if there was anyplace in town that sold handspun yarn.  She got a mysterious look on her face and then said, "Actually, there is one place.  It's located about 5 miles out of town and it's all done on the honor system.  Nobody is there."  Was I intrigued?  You betcha!  When I questioned how I'd pay for my purchases, she explained there's a receipt book there, a jar of change, you take what you want, leave the money and that's it.  So of course.....off we went.  I love discovering out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-track kind of places.  We found the landmark she'd told me about and drove for 2 miles down a dirt road, alongside the river.  And lo and behold, in the middle of nowhere.....this is what we found.

When we arrived, one couple was loading up their car with boxes of produce.  Everything there is organically grown.  I peeked inside the brown doors, but only saw boxes of apples, squash, etc.  No yarn.  I then tried the yellow door and sure enough, skeins of handspun yarn was hanging there.  Two young women walked in and purchased home baked organic bread and explained how I do the receipt, and then put my money into an envelope and slip it into a slot in the wall.  I purchased 2 skeins of yarn (80 yards each) for half the price I'd have paid elsewhere and I couldn't resist a jar of homemade Apple Butter.....which by the way, is the best I've ever had.  I'm really enjoying it on toast in the morning.  And here's the yarn I got and hope to knit into more slipper socks...........

Now you have to admit, there aren't too many places left in this country where you can go in and purchase items on an honor system.  But that was just part of the charm of Floyd.  Apparently, the Greens Garage is a throw-back to what us Baby Boomers knew as "communes."  But I'm told they're no longer called that, but rather "communities."  The guide book says that the 60's era holdouts flocked to Floyd, following the hippie movement.  I'd say a fair amount has remained there and I can't blame them.....friendly people, back to nature scenery, and the entire area had a great energy to it.  You could just feel it.  It reminded me a lot of my island except instead of being surrounded by water, they have the mountains.  I also noticed that, like Cedar Key, wherever we drove, people either driving by or working in the fields waved to us.  It's a small thing, yes.  But believe me, it's something people in large cities just don't do.  And visiting Floyd only reinforced my love for the simplicity and uniqueness of small towns.  After finding Cedar Key I knew without a doubt, I might be city-girl-born......But I'm a small town gal in soul.

Visit me here tomorrow when I'll share the highlight of my trip to Floyd....getting to meet the other bloggers that live there.  See you then.........