As soon as Dan The Handyman finishes refurbishing her horse wagon/coffee shop, Casey will bring her CoffeeCanteen business into the center of town to sell coffee, tea, cider, donuts, muffins, and baked goods. This is her dream, and she is working very hard on it. I’m going to follow her while she does.
The scene at the farmer’s market this morning with Casey was touching; she had her three-month-old daughter Evelynne in her rolling bed just a few inches away from Casey’s dream – high-quality coffee, tea, donuts (sold out this morning) and different baked goods, all from local food producers.
She has been getting calls for festivals and meetings and is ready to chase her dream as soon as the horse wagon is prepared, which should be any day now. Word is getting around.
Casey is a person of conviction. She will not be an absentee mother, no matter what, nor will she compromise the quality of what she sells. I can see her strength and honesty, and I respect her thoughtfulness. Watching as she moves forward with her Coffee/Canteen business and food cart will be a pleasure.
Everyone I talk to says we badly need a coffee cart lot in our town, and Casey is determined to sell her drinks and donuts. She works day and night to learn more, figure out her food, and contact the other young farm and food producers for support. She is getting a lot. I’m betting on her and will write about this journey as it progresses. The more I know about Casey, the more I am impressed. She will get where she wants to go.
I think the images of Casey Page selling her coffee, tea, and donuts with her newborn baby a couple of feet away are iconic and enduring. She is a devoted and doting mother, but she also means to have her dreams and see them come true. I believe she will be successful. Many of you know firsthand the difficulties of having a dream and also having to care for two small children. Casey has a lot of strength and determination.
I’m happy to report that Cindy Casavant, Caz Acres Goat Farm, is taking off with her soap and cheese business. Cindy is another dreamer proving the point that we can have our dreams if we are willing to be courageous and take the plunge.
She ordered 400 pieces of soap, her goat farm is doing well, and she just brought a new T-shirt she proudly wore (above) at the farmer’s market. She is a natural business person; her dreams are getting red hot.
Cindy and I had a meditation class on the phone last week, and she said it did her some good and calmed down the voice inside, telling her she had way too much to do. She wants to keep up the work. Cindy is a hard worker like Maria, and intensely focused.
She never thinks she has enough time to do all the things she needs to do, yet she gets everything done that she needs to do get done. A Saratoga museum just asked her if they could sell her soap in their museum shop. That’s a big deal in tourist-stuffed Saragot.
Cindy’s soap is the best I have ever used; I buy a bar each week. Cindy’s e-mail is [email protected] for any of you who might need to order phenomenal soap for parties, gifts, or personal use.
People are buying it to use as gifts or surprises.
In my town, there seems to be an explosion in dreams.
Kari Bernard of Bernard Farm just opened her indoor vegetable stand on the outskirts of town. The vegetables are fresh, creative, and delicious; we eat them weekly. She’s also growing some unique flowers in her greenhouse, and I hope to buy some (along with Judy Page’s beautiful plants) next Spring.
Kar is living her dream and succeeding in it. Her stand is complete all weekend. I love stories like this; people here are abandoning the corporate modern of employment and setting out independently. It’s hard to do it yourself, but these people I’m writing about have enormous strength and purpose, and they mean to be their bosses carrying out their dreams. I admire all of them.
Keri is both independent and creative. She spent many winters gathering maple syrup in the cold forest. She wants to be her own boss running her own business. She’s doing it.
Her fingers were protesting the winter work, so she decided to expand her vegetable delivery business and do it right. Her stand and the building it is in are beautiful, and so are her vegetables. Her vegetables are sold out consistently. She is already making it, and thinking about how to expand next year her dream is a success. It can be done. Her e-mail is [email protected]
The country is experiencing a young people’s food revolution, often in food carts in cities all over the country, and people like Casey, Cindy, Keri, and Irwin are leading it. They do things their way, which is exciting and very different.
They love what they do, and their work is a vocation, not just a job.
Edwin is also a dreamer whose hard work is paying off. He runs Long Days Farm with Debbie and their daughter and grows and sells some beautiful vegetables and fruit. He also works like a fiend. He has the most original; face in the market and I love taking his portrait.
Go, girl.