I went to see the very determined Casey and Cindy and our other friends at the town farmer’s market, now held weekly until spring in the newly abandoned town firehouse. Casey has been busy taking care of two small children, hosting kid parties, going to one event after another to sell her coffee, tea, and baked goods, and preparing for her horse trailer to be finished before the end of the year.

She is exhausted, she says, and happy. She is closing in on her dream.

She says she’s both nervous and excited. As always, she brought her two girls along, she wants them to be a part of her project, the Canteen/coffee company selling fresh coffee, tea, muffins, donuts, sandwiches, and other baked goods.

Caseu dressed as a Girl Scout leader for Halloween.

Casey is about as prepared as possible for her dream to come on out and into the open. She is waiting for permission to park her wagon directly across the road from the local central school. It’s a good spot. This week, Casey and Will go to see Dan Rogers, who is rebuilding the horse trailer into a beautiful portable food shop.

I’ll check in with Casey as the clock ticks and Canteen/Coffee D Day gets closer.

Cindy, who just got two orders for 400 bars of her wonderful soap, came to the market dressed as the lollipop lady; she had buckets of lollipops to hand out. Casa Cassavant, a/k/a the goat lady, was selling some of her terrific goat cheese and, of course, her soaps, the best soap I’ve ever used. Cindy is also meditating happily and successfully. She is coping beautifully with the anxiety of farming and business beautifully. Check out her website here.

Cindy is a good and valued friend.

Farmers are not generally into daycare for their children; they bring them to the market. This boy found a warm corner of the market and got to work on his gamepad. He was dressed up for Halloween, but I didn’t want to disturb him while he was playing.

Local bands come to play and sing at the market every weekend. The market has become a landmark vehicle for enhancing the community. It’s a gift to the farmers who need active markets for their crops, and it reinforces community – we often get to meet our neighbors there. The music is surprisingly good.