Tighter and Tighter

You know I got to show you…
Nobody else before you…
Ever gave me such a beautiful feelin’…
(Alive N’ Kickin’-Tighter and Tighter)

Dust off your 1970s pop music!! It’s May, it’s fun music time!! And, for your market manager, it’s music festival season!! May kicks it all off!! Months of sun, fun, music, friends!!

This market, festival season…it really does give me just a beautiful feeling!! And, while I watch this market grow and grow, it’s amazing to think that 5 years ago, we were just launching our little local market of love!! That’s right, 5 years ago, in May, we went live with this whole concept. We went against the odds, against the nay sayers, against the opposition, the doubts, the non-believers.

And, look at us, now!! Strong, an umbrella for all local farmers markets, a true force that just gets tighter and tighter!

To celebrate, to kick off our 5th year, to kick off the season of our area farmers markets, and of course, kicking off music festival season for the market manager, I am bringing back the summer market playlist!! We will start building the Summer Market Of Love Soundtrack, again, and each week, we will randomly pick a customer who placed an order for that week, into the drawing for a cd of market songs, to be placed in your order at pick up!!

“Honey don’t a-let go now” Not when we are starting even more fun!!

Let’s get tighter and tighter…let’s see how high we we can get the orders, this week!! Let’s try to blow through our previous record of high orders!! We can do it!! Let’s kick off this amazing season, AND, our anniversary, with mind blowing sales!!

Let’s get that beautiful feeling…

Ok, go, crank up the 1970s pop music, and show us some love!!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Open!

After an evening of market site glitches, we are open!!

Much Love,
Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Vienna

Slow down, you crazy child…
You’re so ambitious for a juvenile…
But then if you’re so smart, then tell me
Why are you still so afraid?

Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about?
You’d better cool it off before you burn it out…
You’ve got so much to do…
And only so many hours in a day…
(Vienna-Billy Joel)

This song…this album…The Stranger. I wore this albums out when I was much too young to probably even like Billy Joel but I had this album, somehow, and played it while each song just sort of absorbed into my soul.

The lyrics that I posted pretty much sum up me, past and present. I was an overly motivated child. Always busy, always running, couldn’t slow down, needed to be fulfilled, needed to explore, needed to push until I was exhausted.

The lyrics have always been playing over and over in my mind, today, after all these years.

Tonight, your market manager is on the cusp of her birthday, tomorrow. My 52nd birthday. How did I go from that passionate, determined child to this passionate, determined adult who embraces each and every year with even more gusto than the year previous?

It happens…each year, time slips into your life, and you are given the gift of spending however you like. I feel that I have lived, loved, and savored life to it’s fullest, at each and every turn. My experiences, my growth, my beginnings, my middle, and my now…I have loved every single minute of this crazy ride.

When I look in the mirror, I don’t have those pangs of angst. I have only ambitions for what is to come!

So, thank you for allowing me to manage this market because it has been an amazing part of my journey!

And, with that…I want you to get your orders in, make my birthday eve a super happy one!

Peace, Love, Good Vibe…
Cosmic Pam

Welcome Back, My Friends!

Welcome back, my friends…
to the show that never ends.
We’re so glad you could attend!
Come inside! Come inside!
(Karn Evil 9-First Impression-Part 2- Emerson, Lake, and Palmer)

That’s right…welcome back to the market, the season, the seasonal vendors, the customers, all us…welcome back!!!

Last week, we saw the return of End Of The Road Farm with their amazing greens, green onions, eggs, popcorn, and now apple butter!!

In the past two weeks, we saw the return of live plants and herbs from Swisher Hill Herbs!!

Now, we see the return of the spring/green garlic from the girls of JC Growers!!

AND, this week, it is….drumroll…ASPARGUS!!! Center stage…this week we welcome back Beth, from Harrigan’s Harvest!!!

Order, now, immediately!!!

Welcome back, my friends, as this show NEVER ends!!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

I Would Die For You

I’m not a human…
I am a dove…
I’m your conscious…
I am love…
All I really need is to know that…
You believe…

Yeah, I would die for you, yeah…
Darling if you want me to…
You, I would die for you…
(I Would Die For You-Prince-Purple Rain)

So, yeah, and then this happened. Another great one. A musical genius. An artist. Not a good run for this musically tuned in market manager. They are leaving us, much too quickly, much too sad.

Today, I was finishing up market baking in the new Hippie and the Farmer kitchen, when I got a text. Well, first, I had been texting with a friend over a song that we love from Roxy Music. Then, I looked down at my phone, and saw a text from my long time, best friend, like, we did just about all things that best friends do in high school, and saw this…WTH, Prince died??

I was immediately stunned and hoped it was not true. But, then it was confirmed…sadly, heartbreakingly true. It was even more sad because this best friend and I shared such a Prince bond.

There was the magical summer, when usually sane parents left two girls, for a large portion of the summer, while home on college breaks, to kick around, and live the best summer of their lives…also known as the Purple Rain Summer…how much music, wine, parties, and part time jobs could two girls endure…quite a lot, my friends, quite a lot. And, more importantly, how many times and how much money could two girls spend on this movie?? Yeah…Purple Rain Summer…it was one of legends…

Prince…he was a magical, artistic genius and meant so many different things to so many different people. My first glimpse into him was the early club scenes in the early 80s…I will never forget just stopping, listening, and watching.

So, we are in sorrow, once again, as I open this market. And, if you could take just one line from the lyrics I posted, I hope it’s…I am love…

Much love to us all, little local market of love customers…much love…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Hey, Now!!

Don’t forget…it’s Tuesday evening!! We are one hour away from the market closing for the week!!

Get those orders in…especially because we have so many fresh herbs from Swisher Hill Herbs, early produce from End of the Road…little by little, we are seeing the start of the season!

Go on…you know you want to…show us some of that local love…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

The Circle Game

Yesterday a child came out to wonder…
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar…
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star…
And the seasons they go round and round…
And the painted ponies go up and down…
We’re captive on the carousel of time…
We can’t return we can only look behind
From where we came…
And go round and round and round…
In the circle game…
(Circle Game-Joni Mitchell)

The Circle Game…of life, of love, of rebirth, of the seasons…

Today was such an amazing day of sun, readiness for planting the new, anticipating what is ahead for all of us, the upcoming months of production, and the rejoicing in all that love brings.

Today, I took my convertible out for a drive. I do this, a lot, in the warm months. It clears my head, it lets me look at passing fields, passing people, passing houses, with an up close view. It lets me think, plan, regroup.

So, it was perfect when I stopped for a minute, and saw a loving text from one of our little local market of love vendors…

You know her as your soap girl, ELM Tree Essentials, Laura Miller…she was letting me know that she, her husband, and family welcomed their new baby, Hallie Jo, into their family!! Hallie Jo was born, yesterday, and weighed 7lb. 10oz! Everyone is doing well, and they are all over the moon in love with her!!

As our market family grows, we continue to welcome new additions, new little loves, new growth…

Congrats to Laura and family!

XOXO,
Cosmic Pam

Blue Sky

Walk along the river, sweet lullaby, it just keeps on flowing,
Don’t fly, mister blue bird, I’m just walking down the road,
Early morning sunshine tell me all I need to know…

You’re my blue sky, you’re my sunny day.
Lord, you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way,
Turn your love my way, yeah…
(Blue Sky-Allman Brothers)

Well, because it’s sunny, it’s warm, the sky is a clear blue, and it’s the kind of weather that makes this hippie girl, your market manager, want to be twirlin’ in the sunshine, groovin’ tunes to twirl by, and to be so happy that we are easing into this beautiful new season!!

To celebrate the transition, I am so happy to report that one of our favorite growers is back on the scene, at the market, with their lovely early season offerings! Yes…End Of The Road Farms is back!!

Twirl on, fast, to the market site to get your orders in!! Things will go fast, and this is the time of the season we look so forward to!!

It’s all around us…everywhere I drive, the fields are getting ready for planting, our early producers have survived the winter and are slowly coming in with their offerings, growers are reporting in with what they are growing, experimenting with, and everyone wants to dance with elation!

Blue Sky…you’re my sunny day, indeed…

The market is open, twirl on…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Signs

And the sign said “Long-haired freaky people need not apply”…
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why…
He said “You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you’ll do”…
So I took off my hat, I said “Imagine that. Huh! Me workin’ for you!”…
(Signs-Five Man Electrical Band)

Signs…perfect for an opening song for this week’s market!

Tonight, after returning home from the little local market of love, I became enchanted with an exchange of old pictures from all the West End kids, on Facebook. Our beloved elementary school is on the verge of being closed down, and tonight, through pictures, we were having a reunion of sorts. We were reliving memories, a Who’s Who of faces from back in the day, our old school, the glue that helped to build our West End roots. Our loyalty. Our love.

I can remember this song being played by the older siblings to a lot of us. I thought it was the perfect song, the anti-establishment song, a song for the beloved hippies.

And now, a sign of the times, with yet another old school building closing, years and years of memories going. Gone. The times they are a changin’…

And, signs…the signs of spring are finally all around us. The return of produce happens, this week, another sign that it’s all about to happen. Another season, another growth, another sign that we made it through another winter.

No matter what sign you are, what signs you believe in, what signs mean something to you, you can’t deny that the first signs of spring are the sweetest…

The market is opening for the week…produce from End of the Road will be added, tomorrow…take that as YOUR sign to get your ordering started!

The season has started…the signs are all pointing to grooviness…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam

Checking The Time!

Hello, little local market of love customers!!

Just letting you know that it is almost 7pm, on Tuesday evening, and you have until 10pm to get those orders all revved up, and ready to rock and roll!!

Don’t miss out on the local goodness and fun!!

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam