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small business saturday

today our “interested” friends at american express inform us that this is small business saturday. it could just be that logic class sophmore year talking (the one we possibly slept through), but does this mean that today is small business day and the other 364 are “large business day”? because we think its time to invert that a little bit. i know the big guys need your help too, but imagine for a moment just one year where it was the other way around? 364 days of small business and one “large business day”. all your money going to folks that reinvest it directly in your community, hiring your friends and neighbors and buying goods from your fellow entrepreneurs. paying taxes directly to your local government that maintain all the services our communities depend on and enjoy? think of some of your favorite small businesses and all the amazing things they are already doing then think about what could be possible with 364 small business days?

as always, we thank you each every day for all your support as we all work together to build the sort of place we can feel proud of calling our hometown, native or adopted.

also, we got a fryer today and will be playing with it the remainder of the day. if you’re bold enough for such a thing, join us for fryerioneering

janice

happy thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving everyone; we sure are grateful for you all and the opportunity to be a little part of your lives. and you know who else we’re awfully thankful for? in no particular order: green dirt farm, hammon’s walnuts, middleton farm, ludwig creamery, echigo farm, ozark mountain creamery, urban roots, mountain valley, elle’s, float trip pickles, whispering oaks winery, katiemade, young family farm, robberson orchard, sandhill, big red juice truck, sweet girl, billy goat chip company, three squirrels winery, fassnight creek farm, glen echo, granolove, rocco’s, dove mountain, acme grain, queen city deli, lee farm, raised right meats, arnold farm, quickly produce, a&a orchard, papa johnny, oovda, ozark country kitchen, pleasant valley, PT gardens, bechard family farm, east wind, halbert’s, grouse farm, london farm, color my world, breadsmith, happy mouth foods, askinosie chocolate, baetje farms, date lady, SUAC, sunshine valley farm, artisans oven, mckaskle family farm, mother’s, helen’s, JD farms, maggard tree farm, vang farms, eiker farms, kaz winery, ozarks natural beef, kuhns farm, persimmon hill, red top oven, dinah’s kitchen, eagle farms, florence’s homestyle, GSFM, terrell creek, sandhill farm, T&M, herman farms, providence farm, seedless gardener, springfield paper, brick & mortar, C Hwy Auctions, flower child, caffe to_mo_ca, crown valley, arnold farms, baker creek seeds, mckenna farms, willow mountain mushrooms, copper canyon coffee, tiny harvest, wild bunch, trellis, circle b ranch, messia, meramec bison ranch, dad’s cookies, miller’s produce, bambinos, spriggs, red top oven, sunny lane farm, broken wire, express foods, FMO, millie fern, benissimo, legacy bagelry, homegrown hub, KSMU, nature’s way, morning land, country bee, cap rock canyon, brushy mountain, missouri spirits house, c&b, ozark mountain orchard, parrish, raw shakti, j rae pottery, millsap farms, quaintance farms, blue bird flour, baxter farms, mom’s originals, martin rice company, hickory gardens, my brother’s salsa, copper run distillery, red monkey spices, t bar and bites, frontier, granolove, missouri northerns pecan growers, martin mushrooms, erwin farms, murphy orchards, wheeler farms, brown’s berries, cone chips, reece’s distillery, jeni’s, big red popcorn, five sisters, fresh starts, spring hill dairy, swagbot, naturally yours, and so many more past, present, and especially, future vendors and friends!

a little patient

a man rushes into a doctor’s office, demanding to be seen immediately. “help me! help me! i’m shrinking and its getting worse!” the nurse points to all the other people in line and says “i’m sorry sir, all of these other people are ahead of you. you’re just going to have to be a little patient”

…which is to segue into celebrating the feeling we get around here at times when it seems the store keeps shrinking. in reality, we’re just constantly adding exciting new items to all the old favorites and every time it seems like we can’t find space for anything else, something always opens up. funny, it works the same way with the human heart.

snowy sunday

sometimes its hard to put up with how beautiful one simple sunday afternoon can be but that’ll never stop us from trying to wring a couple more smiles out of a dusting of snow on a favorite tree or the sound of laughter when you overhear a couple old friends bumping into each other over the last loaf of a favorite bread.

waited

We’ve waited so long to finally get started, a little bit of cold isn’t going to stop us!

poppies

armistice day

Happy Armistice Day, everyone. As Kurt Vonnegut put it so well:

“…November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy all the people of all nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the voice of God.”

When we honor those who have sacrificed so much, let’s not forget to celebrate a peace so dearly won and the hope that inspires.

pickwick park

pickwick park, again

whether you’re looking for a mitzvah or karmic balancing or to shake the terms of some ancient druidic curse or you just like little parks in quaint and charming neighborhoods, we’d love to point out its still possible to donate cash or platinum bullion to the impending* construction of Pickwick Park. we might not end up with enough to build the 200 foot crystal ferris wheel, but a little extra would go a long way toward some more reasonable yet equally joy-filled amenities selected through the most careful frivolity.

donate now

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pumpkin wonderland

evidently the ground outside the store is even more enchanted than we thought. its barely october and we woke up to a magical pumpkin patch. even squash is getting excited about our park.

pickwick parkand speaking of excited, we’re gonna take this opportunity to try and embarrass some of our dear friends at Kaleidoscope who donated a remarkably generous sum for our nascent park. Kaleidoscope, that was TOO much, but thank you and thanks to everyone for their ongoing support. and keep an eye on our website because we’ll be releasing more of our parkitect series each night this week. later, taters.