The Lawrence Farmers' Market

I hardly ever get to go to the Farmers' Market because I work on Saturdays, so when I get the chance it's quite the treat! Chris and I went a couple of weeks ago to pass out flyers for the Lawrence Food Garden Tour which is this coming weekend and we are on it! (Shameless plug.) These are a few of my friends that have booths at the market:

Blackbird Bakery. Alison works with me at The Merc and makes delicious baked goods. This particular day I had a Moroccan asparagus pie thingie. Yum.

My dear friend, Audrey, and her son Lichen run Blessed Thistle Farm. And she sells tinctures at The Merc!

Dan and Cole Cottin of MAD Farm. Cole used to work at The Merc in the produce department and this is their first summer as full time farmers. I think their booth is extra fabulous!

Mural by Dave Loewenstein.

Jozie from Earth Flowers. They also sell flowers to The Merc.

Kevin Irick and his hot house tomatoes. He also sells at The Merc!

Lots and lots of Merc connections! We have a really big emphasis on buying local and the Farmers' Market really makes it apparent to me. Just walking through the market I have relationships with many of the farmers and growers or I at least recognize them from their weekly drop-offs of product. It's such a great feeling to be a part of the local food movement!

Giving thanks for the country life in Wichita.

Chris and I went to his folks' house in Wichita, Kansas for Thanksgiving. It's fun to see Chris switch gears so quickly to his old country boy self. He immediately pulls on his overalls and sets out to cut a tree down or work on the truck. He spent all day on Friday in the garage, so I took out on my own to the city. I drove around, took some pictures and did a little shopping. Wichita is a pretty cool town with a lot of interesting old buildings, museums and antique shops. On Saturday we drove to Newton, which is only 30 minutes away. We always stop at Good Old Days Antiques where there is a cat that rides around on your shoulder while you shop. We also checked out our friend, Dave Loewenstein's mural that he completed this fall. It was a great Thanksgiving!

Good Old Days Antiques.

Cutting a tree down with Grandpa Earl.