MARKET MUSINGS

August 17, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Jan Freedman

If the sudden downpour could have held off for another 30 minutes or so, it would have been a perfect day at the Market on Saturday.
We had a cool but sunny start and the day warmed from there, and the shoppers increased as the weather warmed.
There are still lots of strawberries available as well as apricots and a few different types of plums. I saw some cantaloupes at 19th Avenue Farm.
There was corn as far as the eye can see and some farmers had more than one type of corn. Although we usually favour the bicolour corn, we’re giving the super sweet yellow variety a taste this time.
The availability of all this ripe corn is perfectly timed for next weekend’s annual Community Corn Roast.
The next new vendor I’d like to introduce is Meagan from The Good Soap Folk.
She and her daughter, Mollie, moved to Aurora from Florence, ON in 2015 to be closer to family. As a young girl, Meagan grew up in a combination of the city and country and is equally happy in both.
However, her most memorable years were spent living on the family farm in southwestern Ontario. There were chickens, goats and lots of dogs and kittens on the farm and she learned the importance of hard work. The chickens and goats had been a Christmas gift and it was her responsibility to look after them.
Her mother and father kept a tidy house and taught her the importance of love, laughter and most of all, family.
Her older sister wanted to teach Meagan things while keeping her safe. Meagan’s grandmother canned peaches, chili and tomato sauces each year and this instilled a desire to create and enjoy homemade things.
She concludes that the greatest gift in her life has been to be surrounded by women who taught her to be strong and independent.
When Mollie was born in 2008, all Meagan wanted was to teach her all of the strengths she had been taught. However, she didn’t realize that it would be somewhat of a struggle as Mollie was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2012 at the age of four.
Mollie’s epilepsy is called “Petit Mal” or “Absence Epilepsy”. It affects Mollie’s learning and memorization ability. Her short term memory is affected and that can be very frustrating to her. However she also happens to be a very social, optimistic and positive girl.
She is full of love and light, always making gifts and caring for others.
Like her mother, she is crafty and loves to paint and go outside to sketch and make something out of anything she finds.
One day Meagan decided to make lip balm with Mollie and the Good Soap Folk just bloomed.
They put on music and get lost working together in the kitchen, their happy place.
The benefits of holistic medicine and their own homemade natural products have improved Mollie’s epilepsy and they recently learned that Mollie is slowly growing out of her epilepsy.
Choosing to take Mollie off chemical medications and putting her on a natural keto diet, naturopathic supplements and live a handmade, homemade lifestyle was the best thing that Meagan has taught her daughter.
They didn’t expect the business to bloom like it has, but, like everything else they do, they are operating as a team. Their first soap was called “When Life Gives You Lemons.”
That quote became like a motto, so whenever things get tough, in their house they rely on old lessons to stay strong, keep going and make soap!
Remember to come to the Market on August 19 for our corn roast served by several Town Councillors.