The rain has stopped and left clean fresh air. Golden oak leaves and nandina, dark with green and bright, heavy, red orange clusters fill the front window as I reflect on this past year – year one of Scissortail Provisions – living on the edge. We’ve put it all out there. We’ve created a kitchen in which to create products we delight in making.

 

On the edge? We started paying rent in November 2014 and the kitchen wasn’t complete and open til April. Retirement and job loss – um, pretty damn unpredictable. Going from management to part-time, minimum wage – yep, on the edge. That’s the dark side.

 

The light: Our passion for what we do; the never-ending possibilities. The people we have met (the curious, the shy, the brazen, the rich, the poor, the privileged, the ill, the know-it-alls, the sharers of blessings, the bright and beautiful). Light shines through those who like our Facebook, Instagram and website; from those very special people who are regulars and march right up to claim their favorite kimchi or Lemon Dill or Dumb Ass or are sad to miss out on Fifi’s Pico but try something else instead. The light is so strong when Jennifer’s husband hands us a shopping list as he rolls his eyes and when Lynne emails her order a week in advance.

 

Light? You want light? How about when my former student brings their baby to the shop to bless the kraut we are making (thank you Adelaide)! When former students, workmates, and friends of Lacey Brown stop to check in or shop – such joy. The light of the little one in the yellow raincoat from an earlier post continues to show up in our lives with her mom and now talks and expects a hand-created sticker – she doesn’t even care what it looks like. The light floods through us when the mom comes with her small son and he chooses which kraut he likes.

 

Then there is the light of acceptance from our peers – the vendors who bring us produce (Bootstrap Farms/Wayne Jesko trades cabbage for kraut, Sloth Acres sells us sprouts [micro greens to you hip to knows] that influences our Peace and Vincent krauts): Joyce Chillingworth/Chilli’s Garden, Rick Miller/Farrell Bread, Teri Fermo/Bohemia. Doug Bortnem/My Dad’s Salsa, the Pushkar family/Aviva, Squeakie Brown/ Middle Mountain, Rae Blakley/Creekside, John Xiong, Tria Yang, Lisa Becklund/Living Kitchen – thank you for warming up to us.

 

And thank you to the door keepers – Lisa, Penni, Edible Tulsa, Rick Wells and News on 6, Sam Bracken/Canebrake, James Shrader/Palace, Manny Buttons/Blue Moon and Ben Buie/Potbellies, Franklin’s and Toast.

 

And lastly, Nina of Bakeri in Brooklyn NY said it best – “growing pains”. Right. Our hopes are to get heat working at the shop, have the leaking roof repaired, find a deli case that will fit through the front door and accountant who will trade for paintings/pickles – all in hopes of opening the front end of the shop on NOMA, Owasso OK. Thank you for your light.