IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL DAAAAY OF THE WEEK (Patreon)

Hello, and happy Friday to you! It's Dailies Day, my friends.

Last Saturday, Baley, Amanda, Karli, and I spent the day in Frederick, hitting H Mart, JoAnn Fabric (RIP), my go-to antique store, and the Common Market. We found a treasure trove of delicacies at H Mart, among them...

Just goes to show you that the AI overview sometimes neglects to include the MOST DRAMATIC potential medical side effects.

(We all checked in the next day, no one's nipples exploded.)

Luke and I went for a skate-walk together the other day and bumped into:

AND I DID.

When I started renting this house, I had the mindset that it wouldn't last forever. I'd leave when when I found something better (I didn't, and probably never will!), or whenever the owners kicked me out. But a few years ago, something in me shifted - probably when I started gardening - and I began to let myself see it as MY home. I knew that was a dangerous idea, but it was tasty.

It's probably for the best that I'm back to my old "who-knows-how-long" tenant mindset, but feeling settled sure was nice while it lasted. I guess it's an appropriate era to feel unsettled in, anyway. (The usual "gestures everywhere" gesture.) Here's the original art for this one!

Speaking of unsettling, I saw this from my kitchen window...

THIS HAPPENED AGAIN FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF YESTERDAY?!

Honestly, who's crazier, the woman who is spending hours of her life pleasantly flitting the pages of a big softcover book across her fingertips, or me, the person staring at her through the window, seething, drawing a whole comic about spying on her?

Anyway, here's the original, in case you found something relatable about this comic and want it!

My neighbor Joanie is organizing a Pride Parade in Shepherdstown (June 1st if you're nearby and wanna come!). She asked me to come over the other day to discuss an idea she had.

I thought we could all benefit from hearing that.

Joanie's backyard is usually filled to the brim with rainbow flags (she was good friends with Gilbert Baker). The original for this comic got a tedious colored pencil treatment! I'm going to see if Joanie herself would like the original before I offer it up for sale.

We stayed there for HOURS in the sunshine with local pals. Totally worth it!! (I worked on the stickers all day yesterday to make up for it. Tell ya about that later.) Here's the original!

Everyone's talking about the Economic Blackout Day we're having here in the States today, so I wanted to write something that parallels that. The intentions of the blackout are a bit vague, but I believe it's meant to generally "stick it to" the billionaires, the large corporations.

If I may offer an alternative to spending ZERO money, I recommend you spend money at a local, non-chain store today. And use cash! Here's a comic about local stores AND cash, before I continue to bend your ear about it:

All caramels are GOOD caramels, but the ones at Dogwood General are THE BEST CARAMELS.

Before I go on, here's the original for this comic! As always, remember to use the coupon code DAILYSMILE50 at checkout for your thank-you-for-being-a-patron 50% off!

Okay, last bit about using cash and shopping local: this economic blackout thing will affect big businesses, but only for a day. If you'd like to join me in making a lasting impact, go out to a small brick-and-mortar (NOT a large chain), and pick something that can replace a corporate/Amazon purchase that you make regularly. Replace your regular fast food indulgence with a taco from the local taco stand. Buy handmade soap from a small gift shop. Buy one big piece of meat from a local butcher. It'll be more expensive! But you're putting that money back into your zip code, and helping a small shop near you stay in business.

(Hot tip, btw: I've been buying my eggs for $5 a dozen from local farmers for years. Unlike factory farms, they haven't raised their egg prices recently, because they haven't been affected by the bird flu. So if you don't want to pay $8 a dozen at the grocery store, hit up a local farmer and ask how much their eggs are. Then, consider buying eggs from them from now on - work it into your budget if you're able.)

I may go on about this in a future comic - I have a lot of opinions and suggestions to give on the topic of small business support and cutting yourself free from paying corporations to remain on top! But I'll try not to overwhelm you. (Also I hope you already know that this is a privileged take - if you can't afford to lose your grasp on lowest-price corporate goods, I hear you! But if you can, please do.)

The longer-form comic I started with last week's dailies is still in progress, by the way. Surprising no one, it's about gender. You'll see it when it's done, but it may take awhile to finish - I have more thoughts on the topic than I thought I could fit into these tiny pages. Also surprising no one!

Anyway, happy Spend Money At Your Local Non-Chain Shop Day! And if you have nice weather coming your way, I hope you'll spend some of it in the sunshine. MECK GARDEN MECK GARDEN MECK GARDENNNN