As we head toward the summer and begin brighter days filled with the warmth of sunshine and friendship, please pause to consider all those who have sacrificed to make our lives... our liberty possible.

Setting aside the politics of North vs. South, of present vs. past, I can think of no more fitting words than these to commemorate this occassion.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln
The Gettysburg Address
November 19, 1863

Howdy one and all! In case you hadn't noticed, the Arnica store has been partially open for a while now. We've been accepting orders on eight buildings and most of our Add-On Kits. We didn't make a big splash about it because we were mainly using this as an opportunity to test our production line and processes while we ramp up to full production.  This has been very useful, as it's helped us spot a lot of small problems with our molds and identify areas where we need to improve. But if we're going to be able to move on to the next stage – which includes finishing the rest of the molds for the Western line, and then moving on the Adobe line – we need to take a short break. So, we're going to shut down the store for 4-6 weeks so we can focus on getting everything finished and up to full speed.

Before we pause, though, we want to thank everyone who has placed an order. We really appreciate it. All orders that have been received will be finished in the next week or so and then we will focus entirely on getting the new molds finished so we can come back with a grand opening event in May or June.

The store will shut down around May 1. So, if you were planning to place an order soon, now is probably the time to do it.

Thanks again for your patience.

--Mike Mitchell
Hawgleg Publishing

Hey folks, Paul "Mad Dog" Mauer here, with a little bit of news for all of you. I'm sorry to say that the Arnica Pre-Release Bonanza Sale will be ending effective immediately. This is due to the fact that we have had such a phenomenal response to it that we need to "turn off the spigot," so to speak, before we drown in orders. In our wildest dreams, we did not expect such a huge turn out for the sale. Literally, people on the other side of the world were waiting to get their hands back on some Arnica buildings.

To be honest, when we started the sale we didn't know what to expect. When we bought Arnica Montana from Mike McGraw we knew we had a good product and we wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible for all concerned. Well, that didn't happen. As you all know from Mike Mitchell's posts to the forum, there have been a few obstacles that we have had to overcome (including a hurricane that hit exactly one year ago today). When all the dust settled, we didn't know for certain if our customers were still going to be there waiting for us.

Well I don't mind telling you that we were quite happy to see that, even though we had to delay its re-introduction, Arnica Montana seems to be just as popular as it ever was, and I, personally, want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our valued customers for their support.

Now, I know there are a few of you that had contacted us before and, for whatever reason, your order did not go through (or we're still talking about it to settle on the details). Well never fear. All of us owners here at Arnica Real Estate are some straight-shootin'dudes, so here is what we will do for you. If your order was ORIGINALLY placed before Sept. 10, 2009, or you contacted us to place an order but we haven't yet completed the details (for whatever reason), do not worry. You can still receive your order at the sale price and get a discount on your next order. Just e-mail Mike Mitchell and he will take care of it with you.

So one last time I, on behalf of everyone here at Arnica Montana and Hawgleg Publishing, want to give you all a big tip of the hat to say thanks for confirming our faith in you.

Sincerely,