Plenty and the Farmers' Market

I recently borrowed the book, Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, from the library. It is an interesting account, written by each of them in alternating chapters, of their pledge to eat a "100-Mile Diet" for one year: that is, to only eat foods grown, harvested or caught within 100 miles of their Vancouver, Canada home. It seems, while trying to live an environmentally-conscious and healthy lifestyle, they realized that while they were walking and biking to save gas, their diet of far-flung supermarket foods was driving the equivalent of a fuel-hogging SUV.

The book was especially interesting since I live in the same bountious Northwest area as the authors. Their quests for meat (local fish and shellfish, and eggs mostly), veggies, fruits, sweets (honey), and grain (a toughy out here) were sometimes comical, but very inventive.

This morning my son and I ventured out in the misty rain to the first Farmers' Market of the season. It was almost closing time, and it had rained all morning - not a profitable start for all the poor chilly-looking farmers and craftspeople. Beautiful tulips were available in profusion for $1 a stem or a dozen for $10, but not much variety in produce yet - only rhubarb, leeks, some beets and potatoes. There were also vendors selling homemade cheese, candy, baked goods, and organic beef and pork, and fresh fish and oysters - I think we could easily eat a "100-mile diet" around here already this year! It's fun to watch the changes at the farmers' market week by week as more crops become available. I made a rhubarb crisp! (P.S. I want this t-shirt!)

A fun quote from the book, by Carl Sagan:

"If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch,

you must first invent the universe."

I'm in Deep Clover Now!

Big news of the day is, I am employed! I started today as a project manager for a marketing and promotions company! Huge change for me - I have not been employed in 14 years, since our first son was born!

It seems like a perfect fit. I will be able to work part-time, and most of it from home, on the computer and the phone. So my early morning hours will now be spent working instead of blogging and crafting so much. It all seems so strange, and yet so familiar. Like speaking a language again that I once spoke daily, until I moved to another country (in my case -motherhood).

Ah, well! I'm sure I'll sneak in a project now and again. And I'll be keeping my eye on you!
l

"Our real problem is not our strength today:

it is the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow."

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Happier New Year

Sorry I have been MIA lately. I have been making stuff, but haven't been in the bloggy mood. I'm still reading YOUR blogs though, and I appreciate the beauty and smiles you share. I'll get back in the groove eventually...

...until then, especially to everyone whose 2007 really sucked (and I know a lot of you), I wish you a "Happier New Year." (Oops, did my happy mask slip?)

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

New Favorite Quote

"Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.

Ask yourself what makes You come alive and go do that,

because what the world needs

are people who have come alive."

- Gil Bailie

Inspire Me Thursday - "Functional Art"

I found this terrarium at a thrift shop for a couple dollars. It was full of old dirt, with mineral-caked glass and bare wood. We used it for a few years, and it worked really well for Venus flytraps! I put it away until recently, then I cleaned up the glass, painted it, and put new silicone sealer on the glass seams inside. The back side is a mirror, which had a boring black reverse side, so as a last thought I painted the scene and quote on it. "The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth." - Dorothy F. Gurney. We planted it with 4 tiny tropical plants. I asked my son who I should give it to, and he said, "Let's keep it for now!"

Backyard Blooms

I am enjoying all the beautiful flowers that are coming out now in the backyard: tall bearded iris (my favorite scent on earth!), lupine, and clematis. I don't have many good purples in my marker set, so maybe I'll try coloring this in Illustrator once I figure it out! I think it is wonderful how sketching something allows you to see it in a whole new way. As I drew the lupine buds, they reminded me of the hulls of tiny canoes. I sketched this in about 10 minutes, mostly as an excuse to write the quote somewhere. "I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers," Claude Monet. My sentiments exactly.