I love this town

I had a very hectic afternoon. One that involved dentist appointments for the kids, dropping off a kid and peach cakes at school, driving my mother to Bed, Bath and Beyond when I really didn't have time, driving like a mad woman to the office for a consult, driving home even faster and more mad to pick up little E only to get to school in time to start our Girl Scout meeting that me and my pal co-leader worked out just what the heck we were going to do with 7 screechy girls for an hour and 45 minutes a mere hour before the meeting began. Ack.
Drove a fellow Girl Scout home, quickly created a receipt for a summer client who needed a receipt to claim to their insurance company and THEN,
met said client, her husband, their two adorable children and other friends at our right-up-the-block Corner Brewery for a mug of beer and yummy pizza.
The kids played scrappy board games and we enjoyed the packed brewery, which was packed tonight because our so-smart Farmer's Market relocated their Tuesday afternoon market from a cold, open parking lot behind the bank to the Brewery for the get-your-last ingredients before Thanksgiving extravaganza.

I only had $14. I pitched in $4 for the already ordered and slightly cold pizza that was left over. I spent $6 on 6 enormous sweet potatoes. I spent $2 on 6 delectable Buckeye Balls. I loaned $2 in addition to my pal Amy's $7 so that we could get our absent friend Kate a $9 pumpkin pie (Kate couldn't come, but she called to request a pie pick-up). So after delivering the pie to Kate's husband, I came home full, far more relaxed, and very pleased that our town is very cool most of the time. The people are for the most part, really good and kind. The taxes are outrageous, the public services are constantly in threat of being taken away for lack of resources... but we have awesome coffee shops, restaurants, Farmer's Markets, libraries, parks, bakeries, a kick-ass food co-op and a Brewery that is really family friendly and serves tasty, fresh and local beer.

Turkey

Getting ready for the big day, slowly but surely. Sunday my dad is bringing his truck over so that G and him can pick up the turkey that's been growing up with our chickens since Spring. It will be coerced into a huge dog crate and driven to our local meat processors.
Today I ordered a chocolate nut pie and a pumpkin pie as well as soft rolls from the River Street Bakery in Depot Town. I usually make our own pies and rolls, but it seemed like a fine idea to get some help from our fine bakery. They use nearly all local products and their pies and breads are delicious!

We have two women with due dates of November 22 and 23. We could very well be at a birth for Thanksgiving, or some part of it at least, so ordering pies felt like a little breathing room for cooking the feast. At this point it will be the 4 of us, my mom, dad, brother and mother-in-law.

Our apprentice told me about brining a turkey for a day or so before cooking it. She said the taste is amazing and the meat stays lovely and moist. Anyone ever try it?
I just might, although I don't know that we have a bucket large enough for the dinosaur turkey...
We shall see. I'll try to post pictures if we actually do it.

Old Fat Naked Women for Peace

Okay, so not at all food-related...

Really, this made me laugh and cry at the same time. So sweet and inspiring!

Old Fat Naked Women for Peace

What have we learned so far?

It's been 5 months since we started eating local. The growing season is definitely over for us in our garden. We have a lot of bok choy, collards, a few brussel sprouts that are fairly shrimpy, some turnips, cabbages, parsnips and carrots left in the ground. I'm going to leave them all there to see what happens as the weather gets colder. I know the brussel sprouts and greens do fine until January or so. Leaves are falling fast and they will all be raked onto the garden to protect what's left and to compost for Spring.

We have a lot of food, for now. I feel really proud of us for doing all we have done. It's been amazing to give up our $150 a week grocery store habit. We spend money at the food co-op, but that's mostly on coffee, tea, beer/wine, dish soap, and flour.

We started this project wanting to stay within 100 miles, but soon branched out into the entire state of Michigan. As crappy as our economy is, it's very important to me to support as many farmers in this state as I can, if they have what I need. We have bought meat from friends living outside the 100 mile circle. I have bought flour from outside the circle. But all of it has come from Michigan. I love a challenge but I despise extremism. I am not all about making life more difficult, as crazy as that may sound here.

We're nearly halfway through our "Year", but I've given up on that.
Instead, my sweet husband and I have figured out how to better grow what we and the kids like (losing some green casualties along the way). We have learned how to can better, faster, and more efficiently. (We both agree canning this summer was like a strange combination of marriage counseling and date nights.)
We've saved a lot of money by buying meat in bulk and staying out of grocery stores, where impulse buying gets us both every time.

I feel our lives are so much simpler for being outdoors more, for really knowing every nook and cranny of our yard, and for consciously thinking about how much food our family needs during every season. I feel like we are also far more in touch with seasons as we eat what's available when it's freshest. That's not to say we don't have frozen/canned summer fruit stored away, or that our kids look at a friend's snack-time banana like it's a whole chocolate cake.

We'll see how winter treats us. We'll see if we have enough food and if our kids will actually eat the fermented and pickled foods once the "good stuff" is gone. :) Whatever happens, I'm really happy for all I've learned. It was so much easier than I had anticipated.

Instead of an "eat local challenge", we have found a better way to live and eat.