I ran away from home.

We are having a pretty major project done in the basement of our old farmhouse.  When the workers showed up a few days ago, they said the decibal level on their jackhammers was so high that it could cause damage to the dog's ears.  They suggested we go somewhere else while they worked that day.  So in a flurry, I packed up the dog and the cat, threw some clothes in a bag, gathered up some painting supplies and headed north.

We (dog, cat, me) are hanging out at the cabin for a few days, til the work is done and it's safe for everybody to be back in the house.  

None of us really minds the inconvenience.

Along the road to our cabin is a spot where there is always a message written with sticks.  Sometimes it's wishing so-and-so a happy birthday, sometimes it's a get-well wish or other greeting.  This may be the best message yet...

Last week within a few days of each other, I saw two double rainbows.  It's happened many times now where a rainbows appears at the most auspicious moment.  Always, right when I need some encouragement.  I could just feel it in my soul that something good was about to happen.

Yesterday we accepted an offer on our old cabin, after a year on the market.

Yesterday I picked up our first box of organic vegetables

through the CSA program at a local farm in Athens, WI.

http://stoneyacresfarm.net/

This is our first time participating in a CSA and I'm really excited about it.  There are so SO many reasons to buy good quality, organic, local food.  It took me awhile to come around.  I can remember one of the first times I became aware of where our food comes from; it was several years ago while shopping for treats to put in my nephews' vacation goodie bags for our annual Spring trip.  I noticed that some candy I was about to buy said "Made in CHINA" on the package.  That was enough to make me put back the imported candy and re-think what I was feeding the boys.  It also made realize that it's up to me to decide what's best for me to eat, that just because it's on the shelf doesn't mean it's nutritious...or even safe.  I'm concerned about the amount of young people diagnosed with allergies and noxious diseases.  I just wonder if we really know enough about the chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors and flavors added to food to make it look bigger, brighter and "taste better".  I've often questioned if my own various sensitivities are due in part to these artificial additives in food and even beauty products.  The more I read about the benefits of eating food that hasn't been processed, or is minimally processed, the better I feel about spending the extra money for (and taking the extra time to find) healthier food.  I'm not a jump-on-the-bandwagon type of person, believe me.  This has been a gradual awakening, a realization that I just feel better overall after swapping out the junk and being more aware of what I eat and the products I use.  My old favorite meal of strawberry Twizzlers and Sprite is now reserved just for very special occasions.  And that's ok.

I'd been thinking about joining a local CSA for several years, and the time was right for us to join this summer.  Here's a sample of what was in the first box I picked up yesterday:  lettuce, broccoli, radishes, Chinese cabbage, scallions, purple kohlrabi, bok choy, rhubarb, and a bottle of maple syrup.

I got to wander around the farm where the vegetables are grown.

Some of the vegetables are grown in hoop houses.

It was so steamy in there that my camera lens and glasses fogged up.

The farm also offers fresh eggs.

I made this stir-fry recipe last night:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/stir-fried-bok-choy-with-ginger-and-garlic-recipe/index.html

Today we are celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary!

June 14, 2003

What a wonderful week and a half it's been.

I spent the first week of their summer break with my three nephews in Illinois...

...and their three kittens!

Spaz

Cocoa

Caramel

The cuteness!  Can hardly stand it.

Where my sister and her family live is also my old stomping grounds, before getting married and moving to Wisconsin.  I love going back there.  It's in a warmer growing zone, so even though we have pretty much the same flowers and vegetation, their blooming things are a little bit further along in the season than ours.

Oh magenta...my forever favorite color.

My oldest nephew playing in his first piano recital.

One evening all three boys had baseball games at the ball field.  As we sat on the sidelines and watched, our friend's daughter came running up and declared to her mother, "I have a question and a statement.  First the question.  Can we have a duck?  And the statement is...I just found eleven duck eggs."  It was so funny the way she said it.  And there they were, right under the wooden baseball field sign that sits atop a pile of field stones where traffic flows in and out of the park, half-hidden under a row of sparse bushes.  Eleven duck eggs and one mama duck guarding the nest.

My heart is full.