buy more local products

I already put all my money into this.

Besides, I’ve been reading these dangerous articles about how local food isn’t the most climate friendly after all, but it must be some evil plan made by the people who work for the transportation business.

(Seriously. I know what it’s all about, it’s not just the local you should look after in products. The materials and the transport system used, the working conditions and the ethical and ecological responsibility of the company matter too. I know that and I take account of it.)

Mainly because I live in Cali it’s easy to get fresh produce most of the year from a stone’s throw away, even in large cities. I buy produce only from farmer’s markets-there are 20 that have set up booths on different days of the week so I’m never at a loss for fresh food. And it’s fun to work with what’s strictly in season. I just bought mushrooms, winter squash and beans, peppers, carrots, and some amazing onions. It’s now a transition from the last of the fruits-persimmons, pomegranates, and apples to root vegetables and squash :) I just tried new varieties of bean and peas I’d never heard of—the beans however were a little bitter.

I’ve felt very ripped off by the whole “buy local” scheme. I’m giving up on this goal.

10 miles from our house. We picked 6 quarts and got a pint for free. This time we picked 3 quarts of Northland blueberries and 3 quarts of the “regular” blueberries (i.e. the big, mushy ones.) I prefer to pick my own because then I know exactly what I’m getting. We had a good time. We came home and froze most of them immediately.

There was a little girl at the farm picking blueberries with her mom. She was cute. She was a good little picker.

Off in the distance you could hear this guy babbling on his cell phone selling real estate. What’s the point of picking blueberries with your family if all you’re going to do is talk on your cell phone? What’s the point of communing with nature, spending “quality” time with your family, and enjoy fresh blueberries if you’re preoccupied with money? I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. At first I was annoyed with the guy, but then I felt sorry for him, his wife, and children.

Just so everybody knows, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.

My husband and I attended the CSA potluck last night and got a tour of the farm. Pigs, chickens, lambs, horses, herbs, flowers, and veggies are grown on the farm. They are a small, diversified farm and do everything. The people who bought shares of the summer crop were equally diversified. There were Christians, married couples with small kids, middle aged single people, and even a transvestite couple. (It’s Vermont, folks, ANYTHING is possible.) I even met the Speaker of the VT House, Gaye Symington, last night. It’s good to know where the Speaker buys her veggies and meat. I introduced myself politely and refrained from launching into a speech about how the VT people are being overtaxed and underserved.

The hot dogs we ate last night at the potluck were super yummy. Very meaty. Very tasty. Oh, yeah….and very expensive.

The farmers tried to get us to buy a share of cheese and bread but I wasn’t interested. The bread wasn’t THAT good. I sampled the cheese. Just sampled….. Yes, I know that I wasn’t suppose to eat cheese this week, but the cheese was right there in front of me. The cheese was calling my name. How can anybody possibly resist an ENTIRE table of free cheese???? That degree of self controlled is simply not possible. It’s not even human.

My husband and I spent some time with the chickens after we finished eating dinner. Oh my gosh…they were soooo cute. There were about 200 chickens roaming freely in the pasture. They followed us around as a flock. Having 200 chickens follow you around is a very bizarre experience. I clucked back at the chickens and they clucked back at me. We bonded.

So….I desperately wanted to buy a jean jacket. The only ones I found that I liked were at Talbot’s, J. Crew, and other big name stores. A new jean jacket was out of my price range.

Yesterday I went to a women’s used clothing store specializing in clothes for “mature, working women” and found THE PERFECT jean jacket. The store was right around the corner for us!!! The used jean jacket was in great condition and cost less than half of what I would have paid at J. Crew or Talbot’s. Plus, the used clothing store is locally-owned and operated. Yahoo!

Just got an email from our csa and found out that they are offering cheese and bread shares also! Yummy! Our csa pot luck is coming up soon. At the potluck we will be able to meet the other csa shareholders and get a tour of the farm. Can’t wait!

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”

Sam Walton, founder of Wal Mart

Let’s do that everybody. Let’s spend our money somewhere else.

Just so everybody knows…....

“free trade” and “fair trade”

are different.

If you’re going to do the whole “P.C. Talk” thang please do it correctly.

So I told my in laws that we bought a share of a CSA. They got so excited about the idea that they bought a share of a CSA in CT plus they signed up as working members at a co-op grocery store. Spread the word people! It will catch on. Some people have never heard of CSA’s. They just don’t know it’s an option. Information is power.