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CSA is A-OK

I have been thinking about joining a CSA for years. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with what that is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It works a lil' something like this: local farms have participants purchase shares of their harvest at the beginning of the season and you pick up the bounty each week at a determined location, lots of times at your farmers' market. The money helps cover the cost of running the farm--you are an invested party! If the crops do well, you reap the benefits. If there is some sort of drought, flood or pest that overruns the crops that year, you don't. It is definitely a risk, but we decided to take the plunge this summer and go for it.

The farm we chose is Elmwood Stock Farm and it's about 25 minutes from our house. Mother's Day was their annual open house for share holders, so we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went for a Sunday drive to check it out. Curt was a little lukewarm about hanging out on a farm--my man is from Western  KY and he grew up surrounded by rows and rows of crops, but this gal still thinks they they are pretty fascinating. It was Mother's Day so I won!

Plus we've got kiddo's, and as far as I can tell any time you tell a kid you're going out to a farm, they pretty much think it's the coolest thing imaginable. What could be better than open fields, barn cats, roaming chickens and a perfect spring breeze? Not much, that's what.


Although we did not partake in the egg or meat shares (they also raise turkeys, cows and sheep), we loved getting to see where it all comes from. Fields just beginning to show signs of what is to come. Greenhouses filling up with sprouts ready for transplant. A little slice of heaven right down the road--and we get to eat it!!!

The weather so far this spring has been a little nuts, so our shares haven't been as plentiful as they usually are this time of year. Even so, here's what was in our box last week:


Some strawberries, asparagus, over wintered spinach, sage, dried black beans and garlic greens (my personal favorite--look like green onions but taste like garlic--awesome). Now this is a mini share, meant to "feed two adults who eat out often". Since we have our own garden we didn't want to overdo it and have more than we could reasonably consume. This size seems like a good fit for us, at least for now.

Oh, and did I mention all of this is organic? Yeppers. Tasty delish mixed with wholesome and healthy. Mommy likey. The girls eat the strawberries, we mix the spinach with other greens for salads, I'm saving the herbs and beans for when we need them, and the asparagus... oh the asparagus. The newsletter said "if you've never had farm fresh asparagus you're in for a real treat". I admit, when I read that I sort of snorted under my breath. A real treat? Asparagus? Really? Oh. My. Goodness. Really. Best asparagus I've ever had.  

I'm currently obsessed with this marvelous green, pee altering "treat" combined with the garlic greens in a quiche (I think this one had mushrooms and swiss cheese as well). Happiness on a plate.


I don't know if it's the novelty of the experience or if it really is that fantastic, but so far I am in love with this whole CSA business. Every Monday night I'm giddy to read our email of what is coming in our share the next day. As soon as I get that box in the car, I rip it open like a kid on Christmas to have a look at what's inside. Our weekly newsletters include recipes so if there's something in there we aren't familiar with we have an idea of what we can make.

All in all, it's big time fun--and we still have 19 weeks to go! Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. God willing, weather permitting, I hope so.


(If this has piqued your interest about finding a CSA in your area, check out www.localharvest.org and do a quick search. You can also find farmers' markets, grocery co-ops and more. Happy local fooding!) 

May Day May Day!!!

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. To be brief, I've had a bit of a setback in the thyroid saga. The last 6 days or so found me feeling really depleted in a hyper sort of way so I had to go back to basics, leaving the computer mostly untouched. I checked back in with my Dr. and we're staying on top if things. No worries.

Enough unpleasantries--I've been really excited to share our Mother's Day weekend with you! Those two days were so packed with Mommy chosen events that it really felt like Saturday and Sunday were entirely mine. Of course it began with a trip to our Farmer's Market that led down the street to Lexington's Mayfest (our observance of May Day).

The crisp, cool air that gradually warmed throughout the day was perfect for the festivities. A trip that we thought would go rather quickly turned out to last several hours. Once we arrived our girls reminded us that looking at the clock on days such as these is a counter intuitive to enjoying the moments that spontaneously present themselves.

There was way too much fun to be had. We began with a trip to the petting zoo area. Last year, Addie treated us to a major meltdown when a feisty duck nipped a little more than his share  (i.e. it clipped her finger). Lesson learned, we waved at the birds and headed for Mommy's favorite: the goats. An apprehensive girl turned into an old pro within seconds, and it's a good thing too--those kids were hungry!

After a trip to the hand washing station, we browsed through the booths and sat down for a bite to eat with quite the view. These are the days I love living in Lexington--springtime in this city is hard to beat. The parks downtown offer just enough serenity, yet looking right beyond the lush trees you can see a tall building or two poking up toward the sky.


Oh, and never mind those police officers eating lunch in front of us...
My girl pointed over to the right and shouted, "Look, Mommy! A giant beer!"


Yes, Addie. It is. Good day to you, Sirs.

That wasn't the end of Addie's shenanigans either. My adventurer discovered a small pirate ship ride that she insisted embarking upon solo.


I was quite proud of her for being so brave. She marched right up those steps, climbed into her seat and pulled the bar down all by herself. My independent girl. (Pay no attention to that sobbing woman by the pirate ship with a sleeping baby strapped to her chest.)


Ah, Lena. You stay close, love. Snuggle and sleep away while your sister shows us all how quickly it flies by. Next year, I'm sure she'll want a seat right next to her inspiration to prove that she's just as big, just as ready, just as grown... Good thing I have four more seasons to prepare for those tears.

Such is the joy of motherhood though. And truly, that part of it is a joy. It's a joy that slices the heart and softens the gut but gives the infinite peace allowing us to know that we really are doing something right. Maybe even a few things.


Delay on

I should give you an update of all the things I hope to write about in the near future (a list that is growing and growing). And I could give you a narrative of why last week was so crazy and our weekend equally so, thus justifying why I should take a lil' break today.

But I'm not going to do any of that.

It's 75 degrees outside, the sun is shining and I have half a book to read in one day. (Yes, I'm a Mom in a book club. You say trite, I say necessary.) Time to test out this kindle and see if the "no glare" boasting holds any sort of truth.
Well what do you know? C'est vrai!!! I'll catch you on the flip side... In other words, it's supposed to storm all afternoon tomorrow.

Our day so far

We woke very early to a sad, sick girl with a plugged nose. After some rest that included sleeping in with Daddy, she felt much better. Skyping with "Emie and Rip" did the final trick and left our Miss. energized for time in the crib with baby sister.
Their love for each other never ceases to warm my heart.
Mommy and Addie spent some quality time coloring...
Lena did some light reading...
Addie had her favorite lunch of strawberry Greek yogurt.
And tried on a summer scarf in preparation for the warm weather right around the corner.
She still has quite the runny nose, but we've all settled in for an afternoon nap. I'm planning on a warm blanket, a pile of books and perhaps a good movie to see us through the rest of the day--complete with oodles of snuggling.
Wednesday is turning out not to be so bad after all.


**all pics taken with iPhone and edited with Instagram

Every morning is Easter morning...

Part 5: the family picture

Every year at Easter and Christmas, all dressed up in our Sunday best, I insist that we take a picture together. After we've gone to mass, sang the old favorite hymns, wished everyone we saw a Happy Easter (or Christmas)!!!  and lived up the true meaning of the day, we take a moment to document that it was all spent together. So far, this has only happened six times. And so far, there is not one shot of all of us smiling and looking at the camera together.

Normally I would say there is a part of me that finds this annoying. Really though, I think it's hilarious. I can see that some years down the road I will print out photos from every occasion and laugh my Mommy butt off at the pouts, the fingers cemented in the mouth, the half closed eyes--all of it. Those are the images of my family that I truly don't want to forget.

Because who wants that glossy, perfect family photo in front of a tree or Easter basket? We obviously don't.



Pictures with Papaw, however, are a totally different story. Apparently, just seconds after our little family shots were taken, my girls found their second wind. And they are just so darn cute together. See?


I wouldn't have it any other way... Neither would they.

Is it Sunday night already?

As soon as I wrote it I knew I'd be in trouble... Promising a post these days seems to be my virtual kiss of death. It surely means business I don't anticipate is about to surface and throw me off my game. Luckily I have super supportive friends and readers, right?

I would say I'll be back tomorrow to finish up my Easter posts, but seeing as I really want to write it, I'm going to refrain. I will simply say thanks for being patient on behalf of two sweet girls--one who is cutting teeth and sleeping in my arms, and the other who can't wait to snuggle with her Mama and finish watching Tangled. I'm sure you understand. ;-)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone