What is a CSA and why should I care?

What is a CSA?

A friend IM'ed me a bit ago and asked me what Community Supported Agriculture is, after I mentioned it in a Facebook post. I thought I'd answer here. 

Baaaa! I'm going to make wool someday
used with permission, from Morguefile^

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a system where the consumer buys a share in a local farm, meaning that they agree to share the risks of food production in exchange for the reward of locally grown, high-quality food.

strawberry pie, cold strawberry soup, strawberry ice cream, 
strawberry-rhubarb jam...
used with permission, from Morguefile^

In our case, we bought a share in a local farm, entitling us to weekly deliveries of fresh organic produce for 26 weeks. It will be delivered to the garden center near our home, where we'll pick it up and take it home. We calculated that it'll cost a little more for the 26 weeks than we'd normally pay to buy from the grocery store, but we'll be getting a much larger volume of organic food, which we plan to preserve. In the end, paying a bit more at first should yield substantial savings later.

Delicious!

used with permission, from Morguefile^

There are CSAs for meat, fruit, veggies, bread, mushrooms, eggs, nuts, milk & cheese, honey, wool and fibers, even cut flowers. All of the products are grown/produced locally. Some farms even offer canning or preservation shares, where the customer receives enough produce to can, freeze or dehydrate. 

Dan's favorites: spicy pepper rings jelly, pickled peppers,
grilled peppers, peppers in Kimchi, baked peppers...

used by permission, from Morguefile^

And why should I care?

There are many benefits to joining a CSA:

• Bountiful fresh organic food grown and produced locally, in season.
• Our food will travel a shorter distance than food from elsewhere, cutting down on pollution, energy usage, shipping costs, and transit time.
• Our food will be delivered in a large, reusable tub. No excess packaging to send to the landfill. 
• Our money remains in the local community, helping local farmers, farm workers and businesses.
• We can visit the farm where our food is produced.
• The farmer benefits from having a guaranteed revenue stream. 
• The farmer is able to try new or heritage strains and varieties, knowing that they have a guaranteed customer base. When those strains and varieties are successful, everyone benefits from buying food that better fit the environment and need fewer resources to grow. 
• Everyone benefits from understanding the challenges, risks and rewards of farming. 

Eggplant parmesan, pickled eggplant,
Creole aubergine, Ratatouille...
used with permission, from Morguefile^

Want to learn more?

If you're interested in joining a CSA, take a look at the Local Harvest^ website  which lists participating farms by city or zipcode. They have lists of what participating farm offer, information about pick-ups, plus reviews from previous growing seasons. Alternately,  enter "CSA + _____ (your locale)" into a search engine.

Namasté

deena

Happy New Year 2011

I'm not sure why, but I find myself looking forward to 2011 with uncharacteristic (for me, anyway) optimism.

vintage ephemera

2010 was overwhelmingly good:

• Our oldest graduated from college. She worked so hard, did so well, and is now plotting her course through graduate school as she holds down a job, and is adjusting to her first home-away-from home. So much for one year, but she has handled it with poise and aplomb. My heart swells with pride when I think of the beautiful young woman she's become.
• Our middle daughter also had a year of many changes. She was accepted into her first choice of universities; she turned 18, and from my perspective, she grew up. Suddenly, my baby is so incredibly mature, introspective, and graceful. She's always been my sunniest child - beautiful, cheerful and pleasant; but now there is something else - she's on the cusp of being a "grown up". My sweetest child is fledging and I could not be prouder of everything she's become. 
• Clementine turned five. In addition to becoming much more self-sufficient, she started preschool, had her tonsils out after a very long illness, grew 5 inches, had her long hair cut into a cute pixie cut, advanced several levels in swim class, and started ballet lessons (which she loves). 
• Dan had a busy, productive year. He took three week-long trips for work (New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts). He spent a week in VMWare training (VM = Virtual Machine), which he really enjoyed, and he'll be taking the exam to be certified in VMWare after the first of the year. Dan went elk and antelope hunting, and brought home a very nice antelope which now graces our freezer.He worked on various projects around the house, spent more time at the gym, and spent a lot of time doing "daddy stuff".
• As for me... I've had a busy year as well; being a wife and a mother is a full-time job.
  I've done some writing (but not nearly enough), and some crafting (not nearly enough). I did a fair bit of knitting (but not nearly enough), and even got around to making Clementine's Halloween costume by hand... which I hope to get around to posting here soon.
  I did some de-cluttering, but got seriously sidetracked when Clementine was so sick (from November 2009 through May, 2010).
  I had surgery at the beginning of December, which was a long time coming, and am starting to feel better.
  
  
  
  vintage ephemera

My resolutions for 2011 are: 

• To be a better wife. I've been consciously working on this during the past year and I hope I've made progress. My husband is the sweetest, kindest, best man in the world and he deserves someone who appreciates him and helps him in every way possible. I strive to be yet more helpful, more supportive, and more appreciative in the new year.
  
• To be a better mom. I need to remind myself to make time for the most important things in life - spending time with my beloved three daughters. They fill my heart with indescribable joy. 
• To be a better home maker. I'd like to make more of our food from scratch, and sew more. Last year I decluttered my kitchen, learned to make yogurt, and started baking from scratch again, this time using gluten-free recipes. I'd like to bake more, and make more of the things and products we use. 
• I'd like to continue to make our home greener, both because it's healthier and because it almost always costs less. Last year I purged the kitchen of nearly every piece of plastic and replaced them with china and Pyrex/Fire King from thrift stores (safer and cheaper than the plastic was when it was new). Glass never melts, doesn't off-gas, and looks so much prettier than plastic.
  This year, I'd like to focus on greener cleaning supplies and to continue buying organic where it matters (The Organic Dirty Dozen - foods which should always be purchased in organic form^) 
• To watch many more awful B-movies with my husband. We cancelled cable last spring, and while the amount of TV viewing in our home went way down overall, we soon began to seek out and watch old B-movies together. But instead of sitting there passively watching TV, we found ourselves talking, laughing, and enjoying ourselves. Movie Night is the highlight of my week now.
• I'd like to work more in clay, knit more often, and craft more. I did pretty well last year, making time for several small projects, but could certainly do more. One of my goals this year is to make as many of the gifts we give during the year as possible.
• I'd like to exercise more, including getting out and hiking. It's a shame to live amongst all this beauty and not spend more time in nature. 
• Immediately return to our 10-a-day decluttering plan, starting January 1st (today!). It works like this: Pick 10 things - however you wish to define "things" - 10 magazines, 10 forks, ten pieces of paper. Ten of one thing  or ten different things. Then, take those ten things, whatever they are, and get rid of them. Give them away, recycle them, thrown them out, donate them, shred them, whatever. Easy, right? Just do ten a day, every day.
• Read more. I don't read enough. Actually, I read a lot, but most of what I read isn't in book form. So, I'd like to focus on reading more books. 
• Recommit to The Compact Movement. The Compact Movement is dedicated to buying less through agreeing to buying new only what you absolutely need (food, medicine, school books, etc.), and trying not to buy anything else for a year (or for whatever period you commit to).
• To appreciate everything I have. Not things, but people and relationships. I'm blessed with loving friends and family, but I don't express how much I love and care for all of these wonderful people as much as I should.

vintage ephemera

With that in mind, I would like to wish you the Happiest of Happy New Years, and thank you so much for reading.

vintage postcard from 1927
Welcome, 2011
The Year of the Rabbit

Namasté

Home again, home again

Three days post-surgery, and everything is finally getting back to normal, or at least what passes for normal around here. 

vintage image
It's Owl Right & thankfully, so am I

We got home Friday a bit after lunchtime, and it wasn't long before I was drowsing off, physically needing to lay down and sleep. I was (and am) in more pain than I expected, but I'm trying not to dwell on it, because it can only get better from this point on, right? 

The surgery went well. One thing I learned is that I probably don't hide fear as well as I'd like to think. The surgical nurse, Olga, could apparently tell that I was terrified, because at one point, just as I was about to be put under (I was watching the anesthesiologist putting the first drug in my IV line), she came up to me, grasped my hand, and told me that everything would be ok.

And it was ok. I came out of anesthesia quickly, and wasn't sick at all afterwards. I was a little disoriented, but it passed quickly. The procedure was an obvious immediate success, but they don't consider it a true success until 3 months post-surgery, when they'll better be able to tell if the procedure "took" long term or not.

So, it's a date. February 3rd, 2011, I'm looking at you.

used with permission, by clarita, at Morguefile^

I would have been able to come home sooner than I did, but they had trouble getting an acceptable blood oxygen reading. It wasn't until they tested my ear that they got the (normal) 97% measurement that they wanted.

used with permission, from Morguefile^

My fingers never show the proper levels of blood oxygen due to the fact that I have mild primary Reynaud's phenomenon^ (pops to a National Institutes of Health page). In other words, I have poor circulation in my fingers and toes, and always have. Secondary Reynaud's (which I totally do not have) is caused by other factors, often serious diseases - it's not a diagnosis anyone wants.

To be honest, I always thought that everyone had the same experience (cold extremities indoors, actual pain in the cold) and that it was entirely normal. At least  until I was pregnant in 2005 with Clementine. My doctor, who was trying to get a blood oxygen reading at the time, grabbed my hands, held them palm up, gestured toward the splotchy, pale skin, then said, "Has anyone ever told you why your hands are cold and blue? Because you have Reynaud's".She seemed quite pleased to be the one to tell me.

So, I have Reynaud's. Really, though, the only time it comes up is when I'm out playing in the snow or when I need to give a blood oxygen level, which is almost never. By the way: you can try to tell the nurses that they won't be able to get a blood oxygen reading from your fingers, but about half the time, they'll take it as a personal challenge. At least it isn't painful, though. Nothing like the nurses who are entirely sure that they'll be the one to tame my rolling, collapsing veins with half-a-dozen jabs in the arm rather than taking it out of the back of my hand as I request. In the past I've come close to fainting before they were willing to give up. Now I just insist on the back of my hand.

As mentioned above, I'm still in quite a bit of pain, but determined to get some work done this week. I've had it up to here with my own kvetching, and feel the need to be productive. I'm tired of being sick. I'm sick of being tired. So, I'm planning on working on Christmas gifts, putting up the Christmas tree with Dan and Clementine, and doing all of the other things one is supposed to do in December.

vintage image

Speaking of Clementine: She handled Mommy being in surgery both better and worse than I would have expected. 

Better in the sense that she's been all over me, giving me hugs and kisses, which is very sweet. She wanted to be reassured that everything was ok, and she spent a lot of the weekend right next to me, checking on me. She asked a lot of questions, all of which we answered, all of which seemed to satisfy her sense of curiosity. She knows that I'm ok and at this point, she's back to her sweet self.

But worse in the sense that Clementine decided on Saturday to give herself a haircut. She seems to like to change things up whenever she feels stress, and told me quite plainly that she wanted shorter hair, which is why she cut it. We didn't scold her - there was no point. I simply told her that we'd have to go to the salon and get it evened up, which we did, and she's now the proud owner of a darling pixie cut.  

Until later...

vintage image

Namaste

Sunday morning (early)

I hope you are enjoying the blessings of Winter and Advent on this beautiful Sunday morning. Here are a few of my favorite quotes about my favorite season.

Our hearts grow tender
with childhood memories
and love of kindred,
and we are better
throughout the year
for having,
in spirit,
become a child again
at Christmas time.
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it. ~  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The moment we indulge our affections, the earth is metamorphosed, there is no winter and no night; all tragedies, all ennui, vanish, - all duties even.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson  

O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors: The north is thine; there hast thou build thy dark, Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs, Nor bend thy pillars with thine iron car.
~ William Blake 

 used with permission, by ren, at Morguefile^

The frost performs its secret ministry, 
Unhelped by any wind.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge 

used with permission, by missyredboots, at Morguefile^

On a lone winter evening, when the frost Has wrought a silence.

~ John Keats

used with permission, by slone, at Morguefile^

Namaste

Friday Morning (early)

 vintage image

I am writing this Thursday evening just before bed, scheduling it to auto-post Friday morning at 8:15. If everything goes as planned, I'll be in the operating room as this posts, in for some long-overdue surgery.

used with permission, by imelenchon at Morguefile^

If everything goes well (and there is no reason to think that it won't), we'll be home Friday afternoon sometime, where I hope to sleep pain-free for the first time in pretty much forever.

 Yay, sleep.

 used with permission, by alvimann at Morguefile^

I'm going to ask Dan to send an update to Facebook from my phone as soon as he hears anything, and I'll post here as soon as I possibly can. 

The whole thing makes me very nervous, even though I logically know that things will be fine ,and that in a day or two, I'll feel lots better.

Still, wish me luck, and if you are so inclined, I'd deeply appreciate being remembered in your prayers.

used with permission, by hamstersphere at Morguefile^

Thank you.

Namasté

I Am Thankful For...

I am thankful for

... being in a beautiful world with so many wonderful people

... darling, beautiful, gifted, funny, accomplished talented daughters

... a brilliant, handsome, funny talented loving husband

... amazing, loving, smart, funny family and friends 

... my sweet kitty who cuddles and sleeps with me at night 

... my big goofy dog, so protective and loyal

... my health and the good health of my beloved family

... my warm, cozy, (often messy) home

... my community and town, full of good people

... all of the natural wonders surrounding us, living in Colorado

... living in the United States, with our blessings and freedoms

... the men and women who selflessly sacrifice to maintain those freedoms

 Thanksgiving Dinner 2010 consisted of: 

Roast Turkey with garlic-peppered skin

Homemade Montina Bread Stuffing with raisins and pecans (Montina is a type of wild grass used in gluten-free cooking)

Homemade Sourdough Rolls (gluten-free)

Glazed Sweet Potatoes with toasted coconut, cardamom, and pecans

Cranberry Relish

with  

Pumpkin Custard seasoned with Indian spices for dessert

Namaste

Thank you

A heartfelt thank you to veterans everywhere.
Thank you for bravely protecting us and our great nation.
Thank you for your sacrifices. 
Thank you for everything you've done to preserve our freedoms.
You are in our thoughts and prayers.

In Flanders Fields

by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

 used with permission, attributed to Palmiped at en.wikipedia

Namaste.