Things I'm Going to Miss.

Let me say first and foremost that I am DAMN excited to adventure into the land of the unknown in less than 48 hours. 

Damn excited, I say.

Now that I got that out in the open, comes the REAL reason that I wrote this blog post:

My sister asked me the other day (after I had been home for a whopping six hours) if I had to choose between leaving the Capay Valley forever or having to stay in the Capay Valley forever, what I would pick.

 If you had asked me two years ago I would answered honestly in a heart beat, 

'get me as far away from this place as possible. I don't want to ever come back.' 

Harsh. Yes. I know. 

But when you live close to something for so long you start to despise everything about it. 

Especially when that place has annoying siblings, high school memories and chickens. 

Yet, the other day when my sister asked me that question I actually said that I would stay. 

STAY, I SAY!! 

Crazy. I know. 

But the truth is,

I love the people here.

 I love the community and the way that everyone knows everyone. 

I love that we all share a connection and passion for food and learning. 

And yes, I understand that staying here forever would mean missing out on a lot of adventures, but if I can't be surrounded by the people that I love I don't want to experience any of it. 

I love sharing my life with the folk of Full Belly Farm and the Capay Valley... and even Eugene Oregon.

 I can't picture my life with out those people and as I travel to distant places and experience new things that becomes much more clear. 

So, in memory of those times, friends and family members that I am going to miss a whole heck'of'a'lot when I am away I give you this:

 A list (in no particular order) of some fun times that I am going to cherish no matter when in the world I am.

The Roommate. Pretzel Price.

I hate to say this, but I actually think I will miss studying for classes. Yeah. Wow.

Good friends and great study parties.

Sunshine in Eugene.

Well, the Urban Farm o'course.

Walking to classes.

The kind of beautiful place I call home.

These folks. They're pretty swell.

Best friends.

Drinking wine with the family. (Ignore the wine teeth.)

Sunshine with the siblings in Lake Tahoe.

My sister....

The sillyness and giggles.

The romance.

Do you think that they have Frozen Yogurt in New Zealand?

Half-drunk and fully silly photo sessions with the Roommate.

Well, it's been fun ya'll and I know I'll be back soon... maybe then I actually WILL stay in one place forever. 

As of now... Ta'ta and see you on the other side.

xoxox

Farmer Girl.

Eating local.

A Poem

 (sort of)

Define Local:

Local.
To me it’s always been to easy.
Eating food from a hundred mile radius?
Maybe for some…

But
For me it it was something different entirely.

 Local was about eating from one of the farms in my valley,

That way, not only would I know that it was local,
But I would know that it was grown well,
The workers were treated fairly
And the farmers lead good lives.

Eating local was more than about eating local food.
It was about supporting a local economy...

My family,
Making smart decisions about what I was putting in my body,
and
Putting those who I loved first.

Now that I live far away from my family’s farm,
The ideas I had around eating local food are beginning to slip.

Paying for enough food is becoming my first priority.
Convenience is beginning to trump sustainability.
And

It breaks my heart.

Food is becoming yet another thing that I treat with a rushed attitude.

'There is no time to go to the farmers market!' 

 I tell myself.
'Does it really matter if this apple isn’t local?'
I ask myself.

Will it really make a difference?
This one bite?
Does it really matter

If I go for

One meal?

One day?
One week?

One year?

Without thinking about the location my food was grown?


My friends do it all the time!
They buy bananas with out a care!
The munch on strawberries when they want, 

Not a fear in their mind about pesticides.

 Or the fact that they are out of season.

So, why must I be burdened with the idea 

That everything I eat is somehow connected

To a bigger picture?

That what I eat is

Somehow going to matter?

But then I remember…

The difference is I KNOW the difference.
I know it does matter.
Every bite matters. 

And 

 I couldn’t truly stop caring if I tried.

The fact that I can’t get a bowl of rice and chicken from Panda Express without wanting to cry…
Makes me realize I will always have a different connection with my food than most of the world.

I know a different way.
I know that it is possible if I try hard enough.
If I care enough.

So, that is my new goal.

Local.
From farms that I know.
Local.
Supporting a local restaurant, grower or baker.
Local.
Where I can feel safe and good about the food that I put in my body.

That is my new definition of local.

And it is one that I hope that I can continue to live by.