How do you nourish your life?

Blogging is a new experience for me. I am an intensely private person so it's been interesting putting my life and journey down in words. I was forced to start talking about myself during school last year. We did alot of what we called "paired shares" in class....in other words, you turned to your neighbor, a person you had probably never met before 20 minutes earlier when you selected 24D and he/ she selected 24E- both hoping that you were close enough to be in the midst of the action but far enough away to not get called on to speak in the microphone- and were instructed to talk about any range of topics including your health & wellness history, goals for the future, financial situation, fears, dreams, spirituality, sex life, etc.... Speaking to strangers about such intensely personal things was incredibly difficult for me and the exercise was not optional. I was very resistant at first, however, the more I was forced to practice sharing my feelings....the better I got.....the better I got the more I wanted to do it....until....by graduation weekend I had feelings, emotions and tears spewing out all over anyone and everyone I met....including a very nice and concerned bartender at this great funky Cuban restaurant where Stokes & I stopped in to get a freshly made Mojito....I assured him, sitting at the bar, in the midst of the "ugly cry" that I really was just very very happy....poor man. He's probably still confused.


I started the blog as a way to keep up with our adventure this year and as a venue for people to "hear the story" without me telling it over and over. I'm not a writer so it was hard for me to get started but, as things tend to evolve in my life, it has become a wonderfully therapeutic tool for me to "share". I've been overwhelmed with the readers' responses I've gotten.......THANK YOU! Apparently my path toward simplifying my life has resonated with a bunch of folks and I'm grateful to have an outlet where I can talk about my experience.

I was reflecting on the positive contribution this blog has made to my life and this quote came to me in an email one morning....another great reminder of how important self-expression is:
"One of the quickest ways to become exhausted is by suppressing your feelings."

Sue Patton Thoele, 1988

As a health counselor I encourage people to find different ways to nourish their lives - it's not all about food. I'm grateful to be able to take care of myself through writing....how do you nourish your life?

Tall, stuffed and handsome....

Meet our friend and garden protector Buddy "Boots" Creamery. Buddy, formerly known as Uncle Mack, was born about 25 years ago in Dothan and made his home at Cotton Hill, Too in Silver Lake, FL until recently. He was employed as the lake house's mascot before deciding to try his hand at scaring crows and wild turkeys in Massachusetts.
During the 2 day drive from AL to Mass, Buddy accepted a special assignment handling any issues or special situations that arose in the Passat. We discovered the wheel tethers on the car trailer were completely undone during one of our stops....luckily Buddy was on the job! Once we arrived, he traded in his Auburn Tigers cap for a straw hat, put his Prince Albert in a can aside and gladly took his post by the popcorn. The future looks bright for Buddy....there's talk of possible arm motorization, motion detected sprinkler weapons, a face-lift and dirty dancing lessons. Once he's decked out and got his moves down he might just invite another scare friend to join him in the garden.

How does your garden grow?

Our garden is a bit of a wreck. The rows aren't straight, the plants are too close together and there are several varieties of tomatos mixed together. The soil is rocky and there is lots of sod that still needs to be dug up and removed. In other words..... it's PERFECT!
Isn't that just like life? You have an image in your mind of the way it should look....and it never does. We focus on everything that's wrong instead of everything that's right. But if we remember to look through the crooked rows, rocks & weeds there are beautiful surprises at every turn!

Peppers, Lettuce & Tomatos

"Never rub another man's rhubarb."

Said the Joker to Bruce Wayne....After my Strawberry-Rhubarb pie post I've had several people say they had never even heard of rhubarb before that quote in Batman. Here's a little more info about this funky plant:

So....this is what rhubarb looks like when it's growing- alot like red celery. The plant dates back to 2700 BC where it was cultivated in China for medicinal purposes. The popular edible species most likely originated in Siberia and was introduced to Europe in 1608. Ben Franklin can be credited with bringing rhubarb seeds to North America in 1772 and by the early 1800's it had become a popular ingredient for pie in the Northeast. It has a wonderfully tart flavor which pairs well with sweet fruits but can also be used in savory dishes. I highly recommend experimenting with it....it's different and delicious!

Who's your farmer?

I've never been a fan of bumper stickers. They're just a little too commited and permanent for my taste. They're like tatoos for your car. I can't remember a time when I've actually had one on my car.......until......the "Who's your farmer?" sticker arrived in the bag with our vegetables one week. Now that's a car tatoo worth having! Do you know the farmer that grew your food?

We belong to a CSA (community supported agriculture) and get a bag of fresh organic veggies approximately 30 weeks out of the year. Gary Weil from Red Root Farm in Banks, AL is our personal farmer....along with about 60 other families. Joining the CSA changed the way we eat as a family and the way we look at and respect our food. We love it for many reasons but for me the greatest part is that it takes the mystery out of what you're going to cook for the fam. It also has exposed us to foods that we would never have tried had they not arrived in our bag.... kohlrabi, turnip roots and rutabagas are new in our repertoire. Sure, sometimes the corn is a little wormy or the kale is a little bitter or you get sick of the butternut squash because there was a bumper crop, but we eat it and give thanks for Gary's hard work, love and energy growing us the most nutritious vegetables possible.

Support local farmers and say "Yes! I do know who my farmer is!" Then you can get a car tatoo too.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I posted earlier about my Mom's good cooking. One of our favorites as children was Strawberry- Rhubarb pie. We spent alot of time in NC growing up and we could always find rhubarb there. Mom would make giant pans full of the sweet & tart deliciousness. I was thrilled to find a gigantic rhubarb plant growing in my yard here! Of course I had to make a pie.... here's my version:

5 cups total of fruit (I used about 2 cups strawberries & 2 cups rhubarb then added an apple too because it wasn't quite enough) half or slice strawberries. string rhubarb (just like you would celery) and cut in a approx 1/2 inch slices
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1/2 t cinnamon
fresh grated nutmeg

mix all of these together and let sit for an hour or more. this helps get the juice out of the berries

top with:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup rolled oats
4 to 5 T unsalted butter (cut into bits)
pinch sea salt

cut the butter into the flour & sugar mixture and mix until combined- it will be lumpy. sometime i work it with my hands until it's well incorporated. add the oats and salt and work some more until well mixed.

pour on top of fruit and bake at 350 until bubbly and crust is brown (about 30 to 45 minutes)

***for any dothanians reading this, i have actually found rhubarb at So Fam Mkts. it looks like red celery****

And so I ponder......

I have wonderful memories of the food from my childhood. My Mom is a terrific "cast iron skillet toting" Southern cook. We grew up eating home-cooked real food. Eating out was a treat instead of an expectation. We knew where our food came from. Mom knew the grocer and the butcher by name and I can still remember a time when the milk man delivered. We shelled peas, strung beans and picked wild blackberries. We ate Chilton County peaches, Slocomb tomatos and Plant City strawberries. We caught bream and fried them to eat with hush puppies and cheese grits and ate buckets of fresh steamed gulf shrimp. We'd pick up pecans at Bishop Laundry and then crack and shell them while we were watching Little House on the Prairie. Mom & Dad would bring home bushels of apples from the mountains every fall and we would enjoy home-made apple sauce and apple butter all year long. We had home-made birthday cakes with 7 minute icing and home-preserved jams & jellies instead of Smuckers. Holiday time meant gingerbread cookies, apple cake and peppermint ice cream.


I also have fond memories of the food traditions I grew up with. Sunday night was "snack night". Mom would pop popcorn (before microwaves were even invented) and we would have slices of apples and sharp cheddar cheese while we all watched the Waltons together. When it was our birthday Mom would make fresh beignets as a special treat. We had a "Mama special"( cut a hole in a piece of bread, place in a skillet with a little melted butter, crack an egg into the hole and cook until done, flip once) and a "Daddy special" (layer, 1. bread 2. slice of ham 3. extra sharp cheddar cheese 4. chili sauce- broil in oven until cheese is bubbly). We ate in the dining room with the china, silver & crystal on special occasions and were required to put our napkins in our laps and sit up at the table. We ate together as a family most meals and still laugh today about the time Tom fell asleep in his oatmeal bowl or when Charlie Ernst threw up cantelope all over the table.

I want my kids to grow up knowing their Southern food heritage. I want to establish traditions and recipes that they will pass down to their children and grandchildren. Coming to the farm is one piece of that puzzle for me.....the ever-growing puzzle which seems to have more questions than answers at this point. Why have we lost our connection to where our food comes from and how do we get it back? Why isn't sitting at the table together a priority any more? How do you pass down your cultural uniqueness in an ever-increasingly homogenized society? How do you integrate old-time ideas and beliefs into our evolving world? Can you support the local & global food economy at the same time? And so I ponder.......

No more power.

Haha! Gotcha'...bet you thought I was going to post about how I've decided to go without electricity....I'm not quite there....yet.

My life for the last 15 years has been full of power. I have pushed myself hard. Too hard. I've been like one of those plate spinners at the circus....the man with all the sticks and his plates up in the air....one wrong move and it will all come crashing down. I ran my business with a vengeance...spending countless hours on my feet, answering phones and faxes, filling and placing orders, cutting fabric, designing new sets, packing, shipping and putting out fires. For a few years I was the volunteer diva sitting on boards and committees and working on countless projects. I could bounce a baby on my hip, corral a toddler, speak on the phone, lead a meeting, design a new bedding set, pull weeds and bake banana bread all at the same time. Queen multi-tasker.


I look back on my "to do before you turn 40 list" and have a short laugh with myself when I realize that most of the items on it didn't get done before last September when the big 4-0 happened to me: ride on the Concord, skydive, run a marathon, learn to scuba dive....get the idea? That list was all about speed....guess I thought I needed to push myself a little harder? Aren't we all doing that on some level? Spinning too many plates and not knowing how to stop? We live in an extreme society that makes it pretty easy to be that way..... energy drinks, coffee, highly processed convenient food, too many activity choices, too much noise....we've even got: power yoga....that one is hilarious to me. We jack ourselves up with sugar & caffeine and put ourselves to bed with alcohol and sleeping pills. If there's one thing we don't need any more of: it's power! Where do we go from here? Higher taxes for employees who opt to take their vacation time? Full frontal nudity in daytime tv? Candy so sour it makes your eyeballs explode? Soft drinks with enough sugar & caffeine to keep you awake for 48 hours? Extreme sports training for toddlers?

An interesting thing happened to me last October 1 (3 days after I turned 40, btw). It was the first day in approximately 15 years that I didn't have an office to go to. I had helped the new owners of my business through their "transition period" and they were ready to set sail on their own. So, I found myself on October 1, and a couple of months there-after, wandering around my house without that familiar feeling of power I had gotten so accustomed to. There were no phones or faxes, no customers, no toddlers, no fires to put out....I almost lost my mind. My mind and body kept tricking me into thinking I was stressed out- I didn't know how to 'NOT' be stressed. It makes me sad thinking of it.





Since that time I have been making a new list- a real list: "to do for the rest of your life list": breathe, dream, remember, imagine, grow, savor, rest, enjoy, love, meditate, change, learn, smile, heal, cry, laugh, explore, dance, create, evolve, trust....




I'm already beginning to love this place. It's quiet here. I only hear the wind in the trees, the cows across the street mooing and the birds outside. I took a nap this afternoon....I mean, like a real nap...as in- under the cover/ drooling on my pillow 2 hour nap. This may not seem like a big accomplishment to any of you readers that are natural nappers. I, on the other hand have never been able to settle my mind down enough to sleep during the day and feel rested when I woke. Today is different. I feel the "power" from the last 15 years draining from my body and it feels good. It's calm and peaceful. No more power for me, thanks...I've had my fill.

Plate full of yum.

Dinner last night was delicious and so easy! I love stacked meals...I'm sure there's some fancy shmansy French term for a layered plate but I don't know it so I just call it stacked....Here are my stacks in case you might like to try it...feel free to substitute- use what you have!

Bottom stack: Quinoa with Shiitake mushrooms:
I sauteed the mushrooms in a little olive oil until they were starting to soften and release their liquid. I then added a cup of quinoa (rinse first) and stirred it around to coat. Then added 2 cups of water (I didn't have any stock- that would have been better) and cooked until it was done (just about 15 minutes or less) Add sea salt and pepper to taste

Next stack: Oven roasted tomatos:
I sliced 1 tomato in 4 fat slices. Put those in a single layer on a pan or in a pyrex. Sprinkled with sea salt & pepper, minced fresh garlic (I used 1 clove for all 4), sprinkled with dried thyme (fresh would be better but I didn't have any) and a piece of a bay leaf on top. I drizzled with olive oil and let that sit for about an hour. I then cooked them in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes- just until they are nice & soft...you could probably cook them less than 10. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Next stack: Pan seared Cod:
I seasoned the fish with sea salt and pepper on both sides and let sit for about 30 minutes. I heated some olive oil over med high heat in a large pan and seared the fish on both sides- just until starting to brown. I then baked it in the oven at 350 until nice & flaky- probably about 15 minutes (it all depends on the size fish). Don't overcook it. Remember that the fish will continue to cook even when you take it out the oven.

Top stack: Wilted Spinach & Arugula with Balsamic Venison Sausage Dressing
For the dressing I sauteed some venison sausage in a pan just until done. Don't drain the fat. I added a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. While the dressing was still hot I poured it over the salad greens and stirred until they were nice and coated (they will wilt...this is the point of putting the dressing in hot).

This is a delicious easy meal and it looks so pretty on the plate. It's yummy to get a bite with the flavor from each stack.....mmm mmmm good!

Life is good.

Life is good. We made it to Mass without incident (other than traffic in CT), unpacked the truck and have worked like slaves for the last 2 days getting boxes unpacked, furniture placed, curtain rods hung and beds made. It's beginning to look like a home around here. I took Stokes back to the airport yesterday, stopped at Whole Foods in Cambridge on the way home and am going to attempt my first real meal in my new kitchen tonight.

The menu: Pan Roasted Cod with Shiitake Quinoa and Oven Roasted Tomato.

Wilted Arugula Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

*everything's local except the quinoa & oil & vinegar....I'll let you know how it goes!

I slept well last night- for the first time in a long time and breathed a long deep breath of cool New England air this morning. I'm here for a week alone...I can't wait.

Are we there yet?

Time now: Friday, June 13: 3:22 pm
Total miles traveled: 1135 miles
States traveled through today: WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT
Current location: In a traffic jam outside of Danbury, CT
Miles left to go: around 150
Current driving speed: around 20 mph
Frustration level: very high
Games played today: the state capital game & thinking of all the different names we call poop
Most ridiculous experience today: paying $32 to drive over the Geo Washington Bridge in NYC
Best food eaten today: Big Sky chocolate chip cookies
Worst food eaten today: sleeve of mentos...you know I'm bored if I'm eating mentos
Most expensive gas so far: $4.49/ gallon
General attitude check: delirious

5 States Down

Time now: 6:55 am, Friday, June 13

Distance traveled yesterday: 770 miles

States driven through yesterday: AL, GA, SC, NC, VA

Miles to go today: 523

Sleeping place last night: Holiday Inn Express Woodstock, VA

Lowest/ highest gas: $3.78/ $4.05

Attitude check: Grumpy. In need of some coffee.

Worst state traveled: NC (terrible roads)

Best state traveled: VA (gorgeous scenery...lots of farms :)

Honk if you love farmers!

Well, I'm not sure how we got from point A to point B but we are actually on the road! We will drive for the next 2 days (probably 12 hours each day) and travel through 12 states. The U-Haul we are driving is ridiculously large and ridiculously full. We had to cut ourselves off from adding just "one more thing" because we added "one more thing" about 100 times.

Thank you to all who have emailed- I haven't had time to respond individually but I appreciate all of your positive feedback and encouragement! It was a strange feeling leaving my house this morning...knowing that our lives are about to change...in wonderful and mysterious ways that we can't even fathom at this point.

We'll keep you posted on the progress! Honk honk!

Save the planet- eat organic!

I really don't want to use this blog as my soap box but I just can't help myself today. The kids and I ran by Moe's for lunch today...yes, we're eating junk food- we know those days are numbered! There was a hand-written sign on the door that said, "No more fresh tomato products until further notice." Hmmmm....this can't be good. While we were checking out I asked the woman running the register what happened to the tomatos. She told me there was a problem with " the dye" they were using in the tomatos...with a sort of bewildered look on her face. The owner came screeching around the corner to correct her that No No No...it isn't the dye...it's just that there's been an outbreak of salmonella found in tomatos in 22 states so until further notice the government has recommended that everyone stop serving fresh tomatos.....Thank Goodness- it's just salmonella and they're not really dying our tomatos. I feel so safe knowing that the USDA has caught the problem- only 160 people were sickened because of it. Go USA.

I've had a lot of mixed emotions going on inside of me for the last few weeks. Why am I really doing this? Is it the right thing for my family? Is it really just nuts after all? Is our industrialized food system really that bad? How important is the local food movement? The funky tomato scenario is all the confirmation I needed. Maybe it was me coming down from the double shot of espresso I had at Starbuck's this morning (seemed like a good idea at the time) or maybe I'm just really tired from all the chaos trying to get out of town but, honestly, I really could have stood there and sobbed at the cash register if I had let myself...raising my hands to the sky- THIS is why I am moving to a farm!!!

People all over the world... join hands...start a love train! Love your body, love your mind, love the Earth... say "NO THANKS" to funky food. Save the planet....eat local & organic.

So, I promise not to use my blog as a platform....except when I just can't help myself :)

Simple is hard.

One of the intentions for this move is to learn to live with less and simplify our lives. It's ironic how hard it's been to do that. Simple = Easy...right? Well, not exactly. I feel like things are exponentially more complicated as I try and untangle the web we've spun ourselves into over the last few years. I wish the "simple fairy" would just fly down and figure out how make it happen for us.


This process of simplifying and letting go has actually been a work in progress over the last few years. I've had yard sales and taken countless loads to Good Will, the FUMC rummage sale and needy families. I've stopped using retail as therapy for a bad day. I've gone "shopping in my closet" for functions instead of getting a new outfit. I sold my business. I've stopped mindless spending trips to Target & Old Navy. I'm mindful about cooking food that is in our pantry and eating leftovers. I've learned to say "no" to any volunteer projects that I'm not passionate about. I've cleaned out every closet, cabinet, closed door & chest of drawers... weeded out, sorted out, thrown away, recycled, donated and passed down. I have pondered on Sheryl Crow's song lyrics: "It's not getting what you want....it's wanting what you've got...." reallllllly pondered on those words and have come to truly believe them.


So, as I'm packing for our big move on Thursday I'm wondering why it is that we still have all this STUFF?!? Yo Sheryl...when you have 30 t-shirts in your closet do you really need to want that many because you've got them? I guess the bigger question is why as Americans do we feel that we need all this stuff?....obviously I think I need it or I wouldn't have it.....or... maybe... I just want it....thus the untangling begins. It's hard to be simple!

First on the list to go....cable tv...really- it's gone! We've talked about doing it for years...even threatened the kids a few times with it but we've really actually done it! It's amazing how you don't really even miss it...ok, so maybe we've missed it a little but not nearly as much as I thought. And, perhaps if I don't have someone telling me why I need all these things then the list of what I want will become more clear. Maybe I'll be able to recapture my own sense of style which was so much part of who I was when I was younger rather than falling into the "Pottery Barn" version of life we're bombarded with now. It's sad how homogenized we've become...did you know the Target in Keene, NH has EXACTLY the same merchandise as the Target in Dothan? Did I expect something different? I must have because I couldn't help feeling disappointed when I made this realization.

Second to go- marketing by email...I have been consciously unsubscribing to all of the Gaps, JCrews, Banana Republics & Anthropologies telling me about their deal of the day. Thanks Bluefly- I'll pass on the extra 15% and by the way, unsubscribe me from your list. Even Oprah and a whole bunch of other "self-help" e-newsletters that I've subscribed to haven't made the cut. If I can figure out how to remove myself from all of the catalog mailing lists I'll do that too....although I think this might be a little trickier. It would be interesting to save all the paper catalogs I receive in a year (I'm sure the number would be staggering) and figure out the carbon footprint that me & my little bitty old 349 S. Park self has left on the planet.

There's a whole lot of other stuff to be worked out too....we sold about $25,000 worth of loot for a mere $500 at our garage sale Saturday (and were skipping to my loo to get that) and left the rest on the front porch for the Rescue Mission to pick up tomorrow....admitedly the pile is growing as I'm continuing to pack.

I believe the first step to change is recognizing the need for it and then setting your intention to make it happen. My intention to simplify is there and the wheels are in motion to make it happen....and oh boy- I definitely recognize the need after going through this packing experience!

Feels Like Home

Our trip to Mass was immensely successful. We loved the house- it felt just like home! We spent time giving our new yard some much needed TLC and even had time to get our garden started. None of us wanted to come home. Stokes & I leave Thursday for the big move.... stay tuned for more pics & stories of the journey north!

I'm so glad that I went up there for the first time. It was sooooooooo pretty. I went to my school while I was there. It is way different than the school I go to now but it was cool. We also spent some time in New Hampshire and Vermont. I am so glad that I can go to England with my school. My school's name is the Village School. They have a garden on the playground. I have NEVER had a school with a garden and probably will NEVER again have a school with a garden.