Monday, September 27, 2010

Local - What does this word mean to me?

I just found this post that I started over a year ago and never posted for some reason.  I'm posting it now because in some ways, it has even more meaning than before.  We now live in Arlington which has less of that local feel than Richmond.  MTH and I have been discussing that we miss walking into a place like the Strawberry Street Vineyard or Garnett's Cafe and having them ask how Logan's doing.

Also, the CSA I mention below, Ploughshare Community Farm, stopped sending us produce in mid-June.  We lost our share.  That is the risk of joining a CSA but not all of the members understood that risk.  Some even threatened to sue the owner.  But, that's a different post that will probably never be written as I don't know the whole story.

Post from 5/29/2009:
That word has a lot more meaning now than it did in the past. There's even a new word - locavore. These days when someone says local, it seems to imply buying and eating local. MTH and I have been trying to follow this creed more and more. For example, we've joined two co-ops. One is the Ploughshare Community Farm out in Louisa County. The other, Fall Line Farms, is a group of farms that have come together in order to provide many different products.

The Ploughshare Community Farm has an assorted variety of vegetables. This past week we brought home spicy mustard greens, strong spring onions, a beautiful head of romaine, green spinach and assorted spring salad mix. With this co-op, you pay for a share before the season starts and then you receive items as they are harvested (even if you don't like them - e.g. cucumbers).

The Fall Line Farms has not only vegetables but also fruit, meats and other interesting items. With this co-op, you pay an upfront admin fee and then order whatever you want each week. This week, I ordered eggs, patty pan squash and locally roasted coffee from The Black Hand Coffee Shop on Sheppard Street in the Museum District of Richmond. Other weeks, I've ordered: strawberries, asparagus, fresh mint, honey, goats milk lotion, bread and many other items. One thing to note though is that there is the possibility of not receiving an item that is ordered. For example, one week, I ordered spinach and it did not come because the deer had eaten it out of the field!

But, there is another type of local. MTH and I also buy most of our wine these days from the Strawberry Street Vineyard. Although he does sell Virginia wines, we buy mostly other types of wine. So, we are not buying locally produced items but we are buying local. Plus, we are now recognized by the owner whenever we walk in (we can thank Peanut for that recognition :). I think that being recognized and having a conversation each time we go may be the best part about buying "local". Instead of going to Kroger where no one knows me, I get individual attention.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Where would you eat in RVA?

If you were leaving Richmond, what would be your top ten restaurants you MUST visit before leaving? MTH and I were trying to figure out our list the other night. As we tried to figure it out, we ended up coming up with different categories of lists. As many of you know, Richmond actually has a lot of good restaurants! Here's a first draft (in no particular order):

Worth getting a babysitter for (or so we hope in the cases we haven't tried it yet):
1. Millie's
2. Edo's Squid
3. Mamma Zu's
4. Acacia
5. Stuzzi
6. Helen's
7. Secco
8. Bouchon
9. Comfort
10. Lemaire

Stop for a drink on the way home (or before dinner):
1. Belvidere on Broad
2. Boathouse at Rockett's
3. Helen's (it can do double duty)
4. Balliceaux (they don't take reservations so dinner is hard if there's a babysitter is involved)
5. The Fan House
7. Secco

Great for takeout (no babysitter needed):
1. Athen's Tavern
2. Deli Coliseum
3. 8 1/2 (it will be back soon!)

Dinner/Happy Hour with LTH (the baby):
1. Joe's Inn
2. Robin Inn
3. Can Can (it can do double duty)
4. Double T's
5. Kuba Kuba
6. Phoenician
7. Secco (it's possible)
8. Garnett's (he hugs the servers! And, I think they like it :)

Please give your comments on where you'd go in Richmond if you thought you wouldn't be able to partake of Richmond restaurants in the near future.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Things that Peanut Can Do

He has learned how to:
identify his tummy, ears and nose (most of the time)
clap
wave
blow kisses
sit down when asked.

We're told a lot that he's a very happy baby. I don't really have that many babies to compare so it's hard for me to know if he's any happier than most babies. But, I will say that he doesn't meet a stranger. When we go to the store, he looks at people until they smile at him. He will wave and wave and wave.

He hasn't quite learned how to walk yet but he's cruising everywhere. When he forgets himself, he lets go and will stand for a moment on his own. I'm sure he'll be walking soon and we'll wish that he was only crawling again.

We're getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday. We're going to have 13 people here for dinner (including Peanut). I'm looking forward to it. My Mom and I are planning the menu and starting to figure out what needs to be cooked when. I'm pretty certain I'll need to start cooking on Tuesday! She and Pop get here that evening. SM, MAH, BPH and wondermuss get here on Wednesday. MTH's parents get here Thursday morning.

After that, we'll be getting ready for the Christmas holidays. Although he won't be totally aware of what's going on, I'm sure he'll be very excited because everyone else is excited. Plus, he'll get extra attention since there will be so many people around.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Peanut is 1 Today (he was on 9/7/09 when I wrote it originally)

A year ago today at this time, he was almost 3 hours old. I think right about now I was being wheeled to my room and he was in the nursery getting his first bath. MTH was at home eating pizza and sleeping. He had been up with me since midnight. My friend, Britgirl, came over later that day. She said that Peanut was the youngest baby she'd ever seen. He certainly was for me too!

It's been a fun and hard year. We didn't get much sleep for the first 9 months. Peanut just couldn't figure out how to sleep 10-12 hours in row.

I never finished this post but decided to post this short piece that I did write. I'll keep trying to get back into blogging.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Of Course

When I think about coming to do a post, I can't think of anything to say. I'll be back. I promise.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Peanut's First Foods

Logan has been enjoying trying new foods. Well, he didn't really like the rice cereal but once we started on the fruits and veggies, he's been chowing down. So far, he's tried and liked butternut squash, sweet potatoes, avocado, bananas, carrots and yogurt. The foods we're planning to try next are asparagus, cottage cheese and actual cheese.

Although he loves to put things in his mouth, he doesn't have any interest in feeding himself. He's happy as a clam to sit there and let me feed him. He's still a mess when we're done.

The only downside that I see to solid foods is what comes out the other end. Quite a bit smellier than before. I guess that now I can dream of one of the next big milestones - potty training :)

That brown rice cereal, not so good.

Mmmm - carrots are good!

I think I like butternut squash too.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Isn't he beautiful?


Logan
Originally uploaded by ET K
ETK took this beautiful picture of Peanut on Sunday when she came to visit. I just love looking at it! It's going to be my wallpaper at work. He may have some teeth in that mouth very soon. He seems to be teething now.