Greetings from Redbarn Farm!

Our vacation was wonderful last week, both away and at home. I always think it's nice taking more time off than you'll be gone to a different location in order to relax, unpack, and take care of a few things at home before heading back to work. Not only did Big Monkey get his shop cleaned out as part of the expansion prep, we also had the time to go help his folks repaint their living/dining rooms and kitchen. They give so much of their time to us for watching Little Bit when we have to work that I feel blessed to be able to help them in this small way.

I could make a whole section on our visits to Redbarn Farm. And this time was even more special: two baby goats had joined the herd! The last time I was visiting I remarked that a couple of the nanny goats looked a bit preggars. I got a shrug and "maybe?" Hah! Vindication. Sure enough, Peachy was the first to pop out twins, two girls named Polly and Pearl. It's fun to see newborns of different species. The baby goats were only two days old and already bouncing on rocks, nibbling grass, and checking out the chickens. The only things they shared in common with the last newborns I saw (human babies) was drinking their mother's milk ("From boobies!" as Little Bit has just learned) and sleeping a lot.

While there, we finally got to go into downtown Greenville, something we've wanted to do for only three years now, we've just never had the time. It was everything we'd hoped for and more, really, with the beautiful Riverwalk and Reedy Falls Park and Suspension Bridge and and and! We lunched at High Cotton, a wonderful nouveau southern cuisine restaurant that was high falutin' but still pampered Little Bit. Big points with Mom! Just check out this Reuben sandwich! We only spent a few hours there, between lunch, walking part of the river, and visiting Mast General Store and OP Taylor's so there's still a ton to see and do. We may have to start building in a few hours every time we go down there to venture out and see one new thing. There's a couple of independent breweries that we know of so next time Big Bro is up with his family, we'll have to sneak them out for a tasting.

Start of Summer pt 1

I only have about 10 minutes to type this because I'm trying to pack our bags, dress the daughter, fix my hair, and the million-n-one other things that have to be done to leave for vacation as soon as Big Monkey hits the door from work. I was telling an acquaintance the other night that "when I have the money, it means I'm working a show and don't have any time and when I have loads of free time that means I don't have any money." Hourly folks understand this, the dilemma it forces on choosing what to do when. So our real vacations-- where we stay by ourselves and eat food prepared at a restaurant-- are in the fall or early spring, between my shows. When most folks take their vacations, we are sitting at home, trying to find friends in town who may want to hang out, or we may hit the road to see family and friends, stay with them, enjoy their cooking, and try to save money. Both types of vacation are great but both are needed, too, to stay sane.

There was a lot I wanted to write about for my second post: the bone-sucking pork chops we had last Monday, our summer budget (ha ha ha), checking out Orange Leaf in Timberlyne, finally going into Phydeaux in Chapel Hill but the day after our dog died, my thrice-weekly walks around work, the Hillsborough Farmer's Market, my ideas for Baby Step 1. I guess I needed an outlet for a lot more than I thought! My friend Roland (he of the "my meat farmer" fame) asked what I was taking pictures for on Saturday and I told him I'd started a blog. He wasn't all that surprised (he's known me for a few years now) and asked me if I had a focus for it yet. "No," I said, "but I do know I want to focus on Orange County and sharing all that there is here." Every time I get in my car and start to cruise around, I see more and more things to post (the yoga options alone in this county are amazing) or ideas to hash out or events to celebrate. I hope you bear with me as I find my voice and please, join me and voice your opinions, too!

Fried Okra, Sliced Tomatoes, Butterbeans, and Cornbread

Hey, yall. It's the middle of May and my mouth is already watering about the bounty in the months ahead. Already I have green beans, swiss chard, mixed leaf lettuces, yellow straight-neck squash, 4 different tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and cantaloupe in my garden. I still have plans to get okra (we stripped the two plants I had last year) and maybe watermelon for the season, plus fall crops that won't go in til later. Big Monkey says "I don't like sweet potatoes that much." but, shoot, you can't garden in North Carolina without planting sweet potatoes, right? Plus I've got two kinds of basil, cilantro, thyme, and oregano (along with the ever-present rosemary) already and hope to put in more basil, dill, garlic, and onions and -- if I can figure out a pot to put it in -- a Bay Laurel tree (they're not hardy for this zone so must overwinter inside. Perfect! Laurel wreaths for Saturnalia!).

I guess a little blurb is in order for what (I think) this is: I'm a Foodie Mama with a Half Pint at home in Orange County, North Carolina. I am crazy about local, sustainable food and living, feeding my family right, and raising our daughter in harmony with the land. I'm also a retail widow: Big Monkey works for one of the big box home improvement stores. He works hard, but wishes he were home more, too. More on all of that later.

I want to share the bounty that is the OCNC with you, to show you what is available in my own backyard, both literally (my garden) and figuratively (the depth of wonderful things to do in this locale). We're on a pretty limited budget, so there'll be a lot in here about Slow Living and Slow Food and Slow Potty Training (the Half Pint is starting). I hope someone may find something of joy here, of southern passion, of the kind of happiness that reminds one of eating a homegrown tomato, straight from the vine, on a warm August day.

And, because it fits on so many levels, you must check out this video of "Cornbread and Butterbeans" by the local bluegrass group, the Carolina Chocolate Drops.