Wednesday Night

And once again OrganicKid is cooking. Tonight it's rosemary and lemon roasted salmon with roasted asparagus with lemon butter. MMMMMMMM. I am SUCH a lucky mom to have such a talented kid.

And...she's also getting her musical chops. She's playing the double bass violin. Yes, the big thing. She's currently playing on a 1/2 size instrument, and it's STILL by far the hugest thing in our house! But she's definitely learning. Earlier tonight I was listening to Beethoven echoing through the house. I could recognize it. And it sounded good. There's a concert coming up in December, and I'm looking forward to it. I remember when I started playing the flute. I don't recall if I felt sympathy for my parents, but now I do. I KNOW when I first started, it was squeaky, and high pitched. It couldn't have sounded nice. But I practiced, and they put up with it. I feel so lucky that OrganicKid chose a nice mellow instrument. I don't think it can sound bad. Yeah, it can be a bit squeaky now an again. But the sound is so deep, and full, and, really, calming. I just hope all the other kids in the beginners orchestra is putting in the same practice time OrganicKid is, because I know she'd be disappointed if the concert doesn't sound that good because everyone else BUT her isn't as dedicated. I'm not too worried, though. One of OrganicKids pals is also in the orchestra, playing cello, and they're planning on getting together this weekend to practice, and perhaps enter a beginning strings competition. I'm certainly pulling for them! And I need to get a camera that does decent video before the concert. Because I know how my first concert probably sounded, and I want to be able to send the video to my mom, so she can compare it to the pain I put her through....

The New Chef of the House

Organic Kid has decided she wants to cook. She's made up her mind that one night a week, she will be the one to get dinner on the table. She decided this about a month ago, and for the last three weeks, Wednesday night is her night to cook. I'm there, helping if I'm asked to help, answering questions, lifting heavy things, being a second pair of hands. But I'm NOT planning menus, making grocery lists, or any of that. I'm somewhere below the sous chef. I'm the background noise. And I'm loving it.


Better yet, SHE'S loving it! And Organic Kid is really stretching; making dishes that I was afraid to even try until the past 5 or 10 years. She's making complex Indian dishes; Roghan Josh (with lamb no less, not even batting an eye and thinking of making it easier with a more familiar protein) and Chicken Korma. Last Wednesday, she went all out, and made not only the main course supplemented with an easy side like a salad, she made chicken stuffed with goat cheese and herbs, and asparagus with hollandaise. Yeah....Organic Kid made home made hollandaise. Emulsification at its most tricky, what with the raw egg and hot melted butter and all. And it did not curdle one bit. And it did not break one bit. It was a smooth, elegant sauce, with just the right vinegary tang meshed with the anise-y tarragon. Perfect hollandaise. Hells, I can't even do that consistently! And Organic Kid got it right the first time.

This morning, before school, she already started combing through cookbooks. She pulled out three different vegetarian ones (including the classic Moosewood Cookbook...Organic Guy came into our marriage bringing the first printing of that, to match with my classic 60's version of Joy of Cooking). Organic Kid isn't completely sure what the plan is yet for Wednesday. But she's planning something. And I for one can't wait!

It's All Good

Okay, I found a new festival. Organic Guy and I decided to forgo Bonnaroo this year. Ticket prices increased significantly, and yeah, like everyone else, we are trying to cut spending. But we couldn't fathom a music-less summer (especially Organic Guy who has attended at least one big festival concert every year since 2000 (maybe 1999, but he doesn't remember for sure). So we checked out All Good, in Masontown, West Virginia.

We all know the old joke about West Virginia, don't we? It's the only state where their motto is a question..."Almost Heaven? West Virginia?!?!???" And then I got to the camp site. And I saw this:

And I saw this:

And this little guy came to our screen room to visit:

We also saw That 1 Guy, and Yonder Mountain String Band, and moe. and Robert Randolph, and Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 and Umphrey's McGee.

I don't know about the rest of West Virginia, but for 4 days....yeah, almost heaven sounds about right.

Insurance Fools

Okay. Just last night, we finished cataloging the personal items lost in the fire. When an 800+ square foot building is primarily used for storage, it's AMAZING how much stuff is in there. We talked to the insurance guy about just a flat amount of money for rebuilding and replacing. We really didn't want to go into the personal items too much because it would take forever. We would have to sort through piles of rubble that had been pushed out of the Rec Room down the hill by the firefighters. We would have to photograph everything, showing the level of damage. We would have to look up many many things. The insurance guy said ITEMIZE! Okay. So we did it.

For the last 6 weeks (with one break for going to Allgood, and it was SO WELL WORTH IT! More on that later), Organic Guy (with the help of Organic Kid, 'til she went to visit her dad for the summer) dug through piles. Had clipboards and many notebooks. Wrote down many many things. Tried to find serial numbers. Looked for model information. Washed things that would just be thrown away, trying to determine what it was. For the past week, I've looked things up as Organic Guy read them off. Looked up replacement cost. Looked up auction prices for things that can't be replaced. Contacted an antique dealer we know and sent before-and-after pictures. Learned more about reloading equipment than I ever thought I'd need to know. Learned more about Organic Guy's mom's life before retirement, and decided I wanted to spend hours talking to her about her life (that woman is AMAZING!!), and getting it all written down, because she's been such an adventurous spirit her whole life. And then, I've been creating a huge spreadsheet.

Last night, at about midnight, while watching South Park re-runs (I LOVE South Park!!), we finished the list. And totaled it. And gasped. Every dollar figure can be backed up, we can look it up somehow (and I am SO GLAD I have family that works at Cabela's, because I thought of them while looking up stuff, so that became the source of dollar figures for all camping, hunting, reloading, fishing, pet gear, which comprises about a third to a half of the whole list). And we found out something important.

Insurance agents are fools. The agent that told us to itemize...yeah, okay, we did. And now that flat figure we suggested...umm...it's doubled. That's right. We WAAAYYYY underestimated the value of the stuff that was in the Rec Room. We underestimated HUGELY. They've already determined the construction cost. So this huge spreadsheet that we're sending today, it's all above and beyond that. Actually, the total of items exceeds the construction cost. We're anticipating getting challenged on some items. We now have BINDERS of information for any dollar figure found on the web. We have a Cabela's catalog to hand them. We will walk through Lowes and Home Depot with them. Like I said, every single number has something backing it. I think they're going to be very, very, very sorry they told a stubborn, detail-oriented, person who likes knowing ALL the rules because it's easier to figure out how to get around them to itemize.

The Fire

Okay, I mentioned it briefly, so here it goes. The Fire. With pictures. And background. This won't make any sense without the background.

Organic Guy's parents own about 10 acres of land in Wake County in NC. One of the borders is a creek that leads to a local lake that has great fishing. We can launch a canoe or kayak directly from the house, and paddle up to the lake. It's a beautiful spot, and one I spend a great deal of time at. The folks house has a carport that's about 3 cars wide; at the far side of the carport is essentially, a small apartment, built above 2 single-car garages that are sort of dug into the hillside below the house. That apartment has long been called the Rec Room, due to Organic Guy's dad's plan to put in a pool table and have poker nights back in the 70's. Never happened, but Organic Guy turned it into his own little place some time along when he was in high school. I've also mentioned that Organic Guy's folks are getting older, and we had been planning on moving to the 10 acres to make sure we're close by in case they need us. Recently, Organic Guy was retrofitting the place so that we could move in there for a short time until we built a new house for us. One or both of the single garages below would be turned into rooms (not something I was thrilled about, but workable), we'd be a bit tight for room, but it was only for about a year until the new place was built. One of the current uses for the place was to start our tomatoes and peppers for planting in the garden.

Organic Guy came home one night after working over there. Had dinner, played cards or something with Dani, went to bed. About 1 AM the phone rings. He grabs it, sits bolt upright, and jumps out of bed. All he says is "there's a fire" and he's out the door. When he gets home, smelling of smoke, looking exhausted, all he says is "The Rec Room is gone. It's gone. Everything is gone." I ask about the folks, and their house; all is fine there. No injuries, the fire never crossed the carport, so their house was not touched at all. That was the good news.

The bad news is that Organic Guy was not kidding. The Rec Room is gone. It now looks looks like this:

There was something wrong with the wiring on the light being used to grow the tomato transplants. Something sparked. Something caught. And it started burning. Organic Guy had many, many things stored in the Rec Room. Some of them were family antiques.

This was a family parlor organ, a pump organ from the Nineteen Teens. We think maybe 1913. It still had the original leather bellows on it. Still played. All the writing on the valves was still legible. I'm not entirely sure anyone every played it. It had belonged to Organic Guy's grandmother or great-grandmother.

This one is a glass-front hutch. We're not sure how old it is. The lower piece is all wood, pegs instead of nails, and the cabinet latch is simply a piece of wood that you turn. We think it's maybe from the 1850's or early 1860's. Fairly certain it belonged to Organic Guy's great-grandfather from before the War.

A few things that don't really hold an sentimental value, but where things that were used, things that we just had, for whatever reason. Organic Guy's Thorens turntable from college (and still played great!). These were a pair of hunting bows, and Organic Guy's creeper he used for changing oil and whatever other car stuff he did.

We lost camping gear (a family sized tent and a screen room, in addition to spikes, lanterns, camp stove...I still have my little dome tent, but that's it), a full Encyclopedia Britannica from 1925, of course all the tomato transplants, but worse, all the seed for summer direct seeding, and all my seed for fall crops (no broccoli, zucchini, butternut squash, or Brussels sprouts this year....). We found out weird things don't burn:

This is somewhat tough to see. But yes, those are cellophane wrapped starlight mints. The cellophane didn't melt, the mints still look pristine. And, in the bottom left corner of this picture, what so you see? Yes! Charcoal briquettes! They don't burn! The bag that had been holding them, the paper bag, GONE. No trace of it, but Organic Guy had just purchased two bags, one was stored on the patio by the grill, the other stored in the Rec Room.

So, for now, we're cleaning up. We're cataloging what's lost. We're working with the insurance guy. We're talking with some friends who are builders like Organic Guy, some he's known since high school, who want to help rebuild. We're finding the silver lining. Like we don't have to cram into a too-small space and build a bigger one. We can just find something to incorporate a new structures with the existing house, and not having 2 kitchens, and 2 washers and dryers, and 2 of all kinds of stuff no one needs two of. We're jettisoning lots of stuff. Losing things really made us realize how much things can hold a person down. Heck, why do I still have some college textbooks? We actually found out that between the two of us, we had (mostly in storage) three espresso makers, and 2 coffee grinders. And we're learning about the important stuff. The main part of the house is fine. Organic Guy's parents are fine. A little sad, like us, but fine. And the motorcycle. The one that's normally parked right outside the sliding door leading into the Rec Room...it was at our house that night. It had been a beautiful evening, and Organic Guy just happened to ride it home. We think it's a sign. So, stay posted...I'll be writing soon about the impending NC-NE-SD-ND-MN-IL-IN back to NC motorcycle trip we're planning for August. Seriously. We may be asking to flop on your couch.

Quick Update

I haven't typed anything recently. For anyone who tries to keep up with me here, I'm really sorry. In any event, big things going on.

I'm working on a post about a farm-to-fork conference I attended, a good event, with some sobering news.

Also, the little, temporary house that Organic Guy, Organic Kid and I were moving into, over on the 10 acres Organic Guy's parents own...that's not happening right now. For those that weren't aware, we were moving for a year or two to a 2-br apartment type place while Organic Guy built us a house on the land. He was remodeling the structure to make sure we all had some room. Earlier this week, it burned. We still aren't 100% sure what caused the fire, but the structure is a total loss. So, we're re-thinking plans, figuring out what was lost, and going from there. But for now, will be staying at the house we're renting now. I'll be typing about this, too.

Hopefully something real will be posted soon!

Love my Job

I really love my job. There are many many reasons for this. I enjoy working in the organic foods industry; it makes me feel like I'm doing something to preserve the Earth for OrganicKid and any of her potential children. I really care about many of the farmers that I come into contact with. I respect what they do. They're warm, funny, generous, dedicated folks.

I also really appreciate all my co-workers. They're a great bunch of people, who work hard, like to laugh, and know how to say thank you. They give me energy to keep going when I'm having a bad day, and understand when I'm in a good, goofy mood. I am so lucky to be working with this bunch.

But, I have to admit, one of the things I most appreciate is that I can do my job from my home in North Carolina. The head office for my company is in North Dakota. Somewhere between Fargo and Bismarck. Somewhere in a town with 7 churches and 3 bars. And... as of this winter, snow. They have snow. They have lots and lots and lots of snow. They have approximately 400% more snow than an average year. Yes. You read that right. 400%. Close to (if not above, by now) 100 inches of snow. Again, yes, you read that right. 100 inches of snow. I can't even imagine this. They're in the process of requesting to have fewer than the mandated 180 days of school. Because if they don't get this request, they may not have more than a week or two of summer. They've had to close school so often this year. So, what does 100 inches of snow look like? It looks sorta like this:

That's looking out my boss's front door. I'm not sure when they started avoiding using the front door. My guess is December. That's part of the problem. It started snowing in early November. And it really hasn't stopped. It hasn't gotten warm. Generally, North Dakotans can count on a warm snap some time in January, and another in February. One that starts the melting process. Oh, it'll snow again after those warm ups. And it'll get cold again. But it starts melting, so some of that snow goes away. This year it hasn't really happened. It hasn't warmed up. I was in California for a week in January with one of my North Dakota co-worker gals, Janine. It was 40 below zero the night before she left. That's air temp, not wind chill. The wind chill made it colder. Like 100 inches of snow, I can't even imagine this. I can't imagine what 40 degrees below zero would be like. Except damned cold. Colder than any human should have to even try to survive.

In March, finally things started warming up. But, when it gets warm, where does 100 inches of unmelted snow go? In North Dakota, it goes here:


That's right. It goes camping!

Here's the fun part...a few days after this photo was taken, guess what happened? Yeah. It snowed again. Happy days, man. I tell you, these North Dakotans are tougher than me. I couldn't hack it. So, what did I do when these poor folks I work with were dealing with snow, and floods, and more snow? I did this:

I went to an organic growers school in western North Carolina. Where a coat wasn't necessary. Where the sun was shining. Where the classes ended early enough each day to get some hiking in. Like I said, I love my job. But I think a good part of that is due to the fact that they don't make me live in North Dakota....