So yes we bought a Mega-Millions lottery ticket. Yup. The odds are stacked against us. But in the end someone picks the winning number. Could be us.
In the meanwhile we daydream about what we would do if we had half a billion dollars. There are some pretty big dreams. I would love to open a whole foods restaurant. Mark would like to start a premier entertainment venue here in the foothills that would be small and intimate but would attract some big names. In terms of the way we live; well it would be nice to have the money to take care of that big to-do list. Build a good barn, build a greenhouse, get off grid. Maybe some travel. And we would take care of our friends and family. I would love to create a fund that would make sure that low-income folks have warm homes in the winter by improving efficiency and subsidizing some heating costs. There are several good community gardens I would like to help.
In the meanwhile we tend our own garden.
Plant: Gosh there are a lot of seed pots sitting under lights and hanging out in windows. I hope I can remember them all. 2 kinds of peppers. One of them is from seed saved from a really cool looking organic sweet pepper I found at the local health food store. Brussel sprouts, motherwort, stinging nettle,broccoli cabbage, kale spinach in the cold frame, lettuce, nasturtium,hollyhock. A friend who is new to gardening gave me a bunch of strawberry daughters. I put them in the ground last week. Hope they make it.
Harvest: nope not yet. But I did notice some new sprouts on the french sorrel. OOOhhh I can't wait. If you ever have the chance to grow this perennial green I highly recommend it. It makes a lovely quiche.
Preserve: the final tally on Maple sugaring was 10 quarts and 1 pint. Just over 2 and1/2 gallons. We will have to be frugal in our syrup use this year.
Local Food: Just the usual but we did find a local CSA called the Pickup that is a farmer's market over in Skowhegan. The weekly pickup includes goods from several farms and includes eggs, meat, milk, veggies, some prepared food, locally roasted coffee, maple syrup and honey. We are thinking about it. It might just be the perfect supplement to our diet and help to reduce the amount of money we spend at the grocery store. We are still trying to balance how much food we can afford that is local with what our actual bottom line is.
Eat the food: We are still eating a lot of winter salad. Egg meals are more common as the price of local eggs drops a bit as supply increases. We have one chicken left in the freezer from the roasters we tried last fall. Not a bad result since we harvested them last November.
Waste not: We have a children's clothing swap in town. I took a bag of outgrown clothes there and found some f shorts, hats and mittens. I also sent a quite a few bags to the thrift store. I rescued some cardboard boxes from a neighbor's recycling. I use these for sheet mulching in the garden. I gave my cold room a really good cleaning and found a I had some extra canning jars to give to my friend who is just learning how to learn to can.
Want not: Kid's clothing swap and strawberries from my friend.
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