On May 15, 2008 a sweet little gray cat appeared on our back patio.  She was malnourished and ratty looking with a tick smack dab on the top of her head. I wanted to take her in and feed her and clean her up but I immediately thought of our other kids.  We couldn’t put them at risk of getting some disease because this random cat showed up outside.  But I couldn’t just watch it waste away and meow that sweet little “feed me” meow.  So I fed it.  I shouldn’t have fed it, but getting into why I had to feed it here would take way to long to fully explain.  In my heart, in my mind, that was the right thing to do.  Much to my husbands dismay.

Now of course, once I fed this cat I knew it wasn’t going to go away.  She was clearly hungry and clearly appreciative of our kitty food.  So over the course of the next few days she stayed around and we continued to feed her and pet her when we went outside and basically care about her and her well being.  She was extremely affectionate and would sit at the back door and beg to come inside.  It broke my heart. 

During this time I noticed that her belly was growing.  Sean thought she had worms…apparently very LARGE worms.  I had a suspicion whatever was going on in there was a LOT CUTER THAN WORMS! Within two weeks I had seen clear signs that she was a very pregnant little cat.  And I tortured my husband about bringing her in, and fostering her, finding homes for the kittens and even one for her.  I was sure he would bite but it didn’t happen.  He was insistent about not having another fur ball around the house.

I called my mother to bitch about it, my sister and a few friends too.  He was being so so pig headed, I thought!  But I also knew in my heart where he was coming from.  I wasn’t looking to have another animal.  I don’t want to be the crazy cat/dog family.  I really don’t but I felt it was our responsibility to take her in since we fed her and she wasn’t going away.  My mother suggested that we come to some compromise.  “Does he want a new game or something?”, she asked.  I thought,

wasn’t going to cut it.  Even two games wouldn’t send him over the edge of geekery enough in order for me to slip her inside the house.  However, I had a feeling I knew what would get him to the ledge….

So after much negotiations, an agreement has been made. Yes, YES!  We made an agreement over a cat and a console gaming system.  That is how marriage works!

After we made the agreement Sean and I were talking and he goes, “Ya know, I knew Misty was going to be ours eventually!” and I said, “And I knew you would be getting a Playstation 3 one day too”. And so it goes.

We (Sean) picked up our CSA Share on Tuesday and we were pleasantly surprised with some different stuff!  Potatoes!!! mmmmmmmmmmm Patty Pans!!  mmmmmmmmmm In the email the farmer let us know that she wouldn’t “squash us to death” this year but in all honesty, I’m thinking…SQUASH ME!  I love squash!

What was on the island…
Potatoes!
Sweet onion
Beets
Carrots
Arugula
2-3 types of basil - little tiny basil!  so cute!
2 squash flowers
Squash - mostly Patty Pans

Tonight we’re cooking up some squash! 

And I have a time set to go to the farmer’s market on Saturday.  I am so looking forward to that and it should only be about 92.  Yeah I said “only”.  When you’ve had 5 days of 100 degree temps, 92 isn’t so bad.  Who am I?  Where did Melissa go?  Weird how things change.  All this veggie eating, healthy hippie living in the scorching heat and I love it.  5 years ago I would have laughed if anyone would have told me that this would be my life. 

Oh how I went back and forth over what to make for my first One Local Summer meal.  I had all these wonderful intentions on getting to our local Farmer’s Market yesterday, but when I woke and it was almost 90 degrees and I just could not bare it.  So without any meat or eggs or cheese or well anything but veggies, I clearly went all veggies all the way!

Roasted Beets & Radishes over Assorted Greens

Ingredients:
Beets
Radishes
Green Garlic
Braising Greens
Chinese Mustard Greens
Collards
Beet Greens
Olive Oil
Pepper/Salt

Directions:
Cut the greens off the beets.  Set aside with other greens.  Cut green garlic into quarters. Pour a thin layer of olive oil into roasting dish (just enough to coat it).  Place beets, radishes, 1/2 of the quartered green garlic into dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then mix it up.  Roast in 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Clean off all greens.  Chop up and place in a pot of water with the remaining quartered green garlic.  Bring to a bowl.  Transfer to steamer and steam for 10-15 minutes. 

When the beets and radishes are done, peel them and cut into cubes and place over greens.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Non-Local Ingredients:
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Notes:
I would have loved to add some fresh cheese on top.  Maybe goat cheese or even feta.  I think that really would have completed this meal.  But overall it was still quite tasty and we definitely got our veggies in for the day

A year ago today I was starting my first full day of self-employment.  I was so scared at the time, wondering if we would make it with this little thing called our business.  Sure, I convinced other people that I was 120% sure everything would be just fine; totally confident that it would all work out.  But inside, I had my doubts and worries and fears.  I wouldn’t be my mother’s daughter if I didn’t.

Would we really be able to do this?  Would we be successful?  Would we make enough money?  Could I still get a mortgage?  What about supporting an entire house? Had I completely lost my mind?

I left a great cushy job for the unknown.  Some people (like my mom!) thought I was crazy.  Melissa, she would say…you don’t leave a job where you are making 6 figures!  You don’t just pack it up one day and wing the rest of your life.  You have it good, don’t mess with that. 

I knew where all of that was coming from for her.  She had the same job for 30 years.  A job that didn’t make her happy, but it paid the bills and that was the most important thing for her.  But as much as we are the same, we are also very different.  My mother didn’t get her driver’s license until she was 31 years old, divorced, with 6 kids.  She didn’t hold her first real job until that time and she stayed in it for the next 30 years.  That was all she knew and in her mind, when you find something that works, you don’t change it. 

My old job didn’t work for me.  Sure it paid the bills but there was nothing about it that made me feel good. I needed to do something that I was passionate about; even if that meant failing miserably.  I spent 10 years making someone else filthy rich and in the end, I had nothing of real worth to show for it.  I had experience and I had a nice savings account, but nothing else. 

Today, one year later, I have so much more than I had in the 10 years before.  I still don’t know what the future holds for us, and I’m sure it’s not paved in gold, but so far this move to self-employment (and to the Carolinas) has been one of the best decisions we have ever made.

So, Stormy is home from the animal hospital.  The results of all of his blood work came back normal.  Negative for Lukemia, negative for FIV (Feline AIDS) and on a scale of 1-6, his heart murmur is a 3, which isn’t too bad.  They will just keep an eye on it at each yearly check-up.  But they said not to be too concerned about it at this point. 

Once we got him up to his room, he b-lined for the litter box and then right to his little house. He loves that house.

We were sent home with a prescription for an appetite enhancer, which has made my little kitty act like a stoner.  He’s chowing down on the kibble like he’s not eaten in a week.  He’s definitely more alert and he’s walking around a lot more, though he’s circling a bit and still wobbly on his feet.  But overall, it is a vast improvement over the past few days and I’ll take that. 

He gave us a real scare, especially with that whole not hearing his heart thing, but thankfully all seems to be okay.  Thank you again for all the healthy kitty vibes and thoughts for our little man.  I am so very thankful that he is okay and that he is back home with us, where he should be.

We brought Stormy to the vet on Saturday because he’s been very lethargic and not like himself at all for about a day or so.  Normally he’s shy so being quiet is something we are used to.  But he usually comes out at night and he always sleeps with us, and for the past week or so he’s not been doing that.

The vet checked him out and found a small cut on his left paw.  They cleaned it up and gave him some medicine and sent us home, not before telling me that they also found a heart murmur, which was nothing to be too upset about but something we should have looked at when he’s feeling better.

Sunday he wasn’t feeling any better and I knew that with the medicine, we should have seen some improvement.  This morning when I woke, he was the same so I called the vet back and they said to bring him in right away. 

When the vet checked him out, he told me that he was unable to find a heartbeat??  I don’t know what that means really…he’s alive and breathing, how do you not hear his heart?  The vet seemed very concerned by this and basically whisked him away before I could even say goodbye.  They’re going to do x-rays and blood work today and we should hear something by tomorrow morning hopefully. 

I have this horrible feeling that whatever this is…it’s bad.  And in a few words, we are a mess. 

I know he’s just an animal, but he’s my baby.  They have to fix him.  He has to come home.

Update 2:00pm  Thank you all for the comments and emails and good thoughts and vibes.  We appreciate it.  Sean called around 2pm and they didn’t have any news.  We are supposed to call again around 4:15 if they don’t call us first.  I’ll update when we know more.

Update 5:30pm Sean just got off the phone with the animal hospital.  He called at 4:15 but they didn’t have any info for him.  At 5:20 they said that his white blood cell count was good, his platelets were good, x-rays didn’t show anything.  They are still waiting for the rest of the blood work to come back and we won’t have another update until at least 9:00am tomorrow.  They have him hooked-up to an IV right now, since he isn’t eating or drinking.  He’s still pretty much the same at this point.  Sean says he feels a little better since they haven’t found anything.  Forever the optimist that one.  My mind is racing in the “negative” direction…but I am trying to keep that in check.  Thanks again for all the well-wishes!

So last night we had our First Memorial Day BBQ in quite a few years.  I love having a backyard and being able to BBQ whenever the mood strikes.  It seems, at least from this past winter, that you could realistically BBQ in North Carolina year round.  I love BBQ! 

Anyway, we were cooking it up and after prepping some food in the kitchen, I went out on to the patio to turn the chicken over when I noticed (our new sorta kinda not really cat) Misty next to a large leaf of some sort.  I couldn’t see it all very well, they were right outside the area where the overhead light reaches, so I had to get closer. 

As I stood maybe 5 feet away a warm sensation came over my face and body as the realization that I was standing just feet away from a VERY LARGE SNAKE completely registered in my tiny brain.  I could feel my heart start racing as I turned around and ran toward the door literally SCREAMING!  YELLING! 

I was yelling that there was a snake.  That I was near it. That Misty was still sitting next to it.  That there was a snake a snake OMG a huge snake.

And after what seemed like 10 minutes, my husband appears, with a broom in one hand and a flimsy box in another.  He clearly did not believe that there was a gigantic snake ready to eat my cat and my chicken! 

“Call Animal Control”, I yelled.  Don’t go out there.”

“I’ll be fine.  I’ll just wrangle him into this box” (holding up a loosely taped together cardboard box)

“What are you a snake hunter? It’s huge!  This is not a small snake!”

“Don’t worry!”

Moments later he comes back into the house and tells me that it’s BIG! 

“No Shit!  I told you it was big!”

“I thought it was going to be this small little garden snake and that you were flipping out over nothing.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that if I am SCREAMING, YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING TOWARD ME!”

“OKAY! OKAY!”

“We should call Animal Control. They’ll do something.”

Note: Animal Control does nothing about snakes.  “Just let it go about it’s business ma’am.”  It’s business IN MY BACKYARD SIR, is not okay with me!! 

Sean managed to get it into the box with his broom and some quick box maneuvering.  I was proud.  He almost shit his pants.

For years he has been telling me that he wanted a pet snake.  And I was all, “THERE WILL NEVER BE SNAKES IN MY HOUSE”.  Well dear internet, let me tell you something, my husband was never serious about wanting a pet snake. He would tell me that just to get me going!  He’s just as scared of them as I am.  Maybe a little less…he did walk that barely taped cardboard box about a mile away from our house, and threw the snake into the woods.

Me?  I would have chopped his head off. Then I would have know THAT ONE was never coming back and I could live in a fantasy world where that was going to be our first and only encounter with any snakes in our backyard so I could enjoy a good BBQ again or ya know, my garden and stuff.

Back in March I mentioned that we signed up for a CSA Share and it has started!  I’m so excited!

The first batch of goods were picked up on May 12th.  I have never done this before so I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  I knew I would get some veggies and I hoped they would be good.

When I brought in the container from the car, it was filled with tons of greenie goodness.  But I admit that I had no idea what most of it was.  So I was happy but I was also going, “What do I do with THAT?”

And just when I was about to photograph each item and post it and ask for help identifying everything, I got an email with the contents of the container.  Things were better.  We ended up getting: Bok Choi, Romaine Lettuce, Green Onions, Green Garlic, Radicchio, Italian Endive, Snow Peas and Collards.

I found some recipes online for a few different meal options and there is also the CSA Share Mailing List where the group of us can share ideas and recipes.  I tried the following recipe, which I highly recommend. 

Bok Choi, Endive and Snow Peas sautéed with olive oil, garlic, chicken bouillon and a little pepper/salt.

So good.  Sooooo good!  I drool just thinking about it now. 

On Tuesday Sean picked up the Week Two offerings.  Red leaf lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Green Garlic, Green Onions, Spinach, Cilantro, Oregano, Zen, Collards, Bok Choy, Snow Peas and Baby Arugula.  There is quite a lot of food!  And new stuff I never heard of before.  Zen?  I thought I was trying to achieve that in my life, not trying to figure out how to eat it. Should be fun!  And hello fresh spinach and arugula.  I know I will love you!

I’m looking forward to seeing the new website for the farm, which should be launching soon.  I’ve been gently pushing them to add a blog, which I would be more then happy to setup for them.  I think it would be a great way for them to easily communicate with everyone.  Also a great resource for recipes, which can be categorized and tagged and easy to search. 

I’m so glad we decided to do this.  Every little thing helps.

Our new neighbor moved in to his house about 2 weeks ago.  The other day he ventured over into our backyard while I was planting some potatoes and cucumbers in my vegetable garden.  Apparently he knows a guy who owns a farm were we can get grass fed beef.  I have no idea how much that costs but if we could swing it I would be stoked.  He also has fresh eggs.  Maybe even pork.  mmmm pork.  I’m trying to get as much food as we can locally.  It’s hard to find good information about that in my area.  Which got me thinking about maybe starting a website like Madison’s 100-Mile Diet Map.  The basic concept is a resource for locally grown food in Madison Wisconsin.  The more I think about it the more I love it.