Where have you been young man?

Why right here, thanks for asking. I finally got some questions out of you guys, and am going to my best to answer them over the course of the next few blog posts. So, what did I do in Seattle, you ask. I'll tell you. I went to Pike place market, of course, and was thoroughly unimpressed. The seafood looked good, but given the fact that I was only there for the day, and didn't exactly have a kitchen at my disposal it didn't really matter, and the produce was teh same California vegetables you get in Georgia year round. Oh well. The building was cool, and there was a lot of cool food stands, and the crowds were crazy.

I went to the Seattle Art Museum, which was phenomenal, and to the SAM sculpture garden where they had a very cool piece of modern art/architecture, a vivarium where they transplanted a dead tree, and perfectly duplicated the conditions under which it would have remained in the wild, so as to allow it to rot as it was meant to, but in a controlled and observable fashion. If you're interested you can read more here. Then I walked over to the space needle, and checked out the Folklife festival which was going on. Humongous crowds of freaks, and punks, families and hippies, buskers, emo kids, and even a few normal people. It was pretty cool, and after some grade A people watching I moved on. Hit up an awesome punk rock record shop, a couple of cool coffee houses, and then headed back to the peninsula. It was a fun time, but I definitely think I would have enjoyed myself more if I had someone familiar with the city to guide me.

As promised in my last blog post here are a few pictures of my living quarters, starting with a view from the front door:



My dining room:


The kitchen:


The bathroom:

A few shots of my bedroom:


A challah I baked the other day, because what would you do without at least one or two pictures of food. You might worry I wasn't getting enough to eat. Don't, there's more than enough to go around:

Now for the questions, Mindy writes "Seen the finale of Lost yet?" I have. I actually ripped apart half of the interior of my van to improve the reception, and watched it broadcast live on Canadian television, which apparently hasn't made the switch to digital broadcasting yet. It was very nerdy. As far as the show is concerned, I'm not really sure how I feel about it yet. On the one hand it was all touchy-feely satisfying, but on the other, it did sort of seem like they wrote off the whole reason the show was interesting to watch. Right now I'm conflicted on this one. I think after some time my opinion will solidify.

Another question from Mindy, "Worked at a farmer's Market yet?" I have not. There is still much to much to do on the farm, but there is hope that I may accompany Christie this weekend, and the Wednesday market starts this coming week, and that may present a better opportunity for me to go.

One final question from Mindy(don't worry, I'll tackle the others in a later post), "Found any to die for foods in Port Angeles?" Well, yes and no. There are coffee shops everywhere, but I've found one I particularly like, that pulls a perfect espresso every time, and makes a mean coffeecake to boot. There is a place where you can get raw local milk, un-pasteurized, un-homogenized, cream separating out, the whole deal. I would not have believed how much better it is, but it really is something else.

Papa Miguel wants to know, "What is it really like being in a small town?" This is a very good question. You have to understand that the farm is located smack dab in the middle of Sequim and Port Angeles, about ten or fifteen minutes away from either one, and so we're not really a part of either community, per se, but as farmers we are sort of de facto members of the community even though we're outsiders. It's fascinating really. Now as far as the farm community goes, we really are a part of something unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Everyone knows each other, and even though we're all competitors, everyone is always willing to lend a hand, or host a barbecue or a potluck, to trade eggs, locally raised grass-fed beef, or a bag of arugula for a loaf of bread or the promise of some produce not yet harvested. It's pretty awesome.

As for the townies, and I'm sure that no one but me calls them that, because really, come on, it's hilarious, they all know each other, but are really quite welcoming, and it may be more of matter of changing my behavior, but I'm getting with everyone, and meeting new people left and right. I'm sure that some of that has to do with my new attitude. I have not once turned down an invitation to a show or a party, or even just to drop by and say hello, and so I meet new people, and am making new friends, and I'm really enjoying being so far outside my comfort zone that I wouldn't even have time for anxiety in those situations that I would have been miserable in, even a year or two ago.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is all for today. The wind is picking up,a dn my fingers are going numb. I'll post again soon, and in the meantime remember, as always, I love you all, and miss you, and can't wait to see you again.