May 2010

Our first CSA delivery is scheduled for June 10th and we are eager for the produce. One distinct disadvantage of our location has really come to the foreground over the past few months as I've paid closer attention to our food. There are no good sources of fresh goods. Thankfully, it is California; even our local market stocks several organic options. But not fresh produce. And sorry, but I'm just not interested in "food" that's been sprayed with poisons, nurtured with chemicals, and stored until its a mere ghost of its potential self before being transported to our frontier town for consumption. Frustrating. I am considering some kind of container garden mini-greenhouse for the next winter. I have a "brown thumb," but I'm willing to make the effort to enjoy things like winter kale, cabbage, and dandelion greens.

Produce problems aside, it's time to check up on our goals.

Reduce debt and expenses. Yes. The debt is going down. Expenses are a little harder. We have stayed in budget (yay!), but we are also expecting to pay for more chef classes I want to take this summer and fall. We've saved up $1000, which is wonderful, but again, my classes are coming up and we'll probably have to spend the savings. I have trouble justifying the expense, but Ecaep insists that investing in education is one of the best ways to spend our money. Maybe I just have trouble with the idea because the money will be spent on me. Fun, fun, as all those self-esteem issues keep burbling to the surface. But in any case, we are living comfortably in a time of societal economic woe. This goal looks good.

Eat nutritious meals. We've been slipping on this one, mostly because once we began limiting our weekend trips out of town to places that have co-ops and natural food stores, we've had to rely on local shops. Which means more packaged foods, and low-quality organic produce or non-organic produce from chain markets. Ecaep gave up on the no-soda-pop rule, and I gave up on the no-cheese. Again, our CSA share is supposed to drastically improve this situation, and hopefully I'll be able to set aside some of this food for the winter. That way, we won't be in the same fix next year. So this goal needs some work, but should be easier to accomplish next month.

Exercise together. Alas, we have failed miserably with this goal. A work project ate my husband's life, illnesses precluded physical improvements, my insomnia drained my own energy reserves, an untidy winter cabin diminished work out space, and weather discouraged outdoor activity. Yeah: excuses, excuses. But added up together, we simply didn't exercise regularly, and certainly not together. Maybe now that it's stopped snowing (yes, we had snow in April!) we can get our act together on this one. Goal not met.

Bring our professional work and our home life into balance. It's a tightrope balance, but I think we've done as best as we can with this one. We are behind on chores, but not so much that a round of spring cleaning won't spruce up the place quickly. Our biggest challenge has been knowing when to stop working and just be home. Also, we haven't emptied our storage unit, but we have created new storage space in our cabin. After that spring cleaning I mentioned, we should have the space to begin sorting through the stored stuff. We're hoping a lot of things can go and we're hoping a lot of our stored papers can go. So we're moving this strategy into a summer project. Goal solidly pursued but not quite met.

Engage in a variety of fun, creative projects. Yes. Warhammer, writing projects, stitching projects, cat training, board game extravaganzas. Whatever else we're doing, we're definitely having fun. Goal: check.

Looking at our current standing, I want to especially focus on four specific areas this month: spirituality, exercise, nutrition, and celebration. I think the celebration of successes is what we need most to keep moving in the right direction.