I’m convinced that air travel is time travel:
Time at home– 8:21
Time in Houston– 10:21
Time in my body– 12:21
Ok. Maybe the title’s a bit misleading.
One of our favorite Saturday morning traditions during the summer months is a trip to The Vineyard Farmers Market on Shaw and Blackstone in Fresno. We usually stop by each week between June and August to get our fill of the wonderful nectarines, peaches, figs, and plums that our valley gives us. It’s a great chance to learn from the people who know the most about your food, support local businesses, get fresh produce and–most exciting–try new things.
Until this last weekend, we hadn’t ventured to a winter session of the farmer’s market. Honestly, I don’t expect much from winter produce. My knowledge of the things that grow in the winter is that they’re leafy and green, which in my mind means boring. But, since chores are home are also boring, we ventured out to the rainy market.
The character of the farmer’s market doesn’t change– there’s still a bunch of great people there to share their passion for agriculture. And they took full opportunity to show me how wrong I was about their chards and tubers. There’s a whole variety of amazing tastes that you can get from these veggies. All of the vendors we met were knowledgeable as to the flavors their produce held and the types of preparations they worked best in. We ended up leaving with broccolini, Chinese broccoli, leeks, fennel, lambs quarter, arugula flowers, carrots and some herb I’d never heard of. Oh, and a bunch of chocolate truffles. Mmmm… neither leafy nor green.
Anyway, long story short, it’s always good to get out and explore what your community has to offer. There’s always something new to learn!
At the market
Some of our goods
Fennel, Leek, And Potato Soup
One of my favorite songs right now:
You lift my head
You steel my gaze
You cast out fear
And I’m moved to faith
Surrendered in praise
To Your glorious grace
Jesus
Written by Jeremy Riddle. Listen to it here.
02.18Delight
“Delight yourself in the LORD,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.” [Psalm 37:4]
When our hope is found solely in God, we can be guarenteed satisfaction.
It’s not that He provides every desire of our fickle hearts. It’s that the desire of our hearts becomes constantly turned towards Him.
Everything else (job, spouse, money, government, stuff) fails. He has never and will never.
Or it might shoot you!
I’m lucky to have some talented friends. Specifically, I seem to know a lot of really gifted photographer, which is great because I LOVE some good photography.
The shot below was taken by my friends at Houndstooth & Caroline Photography. It rocks my socks. And it’s just a small taste of their pixel goodness.
01.13The Graduate
Baxter graduated from Petsmart Puppy School yesterday. He has mastered many complex tasks, such as the “lay down and stay for 3 minutes” shown below.
So proud.
01.12The Fingerist
Nevermind the AR.Drone. I want this toy for Christmas. Amazing.
01.12I Want This
This may end up being the most frivolous thing I buy in 2010.
It may also be the best thing to ever come from France.
01.11Be A Better Fresnan
I love Fresno. Sure, there have been times I’ve wished we had a major league sports venue or attracted better concerts, but it’s still a great place to live (and sports and concerts have improved a lot in the 8 years I’ve been here).
The other day, Mike Osegueda wrote a great article for the Fresno Bee, offering a few suggestions on what Fresnans can do to enjoy all that Fresno has to offer in 2010. I agree with his suggestions, and I’ve picked a few that I’d like to focus on the next year:
- Pick an iconic Fresno place you’ve never been — the old Security Bank building, Forestiere Underground Gardens, Warnors Center for the Performing Arts, Kearney Park, etc. — and go. I’ve been meaning to go to the Underground Gardens and Kearney Park for years.
- Learn to love downtown. Sure, it’s a work in progress, but there’s plenty of stuff worth a trip: Yoshi Now, Broadway Studios, Joe’s Steakhouse, Arte Américas, Downtown Community Art Center, Tokyo Garden and, of course, The Grizzlies. I like downtown a lot, but I really only visit for Grizzlies games. I’d like to try more dining in the area.
- Appreciate local art. Go to ArtHop (first and third Thursdays of each month), and if you see something you like, buy it. We go to Art Hop often. I’d like to take the next step and support artists (and decorate our house).
- Go to the Rogue Festival, one of the Fresno’s true jewels for the creative arts. It runs March 4-13 this year. I’ve never been.
- When you hear someone diss Fresno, defend your city. Pat yourself on the back when you’re done. Honestly, it’s easy to just nod and agree. I’d like to stand up for all that Fresno has to offer!