City Bumpkin - part 1

I like to call myself a City Bumpkin - that's because I live in the city, but I'm a farm girl at heart.  Most of how I live my life is impacted by growing up on a farm.  In fact, many decisions I make are to raise my kids with as much of that environment, impact & lifestyle as I can.

When I was single I'd always look for apartments that had a little bit of dirt.  I mainly raised herbs & pretty flowers, but it made me feel more at home.  Even when I didn't have any sort of a yard, I'd have a window seal herb garden.  Then I decided to buy.  As my real estate agent & I were looking he commented that I seemed to like places with a yard and I quickly replied, "I need a place to get my hands dirty!"  He did not disappoint and I bought a condo with both a front & back yard & lots of dirt to get my hands dirty.  I mainly had flowers & herbs, but I loved going out & clipping whatever herbs I needed for a meal.  The sad thing about this particular condo is that although it had a lot of yard space, it didn't have much light inside & all my houseplants died, but I could get my hands dirty & I was happy.

Flash Forward.  Hubby & I are looking for houses.  I'd since sold my condo, moved in to his condo (which had NO dirt, but I made some planter boxes that I could hang from the fence for my herbs), and was itching for "more space".  The city life was getting to me (it still does) and I longed to be out in the country.  We found a *charming* house - on almost an acre (practically a farm by Bay Area standards).  The house is quite small, even by local standards -- half the size of both the house my husband grew up in and the house his sister now lives in just a block from us -- but it has lots of dirt!  I think the entire neighborhood thought we were crazy when we bought this house -- & honestly we probably were.  It was run down beyond comprehension!  The previous owner had lots of cats & the smell alone turned away most people, but we could see the potential & the yard beckoned to me.  It's been a long process, but we are just about a year away from putting in the garden I dreamed of when we bought this place.  Then I can really teach my guys about living on the land!

In a dream world, I'd live completely off the land, self-sustainable.  Given my health, this isn't possible, but I still dream of a magnificent garden like the ones I grew up with.  Fresh vegetables all summer.  Coming up with crazy recipes (zucchini pancakes, anyone?  Pumpkin biscuits?) as ways to use up all the bounty.  And ... I have the best advisers ever.  Both my dad & my step-dad were farmers, both of them plus my brother (who works as a crop consultant) & my grandfather (master gardener extraordinaire) all have degrees in agriculture.  Any time I have a question, the answer is a simple phone call away.  My mom is an expert cook and can use any ingredient tossed her way. I already call her all the time to ask food related questions -- like her amazing salsa recipe that I used a few weeks ago with some tomatoes from a friend's garden -- or her marinara recipe that I used yesterday with some more tomatoes from said friend's garden.  And of course, all her wonderful zucchini recipes for the 3 zucchini I have sitting on the counter from another friend's garden.

one of these days I'll have my own - until then I mooch ...