Peaches

It's no secret that I live on Maggie's Farm somewhere between Farm Town and Get Me Out Of This Place. I love Maggie's Farm, I just don't always love rural living. Or, I might like rural living if there was at least one decent shoe store in the town. But, what's a girl to do? I travel for fashion and shoes and I get the added luxury of good, country living.

You also know that I am going through a transition of sorts with the cheerleader getting older and either rarely at home or when she is at home, it is with a gaggle of her gang and nobody talks to me, anyway, unless it is to ask for food, beverage or money. At that point, everyone is your best bud. Unless you haven't been to the grocery for the millionith time to restock or if you close the bank. Then you return to the loner. The lone woman of the house.

This summer is really weird because it's the first summer that the cheerleader can drive herself in her own car and my transportation service is no longer needed. She is too old to want to go to the city pool with me or hang out with me unless I pull out the said bank roll and fund her day with moola. She is a typical teen and typically doesn't think her mom is all that cool on a lot of days. That's okay. I know I am cool...and that's all that matters. Someday, she will realize this, too.

Anyway, in my ever changing moods, this summer, obviously, I have developed new interests to occupy my time. One of them has become gardening and then other is about to become baking bread. I should stop, here, and say that before you think I am a lonely shut-in, I do have a very busy and active life. It's just that my home life has changed so I am changing with it. This is where I have decided to take up new things to do.

Baking...I am not a baker. But, since one of my goals for stepping into this new chapter of life is overcoming a few things, baking may as well be my first hurdle. I don't mean cakes and sweets. I am not a lover of lots of cakes and sweets so cake baking is not high on my priority list. But, what I am is a lover of whole foods, raw foods, eating off the land, organic foods, local produce kind of foods. My family indulges me really well and secretly, I know that they love the way I have raised both of them on the healthier way of eating. Well, I know there are days when they want to lock me in a closet and have their way with sugar laden treats, processed foods and a pound of fudge. But, I continue to crack the whip. The funny thing is, this is how I have always eaten and cooked. So, this big new organic/whole food trend is good for people, but it's old hat for me. The cheerleader does sneak off to McDonald's with friends and then risks my lecture on what that stuff will do to her body, next...but, for the most part, my family is on board.

So, with my spare time, I have decided it's time to attempt bread breaking. Why do I keep buying it at the bakery when I could put my own fresh and whole ingredients into it? So, that is my upcoming summer project. Producing beautiful bread. With the help of my bread baking genius friend, C, I am ready to venture down that path.

My other new hobby? Gardening. I am quite excited at the progress of my gardening efforts, so far!! The first few times I tried to garden when we were new to Maggie's Farm were disasters. Moving from the city, I couldn't tell a weed from a plant. I didn't know soil content, how to work the soil, how to water, how to baby the plants. It was a frustrating couple of summers and then I gave up. Plus, living in the country, once your garden does start to prosper, the rabbits and deer see to it to seek and destroy. Soooooo...this year I am cheating and I am container gardening. I keep pretty planters all over my deck full of herbs, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, lettuce, radishes and carrots. They are all growing like hotcakes. Well, the latter 4 have yet to sprout but they will. I also have cantalope tucked into a hill and they are sprouting. I am making it all happen. My plants don't care if I am lame or if I give them money or try to undermine me at every turn. They are cooperating. And, they don't drive off in a car, every day, ready to tell their friends how totally uncool it is to have a summer budget...:)

Anyway, while there are things that I find incredibly stifling about living in the country, there are a lot of great things!!! If my veggies and fruit and breads all take off, I don't mind driving the 40 minutes to a real city for real fashion and real shoes.