Archive for November 2011


Full Belly Farm

November 23rd, 2011 — 8:29pm

Every week for the past 15 plus years, I get a box of beautiful, buoyant produce from Full Belly Farm. And every week I read their newsletter, The Full Belly Beet.

The other week contained a missive from Ingrid, one of their interns. She talks about how she decided to become a farmer when she realized that she wanted to spend every possible moment of her life outdoors, “…to be physically connected to the ground, to not miss a moment of the shifting moods of the sky…” What she has found at Full Belly was the deep contentment that comes from another productive day, working the land. “I do not need to understand or possess the things that I love about life, only to stop and appreciate them.”

Amen to that. I realize I want to possess thing that I buy, but I cannot posses the things that I need — fresh air, clean water, good earth to grow good food. This Thanksgiving, I will be serving my family foods from the farm, including my favorite dark orange sweet potatoes. May your bellies be filled with good food this Thanksgiving, and your hearts filled with gratitude for the bounty of our world.

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Gratitude Can’t Be Overrated

November 16th, 2011 — 9:13am

Just in time for Thanksgiving, here’s my latest Huffington Post blog:

Gratitude can’t be overrated. For whatever we can honestly bitch about in our lives, most of us have it pretty good. That turkey or tofu you’re eating this Thanksgiving? Check. That warm bed you sleep in at night? Double check.

In a week, I’ll be sitting around our dining room table with my extended family, each of whom I’ve bitched about on more than one occasion. But I’m also grateful to all of them, because they have taught me more than they will ever know. Though I may never have said some of these things to them directly, this year, what I’m really grateful for is that my mother and I have both lived long enough to forgive each other; that my husband’s first instinct, after 21 years, is to treat me with kindness; that my in-laws generosity has changed our lives; and that my sons are almost taller than me.

This year, maybe I’ll say some of these things out loud.

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Halloween, Berkeley Style

November 1st, 2011 — 6:15pm

Halloween is my favorite holiday — the time when the veils between the worlds thin. Or maybe it’s the crisp air, fallen leaves, pumpkins, and the quieting of nature as it prepares to rest.

Halloween in Berkeley is its own thing. For example:

…or…

Here’s my dog Nico ready for trick or treat….

…and here’s my favorite pumpkin of the night…

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