I’m sorry, I just can’t stop looking at it.

It’s gorgeous outside and the kids are still asleep and I’m thinking school starting this week is going to be rough going in terms of rising cheerfully to greet the day. I’m going to roust them out of bed right now.

Really, though, I want you guys to look at the photos I’ve been taking at work these last few months. Not because they’re awesome, but because it’s been a really intense learning experience for me, and fun, and Cody’s been letting me use his camera so some of the photos actually ARE pretty nice:

What were you doing 5 years ago?

It’s funny that I have to think of this in terms of the kids. Um, OK. It was August 2003. Cody had just turned 11 and Lilly was about to turn 5. We were living at Ten Oh Five and were deep into the homeschooling thing at that time, so I guess I was probably checking in the “school” year’s order of supplies and curriculum, dealing with my gardens at home and out at Meadowbrook, freaking out about money, rollerblading at Meadowbrook, and, looking back at some archived material, I can see there were changes afoot.

What are 5 things on your to-do list for today?

1. Read at least two newspapers. 2. Go see Cody at work; I can’t stop hanging out there. 3. Work out. I can combine 2 & 3 because they’re in the same area. 4. Do laundry and dry it on the line. 5. Eat an egg sandwich on this gluten-free bread I got yesterday at the Market. I’m really not that goal-oriented on Sundays, I guess.

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

1. I love nectarines. 2. I love Cheddar Bunnies, but can’t eat them anymore. 3. A solid peanut butter sandwich. On gluten-free bread. I guess. 4. Homemade pita chips (waaaah!) and homemade hummus and/or corn chips with homemade pico de gallo. YUM. 5. I love this chocolate.

What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?

1. Buy a small farm in the south of France. 2. Buy a small farm in Sweden. See y’all. 3. Pay off all outstanding debts in my family and provide college educations/travel money for the up-and-comers. 4. A billion dollars is a lot of money. I can’t even think about that much money. I’d donate the lion’s share of it to programs around growing food and educating kids and their grownups about food and sustainability. 5. Um, buy a nice camera? Several of them?

What are 5 of your bad habits?

1. I bite my nails. 2. I avoid my share of the housework. 3. I fail to correspond frequently/adequately with my friends and family. 4. I have been known to procrastinate, yes. 5. I buy books. Lots of books. Books I don’t need.

Name five places you have lived.

1. Potsdam, NY. 2. Bangor, ME. 3. Niceville, FL. 4. Minneapolis, MN. 5. Chicago, IL. And now, Urbana, IL.

What are 5 jobs you’ve had? (I’m not counting parenting because I’m still doing it, and i’ve had way more jobs than this)

1. Turkey leg wench at the Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, MN. 2. Game runner at Valleyfair Amusement Park in Shakopee, MN. I did not live in Shakopee, but it was where the jobs were in 1986, I guess. 3. French-speaking pastry-bagger/espresso cupper at Napoleon’s in St. Paul (RIP). 4. Music journalist. 5. Of COURSE I was a cocktail waitress.

I’m not much for tagging, so if you want to do this meme, do it and post it!

Things just speed right along. I finally got some carrots:

Let’s see. Since I last wrote:

1. I gave up eating wheat. Not gluten (too difficult, and not sure celiac’s my problem), just wheat (plenty difficult all by itself). After eight days fully wheat-free (I forgot I had a pita chip misstep last Monday), I feel so much better that it’s a little embarrassing. I mean… it was that easy? I don’t want to be perceived as a picky eater/food fusser/dietary evangelizer, so I won’t talk much about what I’m not eating here. I will say I’m going to miss eating certain stuff, but it’s also awesome to feel awesome, and as it turns out… there are plenty of other things to eat. I think it’s more of a mindset than anything else, especially in terms of getting past convenience food and understanding one’s body’s signals regarding hunger, etc. So. There’s that.

2. A Momentous Event is happening this weekend. Common Ground - the humble little food co-op that, in 2005, gave me my start into the world of Working for Something You Believe In and Getting Paid For It, Even - has relocated and expanded and will be opening to the membership on Friday, with its doors swinging open to the public for the very first time on Saturday morning at 8 AM. OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS.

I have a lot of feelings surrounding this. Back in early 2005, right after we bought 909 (our current residence), Jeanne the Now-Texan and Then-Board Member encouraged me to apply for that Outreach Coordinator job at the co-op. I was hired, and that job paved the way for some major life changes (without it, or her, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today, I have no doubt) for me. But the job was hard sometimes, the co-op was struggling with getting from mere daydreaming to structured visioning to actual brick and mortar situation, etc. I left the job in mid-2006, but remained involved by joining the Board of Directors, and buckled in for a bumpy ride. Less than two years ago it seemed like things might have run their course and come to a not-so-happy ending, but in February of this year we found our future home (that’s Cody mopping - he now has a real job at Common Ground), and thanks to some fundraising derring-do, membership generosity, Board dedication, and management/staff tenacity and genius:

From this…

To this…

… in six months, y’all, when there were times we weren’t sure it was going to happen. And that last photo, taken August 16, looks NOTHING like what the store looks like today, which will look nothing like what the store will look like Friday at 5, when the doors are opened to members. Check out the custom-built checkout counter!

This is what true investment and buy-in - by a group of people - into a concept can do, even when the answer is often “no”, or the comment is “you guys must be crazy” (we heard both a lot). Yeah, I’m maudlin. What of it?

3. Uh. I’ve run out of steam. So, quickly:

a) Remember that awesome outdoor dinner I went to back in July at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery? They’re doing several more through October, and you can reserve your space at any of them online;

b) U of I students return in force on Thursday and I shamefully have not yet purchased a single school supply or article of clothing for either of my offspring and school starts a week from today;

c) the Le Creuset set from August 5 was gone by the time we had the cash to purchase it - oh well;

d) Art Mart is pulling, IMO, the best espresso shots in town right now, not to mention carrying select owly bits;

e) drinking wine with good friends under a full moon until 2 AM every so often is worth the revenge it exacts.

Next entry: an interview with the young author responsible for this:

It was quiet in space. The shuttlecraft was still. Berry lifted her hands carefully off of her ears. “Ocea? Destiny?” she said to her team. “Anything broken? Everyone alive?” Juniper sighed with relief, putting her arm around her sister’s shoulders. “Anyone else been in space before?” she asked. There was complete silence and Juniper moaned inwardly. Great. Berry and I are in charge - again. “OK, girls,” she said decisively, “it’s patrol time.”

Today we both took the afternoon off work and decided to do something we both love that our kids cannot stand - hit the thrift stores. On our first stop - the Habitat For Humanity Re/Store - something sitting on an old buffet caught my eye as we walked in. I made a beeline for the buffet, thinking, is it? Could it be?

It was. It was one of my ultimate thrift desires, actually - a full set of vintage Le Creuset cookware, probably from the 70s, in very good/excellent condition. Even though it was a total steal at its tagged price, it was still more than I can afford, even on my wedding anniversary. I’ve grown tired, you see, of asking The Teenager ™ if I can borrow his camera, so I’m saving for one of my own for my 40th birthday (or thereabouts). Despite my discipline, not leaving with VINTAGE LE CREUSET completely took the wind out of my thrifting sails. We still had fun, but I think both of us spent the rest of our time scheming about how to actually come home with it. I hope it finds a good home, damn it.

I love being married to Jim. He understands.