Supporting Restaurants Who Support Local Farms

I have write this post quick, being that I just took an Ambian to settle down for the night. Currently I'm in Virginia doing some training and I will head back home in about a week or so. Just enough time to get back and see what shape the gardens in. I miss writing on the blog...but when traveling I'm deeply engaged in work and I don't want to have anxiety over what I can't control (I hope to God My wife didn't Destroy the garden). The past few days I have been having the itch for some really good home grown food. Food that when you bite into it, you can taste the journey and envelop yourself in every stage of it's life. From garden to kitchen to plate. I knew exactly what I wanted. But I didn't know where I was going to get. So I recruited my new best friend which is the HTC Thunderbolt BY Droid Carried by Verizon. If something happens to this phone I will probably go into a state of depression. But anyway I did a quick search on the web for restaurants that serve dishes with locally grown produce and instantly I got a place called the Mezzanine. I pulled up my maps on my phone and typed the restaurant and immediately I had all the information with distance and direction and so I began my trip.

Often times we find ourselves wanting to support businesses who support our local farms but many times it never comes to be a reality. Lets face it most of us are all busy and the even though doing search on the net doesn't seem like a lot of time to be taken. It really is when you have other things compiled on your day. However, today I proved to myself that there is rich reward when a little effort is put forth. Because you never know what small gems are within fork distance.

Upon arriving there I was seated by a very professional and knowledgeable staff. I ordered some wine (High Note Melbac, Argentina) for anybody that cares to know what type and I ordered the special... A rare Bison with a creamy chunked Lobster Mash Potato and sauced with a red lobster rue. Wellllll I came to find out the Bison was grown in Virginia at farm that was not far from there and the Green mesculine lettuce were provided by a couple that I had the pleasure of sitting next to at the bar. These guys were pretty awesome! They were working Farmers who had full time day jobs, but they grew vegetables and sold them to the restaurant. This is a perfect example of how communities can support one another to accomplish a goal.

So now Going forward my New hobby is going to be... to try to compile a list of restaurants that I want to visit who cater to the community by supporting Local Farms and Produce. I would love to learn about any place in the World that supports Local Farm... If I am in the area I will seek out these little gems and thank them for their Service........ To Good Times and Hard Work!!

When hopes of having a child faint away

It's been awhile since I have posted anything going on at the Urban Homestead. This time of year I usually leave the garden to my wife to take care of and I resume in the fall. Nevertheless, life continues to move on and realities begin to set in. One of which is having a baby. I would have never thought in a million years that I would be in a situation where having a child would be an issue. I have two sons from a previous marriage and so selfishly i never considered the importance of what it means for my wife. Until I met her parents. They are a Traditional Japanese Couple, pops is hard dedicated worker and mom has assisted him throughout his career. They have made tough sacrifices for their two children and it is in these days that my wife (after her rebellion) appreciates everything they have done for her.

So this past fall I got the unique experience to meet my mother and father in law whom have never been to the states and don't speak a lick of English. I wasn't worried about impressions, I just wanted to meet them and show them everything American that is synonymous with Everything Japanese. Our engagement was wonderful and something I will never forget for the rest of my life. When the Tsunami hit we were worried about them. As the reports came in from Japanese TV; which we luckily subscribe through via Dish Network, the reality on the ground was that many, many, many people have lost their lives. And not only that but whole families are gone with no way to carry on their name. This saddened me and put a pit in my stomach.

Many people contribute through finance and we followed suit. But while sitting down and looking at a story in which the only child who happened to be a daughter drove from several towns over to rescue her mom and she ended up dying and her mom survived. This situation made it real to me that in an instant a generation can be gone when there are so few in the gene pool to start with. My wife's Parents brothers and sisters are terminally ill and they have to very few children I want to say a handful is an exaggeration. When I took this all into I account I realized that my wife's parents have no grand kids. As this reality manifested itself I also realize that for several years my wife and I have been trying to have a child but with no results and because of this we have to be aggressive in pursuing other options.

 On the table is artificial insemination and invitro. It never dawned on me the extremely high cost and the importance of having a child through these expensive procedures. The bottom line is that we have no other choice . Although my wife looks and appears to be a spring chicken, her system is not and we have less than two years to try procedures that have any chance of working. The time is clicking and I'm on the other end of the pendulum making some of the toughest decisions in my life. I'm Glad to be back and I have a lot of work to do. More to follow..........