It's Thursday and tomorrow we're leaving for New York.
I really have to get everything together. I know I want to show my gf where I grew up, but also I want to visit old neighbors and check out the High Line Park that opened recently in Manhattan. We still have to find an urban farm to check out.
Also, I'm considering buying a camera. I miss taking pictures. My camera got stolen in the Dominican Republic. So we'll see.
In the mean time I'm at home doing work. I split half of the logs today and started stacking some of them to be used in the furnaces for wintertime. I will attempt to do the other half tomorrow.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Farm Girl Dinner!
Tonight I was invited to dine with the farm girls at an intern's house. I've gotta say, when you eat with farmers, there's a lot of veggies on the table. We went vegetarian and had fried eggs, tofu, three kinds of salad (one with beats) and quinoa. For dessert- zucchini chocolate chip cookies and raspberries from the backyard garden!
The girls were hilarious. I didn't say much, I just listened and tried not to crack up too much.
Earlier in the day it had been raining. I sliced wood for the wintertime for Jim until the gas ran out in the wood-slicing machine. For lunch I discovered that Beef Brisket makes the most delicious hamburgers! Then I joined my gf at her farm and planted flowers for a future pick-your-own flowers CSA pick-up day.
*CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Members of the community pay for a share and get fresh veggies weekly from their local farm. They come to pick up the veggies and there is often a "pick-your-own" item in addition to the ones laid out at the table.
Tonight I was invited to dine with the farm girls at an intern's house. I've gotta say, when you eat with farmers, there's a lot of veggies on the table. We went vegetarian and had fried eggs, tofu, three kinds of salad (one with beats) and quinoa. For dessert- zucchini chocolate chip cookies and raspberries from the backyard garden!
The girls were hilarious. I didn't say much, I just listened and tried not to crack up too much.
Earlier in the day it had been raining. I sliced wood for the wintertime for Jim until the gas ran out in the wood-slicing machine. For lunch I discovered that Beef Brisket makes the most delicious hamburgers! Then I joined my gf at her farm and planted flowers for a future pick-your-own flowers CSA pick-up day.
*CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Members of the community pay for a share and get fresh veggies weekly from their local farm. They come to pick up the veggies and there is often a "pick-your-own" item in addition to the ones laid out at the table.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
So far I haven't really written about my job at the bed & breakfast. It'll be over a week till I work there again, since I just work there when the owner needs extra help.
At the start of my job, it was amazing. The owner had to go on a week-long trip and so I was there doing the check-ins, breakfast, cleaning and talking with the guests. He told me he'd prefer if I'd stay there overnight to make sure everything went well in the house. So me and my gf had a guest room, which was really sweet. For that time we had two homes.
The first couple was from England. They were the only guests for the duration of their stay and they kept asking when other guests or the owner would show up. I tried to gauge how much they liked my food by how much they ate. The guy really wanted bacon, which the owner had smirked at me for mentioning to him that he should get some, so I went and got some. The guests were very pleased. The guy made quirky jokes that I almost didn't catch (he said them very seriously) and the woman hugged me at check out.
The second couple was awesome. They had a baby with them and stayed in the biggest room. It was great taking care of them on my own: we chatted a lot and they really liked me. I told them to enjoy the big house since they were the only guests there that day and they were happy about that. They also enjoyed my food!
When the owner came back I became more of a behind-the-scenes person. He cooked and chatted, and ordered me to clean while he sat with the guests during breakfast. I don't know if the guests even know there is someone else taking care of the B&B. Still, the second couple came to see me at check out and gave me $20! Whoa, super cool!
This Friday we'll be driving to NY to stay for the weekend. I really have to start planning out exactly what we'll be doing there. I tend to get lazy and in a home-ish mood when I'm there (I lived there for 14 years) so I have to remember I only have 2 days and lots of plans.
At the start of my job, it was amazing. The owner had to go on a week-long trip and so I was there doing the check-ins, breakfast, cleaning and talking with the guests. He told me he'd prefer if I'd stay there overnight to make sure everything went well in the house. So me and my gf had a guest room, which was really sweet. For that time we had two homes.
The first couple was from England. They were the only guests for the duration of their stay and they kept asking when other guests or the owner would show up. I tried to gauge how much they liked my food by how much they ate. The guy really wanted bacon, which the owner had smirked at me for mentioning to him that he should get some, so I went and got some. The guests were very pleased. The guy made quirky jokes that I almost didn't catch (he said them very seriously) and the woman hugged me at check out.
The second couple was awesome. They had a baby with them and stayed in the biggest room. It was great taking care of them on my own: we chatted a lot and they really liked me. I told them to enjoy the big house since they were the only guests there that day and they were happy about that. They also enjoyed my food!
When the owner came back I became more of a behind-the-scenes person. He cooked and chatted, and ordered me to clean while he sat with the guests during breakfast. I don't know if the guests even know there is someone else taking care of the B&B. Still, the second couple came to see me at check out and gave me $20! Whoa, super cool!
This Friday we'll be driving to NY to stay for the weekend. I really have to start planning out exactly what we'll be doing there. I tend to get lazy and in a home-ish mood when I'm there (I lived there for 14 years) so I have to remember I only have 2 days and lots of plans.
Monday, July 12, 2010
There was a warm breeze throughout today. I painted the first coat of green on the 6 shutters for the west end of the house. Jim calls me his painter. I have an official title! It feels good.
After my gf came home we went to the shops nearby in Stockbridge. It was 7 pm and they were all closed already. Except for one general goods store. We were overwhelmed by the colors and miscellaneous goods on the shelves. There were candles, toys, books, magnets, etc. We bought Swedish ginger cookies and fudge.
Since we were upstairs for the rest of the night reading and being on the computer, we didn't eat dinner with the couple. We had the cookies for dinner instead. At least there was milk.
After my gf came home we went to the shops nearby in Stockbridge. It was 7 pm and they were all closed already. Except for one general goods store. We were overwhelmed by the colors and miscellaneous goods on the shelves. There were candles, toys, books, magnets, etc. We bought Swedish ginger cookies and fudge.
Since we were upstairs for the rest of the night reading and being on the computer, we didn't eat dinner with the couple. We had the cookies for dinner instead. At least there was milk.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I'm sorry that I didn't post yesterday. I didn't want to continue ranting about how badly this farmer was treating her "interns" but most of the day was spent talking about what the workers could do about it.
Today we were going to take a hike into the mountains but we chilled at home instead. But from my last hike into this forest next to our house, I realized how important a walking stick is.
The uses of a walking stick:
-to test the depth of water
-balancing on logs
-supporting you when the ground is uneven
-fending off animals
-pushing aside branches that have spikes
Tonight we had a wonderful meal that my girlfriend cooked and we ate with Jim. Over wine we talked about technological developments around the world and communicative advances in recent years.
Today we were going to take a hike into the mountains but we chilled at home instead. But from my last hike into this forest next to our house, I realized how important a walking stick is.
The uses of a walking stick:
-to test the depth of water
-balancing on logs
-supporting you when the ground is uneven
-fending off animals
-pushing aside branches that have spikes
Tonight we had a wonderful meal that my girlfriend cooked and we ate with Jim. Over wine we talked about technological developments around the world and communicative advances in recent years.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
I volunteered my time on the farm today. I’m not a farmer, but I felt like something was totally wrong.
Farm Girl Farm is this small place run by one lady who hires “interns” to work for a small stipend a month. The thing is that there is no organization. I worked for almost 6 hours straight in the field with no break, and when it was time for the planned lunch, she changed her mind and wanted everyone to keep working. Then she left, with assignments to be finished by the hungry overworked interns.
The weeds were horrendous, since they were neglected, and there is no equipment at all to take care of them. I was mostly upset because what would have taken me 2 hours to do (harvesting beets) took almost 6 because we had to play a game of “where’s the veggie” amidst the forest of weeds. The interns are not informed of her plans, or even of the accurate names of some of the veggies (I thought internships were for learning).
And then when I mentioned the weed situation she said “I didn’t ask you about the weeds.” Whoa farm nazi. The kids on the farm work 10 hour work days, the schedule changes at her whim, and she expects all to work overtime on top of the insane hours. The “interns” get paid about $2.50 or less an hour. Which they agree to do, to see positive results on the farm. But she doesn’t take advice from these people that have interned on other farms, took agriculture classes in college, and have had experience at home. It’s hard to stay motivated when she runs her workers to the ground and they get less kindly than her farm dog.
I hope this doesn’t continue happening to people who come from all over for a learning experience. Maybe next year she’ll be more humane?
Farm Girl Farm is this small place run by one lady who hires “interns” to work for a small stipend a month. The thing is that there is no organization. I worked for almost 6 hours straight in the field with no break, and when it was time for the planned lunch, she changed her mind and wanted everyone to keep working. Then she left, with assignments to be finished by the hungry overworked interns.
The weeds were horrendous, since they were neglected, and there is no equipment at all to take care of them. I was mostly upset because what would have taken me 2 hours to do (harvesting beets) took almost 6 because we had to play a game of “where’s the veggie” amidst the forest of weeds. The interns are not informed of her plans, or even of the accurate names of some of the veggies (I thought internships were for learning).
And then when I mentioned the weed situation she said “I didn’t ask you about the weeds.” Whoa farm nazi. The kids on the farm work 10 hour work days, the schedule changes at her whim, and she expects all to work overtime on top of the insane hours. The “interns” get paid about $2.50 or less an hour. Which they agree to do, to see positive results on the farm. But she doesn’t take advice from these people that have interned on other farms, took agriculture classes in college, and have had experience at home. It’s hard to stay motivated when she runs her workers to the ground and they get less kindly than her farm dog.
I hope this doesn’t continue happening to people who come from all over for a learning experience. Maybe next year she’ll be more humane?
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