L'aventure américaine

As those of you who have seen me ride a bike, I am not the steadiest nor the most coordinated rider. Therefore, it was a small miracle that I hadn't yet taken a spill on Spinner while running Odie. Today was the day for that! However, you may rest assured that it was not Odie that pulled me over. It was more due to the fact that I was trying to put my bike helmet on while riding the bike and running my dog. I am a smart girl. Fortunately, I didn't sprain my wrist by landing on it. Instead, I kept my arm up to protect Odie, so therefore, fell on my face, shoulder and knee. I'm the only person I know who literally falls on her face so often. On a sidenote, I'm listening to the rain beat against the windows for the first time since I've lived in my little downtown abode. I am loving it.

I just finished "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and had to laugh at myself as I teared up in the final paragraph. Reading about the author and her young daughter, dancing together after finding that their turkey mother just hatched her first brood of chicks, I reminisced about my first baby chicks as well. I started this book quite some time ago, but a bout with the stomach flu stopped me for awhile since I was having trouble reading about food without getting nauseous. It was good to pick it up back and remind myself again why I'm trying to change the way I eat. There is no need for me to stand a soapbox and talk about the benefits of eating locally while this book exists, so I will only encourage you all to read it (although most of my Indiana folk have, I think). Since starting the book, I have joined a CSA called Desert Roots Farm, which I highly recommend to anyone in the Phoenix area. I have also been serious about my visits to the Farmer'