Getting Fresh

The Eighth Street Farmer's Marketplace is held in downtown Holland on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8am-5pm. Today I had my first experience there. It is much larger than I had expected,pleasantly well-organized and plenty of accessible parking. There's even a food court and regularly scheduled children's activities. Each Saturday there are cooking demonstrations, free food samples from the vendors, and a county extension agent available to answer questions related to plants and gardening issues. Throughout the summer there are some contests going on. July 19th, Alpen Rose is sponsoring a fruit and vegetable carving contest, in August it's a salsa showdown, and in October there will be pumpkin painting, hayrides, and my favorite, a pumpkin pie eating contest!

There's a HUGE selection of plants to choose from-both vegetable and ornamental. A fair sampling of organic products as well. Of course, many local farms selling such items as strawberries, rhubarb, snap peas, onions, radishes, asparagus, along with melons and other fruits and vegetables that, while not immediately local, are from neighboring states. So, still a lot fresher, healthier and cheaper than the grocery store version.

Here are two of the charming young vendors. One with local strawberries from South Haven and another helping her dad with asparagus sales.

As you can see, there are multiple vendors selling many of the same products. This situation lends itself to some unique and creative marketing strategies as each vendor strives to sell-out so that nothing has to be re-transported back from whence it came! I am told by my market buddy, Nancy Hendricks, that many times, as the day wears on and even as the season goes on, prices begin to drop and the vendors become more open to bargaining on items in an effort to liquidate their inventories.



There are also many vendors that carry specialty products such as these veggie chips, which I sampled and purchased. They are Oh, so good! This vendor also has honey and trail mixes. There is a stand that carried various types of pickles and relishes, there was a seller that had custom jerky blends and other seasoned meats, and a vendor which sold maple syrup, candies and bee's wax candles.

A friend of mine, Kim Meyers, is one of the bread vendors here. I just had to buy a bag of their specialty dinner rolls-the absolute best! Kim offers many other types of breads and rolls here as well. All of them fantastic!

 The hot, dishy chef, Ian Ramierez from Creative Dining, gives a class on how to use farm fresh ingredients to create rustic Italian dishes such as the char-grilled vegetable pizza shown here.

Another wonderful aspect to the farmer's market experience is the atmosphere. It's fun and friendly, and you never know who you'll run into...case in point, here's our Victory Point music coordinator, Mike, his lovely wife Mary, and their very adorable children!I did run into a number of other individuals I know as well, so it turned into a bit of a networking event combined with the grocery shopping. I always love to multi-task whenever possible!

The market is also rampant with crafters of every ilk. I especially loved the metal sculptors, the topiaries, and the dried flower arrangements and wreaths.

The pussy willow wreaths were my greatest temptation!
The shoppers at this farmer's market are not at a loss for entertainment either! There were plenty of street performers for our enjoyment...My favorite ones were these three guys who did all classic Beatles tunes.


We met a little puppy who is being trained for a very important job...
This is a Paws with a Cause dog who will remain with a host family for one year while being socialized before being handed back to the organization for specialized training in helping disabled individuals live safer and more productive lives. What an adorable, irresistible little face!
For lunch,Nancy and I stopped at the Carragh, a local Irish pub.


It's awesome that so many restaurants in downtown Holland are now offering seating outdoors. On a beautiful day like today, this is the perfect spot for a brewski and possibly the best Rueben in town.

Picking up the 7 flats of flowers that were gifted to me by another considerate friend wrapped up a very fun and productive Saturday morning.

More SEX , please!

Sex and the City, that is. What a movie! Believe it or not, even in podunk Holland, MI, there were groups of girlfriends all over the theater dressed to the nines just like their favorite fashionistas: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. Yours truly wore her favorite Carrie Bradshaw dress and went with a fellow devotee of Sex and the City, Rachel Nykerk,  for post-movie drinks...Cosmopolitans, of course! The movie met and exceeded all expectations. Well worth going to see all the fabulous clothes, shoes, NY and LA scenery. The storyline was actually quite good and typical of what we have come to know and love of the television series. It was great seeing the girls again. After so many years, they seem like old, dear friends. The appeal is just that-we as women do know how to support and nurture one another in our friendships over the long haul. Without giving anything away, the movie ends with everyone in a good place and with plenty of wiggle room for possibly another sequel...RUN, DON'T WALK, TO THE NEAREST THEATER AND CHECK THIS OUT!!

Going NUTZ in the RAIN with BUBBLES

Granny is teaching Jayden the fine art of peanut shelling compliments of Logan's.

He catches on quickly and soon has his own little stash. Our entire family is very talented at mastering food related tasks!



The fun part is when you sweep your pile of shells onto the floor! Why is that SOOOO much fun?! I guess it's the forbidden mess-making legitimized. We all have the secret deep-seated desire to make messes and create chaos! An entire restaurant chain is based on this fact...

Jayden gives his dad a hug and enjoys his chocolate milk.
Before we leave Logan's a terrible thunder storm kicks up. This is the fourth day in a row for storms and rain. We are experiencing widespread flooding in the area and many roads that are closed in the low-lying areas.

The parking lot at Veldeer's Tulip Farm is under water. Many of the Bison in the field are standing in water. A field near our home is also nearly covered in water.


This is the duck lake in our backyard. The water was within about 4-6 inches of the house at the worst time on Saturday night. We had actual ducks swimming in the backyard! Many of our neighbors have had flooding in their basements. There have been 5 deaths related to weather here over the weekend. I pray that the worst of it has now passed.




Jayden isn't about to let the rain dampen his enthusiasm~ he is throwing Pop-its with his dad and enjoying blowing bubbles. It's amazing how long a 39-cent bottle of bubbles will entertain and bring joy! Good clean fun.

EVERYTHING is more fun....in a Jeep!

 

Especially if it's a classic powder blue jeep...
On a hot day at the lake shore!
It just doesn't get any better than this...but WAIT~
It just got better!
Right in downtown Holland there is a new hotel, the City Flats, that is smart, sophisticated and very European. Who would have thunk it!!

The furnishings are sleek and stylish and the rooms ergonomically unique. Downstairs there is a bar with room for people to listen to live music performed in the lobby area. A number of intimate seating arrangements lend themselves well to leisurely conversation. On the 5Th floor is the main restaurant. The view of the city is magnificent. Even the eating utensils and salt and pepper shakers are of an avant garde design. The wine list is extensive and the bar offers a full complement of drinks including locally brewed beers. A featured item on the menu is the flat breads which are what this restaurant is most known for. This evening a lobster salad was one of the specials. It was delicious! The atmosphere is unlike anything else in the area. Pleasantly surprising, the food is not only scrumptious but reasonably priced as well.
The hotel is unique in another aspect. The construction, the materials used in the decor, the appliances and the climate control and water-conserving features are all aimed at conserving energy and being environmentally friendly as well as beautiful.
After dinner, hats back on, and sunglasses in place. It's time to go for another ride! This time along Southshore Drive to watch the sun set along Lake Macatawa. Beautiful. Then safely back to home before the huge thunderstorm- which more than made up for the Tulip Time fireworks!
Some of us just know how to live...

GREEN WITH GUILT

Everyone's GOING GREEN these days! Look at  this impressive line-up...






Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. -H.G. Wells


 
The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.
-Ralph Waldo Emmerson

I finally purchased my first package of those wierd-looking squiggly light bulbs. Been thinking about it for a long time but the cost was a factor and I wasn't sure about those odd looking bulbs anyway. Yeah, they're supposed to be helpful to the environment. I just didn't know-wasn't sure.They look strange. Do they really work?  Funny though, as soon as I bought them I felt immediately better. So, I also invested in some cloth grocery bags. It's addictive! I felt like part of the solution instead of the problem. Interesting how little gestures can make you feel empowered to do more.

I have believed in the cause of ecology for many years. Believed in it-yes-did something about it-no! You know how the saying goes: That which is not acted upon is not learned. So, with that, I am making my own stand for the cause of going green.My dirty little secret is that ever since I've lived here in Michigan, I have not recycled at home. That's 12 years~ I am feeling extreme GREEN GUILT!! I called Allied Waste this week and asked for a recycling bin, instructions, and a calendar showing the recycling pick-up days. I am ready to do my part~



So, we all know we should be doing all we can to conserve the resources on our planet. Why don't we, then? If you want to get the ecological hell scared out of yourself, just watch Al Gore's documovie, An Inconvenient Truth. It will make you think...


Here's my personal treatment plan for curing my case of GREEN GUILT:
I am going to start recycling.
 
I am going to gradually replace appliances as needed with energy efficient models. Same goes for water-conserving plumbing, and opting for a hybrid when it's time for a new car.

I am not going to leave the water running while I brush my teeth or any other unnecessary wastes of water.

I am going to ride my bike or walk for more of my errands.

I am going to be conscientious about use of electricity, home natural gas use, and cut down on trips in the car.

I am going to buy used (aka recycled) items whenever possible-which saves resources AND some coin!

I am going to shop at the local farmer's market for my produce.

I am going to look into composting and finding cleaning and household products that are more earth friendly.

I will purchase products from companies that produce environmentally friendly versions of items I need and already use.


That's just for starters! I really do believe that we all need to participate in taking care of the environment in which we live. There are a lot of different resources available for information on living in an environmentally friendly way. Google anything/everything green or ecology related and you'll get tons of stuff. One site I like is greenmatters.com. If you click on the helpful links there are some good connections there.

For energy related information: 
www.eere.energy.gov
www.nrel.gov
www.repp.org
energystar.gov/products
Global Warming:
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html
Food:
localharvest.org
csacenter.org
eatwellguide.org 
 
This is but a SMALL sampling of all the information out there about taking care of the earth...start small and build-even one thing makes a difference! Going green is an evolutionary process. Rome was not carved in a day. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. You can be a force for the good.


I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
--Helen Keller