About me

Back to Seattle!

/ Rachel / 1 Comment

I catch a 6am flight to Seattle (via Phoenix) on Monday morning.  This will be my third trip to Seattle since January.  And then I fly out again to go BACK on June 2nd.  For years now, I’ve dreamt of going to Seattle.  The Pacific Northwest has always called to me but I was far too broke to make it out there.  Now, thanks to a certain giant online retailer that I happen to work for, I have had multiple trips to this amazing city this year.  My stomach is already rumbling, open and ready for the copious amounts of seafood that I will shove into it during my four night stay.

I love Seattle. I’m one of those weirdos that loves rainy days.  You can keep your bright blue skies because I want clouds, the rumble of thunder, and the feel of raindrops on my skin.  My first trip to Seattle in January was a huge disappointment because all I got in five days there was a bunch of fog.  When I went back in April, Mother Nature had pity on me and let it rain almost every day.  While everyone at the corporate office apologized for the weather, I was giddy!  Seattle rain, FINALLY.  One morning, I rolled out of bed, peered out my 9th floor window, and did a happy dance that it was already raining.  So then what did I do?  I shoved my iPhone against the window and took a short video of the dreary Seattle morning and quiet city streets.  

I want to live in that area of the US.  I’m hoping to transfer there in 2014 and Hubby is all for moving, even though he hasn’t had the pleasure of visiting the city yet.  My last two trips were less “touristy” than I would have liked because I dined with co-workers each evening and was never alone.  This time, I don’t know anyone else that’s coming for the training and I’ll be able to strike out on my own, which I love.  I’m also staying in a different hotel this time than the last two times I was there so I will get to explore a different area of the city. I’m determined to take the Seattle Underground tour this time, too!

Anyway, other than the time we take to go see the new Star Trek flick this weekend, I need to organize and pack.  I always feel guilty leaving Hubby and the dog alone but they’re two peas in a pod and they get along just fine, which makes me have a better time on my trip because I know they’re taking care of each other! Anyway, I’ll probably be posting from Seattle next week.  I have every intention of getting some writing done while I’m there, too.  Fingers crossed that it actually happens!

Aren’t the Cascades gorgeous?
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A pretty January Seattle sunset (I handled the lack of clouds because it was so gorgeous!)

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I love Pike Place Market!

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Sustainability of Food Systems class – for FREE!

/ Rachel / Leave a comment

I am always a student.  I may have finished my Master’s degree in 2009, but I am still learning.  How to be a better wife. How to be improve my skills in my field of Human Resources. How to quilt and sew and craft. How to “upcycle” and recycle. How to make a loaf of bread that isn’t a total letdown (this one continues to befuddle me.)  I never stop learning, which is why Coursera is a Godsend.

If you haven’t heard of Coursera, you’re doing yourself a disservice.  Some of the best universities offering online classes?  For free!  What’s not to love?

I was perusing the classes the other night when I found this one:  Sustainability of Food Systems: A Global Life Cycle Perspective, offered by the University of Minnesota.  The description was intriguing and right up my alley, so I signed up.  It starts on June 14th and will last for 8 weeks.  It’s going to require homework, which I will have to make time for, but it’s definitely something I need to take, what with my need for my own little farm (see previous post!)

What I’m reading…

/ Rachel / Leave a comment

I’m in love.

With a book.

I checked out Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for A Farm of One’s Own by Jenna Woginrich from the library, fully planning to leave it on my iPad until I got to the airport next Monday for my flight(s) to Seattle.  That plan lasted all of…oh… seven minutes.  Before long, I had my eyes glued to the screen and now I’m stealing a minute or two here and there in order to read some more.

As I said before, I’m in love.

BarnHeart

Jenna’s memoir about establishing her farm on rented property in Vermont while living paycheck to paycheck is endearing.  Her prose is entertaining and she has a way with words that sucks the reader in.  (I mean, she talks about the “sun getting tired.”  How cute is that???)  I loved reading about her determination to get a small flock of sheep, her driving need to get a border collie, and her adoption of Finn, the most adorable baby goat to ever appear in any book.

I haven’t finished it yet.  In fact, I have 33% to go.  I’m trying to take it slow, even though I’m a fast reader, and savor it like a piece of decadent fudge.  It’s too beautiful, too entertaining a story, and I want that life.  As I sit in my townhouse, which is tucked under some trees but still close enough to a busy city street that I never escape the sounds of traffic, I realize how much I want that life.  I feel the longing deep inside.  It burns as strong as heartburn, but Tums will do nothing to take it away.  I want my own flock of hens and four (yes, exactly four) goats, as well as two horses and a passel of misfit dogs.  I want dirt under my fingernails.  I want the kind of satisfying, exhausted sleep that only comes after a day of hard labor.  When will I get to pluck a green pepper straight from the vine?

Jenna, though, has advice to offer about this exact question.  In the introduction of the book, she says:

“When your mind wanders like this and your heart feels heavy, do not lose the faith, and do not fret about your current circumstances.  Everything changes.  If you need to stand in the slanting light of an old barn to lift your spirits, go for it.  Perhaps someday you’ll do this every day.  For some, this is surely the only cure.”

I have plans for my very own garden and livestock and even my own barn.  They’re on hold until a few years down the road, after certain stock options have matured and are cashed out.  But the important part is that they’re there.  And as Jenna so wisely says, everything changes.  Until then, I, too, have barnheart.