Toothpaste you can eat!

This week Hannah and I are visiting her sister and brother-in-law on their organic farm in Beacon, New York, about an hour north of NYC in the Hudson River Valley. This has probably been one of my favorite single weeks ever. Hannah and I started spring break out right by attending her roommate Colleen's wedding, which was fantastic. Hannah's dad married Colleen and Dan with a simple ceremony in a field of tall grass. Their reception was at a barn nearby where Colleen and Dan served their guests pig pickin's and the most amazing dill potato salad. We danced to a bluegrass band till 11:00 that night. Hannah and I hit the road the next morning, making great time to Fredericksburg, VA, where we spent the night with the son of the family Hannah's boyfriend is living with this year (his name's Erik and he's studying abroad from Sweden year). Fredericksburg is a cute little historic town. Nice little shops and sweet Southern smiles. We went to church the next morning, where we met the Elliotts, the lovely family Erik is staying with. Janka Elliott is originally from Holland, and I loved hearing her beautiful Dutch accent! It brought back so many memories of my great Dutch friends in South Africa. Hearing Erik's Swedish accent is also fun. Being around these people is pushing me towards going to Europe next year rather than taking more classes. But we'll see :). Anyway, the three Elliott children (who are about my age) all speak Dutch and English, and ein bisschen Deutsch, perhaps? It's fun talking in German again.

We left for NY Monday morning with Erik coming along to join us for his spring break. The very first meal Becca made might clue you in on our week: vegetable soup with carrots, kale, potatoes, onion, collards, cauliflower, turnips and parsnip straight from their garden. In other words, it's been the best week food-wise I've ever experienced. We got a nice snowfall Monday night. Tuesday we helped out in the greenhouse, seeding and labelling flats of pepper plants. We had to trek through the snow to get to the greenhouse, but inside it was 90 degrees. I took off my coat and sweater and got a little sunburned in my tank top. Hannah and I decided everyone needs a greenhouse in the winter. It just feels great to go to a place that feels like summer all year round :). We took work breaks by stepping out into the snow, me in my crocs. We had the most perfect picnic lunch in the greenhouse: french bread, fresh cheeses, homemade hummus, pickled green beans and garlic Becca pickled over the summer, apples, and plenty of other delights. I feel like a changed person--like I need to evangelize the world about organic eating. Oh, and Becca's pretty big into fermenting, so I tried a black tea drink that she fermented with a mushroom on top of it (the mushroom wasn't still on top of it when I drank it). And I tried ginger ale she made herself. I'm inspired. It's so interesting how much Becca and Joe's lives revolve around food. They talk about food a lot because they are always working with it. I think that's wonderful--that seems really normal.

Wednesday we had a wonderful, but very different from Tuesday, day in the city. Becca, Hannah, Erik and I took a train into Grand Central Station (it was Hannah's and my first train experience in the US). We shopped in Chinatown and had lunch in Little Italy--some produce we'd bought at a farmer's market on 14th St. We shopped in Brooklyn (this second-hand store in Brooklyn--Beacon's Closet--was a lot of fun). We met up with Erik's cousin for coffee in Williamsburg, this really artsy section of town where my friends Rob and Sarah also live (too bad I couldn't meet up with them!). Anyway, the rest of our trip has been oh so relaxing, and we head back tomorrow (sad, but true!). I haven't had time to think about spring break ending and school re-starting. I have so much work to do. :) But, this was definitely a deserved break. I just love the way Becca and Joe interact with each other--so affectionately, but down-to-earthy. I was thinking, farmers are kind of the epitome of "down-to-earth" people. Non-pretentious, non-condescending, very respectful and gracious. They do things so carefully, too--as in, caring for the earth, saving things that could be reused. They're responsible in a way I haven't seen much of. They're also looking for an intern to work with them this summer, so... I don't have summer plans yet. NY would be pretty sweet :). Que sera, sera.