Food

Tony and I ate out for dinner almost every night last week. It was so much easier than trying to cook food without buying more than exactly what we needed, and without using dishes we no longer had access to. While more expensive than preferred, it was also nice because we got to enjoy one last round of food from the great variety of restaurants that are in the immediate vicinity. 

It's not that Boulder Creek doesn't have much, actually for such a small town they've got quite a lot: they've got one taqueria, one Chinese place, a Brewery (which burned down Saturday night! So much for that! Such a shame), a deli (in a liquor store), a sushi joint,  a small pizza place, and two grocery stores!  Anything else is literally out of town; You have to drive through at least one city to reach it! The nearest McDonalds or Starbucks is in Scott's Valley... That's a 20 minute drive away, but Scott's Valley is pretty well developed and worth the drive. They've got a movie theater, a goodwill, a KMart (yeah those still exist), Safeway,  and a Nob Hill. We're not living as isolated as it feels, but we're going to have to work a little harder for everything now. 

Luckily, my mom is pretty good at cooking, and I am willing to get creative in the kitchen if Tony will deign to eat it. We no longer need to buy eggs since Mom got chickens last year (they are right outside the closet window) and they produce way more eggs than the three of us can eat for breakfast. She donates a lot to a local food bank when they build up, and gives away a lot to friends and other family members. I may not like the chickens but I do love home grown eggs. Mom also loves making bread, so we get the extreme pleasure of homemade fresh bread on the regular!

Something my dad used to say a lot was a paraphrased Jacque Pepín quote: "I will not skip butter so that I can be healthy when I die" and he really lived that that way. He let his health become very poor and suffered for it in his final months, so I think this is an excellent opportunity for me to reevaluate how I  consume. I'm not a skinny woman, and I have a feeling getting healthy is only going to get harder. Cooking food at home, and doing yard work, will hopefully help me burn off some of the excess and the pastries that someone always brings to work.

We've already had a few delicious meals at home with my mom and I am glad to say they are significantly healthier than what we usually resort to. I'm excited to start doing meal plans for the week with mom, and to get everything in the rooms together!! This weekend was incredibly stressful, but things are really looking up!

Hello & good morning from the new home!