Peace, Love, Friends

So I started working at a little vegan cafe in town, and today was my first day of training. It was so awesome. I can't believe how peaceful and wonderful the atmosphere is. The whole idea behind the cafe is about real, healthy food, delivered to the customers with care, love and peace. I love it. That's what food should be about; more than a business, more than about earning money or obtaining some gourmet snob status. It should be about feeding people in a way where the energy in the food is cherished. Siiiigh it makes me so happy. Friendly coworkers and a zen environment. Awesome music and generally a balanced and calm mood in the place. What more could I ask for? I'm working as a baker, barista and cashier, so I'll be a busy bee. But I'm excited and so far I enjoy it. I was doing the same kind of work in sweden, and that was on a volunteer basis...now I'm earning minimum wage and paying taxes, but it's totally worth it. I would still do it for free because I believe in it so much. It's what I live for.

After a great first day at work, I received some amazing mail from the coolest Queen of Swedes, the master paper-maker, book-binder, and raddest old-stuff collector I know. The "you've got mail" knock on my door interrupted my afternoon reading time, but it was received with an excited leap out of my chair and a mental "thank you" to the postal service. I was occupying myself with the book Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century, by Dick and James Strawbridge. All about home-made cheese, beer, wine, butter, keeping goats, raising chickens, making compost, growing crops, spiral gardens, home-remedies... basically the life I want to live. Looking at all the pictures makes me feel like my roof-top effort is so... puny. Well, we all have to start somewhere.

Speaking of great things on great Tuesdays, another chard sprout arrived this morning. And there are finally some first true leaves to be seen among the infant plants. And I found another unexpected basil plant in my garden.Mysterious. Makes me smile. Life is good.

Yesterday I found some pods hanging under the leaves of our Vincas. I harvested them and hopefully will have lots of baby plants to show off. They grow like weeds in our garden, but they're pretty (although kind of boring) and I could just give them away to people whose gardens need beautifying.

Local Kale. Mmm