Local Lunch

Simple but delicious -- multigrain bread from La Vie en Rose Bakery; wild Alaskan salmon cold-smoked by our friend Jeremy, a Cornish-born commercial fisherman and one of the key people in the "eat local" scene here; and parsley from my garden, one of the few plants that survived our winter.

I stopped by La Vie en Rose before my exercise class at the YMCA this morning. It's been a long time since I've been in there -- too long! -- and I was delighted to find this excellent bread. My son worked there while he was going to Western Washington University here in Bellingham, and I used to go more often, but fell out of that routine. Now that I'm downtown two or three mornings a week at the Y, I'm going fall back into it! The exercise class should help keep things in balance.

It's been quite a shift in my morning routine, adding not only a three-times-a-week exercise class, but also treadmill and weight machine time before it, and errands afterward. I'm not keeping up with comments very well, and may not comment daily, but I'm not alone; Kendall wrote a thought-provoking blip on the same subject, and the comments on that blip are well worth reading.

I'm still deeply engrossed in genealogy research, as well, and if it ever stops raining for more than an hour, I'll be deeply involved in gardening, too! The forecast isn't promising -- 80-90% change of rain through next Tuesday, at least. Dandelions and other flowering weeds are flourishing , and no doubt will be setting seed soon!

But spring is indeed on the way, and one sure sign was opening night last evening of the Pacific chorus frog chorale in the greenbelt/seasonal wetlands behind our house. It was lovely to hear them again! (Do take a look at that link -- lots of great photos and sound effects.)