Thursday, June 30, 2011

A new beginning in Roanoke

April 1, 2011 my husband packed most of his things into his car and drove the 10 hour drive from Rhode Island to Roanoke, Virginia to begin the next phase of our life. The kids and I followed (thankfully he came back up and drove with us) on May 8th - Mother's Day (let's save my feelings about the 12+ hour drive with the 4 of us, our dog and our 3 fish for another time!)

 He was offered a wonderful job here in Roanoke and it has given our family the opportunity to discover yet another beautiful part of the country, and continent.

As our third major move in 6 years (Calgary to Montreal in 2005, Montreal to Rhode Island in 2007, Rhode Island to Roanoke in 2011) we have been lucky enough to see areas I never dreamed I would be able to get to.

It is sure nice to be back in the mountains. I enjoyed the ocean, but I have discovered at the heart of it I am a mountain girl. I have a wonderful view from my house and I am grateful for it every day.

I am also grateful to be living in an area where so much food can be produced. And for so long. Now, I grew up eating vegetables from the garden, but the growing season in Alberta is just so much shorter. We have been discovering all the farmers markets, have bought a quarter of beef that is not only grass fed, but grass finished - and from the same farmer bought a half a pig, our weekly supply of eggs, and last week even got a chicken!

The kids and I have been enjoying adventures in the kitchen for some time now. Especially my daughter Jenna (hence the blog name). But, I think our kitchen adventures have just begun.

Here's a picture of Jenna enjoying the beater after making whipped cream to go on the top of our selection of local peaches, blackberries and raspberries.