A $24 chicken (a local economy love story)

I bought a $24 chicken.  Wow, that’s a lot of money, you say? Why yes, yes it is. When I was a struggling single mom, I would wait patiently for whole chickens to go on sale and get marked with dollars-off coupons.  A whole chicken could easily make 3-4 meals since I made soup stock and gravy with the bones and bits.  Although I’m more financially stable today, that thriftiness holds true and I still stop by the marked down veggie cart at the supermarket on a regular basis. So why on earth would I pay $24 for a chicken?

The long and the short of it is this: I want to support my local farmers and my local economy. And I am lucky enough to be in a position that I can.

This chicken comes from a local NH farm that employs NH workers. It also sells farm goods to NH restaurants and NH markets. When I hear about how we need to boost the economy by spending, I want my boost to the economy to count in my community. I want my hard-earned dollars to help employ my neighbors and support things I believe in, like local organic foods.  

I believe that voting with your dollars is just as powerful as voting in the voting booth (which I have at every possible election since I turned 18).  I’ve never thought of it as “I’m only one person what difference can I make?” I’ve always thought “What if one day, everyone did it at once?”  

Geeking out: a common human thread?

After years of want, I finally took my Hunter Education course this past weekend. Despite breaking a whole host of stereotypes and starting with zero knowledge about hunting, I had a great time. I used it as a “You don’t know what you don’t know” experience. Now, I have tons of jumping off points in my quest to learn how to hunt.

Some of our instructors were fabulous. And as I listened to them talk, I realized that I felt like I’d met them somewhere else before; their behavior, their mannerisms seemed so familiar.

And then it hit me. They are hunting geeks.

In fandom, I hear stories of dividers and walls and who’s not geek enough. Luckily, I am either too oblivious or too naïve to see most, if any, of it. In my experience, people have been willing to share their knowledge, love and appreciation of the thing that inspires them to geek out.

Some joke that it’s because I’m a cute girl. But I think if you’re good-natured, open and genuinely curious, people will share what they love and you’ll be even richer for the experience. 

A Sunday morning with NH Media Makers

It's no secret, unless I'm out in the garden, I like to sleep in on Sunday mornings. This week I shook up the routine a bit, when Beau Ouelette, founder of WreelLife, asked my husband and I to go my first NH Media Makers event out in Newmarket, NH. 

Held monthly at Crackskulls Coffee & Books, the meetup brought together 20 or so folks ready to talk about their current projects. With 2 minutes dedicated to each person round robin, the energy was amazing. 

So often I hear from folks that there's nothing going on in NH and I always retort that there are tons of projects running just beneath the mainstream surface. Once you become involved in one project, the doors open to really cool people, ideas and happenings occurring right here in, yes, you guessed it, NH. 

So folks, get involved! Need ideas? Give me a shout out.