Today was such an awesome experience. First, the farmer’s market. Wow, it was so huge! I had expected maybe fifteen vendors only selling vegetables. Nope! There were hundreds of vendors down multiple streets selling anything you could think of! It was such a blast. I bought goat cheese, stinging nettles, fudge, and some cards to send to my parents and boyfriend. I really liked the atmosphere of the farmers market. However, when Hedley and I asked one man about his blueberries, he admitted that they were not in fact local but from Georgia. Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of a farmer’s market? My least favorite aspect was how rushed all the vendors seemed. None of them seemed like they really had time to talk to us so I did not get to ask very many questions. The woman that I bought the nettles from, however, was very helpful. She told me how to get the stinging properties out of them, what recipes she liked, and how to find recipes online. I do think that farmers markets are a great thing for people who want to eat locally. However, it can be difficult for those who are not financially well off because it was not very accessible. I assume that Des Moines is not close to everyone and that it would be expensive and time consuming for the average person to go there often. Further, why go there if a lot of the food, like the blueberries, isn’t even local? I think it’s a great idea, but it has some kinks that need to be worked out. I think there should be more to make it more accessible, and it should be stricter so that only locally made/grown products can be sold.

The Living History Farm was so much fun! I definitely enjoyed that experience. I especially liked the 1750s Indian time period (hence the name of this post: “Aha” means hello from a woman). It really put things into perspective that the past was not as great a place to live as I like to think. It actually seemed really hard and inconvenient. My favorite part was definitely the piglets. They were so precious! I worry about the runt, though. I hope he makes it…

Like the cherry on top of a sundae, I even got to ride this evening with Jocelyn and Sydney. And I get to sleep in in the morning! I am in such a good mood.