Yesterday, while I was at our annual NEMAG (North East Michigan Artists Guild) picnic in Posen, MI - a major challenge was hatched in Alcona County.  Rich's cousin Michael, a culinary adventurer, decided to concoct a 'locavore's challenge' and make dinner with only local foods.  He has friends visiting and if you know Michael, he is the most entertaining, exceptional host along with his wife Meiko.   As a point of reference, Wikipedia states "Those who are interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market, are called "locavores."

Michael and his newly crowned locavores started out in Harrisville at our farm for fresh brown eggs and transparent apples.  He invited Rich and me to dinner explaining his mission to gather only local ingredients for supper and to pick up my bike for a future adventure with his houseguests.  His next stop was Cedarbrook Trout Farm where his friend Dean caught trout and Cedarbrook owner - Cousin Jerry - filleted it.  The locavores picked rubbarb, green beans and potatoes in Jerry's home garden then continued on down the road to the Kennedy/Kutzera farm on Lakeshore drive.  Here Meiko and Paula, Dean's wife, picked more rhubarb and zucchini squash to make a pie and a side dish.  They continued on to Nicholson Road in Spruce and stopped at an Amish farm stand for fresh raspberries.

Armed with local food, Michael and his guests returned to his homestead in Greenbush to survey their prized ingredients.  Needless to say, this had the makings of a spectacular, fresh, healthy meal.

I arrived home and was informed we were invited to dinner at Michael & Meiko's.  There was no mention of the challenge. 

We arrived at the Kahn house to find new and old friends, great food and the most spectacular fresh meal...all in the ground, on a tree, bush or alive just three hours before.  They clued me in on the challenge and shared their adventures of gathering the local ingredients.  Michael should have been an actor...seriously, I wish I had my camera running for the entire dinner.   He is the most passionate about food, art and 'Naming Your Own Price' on Priceline.  A passion we both share.

If you haven't tasted potatoes or green beans fresh out of the ground...run to the nearest farm or farmer's market.   The potatoes were light, sweet and tender - not the dense, gummy, starchy rocks found in the grocery store.  The trout - flavorful, tender and gently broiled with Meiko's special sauce.  The zucchini was sweet, moist, tender and buttery.  I don't even like zucchini!

With wine flowing and the conversation whipping in all directions...the challenge was met.  Did I forget to mention the pie?   Fresh strawberries, rhubarb from two different farms, our transparent apples and a crust that tasted like shortbread. We were offered our choice of fresh whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream or both!

So here's my challenge to you:  Can you eat locally for the rest of the summer or even a week - celebrating the bounty of local food?  Is there a farmer or neighbor you can cozy up to - maybe trade services, products or labor for food?   Or if you have a garden share your food sources and help your community eat locally? 

In our rural neighborhood, people leave fresh picked bounty tied to the doorknob if you're not home!  In my house - that's tonight's dinner.

Read this great article in the N.Y. Times about a locavore's challenge in Virginia: 

Local Food Has Been No Easy Sell in Appalachia

A young friend asked me recently, “How do you know if you have self-esteem…and how do you know if you have enough?” This is a great question. She said it seemed to her that once someone became successful, self-esteem was set. She assumed self-doubt disappeared and successful people regularly set goals and achieved them. No, not at all I told her. It’s never that simple. We are all constantly evolving with self-esteem -successful or not. There is an ebb and flow with our self-esteem as with other human emotions. My friend knew that I had been working on a self-esteem workshop for the “No Boys Allowed” retreat and wanted examples from my own life…something she could sink her teeth into. I told her, “For me, it boils down to a level of self-trust, self-love and self-awareness.” The ebb and flow of these levels changed as I matured, faced obstacles and achieved success. Here are some of the questions that come up for me around self-esteem:

1) Am I willing to put myself out there in continually challenging situations and trust that I can perform, make decisions and not compromise my integrity?

2) Do I prepare myself for these situations so that I can succeed?

3) Do I know what I am capable of…and not? If not, am I willing to learn?

4) Am I able to meet my standard of excellence in this situation?

There have been many situations in my life where I have challenged myself and relied on the experience of past successes to get me though current situations. This is how I track my self-esteem.

About sixteen years ago, I distinctly remember walking to an exterior location where I was about to direct the first scene of a network sitcom that I was producing. The cliché in Hollywood is true - just like everyone else - I wanted to direct. I had been producing for many years…but to challenge myself creatively, I needed something more. I asked for a directing assignment on a show I was producing and got it. This took a high level of self-esteem to ask for this assignment. Any new director is a risk. I knew this because I hired directors. As a producer, I was always behind the scenes quietly performing my job. As a director, I was front and center. I was not sitting behind a desk working on budgets, schedules and the delivery of the show. I still had these responsibilities, but for this particular week I was also the director. The crew, actors and writers were looking to me for creative decisions this time. I could feel some nervousness from a few people. I prepared for this moment over many years, observing other directors, spending more time on the stage and directing and writing scenes in my directing classes. However, the best prep had nothing to do with television. It was taking a survival course from the Sierra Club about three years before. Yes…a mountaineering survival course. Succeeding in this course - pushing against my mental, physical and emotional limits - gave me a sense of what I was capable of overall. I notice that athletes have success in many areas of their life for the same reason. Directing and many other challenges seemed like a piece of cake after this commitment. I bet on myself and won. Knowing that I had the wherewithal to complete this monumental goal fed my self-esteem. I’m not saying it was easy…far from it. Over ten weeks, I methodically learned new skills, new vocabulary, conquered fears (heights, ice axes, bears, avalanches, fatigue) and stretched my body and mind to survive in the wilderness. All I kept saying to myself that first day of directing was, “If I can survive snow camp, I can direct.” Snow camp was our graduation weekend where we were dropped off in the Sierras (14,000 ft.) for three days with temperatures hovering around 18 degrees (remember this is California), carrying fifty pounds of gear. Not only was it frightening…it was exhilarating. My hard work paid off.

The same thing happened with directing. I challenged myself, succeeded and found a new creative outlet. My biggest challenge was staying in the moment and letting things unfold without knowing all the answers in advance. This is creative work… balancing all of the preparation but being present for the magic.

Self-esteem is an ongoing process. Like spiritual work…you are always testing your faith. You build your self-esteem every time you keep your word to yourself. With every boundary you set in relationships. With every intention, goal and plan you carry out - you build self-esteem. The magical thing about high self-esteem is attracting others with equally high self-esteem and having healthy, productive, and mutually satisfying relationships. Relationships in which you champion each other’s accomplishments and celebrate true happiness.

There are great books on self esteem notably Marianne Williamson’s book “A Woman’s Worth and Dr. Nathaniel Branden’s “A Woman’s Self-Esteem”

Andrea Dowding (one of the co-authors of the Women on Fire book and an extraordinary life coach and speaker) and I attended the Grand Traverse Woman’s Exp(o!) on September 19 & 20 at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa overlooking the beautiful Grand Traverse Bay. We are laying the groundwork for a Women on Fire chapter in this area.  We enjoyed our two days of talking with women from all over the state – some of them on girl’s weekends to the Expo as far away as Detroit.  Kandace Chapple and Kelly Winkler, twin sisters who own the Grand Traverse Woman Magazine put on a spectacular event along with Deb Wentworth over the two days.  

 The 140 + exhibitors were Women on Fire.  The 1800 women who attended were also on fire. We were inspired and decided to schedule our first ever tea party in Michigan at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa for October 29, 4-7pm.  So the Traverse City area will carry the torch from Ohio to Michigan!

 The highlight of our experience was the beautiful Sherry White, across the aisle from us who had a stripper pole and was promoting her business Studio S – fun, flirty & fit!  It was by far the most enjoyable scene watching women learn how to work the pole and receive a pink boa and ribbon supporting breast cancer.  Screaming, laughing and cheering woman - egging on their sisters to take a turn on the fireman’s pole then turning to our booth – Woman on Fire – it was a perfect spot for us.

Although the landscape is still mostly green, the leaves up north are teasing us with color, creeping across the tops of the mighty maples and aspens.  With temperatures still mild, I’m hoping for an Indian summer through October so I can continue my road trips and adventures here in northeast Michigan.  I just can’t wrap my brain around winter…especially with zero degree memories of last year!

After ‘busting out of the barn’ with my Artist’s Way group in Alpena, MI from March until June and my volunteer work – Passport to the Arts:  Your town is ARTown, also from March until early September, I have kept busy.  Three hundred books arrived on a wooden pallet at the end of the driveway on May 1! No doubt the crazy, ninja rooster must have kept the delivery guy at a distance.  I say “our” because twenty of us wrote stories for a book by Debbie Phillips called, “Women on Fire:  20 Inspiring Women Share Their Life Secrets (and Save You Years of Struggle!)  I scheduled three author events as part of the Passport Program this past summer and stepped outside my comfort zone with some public speaking and book signings.  More on this later…

I produced and directed an afternoon of Shakespearean readings and Renaissance music at the Alpena Civic Theatre for a special one time only Passport event.   Some veteran actors known for their dramatic acting came out and took part in this wonderful program in full costume with an intermission (food, decorations, and servers in costume) authentic to the period. A lot of work, but well worth it!  It was fun to revisit Shakespeare in small snippets.  The community was very supportive on a beautiful sunny July afternoon. 

I also threw my hat into the ring to direct a play next May at the theatre.   Theatre is alive and well in this area with four regional theatres and many talented actors, directors, writers and crew people.  Hollywood may get you noticed, but small, regional theatres get you working on your craft!  What a treat to work with people who do it for the love of performing! 

Big fish, small pond…this is good.

The Hollywood Producer & The Gentleman Farmer

A progressive black television producer moves to lily-white Republican Northern Michigan to live with her social worker, eccentric, retiree, gentle-man farmer boyfriend. Coincidentally, it just happened to be the last leg of a presidential campaign with the first African-American Democratic nominee.

This is not a synopsis for a television show. This is my life. I fell for a man in rural Michigan – 2600 miles away – and moved for love.

Our long-distance "vacation-ship" had run its’ course. It was time for the real deal. We were on our best behavior in each other’s worlds (cap on toothpaste, no clothes on the floor, whispering sweet greetings in the morning, looking deeply in each other’s eyes) but a city girl on a farm? A rural dude in Los Angeles? Someone had to move if we wanted to go to the next level, and I stepped up to the plate.

Nothing prepared me for this. And it wasn’t the physical move or the geography. 

Oh, and did I mention we had both been single for almost twenty years?

The whole thing happened quickly. I listed my house in Southern California and three weeks later I headed north in my American made vehicle (essential for rural Michigan). I brought what I thought were the must haves (music, books, clothes, jams & jellies, boots and lots of fleece and down). I planned a couple of stops to adjust to the idea that I have uprooted my life for a man. I stopped in Vegas to visit my sister. Distracted with her life – I almost forgot the gravity of my move. I kept telling myself "this is just an extended visit so we can make sure we’re compatible." The committee in my head kept chanting "milk before the cow, milk before the cow." They would not shut up. I’m not some virtuous twenty-something with visions of a happily ever after. I’m a middle-age woman who’s tired of choosing work over a relationship and tired of buying into the notion that I had to be in L.A. to be creative.

I headed for Santa Fe. This is where I started evaluate this crazy and seemingly impulsive decision. Again with the voices, "you’ve leased your house out for six months. You will have to brave a Michigan winter on a farm in the middle of rural America in a town with one stoplight. Have you heard of lake-effect snow?"

I kept coaching myself: this is another adventure, another chapter in my life. We’re middle age and mature…what could possibly happen? .

I did not know that weasels kill for sport.

August must have been their Olympics because the final score was Weasels 50, Farmer Rich 0. This was highly disturbing for me, but gave me a better understanding of the word "weasel". Rich’s death march to the barn every morning was a long slow walk. He jokingly called it Jonestown in the barn after the weasels had one deadly night of twenty kills. The remaining animals were stressed and he was stressed trying to protect them. He became depressed thinking about the impending deaths and was not tolerant of my city girl suggestions. I kept telling him to move them out of the barn, and he, being a man wanted to out-smart the weasels.

Wildlife can be magnificent…coyotes yipping at a full moon, deer grazing on fallen apples, but it can also be like a gang of thieves. The predators all love chicken. Rich live-trapped raccoons, possums, skunks and even a ground hog. A friend recently installed five beehives, which amplified the activity around us. I walk around smelling the flowers, watching the bees, listening to the river running through the creek bed. I hear melodic bird sounds, meander through meadows taking pictures...all without seeing another human being.

Everyone here has a garden. Neighbors and friends bring fruits and veggies when they visit or leave them on your porch when you are not at home. Bonfires on windless summer nights have replaced coffee runs and trips to the bookstore or Cineplex; reading instead of surfing the net (only dial-up here). The movie theatre is thirty miles away and has limited showings especially during the week. There is no midday matinee, a must in L.A. Walking and talking has replaced television, especially in the summer and fall when the sun sets so late. Exploring country roads and spontaneous visits with friends is the norm.

We have deep conversations in the middle of the night.

Cooking on an old Home Comfort stove has replaced my Thai takeout and pizza runs I made in L.A. I was craving this: running a home with my partner and planning our future.

I admit the first six months were challenging and difficult. I had underestimated adjusting to another person after all this time of living alone. I felt unsteady. I didn’t have an immediate place to land if this didn’t work out. My partner is retired. We are together everyday, all day. And we both were used to being totally independent.

We worked through the too much togetherness. He religiously walks three miles every morning. He sometimes invites me or leaves me to sleep. Sometimes I invite myself and share this beautiful gift of nature at sunrise. We know each other’s routines and what buttons not to push. I do miss our e-mails and telephone visits when we lived apart.

Sometimes people stare and smile. Other times they just stare. Being the "only" in a small town feels isolating. I’ve heard the "N" word a few times. The conservative political climate is something new for me coming from L.A. Honestly, I feel like a stranger in a strange land. A black man running for president brought out all kinds of emotions in people here and I heard about it. After John McCain paraded out Sarah Palin at the convention, one Republican neighbor told us, "McCain is crazy, but I’m still not votin’ for no nigger."

Northern Michigan has a thriving artists community. I have found my peeps about thirty miles north of our small town. There’s a great coffee shop with wi-fi, an artist loft and gallery, big box stores, a winding river, and a beautiful bay on Lake Huron. The lake is magnificent; fresh water, sugar sand, unpopulated and ninety miles across. There’s an indoor tennis facility with a USTA league, lots of restaurants and a community of hard working people.

Spring is here but I’ve been warned – don’t put away the down vests or the long underwear just yet! Mother Nature in Northeast Michigan has a way of sneaking in a late spring snowstorm or frost or even a blizzard. I love how the locals revel in telling me how this winter has been the most brutal in decades. That even they are sick of the cold – "but don’t judge us by this winter" they say.

Fast forward. I am eight months into my re-invention. Life is very good on the farm and in Northern Michigan. I have "busted out of the barn" and ventured out into the community.

Ultimately, we were right. We have survived each other’s quirks and stubbornness. Our goals and dreams are very similar. An exterior remodel is underway. I found work that I love. We both care about each other and look forward to a long future together.