Potato Time

Yesterday the girls and I left the house for our Thursday errands, which were pretty light. Pick up some supplements from Hubby's naturopath, pick up my Azure order, return a book to Costco that had a little too much nude sunbathing/topless women in the first two chapters, and use some Costco coupons to stock up on soap and q-tips... and chocolate chips. (please forgive me, Lord, I know they're from Nestle, which is an evil company, but there was a $2 off coupon and we are totally out and I didn't want to make an extra stop.) I'd let our new neighbor gal know I was going into town (she's got a 15-mo-old toddler and another due in Dec.) and did she need anything at Costco? I added her toilet paper order to my list and set out. Before getting to Costco, she called to let me know her plans and ask if I wanted to join.

What plans?

Oh, nothing but gleaning organic potatoes in a field south of Town -- for free.

Um, gee, what do you think I said?

Oh, I don't have any buckets on hand? Or proper footwear? Or gloves? Or coats for the children? [insert dismissive wave and headshake here] "We'll be there!"

We were there considerably earlier than she, even adding in another stop in town, so we waited. Apparently she used to know the farmer some time ago, and happened to call and ask about doing this yesterday. Harvest started yesterday, in fact, so we were in good time.

I am thankful there was no camera available to capture me in all my glory; fine wool coat, handkerchief on my head, and 20+ lbs of dirty organic russets held in my skirt. The seams held, the zipper held, and I remained dressed for the entire outing. I'm not sure how much we came home with, but I gleaned for 2 hours at least. After dragging (yes, dragging) a full 18-gallon rubbermaid-tote-but-cheaper type thing 3/4 the way across the field, I knew there had to be a better way. Maybe even one that would keep the tractor/harvester drivers from snickering. Eventually I decided the biggest and best were to be had on the other side of the field, so drove around and parked on that side. I filled another half tote full there, before driving home in exhaustion. Happy exhaustion. In all, we have 2 totes very full, and 1 1/2 small boxes full. Oh, and because of the blustery day, I also have 10 fingernails full of dirt. And 2 shoes, 2 socks, 2 ears, and 2 nostrils full. And more between my toes. And teeth. He didn't charge us a dime for the potatoes (though if he knew how much certified organic dirt I brought home, he might've charged for that), and now we'll need to sort out the cut/broken ones for quick use, and figure out how to keep organic spuds from sprouting (hahaha).

Thankfully there was a frozen lasagna to serve my wimpy self last night, so I didn't have to start washing/sorting/peeling/slicing/dicing/shredding/baking/boiling/frying just to eat dinner. After 2 hours of bending and lifting, we would have gone to bed quite hungry. :)

Praise the Lord for such wonderful provision!