Got beef?

We got beef. 1/4 beef, actually. 110 lbs. I figure there's enough beef in my freezer to last me for the next year: 25 pounds of hamburger, a dozen or more packages of t-bone steaks, a couple pot roasts, a dozen or more packages of sirloin steaks, some stew meat, and some rib steaks. YUM! all locally grown. After it was butchered and processed it averaged out to $2.96 lb. I can't even buy decent hamburger for that at the store anymore, and even better, it's locally raised. I'm trying to eat more "local" foods and less processed, prepackaged foods from outside the Pacific Northwest. Next year I even intend to grow a garden! It'll be nice to make some use of the greenhouse that's been sitting in our side yard for the last ten years; other than as a storage shed for the patio furniture! It feels good to have a freezer full of meat for the next year, supplement with some "grown in Washington" chicken, and maybe a few fish out of the local river, and we're good to go! (More on that fishing thing later!)

I'm off to Portland today to attend the Women of Faith Conference, and I am so excited about going; partly because I love the conference, partly because I love getting out of town, and partly because I enjoy getting to spend time with my girlfriends! I'm especially touched by the fact that my son is coming home from work for lunch, just so he can get a chance to tell me goodbye before I leave.