You are berry cute

John and I discovered this awesome farm stand business out here in Portland. I noticed a stand right across the street from Costco last week. I wouldn't have given it a second thought, except there was a huge sign that said "paying for college the 'berry' way". I'm all about helping people pay for education and other good causes like that, so I had to check it out. Plus the guy behind the table at the stand looked to be about 50, so I was wondering why he was having to pay for college at all.

I got out of the car and checked it out. The guy first told me the prices, which just blew me away at how cheap it was. I'm not sure about the exact sizes, but they were only $3 for a small carton of strawberries, and $3.50 for blueberries, strawberries or raspberries. At the grocery store out here they are $4 for half that size. Plus, if you buy a half flat, it's only $18, and you get a variety of 6 cartons. Also, they let you sample the fruit before you buy it. I first bought a half flat with a mix of all the berries. I just have to say that I am so impressed by this business. All the fruit was at the peak of ripeness, un damaged, clean, and sweet and delicious. Since they were so ripe, we had tons of berries for every meal for a few days.

The best part, I feel, is that all this is to help out college students with tuition and books. I found out that the man wasn't trying to pay for college himself, he was just helping out. But every summer, this business hires 20 college students as employees. The produce comes from small local farms who don't use any pesticides. I got some more yesterday, but this time I didn't get quiet so much. Although we have food stamps, I think this is going to be my religious berry supplier from now on.

The picture below is of two strawberries: one is from Albertsons, and the other is from the farm stand. Can ya tell which is which? The one on the left is from the farm stand. It's red all the way through and completely sweet. The one on the right is mostly white, and more tart.

Here's Daphne enjoying some of the strawberries at lunch today.

In other news, I am proud to announce a small addition to our family, my second child, mouse. Just kidding. Actually, Daphne has this mouse that I got her at Ikea. She grabbed it when we were shopping there and bonded instantly. Everything Daphne does, the mouse has to do too. I just feel like it's second child sometimes because when I take Daphne potty, we have to take the mouse potty, which even includes wiping with a small sheet of toilet paper. We brush her teeth when Daphne does, give it something to drink we Daphne drinks, put it to sleep with Daphne, and set it at the table with Daphne. In this picture you'll notice the mouse sitting in the chair on the right eating breakfast with Daphne.

Also, I got an elliptical machine. Daphne always has to take her turn on it. This includes her sitting on one of the foot steps and then pushing the other foot step making her move around in circles. It's pretty funny. All things considered, I really enjoy my new elliptical.... a lot.