today i volunteered at the co-op and had a blast! i worked on receiving the produce order the whole time. i never worked in produce at the madison market, where i was employed for several years in seattle. it was fun to start with something new. i got to take home a bunch of free produce too! i carried home the 25# bag of oats i special ordered in my backpack with some other stuff and then carried another 25# of produce (extra perk of volunteering!) in two plastic bags on my handlebars! i felt really heavy and rode carefully. the staff at the co-op are all really nice folks and they played some fun music during my two hours. this co-op is jam packed, kinda crazy, but doing well with what they've got.

yesterday jana and i went by this butcher shop that just opened not too far from us. we got some beef bones (lots of cartilage) and pork neck for stock. i've got the pork on now and i think i'm going to make a potato/leek/root soup. the meat this shop sells comes from three local farms that provide some of the best quality meat around. i'm going to look into their practices more.