All good things.....

All good things must come to an end....yes, but they must also begin. This began 20 something years ago in San Jacinto, California in my Nana and Papa's garden. I took a small seed and planted a beet. When the beet was harvested, I ate the beet. When the beet was tasted, I found out . . . that I don't like beets. Fast forward through rhubarb in Montana, and tomatoes in Georgia and I find myself in a "thicket" of raspberries in Utah.

When Tyler and I married we moved to Utah and lived with his parents for nearly a year. It was a fantastic year, and seriously, I have no living-with-the-in-laws horror stories. All of my memories of that year rest in their garden and kitchen. Now back to the "thicket." My Mother-in-Law, Kathy, had the absolute best raspberries and they grew like crazy! It is no exaggeration when I say that I would pick 5 cups of raspberries a day. That's what got me in the kitchen. I had to do something with the raspberries, so I baked pies. Come to think of it, I am not sure that I ever asked if she had plans for her raspberries. Ooops!

From Kathy, I learned how to recognize herbs and leaves of certain vegetables and when my new brood of nieces and nephews would come over we would most always end up in the garden. I loved this. These times gave me one on one bonding with them. They would ask questions about the plants and, depending on the month, we would sneak a snack of raspberries, tomatoes, or peas. I loved watching them romp around in the garden. That was the beginning of "Farmer Aunt Laura."