Endgame

Posting will likely be pretty scanty in the next couple weeks, as Watoosa and I get ready for the big cross-country trek to Maine. We leave on Friday. Already, we have much of our stuff packed up, pictures and knickknacks pulled down from the walls, closets cleared out. It definitely feels like we're moving, now.

It hit me a couple weeks ago how much I will miss Santa Barbara. I had no idea I'd come to love it as much as I have. Except for the distance from our families and friends, it's just about a perfect place to live. Oh yeah, there's also the mind-blowingly exorbitant housing prices, too. But luckily we've not had to deal with that.

Last weekend, we had a couple "last time to do X"s. We went to the legendary farmer's market on Saturday morning. That was pretty much a weekly appointment for us. The market has an excellent variety of fruits and vegetables, but it also has other stuff like a New Age healer (i.e., a charlatan who makes you feel better about yourself), several musicians who regularly show up and play for donations (including a really great Django Reinhardt/Stephane Grappelli string band), and the odd political protester. But really it's about the food. We've been able to eat so well here, in large part because everything grows in California. You can get fresh produce year round.

One thing we've gotten into is artisan olive oil. I had always figured oil was oil, but here we've been able to taste just how complex olive oil can be. It's like wine in that it can offer a combination of flavors in a single sip like pepper, citrus, and grass. We're hooked. So we bought one last bottle at the market. Luckily, most producers sell on the internet, now. If you are looking to get some of the good stuff, I recommend Joelle or Olive Hill Farm. Don't muck it up with vinegar, cheese, or herbs. It's good enough to stand alone.

We also made one of our favorite Santa Barbara meals on Saturday. We bought fresh local swordfish, grilled it up, and matched it with fresh greens and fresh bread (dipped in olive oil, of course). It's simple, and it's simply divine.

On Sunday, we went to our parish for the last time: All Saints by-the-Sea. We went there on our first Sunday in town, and we liked it so much we didn't bother to look at other parishes. It's been a great place for us, and we're going to miss it.