Man, I am counting the days until the apple vendor I discovered a couple of years ago comes back to farmers market. (They are only there from August to November). Their apples ruin you for anything else. Every week they have 8-10 varieties that you've never heard of, and then those change week to week. They are really good at steering you to what you might like. To no one's surprise I'm sure, I am a tart person. If you are lucky, something you discover you like sticks around for a couple of weeks. Now that I know what I like best from them (Wickson, King David, Sierra Beauty, Gold Rush, Pink Pearl, Belle de Boskoop...), I will be stocking up the week they arrive. One of the other vendors has Braeburns and I'll get those if I have to.

Re: Matilda. Do not underestimate the impact losing JZ might be having on this decision. I was absolutely crushed when my dad retired and moved shortly after my mom died. Even though we had only moved there a few years before, I had felt so connected to her in that space. And, with her gone, I did not really want to be that far from my dad. NYU was the closest place I could get the degree I wanted.

ETA:

I had all of the loneliness but none of the privacy or freedom that normally comes with that.

That said, this sucks.

Checking in from Earthquake-ville! I'm fine, it was mildly startling but not at all scary. I thought it was a sonic boom from MCAS Miramar (only about 5 miles from me) at first from the way the windows were shaking - but it just kept going, which Miramar's noisy shenanigans don't do. I thought briefly about getting up from my desk, which is positioned close, some would say perilously close, to a tall bookshelf and a china cabinet. But I was still considering the idea when it was all over.

Ha! I, also, wondered if it was the nearby military base at first. Then it was definitely 'quake feel. 5.2 in Julian shaking those apple trees.

Re: Matilda. Do not underestimate the impact losing JZ might be having on this decision. I was absolutely crushed when my dad retired and moved shortly after my mom died. Even though we had only moved there a few years before, I had felt so connected to her in that space. And, with her gone, I did not really want to be that far from my dad. NYU was the closest place I could get the degree I wanted.

I wonder if that is a big part.

I had all of the loneliness but none of the privacy or freedom that normally comes with that.

That said, this sucks.

Is maybe the conversation about respecting some privacy? Because you definitely should have that even from your child.

I had no money and very little drive (and what I now believe was a co-dependent relationship with my mother), so I went to community college and stayed at home. And I didn't finish my BS until I could do it on my company's Employee Scholar Program. Though in a way, that worked for me as well. I was so directionless in my 20s that I screwed around and failed the occasional class and scraped out a B-ish average for my AA. By the time I got my AS & BS, I had better direction and discipline and was on the Dean's list for my AS & Summa Cum Laude for my BS.

Whenever I customize my CSA box, I always try to get any interestingly-named apples. I think apples must be one of the few produce items that would see a better variety in Washington than Southern California, because I've never heard of several of those. I've always been a fan of fujis, though less so lately. I'm glad to find I'm not the only one who thinks they've fallen off a bit lately - though disappointed that they've fallen off a bit lately.

Megan that vendor sounds amazing! One friend was like “why aren’t we doing this in the fall?” And I said we could definitely do it again this fall with more/different varieties. We do usually get good ones here in Washington. The thing that startled me when I moved here was the variety of cherries! I guess I figured the options were red, tart, and maybe I’d seen Rainer by then?

The thing that startled me when I moved here was the variety of cherries! I guess I figured the options were red, tart, and maybe I’d seen Rainer by then?

My local farmers market (Civic Center, as opposed to the very pricey Ferry Building where the apples are) had a vendor that, if you were in the know, sold sour cherries, which I love. But they stopped coming at some point. So sad. Almost as tragic as when the berry lady stopped selling secret black raspberries because they plowed up the field where they were growing wild.

For people that are close to Sonoma or might one day find themselves in Sebastopol (home of the Gravenstein), the orchard is Devoto. You can see their many varieties here: [link]

Holy Cow! Who even knew that so many varieties of apple exist?! Is it weird that I want to come to Sebastopol to tour the orchards?

Holy Cow! Who even knew that so many varieties of apple exist?!

This is why I keep a list of what I like. I've tried so many at this point and they all get jumbled together in my brain.

Is it weird that I want to come to Sebastopol to tour the orchards?

If you can, go during the Gravenstein Apple Fair (August?). Amazing.

when the berry lady stopped selling secret black raspberries

Black raspberries (which I always defensively tell people are not the same as blackberries) are my favorite. And they make my favorite jam, which I hoard when I find it.

I assume there's a thriving subreddit for apples, since there's subreddits for people who are obsessed with anything and everything. (This comment brought to you by my discovery of the sparkling water subreddit, which Google offered up when I was looking for information on the new fizzy water I bought yesterday [lime/ginger Nixie]. The people in that subreddit are bonkers for sparkling water. But in a good way.) (When I say stuff like that, I try to remember I'm posting on a board that started because we all watched the same TV back in the day, so: respect for people's obsessions.)

Black raspberries (which I always defensively tell people are not the same as blackberries) are my favorite.

I'm honestly surprised that someone at the Ferry Building doesn't sell them, but you don't really see them here at all. I think they're more common in Oregon and I found some in Montana when I was going cross-country. I wish I had known about the secret stuff at my market sooner, but you have to really become a regular first.