I had my first CSA pickup yesterday: spinach, baby bok choy, and two different kinds of radishes. My lunch salad was delicious! I am enjoying the idea of eating local food. So far, I have sourced:

Vegetables: my CSA and the local farmer's markets. This is easy in the summer/fall.

Bread: farmer's markets and several stores sell locally baked, whole grain bread

Dairy: Whole Foods sells Vermont milk. I am attempting to find other dairy products that are locally produced; I hear Kickass Cupcakes and Lionette's Market carry a variety of local dairy products. I will check them out sometime this week.

Protein: The above-mentioned Lionette's Market carries a variety of "local," no-chemicals, free-range meat. (By local, most of it seems to come from upstate New York.) Reading the descriptions of how much effort goes into raising, processing, and shipping meat does make me twitch a bit, in the carbon-footprint sense. There is also a farm in Eastern MA that sells at local farmer's markets and such. I am considering switching to this kind of meat; obviously it is considerably more expensive, but that will just reduce the amount of meat I eat... I don't think this is a bad thing. Harvest Co-op sells locally made tofu (in bulk, no less!) and I will probably ask around at the farmer's markets about when/where I can get legumes. Dried beans keep really well and don't need refrigeration, so if I find a source I can pick them up in bulk. Harvest does sell bulk dried beans but I don't know where they come from. I can get eggs at most of the above places, as well.

It is a challenge to eat affordably and local, but not an insurmountable one, I think. It also feels much healthier, since I am more conscious of how much I eat. Hopefully this will keep the weight off without endlessly calorie-counting, which I am thoroughly sick of. As an added plus, I avoid items with excessive plastic packaging. I'm not eating plastic chemicals (mmm, BPA!) or filling the garbage with styrofoam.

Four things I can't get local and I don't plan on abstaining from: rice, coffee, tea, and exotic sauces. I need to have some reliable indulgences.

As far as the rest of life goes, I am feeling flattened and frustrated by work. I have had calls from three temp agencies. I get the sense the job market - at least for thing that I can do - is rebounding a bit.

EDIT: Also, chocolate. Not giving up chocolate!