Oregon

In 2015, Spoiled Rotten Vinegar and The Potager Cottage Project proved to be tremendous catalysts for change. Looking back I can see that many wheels had been in motion. Cherie and I had been looking for dual zoned real estate and farm opportunities in the northern California. We had been looking to grow both of our passions "under one roof". As a cottage food operator being recognized and invited to participate in the Good Food Awards ceremonies we would see just how our limited permits and location really affected our chances for growth.

In February Cherie and I learned of some property for sale in Junction City, Oregon. We moved in March. Our home of four, batches of fermenting vinegar, the girls (our chickens) and all. I want to open a flood gate of all the upset and effort a spontaneous and large move can generate in order to impress a sense of chaos upon you as the reader, but it will have to come piecemeal. There really is no time. It is now September, six months into our journey and we are, in a sense, still moving.

In gaining this amazing opportunity we have inherited loss in many ways. From uprooting a budding business and (sub)urban farm project to saying goodbye to our home state and all of our family and the sudden passing of a dear friend, Liz. This friend was the person responsible for opening the door and lighting the fires of this change. We had accepted there would be setbacks and loss, and life is still deciding on the frequency and severity. Sounds like a journey.

As for Spoiled Rotten Vinegar, that story will be told here as I find out myself. Sure there is a plan and goal, but there are those twists & turns that will add strain and yet, character to the project. At the time of the Good Food Awards I couldn't produce enough vinegar to meet supplier's demands and now I am starting over. So much has and will change. Ironic that most of what I practice is to nurture change and yet I have the hardest time with it myself.

Future home of Spoiled Rotten Vinegar.