Dear Eau Claire,

I’m afraid we’ve started off on the wrong foot. I’m not sure how this started, but I think it had something to do with you antagonizing me by burying my car under a foot of snow immediately upon my arrival, when I was still living in a hotel without so much as an ice scraper. For my own part, perhaps my constantly comparing you to Tucson–and taunting you with all the ways in which you fell short–didn’t help the situation any.

Seeing as we’re stuck together, I really am trying my hardest to make the best of the situation. I know that you prefer commitment, and my jaunts to Minneapolis are probably not helping my cause. It’s just that the city has things you simply lack–such as decent independent bookstores, cafes that are open late, people that aren’t white, and a little bit of culture.

I realize, however, that you’ve really tried to throw me a bone–or several. Perhaps I am being picky, or maybe it’s just that you don’t know me very well… because everything you give me seems fatally flawed in some way. You brought me local comedy, but the comedians were racist and offensive and not all that funny. You pointed out a cheap movie theater to me, but everything we’ve seen there kind of sucked. You found me a master gardening class, but I’ve been bored to tears trying to stay awake there–not to mention getting ridiculously lost in the parking lot.

Dare I go on? There’s a lovely co-op in town, but I can’t afford to shop there. You found me some lovely places to host workshops, but nobody has signed up for any of them–even with a TV appearance! There is a neat local magazine, but they do not pay their writers. I found a Local Food Summit, but the amazingly cool people I met were all from out of town. I’ve met cool people locally, but none of them seem to have the time or desire to hang out with me. You showed me a jiu jitsu gym, but I feel pretty out of place there–and there’s no other girls.

There’s more. I went to an acidified foods workshop, only to learn it was lacto-fermentation I was looking for. You found me an affordable apartment, but the dishwasher doesn’t really work, and I’m really missing basic needs like fresh air and sunshine. You found me a bank near my house, but the manager thought it was okay to simply cross out the incorrect account number on my checks and handwrite the correct one, because she thought I wasn’t going to use them. You’ve provided activities, but they aren’t really my style. I mean, barstool racing? Seriously?

As much as I like to think of myself as a locavore, it is not lost on me that all of my income is coming from places like New York and California, where my writing is appreciated. You’ve even found me some places to apply for work, but all prospects have fizzled and died, making it difficult not to spiral into depression.

I will admit that you’ve done a good job providing food. Grassfed beef at $5.50/lb. is pretty dang impressive, and I’ve found all sorts of rare commodities like chicken feet and celeriac and venison and rutabaga. A tiny indoor farmer’s market once a month is challenging when I’m used to a huge one weekly, but it’s something. And though I have to get my real milk through a dealer and don’t know where it’s coming from, the raw milk in this here dairy state is pretty amazing. And the beer… no complaints there.

Eau Claire, I will try to give you another shot. I will try not to burst in tears at the lack of an all-night diner like I did at Infinitea when they told me they were closing and gave me my puer in a to-go cup. I will attempt not to sulk endlessly and refuse to leave my house. I will try not to bring up your disappointing lack of Perfect Food Bars. I won’t tell you that I’m going to the co-op in Menomonie, or getting acupuncture in Minnesota, or ordering Shea Moisture soap online. After all,  I can’t expect you to provide everything I need in our relationship, and with your permission, I can respectfully get unmet needs fulfilled elsewhere.

With spring, you are bringing me a bit of hope. A new cafe is opening which is promising to have late-night hours. I long for nights spent typing away until employees turn off the lights and give me dirty looks as I quickly gather my belongings. With the warmer weather, I’ll actually be able to hang out in my garden plot and play in the dirt and sunshine. I’m even going to hang out at a CSA! There is a maple taping workshop this very weekend and I love that the sap is rising in the trees. And I’m aware that I want things like all-night diners simply because I’ve gotten used to them–not because they are necessary. In fact, all of my goals are attainable from within your (tiny) walls… from freelance writing for publications far far away, to improving my jiu jitsu game (which is nothing to write home about), to learning where my food comes from and even growing my own. You even have workshops with experts I can learn from–Radiant Living Ayurveda and Yoga, and the Beaver Creek Preserve, not to mention both a jiu jitsu gym and a box gym which actually has decent equipment. Even the chain bookstore has most of what I need.

Eau Claire, my lease runs out next winter. That gives you the spring, summer and fall to remind me why I wanted to leave Tucson. Something about trees and water and seasons. It gives you time to show me that you can, in fact, offer me something that isn’t fatally flawed. It gives you time to prove to me that Midwestern friendliness is ever-present, and supercedes the dozens of people I’ve attempted to reach out to that simply don’t call or e-mail me back. It gives you time to show me that you don’t really have something against me simply because I didn’t grow up here, and that people in town will still associate with me even though I didn’t attend their middle school. It gives you months–months–to try to win me back so that I don’t run away to somewhere closer to St. Paul. The ball’s in your court, Eau Claire. Whatcha got?

Sincerely,

Yael Grauer

Those of you who know me are aware of my obsession with interest in martial arts. The advent of things like facebook and twitter has made it increasingly difficult for me to compartmentalize my life into different categories. Which reminds me of some lines from a Diane DiPrima poem:

“there is no part of yourself you can separate out
saying, this is memory, this is sensation
this is the work I care about, this is how I
make a living

it is whole, it is a whole, it always was whole
you do not “make” it so
there is nothing to integrate, you are a presence
you are an appendage of the work, the work stems from
hangs from the heaven you create”

Trying to compartmentalize my interests is almost impossible, because they are special and three-dimensional and don’t fit into neat little boxes. I figure I will either impress people with my versatility, or alienate just about everyone. Or both!

But really I just wanted to post links to my Food Fight columns on a mixed martial arts site–an interesting amalgamation of my interest in food and healing with my martial arts obsession interest.

Here are links to the first two columns.

Chicken Feet

Homemade Chocolate

Enjoy!

This post is part of an herbal blog party hosted by Karen at Acupuncture Brooklyn.

Tucson winters are very mild, so I haven’t really had to spend much energy emerging from them in the past seven years. This in contrast to Wisconsin winters that seem to never end. However, one of my farmers told me a week ago that the horned larks have returned to their prairie haunts, which is one of the first harbingers of spring. I guess it is coming after all! Some say that six weeks after the horned larks return, the winter weather will break. It wouldn’t be a week too soon. And though I do not yet know when the sap normally rises in the trees, I’m definitely keeping an eye out.

Winter runs pretty late in Wisconsin. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. A farmer I met told me that it used to warm up in April, but for the past couple of years, it then freezes again and doesn’t really warm up until May. Having a real winter–the kind where you’re chilled to the bone–is still a bit of a foreign concept to me after spending so much time living in a bioregion where you can garden year round. And the thought of false warm spurts makes me a bit nervous. So the herbs I choose to use at this time of year are not so much liver cleansing ones, but adaptogens. I will also continue cooking with great root vegetables like burdock which are also very healing, while slowly adding more raw salads, fruit and chicken into my diet and eating less beef and warming, starchy soups.

My top three adaptogens for this time are as follows.

• Tulsi, or Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum)

This is very different from basil used in pesto (Ocimum basilicum), and is revered in India for its many healing properties. Tulsi is a great adaptogen, acting as an immunomodulator and reducing the intensity of stress. It is also rich in antioxidants. But none of this information does the magical plant justice. It just takes the edge off a frantic mindest. Sitting down to a cup of tulsi tea reminds me that everything’s going to be okay.

• Maca (Lepidium meyenii)

Maca root is an awesome adaptogen, rebuilding a weak immune system and helping nourish the body. It does increase energy and stamina, but not in a destabilizing way like rhodiola. I find maca particularly grounding when I’m feeling spacey. The powdered root can be blended into a smoothie.

• Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera)

I like this plant in very small doses–just a bit of powder in some milk is enough for me. It is strengthening, but also calming, and very useful for countering fatigue that often accompanies the restlessness that comes with the turn of the seasons from winter to spring. (I also use homeopathic cocculus for the same reason).

Other than adaptogens, most herbs that I use at this time are for staving off colds brought on by the changing of the seasons. Vitamin C (in the form of powdered mineral ascorbates) is always useful, and I usually buy unsweetened packets of emergen-C, adding my own honey to the mix. But goji berries are also high in vitamin C, as is Draksha, an Ayurvedic medicinal wine. Draksha helps strengthen the digestive system and gently detoxify the intestines while improving digestive fire. Amla is also a great rasayana (jam) high in vitamin C, and it helps with immunity and balancing the body’s equilibrium.

There are numerous homeopathic remedies for colds., but ferrum phos is one of my go-to ones because it is indicated for the first stage of any inflammatory process. I like using the tissue salts in a 6x potency.

Nasal irrigation is always helpful for colds, but I’ve only had bad experiences with a neti pot and stick to a Nasaline syringe, which makes it easy to control the pressure of the warm salt water. I’ve posted a video for reference.

What do you do to emerge from winter and transition into spring? Feel free to share in the comments.

This about wraps up the series on sleep, though I did want to answer a final question. A reader asks, “Should I eat any carbs or protein at night? Can I eat before bedtime at all?”

This is a kind of a complicated question. If you eat a lot of food, it increases insulin, which can block growth hormone surges. This increases body metabolism, which can make it hard to sleep. Too much protein too close to bedtime can also raise heat production.On the other hand, if your diet is mostly low in carbs and high in protein, a bit of starchy carbs or even a piece of fruit at night can be extremely helpful for pushing tryptophan consumed during the day across the blood-brain barrier, inducing a good state for sleep by making some nice serotonin. Allowing a few hours between your last meal and bedtime is a good rule of thumb… but again, your mileage may vary. But it’s something to experiment with!

This wraps up our blog series on sleep! If you are interested in exploring this further, I am offering an e-course where we’ll make sleepytime tea! Various herbs will be mailed to you, labeled only by number. Then, we’ll experience the herbs together–smelling and tasting them, and then figuring out who they are during a teleseminar on Sunday, March 14th at 2:00pm CST. (The recording will be made available if the date or time doesn’t work.) You’ll also get information on the plants sent directly to your inbox. Check out the e-course page for details.

I wish you sweet dreams and many long nights of restful, replenishing sleep.