It’s Local, It’s Fresh!
As summer heats up, many will flock to farmers’ markets for fresh, locally grown foods. The Peoria Farmers Market at Metro Centre is open from 8am to 2pm, Monday through Saturday, May through October. The market features fresh produce, flowers, pasta and more. For more info, visit peoriafarmersmarket.com or call 692-6690. Every Saturday morning from 8am to noon, June through September, the Peoria RiverFront Market thrives with a selection of fresh produce, meats, cheeses, breads, herbs, flowers, arts and crafts. Support locally grown products while enjoying entertainment from area musicians and arts programs coordinated by the Peoria Riverfront Association. For more info, visit peoriariverfront.com.
Psychological Immunity
A study performed at the University of British Colombia suggests that merely looking at sick people can send one’s immune system into overdrive and help fight disease-causing microbes more aggressively. The study showed that participants’ levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a substance secreted by white blood cells to stimulate the immune system, increased by 23 percent after viewing a 10-minute slide show of obviously ill individuals. It appears that simply looking at sick people can help prevent you from getting sick yourself.
Courteous Calling
If your job description involves making numerous calls each day, your bottom line could benefit from something as simple as a smile. While the people you’re speaking with won’t be able to see your expression, business expert and author Ann Marie Sabath says, “A positive attitude can be conveyed by your intonation, and customers will respond to that in kind.” It’s also wise to ask those you call if they have time to take your call before diving into your pitch. This simple question will tell those you’re calling that you are courteous and respect their time, which can result in more sales.
My Faves…
Meghan Grebner has served as the agri-business director for WMBD and WIRL since 2007. Last year, she was named the 2009 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Horizon Award winner. In her spare time, she can be found volunteering, traveling, watching livestock shows, antiquing, reading or hanging with her dog, Dug.
Activity: Traveling all over central Illinois with our Spring Planting Tour, County Fair Tour and Harvest Tour. All of that travel time along highways and country roads allows me to look at the fields and see the progression of the crops as the year passes.
TV show: House. He’s the yin to my yang. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I make it a point to watch House every week.
Quote: “No one said life would be easy. They just promised it would be worth it.” Those are words a wise woman once said to remind me that sometimes there is more to the journey than just the destination.
Local restaurant: Khaki Jacks. I love the atmosphere.
The food is wonderful and the people that work there are great, too. It is a Peoria staple!
Song: “Question” by the Old 97’s is a song that brings out the hopeless romantic in me and puts a smile on my face no matter what my mood.
An Old Farmer’s Advice
- Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
- Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.
- Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
- A bumblebee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
- Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.
- Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
- Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
- Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
- It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
- You cannot unsay a cruel word.
- Every path has a few puddles.
- When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
- The best sermons are lived, not preached.
- Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
- Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
- Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
- Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
- Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.
- Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
- If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
- Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
- Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
- Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
- Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
- Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
Reprinted from the January 2010 issue of The Farmer, a monthly publication of the Peoria County Farm Bureau.
