I’ve been moved lately to connect with people who think more like me, who prize the same things that I do, and who are, perhaps, unsettled in our current political climate.

Most of this blog will relate to food and its sources, distribution, preservation and preparation. Sometimes there will be news; sometimes recipes; sometimes information about products I have tried and found useful enough to share with you. But I don’t live in a vacuum.

You’re also likely to find my thoughts on knitting, gardening and cycling; on my animal companions; on the seasons and the weather; on books and movies; on politics, social welfare and the economy; on philosophies of living; in short, almost anything that intrigues me may show up here. Sometimes posts will be silly; sometimes somber. Sometimes posts will be calm and soothing; sometimes they will ring with anger.

Ideally, this will be a two-way street, and I welcome your thoughts. Here are the ground rules:

• This is my blog, not yours. I’m inviting you into my mental living room, after all. Be nice, both to me and to other commenters. Mean people suck, and their comments will be deleted immediately.
• Your participation will never be used without your express permission. If you wish your friends to see what you’ve written, feel free to share a link to this blog on Facebook, Twitter or what-have-you. If you’re not already a friend of mine on Facebook, by all means, send me a friend request; ditto on Twitter, where you’ll find me as #thefeastnearby, and on Pinterest, where you’ll find me as r_mather.
• If there’s something you’d like to discuss, by all means contact me (there’s a handy email thingy on the “contact me” page, where you’ll replace my email address with yours). I promise a swift response to your emails — although I don’t guarantee that we’ll discuss your topics here.
•  I hope you’ll sign up to follow me via email. You’ll get posts the moment they publish that way. I’ll never share your email, and I’m not planning to try to sell you things (although advertising may appear on this site in the future). You can opt out at any time.

My aim is to create a friendly and welcoming space, where we can discuss all kinds of things — just as we might if we met for coffee or a glass of wine some sunny afternoon. Pull up a chair, won’t you?