Keep it real.

I'm just popping in to spout off about my latest peeve. I know you'd much rather hear about all the fun fall things that are happening around here, and I will get to that. But first.

I was at Costco today, and there are a couple of things that I get there every.single.time. One of those absolute essentials is my Jif Creamy Peanut Butter. (Yes, it's creamy, I'm a little ashamed to say. It used to be extra-crunchy, and then I had toddlers and all of a sudden extra-crunchy seemed to scream "choking-hazard". Yep, those little tiny nuts hit the worst-case-scenario radar. In my defense, I was likely pregnant at the time, and I think it is safe to blame the hormones on that decision. Anyway, now the kids are hard-core creamy enthusiasts and there is nothing I can do about it at this point.)

Anyway, there in the peanut butter aisle, where the Jif creamy and Jif extra-crunchy has been residing for years and years, dating back to my very first Costco card (a deciding factor in investing in my first card), there in that spot sat some kind of "organic" peanut butter and for those of us with scruples, was the "natural" option. Let it be known that I am neither a believer in the natural or in the organic. Sure, I will relish the tomato my husband nurtured in our own kinder-garden, and I am on the waiting list for a zucchini from Chef Dave's. I love raspberries from the Kimmell farm or over the hill at the Belles' backyard. I can hardly bear to miss a Saturday at the Farmers' Market after harvest, and I get estatic about a steelhead fetched fresh out of the Clearwater. But don't factory-wrap my organic from some strangers' backyard ghetto and call it natural. No no no. I am not impressed. I am a slave to great marketing and I am a choosy mom. And choosy moms choose JIF. If Jif starts putting "Natural" or "Organic" on the label, I will stop buying it. Until then, I expect to see stacks and stacks of that red-lidded plastic jar the next time I go to Costco.

There is a strongly-worded hand-written note in the works for corporate. This is America! And more importantly, Idaho! If we wanted organic, we'd kill it ourselves.