Independence Days- Y2, W 26

Another week gone by. Another month gone by. And now it's November! Where has the year gone?! It seems like I never have enough time to accomplish the things I want to do. I know this is a common complaint, I've got no lock on this one but it's frustrating at times.

I'm just coming off a 3 day weekend but I'm feeling like I didn't get anything done. Now, I know this isn't true. Friday was a wonderful time to recharge and spend time with my parents. Saturday was spent in the kitchen, baking and cooking. Sunday...I'm not sure what happened to Sunday. We went to church and I made lunch and did some laundry and did some shopping and made dinner and did dishes but other than that... I'm not sure....

Today was tiring. I was back at work. It was an odd day- nothing went as planned. And I had a student start with me. She's here for the week and she is very motivated so she asked LOTS of questions. All of which combined to just wear me out. So tonight after I got home and got dinner started to the point where it could be left for a bit. I went out for a walk to get some fresh air and unwind a bit. The sun was setting and the moon was rising HUGE and orange. I wish I'd had my camera with me. It was beautiful- and just what I needed at the time.

But on to my usual Monday business. My Independence Days update....

1. Plant something- Nope, and not likely to change for a while.

2. Harvest something- Nothing here either.

3. Preserve something- um, no to this one as well.

4. Waste not- The usual- recycled, composted, repurposed. The kids created Halloween costumes from what we had around the house, nothing new here. V used planks from the dismantled deck to build another, larger bridge over one of the creeks. I helped him get it set in place yesterday afternoon- Oh, that's something else I did on Sunday- that accounts for the time in the afternoon where I didn't get anything done- I guess I did do something.

5. Want not- Stocked up on potatoes as the grocery store was having a great sale. 25 lbs into storage although we'll probably use 10 lbs of those for Thanksgiving since we are to provide the mashed potatoes (for 15!) I also picked up some pasta that was a good deal and will keep in storage. Put 2 loaves of pumpkin bread into the freezer for later. I'm really glad I checked my squash since 2 were going bad already. I tried to get as many pears as I could into the fridge to see if we can keep them for a while. The ones that wouldn't fit we're trying to eat fresh. I plan to share some with my friend Jim.

6. Community food systems- stopped at the local cheese factory on my way home Friday. Baked bread that will be used when we help serve at the Free Lunch Program here in town the Friday after Thanksgiving. There was a collection of bread on Sunday that will be frozen and used for the lunch. Anything not used for lunch will be donated to the food bank or the homeless shelter. Got pears from my parents that I will share. I'll can some if I have to but I'd rather eat them fresh.

7. Eat the food-

Mmm, buttercup squash soup.

Made not only pumpkin bread from my squash but also made soup on Sunday for lunch. I didn't really have a recipe but it was tasty. I sauteed onions and garlic until translucent, added chicken stock, squash puree, some thyme, salt, pepper and a little hot sauce (Scorned Woman sauce that J15 brought me as a gift from New Orleans this summer- I Love the name!). Even V thought it was good, which is amazing since he isn't usually fond of creamy soups.

Not bad for the last week of October.