Daily Affirmations - the Struggle is Real!

 This past week and weekend I had the opportunity to ....stay home some more!!!  Of Course!  The weather was crappy and our school was closed again - I work at home when that happens, using all sorts of technology that may or may not work correctly where I live, or when the weather is terrible! On the weekends and after hours, my time is mine and there is so much to do and so little time!!  I was feeling a bit "frenetic" as I call it and I knew I was headed for a meltdown if I didn't get my poop in a group so to speak!

This is what it looks like at the farm right now - yes that is snow and what you cant see in the picture is that it is raining! On top of the snow!  Then it snows some more!  Then it rains again!  So Frustrating!

So I got out my "Gifts of the Goddess" cards and decided I should pull a card for inspiration for the day.  I already had at least four lists on my desks and just couldnt get to a space where I could settle down and get some of the things crossed off of them.  These are daily affirmation type cards by Amy Zerner and Monte Farber.

As I pulled a card and looked at it, I kept feeling like I needed to pull another.  Not sure if I just wasn't in the zone at the time or maybe I wasn't listening the way I needed to about what card I needed, or that I just couldn't settle down and relax into the vibe,  but I ended up pulling 7 cards!  Yes that is a 7!  One is behind another in the picture.  I decided in order to not get overwhelmed I better pare it down somehow so I went throught the 7 cards and felt my feelings as I read them and was able to pare it down to two for the day.

Here is what I ended up with:  " I am patient in the face of obstacles and delays"  and "I am flexible and can adapt to the challenges of our modern age"!  Perfect!

So the Patience card says "use this gift when you are upset because you.....are encountering situations that you obvoiusly have no control over at the time.  Patience is a great teacher - a sign of maturity and wisdom.  If approached with calm and patience, difficult situations have a remarkable way of working out".

SO... in addition to the weather,  here is one of the obstacles and delays that tested me this weekend!

Here are the two screws that fell out of my office chair for no reason at all whatsoever!  It took me only about half an hour to figure out where they came from and get the thing back together - should have been shorter but.... I have two dogs.  Nuff said.

Last week I also had fatal death of my cell phone.  Luckily I realized that it was dying and was able to save everything to the "cloud" (where ever that is).  I was able to get a new cell phone the next day, but now it is a learning curve again that I would like to have avioded.  

In addition, the Viking Queen sewing maching had to have a part ordered - I HAVE run 80 bobbins through it since April 18th.....so, yeah.....breakdown was probably overdue!  My Viking guy (Gary from Garys Sewing Works) was abe to talk me through the problem over the phone and I have the part on the way.  Still an obstacle that I am feeling thwarted by this week.  Even with back up machines!

The election has also been a stressor and a challenge this past week.  Just all jacked up!

Second card says "I am flexible and can adapt to the challenges of our modern age.  Use this gift when information overload, constant change,  and ....the rapid pace of modern life owerwhelm you.  Modern "convienences" have eliminated the cushion of time necessary to properly absorb and consider information and concepts.  To achieve true knowledge and wisdom, you must take time each day for quiet reflection".

So I stopped.  I stopped making lists and trying to follow them and I looked out at the beautiful snow that will protect my plants for the winter and I reflected.  I reflected on all that I have here in my warm house, with my winter herbs growing in the window.  I watched the landscape begin to look "a lot like Christmas", and as the flakes slowly floated down, I rested for a moment in peace.

I hope that you can find the time to reflect in the coming days, and to get to a place of peace in turmoil.

Blessed be.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin everywhere!

 It is not often that we get a pumpkin anymore or try to grow them even- we havent had anyone to help carve them in the past few years, and we haven't had any trick or treaters either - especially now with the Covid going on.  We haven't had much luck growing them either out here in the Burg- just not enough grow days that are warm enough. With the big Blue Full Moon on Halloween I felt like I needed a pumpkin this year!  It also happens to be my Father in Laws birthday that day so there always needs to be a slightly spooky element to the day.  Just a little something to have fun on Halloween and a birthday!

None of my people claim to like very "sweet" things so birthday cake is out - he won't eat it, but the Krispy Kreme doughnut holes in the cup are perfect to put in the freezer and then he can have just a "dabble do ya" whenever he wants!  The Hubby is also not a fan of Pumpkin Spice anything (twigs and berries he calls it)!

(not my picture - it's from the Krispy Kreme site)

They are also not huge eaters of anything overly "pumpkin"!  I always feel bad about having a pumpkin that never gets a use other than roasting the delicious seeds and eating them like popcorn on Halloween night.  Another reason I hadn't got a pumpkin in prior years.

So this year I got the dads tiny pumpkin and I also got one for Hubby and I - a "baker Pumpkin" it was called.

 

We got some tasty seeds out.  Actually a lot of tasty seeds!  We put a little olive oil on them, a little salt and pepper and we roasted them on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees - stir once!  Forgot to take a picture of them!

After we got the seeds taken care of and we enjoyed the pumpkin for a day or two, we baked it up into a delightful dinner!  Don't use a candle in your pumpkin if you plan to eat it - use Christmas twinkle lights instead - they put off a nice glow without making it unhealthy to eat your pumpkin.

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

1 small Baker Pumpkin - hollowed out and cleaned - rub with olive oil

1 Lb Hamburger - we used a mix of beef and pork sausage

1 C Cooked seasoned rice - I like the dirty rice from Zatarans but any will work even plain

1/2 C Diced onion

1 large Garlic Clove - finely diced

2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1/4 C parmesan cheese

2 Tsp microplaned jalapeno (dice it fine if you dont have a microplaner)

1 Tsp Italian Season (if you dont use spiced rice)

Brown the burger and set aside in a bowl.  Saute the onion and the garlic for a few minutes to get that good flavor out - the onions should be a little bit soft.  Mix with the meat in the bowl and add the other ingredients.  Mix it well and then stuff that pumpkin!  Pack it pretty inside pretty good but dont overfill too much.

Place the stuffed pumpkin in narrow baking dish - I used a bread pan and it worked well.  Place the lid on the pumpkin and bake at 375 for 1 hour or until a fork test tells you that the pumpkin is cooked.  The pumpkin skin will be tougher than a zuchinni might be but its still tasty!  Serve with a little more parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

We served ours with roasted turmeric Cauliflower as our side.  Easy - just put your cauliflower florets in a baking pan (again I used a bread pan), drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with 1 tsp of turmeric and a little salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven covered for anout 30 minutes at 375.  We put ours in about half way through the pumpkinn cook and it worked great!

I hope you had a fantastic Halloween and that you have just the right amount of Pumpkin and Spice for the rest of the season!  

Be Well - Blessed Be!