Reignited

Hello. It's me. What have I been up to, you ask? Too much thinking, probably, and certainly not enough sleeping. I feel much, much better today - smiling appears naturally once again, and I have become accustomed to a quieter house. We have received some good news (no rabies) but still, I can't help wonder, what and why. Most of all, though, I know going forward, when a friend loses their dog, I can offer a genuine hug, and know what they are feeling. Truly understanding someone is priceless.

I have to tell you, I have had some funny thoughts run through my head this week. Thoughts of never eating meat again, for one, as the reality of death hit a little too close to home. I also revisited life's priorities, and even though I feel for my situation they are right where they should be, new life was breathed into them. I haven't cleaned, or cooked for that matter, as much as usual. Instead, I have played one extra board game with my kids, or read them just one more story, but best of all, we just sat and talked. In a time where I felt like something really important to me was taken away, tighter knots were tied in other areas.

In the midst of this, I visited with a truly amazing friend, and plans have been made to plant a vegetable garden together. In all honesty, it absolutely terrifies me, so any suggestions would be very much appreciated...! We're not planning on a small venture here either, as the garden will run along the entire back of my house. Did I say the entire?

Just for the record, our meat consumption will not come to a stand still, but I've certainly got that last push I needed to search the area for at least naturally raised meats. I would so love to go all organic, this however can not always be realistic at $13/pound for chicken breast. In doing what we can, I think we make an impact, we raise our voice to stop the suffering of our live stock, and we demand a better standard for our dinner plates.



As mentioned, my cooking this past week was not where it should be. I think for the first time in my life, I lost my appetite. So last night, as I peeled yet another squash and made it into soup - with a refreshed out look on life, I saw squash seeds in a completely new way! Sure they are smaller than pumpkin seeds, and there aren't a ton of them... but they are perfectly delicious and have value all on their own. My spark was back! A weight seemingly lifted off my shoulders, I took to cleaning and drying these little guys like they were the most important thing in the world. After a splash of olive oil, some seasoning (sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and dried thyme), and a good toss, I preheated the oven to 300 F, and let them roast away until perfectly golden and crisp. And so, a simple supper found it's love and I felt happy.