Total Count

Seventy two spaghetti squash. 

 As opposed to the 'plant one-get one' economics of onions, spaghetti squash are 'plant one-get twelve'.  Only have a dozen left.  Spaghetti squash seed should be sold individually instead of in packets.  Just saying.

Peculiar and Maladjusted

Endeavoring to do four unselfish acts of kindness or generosity this week.

You know, to remind myself that I am maladjusted to the world.

Reading "The Good and Beautiful Community".

And applying some creative intentionality.

Lot's going on here.  Try to keep up.

And the SFG

 Not to be outdone, the square foot garden produced very well this year as well.

But a note for the future:  Two heads of cabbage is too much for a square foot of garden.  Just saying.

An 'Anything I Wanted' Update

"I would plan and install a garden
 in the backyard of the house next door"

After pinteresting multiple garden designs, I settled on this simple 2 L-shaped bed design. One garden for upstairs.  One for downstairs.  Free bricks from the swap and sell site, put in place by volunteer labor.  Free mulch from the Dodge City branch and leaf pit.  Put in place by forced labor.

The downstairs family planted sunflowers, pumpkins, zinnias, and lettuce.  

The upstairs family moved out just before planting time.

So I planted six spaghetti squash seeds.  

And everything grew.

And this is my spaghetti squash harvest tally.

That's right. Fifty four spaghetti squash to date.

And still more in the garden.

And out of the garden.

I have twenty spaghetti squash in my car to take to church tomorrow.  Because we are sharing.

With the birds.

And the bees.

And the bunnies and the deer.

And with anyone who wants a spaghetti squash.

Son Number One

This guy.

Who had the best quote of the summer.  "I'd rather motor back to shore with one fish than row back with two." 

Who was out on the water, not once, but twice.

 Who hung out with his family.

And was supportive of his sister.

Who got out of the car at three, 

count them,

three national parks.

Who got a haircut.

 And posed for multiple family photos.

 And wore a tie.

That one time.

Before he headed back to school.

  This was the summer we finally cleaned out the toy box (ala Toy Story 3), he learned to cook something other than ramen noodles and cardboard pizzas, we searched for a common interest so that we had 'something other than finances and his future to discuss'.

Enjoyed my summer with this one.  Miss him just a little bit. 

A Matter of Perspective

 Traveling backwards in time to July, we stopped off at Yosemite National Park on our way to a beautiful family wedding.

And while we were there we hiked to see some waterfalls.  (Along with a gazillion other people who stopped off in Yosemite the same time we were there.)  And I took a few blurry memory jogging pictures (in which I tried to edit out all the gazillion hiking people.)

Except the people I love.  Especially the ones who take good pictures of ourselves.  The Vernal Falls to Nevada Falls trail was particularly beautiful.  Different views around each turn.  Mist off of the waterfalls created multiple rainbows that shifted depending on the angle of the sun and the direction the wind was blowing the mist.

Looking back down the valley at one point there was a large bright rainbow that I thought I needed a picture of.  You know so I could remember to tell you about it.  And show it to all of the people who asked to see my vacation pictures.  But right in the middle of the shot were 4 young men who had climbed out on a rock ledge that jutted out over the river. So we waited somewhat impatiently for them to move.  To get their picture to post to facebook and move on.  Instead they took their shirts off and struck a few more poses, in no hurry to move on.  And while we we standing there, letting a quarterzillion people pass us on the trail, we realized that they had no idea they were standing under an amazing rainbow. The people taking their picture were on the same level they were, looking out straight out over the rocks.  No way from their perspective they were seeing the same thing we were.
And then Princess Amidala and I decided we would take their best picture of the summer for them.  And we hollared and waved to get their attention.  And tried to explain with exaggerated primitive sign language that we wanted to take their picture because they were standing under a rainbow.  Which is a complicated bit of information to communicate over a significant distance with rushing water all around.  But we finally convinced them to turn around and face up the mountain.

And we took their picture.  Then we hiked back down to meet them and Amidala tried to explain that we were not trying to pick them up, but if they gave her their number she would send them a picture.  And then we moved on.

And only later did I think of the times I feel like I am out on a ledge.  (And if you know me I am a big scaredy cat about ledges and high places.)  And a lot of times I have put myself out there.  And I what I don't see is the rainbow.  The promise that God will never leave me nor forsake me.  I can't see from my perspective that He sees the real picture from His perspective.  And I am covered by His promise.

That's Nevada Falls in the background.  This is the subset of the gazillion people in Yosemite that day that I love enough to want to remember.  I think there is a big bright rainbow over us.  We just can't see it from here.

For the Record

 Sometimes I use my blog as a memory jogger.  So I can't let this year go by without documenting this event.  From the beginning of the year list where I asked the question:

So what would I do in 2016 if I could do anything I wanted?

One answer was I would run a half marathon-- with a friend or two.

While the sky is apparently falling, Ms Brenda and two friends prepare to run the Yellowstone Half Marathon

So after downloading a couch to half workout schedule, months of preparation, one lost toenail, one embarrassing trip to the dressing room at Scheel's to try on compression shorts, and numerous hours spent reading about running and listening to audiobooks on long runs, I actually got to the starting line of the Yellowstone Half Marathon.  With a friend from work and my daughter.

We bought matching running shirts.

This girl flew out from Baltimore and stuck with me the entire race.  And documented each one of the thirteen miles we traversed.

Mile one.

And seriously, my glasses were steamed up like this most of the race.  And it was much harder than I thought it would be.  And I was thirsty a lot.  And I might have whined.  And walked more than I planned to.

Mile 8.  Really.

But I also ran.  A half marathon.

And I stayed on my feet until mile 11.      And then I fell on my face.  

But I got back up and brushed myself off (literally) and I kept going.  Like I was some kind of Olympic athelete.

And I finished,  And I got a medal.  A finisher's medal.  Because I finished.

And we wore the medals all the next day.  (And maybe parts of the next several days.)  And we posed in front of a giant jackalope and the American flag.  

And sang the star spangled banner.  

And when I showed my medal to a competitive friend of mine, he said, "Oh, did everyone get a medal?"  And I said, "No, they only gave them to people who finished."  

Add to the list

Is organize my recipes on the list of things I would do if I could do anything?  Well it should be. Today I threw out 30 recipes.  And then I threw out 30 more.  It didn't make a dent.  But I allowed myself to feel accomplished anyway.  Then I took a nap.  Because I didn't feel like cooking anything.

A thought about compression pants

In order to prevent chafing I bought a pair of capri length compression pants. Compression pants are supposed to help my circulation as well as prevent chafing when I run.  Putting them on is like putting on a pair of Spanx.  And running outside in them is like wearing your Spanx on the outside of your clothing--in terms of both comfort and fashion. Today I discovered an added benefit.  When I put on my compression pants and stand with my feet a little more than shoulder width apart I have a thigh gap.  Go me!

Almost Half Way

The half marathon training is approaching the half way point.  My long runs have been 6 miles each of the last two weeks.  Last week 6 miles seemed about 3 miles longer than 5 miles.  This week six miles seemed like 6 miles.
I bought new running shoes. I looked at all the advice online to have them fitted by a professional and then I ordered them online.  They are fine.  And they are trimmed in lime green.
Next I will be shopping for approriate head gear.  Can't imagine I will wear a hat, so I am concentrating on headbands.  The running world is full of things to research and spend your money on.  
Have a running playlist and learned to use the track exercise feature on my fitbit app on my phone.
Mercy Me sings :  I am learning to run freely,  Understanding just how He sees me.  Think I will have to figure out audio books if I am going to run 13 miles.
In other news, I booked a flight 'Back East' for Mother's Day.  Going to spend a week with my Mom. Drinking iced tea.  All good stuff.

End of week 5

This week was the beginning of lent. In which I gave up television. It was also the end of week 5 of my half marathon training.  Yesterday was long run day.   4 miles.  My running buddy called me during the last two miles and we chatted to confirm that I was running at a conversational pace.  I logged 20000 steps on my fit bit.  I earned a hi top badge.  Truthfully i expected a little more recognition.  Today was a rest day so I just thought about running without actually moving.  And i googled things related to running.  Some thoughts I need to share with my running buddies:  1.  evidently we need to invest in something called body glide to guard against chaffing.  2.  I read an article on how to take a better race photo.  Must remember to smile.   3.  I think Smokey Bear might be there for race day.  We are totally getting a picture with him.   Also, compression pants are not for the weak of heart.  Next I  will be shopping for matching race day outfits.  Photographers are drawn to brighter colors.

Throw back Thursday

Dear Amanda  H.,

  

Just wanted to to apologize for giving you one of the most popular girl's names in the late 80's.  Sorry that there are still people who probably think of you as Amandaaich. [Would it help you to know that my second choice was Amelia and I ruled it out because of Amelia Bedelia?]   Also I would like you to seriously consider running the Yellowstone Half Marathon with me this summer.  I am in my fourth week [of 20] of couch to HM training and I have registered and procured a site to set up my tent in West  Yellowstone. And I have been online browsing compression shorts.  So you can see that I am pretty serious about this.  I am not getting any younger and you will be having kids and time is short for us.  And I will let you win like I used to when you were little.
                               Love,
                               Your MOM

P.S.  my favorite part of your drawing is that you are kick splashing water in my face.  You may have been a brat.  Love you anyway.  M.

Left To My Own Devices

In the last month I have acquired a new kindle fire, a new iPhone 6 and a new Samsung tablet.  I now have no idea how I will take and/or store photos, listen to music, or even read a book.  I think I will knit.

Marking Time

Some thoughts from my Beth Moore bible study on time.
We see time going. We are losing time.  Running out of time.  We have our clocks set on timer. Counting down.
God sees time coming. Time fulfilled.  The clock set on stop watch.  Counting up.
Today I celebrated my 57th birthday.  One year closer to what I will eventually be.

.

Two Weeks In

I have found that having a plan is a good thing.  It gives me a place to start.  There is no crime in changing a plan.

So what would I do in 2016 if I could do anything I wanted?

I would lose 40 lbs.
I would run a half marathon-- with a friend or two.
I would dance at a wedding --  without embarrassing myself
I would knit a baby blanket -- and wrap it around a new grandbaby
I would weed out and organize my recipes -- and be more purposeful about cooking and eating
I would hire a digital maid to organize 35 years worth of photographs
I would memorize my Discover card number
I would clean up my craft/sewing room -- and keep it clean
I would have several skin spots checked/removed
I would plan and install a garden in the backyard of the house next door

Unquenchable optimism.  Or totally unrealistic expectations?

The SLD and Unquenchable Optimism

The SLD recognizes the running shoes after years of not seeing them.   The SLD begs to go along on the walk/run.  The SLD has no idea she is old.  The SLD performs wonderfully.  She is good company.  She runs at my pace.  She is excited to go.  She is the ultimate encourager.  She does not roll her eyes when I say I am going to run a half marathon this year.  She does not remind me I am 30 years (!) older than my training buddy.  She does not understand the meaning of obese.  I love that dog.  I jotted the words unquenchable optimism on a church bulletin a couple of weeks back.  Why not?  (Don't roll your eyes or answer that.)

Registration

So I completed one week of my couch to half training program.  Which was way more couch than half.  But I went ahead and registered for the Yellowstone Half marathon in June. Because I am never going to get any younger.  And I have a co-worker friend who agreed to do this with me.  And because I live relatively close to Yellowstone.  And it is the 100th year anniversary of the National Park System.
Today was a rest day.  I nailed it.

Fit Bit Zip Fat Zap

I got the grownup equivalent of a tamagotchi for Christmas.  Remember the digital pet that attached to a keychain from the 1990's?  It has been reinvented as a fitness motivator.  Still little and egg shaped. Still simple graphics.  But now instead of trying to extend the digital pet's life, the digital pet is trying to extend my life.  It monitors my steps, calculates my calories burned and the distance I've traveled.  As a bonus it tells me the time.  And it makes faces at me.  The 'stick out my tongue face' is it's default.  It makes this face whenever it feels I am not active enough.  Who is it to judge?  It also makes a smiley face, and if I make it really happy by moving A LOT it makes a big grinning happy face.  It also makes various faces that I do not understand.  One where its eyes are like this:  ^^    I think it is asking me if I am asleep.  Also one with eyes like this:  xx     I think it thinks I am dead.    It also made itself into a lump with eyes.  Like a potato.  It has only done this once, because I am committed to keeping my fit bit zip happy.  And avoiding being called a couch potato by a digital pet. My iphone does not have an operating system capable of running the fitbit app, and I had a hard time loading it on my computer.  I trust the giver of the gift was motivated by love, but truthfully it managed to make me feel old, stupid, and fat all at once.  But I have made peace with the little critter.  I have signed up for a Cize class, a weight loss challenge at work, and I downloaded a training plan for a half marathon.  I will be 4 pounds lighter by my birthday next week.  Did I mention fiestaware would make a good gift? Just sayin.

It Is Finished

Today I finished the  gallery wall above our bed.  It was the one thing I purposed to do in 2015.  I did not take any pictures.
Tonight we had kielbasa and sauerkraut for supper, because I finally felt like the new year could begin.  Seems like getting Christmas put away may be the goal for 2016.
I'm still working on it...