All By Myself

From Photo Challenge

Today I am alone. My husband is off visiting his best friend. My dog is staying with her grandparents. All that is left is me, one cool cat, and one cat that insists on waking me up each morning (each day earlier and earlier: 6:30, 6:00, 5:30, 4:30 and now 3:30 am!!!). I managed to do the dishes, take out the trash and make my own dinner.
Tonight is Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Basil Soup. For this simple recipe I cooked one spaghetti squash and warmed up some tomato basil soup. I cut the squash in half and scooped the seeds out (I may save the seeds and try to kill grow them in the yard some time later). I baked the squash in the convection toaster oven at 350 around 70 minutes or until it is easy to tear apart. I warmed up the soup according to the  instructions on the can and topped it off with some shredded hard cheddar cheese.
If you leave the cheese off, it is a vegan recipe. Isn’t that fun!

From Photo Challenge
From Photo Challenge

Hello December

From Photo Challenge

Hello December. So far we haven’t had a major chill. The garden seems to be doing well. Tomatoes are very slow to ripen because the winter sun doesn’t warm the tomatoes enough during the day. Just this week we are finally seeing some tomato ripen action.

From Photo Challenge

Those tomatoes will be great on all the lettuce we still have growing. I need to start more seeds of this so I can continue the crop.

From Photo Challenge

One of the figs became ripe this week.

From Photo Challenge

The blueberry bushes are beginning to bloom for some early spring blueberries.

From Photo Challenge

Finally, as you see in the picture at the top, the muscadine grape is dormant for the winter. See you in the spring!

Running with Bricks

Today is one of those days. A day when you want to call it quits.
After a two full day break from Saturday long run I ran this morning. As soon as I got out there I wanted to quit. I felt like I was carrying a ton of bricks with me the entire run. I pushed through as my mind raced through negative thoughts. Why the hell did I sign up for a half marathon when I have never even completed a 5k entirely by running? Defeat and quit were all that were on my mind this morning. The run was completed and I am dealing with all that is left of my motivation. “It does get easier each time. Be patient, you have a long journey ahead of you. You can accomplish it.”