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Googly eyes
Apr. 26th, 2013 03:24 pmFound some googly eyed glasses in the freebie bin at a garage sale.
I love my children.
I love my children.
Only a little over 2 months until my son graduates from high school. Maybe. I can't even express how frustrating and stressful it has been having to drag him inch by inch towards the finish line over the past years, and I still don't know for sure he'll make it in time.
Left him to work on a big paper on the Cold War he has that is now overdue and when I return he's on facebook. I get him off the computer so I can do my own work and he gravitates to his video games. If computer or video game is unavailable, then he takes naps and hangs around reading Tom Clancy novels. I want to pull out my hair, and then his hair but at this point I have to take an observational backseat (and grumble here, apparently, lol...) lest I not let him fall on his face if it is really what he needs to do to wake up.
We had to make a deal with him that we weren't going to do any more behavioral modification (i.e. punishments, rewards, hollering, guilting, etc.) as he is of age and it's his life (and it was making a very unhappy household) but it's so hard to watch him scraping along knowing he will seriously regret it later if he flubs this.
So close. Maybe so far away. Maybe snatching the golden ring. Maybe missing the last banana. Maybe a moment of relief. Maybe we just wasted money on senior pictures.
&*%#@! I hate parenting sometimes.
Left him to work on a big paper on the Cold War he has that is now overdue and when I return he's on facebook. I get him off the computer so I can do my own work and he gravitates to his video games. If computer or video game is unavailable, then he takes naps and hangs around reading Tom Clancy novels. I want to pull out my hair, and then his hair but at this point I have to take an observational backseat (and grumble here, apparently, lol...) lest I not let him fall on his face if it is really what he needs to do to wake up.
We had to make a deal with him that we weren't going to do any more behavioral modification (i.e. punishments, rewards, hollering, guilting, etc.) as he is of age and it's his life (and it was making a very unhappy household) but it's so hard to watch him scraping along knowing he will seriously regret it later if he flubs this.
So close. Maybe so far away. Maybe snatching the golden ring. Maybe missing the last banana. Maybe a moment of relief. Maybe we just wasted money on senior pictures.
&*%#@! I hate parenting sometimes.
Spring break sure sounds nice
Mar. 14th, 2013 02:00 pmGosh, this has been such a long slog from January, I'm seriously looking forward to spring break at the end of the month just so I don't have to drive kids here there and everywhere for a few days. Can't complain about the weather though, it's been a really mild winter and now it's a lovely, mild day, perfect for grubbing out chickweed and repotting some houseplants. Got some funky long rubber mats for our front steps to replace the anti-slip strips, they look like a wrought iron leafy design and it really dresses it up, that and a couple new pinwheels and it's positively cheerful.
And I got a walkman! I'm a techie dinosaur to my kids, heck, I still have a drawer full of cassettes, so moving to an mp3 player of my own is quite the leap into the space-age by comparison, lol...gradually learning how to work the thing, amused by thinking to myself that at last I can participate in those memes where they want you to put your player on shuffle and do things with the results. We must keep our priorities straight, after all! :-D
We've also had another church join us in our building to share the space starting this past week - I went to their Bible study last week just to meet some of them and they were a hoot, looking forward to making that a regular thing, I'm always up for a good study, they're always fun and/or interesting. This weekend we're doing a St. Pat's day potluck with the two congregations so folks can get to know one another, so far so good. Our preschool is really struggling to find students (or rather, families who can afford to pay for preschool) so it's nice to have something working well.
And I got a walkman! I'm a techie dinosaur to my kids, heck, I still have a drawer full of cassettes, so moving to an mp3 player of my own is quite the leap into the space-age by comparison, lol...gradually learning how to work the thing, amused by thinking to myself that at last I can participate in those memes where they want you to put your player on shuffle and do things with the results. We must keep our priorities straight, after all! :-D
We've also had another church join us in our building to share the space starting this past week - I went to their Bible study last week just to meet some of them and they were a hoot, looking forward to making that a regular thing, I'm always up for a good study, they're always fun and/or interesting. This weekend we're doing a St. Pat's day potluck with the two congregations so folks can get to know one another, so far so good. Our preschool is really struggling to find students (or rather, families who can afford to pay for preschool) so it's nice to have something working well.
Breadbag flag
Mar. 4th, 2013 12:01 pmIt's a nice, sunny day and was just sitting at a signal waiting for the light to change, idly watching an empty red-white-and-blue breadbag bouncing around in the intersection as the highway traffic went shooting past. It went up, down, in circles, swooped and was nearly flattened to the pavement, then a car whipped it way up high into the air where it caught perfectly on the antenna of the large pickup following behind - and stayed there.
I laughed as I watched the pickup head down the hill at high speed with its new fashion accessory, a breadbag flag jauntily vibrating in the wind as it went. :-)
I laughed as I watched the pickup head down the hill at high speed with its new fashion accessory, a breadbag flag jauntily vibrating in the wind as it went. :-)
Office chairs for Wimmenfolk?
Mar. 3rd, 2013 09:07 pmSo, it appears I am in need of a new office chair for here in front of my ol' Dell, the previous one was a hand-me-down from my brother that finally gave up the ghost from one too many violent flops into it by my teen son.
The problem is, where do I find a good chair that will be ergonomic and all that jazz that is for a woman-sized torso instead of for a 6-foot man? I want arm-rests, but they are invariably too high for me because I'm just not that tall/long for instance. All the chairs I poked through at the local office supply place were either meant for men, meant for extra-large men or were super cheapo with no arm-rests. What gives? I know there's a LOT of women in front of computers out there.
Any tips, hints or womanly wisdom here? Where did you gals find your chairs? Do you like them?
The problem is, where do I find a good chair that will be ergonomic and all that jazz that is for a woman-sized torso instead of for a 6-foot man? I want arm-rests, but they are invariably too high for me because I'm just not that tall/long for instance. All the chairs I poked through at the local office supply place were either meant for men, meant for extra-large men or were super cheapo with no arm-rests. What gives? I know there's a LOT of women in front of computers out there.
Any tips, hints or womanly wisdom here? Where did you gals find your chairs? Do you like them?
Ah, busy mundania
Mar. 2nd, 2013 08:57 pmI seem to have fallen back into the belief that nothing in my life is interesting enough to bother posting it, which is stupid as I always enjoy reading other people talking about everything from making sandwiches to walking their dogs. Life sure is busy for someone who is apparently doing nothing, heh. Spent a good part of today in yardwork, trimming fruit trees and various other whacking that is needed as spring is already springing along. My daffys are 6 inches up and the snowdrops and crocuses are fully blooming and here I am with still one more plum tree to do.
My folks finally found a home to buy down in the middle of the valley near my old alma mater, Western Oregon - it was a 'college' when I was there, since then upgraded to a 'university'. There are renters in the place, though, so they have to wait until April to be able to actually get into it and have gone off in their camper to the coast in the meantime. so at least it's quiet here again. I'll drive down tomorrow afternoon and check out the town, I'm sure it's different than it was in the late 80s when I was last there, it will be interesting to see what's changed.
So. Life. Made a big pot of meaty spaghetti sauce with plenty of olives and mushrooms for dinner, topped off with whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. We didn't mean for them to be whole wheat, that was a flour-bin mixup, but they're pretty good that way. Time to go watch another ep of 'Riders of Berk' - enjoying catching up on those. There must be hundreds of black cats named "Toothless" out there by now.
My folks finally found a home to buy down in the middle of the valley near my old alma mater, Western Oregon - it was a 'college' when I was there, since then upgraded to a 'university'. There are renters in the place, though, so they have to wait until April to be able to actually get into it and have gone off in their camper to the coast in the meantime. so at least it's quiet here again. I'll drive down tomorrow afternoon and check out the town, I'm sure it's different than it was in the late 80s when I was last there, it will be interesting to see what's changed.
So. Life. Made a big pot of meaty spaghetti sauce with plenty of olives and mushrooms for dinner, topped off with whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. We didn't mean for them to be whole wheat, that was a flour-bin mixup, but they're pretty good that way. Time to go watch another ep of 'Riders of Berk' - enjoying catching up on those. There must be hundreds of black cats named "Toothless" out there by now.
Balancing an amiable leaf
Feb. 9th, 2013 09:48 amWell, it's been over 3 years now since I started my little Etsy vintage shop, The Amiable Leaf - it had a slow start, but seems to have found an ambling pace that I can manage well enough and I enjoy it. Lately, though, I've been looking at the backlog of stuff waiting for me to get it written up, measured, photographed, listed, etc. and realizing that this is most of what I do when I have computer time anymore - Etsy or the church newletter or library work or some other 'serious' project. Not writing, or playing around with icons or reading fanfic or even recording for Librivox. Somewhere along the way, the balance of hours involved in my side business has gradually taken over much of my 'play time'.
Not that it's bad, per se, it's always interesting to me and goodness knows the dribs and drabs of money are useful, we're still supporting 1 kid in college and 2 in private high schools, after all - but I think I'm in need of pushing back a bit.
Ah, the age-old balancing act of work and pleasure, it never goes away does it? Don't want to wait too long and go falling off the tightrope. How's your balancing act going? Are you keeping the Big W word balanced with sanity-protecting fun stuff?
Not that it's bad, per se, it's always interesting to me and goodness knows the dribs and drabs of money are useful, we're still supporting 1 kid in college and 2 in private high schools, after all - but I think I'm in need of pushing back a bit.
Ah, the age-old balancing act of work and pleasure, it never goes away does it? Don't want to wait too long and go falling off the tightrope. How's your balancing act going? Are you keeping the Big W word balanced with sanity-protecting fun stuff?
Ants carrying a banana
Feb. 1st, 2013 10:01 pmSo. I finally finished the church newsletter for February, spell checked, printed and spell checked again, tweaked borders, etc., converted to pdf, got it signed off and sent it out to the entire church and the mailing list ON TIME! Yay, go me!
I opened the pdf one last time to be sure all the pages were opening on the file I'd just sent out to all these people and what do I see?
Two ants carrying a banana.
They were a tiny picture, tucked right where they look like they're about to ram one of the headers with their fruity yellow burden. What the heck? Where did they come from? How in the world did I accidentally paste in two ants carrying a banana randomly marching across one of the pages?
I beat my head on my desk. My kids laughed and said to tell anyone who commented that it was an easter egg.
Sigh. *snert snert snert*. Sigh. *snert*
I opened the pdf one last time to be sure all the pages were opening on the file I'd just sent out to all these people and what do I see?
Two ants carrying a banana.
They were a tiny picture, tucked right where they look like they're about to ram one of the headers with their fruity yellow burden. What the heck? Where did they come from? How in the world did I accidentally paste in two ants carrying a banana randomly marching across one of the pages?
I beat my head on my desk. My kids laughed and said to tell anyone who commented that it was an easter egg.
Sigh. *snert snert snert*. Sigh. *snert*
13 Hi and Lois icon scans
Jan. 26th, 2013 10:25 pmJust for the fun of it, I scanned and cropped a few icons from an old, yellowing Hi & Lois comic book I have, original drawings by Mort Walker. Thought I'd share should anyone take a liking to them:
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Germ attacks
Jan. 24th, 2013 07:05 pmSo, we're all setting some kind of record on usage of tissues over here at our end of things - tired yet sick of sleeping, etc., y'all know the drill. Ticky box time!
Poll #12691 Blarrrrgh...
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 11
I'm sick too!
View Answers
At least it's just my nose, sniffle honk!
7 (77.8%)
My lungs are in on the fun too, hack hack!1 (11.1%)
My stomach shouldn't have signed up for this.0 (0.0%)
You want sick? I'll show you sick!0 (0.0%)
Germs? What germs?2 (22.2%)
Nose Wipes
View Answers
I'm picky about the color of the box.3 (30.0%)
I could build cheap housing with my empties.5 (50.0%)
I feel like I live in a tissue box.7 (70.0%)
Cloth hankies are more my speed.1 (10.0%)
My sleeve works...1 (10.0%)
A little room to breathe
Jan. 21st, 2013 11:11 amWell, my folks who have been living with us for the past month as 'homeless' people while they looked for a house are off in their RV for the week, checking out an area down south of here for potential real estate, one kid is sleeping in and another is off on a youth retreat... the house is blessedly quiet. I'll miss them, but at the same time it's nice to have a break.
A couple fic recs: I finally had a chance to just sit and read a couple fanfics last night, a luxury I've rarely had of late. We're in a mild 'Rise of the Guardians' phase here, mixed in with the usual fandoms and ff.net has some quality reads by psychicsaphie for those so inclined. They run a touch intense, well-written and interesting. Start off with Snowbird then carry on to The Frost Spirit and the Honey Tree. If you're brave, go to the still-in-progress The King of Cold Mountain, but be warned it has a nasty foe and serious cliffies.
For my fellow Three fans, PandaInTheStars (starpanda of DbyA) has taken Jon Pertwee's love of playing vampires and crossed it over into his Doctor role - take UNIT and Three and consider how it would happen if he were still an unusual entity holing up and working for them, but for different reasons. .Blood and Tea is also at ff.net. Everyone stays in character and the action/solve-a-mystery plottiness is good fun. She's working on a sequel as well.
A couple fic recs: I finally had a chance to just sit and read a couple fanfics last night, a luxury I've rarely had of late. We're in a mild 'Rise of the Guardians' phase here, mixed in with the usual fandoms and ff.net has some quality reads by psychicsaphie for those so inclined. They run a touch intense, well-written and interesting. Start off with Snowbird then carry on to The Frost Spirit and the Honey Tree. If you're brave, go to the still-in-progress The King of Cold Mountain, but be warned it has a nasty foe and serious cliffies.
For my fellow Three fans, PandaInTheStars (starpanda of DbyA) has taken Jon Pertwee's love of playing vampires and crossed it over into his Doctor role - take UNIT and Three and consider how it would happen if he were still an unusual entity holing up and working for them, but for different reasons. .Blood and Tea is also at ff.net. Everyone stays in character and the action/solve-a-mystery plottiness is good fun. She's working on a sequel as well.
This is a very non Holiday
Dec. 31st, 2012 07:42 pmI've never been able to think of anything to do for New Years. I dislike resolutions because they invariably fall by the wayside, and I never cared for the taste of alcohol, plus I'm a morning person so I'm a zombie after 10pm. The most exciting thing that happens is putting up a new calendar.
Do you do anything that's more interesting? I'm open to suggestions!
Do you do anything that's more interesting? I'm open to suggestions!
Snatching at audio Six
Dec. 31st, 2012 09:58 amMerry Christmas, Happy New Year and all other obligatory festive greetings, wishes and hopes for the best - just finished taking down my tree and my living room looks so empty without it, always surprising how quickly we adjust to something being 'normal' to have it there.
Germs knocked me out for a couple days, bleahhhh.... but one nice part of it was as I was laying in my bed being miserable my daughter came and propped up her laptop then started a the Big Finish audio in which Six meets Evelyn for the first time and then they go on an adventure involving Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth... So I can FINALLY say I've heard a bit of the Audios, though not nearly enough for my preference as an hour later when she was no longer in the house I made the mistake of hitting the pause button for a moment...and the computer went to its login and I didn't have her password and Six and Evelyn were loooost to meeeeeee.... Hopefully I'll get to hear the rest of it later, now I want to know what happened. I do like Six when he isn't being blindingly rainbow and dogged by a whiny Peri.
Here's to another year, onward into the fray we go!
Germs knocked me out for a couple days, bleahhhh.... but one nice part of it was as I was laying in my bed being miserable my daughter came and propped up her laptop then started a the Big Finish audio in which Six meets Evelyn for the first time and then they go on an adventure involving Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth... So I can FINALLY say I've heard a bit of the Audios, though not nearly enough for my preference as an hour later when she was no longer in the house I made the mistake of hitting the pause button for a moment...and the computer went to its login and I didn't have her password and Six and Evelyn were loooost to meeeeeee.... Hopefully I'll get to hear the rest of it later, now I want to know what happened. I do like Six when he isn't being blindingly rainbow and dogged by a whiny Peri.
Here's to another year, onward into the fray we go!
Merry Christmas to everyone - hope all is well in your assorted households, palaces, balloons, hovels and floating shrimp boats...or wherever is currently 'home'.
Y'know, when we got this house I was blown away at the thought of having an extra room (think about it - EXTRA room. An extra one. Like, a whole room that is extra!) It quickly became half storage, half guest room and has seen pretty constant use. Friends, travelers, relatives, strangers, all kinds of people have been in there. More than one has lived there for an extended time.
So speaking of extended times - My folks sold their house and therefore had to move into their 5th-wheel. Technically. Actually, my mom would completely lose her mind living in a tiny 5th-wheel, so they're in our 'extra' guest room. How long? Who can say? Until they find a property they like well enough to buy. And they have a weiner-dog (our cat has mixed feelings on this part). Good thing we get along pretty well. Full house!
Time to go watch a Christmas show - maybe 'Shop Around the Corner,' I love Jimmy Stewart.
Y'know, when we got this house I was blown away at the thought of having an extra room (think about it - EXTRA room. An extra one. Like, a whole room that is extra!) It quickly became half storage, half guest room and has seen pretty constant use. Friends, travelers, relatives, strangers, all kinds of people have been in there. More than one has lived there for an extended time.
So speaking of extended times - My folks sold their house and therefore had to move into their 5th-wheel. Technically. Actually, my mom would completely lose her mind living in a tiny 5th-wheel, so they're in our 'extra' guest room. How long? Who can say? Until they find a property they like well enough to buy. And they have a weiner-dog (our cat has mixed feelings on this part). Good thing we get along pretty well. Full house!
Time to go watch a Christmas show - maybe 'Shop Around the Corner,' I love Jimmy Stewart.
Ding Dong Dang
Nov. 16th, 2012 11:37 amI was so sad about seeing an icon like Hostess closing down that I bought 4 boxes of Ding Dongs, a box of Twinkies and some snowballs to see it out. We like to have Ding Dongs at Christmas, so I figure they can go into the freezer for now.
Alas, Suzie-Qs and Cupcakes, we knew you well...
Well, not that well - actually we were very low on the scale for Hostess consumers, it's mostly memories of being a kid and drooling over the colorful packages in the store and wishing we could afford them that comes to mind. The grocery store clerk said people had been coming in and loading up on Hostess all morning, so I'm obviously not alone in that.
Alas, Suzie-Qs and Cupcakes, we knew you well...
Well, not that well - actually we were very low on the scale for Hostess consumers, it's mostly memories of being a kid and drooling over the colorful packages in the store and wishing we could afford them that comes to mind. The grocery store clerk said people had been coming in and loading up on Hostess all morning, so I'm obviously not alone in that.
Bees make nice things
Nov. 10th, 2012 09:44 pmI'm up late (for me) waiting for my crockpot to finish cooking the lentil-sweet-potato-coconut-curry I'm making for tomorrow's potluck. The problem with sitting up late is I often end up wanting to buy things.
Actually, I've gotten to where I shop Etsy first anymore, I love being able to support all these nice people who make all these nice things! Like my somewhat-local Heavenly Honey Farm, - yummers... I tried their honey lip balm and honey eye cream and now find myself abandoning my former loyalty to the mass-marketed 'Burts Bees' with scarcely a backwards glance. Sorry, Burt! You've been one-upped. I went back to Heavenly today and ordered a couple of their 'pillows' of lip balms to give to our church and preschool staff for Christmas this year, yay for having that taken care of.
Now I want beeswax candles too. Haven't splurged on one of those for a long time. Hm!
Actually, I've gotten to where I shop Etsy first anymore, I love being able to support all these nice people who make all these nice things! Like my somewhat-local Heavenly Honey Farm, - yummers... I tried their honey lip balm and honey eye cream and now find myself abandoning my former loyalty to the mass-marketed 'Burts Bees' with scarcely a backwards glance. Sorry, Burt! You've been one-upped. I went back to Heavenly today and ordered a couple of their 'pillows' of lip balms to give to our church and preschool staff for Christmas this year, yay for having that taken care of.
Now I want beeswax candles too. Haven't splurged on one of those for a long time. Hm!
Snoozing among the Strangers
Nov. 7th, 2012 08:04 pmWell, that was fun. Our little church just doesn't seem to "get it" when it comes to having a women's retreat, so often it seems more like a 'business meeting-meets-group therapy' event and in spite of our having a grand place at the beach we can go to each year, it seriously needs help. SO... My daughters and I are setting out to go to as many women's retreats put on by other churches as we can reasonably manage, considering cost and scheduling. And size. I'm targeting big, huge churches where they won't even realize we're strangers, actually.
One down! We just had a great weekend at a retreat center out in the country, surrounded by 270+ friendly women who didn't have a clue we were undercover retreat-lurkers. No one ever did figure it out, which I found amusing. We took notes on what worked (personalized candy bar on my bed! Casual, continental breakfast in jammies!), and thoroughly enjoyed having a relaxing time where we were free to wander in and out as we liked, as no one there had any expectations regarding us at all and they would probably never see us again anyway. And there was a heated pool and hot tub. And badminton. And late night games of Bananagrams with too much junk food on tap. I could get used to this.
Next one looks like it will be in early March, maybe, at a beach conference center. Another friendly megachurch. Niiiice.
And the ladies at my church who have heard of this mission say "Oh yes! Take notes! We really need new ideas!" Gladly shall I make this Great Sacrifice of my Time, Hanging out at Fun Places.
One down! We just had a great weekend at a retreat center out in the country, surrounded by 270+ friendly women who didn't have a clue we were undercover retreat-lurkers. No one ever did figure it out, which I found amusing. We took notes on what worked (personalized candy bar on my bed! Casual, continental breakfast in jammies!), and thoroughly enjoyed having a relaxing time where we were free to wander in and out as we liked, as no one there had any expectations regarding us at all and they would probably never see us again anyway. And there was a heated pool and hot tub. And badminton. And late night games of Bananagrams with too much junk food on tap. I could get used to this.
Next one looks like it will be in early March, maybe, at a beach conference center. Another friendly megachurch. Niiiice.
And the ladies at my church who have heard of this mission say "Oh yes! Take notes! We really need new ideas!" Gladly shall I make this Great Sacrifice of my Time, Hanging out at Fun Places.
Parents on Wheels
Nov. 7th, 2012 09:52 amMy mom called me to let me know their house, which they've had on and off the market for over a year with no nibbles, and which they were about to take off the market for winter, has sold! They close on the last day of November. So much for Thanksgiving relaxation... I can understand the buyers being anxious about getting in, they've already sold their old house and are living in an apt with stuff in storage, but my mom is a bit freaked at how fast it's all suddenly moving along.
Thankfully they have a friend with an empty airplane hanger that they can store things in til spring, and an RV. Into the camper they go, weiner-dog, cat and all yo-ho! They'll spend the winter as rolling stones gathering no moss while they check into other people's moss growing at various towns and decide where they want to plant themselves again. I expect we'll see a fair bit of them as my house will now be the 'stability point' for Mom, Dad doesn't need one, he's happy with wheels on his feet.
The cat, Bentley, wasn't too happy with having to learn to wear a harness, but they've gotten him to where he and the dog both get harnesses put on each day ("getting the kids dressed for the morning") and he's finally ignoring it instead of spending the day trying to back out of it, heh. Adventures never cease.
Thankfully they have a friend with an empty airplane hanger that they can store things in til spring, and an RV. Into the camper they go, weiner-dog, cat and all yo-ho! They'll spend the winter as rolling stones gathering no moss while they check into other people's moss growing at various towns and decide where they want to plant themselves again. I expect we'll see a fair bit of them as my house will now be the 'stability point' for Mom, Dad doesn't need one, he's happy with wheels on his feet.
The cat, Bentley, wasn't too happy with having to learn to wear a harness, but they've gotten him to where he and the dog both get harnesses put on each day ("getting the kids dressed for the morning") and he's finally ignoring it instead of spending the day trying to back out of it, heh. Adventures never cease.
Dinner in a Pumpkin
Nov. 5th, 2012 07:21 pmWhen I went out to a local farm seeking an "autumn fix" I soaked up the happy harvesty atmosphere and also came home with a jack-o-lantern type pumpkin (which we dutifully carved) and 2 sugar pie pumpkins. One sugar pumpkin is for pie, but the other was for a favorite autumn-time easy dinner we do, to wit:
Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 4-5 lb. pumpkin
1 lb. ground beef
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 c. uncooked instant rice
3 T. butter or margarine
1/2 t. salt (optional)
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. thyme
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 c. beef broth
1/2 c. grated cheddar (optional)
Wash the pumpkin and cut a nice wide lid on the top (you want to be able to scoop yummy things out later). Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Brush the inside of the pumpkin with the butter and sprinkle it with a little salt if you like.
In a skillet, saute the beef and onion until browned. Drain fat. Add the rice and remaining ingredients except the cheese. Put your pumpkin in a shallow dish (I use a casserole dish) and fill it with the meat mixture. Put the lid on the pumpkin and stick the whole thing in a 350 degree oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the pumpkin is tender. You can add more broth if needed. Take off lid and sprinkle with cheese while hot.
Serve right from the pumpkin, scooping out pulp with the beef mixture.
For lower sodium people like me, just use no-salt tomatoes and unsalted beef broth and reduce or even eliminate the table salt too. Still very tasty and homelike. This is the only time of year I buy instant rice, just for this, and sometimes use dried minced onion instead of fresh, though fresh is always better if you have one handy.
Enjoy!
Dinner in a Pumpkin
1 4-5 lb. pumpkin
1 lb. ground beef
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 c. uncooked instant rice
3 T. butter or margarine
1/2 t. salt (optional)
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. thyme
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 c. beef broth
1/2 c. grated cheddar (optional)
Wash the pumpkin and cut a nice wide lid on the top (you want to be able to scoop yummy things out later). Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Brush the inside of the pumpkin with the butter and sprinkle it with a little salt if you like.
In a skillet, saute the beef and onion until browned. Drain fat. Add the rice and remaining ingredients except the cheese. Put your pumpkin in a shallow dish (I use a casserole dish) and fill it with the meat mixture. Put the lid on the pumpkin and stick the whole thing in a 350 degree oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the pumpkin is tender. You can add more broth if needed. Take off lid and sprinkle with cheese while hot.
Serve right from the pumpkin, scooping out pulp with the beef mixture.
For lower sodium people like me, just use no-salt tomatoes and unsalted beef broth and reduce or even eliminate the table salt too. Still very tasty and homelike. This is the only time of year I buy instant rice, just for this, and sometimes use dried minced onion instead of fresh, though fresh is always better if you have one handy.
Enjoy!
Not wishing to become stuck in my proverbial past, I've decided it's high time I updated some of my household goods - after all, just because someone I no longer recall gave me a crystal water pitcher for a wedding gift 25 years ago doesn't mean I have to go to my grave still using that same old pitcher, right? Right! Not that I ever really used it anyway... it just sat in my cupboard mostly because it's heavy and it never was really my style.
Today I bought a very pretty handmade pottery pitcher instead, with blue, green and natural toned glazing and a lovely swoop to the handle. The "nice" crystal pitcher is going to the thrift store. I feel so happy! Being on a roll, I also replaced the plastic tumblers we've had forever because we had kids and kids break things with Real Glass tumblers (in rainbow colors!) - after all, the "kids" are nearly adults now and rarely bury their drinking cups in the sandbox anymore.
Then I bought a new picture frame for a picture in my living room and tossed that horrid Oh-So-80s oak one. Ahhhh.
Someone stop me before I order all new furniture!
Today I bought a very pretty handmade pottery pitcher instead, with blue, green and natural toned glazing and a lovely swoop to the handle. The "nice" crystal pitcher is going to the thrift store. I feel so happy! Being on a roll, I also replaced the plastic tumblers we've had forever because we had kids and kids break things with Real Glass tumblers (in rainbow colors!) - after all, the "kids" are nearly adults now and rarely bury their drinking cups in the sandbox anymore.
Then I bought a new picture frame for a picture in my living room and tossed that horrid Oh-So-80s oak one. Ahhhh.
Someone stop me before I order all new furniture!
