slow living – October

October went by quickly, but I am happy that it has been the start of the slow season for us. Once we get all of the vehicles that have been dropped off in the storage yard put away and our place starts looking more like home again and less like a used boat and trailer dealership, we will start to settle down for the winter and enjoy the quiet.

I’m following the example at Slow Living Essentials again this month, and using her categories to summarize my month and list some things I’d like to accomplish.

{Nourish}:

We’ve been eating too well around here lately. Which means that we should probably try eating lighter, especially since I put on my protective layer of winter fat early this year. Like, in May (I know, I just said like. I’ve been spending too much time around tween girls. I used to have perfect grammar – similar to perfect pitch, but without the talent. Now I talk in sentence fragments. A lot.).

I wrote about Pumpkin Granola, Pumpkin Pie Muffins, Apple Pie Spice, (Almost) Buttermilk Drop Biscuits, and some Halloween Chocolate Spiders to make for a sweet Halloween treat.

{Prepare}:

I spent a weekend this month doing some advance cooking for hockey nights and stocked the freezer with bags of hamburger cooked with onion, carrot, zucchini, green pepper and garlic. They make it easy to make a quick meal of nachos, spaghetti or baked pasta – only a little extra assembly required. We even like the hamburger as a pizza topping on occasion. I also made some soups and chili to fill up the freezer. The only problem with doing the advance work is now I feel like I need a good excuse to raid my stash. I want to hoard it – and the husband has to provide a suitably hamburger worthy reason to take some from the freezer.

I managed to cut the last of the jalapeños in half and put them in the freezer until I can manage do something with them. I’d like to make some Louisiana style hot sauce, but I kinda came down with making-things-with-stuff-from-the-garden fatigue halfway through the month and just gave up. That also led to the rotting of several cabbages from the garden. I feel guilty, but I’ll work through it.

Fortunately, the rest of the pumpkin and squash can wait until I have time to do something with them.

Before I hit the garden produce wall, I wrote instructions for making and canning some easy applesauce and an easy way to roast and puree pumpkins, plus some pumpkin pie spice to use with the puree.

{Reduce/Reuse/Repurpose/Repair}:

We had plans for a new efficient furnace for this month, but we are at the mercy of the furnace man (who hasn’t shown up yet), so I guess it will be put off until next month. Not much else has been done along those lines, but then, nothing really was needed. We weren’t in need of anything new, and things continue to be used and re-used around here.

{Green}:

This is where I am supposed to write about any new green practices, cleaners or health and beauty products that I have made this month. I continue to use laundry powder that I made (though I also used store-bought when I ran out) and I attempted that cleaner that people seem to be making by leaving orange peels in vinegar for a few weeks, but the smell of it put me off so much that I’d rather just use plain vinegar.

I did make a cinnamon, orange and brown sugar body scrub. I’d like to make some other scrubs that would be suitable for Christmas gifts, but don’t require any refrigeration. Maybe in November.

{Grow}:

We’ve harvested cabbage, red jalapeno peppers, the last of the tomatoes and the pumpkins and squash this month. I also managed to use the last of the basil just after the frost hit. One part of the plant remained green, so we picked the rest of it and enjoyed it in a baked rigatoni and again in some tomato basil pesto for on top of pizza. The garden is now pulled up and plowed under. Whew.

{Create}:

I’m still working on the sweater for the tall kid. Actually, no I’m not. It’s gathering dust in my basket at the moment, but I did finish a cowl to keep me warm this winter, and I am currently working on my first ever pair of socks.

{Discover}:

I’ve been doing a bit more reading this month, though I didn’t take any photos this time around. I’m currently browsing through the Ina Garten Back to Basics cookbook that a co-worker thought I might like. I’ve got a bunch of sticky notes marking pages to try.

{Enhance – community}:

The dad continues to volunteer as a hockey coach and as a member of the local Ducks Unlimited committee. We continue to purchase locally when we have the opportunity – some apples and a pumpkin from a local orchard (yes, I know that we grew pumpkins, but none were big enough to carve).

{Enjoy}:

We’ve had some time to visit with friends this month, we had Thanksgiving over at my in-law’s farm with the city cousins and we’ve spent a couple of weekends with the girl’s friends here on sleep-overs.

This time of year is busy for our boat/RV/trailer storage business, so someone is constantly at the door or calling about drop-off times. Once the dad gets it all put away for the winter, we will be able to settle down and enjoy the peace once again. I’m looking forward to a little bit of hibernation.

Another busy, but interesting month.

Linked to GNOWFGLINS, FOY Update, Frugally Sustainable