Building Community - has been going very well. I feel connected here. We have worked on connecting with the neighbors across the street. Their kids are so sweet. We haven't gotten to see them much since it is so dark at night, but I think we both feel like we could call on them when in need and I hope they feel that way too. We are volunteering more at our church and have been asked to take on a bit project for the next year. It is exciting and nerve-wracking, but it is all about getting a large number of people in a better financial place, so that is REALLY exciting!
Community at work is so much better too. I have worked to open up to more people and there is just more laughter there. That is so good!
Health - The update on that is that I have lost about 10 pounds and one pants size since September this year. That was fun! We continue to work on eating all organic food and a lot more vegetables. We were regulars at the Farmer's Market this year and that was in spite of being part of a Community Supported Agriculture shipment each week and growing a bunch of our own veggies as well. I am able to support four worm bins at this point! Or at least I was during the summer! I have been juicing and my son and I have been doing a lot of smoothies with additional veggies in them. Our most recent thing was making our own apple sauce. YUM!!
Growing - BOY DID WE GROW! We grew a ton of tomatoes of a variety of kinds. We grew zucchinis, summer squash, another kind of squash, celery, parsley, potatoes, peppers (not many though because the chickens thought these plants were especially good), lettuce, come carrots, and massive cucumbers! We pickled and canned some, but mostly we ate the lovely food. It was fun to see things actually start to grow. We will see what will happen for next year...
I did my share of growing as well. I took some time off this Fall due to some medical issues. It was hard to let go for real. But it was very necessary for my health. I have come back a better person for it.
Nature - The thing that really stands out with me about nature is...an owl who came to visit my yard. I live very much in an area where it was a big surprise to see him. I felt like he was visiting to say hello. It was such a blessing. I have been more watchful with the chickens though.
I guess along with the this, I would say that we have been working on conserving water. I heard this tip from somewhere and thought it would be an easy change. We throw a bucket under the faucet while the water is heating up in the morning for a shower. Then we use that water to flush the toilet. It is simple, but it seems to really help.
And this summer, with all the veggies we were eating, I was amazed at the small amount of garbage and recycling we produced. We continue to work on this through the winter, but it is a bit harder as the Market is closed for a few months and our CSA won't start again until May. But every little bit counts.
Positive Thoughts - It has been a hard year in a lot of ways. We moved in October last year, our dog died in November and then my sister died in December of last year. There were many things in the news that were tough. It was an election year for the President here and there was so much political back and forth on Facebook. I made a commitment to share at least one positive thought on my Facebook page each day. That has been an inspiration to me and I have had a lot of people thank me for it as well.
I will try to write more. Thank you for helping me ease back into blogging. I have missed it.
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