bits and squash seeds

I slept in this morning and did not go to the garden. Then I hacked and sputtered a bit.. did not go to the doctor because *read further on later*.

We went out for groceries today and I was following my instincts, went looking for a can of winter squash, the type of which I am used to buying canned in Minnesota so many years ago. Due to climate and/or decade or some mixture of the two there was not one to be found, and this was in the 'larger selection' grocery store of our region. In the produce section, however, were butternut squashes serving what up until then I am sure was a purely ornamental function... and one of them was captured and brought home to our house (3 lbs for 3.50 total... pretty sweet). I took a serrated steak knife to it and conquered what in a past year (2004) had led to a severely cut finger. But I had experience this time .. and it did not get the upper hand on me. After a little over an hour in the oven the squash itself and it's lovely seeds (separated, coated in olive oil and spread on aluminum foil) were a tasty treat for me, myself and I. Esme would not touch any of it - 'no thanks'. Mark is against the idea of squash as a food product. I did bring a few chunks of it up to the in-laws, and they did enjoy it. I have an entire tupperware full of mashed squash that is just waiting for another day - unless I continue to eat it out of there by the spoonful. It is that good. I apparently really needed the vitamins in there or it was just my Native American heritage (I do have some, the tribe is the disputed part) shining through. Mark says his Cherokee heritage is just fine with corn, and I can keep the squash and beans part to myself.

I think the reason I was feeling so poorly with this chest cold - after a few days on the antibiotic no less, was that I was forgetting to drink my fluids. The antibiotic needs lots of fluids to work properly. And I was resorting to coffee which was not cutting it. Drink, girl.. drink. I feel a little better tonight than last night. I was drinking chicken broth tea with honey and garlic powder in it. That is better than it sounds. And it does a nice trick to the throat.

We tied up the tomatoes to a taller wire out in the garden. I put in more basil seeds and carrot seeds. I weeded quite a bit. There was one more tiny zucchini (and at least two growing larger), one small bell pepper and lots more green beans. I simmered them and more black eyed peas into another container of the soup from the freezer. It was good. The rest of it was boiled down a little further to eat on a tortilla tomorrow. Esme ate chicken noodle soup and drank a lot of milk. She sat on my lap and looked at flower and vegetable pictures because Pocoyo was not loading. Then she asked me to go 'two sits bed and two read books'... as in: 'Let's both go sit in the bed and read a book together.' That was nice. And now she is asleep with her cookie rabbit.