Pumpkin Post

Last week, when I went to Island View Beach, I drove through an area where there are a lot of farms. That large building in the centre of the photo is a country market, selling all sorts of local produce, bales of hay, fresh eggs and, of course, pumpkins!

At this time of year, pumpkin patches are very eye-catching and are visited by families so that the kids can select pumpkins to take home and carve into jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. Brings back a lot of fond memories!




The customary blog drive-by shot:




Other people just go the grocery stores to get their pumpkins. Along the way I passed a tractor hauling a load from the field to the barn. I suspect from there they are trucked to local shops.




And yesterday, I was at a local grocery store and the pumpkin bins were out and full up! I just love that (small things, small minds...). Aren't they gorgeous?




This hefty pumpkin is the subject of a contest:




'Guess the weight and win!' said the contest dude.

'Win what?' I asked.

'Why, you win the pumpkin!'

'Ha! What would I do with a 300lb pumpkin!?'

But really, I already knew... I'd do this:

;-)

What would you do with a 300lb pumpkin?

Thanksgiving

This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canadaland.

A common tradition, at least at Thanksgiving meals that I've been to over my years, is that once everyone has sat down and loaded their plates up to maximum capacity, is to go around the table and each person expresses what they are thankful for. It's never been a religious thing and people are usually 'digging in' at this point and the wine is a-flowing.

This Thanksgiving, I'm alone. I made a sort of rice jambalaya thing: rice, veggies and ground turkey breast cooked up sort of Cajun-like and moments ago sat there eating it wondering what I'm thankful for. This year, it's difficult because I'm not well, I'm not in a happy place and that's clouding everything. But I am thankful for some very basic, bottom rung of 'Maslow's hierarchy of needs' sorts of things.

- I am alive. A few times throughout this past year I have had some very dark moments, somehow I'm still here.

- I have finally found a psychologist who kicks ass. Ms Shrinkychick has her work cut out for her and she's not let me down.

- I have a roof over my head, money in the bank and food in my belly.

- Although my health is not what it could be, I feel ok at this moment.

- There are 365 days to make next year's Thanksgiving blog post into something much better.

Oh, wait! Three cheers for pumpkin pie!



Happy Thanksgiving... or not.