I had an interesting dream this morning. Another one of those that I simply had to write about before I even got out of bed. Just to get the outline on the page. Typing on the phone is not as easy for me as doing it on the keyboard. Maybe I should try voice input next time that happens. It seems to work reasonably well. I’ve been using it to transcribe my handwritten notes from backpacking trips, and it’s a lot easier than trying to type them up.
The dream involved flying, in a way. Ascending through the earth’s atmosphere and into a transcendent space. Not outer space, but a place of the spirit. I stayed as long as I could maintain the vibration, then descended back into the body.
I had plans for the morning, and I got most of them completed. I’m planning to hike tomorrow, so I got my leather boots treated with snow seal, which is a beeswax based leather treatment. It helps with repelling water, conditioning the leather, and protecting it. In the photo below, the boot on the right has been sealed, compared with the boot on the left that hasn’t been yet. I did it to my Lems last year, but left too much wax on so they got a coating of dust when I wore them next. I think I did better with the Switchback II’s.
I exercised, going slowly through the next set of exercises in the Back & Core level 3 program. I went particularly slowly because I was doing another day of partial fasting. My eating window was only going to be open between noon and 6 pm. I’m going to try for three days a week on that for a while and see how I feel about it.
The other big project I wanted to get done was processing the pumpkin my neighbor had given me. I have learned from the internet, that people recommend small pumpkins for eating, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat a big carving pumpkin. It’s food, and I’m going to use it by golly.
I cut it open, cleared out the seeds and guts, and then peeled it with a vegetable peeler. I had to cut it into smaller and smaller pieces so my peeler could handle it. The seeds I reserved. I have vague memories of my mom toasting pumpkin seeds because my dad liked them, but I don’t remember how she did it so I had to look up recommendations for doing them in the dehydrator. I washed them and then set them to soaking in a salt water solution. They’ll go into the dehydrator tomorrow.
I ran out of time to start roasting the pumpkin. I only had time to chunk it up and stick it in the fridge for later, because at noon I wanted to get right to eating lunch and then go drop my trash at the transfer station and go to Weiser for the craft fair. And stop by a couple of stores. And the cat bookstore, Literary Paws.
I practiced my choir music on the drive. I’ve been neglecting that, but I got a good amount of practice in today (I also practiced my flute part several times before I left). I picked up some tea and soap at my first stop. I got myself a hot jelly and some more soap at the craft fair. I was on the lookout for silver camel charms because of my dream, but no one had anything like that.
I managed to find four books I wanted at the bookstore, and spent some time petting a very lovey kitty. Chirpy and purring. And I saw the daughter of the woman I bought my house from, which was very small world.
I picked up the pecans and Karo syrup that I’ll be using to bake a pecan pie in a few weeks for my friend’s birthday. Maybe I’ll make candied pecans with the rest of the nuts since the package is bigger than I’ll need for one pie. Or a second pie…
I felt satisfied on the drive home. I’d gotten done what I wanted to get done. I put everything away, and then frittered away some time zoning out. I should have gotten the pumpkin started, but I wasn’t feeling it. So now I’m waiting for it to finish cooking before I go to bed. Maybe I’ll turn the oven off and let the residual heat finish them off. I filled three trays of small chunks, each seasoned with something different (cinnamon and salt, Ambrose’s mystery mix, and curry powder). I figured if these pumpkins aren’t supposed to be as sweet or flavorful, I’ll just season them before roasting.
I’ve got my hiking clothes ready to go for the morning. I’ll be driving out in the dark, possibly starting with a headlamp. There doesn’t look to be snow currently on Cuddy, so this might be my last chance to summit before it gets dangerous. Or there could be snow that I can’t see that will block my way. Only one way to find out. Last time I drove out there, one of my tires alerted as being low, and I think that was due to the temperature drop. I’ve got a pump I can use if it happens again, but I kind of hope it doesn’t.
