Phew! Birthday party weekend has been a banger!
I have a dear friend who's 40th whirl around the sun is today, and we have been celebrating! Yesterday, we had a three in one birthday party for weekly game night, the reason for the celebration trifecta being that we are all over-scheduled adults and finding a day to all come together has been a bit of a struggle. It was worth it though, the edible blood stuffed, red-velvet, vanilla buttercream, crushed animal cracker dino nuggie cake I made was a hit! As was the German chocolate cake and apple pie that my dear friend and I tag team concocted. Parties are fun.
Today though, today's fete is at my humble abode, so I got up this morning and did much the same activities that I did yesterday, kitchen witchery!
We are having a bit of a Latin fiesta for today's festivities, one friend is bringing carnitas and pico de gallo made from produce fresh from her garden. Me, I whipped up two different kinds of Mexican slaw, one dairy-free for the birthday boy, and the other, well the other is a conglomeration of every possible delightful flavor I could think of from grilled corn, to jalapenos, to lime, to freshly grated carrots, to cilantro, the list just goes on! I CAN"T WAIT TO EAT THAT SLAW!
Sorry. I got a bit out of hand there.
Last night when I got home from the other party, I plugged in my crockpot and let the beans start cooking that I had prepped before we left. I slow cook my refried beans using this most excellent method I found years ago where I sear onions, throw in some spices and seasonings, and let the beans simmer for at least ten hours. I then chuck in some butter and bacon grease (DF butter in this instance) and immersion blend it all once the butter melts. YUM!
I also prepared the punch ingredients, because the pineapple, ginger ale, limeade punch that I got in mind is going to be lit!
And with that, all I have left to do is make the Mexican rice, which is pretty easy to do in the Instant Pot. Add in the dirt cake my pal is crafting and we are going to be feasting here in a couple hours, all in honor of our other pal.
I like it.
It was while I was bopping around happily crafting future food to be ingested by friends that I realized something, I felt good.
My friends, I have not felt very good for a couple of years. My immune system has been on a bender and the daily pain has been a real trial. Could it be that I am maybe entering a feel better phase?
I sure hope so.
You see, this week I have to do a project that involves nursing students and case studies, I still have a ton of homestead food preservation work to accomplish. I need to organize and deal with a pile of paperwork, and oh heck, about a billion other things. To feel good while I am doing that would be amazeballs!
I am going to be cautiously optimistic about this development and just be thankful and enjoy this little moment even if it's only temporary.
Right now I am enjoying a cup of elderberry and hibiscus tea while I bask in a bit of thank you gratitude for this serendipitous turn of events. I've been thinking a lot about mindset lately, and how mine's been a bit of a decaying piece of pumpkin carcass for a long while now. I was deluding myself in a sense because I thought I was thinking in the right key, but instead I think I was stuck in an unfortunate season of self-pity and hubris. The difference between the states is becoming more obvious as I continue to shake of the shackles of fear, scarcity, and doubt that I was operating in.
We'll see if I am truly progressing once I get in the middle of a setback, they are the true testers of one's resolve and viewpoint on things.
Anyway, I am thankful you all have been along with me throughout all this, even if you have had to bear my sometimes cogitative musings at times, but I have always been able to better relate my internal state through written ramblings rather than through verbal blatherings.
And that is just the state of this Sunday-enjoying Kat right meow...
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's very delightful and more than competent at taking smashing photos of surviving late fall flowers iPhone.