Pivot!

Me writing a blog post pivoting off of a Melissa Wiley post is oh so 2006! And I’m here for it. So first up, Melissa blogged– go read it! And come back eventually, please. 😀

Something Melissa said reminded me of a challenge I have been facing…one that might seem odd to many. Not a bad challenge, actually if I am successful it will be very good for me, body, mind, and soul. The stumbling block I’m trying to overcome is this: I have no idea what activities bring me peace and restoration, bringing me energy instead of depleting it.

That’s not to say I don’t *enjoy* many things. Currently I’m learning Chinese and refreshing my Spanish. I’m occasionally blogging. I’m very occasionally writing haiku. I’m working towards making teaching English to speakers of other languages a second career or ministry (in the very distant future). I’m trying to get healthy.

But with everything I do, I do it kind of intensely. I take in info like someone opened a fire hose in my direction. I open a hundred plus tabs, and open wide and absorb it all. And I *love* it, yet I love it the way a runner loves the feeling of the 50 meter – you are running all out and are exhilarated, but you can barely breathe at the end.

I don’t think this is particularly healthy, but it’s what I *do* and I don’t know any other way. Add in a lot of childhood trauma, particularly around creative endeavors, and everything I even *think* might be a good choice for “refreshment” goes right out the window. Everything feels tinged with ICK.

I guess I’m an overthinker and intense, and working on that may go a long way towards being more balanced. Like even when I’m reading a book, I’m reading fast (or lately, listening at 1.5x speed) and it turns into “how many books can I finish this month” which negates any relaxing benefit I may have gotten from the story. Perhaps mindfulness — making sure I’m focusing on what I’m doing instead of all the things *relating to what I’m doing* — could get me to enter a regenerative state. (*Amy goes to open 101 tabs on mindfulness and spend the next week speed reading this new project*)

Hopeless, LOL.

On a more peaceful note, here are some garden pictures. My tiny container garden was mostly a bust this year, but I did do some fun things that I will do again. One was growing Chinese Red Noodle Beans. I could never get the hang of regular green beans, they all grew very uneven and had a weird texture. But these “yard long” noodle beans seem to take care of themselves and are fun and different and yummy when quickly stir fried. But I only grew one plant, so only harvest one or two at a time. Not enough for my family of 7, but I throw them in a pan every morning and eat them myself for breakfast. 🙂

I will also try these Minnesota Midget Melons again next year. I only grew two (and a half, lol) but they were sweet and delicious, and again, fun.

I love the look of baby cucumbers. These beit alpha cucumbers are great in that they are the kind that don’t need pollinators to grow (I forget the technical term). The taste is pretty good, but even at a harvestable size, mine seem to have a spiky skin that I have to peel off.

This is my banana pepper. It went on strike until this week. This is the first bloom. It’s September 20th in Zone 7, people. This does not bode well for a pepper harvest. 😀 It’s starting to get very cool at night although the days have been hotter than normal.

Barry’s Crazy Cherry Tomato’s last ditch effort for a bountiful harvest. I may do this one again. I need to start *everything* earlier in the year than I did. But hey, my goals are always bigger than my energy level (see my treatise on intensity above 😉 ) .

Not pictured are my luffa plant – no luffa gourds grew, not even a blossom — an Amish Paste tomato with one lone green tomato on it, and my new sprouts of pea plants and carrots that I planted a few weeks ago. I think the neighborhood chipmunk has eaten a few of the sprouts. I’m hoping they gave him a little stomach ache and he won’t be back.

Indoors, I’m growing a new living room! This is a room that had been empty except for a few bookcases for four years. Yes, I know…but I got sick right when that was my next project to tackle. Dear hubby was way too busy being both mom and dad and working more than full time. It was very low on the priority list. Now that I feel good enough to sit in front of a computer for awhile each day, we ordered some furniture online. The last few weeks brought the chair, loveseat, and rug. And the air purifier in the foreground because the rug *S*T*I*N*K*S*.

The rug is not in position, we are still trying to air it out and flatten out the bumps. Somewhere on that bookshelf are Melissa Wiley books. 🙂

And so to bring things full circle to Melissa’s post, her mention of trucks struggling to get things from point A to point B made me think they don’t have the right Guinea Pig Bridge Technology. You’re welcome.