Acorn Squash

Take two acorn squash, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds. Give the 'guts' to the chickens.



Take thin slices of butter and place around the lip of each half, and some in the hollow. Sprinke with brown sugar (1-2 TBS per half), and salt lightly. Place in a 9x13 pan in the oven for about an hour at 350 degrees. A fork should slip easily into the flesh when ready.



Serves 4 to 8, depending on how much else you have at dinner.



I have been reading homesteading blogs, and what a real eye opener. Some of the concepts are so simple yet so profound I am left wondering how I never saw these things before. My favorite thus far is from the Dry Creek Chronicals:



Whenever we are pondering something we do, or something we may start doing, we try to ask ourselves three questions: Will it help us to raise our family? Will it help us to live in community? Will it help us to worship God?



http://cumberlandbooks.com/blog/?p=909



I realized through these simple questions that I have spent the last 5 years being closer to people I have never met than to my own next door neighbors. I have spent years discussing topics of what I once thought of as worldly and important on-line while letting my kids sit in the other room and play computer games. When you really start to look at your life in these terms, you start to realize that priorities in this society are so backwards that it is no wonder we have such social crisis on our hands.



I can take all the things I am juggling right now, and start assessing them according to these three questions. The most obvious thing which takes up the most time for me is internet use. Outside of maybe 15-30 minutes a day tops to blog and check mail, there is no reason for me to be on-line. I use it as an escape which just makes me need it that much more the next time I start to feel stressed or bored. I am beginning to think of it as an addiction of sorts. I read about people who simply get rid of their electronics like it is an old shoe and I cannot imagine what I would do with all that time. It is daunting to say the least. The TV was cake to give up, but the internet....that is another whole ball of wax. TV is an idiot box, but the internet, now, that is cutting edge news and technology. That is information, educational, interactive.........yeah right. It is no different.



We all have to work on one thing at a time. Mine will be to get off this computer. It will be interesting to see how little time I can spend on here.



We are off to Roseland Water Park in an hour. Tom loves the place, and it is relatively inexpensive if you go after 3pm (1/2 off the ticket price). I have a good hearty bread in the oven and leftover turkey and gravy for dinner, so Dave won't miss us a bit.