I'm Still in Re-Entry Mode

I'm having one of those days. A day in which I'm not really thrilled to be living in Suburbia. One of those days when I'm really ready to be back overseas. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband & I'm grateful to have the home we do, but it's not what I've grown to appreciate as "normal", and today I'm uncomfortable. I blame it on the scarecrows & pumpkins.

We are so blessed to live within walking distance to the school where Phil is teaching this year. It's about 20 minutes up the street from the apartment we're renting. We generally walk to his classroom together, and then I turn around and hike back.

My return route always takes me through the elementary yard,where there is a fenced in area that appears to have no purpose other than to hold a bench and seasonal decorations. Back in September, several sunflower-faced scarecrows were stuck into the ground, I guess to remind the students that the seasons had changed even if the weather hadn't. October arrived, and pumpkins were scattered at the base of the scarecrows. 

It's now November. The weather is *finally* cooler, but the trees are still green, the skies are still blue, and those scarecrows & pumpkins are still holding down the yard. Moreover, the pumpkins are starting to rot. This really bothered me. (It still does.) It was all I could do not to run home, grab my backpack, and hike back to scoop up those bad boys and haul them home to my kitchen. Reverse culture shock.

See, where I've been for the past decade, pumpkins are FOOD, not just objects for fun fall decoration. If we carved them for Jack-o-Lanterns, they didn't stay that way for long before being boiled, baked, or beaten into something edible. Finding round (and orange) pumpkins in Moscow was rare - if you actually found something that really looked like a North American pumpkin, you typically paid a hefty price for it. Our pumpkins were usually white, green, striped, and the really orange ones frequently looked like gourds. It didn't matter - they all tasted like pumpkin. They all made amazing pies..breads...soups...muffins...casseroles...

Where else in the world do you find people spending money on food which will only be looked at, never consumed? (Feel free to tell me...I haven't been everywhere...)

Phil & I bought a whole basket full of mini-pumpkins, acorn squash, and pomegranates which I turned into a center piece. We're eating our way through the pile. When we reach the table, I'll change the decor.