Social Non-Distance Bingo #2

Well, seems like we’re going to be socially distanct for awhile longer.

Here are twenty five new ideas to spend time staying in connection with yourself and others. Like the first bingo sheet, all of the squares can be accomplished with little to no money by people of many ages and abilities.

If you prefer a list, here you go:

• Listen to the rain

• Recommend a podcast

• Gaze at the stars

• Enjoy a cup of tea

• Learn (or create) a joke

• Read a poem

• Write a postcard*

• Take a shower

• Bake something

• RAIN Meditation

• Feel your hands as you wash them

• Mop the floor

• Stay at Home!

• Witness the sun rise

• Practice pushups

• Watch a livestream concert

• Doodle

• Call a friend

• Ask for help

• Color

• Sleep in

• Look for spring blooms

• Work a puzzle

• Do a sun salutation

• Walk barefoot on the Earth

*Don't have a penpal? Write Rachel at 1224 E Cooke Rd Columbus OH 43224 and I'll write back!

Click the image for a .pdf download to print or follow links.

Social Non-Distance Bingo

Click on the image for a .pdf download with links to more content.

I’ve been thinking about the social needs of humans quarantined for the covid-19 pandemic. Not only are adults experiencing anxiety about economic and health consequences, children will now be home for weeks without usual group activities.

Several years ago, I created bingo cards to share with me female farmer friends. The squares were usually jokes about how hard it is to be a female farmer - Need Bigger Pockets, Mansplained At The Hardware Store - but turning it into a game with others made me feel solidarity in what can be an isolating occupation.

In similiar fashion, I created this Social Distancing bingo card to encourage us all to stay connected with ourselves and our community, including the natural world. I brainstormed ideas that are free or nearly so, can be accomplished by children and adults, and support healthy brains and bodies.

Want to play along? Click the image at right for a PDF to print. Underlined text is linked to more resources in the PDF.

Long Island Cheese Pumpkin {Favorite Flavors}

Have you ever had finger-licking good pumpkin?

You might think that such a thing doesn't exist. Truthfully, I didn't either. I am disappointed by watery, slightly bitter squash every time I roast a pie pumpkin. I honestly usually enjoy the roasted seeds more than the pumpkin.

That is, until my farm friend Al from Stonefield Naturals gave me four heirloom winter squash to compare. Four deeply autumnal colored skins, four textures of flesh, four sizes of seed.

roasted pie pumpkin

I took the variety to a potluck dinner. We scooped the oven-roasted squash plain to taste all the nuances of the flavors.

Long Island Cheese, the biggest squash, won every person's vote. The dusky sunset-colored skin yields fully cooked, deep orange flesh after a fourty-five minute roast in a medium oven. Buttery in texture and mildly sweet, the Long Island Cheese flavor embodies everything great about fall - warmth, richness, settling earthiness.

I shared cold puree with friends who couldn't believe I'd added no sugar, no fat, or seasoning. The Long Island Cheese is scrumptious all on its own. I couldn't help myself but lick my fingers as I pressed the roasted squash into jars for storage and I keep coming back to the fridge for spoonfuls.

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You can bet I'll buy some more of these beauties from Al at the Worthington Indoor Farmers' Market before the season ends. They're going in my garden plan for next year too - Baker Creek caries the variety if you can't get your hands on seeds to save.

What's your favorite flavor these days?