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The weather outside is //
As I look outside my window // I can see the beginnings of a new project: stacking rocks around my in-ground beds. I get outside daily with the animals, but I wanted another reason to bundle up and breathe some fresh air this winter. My pigs have been tilling up so many big rocks in their paddocks and they’ll be perfect for a homemade weed/grass barrier. My goal is to get outside and collect at least one armful every day. I’m sure I’ll get some kids to help me most days too!
As I look around the house // it’s beginning to look a little like Advent around here! We decorate very slowly in order to fully embrace this season. You can feel the anticipation in the air.
Plugging away // at school. We usually take the month of December to slow down and enjoy “Advent School”, but not this year. Our schooling has been done in fits and spurts this fall as we’ve worked hard on homestead projects before cold weather hit. I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily behind, but we’re definitely not in a position to coast along for three weeks, ha! The kids are working hard on that math and science and history.
On this week’s to-do list //
– celebrate the feast of Saint Nicholas (today!)
– celebrate the Immaculate Conception with a special dinner before evening Mass
– wrap some gifts
– organize the winter gear in the mudroom
– organize my “Selling” bin and pack neatly for listing items in the new year
Giving myself permission // to say: “not this year.” My life is so full and I just can’t do it all. I’ve been agonizing about things that are so small in the grand scheme of life, but still feel so important. My expectations for myself are often so high and unrealistic! Even so, I’m letting myself off the hook on Christmas cards and fun, unique gifts for extended family this year. I’ll get back to those things in 2022.
Currently reading //
I’m on the home stretch for reaching my 100 books in a year goal! Just a few weeks to go…
- Fiction: The Possible World by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz
- Nonfiction: Communism and Conscience of the West by Fulton J. Sheen
- Religious: Come Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting by Mother Mary Francis, PCC
On the menu this week //
Monday: Sicilian chicken soup and fresh bread
Tuesday: one pot kielbasa pasta
Wednesday: Feast of the Immaculate Conception! special meal TBD
Thursday: Refrigerator Cleanout Night
Friday: bean and cheese burritos
