No.767: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Two Things Can Be True at the Same Time

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the juxtaposition between hard and good.  Lately, I’ve found myself saying that many parts of my life are “hard:” Farming is so hard.  Homeschooling six kids is hard.  Trying to take care of myself and feel better is hard.  Life is just…hard.  But – at least in these instances – does hard necessarily mean bad?  The first two have been so fruitful for our family and the third is a not fun, but completely necessary task to improve the quality of my life.  All three are beneficial.  All three are worth the struggle.  All three are good.

Hard and good.  Good and hard.  Two things can be true at the same time.

I had plans to participate in the Top Ten Tuesday linkup this week, but that just didn’t happen.  The prompt was “books on my fall 2023 to-read list” and these were the ten possibilities I pulled:

1. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. Ruthless River: Love and Survival by Raft on the Amazon’s Relentless Madre de Dios by Holly Fitzgerald
4. West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
5. A Merciful Death by Kendra Elliot
6. Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande
7. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
8. Motherless by Brian J. Gail
9. The Carnivore Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Optimal Health by Returning to our Ancestral Diet by Paul Saladino, MD
10. Gold: The Race For the World’s Most Seductive Metal by Matthew Hart

In science, the little boys learned about mushrooms, especially the super deadly Destroying Angel.  We have some mushrooms around our property but will probably leave them alone until someone with way more experience can teach us proper identification.  Did you hear about that mushroom poisoning case in Australia?

Like most people, one of my stressors right now is money.  I’m feeling the tug to intentionally seek out new frugal accomplishments.  We still regularly do most of the things I’ve mentioned in previous FA posts, but I need to think more creatively and outside the box.  I need some fresh inspiration!  Starting small, but two accomplishments from this week:

• My second youngest was in desperate need of bigger sneakers, so I dug around in our hand-me-down bin and thankfully found a pair his size.  A quick cleanup with a wet rag and Magic Eraser and they look good as new.  (And it saved me at least $30.)
• The air conditioning is officially off for the year and the windows are open everyday.  Praying this saves us a bit on our electric bill since this year has been ridiculous.

We had a scary experience with Sammy, our eight-month-old Great Pyrenees/Golden Retriever mix.  We’re still not exactly sure what happened, but he suddenly became unsteady on his feet, stumbling around with his head shaking.  He looked like he had Parkinson’s disease.  His personality completely changed and he just looked awful.  It was absolutely terrifying, but after about 12 hours of rest (and 12 hours of worry for me), he was right back to his silly self.  His symptoms matched up pretty well to vestibular disease and we’re assuming he must have done something to mess with his eardrum, therefore disturbing his equilibrium/balance.