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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

July 1, 2024

No.837: Last Week at the Farmhouse // An Educated Woman

“Woman Reading” by Childe Hassam (1885)

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

There seems to be lots of discussion online lately around “trad wives.”  I’m not on social media and am out of the loop so I don’t know the full extent of the issue, but – as usual – my thoughts are probably outside those strongly drawn lines.  (I’ll beat this drum all day long: You don’t have to believe in binary thinking!  Resist the boxes!)  Here’s my big picture take: an educated woman, whether at work or at home, can only make the world a better place.

A career-oriented woman can be “educated” but not necessarily wise.  A homemaker can also lack this wisdom.  It’s a tragedy for both.  So what do we do?  We stop being defensive.  We stop taking other people’s choices/opinions personally.  We stop attacking the other side.  And then we get down to the arduous task of learning.

You don’t need a college degree to read.  In today’s day and age, the library is free and used books are super cheap.  The pursuit of wisdom is right at your fingertips if you desire it!  And in my opinion, the rewards are enormous.

A woman who reads understands more of the complexities of the world.
A woman who reads learns the history of the past so as not to repeat it in the present.
A woman who reads sits at the feet of great thinkers and molds her views accordingly.
A woman who reads can identify bias, propaganda and lies.
A woman who reads wrestles with current issues in a much deeper way.

To me, the argument between women who stay home and women who work is just silly. The bigger question for me is…do you read?

Hoping to document the abundance around me all year long!

Around here, abundance looks like…

+ making our yearly batch of tallow from beef fat.  Another amazing example of making something from “trash.”

+ four new little piglets on the farm!  Our gilts will be ready for breeding in late fall, but we needed an intermediary set of pigs to raise in the meantime.  They are tiny and adorable and we can’t wait to find out their personalities.

+ selling twelve unneeded items for a new challenge that I’m calling the Car Loan Payoff Plan.  (Nobody likes to talk about it, so I will: I hate debt and it causes me a lot of stress.  With the success of the Farm Sitter Vacation Fund, I’m encouraged to keep going so that I can help remove some of this mental burden.)  Anyway, this week, I sold two pieces of clothing, eight books, an address book and a Disneyland autograph book from the 1990’s.  After shipping and fees, I made $219.24!

Reading //

  • Building People with Three-Dimensional Memory from Ruth and Peco Gaskovski at School of the Unconformed // I LOVED this.
  • Five Poems Every Catholic Should Memorize from Julian Kwasniewski at Tradition & Sanity // “The marvelous thing about poetry is that it allows us to get in on another’s moment of wonder; and then we have a little piece of his wonder to view the world through. Imagine each great poem you learn as if it is a sliver of stained glass: once your pocket is full of them, you have many lenses you can view the world through.”
  • A People Without Culture: What the End of Reading Truly Means from Nadya Williams at Providence Magazine // “This loss of culture, both oral and written, has significant implications for how any human society, let alone a democracy, functions. How do you communicate with other flesh and blood people with neither the ability to read nor listen deeply? This is a civilization-destroying kind of crisis.”
  • Want of Wonder: Seven Suggestions for Becoming More Childlike from Michael Warren Davis at Hearth and Field

New Additions to The List // 

  • The Devil’s Advocate by Morris L. West
  • How to Read Churches: A Crash Course in Ecclesiastical Architecture by Denis R. McNamara
  • A Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams by Michael Pollan

Watching/Listening //

  • Schubert / Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, D. 485
  • Inferno Cantos 1-12 of 100 Days of Dante from Baylor Honors College // I am enjoying this so much!
  • Session Two of Wit, Learning, and Virtue: The Legacy of Civil Servant, Thomas More course from Belmont Abbey College

Loving //

  • these cooling towels // So nice to wrap around your head or neck when working outside.  The heat has been unbearable lately!

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Posted In: Farmhouse Diaries · Tagged: farmhouse diaries, year of abundance

Comments

  1. Melisa says

    July 1, 2024 at 12:39 pm

    Ashley,

    I love your blog! Full of beauty, truth and goodness. I am in complete agreement with what you’ve written about reading:

    “You don’t need a college degree to read. In today’s day and age, the library is free and used books are super cheap. The pursuit of wisdom is right at your fingertips if you desire it! And in my opinion, the rewards are enormous.”

    I’ve read more in my days as an at-home mom than I ever did for school (and I’m definitely not knocking formal education, this has just been my experience). Yes, our reading can only benefit us, and in turn our families, and in turn the world.

    I see you’ve got a Morris West book on your List. We read his The Shoes of the Fisherman for book club and it was well worth reading.

    I so appreciate that you add beautiful paintings to your blog.

    Blessings to you and yours,
    Melisa

    • Ashley says

      July 3, 2024 at 5:59 am

      I always love to see a comment from you, Melisa! You always add such wisdom to the conversation, thank you!

  2. Laura M says

    July 1, 2024 at 2:21 pm

    The piglets are really cute and you are a great reseller, so it makes sense that you have set yourself a new target.

    • Ashley says

      July 3, 2024 at 6:01 am

      Thanks, Laura! It’s so satisfying to be able to give unneeded things a new home (no waste!) while also getting a few steps closer to our goals.

  3. Rosemary says

    July 3, 2024 at 10:54 am

    I love to read – it is the best hobby – and read good books! I also have been loving seeing the small wins you have for selling things and saving money! Every little bit counts! Debt is, while sometimes necessary (ie mortgage, etc), a lack of freedom for doing what one wants with one’s money, time, thoughts. I have been scheming of ways to either save for a new car fund (not needed now but someday) or pay down the mortgage a little bit extra each month, or perhaps both? I listened to a show on a new to me podcast called Debt Free Mom interviewing a guest on the topic of sinking funds. The guest kept as many as 5 separate sinking funds for things like car repairs, house repairs, Christmas, vacation, and maybe homeschooling? I can’t remember the last one. Have you heard of this podcast?

    • Ashley says

      July 3, 2024 at 5:19 pm

      I completely agree with your view on debt. Money has gotten tighter around here with our farm/continued inflation and I feel like it’s more important than ever to work toward that financial freedom. The process is slow, but you’re right – every little bit counts!
      Also: I haven’t heard about that podcast but will check it out, thank you!

  4. Dami says

    July 4, 2024 at 1:29 pm

    What a wonderful blog post, Ashley! Greetings once again. Your point on resisting binary thinking is true. This recently came up at work and your summary was concise and captivating.

    • Ashley says

      July 5, 2024 at 6:14 am

      So happy to see your comment here, Dami!

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