No.885: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Being Useful

*“The Cobbler’s Shop” by Ralph Hedley (1909)*

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A new year always makes me introspective. What do I want to do with this one, precious life? How am I serving my family and my community? What bad habits do I want to leave behind, what good habits do I need to practice and cultivate? These questions remind me of a book I just finished in December called Shop Class for Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford, particularly this quote:

We are experiencing a genuine crisis of confidence in our most prestigious institutions and professions. The question of what a good job looks like – of what sort of work is both secure and worthy of being honored – is more open now than it has been for a long time. Wall Street in particular has lost its luster as a destination for smart and ambitious young people. Out of the current confusion of ideals and confounding of career hopes, a calm recognition may yet emerge that productive labor is the foundation of all prosperity. The meta-work of trafficking in the surplus skimmed from other people’s work suddenly appears as what it is, and it becomes possible once again to think the thought, “Let me make myself useful.” (p.9-10)

Let me make myself useful.

That’s a sentiment I would like to cultivate in my life in 2025. But how? Stop wasting time, emotion and energy on things that don’t matter. Live in the real world not just the virtual one. Do things that are tangible and have value. Life a life of love and service.

Hoping to document 52 weeks of good things!

Five Good Things…

Snow! // We woke up to a winter wonderland on Monday. We got around ten inches of snow, which is both a blessing and a hindrance: lots of fun to play in but not so fun when you have farm chores to do! Our chicken-tractor-turned-feed-shed’s roof collapsed under the weight of the snow (unfortunately not fixable), but there were good things to be seen too. For example, our neighbor offered to snow plow our long driveway and accomplished the task in two minutes versus the hours it would have taken to shovel out on our own. So grateful.
Kids who can put on their own snow gear. // I feel like I was helping to put on pants and gloves and hats and zipping up coats for years and years and years…and then I blinked and they can do it all on their own now. Bittersweet.
An audio drama of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe // For Christmas, we bought an old-school boombox for my ten-year-old son along with a 19-disc audio drama set of The Chronicles of Narnia (similar to this, but I bought a different, cheaper version on ebay). We listened to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first and thought it was very well done! (Our only pet peeve was the voice of Aslan was a bit corny.)
Using up supplies. // My “making do” project of the week: I found myself looking at stationery and pens so decided to collect what I already have. Turns out that I have plenty! I also have lots of random stickers so I’m using them with wild abandon on my planner and notebooks. Supplies are meant to be enjoyed, right?
Dark red cardinals on the bright white snow. // So beautiful to see.

This Week in the Liturgical Year //

January 6 was the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

To Do: Epiphany Home Blessing

To Read: Benedict XVI’s Homily for Feast of the Epiphany 2011

To Bake: Twelfth Night Cake or this Three Spice Epiphany Cake

Frugal Accomplishments //

made banana bread
added to my newest compost pile: fruit/veggie scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, toilet paper rolls and dryer lint
made homemade brown sugar using white sugar and molasses
used pieces of the broken chicken tractor/feed shed to fortify the pig houses
accepted leftovers from a catered lunch at my husband’s work
listed a few items on ebay/Pango/Poshmark

Reading //

Metaphysicians and Carpenters: Intellectual Pride in Classical Academia from Maddie Dobrowski at Circe Institute //

In his book on G.K. Chesterton and the Christian imagination, Thomas Peters writes, “Chesterton insisted that real artists are ordinary people who do art; they are not finely tuned instruments… nor do [they] need to live in trendy places, to possess certain eccentric furnishings, to wear a certain arty kind of clothing, or to eat at certain notorious cafés.” Likewise, the mark of a real classical scholar is not dressing in tweed jackets, smoking pipes, and quoting the Silmarillion while sipping on the latest microbrew (not that there is anything wrong with the Silmarillion or microbrews). The true classical scholar is simply an ordinary person who loves truth, beauty, and goodness. He is not puffed up with self-importance, nor does he try to make a show of what he knows. His humility is a beacon of light, allowing him to emanate the true spirit of the classical tradition.

The Out-of-the Box Vocation from Denise Trull at Theology of Home // I loved this.

Caryll Houselander was never rich. She had about three to four dresses. The office where she wrote her books was a freezing little shed behind her friend Iris’s house. And it worked for her. She painted rooms for people’s houses, she carved Stations of the Cross. She wrote and wrote and wrote books. She was never wealthy or established but lived mostly a vagabond life in her leaf patterned overalls and large glasses. She lived among poor people and artists and those who would never be successful in the world’s eyes. Her great call, her reason for being, she discovered, was to simply try to convince each human being she came into contact with that Christ dwelled within them and their worth was unimaginable. She did it in her very small and limited life filled with odd jobs. And here we are today reading and being blessed by her books. God always finds a way to bless our efforts.

New Additions to The List //