The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.449: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.04

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The weather outside is // 

On the breakfast plate this morning // Like most mornings, I have oatmeal and a cup of coffee.  I went a little overboard on caffeine this spring (like four big cups a day overboard), but have been working to reduce that significantly.  I’m down to one morning cup and one in the afternoon.  Baby steps.

As I look outside my window // I wish I could adequately describe how beautiful it is outside right now!  We have a handful of different species of trees and they seem to stagger their color changing – first the gold/yellow, then the deep orange/red.  I love it.

As I look around the house // my brain is bursting with ideas to make our home feeling a little more cozy.  (This post started me down this road.)  We could definitely use a few more blankets and I’m still on the hunt for a new living room rug.  I may need to reread Homebody for inspiration again too.

 In the garden // it’s looking pretty bare.  The summer crops and flowers have all been ripped out and while I started the fall planting with great enthusiasm…I’ve since fizzled out, ha.  I still have lettuce, carrots and broccoli looking okay, but I’m not giving them nearly the same amount of love I did this spring.  

On this week’s to-do list //
  • get a good start on the Fall Cleaning Checklist
  • make leaf “mulch” for the garden beds
  • list five things on eBay
  • deep clean the kitchen
  • choose clothes so we can take family pictures (ourselves)

On the menu this week //

Monday: sheetpan sausage and veggies with rice
Tuesday: Taco Tuesday
Thursday: slow cooker beef stroganoff and egg noodles 
Friday: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Currently reading // I’m returning to my love of pioneer fiction with The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas.  I’ve also started the Consecration to St. Joseph by Fr. Donald Calloway and Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory by Gerard J.M. Van Den Aardweg.

What I’m creating at the moment // My Mother Culture assignment for October is to catch up on all.the.things, so I’m trying to do at least a few stitches on my scrap quilt every day.  I’m not sure I’ll finish the entire top this month, but I’m going to try! 

New recipe I want to try this week // 100 Little Things task #6 is to make cinnamon rolls from scratch.  This apple pie version looks like a fun twist.

No.448: Mother Culture Commonplace Book // September 2020

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“Mother Culture,” an idea from Charlotte Mason and coined by Karen Andreola, simply encourages mothers to keep learning and growing, even while raising children.  Andreola describes it this way: 

Mother Culture® is a way-of-life, the skillful art of how a mother looks after the ways of her household. With a thinking-love she creates a culture in the home all her own. A mother does a lot of taking care, so she needs to take care of herself, too. Much depends on how she manages her life. 

I resonate with this encouragement because it feels like I have someone in my corner, someone looking out for me as I do the hard work of motherhood.  Taking the time to gain new knowledge/skills really fills my cup and I think my children notice.  So with that in mind, I’m committing to my own set of monthly assignments this school year!  September was a bit of a wash, but here’s what I did:  

✔ ASSIGNMENT #1: Start reading Home by Marilynne Robinson along with the Close Reads Podcast.
It’s been a long time since I’ve deeply pondered a work of literature.  Since I don’t belong to a book club, I usually just read a book at face value and move on.  Some effect me more deeply than others, but for the most part, I don’t take the time to hash out overarching themes and word choices and other literary things.  Reading Home along with the Close Reads Podcast has been a fun change of pace and I’m really enjoying it.  I read ahead and finished the book, but these are the two episodes I’ve listened to so far:



✔ ASSIGNMENT #2: Research edible plants that grow in my area.

Native fruit and nut trees can be grown to produce food for people and/or wildlife while protecting soil, water and air quality.  Because they are multifunctional, native fruit and nut trees and shrubs are prime candidates for agroforestry plantings and home landscaping.

I found a really cool resource from Virginia Tech describing some of the edible fruit and nut trees that grow in my area.  There’s everything from a black walnut tree to an Allegheny blackberry bramble to a pawpaw tree.  I hope to take this knowledge and use it to purchase specific species of plants that will thrive here.  Setting myself up for success! 


✔ ASSIGNMENT #3: Buy the supplies needed to learn how to crochet.
Learning to crochet is something I have wanted to learn for years and years.  To make things a little less overwhelming, I decided to break this task into tiny goals and this month was the easiest: buy some supplies.  I have no idea if this yarn is appropriate or even any good, but the price was right and the colors were pretty.

And the two assignments I didn’t get to:

✘ ASSIGNMENT #4: Discover and listen to another new musician.
✘ ASSIGNMENT #5: Learn about a new saint.



For October, I’m planning to circle back and finish the last two assignments.  I also think I’ll take this month to finish the top of my hand-sewed scrap quilt before starting in on crochet lessons.  One thing at a time, right?  So October: a month for finishing what I’ve started.  Here we go!

No.447: My Latest Reads // September 2020

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P.S. I highly recommend Book Outlet!  Use my link to receive $10 off your first order of $25 or more.
P.P.S. Have you heard of Bookshop?  They are an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores.  You can check out all of my favorites on this page and I’ll be linking to Bookshop and Book Outlet as much as I can from here on out.  I hope you’ll support them too! 

#64. ONE SECOND AFTER by William R. Forstchen || ★★☆☆☆
At the end of August, I went down a prepper Youtube rabbit hole and stumbled on a thing called an EMP, or an Electromagnetic Pulse. A commenter on the video mentioned this book and you know me – I’ll read just about anything!  The writing is not good, but the topic was a fascinating and frankly terrifying thought experiment.  I pray it never really happens.

#65. GAINING GROUND: A STORY OF FARMERS’ MARKETS, LOCAL FOOD, AND SAVING THE FAMILY FARM by Forrest Pritchard || ★★★★☆
Such an interesting and inspiring book about a farmer not too far from me.  I came away equally inspired to move forward with our own farming plans as well as financially supporting the other farmers in our area.


#66. HOME by Marilynne Robinson || ★★★★☆
I read this along with the Close Reads Podcast and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  (My first experience with a Robinson novel was a flop.)  Definitely slow-moving and sad/melancholy in tone, but also thought-provoking and surprisingly deep.

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MY READING IN NUMBERS FOR 2020

Books Read: 66
Pages Read: 18,783
Fiction: 37  //  Non-Fiction: 29
Kindle Books: 26  //  Paper Books: 40
20th Century in Books Challenge: 29/100
Original 2020 books “to-read” total on Goodreads: 414 // Current “to-read” total: 374
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No.446: Last Week at the Farmhouse // There Just Aren’t Enough Hours in the Day

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Well, this month was a blur.  During Labor Day weekend, I made a long list of projects I wanted to accomplish in September and….well, not much of that happened, ha!  Schooling obviously takes up more of my time and even six weeks in, I’m still figuring out how to fold extra tasks into the structure of my day.  What would have taken me no time at all seems to take forever now!  But it’s all okay.  They’ll all get done eventually…deep breaths deep breaths.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, here are a few highlights from this month:

  • We had a great start to the school year.  This doesn’t always happen – on the first day of school last year, I sobbed and was convinced I had made a huge mistake!  This time around, the kids are enjoying most of the books and curriculum choices, are working hard and producing great work.  I couldn’t ask for more.
  • We refinanced on the house for a much lower interest rate.  
  • I finished out a very successful and fun first summer season in my garden.  I learned so much and am anxious to tweak things and try again next spring.
  • I painted Sophie’s bathroom and while we still need to buy a few things for the walls, I can happily say that we are finally 95% done with that project.  Finally!!
  • We celebrated two birthdays and now have a new 6-year-old and a new 8-year-old.  
  • I’ve been a decluttering fool whenever I have a few extra minutes.  Really motivated to finish up the 1,000 Item Decluttering Challenge ASAP.

On my nightstand: I just finished Home by Marilynne Robinson and am almost done with The Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Luisa Piccarreta.  Next up is Versions of Us by Laura Barnett.

My organization project for the week was a unique one, but long overdue: I finally went through my TBR list on Goodreads and removed the books that no longer interest me.  I’ve had a Goodreads account for almost 10 years now and wow, what a time capsule!  Most of the books I removed were books that centered around parenting, family traditions, or cooking, all topics I was absorbing back in 2010 as I attempted to do this new motherhood thing well.  I blinked and suddenly books on teenagers are more appropriate than the ones about sleep schedules.  Time flies.     

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