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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

February 29, 2024

No.805: What I Read in February 2024

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

#10. NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

I read this short autobiography as a kind of off-shoot for my American history studies.  Heart-breaking and powerful.

#11. A CAPITALIST MANIFESTO: UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET ECONOMY AND DEFENDING LIBERTY by Gary Wolfram // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop)

This was the reading for an online course I took on Economics 101.  I’ve never taken an economics course before and I learned a lot.  3.5 stars.

#12. THE AMAZING MRS. POLLIFAX by Dorothy Gilman // ★★★★★
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

Number two in the series.  This time Mrs. Pollifax is sent to Istanbul.  So good and the last scene was gold!

#13. FREDDY THE DETECTIVE by Walter R. Brooks // ★★★★☆
(amazon // better world books)

This book is about a pig named Freddy who, after learning about Sherlock Holmes, decides he is going to be a barnyard detective.  I read this to the kids for a school read aloud and it was a big hit!

#14. SEE HOW SHE LOVES US: 50 APPROVED APPARITIONS OF OUR LADY by Joan Carroll Cruz // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop)

I have read a few of Cruz’s books before (most notably the one about Eucharistic miracles) and they are all really great.  This one is a collection of fifty approved Marian apparitions through the ages and it’s a great jumping off point for further research.

#15. LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE by Maeve Binchy // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This chunker of a book (almost 600 pages!) is an epic story of two friends and how the friendship holds them together as they grow up.  I found the beginning of the book way more enjoyable than the latter part when the older girls were making poor decisions and I was yelling, “Red flags!” at the pages, but all in all, it was still an engrossing read, even if I kinda hated the ending.  (This was also my 1982 pick for the 20th Century in Literature challenge.)

#16. BEARING FALSE WITNESS: DEBUNKING CENTURIES OF ANTI-CATHOLIC HISTORY by Rodney Stark // ★★★★★
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

The interesting part about this work on debunking anti-Catholic myths is that it was written by a non-Catholic!  He makes that distinction clear right away and believes that a person’s feelings about Catholicism throughout history should be based on facts, not on lies or exaggerations.  I thought it was excellent and he even has a very thorough bibliography for further research.

#17. THE CHUCKLING FINGERS by Mabel Seeley // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

A mystery from the 1940s, this is a “Depression-era tale of a wealthy family’s dark secrets turning deadly on their remote lakeside estate.”  There are a ton of characters, but the action never lets up and I couldn’t predict the reveal at the end.  3.5 stars, rounded up.

#18. ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS by Stacy Willingham // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This one was a quick read and talk about an unreliable narrator!  The protagonist is a grieving mother whose toddler was abducted from his crib in the middle of the night.  It’s a year later and the mother has barely slept…to the point where she is questioning what is reality and what is not.  Regardless, she is determined to find her son and you get to be along for the ride.  3.5 stars, rounded up.

#19. THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW by C.S. Lewis // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

Another read aloud for school!  We loved how this story connects with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

#20. THE LAST RUNAWAY by Tracy Chevalier // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

After all of that excitement, I decided to change gears and read something historical.  I’ve had this one on my TBR for years and years and was happy to get it off my shelf!  This story is about a young Quaker woman coming to America for the first time and how slavery and the Underground Railroad come into her life.  The ending seemed a little abrupt, but it was still a 3.5 star read.

#21. COBALT RED: HOW THE BLOOD OF THE CONGO POWERS OUR LIVES by Siddharth Kara // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop)

This book will haunt me.  The way the minerals used in our electronics are mined is horrifying.  This is the hidden consequence of the West’s mission of “going green” and it makes me question everything.  We can do better and I am brainstorming what small role I can play.

The translator for my interviews, Augustin, was distraught after several days of trying to find the words in English that captured the grief being described in Swahili.  He would at times drop his head and sob before attempting to translate what was said.  As we parted ways, Augustin had this to say, “Please tell people in your country, a child in the Congo dies every day so that they can plug in their phones.” (p.155)


MY 2024 UNREAD SHELF PROJECT

Unread Books as of January 1, 2024: 209
Books Finished in February: 12
Books Donated/Sold in February: -2
Books Added: +14 (used bookstore haul and generous gifts from family!)
Unread Books Remaining: 213

February 26, 2024

No.804: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Now is the Time

“Lady in Black” by Carl Holsøe

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

I don’t have any profound reflections this week…it’s been a week of great joys (a solution to my health issues!  the passing of an important exam for my oldest!) and great frustrations (identity theft!).  I’m sure I’ll have something to say next week but for now, I’ll share a quotation that was appropriate for this Lenten season from The Imitation of Christ:

Do not despair, brother, of making spiritual progress; there is still time and the hour has not yet passed.  Why do you postpone making your resolutions day after day?  Come now, and begin this very moment and say to yourself: “Now is the time to do it, now is the time to fight; now is the right time to amend my life.”  When you are afflicted and troubled, that is the time for merit.  You must pass through fire and water before you arrive at redemption. (p.32-33)

Hoping to document the abundance around me all year long!

Around here, abundance looks like…

+ solving a piece of the hives/angioedema puzzle.  Right now, the working theory is that something unknown caused a inflammatory reaction in my body, creating the hives.  (Was it the extremely cold temperatures during the polar vortex?  Something I ate?  Stress?  Who knows.)  That overreacting histamine response created a significant allergy to cat dander (!!) which caused the skin around my eyes to swell.  The whole thing flabbergasts me!  Sadly, Pete the cat has been banished to the (very comfortable) basement for the foreseeable future so I can take a break from his dander/saliva.  I’m feeling much better already.

+ starting tomato and marigold seeds under the grow lights.  It was so nice to already have all the needed supplies (trays and grow lights, even seed starting mix) and not have to spend any money.

+ receiving so many wonderful things from my parents.  They are downsizing, going through their belongings and sharing the extras with us.  We received a dining table and chairs (which will be great for one of my kids to take when they move out someday), a Monopoly game, art supplies, clothes and more.  Such a gift to be on the receiving end of such generosity.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

+ selling three unneeded items: two dresses and a video game.  After shipping and fees, I made $38.08!

Reading //

  • Military chaplains served the ones who served from Aleteia
  • These three things from Grandma Donna // “No matter how young or old or slow we are, we can make a difference if we start with baby steps and keep going. We may not get to running or even walking, but baby steps will still get us there.”
  • Homer’s The Iliad and the Odyssey // I’m almost positive we never read The Iliad in high school literature class because I remember absolutely nothing about it.  Thankfully, I borrowed the kids’ graphic novel to help me keep all the characters straight!

Watching/Listening //

  • OFF FOR LENT

Loving //

  • Parmesan Crisps // the closest thing to a chip I can eat!  Not great enough to binge on, but I appreciate the change in texture.
  • Blank Flipbooks // I bought this as an Easter basket gift, but decided to give it to my son early.  Can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
  • Eczema Moisturizing Body Cream // I purchased this right as my symptoms started clearing, but found it really did help with the itching.

February 19, 2024

No.803: Last (Two) Weeks at the Farmhouse // Patience

“February” by Theodor Severin Kittelsen (1890)

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

Have you ever heard a homily/sermon/talk that felt like it was spoken just for you?  We had a visiting priest say Mass for us on Sexagesima Sunday and his homily felt specifically for me.  But let’s back up.

The past month or so has been a roller coaster experience of hives and facial swelling.  The worst would mostly disappear only to come back out of nowhere again.  So frustrating and discouraging.  I’ve been like a dog with a bone, a mad woman researching everything I can find for possible solutions to make it go away permanently.  On some level, it’s been a great educational deep dive (thinking positively here!) but on others, it’s been incredibly draining and just one more thing on my already full plate.

Back to the homily.  The visiting priest’s homily was about the virtue of patience.  He said that we often think of patience as that thing we need to do when we’re stuck in traffic or our children are being crazy.  All true, but it’s so much more.  Patience is also a sister virtue to fortitude.  Seen in this way, patience enables someone to endure his/her sufferings without sadness or resentment.  The person is then able to conform their will with God’s and even accept the hardships with a kind of spiritual joy.

The perfect lesson at the perfect time when I was struggling so badly!  Like all virtues, this one requires some effort to pursue, but I’m on the right path.  Deo gratias.

Quick health update: At the time of this publishing, some of the issues have subsided, praise God!  I am still on a carnivore(ish) diet, feeling great and am much more positive about this way of eating.  (I did LOTS of complaining as I adjusted!)  I just had an indoor/outdoor allergy test done to see if I can pinpoint the origin of the issue and avoid another flare.  Currently waiting on the results.  Adventure to be continued…

Hoping to document the abundance around me all year long!

Around here, abundance looks like…

+ the tender way my children looked after me when I was feeling crummy.  Anti-histamine medicine makes me terribly tired and they were so sweet encouraging me to take a nap.  I could hear them through my bedroom door, telling the littler ones to be quiet and helping out so they wouldn’t wake me up.

+ pulling vegetables from the freezer to give to the livestock.  My winter pantry challenge quickly fell apart due to my health fiasco, but I’m back on course!  This time, I thawed a bunch of green beans and peas to give to the chickens, ducks and pigs.  A big hit!  They’ve been dying to eat something green.  I also took a frozen chicken carcass I had saved and made bone broth.  Making dents in the deep freezer, little by little!

+ beginning seed start prep for the new growing season.  Here we go!

+ giving my wooden spoons new life with olive oil.  They were looking quite sad and dried out, but a quick swipe and they look much better.  (I let them dry on a towel overnight.)

+ selling two unneeded items: a holster and a book.  After shipping and fees, I made $100.59!

Reading //

  • Make Haste Slowly or Festina Lente by Christopher Perrin at Renewing Classical Education // “But festina lente does not merely focus on avoiding waste; it focuses on doing things well from the start, it focuses on mastering what is important in proper sequence.”
  • When Teaching Children History, Embrace Imagination by Dr. Dixie Dillon Lane at Hearth and Field // Great encouragement.  I liked this quote:

Our children need to know the factual nuts and bolts of history before they reach adult levels of interpretation. But they also need to develop a conceptual sense of history to go hand-in-hand with this classical foundation so that when they engage with historical facts and arguments as they grow older, they will have the ability to make something of them rather than just swallow them whole at the hands of a manipulator. Neither facts nor imagination alone can lead to the kind of maturity that our kids will one day need to exhibit in both the private and the public spheres of modern life.

Watching/Listening //

  • Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent by St. Michael’s Abbey // Inspiring!
  • Self Lymph Drainage Massage // This felt a little ridiculous until I tried it…and it worked!  I’m learning all kinds of things on this adventure to wellness.
  • Going Deep in History Made this Protestant Scholar Catholic (w/ Joshua Charles) // This interview came up randomly in my Youtube recommendations.  Over an hour long but so interesting.
  • Woman of the Household course from Life-Craft //  Module 2 was focused on Woman as Wife.  So good.

Loving //

  • Primal Kitchen’s buffalo ranch dressing // keeping my meals tasty!
  • St. Michael’s Abbey’s “virtual retreat” for Lent // I am really enjoying the daily reflections, prayers, and readings.
  • this quote from Saint Alphonsus Liguori:

    Those whose hearts are enlarged by confidence in God run swiftly on the path of perfection. They not only run, they fly; because, having placed all their hope in the Lord, they are no longer weak as they once were. They become strong with the strength of God, which is given to all who put their trust in Him.

February 16, 2024

No.802: How We Homeschooled This Week

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

We had a really fun and interesting school week, so I thought I would share some of the highlights here:

+ We’re on a Narnia kick right now!  One of my little guys wanted to know the backstory of the wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so we dove into The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis as a morning read aloud.  They’re enjoying it so far.

+ In history, we read Empire State Building: When New York Reached for the Skies by Elizabeth Mann and learned all about the specific way skyscrapers are constructed.  Instead of exterior brick walls bearing the weight of the building, innovators created a new metal framework version.  This supported the weight from the inside, much like a skeleton supports a human body, and the height possibilities seemed endless!  We were in awe of the bravery of the steelworkers as they ascended higher in higher in the sky to work.  Can you believe that only six workers died during the building’s construction and none of those were steelworkers?!  After we finished the book, the kids wanted to try their hand at a Minecraft mockup.  They did great!

+ In geography, we jetted off to Japan, started map work and read The Way We Do It In Japan by Geneva Cobb Iijima.  A cute look at the differences between American and Japanese cultures.

+ We have multiple science curriculums going on in the house, but two were animal related this week.  My daughter is reading Pagoo by Holling C. Holling and is learning about hermit crabs.  We found this fascinating BBC Earth video about the way hermit crabs swap shells.  Who knew?!  The little boys learned about chameleons and we read Chameleons are Cool by Martin Jenkins.  The part about most people thinking chameleons changing their color to match their surroundings?  That was me.  I learn something new everyday.

+ My high school boys wouldn’t consider their school week particularly exciting (ha!) but we’ve got one reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and one learning about great thinkers like Aristotle and Erathosthenes (these short videos on the Socratica youtube channel are helpful).  And algebra.  Lots and lots of algebra.

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