The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.785: Five Good Things // Vol.20

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1 // A NEW ADDITION TO MY WALLS (FINALLY!)

On Black Friday 2022, I purchased a beautiful art print from Maris Home called “Meadow.”  And for the past year, it has been tucked underneath my dining room sidebar!  In my mind, I wanted a vintage, warm wood frame…but alas, I never found the perfect one.  Last week, I decided I was being ridiculous and picked up a relatively inexpensive frame from Target.  Project done!

2 // A FUN CRAFTY PROJECT USING JUNK MAIL

I loved this tutorial showing how to create Christmas house pockets from junk mail!  So creative.  I think I’m going to try to make one with my daughter.
3 // THIS QUOTE FROM MY ADVENT DEVOTIONAL

Instead of…self-pity, there is gratitude: to be so grateful that God thought of creating me; that God thought me worth redeeming; that God actually called me to this very rare vocation.  Gratitude and self-pity are utterly incompatible.  They will not be roommates.  They will not abide at the same time in one heart. – Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting, p.42-43

4 // A COOL LOOK AT HOW “I SPY” BOOKS ARE MADE

We love these “I Spy” books at our house (we have I Spy Christmas and Can You See What I See? Toyland Express) and this video was so interesting!
5 // A CLEANING PRODUCT I LOVE

Have you ever used Bar Keepers Friend?  I’m way late to the party, but this stuff is amazing!  We have hard water and it creates discoloration/stains in our sinks over time.  I’ve never found a product that works well enough…until now.  So great.

No.784: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.49

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The weather outside is //

As I look outside my window // We’ve had a ton of rain lately.  There’s nothing more uncomfortable than doing morning chores in the cold, pouring rain but I’m also so very grateful.  We had a pretty significant drought this summer and our pastures were bone dry.  So this rain is good!  It’s even better when we can stay warm and dry inside by the fire. 🙂

As I look around the house // it’s beginning to look a teeny bit like Advent!  We decorate slowly throughout December and I love how that simple action increases the Christmas anticipation.  So far, we’ve put up the Nativity scene, window candles and a few twinkle lights.  The tree will go up as soon as we can figure out how to keep Samson away from it!  (He has a tendency to mark his territory on trees…ahem.)

Excited about // some fun surprises up my sleeve for Advent School this year.  I bought this perler bead gingerbread house kit, this Countdown to Christmas advent activity book, and this Christmas watercolor book.  We’ll also be checking out the Advent videos on Formed.

Pondering // this little paragraph from Come, Lord Jesus (this is my fourth year reading this book for Advent, I think?):

I love to recall the word of the poet Sister Madeleva that I find ineffably dear: “In Advent I always feel that I should walk on tiptoe.”  Indeed, in the wonder of Advent, we should spiritually walk on tiptoe, full of expectancy, full of wonder.” (p.22)

Working // on so many creative projects and it feels so good.  I’ve started on my “December Daily” junk journal.  After more than a year (!!), I also pulled out my quilt and my cross-stitch sampler again and have been stitching on both.  (I had not made much progress since I shared them back in this post.)  In other crafty news, I fell down a new Youtube rabbit hole.  Did you know there is such a thing as Flosstube?  What “booktube” is for readers, “flosstube” is for cross-stitchers!  They are arguably the most wholesome, lovely group of women on the Internet.  Their videos are like a grown-up show and tell…I love it.

On this week’s to-do list //
– dry orange slices for decorations
– mail gifts for faraway relatives
– wrap a few presents
– work on Christmas cards
– celebrate St. Nicholas Day and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Currently reading // 

On the menu this week //

Monday: hearty slowcooker beef stew
Tuesday: chicken pot pie
Wednesday: pasta with homemade bolognese sauce
Thursday: Refrigerator Clean Out Night
Friday: bean and cheese tostadas

No.783: What I Read in November 2023

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#81. THE HOLLOW by Agatha Christie // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

First line: “At six thirteen a.m. on a Friday morning Lucy Angkatell’s big blue eyes opened upon another day and, as always, she was at once wide awake and began immediately to deal with the problems conjured up by her incredibly active mind.”

Possibly my least favorite Agatha Christie so far?  Hercule Poirot was in the story very little and the cast of characters was quite unlikable.  I’m not sure how to describe it, but…it was just kind of weird.  2.5 stars, rounded up.

#82. THE REPORTER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH: THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF WHAT’S MY NAME TV STAR AND MEDIA ICON DOROTHY KILGALLEN by Mark Shaw // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop)

First line: “Any re-investigation of Dorothy Kilgallen’s death begins where a crack detective would start – with a background check of the deceased.”

I heard about this one when the author was interviewed on a podcast…and you know me!  I’ll read just about anything!  The book is about Dorothy Kigallen, most well known for her tough reporting as well as her time on the TV show, What’s My Line?  Shaw believes that she was on a mission to discover what really happened with the JFK assassination and that eventually got her killed.  I found his hypothesis and defense very interesting, but the typos and redundancy of the information made the reading experience less enjoyable.  (I also read this for my Reading the Alphabet Challenge.)

#83. THE TRAITOR by Ava Glass // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop)

First line: “He was exhausted.”

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Alias Emma, so I couldn’t wait to dive into this one.  Emma Makepeace, a spy focusing on Russian infiltration in Britain, goes undercover as a yacht stewardess.  Her mission is to figure out why a low-level MI6 “number-cruncher” agent was killed with a chemical weapon and that leads her into the shadowy world of Russian oligarchs.  The story was quick moving, but not as engaging as book one.  I guessed the traitor early on, so I wasn’t surprised by the reveal at the end.  Solid three stars.  (And thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!  The Traitor was published in September 2023!)

#84. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN by Frank W. Abagnale // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

First line: “A man’s alter ego is nothing more than his favorite image of himself.”

Well, this was a wild ride!  I can’t believe that Frank Abagnale was able to deceive so many people for so long.  So many gigantic lies about everything from college degrees to career experience.  I think I should watch the movie next.

#85. THE APPEAL by Janice Hallett // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

First line: “Sandra, please deliver to Femi and Charlotte.”

I really enjoyed this one!  It’s a British epistolary murder mystery told through texts and emails.  I was invested and finished the 400+ page book in days.

#86. THE CATHOLIC MASS: STEPS TO RESTORE THE CENTRALITY OF GOD IN THE LITURGY by Bishop Athanasius Schneider //★★★★★
(amazon // bookshop)

First line: “The Mass is prayer.”

Such an excellent book.  What a gift we have in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

MY UNREAD SHELF PROJECT

Unread Books as of January 1, 2023: 207
Books Finished in November: 6
Finished Books Donated/Sold in November: 1
Books Added: +4
Unread Books Remaining: 203

No.782: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Caring For Our Neighbors & Myself

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

Oh my goodness.  November feels like it has spun me around and around and then spit me out!  You know your life is too full when you have to make daily to-do lists on 4×6″ pieces of paper because there’s just not enough room to write in your weekly planner.  Yeesh.  The silly part is that it’s not even really farm tasks, it’s just life tasks!  To everything there is a season…I’m looking forward to a slower pace.  Soon!

There’s another new baby in our community!  When the world feels dark and cruel, man oh man do we need and appreciate new life!  Praise be to God for the light that comes from these babies.  Anyway, we brought over dinner and gifts for both the new baby and the big sisters.  And frugal accomplishment: I learned how to make a gift bag from wrapping paper to package up the itty bitty outfit!

In farm news, the two new piglets arrived on Wednesday!  We named them Millie and Sally, a la The Dick Van Dyke Show.  They are so sweet and are warming up to us already.  Max and Ruby, the “big kids” piglets, are obsessed with their new neighbors.

On my nightstand: Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale and The Catholic Mass: Steps to Restore the Centrality of God in the Liturgy by Bishop Athanasius Schneider.  I seem to be reading at a snail’s pace this month.

The kids and I made a batch of vanilla granola.  It was gone in two days.

Even though this week was crazy, I somehow decided that it was just the right time to start intentionally creating new habits!  I turn 40 next year and have been thinking a lot about how I want to feel moving into this new decade.  I want to feel less stress and more peace.  I want to feel strong.  I want to be in good health.  I want to be a saint.  (That one’s the most difficult!)  Everything I do today is a gift I give myself in the future.  A few new habits I started this week:

  • starting the morning with a big glass of water and electrolytes
  • waiting one hour after waking before my first cup of coffee
  • completing a low intensity but powerful workout 5x/wk (I started this beginner workout plan from Nourish Move Love)
  • thinking of morning farm chores as an opportunity to get sunshine into my eyes
  • finding creative ways to have protein in every meal I eat

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