The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.703: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.37

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The weather outside is //

Still going strong on Operation “See How Long We Can Go Without Turning on the Heat”!  This warmish week should help.

As I look outside my window // Most of the trees around our property are poplars and they’re always the first to lose their leaves.  We have a few evergreens and a few oak stragglers still showing off their colors, but it’s looking a little bare out there.  A different kind of beautiful.

As I look around the house // I have so much to catch up on after the excitement of last week (see below)!  Lots and lots of laundry in my future.  After an entire week off, I’m also returning to my new cleaning routine.  It’s nothing ground-breaking, but I started assigning days to rooms/zones and it’s working great!  Here’s my weekly plan:

  • Monday: Living Room/Dining Room
  • Tuesday: Kitchen
  • Wednesday: Master Bedroom
  • Thursday: Bathrooms
  • Friday: Kids Bedrooms
  • Saturday: Mudroom/Outside
  • Sunday: rest day

We already have a basic level of upkeep (general tidying, daily laundry, vacuuming when necessary, washing/putting away dishes, etc) so this is really for those things that I should do, but never seem to get around to doing.  For example, on “Master Bedroom Day” a couple of weeks ago, I pulled down all of my curtains, washed, ironed and rehung them.  I’ve also organized my pantry, decluttered half of my closet, scrubbed bathroom cabinets, etc etc.  It feels so good to chip away at all of those little tasks that often get pushed under the rug.  One other task I also assign to each day is dusting and window washing because man oh man, do those things make a difference!  (I’m also obsessed with this reusable dusting cloth and this window cleaning kit!)

Recovering // from a gnarly bout of stomach flu that made its way through the entire family.  Thankfully, the kids bounced back quickly…me, not so much.  Getting old is hard.

Thinking // about a vivid dream I had last Friday night.  I don’t remember any of the back story, just that I was sharing with someone the impact my grandmothers made in my life and how much I miss them now that they have gone.  I woke up weeping and it was such a random, bizarre occurrence.  I never remember my dreams!  I wonder what it means.

On this week’s to-do list //
– try to see the total lunar eclipse (“red moon”) on Tuesday
– vote
– plant garlic
– mop hardwood floors
– go through the kids’ shoes and remove the unneeded/outgrown ones
– order Christmas stamps
– work on stocking stuffers
– order grit pads to continue sanding the laundry room walls

Currently reading // 

On the menu this week //

Monday: white chicken chili
Tuesday: sheet pan mini meatloaves with potatoes and green beans
Wednesday: scrambled eggs with ham and cheese crepes
Thursday: Refrigerator Clean-out Night
Friday: bean and cheese burritos

No.702: October in Review & Goals for November 2022

First things first: thank you so, so much for all of your kind words on my last post.  I appreciate you more than you know. xo

FIVE THINGS I LOVED
  1. multi-colored leaves everywhere you look
  2. cozy fires in the fireplace
  3. baby steps closer on our financial goals
  4. a basement setup that better suits our growing kids
  5. magnesium supplementation
FIVE LESSONS I LEARNED
  1. It feels good to stretch my creative muscles! // I tried a handful of new creative pursuits this month, including drawing, coding and interior design.  I’m not very good at any of them, but the challenge is exciting and I want to learn more.
  2. Molting chickens are the saddest things I’ve ever seen. // So scrawny and pathetic!  Thankfully, the new feathers seem to come in pretty quickly.
  3. “The Lord heard her cry.” // I am still going strong with the Bible in a Year podcast.  We have been reading the book of Daniel and one part in Chapter 13 really spoke to me.  (Don’t you love when that happens?)  The story of Susanna is not similar to my own in any way, but the words in verse 44 were so powerful to me: “The Lord heard her cry.”  He hears us, He cares.  Such a comforting reminder.
  4. Catfishing still flabbergasts me. // I recently listened to Sweet Bobby, a podcast about catfishing.  These stories fascinate me because I find it hard to understand both sides of the story: the victim who blindly trusts someone who consistently refuses to Skype/meet in person and the criminal who weaves the entire fabrication.  Mindblowing.
  5. Dresses are working for me right now. // With all of the things going on, I’ve…ahem…put on a few pounds.  I don’t stress out about it much (no time for that!) but it does change how clothes fit, especially pants.  So dresses have become my go-to daily outfit and I don’t hate it!
FIVE GOALS FOR OCTOBER REVIEWED
  1. ✔ Start Christmas shopping.  A solid start!  The goal is to be completely finished by mid-November.
  2. ✔ Stock the winter medicine cabinet.  I bought our go-to vitamins, supplements and teas (we were already okay with meds) and hopefully they’ll keep us all healthy this winter.
  3. ✔ Take our own family pictures.  After a few years off, I decided to try to take our family pictures for Christmas cards.  It was a little crazy, but bigger kids make for less stress and more efficient photography.  We were done in ten minutes.
  4. ✔ Learn how to water glass eggs.  Super easy!  And now we have eggs saved for a rainy day.
  5. ✔ Review my intentions for blogging.  I’m not sure if I’m adding to the noise or speaking into the wind, but I think I’m supposed to keep showing up.
FIVE GOALS FOR NOVEMBER
  1. Pray novena prayers for the holy souls in Purgatory all month.
  2. Plan a simple Thanksgiving dinner.
  3. Finally finish the laundry room walls!
  4. Plant garlic.
  5. Finish Christmas shopping.

No.701: Hi. Hello.

Hi.  Hello.  It’s been awhile.

In my last few posts before the break, I was trying to write about life honestly.  Ironically (says the girl writing publicly on the Internet), I’m actually not an over-sharer and because I wanted to maintain some privacy for myself/others around me, I just came off as vague and whiny and lame.  I really wanted to be the wise writer who could see life lessons through the mess, but instead I just felt rage-y and wanting to punch something.  Not great blog material.

So I shut the whole thing down.  Hard stop on writing here.

And in the weeks since…well, it’s been a ride.  I did a lot of soul searching.  I did a little ugly sobbing in the shower.  I refocused on some things and pushed other things to the side.   I realized I was feeling bone dry creatively.  I tried to live just one day at a time instead of focusing on the future.  I prayed for detachment and for the peace that surpasses all understanding.  Just recently, Our Lord was so gracious as to give me that last one – I could cry all over again with gratitude.

I sometimes feel like this blog just adds more noise to the Internet, but I think (maybe?) I want to keep writing here.  I’m pretty honest about being a hot mess 99% of the time and I certainly don’t have it all together.  Even so, this blog helps me seek out the good, true and beautiful in all of my messiness.  I hope it conveys that to those who read here too.

Anyway, in no particular order, below is a list of things that have been happening around here since I’ve been gone.  None are terribly interesting or worthy of a post, but should I write about the minutiae anyway?  I don’t know…I’m out of practice.

  1. I made a new weekly cleaning routine and then deep cleaned the entire house.
  2. This led to a decluttering extravaganza and a basement redesign.
  3. I started focusing on my sad hair health.
  4. Reselling has been picking up.
  5. I’m creating a fall/winter capsule wardrobe.
  6. My sourdough starter is officially dead.
  7. I’ve started learning how to draw.
  8. I’ve also started learning how to code.
  9. The dryer debacle continues.
  10. Little vintage additions are my favorite pieces of décor.
  11. I’m working on a vintage art gallery wall, but a small budget and a specific vision has me moving slowly.
  12. I need to make a plan about skim coating my textured walls (DIY or hire a professional?).
  13. I fixed my ugly sectional with a $20 hack and some elbow grease.
  14. I’m more than halfway finished with my Christmas shopping.

No.700: What I Read in September 2022

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

#55. THE FLICKER OF OLD DREAMS by Susan Henderson // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

A beautifully written and somber book. The story is about a 30-something woman who works with her father in the town mortuary.  Because of their unique occupation, she has always felt like an outcast.  When a dying neighbor’s son returns to town, a man who has also had trouble being accepted in town, their new friendship sparks life into the woman and helps her move forward.  This one was hard to rate – maybe more like 3.5 stars?  There were so many little quotes that really resonated with me.  (I read this for the Willa Award Winners Challenge.)

#56. STILL LIFE by Louise Penny // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

So many people I know enjoy this mystery series from Louise Penny so I decided to give it a try!  A solid three star start and I’ve heard they continue to improve as the books go on.  I liked Chief Inspector Armand Gamache…is he a modern day Hercule Poirot?  We’ll see.  (I read this one for the Alphabet Reading Challenge.)

#57. WORLD MADE BY HAND by James Howard Kunstler // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This novel is a post-apocalyptic story about a world without electricity.  It had some really weird parts, but I did enjoy the thought experiment.  How long could my family and community survive without all of the luxuries we take for granted?

#58. VIOLET IS NOWHERE by Faith Gardner // ★★☆☆☆
(amazon // bookshop)

I was excited about this near-future dystopian thriller because it sounded so interesting: A rising rock star is kidnapped from her LA home. She wakes up locked inside a cabin with a note and a burner phone that only dials one number to a stranger.  The mysterious note says the two have just one week to figure out the connection between them. Otherwise someone or something will take her life.  Sounds intriguing, right?  Unfortunately, I found the pacing really off and it didn’t get interesting until more than halfway in.  The futuristic dystopian twist was interesting, but almost anti-climactic?  I may not be the target audience, but this one was just okay for me.  Also: there was so much language – I can appreciate the appropriately placed cussword, especially in a book, but this was a little over the top.  (Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.  Violet is Nowhere was published on September 22, 2022!)

#59. LAY SAINTS: MODELS OF FAMILY LIFE by Joan Carroll Cruz // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // better world books)

I appreciated this collection of saintly laity and their stories throughout the centuries.  Lots of new saints that I was unfamiliar with.

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