The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

August 26, 2022

No.685: What I Read in August 2022

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#48. CHRISTUS VINCIT: CHRIST’S TRIUMPH OVER THE DARKNESS OF THE AGE by Bishop Athanasius Schneider // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

I really enjoyed this book. Written in question and answer form, Bishop Schneider addressed many issues happening within the Church in a clear and balanced way. Like society at large, the Church sometimes seems extremely polarized on issues and it was a breath of fresh air to read someone intelligently discuss the good and bad of each side without compromising on Church teaching. We attended a Solemn Pontifical Mass with Bishop Schneider last year and it was beautiful. He is a holy man.

#49. THE QUINTLAND SISTERS by Shelley Wood // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This story was so infuriating, even more so because it was based on a true story! Have you heard of the Dionne Quintuplets? Five baby girls born in 1934 and taken from their parents by the Canadian government to become wards of the state. They quickly became a tourist attraction and were paraded around like a circus. I went down another rabbit hole and it appears that the rest of their lives didn’t get much better. So so sad. I’d be interested to read their autobiography someday. (I picked this for my Reading the Alphabet Challenge.)

#50. ROOTS OF THE REFORMATION by Karl Adam // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This slim little book was mentioned by someone as one that helped in their conversion to the Catholic Church, so I was intrigued. At times an easy read and at times really dense, I found it very fair and thought provoking.

#51. THE RECKONING AT GOSSAMER POND by Jaime Jo Wright // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This one is a Christian romance suspense novel…did you know that was even a thing? I didn’t! It had duel timelines and lots of secrets. I appreciated the “clean” reading experience, but found the book pretty forgettable. Good, but not great.

#52. INDESTRUCTIBLE: THE UNFORGETTABLE MEMOIR OF A MARINE HERO AT THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA by Jack H. Lucas // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

The crazy true story of a teenage boy who fibbed his way to the front lines of WWII and the battle of Iwo Jima. There, in an act of true heroism, he covered two grenades with his body to protect his fellow Marines…and survived!

#53. MOTHER DAUGHTER TRAITOR SPY by Susan Elia MacNeal // ★★☆☆☆
(amazon // bookshop)

This book is loosely based on a real life mother/daughter duo who became spies to foil Nazi plans within the United States during WWII. Definitely well researched (the author cites all of her sources in the back), but I found the storyline itself slow and the characters one-dimensional. There were also a few parts where I had to suspend my disbelief at the spy skills of two civilians – would Nazi sympathizers really be so trusting and gullible? I don’t know…just an okay read for me. (Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book! Mother Daughter Traitor Spy will be published on September 20, 2022.)

#54. WHEN I WAS YOU by Minka Kent // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop)

I was in the mood for a thriller so I chose one that’s been on my Kindle for ages. I think I must have gotten it for free through Amazon? It had plenty of twists that kept me guessing – just the book I was looking for.

August 22, 2022

No.684: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.34

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Well, I lost my “blog every weekday in August” streak last week. Too much going on and not enough energy to write anything coherent. We start our school year this Wednesday, but hopefully I’ll be able to publish a few more posts before month’s end. I think I can, I think I can…

The weather outside is //

As I look outside my window // We processed our last batch of meat chickens last weekend and like everything we do around here, we ran into some roadblocks. On day one, we somehow misplaced a tiny piece of the plucker, making the machine inoperable! As the boys and I imagined (in horror) the idea of hand plucking over 70 birds, my husband finagled a way to fix it with random things we had on hand. The day was saved! Thankfully, day two went much more smoothly.

As I look around the house // My house is a disaster. Definitely need to do a thorough tidy before school starts.

Reflecting // on 2022 so far. This year has been good. So busy, so full. Yet as the growing season winds down, I can feel myself craving some more margin in my life. I think about the farm all the time and every single day – how to keep the animals healthy, how to improve production, how to streamline chores, how to expand further. I think I need a break from carrying that daily load. I’m already brainstorming some goals for September.

On this week’s to-do list //
– scrub out and pack away all of the chicken feeders/waterers
– install math programs onto the computer
– empty out the cabinet to be moved to the dining room (I’m moving things around again!)
– finalize week one lesson plans
– catch up on laundry
– start school!

Low buy month update // Week 3!

This was not a great week for saving. We had a couple of Aldi trips and some purchases for the farm/processing. It is also our tradition to eat out after broiler processing (we joke that we’re organic farmers, but we still like our local pizza/Chickfila!) so that filled two meals.
We had one day of zero spending.
Side hustle update: I had no time to focus on decluttering/reselling so listed 0 items. I feel like the more I list, the more I sell (maybe it’s an algorithm thing?) so it doesn’t surprise me that I only sold two items. Total money earned: $7.30

Currently reading //

Fiction: Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
Nonfiction: Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World by Joel Salatin
Religious: Lay Saints: Models of Family Life by Joan Carroll Cruz

On the menu this week // Can I be honest and say I have no idea what we’re going to eat this week? As we get back into the school routine, I’m going to need dinner to be simple, simple, simple.

August 17, 2022

No.683: Two Superhero Cross-Stitch Pillows & a Princess Pillow Too

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One last (partial) finish for the summer break challenge before we head back to school. While I had hoped to complete all six pillows, I’m satisfied that I finished three. (My biggest three boys will have to wait just a little bit longer, ha!) For the boys’ cross-stitching, I used a 28ct evenweave fabric and it was just okay. Very thick and stiff; linen is much easier to handle. The pillows aren’t perfect but thankfully, the kids don’t seem to mind.

DETAILS

+ Patterns: Avengers, Storybook Princesses, and a design created by a big brother
+ Cross-Stitch Fabric: 28ct Evenweave in white for the boys, a white linen from my stash for the princesses
+ Pillow forms: 12″x16″ Basic Insert
+ Tutorial for finishing the pillows: Envelope Method tutorial from Sew Crafty Me
+ Skeins of thread and fabrics: from my stash
TOTAL FOR ALL THREE PROJECTS: $36.47

August 16, 2022

No.682: Reading Goals for the Rest of 2022

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I recently watched a video from a “Booktuber” who shared her reading goals for the rest of 2022. I was inspired! I’m typically a mood reader, so pre-planning is a little outside of my comfort zone. We’ll see how this goes. Here are my five goals for the next 4.5ish months of the year:

+ Read four books for the Alphabet Fiction Challenge. (Q, R, S, T)

I’m on a roll with this challenge and would like to get as close to the end as possible. Four possible choices:

✔ The Quintland Sisters by Shelley Wood (finished earlier this month!)
✔ The Reckoning of Gossamer Pond by Jaime Jo Wright (finished last weekend!)
The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer
This Tender Land by William Kent Kreuger

+ Read a book from last year’s Mother Culture basket.

I’d like to read Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. This would also satisfy “I” for the Alphabet Author Challenge.

+ Read three books for the 20th Century in Books Challenge.

I’ve been working on this challenge since 2019 and am almost to the halfway point. Oops! I really need to prioritize this in 2023. Here are three possible choices:

1984 by George Orwell (from 1949)
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (from 1971)
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (from 1965)

+ Read three religious books.

Still plugging away on the Daily Spiritual Reading Challenge. I read these at a slower pace, but still hope to get three finished by December 31st. Three possible choices: