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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

February 15, 2022

No.623: TBR Tuesday // Who, What, When, Where, Why & How

This post contains affiliate links.

Today’s TBR Tuesday theme was fun for me to research: I searched my Goodreads shelves for books with the words Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How in the title.  For each prompt, I picked two books from my TBR list and two that I’ve already read and enjoyed.  Here’s my list:

WHO

To Read:
+ The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
+ Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work by Jeanne Marie Laskas

Have Read:
+ The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
+ Different: The Story of an Outside-The-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him by Sally Clarkson

WHAT

To Read:
+ The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr
+ What Every Body is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People by Joe Navarro

Have Read:
+ You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy
+ What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

WHEN

To Read:
+ When All is Said by Anne Griffin
+ When I Fell from the Sky by Juliane Koepcke

Have Read:
+ When We Were the Kennedys by Monica Wood

WHERE

To Read:
+ Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
+ Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer

Have Read:
+ Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
+ This is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick

WHY

To Read:
+ Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter O. Gray
+ Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other by Sherry Turkle

Have Read:
+ Why Can’t We Just Play?: What I Did When I Realized My Kids Were Way Too Busy by Pam Lobley

HOW

To Read:
+ How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez
+ How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art by Elizabeth Lev

Have Read:
+ Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids – and How to Break the Trance by Nicholas Kardaras
+ How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature by Scott D. Sampson

February 10, 2022

No.622: A List of February’s Frugal Accomplishments

FEBRUARY’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I bought a merino wool sweater for $4, but one of the leather elbow patches was coming undone.  My son didn’t care for the patches anyway, so I pulled the stitches out of both and the sweater is good as new!

+ Our hens have been laying regularly all winter, which has been a huge blessing.  We average 9-11 eggs a day.

+ I made fodder for the chickens.  With all of the snow and mud, they seem desperate for anything green and it was a welcomed treat!  It also helps a tiny bit with feed costs.

+ I gave my hair a trim.  In other hair news, I am trying to train my hair to shampoo less often.  If I can deal with greasy hair for a little bit, I think I’ll have healthier hair and save some money on shampoo too!

+ I made chicken stock from a roasted chicken carcass and a bunch of vegetable odds and ends that I keep in the freezer.  Still using my favorite Souper Cubes (affiliate link).

+ We keep the thermostat relatively low and are just piling on the sweaters and quilts.  I seem to feel the cold more than any other family member; I have teenage boys happily walking around in shorts and t-shirts!

+ I used up a big bag of frozen blueberries and made a batch of blueberry butter.  I used the recipe from this book (affiliate link), but didn’t end up canning them.  A lot of work and my kitchen looked like a blueberry blood bath (hands dyed blue!  dishcloths dyed blue!  everything blue!) but the end result was delicious.  We have used it as a spread for toast as well as swirled into oatmeal and plain Greek yogurt.  We’re planning to top our pancakes with it next.

February 8, 2022

No.621: The B Tag

This post contains affiliate links.

Welcome to the next installment of the Alphabet Tag!  (See this post for the introduction to the series and the questions for letter A.)

B is for Bildungsroman. Do you have a favorite bildungsroman (or coming of age story)?

The first book that came to mind was Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.  Krueger’s writing is so beautiful.  My friend Tabitha also recently reminded me of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  While it’s been years and years since I’ve read it, I think it could be considered a coming of age story too?  I need to reread that one soon!

B is for Beach.  What would you recommend for a beach read?

What would you consider the go-to genre for beach reads?  Chick lit?  A page turning thriller?  Here’s one of each that I’ve read and enjoyed:

+ My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
+ Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

B is for Best. What is the best book you have read this year so far?

I just finished the 1928 novel called A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich and it was my first five star read of the year!

B is for Bookshop or Bookstore. Do you have a favorite bookstore?

My first stop is always Better World Books.  (If you click that link, you’ll get $5 off of your first purchase of $30 or more.)  They often have great sales, always have free shipping and the prices are great.  If I need to buy a book brand new, I’ll look at Bookshop first before heading to Amazon.

B is for Bookshelf. Show me your bookshelf/bookshelves.

This isn’t exactly representative of my collection because I have books everywhere.  But here’s a peek!  The first two photos are some of my TBR books that I keep in my bedroom.  When I run out of room on the nightstand, they get stacked on the windowsill.  (It’s a bit of a problem.)  The last photo is one of two Ikea bookshelves that hold all of the ones I’ve read and were worth keeping.  I organized the spines by color with this one, but the other is more of a hodgepodge.

B is for Brazil. Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist has been translated into 70 languages.  Have you read any Paolo Coelho and if so, what did you think of his book(s)?

I have never read any Paolo Coelho, have you?

What about you?  How would you answer these questions?

February 7, 2022

No.620: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.22

Pictures from a little 40th birthday celebration for our favorite guy!  This post also contains affiliate links.

The weather outside is //

As I look outside my window // I can see bare ground again!  We’ve had a handful of sunny days (in a row!) and even though the temperatures are still chilly outside, I’m so happy to get out there and feel that sun on my face.  This upcoming week looks promising too!

As I look around the house // I removed the last of the more “wintery” Christmas decorations on Candlemas and now my house looks both bigger and a little bit bare.  It’s the perfect time for a home improvement project: we’re finally getting to the laundry room and along with adding cabinets, I’ll also be experimenting with skim coating the walls.  (We have textured walls everywhere on the first floor and I hate them.)  If I can achieve the smooth look I want, I’m going to be a crazy lady this spring/summer and will be doing the whole house, ha!

Healing // from a gnarly neck strain.  I’m pretty sure I tweaked my neck when feeding the pigs (I “farmer’s carry” the feed and water buckets into the pasture) last Monday and whew…SO painful.  The pain radiated from the side of my neck down my shoulder, which made normal movement practically impossible.  I’ve been walking around like a robot!  Thankfully, the pain has moved from excruciating to more of a dull ache, so yay for improvement.  (Also: as I researched ideas for some relief, I stumbled upon a tip about magnesium supplementation.  Thankfully, I still had a free sample of this and it was the best night of sleep I had all week!  Coincidence?  Maybe, but I’m a believer!)

On this week’s to-do list //

– finish up our taxes
– order chick feed in bulk
– test the soil for deficiencies
– buy all the supplies needed for skim coating
– start emptying the laundry room
– make a batch of granola

Currently reading // 

  • Fiction: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (for book club) and a book for Netgalley
  • Nonfiction: Communism and the Conscience of the West by Fulton J. Sheen
  • Religious: The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life by Fr. Charles Arminjon
  • Read Aloud: Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

On the menu this week //
Monday: fajita beef skillet with homemade tortillas
Tuesday: 
cornbread casserole (I’ll make homemade cornbread for the topping instead of a box mix)
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner
Thursday: chicken diane with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable
Friday:
tomato basil parmesan soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

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