The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.625: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Projects Everywhere

There are projects upon projects in process everywhere at the farmhouse!  This hand-sewn quilt is a true labor of love and I can’t wait to share the story about it someday soon.  Right now, I’m in the process of quilting it by hand, working on it little by little.  I also pulled out a cross-stitch project and have worked on that as well.  Feeling really motivated to finish what I’ve started…this may be a new goal for 2022!

Skim coating in the laundry room has begun!  It’s back breaking work, but working beautifully and I couldn’t be happier.

We’re reading Anne of Green Gables for book club this month – one of my favorites!  There’s something so soothing about L.M. Montgomery’s writing that puts me right to sleep.  I only get through a few chapters before my eyes start drooping at night.

Our first attempt at cast iron deep dish pizza!

Our oven has been on its way out and has been extra wonky this week; sometimes it overcooks and sometimes it barely browns at all!  We knew that with the current supply chain issues, we might have problems buying a replacement…and oh man, were we right.  After calling around, we discovered that there were no ovens available in the size we needed.  None!  I was having a minor panic attack, brainstorming all the alternative ways I could cook meals and bread and all the things, when nothing short of a God moment occurred!  Mark spoke to an appliance associate at Home Depot who casually mentioned that he had this “really old” model that was brand new but way in the back of the warehouse and it wasn’t even in the system and should he check and see if it might work?  Of course we said yes and miracles of all miracles, IT WAS PERFECT.  He gave us $100 off because it was an “older” model and while it still cost a pretty penny, I am so grateful we were able to find one at all in these crazy times.  Now to figure out how to remove and install an oven…

No.624: What Does a Simple Life Look Like?

Since choosing my one little word for 2022, I’ve been trying to flesh out what I really want that to mean in my life.  Simple is actually a surprisingly vast, subjective type of word!  As I’ve browsed the Internet for inspiration, I’ve seen so many themes: some focus on minimalism, some on reducing their overscheduling, some even see simple as going completely off the grid.  While I appreciate parts of each, none of these themes seem exactly right.  I’m still brainstorming, but below are three thoughts I’ve made so far:

1 // Less clutter and more visual peace

I am not a minimalist and probably never will be.  I love being surrounded by books and photos and beautiful things.  But there’s a balance, you know?  At some point, that comfortable, cozy feeling can become claustrophobic.  The piles of stuff can quickly become overwhelming.  The line is completely subjective and different for everyone and I want to explore that for myself this year.  I want to find the balance between just enough and too much.  I want to teach my children that while it’s just stuff, we also have a responsibility to take good care of our things.  I want more visual peace in our everyday life.

2 // Less distractions and more time looking up

My oldest son is a freshman in high school.  No event has been more motivating to me to get my Internet use under control than handing him his first cell phone last summer!  He is watching his parents and our relationship with our phones.  He’s watching whether we’re using it as constant entertainment or as a tool.  He’s watching our manners: are we distracted and “just checking one thing” while someone is speaking to us or do we give the person our full attention?  Our habits matter!  It’s humbling.  For me, a simple life definitely means less social media, less phone use in general and more time looking up at my real, everyday life.

3 // Less doing all the things and more slowing down

I used to buy into the idea that if you hustled hard enough, you’d be able to do it all.  For years and years, I tried to juggle so many things…and didn’t do a great job at any of them!  Now that I’m a little older and wiser, I know the truth is that yes, you can do it all…but not all at the same time.  It’s time for a refresher from this post I wrote a few years ago.  Constantly feeling like I’m behind is a choice.  It’s okay to focus on one thing at a time, even if I don’t get to it “all” each day.

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

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.

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