The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.817: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // April 2024

A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

It’s been quite awhile since I did one of these posts!

Highlights of the day:

  • A big work day on the farm!  I was out the door before 7am, prepping fencing and moving pigs to new pastures.  We got the trailer in the right position and moved Max and Ruby in the last paddock before the butcher.  (Less than 10 days to go!)  My big boys also helped me get our chicken tractors in place – broilers are headed to pasture after the rain passes.
  • We did manage to fit in some schoolwork mid-morning, including a few chapters from our read aloud, The Beloved Dearly by Doug Cooney. (affiliate link)
  • There is a broody hen that has gotten comfy in the duck house and is sitting on a bunch of duck eggs.  We’d love a handful of baby chicks, so we’ll see if she can stick around for the next 28 days.

No.731: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // February 2023

A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Highlights of the day:

  • A gorgeous, spring-like day!  We sped through our school day so we could be outside.  We don’t have any sidewalk chalk, so the kids were resourceful: they found chalkboard chalk and used that instead!
  • The kitten is so adorable and entertaining, but also crazy and full of energy.  He doesn’t like to be left behind and will cry (loudly!) at the door.  Oh boy.
  • The dishwasher is being replaced at the end of the week, so we’re still hand washing.  I don’t mind the task, but hate that the sink never seems empty for long.
  • Lots of art being created around here lately.  My second oldest son has been working on realistic pencil drawings; I’ve been so impressed by his progress.

No.680: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // August 2022

A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Highlights of the day:

  • I’m running out of time to complete all of my farm projects before the school year starts!  I spent the morning dismantling Fiona’s old paddock and amending soil for the fall garden.  I also cleaned up “The Barnyard” (where the chickens and ducks live) and put away some of the unneeded fencing.  Little by little, tasks are getting checked off the list.
  • I’ve fallen into the rabbit hole of 60 Minutes Australia Youtube videos.  I know, so random.  I usually watch/listen while working on other things.  Have you heard about the woman who went missing after conning her family and friends out of millions?
  • My daughter and I made blueberry banana bread.  We must not have greased the second pan well enough because when I went to upend it onto the cooling rack, the middle fell out but not the crust!  Oh man, we laughed and laughed.  Thankfully, it still tasted the same, even though it looked hideous.

No.665: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // July 2022

A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Highlights of the day:

  • I started the day with a rainbow visible in the sky!
  • Today was day one of a new round of intermittent fasting.  I’ve been pretty fast and loose with my diet this summer, but it’s time to rein it back in.  For my 10:00 brunch, I decided to make Mexican squash and ground beef casserole.  Kind of a weird choice, but it was delicious and used up a bunch of odds and ends in the fridge.
  • Ducks are hilarious.  Not sure if I’ve mentioned, but my kids have named them after the penguins in Madagascar: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private.

No.555: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // August 2021

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Documenting one day of this busy, busy week!  This is our last full week of summer break and I am a hot mess right now as I try to pack in as much as I can before my priorities shift back toward school.  Highlights of the day:

  • Mark and I went on a quick “date” to town to get our Walmart Pickup groceries.
  • Today’s homestead chores: moving the broilers on fresh pasture, checking in on the hens and collecting eggs (12 today!), watering the garden and our new apple trees
  • One of my kids helped me deal with the vines that are taking over the front porch.  This has been on my to-do list for weeks now, but keeps getting pushed to the bottom.  It took five minutes and now we look much less like a creepy, abandoned farmhouse.
  • My daughter and I made a batch of homemade granola.  The kids ate it for lunch with Greek yogurt and berries.
  • In the early afternoon, I spent some time in the school room, tidying up and getting things organized.  I can’t believe we’re going back to school already.  We’ve had such a full few months…I need a vacation from my summer vacation, ha!
  • Right before dinnertime, we were surprised by a big thunderstorm.  The wind was crazy!  Our power flickered off and on a few times, but thankfully nothing more than that.
  • Dinner was a frittata with bacon, peppers and tomatoes with a simple fruit salad on the side.  Delicious and easy.  We’re drowning in eggs right now and this helped make a dent.

No.512: Every Day In May // Noticing the Little Things

The past two months have been an absolute whirlwind.  We’ve been in a heads down, go-go-go hustle season and can I just admit that I’m tired?  So content, so happy, but so tired.  I’ve also had terrible writer’s block, unable to come up with anything interesting to write about, but I miss this creative outlet so much!  I’m always inspired by Hilary from Old World Home‘s “VEDA” (Vlog Every Day in April) videos, so I thought maybe I’d go back to the basics and record a few little things that brought me joy or comfort or gratitude each day.  So here goes!

A Productive Laundry Day

Thursday is the day I wash my master bedroom sheets.  Today, I was extra motivated and washed the white quilt too.  Love climbing into clean sheets at the end of a long day.  (And yes, still no headboard.  One of these days…)

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

We had a bunch of apples that were looking a little rough, so the middle kids and I had “Cooking School” and got to work!  We sliced some for apple chips in the dehydrator and used the rest for cinnamon apple muffins.  (I used this recipe from Add a Pinch.)  The kids did most of the work and the result was delicious.

A Mini Decluttering Challenge (#28things7days)

I recently stumbled upon a decluttering challenge where you declutter a number of things based on the day.  So for Day 1, you declutter one item, on Day 2, you find two items, etc.  After one week, you will have decluttered 28 things!  I plan to do this weekly all month long, so that will bring the grand total to 112 items.  I’m anxious for a little less visual clutter and a little more breathing room.

Okay, so Day 1’s item: I picked a scarf that I’ve had forever (since my daughter was a baby) but just don’t reach for anymore.  I guess I wear scarves for warmth instead of fashion now!  It’s still in great condition, so it’s off to the thrift store for someone else to enjoy.

P.S. Hilary mentioned that she had a two-day production schedule for her daily vlogs: she filmed on one day, edited on the next day, and scheduled the final product to go live on the third day.  I’m trying her method, so each post will actually be from two days earlier.  Not that it matters much in the long run!

No.453: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // October 2020

✔  100 LITTLE THINGS #75. Make another Extraordinary Ordinary video.
Saturday was such an incredibly beautiful day, so I pulled out the camera to capture a little of the extraordinary ordinary.  The kids made Pizza Pockets for dinner (a crowd favorite and perfect for the weekend) and we headed out afterward in jammies and sweatshirts for a fire and s’mores.  A good, good day.
P.S. October must be the perfect month for making videos.  Here’s the one I made last year.

No.421: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // Summertime Diaries

I fell down half a flight of stairs early in the week and got a nice big bruise down my right side.   

The wildflowers are going crazy in the front beds!  One plant is awkwardly taller than all of the rest, but I don’t have the heart to pull it out.  They definitely put the “wild” in wildflowers, but I love it all the same.

In the garden, I’ve been battling beetles (eating my zinnias) and hornworm caterpillars (eating my peppers).  I’ve become a little obsessed with the upkeep and am constantly researching watering recommendations, plant deficiency signs, pest control, etc.  Gardening is hard work! 

On my nightstand: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, Consuming the Word by Scott Hahn, and The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller.  None of them are exceptional reads yet, but I’m plodding on.

Mark took Tuesday through Friday off, which was so nice.  He’s had a busy second quarter, so it was well deserved.  We worked on a few things around the house, but mostly just relaxed.

I’m moving right along on my scrap quilt.  Mark and the kids say I look like a little old grandma when I sit in the rocking chair in my bedroom, listening to podcasts, with my quilting in my lap.  Frankly, there’s no better compliment, ha!  Cool and hip have never been my middle names.

We had a quiet Independence Day.  I made a strawberry pie and a blueberry pie, but had to rush a bit on the construction…too many people in the kitchen talking to me!  Thankfully, what they lacked in beauty, they made up for in taste.  

No.407: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // COVID-19 Lockdown Week 11

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ELEVENTH WEEK OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

We’re in the second week of the “Phase 1” reopening plan in our state, which means businesses and churches can open but with limited capacity.  We’re also supposed to continue with social distancing, work from home (if possible), and wear masks whenever we’re inside a public building.  It doesn’t feel like much has changed for us still hanging at home, but it’s a welcome start for a lot of struggling businesses in my community.

We had a quiet Memorial Day on Monday.  This day is always a somber one for me, as I think it should be.  My oldest son completed the Crossfit “Murph” workout in memory of those service members who died: 1 mile run, 300 squats, 200 pushups, 100 pullups, and another 1 mile run.  So hard!  We grilled for dinner and ended the night with our tradition of watching a military movie (this year with our two oldest boys).  This year, it was Black Hawk Down.

I got started on school plans for next fall.  I will have five students (I cannot even believe it) and feel like I need to work on it all summer vs. procrastinating until the last minute.  This week, I got a solid booklist in place and started in on the first week checklist.

Mark and I finally watched The Chosen and we loved it!  I cried at parts of almost every episode. 
On Saturday, I power washed the siding and it’s probably one of the most satisfying housekeeping projects ever.

We went to Mass for the first time in eleven weeks!  What a way to celebrate Pentecost!  Every other pew was blocked off, which ended up making the church about 25% full, but it was so nice to be back and receive Communion again.  

No.403: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // COVID-19 Lockdown Week 10

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TENTH WEEK OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
Week ten: when I lost my way and fought to find it again.  
I just finished Know My Name by Chanel Miller and while I have thoughts on so many parts of that book, one section spoke to me in my own, completely different, time and space: 

In Fearrington, North Carolina, my grandparents had lived by a pond, where geese plodded around with those curved black necks, squeaky honking. My Grandpa Miller explained that during migration, birds flew in V formation. The bird at the front, the tip of the V, had the hardest job facing the greatest amount of wind resistance. The air coming off the leader’s flapping wings lifted the birds flying behind it. Being the leader was grueling, so the birds took turns. When a bird exhausted itself, it trailed to the back, where it wouldn’t have to flap as hard, riding waves of wind that have been broken down by others. It saved its energy so that it could lead again. This was the only way to make the journey, to escape winter and make it to warmer places. I had spent two weeks pumping my wings, keeping a calm face, to protect my flock from brutal conditions. But resilience required rest. (14%)

I’m your typical ISFJ: the caregiver, the eternal behind-the-scenes cheerleader and I’ve been on overdrive since the beginning of this lockdown.  I wanted to stay positive for my children, be a beacon of light among the fear and anxiety and chaos.  “But resilience required rest.”   I could tell something was wrong when I had not written a single letter all last week because I just didn’t have anything positive in me to say.  Some internal part of me was waving the white flag, needed someone else to do the caring and cheering for a little while.  So I rested.  Mark and I had long conversations where I unloaded each and every tab in my brain.  I prayed and cried and slept in late.  By Thursday, the fog lifted and I was ready to start again.          
I’m glad I took a picture of those California Poppies because Lucy later ran through the beds and completely ripped one of the plants out of the ground.  Deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths.

Sourdough experiment of the week: a spinach artichoke braid

Biggest highlight of the week: P finally decided to potty train!  He is so stubborn that all of our previous tries were met with a hard no.  But we were down to our last diaper on Monday and I declared, “Welp, we’re in this for better or worse!” and thankfully he cooperated.  After almost 14 years, we are a diaper-free house.  Wild.

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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