The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.496: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Signs of Spring

It was chilly again, but we’re setting our eyes on spring anyway!  Lots of new experiences are headed our way.  For one, I just started my first attempt at starting seeds under the grow light.  I’ve been checking in daily, testing water levels, turning the container so each side gets light evenly, and saying “I have no idea what I’m doing!” a ton.  There’s only so much reading you can do before you probably should just dive right in.  I’m praying for at least moderate success, but we’ll see.  The other big news is that we made final preparations for the 65 baby chicks that will be arriving by the end of the week.  I’m excited and terrified at all the unknowns, but I figure common sense and quick searches on homestead blogs will keep us afloat in the weeks to come.

My 12-year-old wanted to make something special for dinner.  After browsing the cookbooks and the refrigerator, he settled on stuffed peppers!

I’ve started collecting old Landmark Books from the 1950s. I’m trying to spend around $5-6 per book and have been pretty successful so far.  (I’ve had good luck on Better World Books and ebay.)  I wasn’t sure if the kids would find them at all interesting, but we’ve actually had some fun discussions while browsing through the Secret Service book.  Lots of talk about fraudulent currency and then checking out the little details on dollar bills.

I love the shadow that the little orange tree makes at dinnertime.

Don’t you just love a book that has a map inside?  I finished Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology on Friday night.  I’ll have a better review at the end of the month, but it definitely had me questioning the idea of how much technology is too much.  Where is the line where technology stops working for us and we become slaves to technology?  Everyone will have a different answer for that, I’m sure, but it’s an interesting thought experiment.  I’ve also been pondering this quote from the Epilogue: “The main three ingredients of technological liberation are a pinch of muscle, a sprinkle of wits, and a dash of willingness.” (p.228)

No photographic evidence, but I also…
+ made a decent dent in my green decluttering bin.  I posted a ton of Sophie’s spring/summer clothes from last year, along with a few doll toys that she’s outgrown.  They were snatched up on Trash Nothing in hours!
+ made a batch of granola.  It was gone in two days.
+ will be forever grateful for the new trampoline the kids got for Christmas – thanks Mom & Dad!  My four youngest will happily play out there for hours, even in the cold.
+ ordered a ThredUp Cleanout Kit as an alternative way to get rid of some of my reselling stock. I know that I won’t get nearly the amount that I would on Poshmark or ebay, but I’m ready to get these clothes out of my closet and move to a new entrepreneurial direction.
+ watched a turkey vulture sit pompously on the top of our basketball hoop. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an uglier bird.
+ dealt with water dripping from a recessed light in our basement.  So random and puzzling!  Thankfully, we know a guy who knows a guy (gotta love small towns!) who came out to help us figure out the problem.  He ripped up a piece of the ceiling and found the leak and it seems to be a pretty easy fix.  Ahh home ownership…there’s always something.

{Linking up with Rosie}

No.491: Last Week at the Farmhouse // February Life In Pictures

Trying to combat the February “blahs” with some intentional gratitude and seeking out the good things around me.  Linking up with Rosie again too!

My dwarf calamondin orange tree is growing new leaves, which is exciting!  I also have some new growth on my little avocado tree (that I grew from a pit, one of my best frugal accomplishment wins!) and am praying I can keep both alive long enough to bring them back outside in the spring.

Trying to say yes to spur-of-the-moment craft projects.  I loved the original vintage-looking metal green color of this “S”, but she thought pink with blue polka dots would look better….so here we are.  This is why I don’t spend too much time on Pinterest looking at perfectly curated children’s rooms.  My kids have a style all their own.  (And it usually doesn’t look anything like mine, ha!)

We got more winter weather on Thursday and I think we’ve all officially reached that point where we’re just over it.  This was a particularly horrible storm that was more sleet/ice than snow, so you can’t even really play outside.  My oldest offered to shovel the driveway by himself because he said he likes the silence.  I couldn’t agree more.

I’m still on a “cozy play spaces” kick.  My youngest likes to play along my bedroom window sill, so I propped up a few pillows and dumped a bunch of Legos into a little plastic bowl.  He loves it!  Lots of building and pretending.

Lucy turned two right before Valentine’s Day.  She is a joy to have around but creates a little havoc just to keep things interesting.  This week, she somehow managed to pull her collar off and then ran for the hills!  We all grabbed whatever tantalizing treats we could find (she can’t say no to pepperoni or a cheese stick) and finally convinced her to come home.

My official 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge is over, but I haven’t stopped.  I think I’m combatting February by getting rid of all the things!  I keep that green tub as my temporary holding cell until I can separate everything and make a plan.  Right now, I have lots of outgrown clothing and toys that I need to post on Trash Nothing.

My daughter used Jixels to make Albert Einstein and family!  I’ve been hearing a lot of “Zee answer is in zee question!” a la Night at the Museum ever since.

No.461: Last Week at the Farmhouse // A New Cocoa Station, A Birthday & A New Website!

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I have been spending way too much time cycling through the news the last few weeks, so I took another break and it was just what I needed.  I felt happier and more motivated.  My husband told me the short version of anything important that I may have missed (surprise: it wasn’t much) and that was good enough.  Highly recommend.

My two oldest boys are done with work for the winter months, so I thought I’d try stripping their smelly farm clothes.  I used a recipe that only needed three ingredients: Borax, powdered Tide detergent and Super Washing Soda.  (I found two out of three at my grocery store, but did have to order the Washing Soda online.)  The instructions were super easy and oh.my.word.  The results were so good and SO gross.  I’m planning to do all of our workout clothes next.

Project of the week: a cocoa station for the kitchen! It was a huge success with the kids and has been in daily use.  Doesn’t everything just look better in a glass jar?  Right now I put out our Polish Pottery mugs, but I’ll swap them out with Christmas ones in a few weeks.  

My oldest turned 14 this week and requested a pan of my blueberry peach cobbler all to himself.  An odd choice for November, but I aim to please!  I kept sneaking glances at him throughout the week and I just cannot believe that that squishy little baby who made me a mother is now this tall, handsome teenager.  The days are long, but the years are so very short.    
We lost power for over three hours during a big wind storm and I spent the afternoon keeping our new fireplace going.  I don’t want to brag, but I’m practically a pioneer woman now, ha!  

Last but not least: after almost ten years of blogging, I finally migrated over to a self-hosted website!  I still have so much to learn and lots of posts to tweak, but am so excited about the change.  

No.451: Last Week at the Farmhouse // A Productive Fall Break & a New Quilt

Mark decided to take Tuesday through Friday off from work.  Working 100% from home is a huge blessing, but it also comes with challenges and it’s hard to make a clear line between work and home.  He definitely needed the break.  We have never taken a school “Fall Break” before, but a four-day staycation with our favorite person was enough to convince me. But don’t think we spent an entire week just laying around!

While the kids were celebrating a vacation from math, Mark and I saw this break as a chance to catch up on life.  A little deep cleaning and organizing and the perfect window of time to complete two big projects outside: making a firepit and prepping the outside perimeter of the garden for a cottage garden next spring.  We had soil and gravel delivered and spent most mornings all working together to move it to its proper place.  My shoulders are still sore from all the trips with the wheel barrow!  We were finished by Friday afternoon (just in time for rainy weather to roll in) and celebrated with our first fire and s’mores.  I still need to buy some Adirondack chairs to go around the firepit, but our outdoor deck chairs did the trick in the meantime.  So fun.
I think I’ve mentioned here before that the quilt on my bed had gotten a few holes in it and I was on the search for a new one.  I wanted a simple white quilt and that proved way harder to find than I expected!  I finally found an option at Pottery Barn, but the price was a little steep.  So I started browsing on ebay every few days and finally found the exact one for considerably cheaper!  I also had some money in my Paypal account from selling a few things (thank you, 1000 Item Declutter Challenge) so the grand total was just around $50.  It really pays to be patient and check often!  Next up on the bedroom to-do list is a headboard.  I enjoy the hunt.
After a productive week, I somehow came down with a sore throat and head cold and spent the weekend in bed.  Not exactly how I planned to spend my birthday, but the kids were so sweet to me and spoiled me with their cards and gifts.  I asked for and received new slippers and flannel pajamas – I’m a boring old lady and I don’t care who knows it, ha!  I am counting down the days until it’s chilly enough to wear them.  And praise be to God, that weekend rest did the trick and I’m already on the mend.  Looking forward to the week ahead.

No.446: Last Week at the Farmhouse // There Just Aren’t Enough Hours in the Day

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Well, this month was a blur.  During Labor Day weekend, I made a long list of projects I wanted to accomplish in September and….well, not much of that happened, ha!  Schooling obviously takes up more of my time and even six weeks in, I’m still figuring out how to fold extra tasks into the structure of my day.  What would have taken me no time at all seems to take forever now!  But it’s all okay.  They’ll all get done eventually…deep breaths deep breaths.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, here are a few highlights from this month:

  • We had a great start to the school year.  This doesn’t always happen – on the first day of school last year, I sobbed and was convinced I had made a huge mistake!  This time around, the kids are enjoying most of the books and curriculum choices, are working hard and producing great work.  I couldn’t ask for more.
  • We refinanced on the house for a much lower interest rate.  
  • I finished out a very successful and fun first summer season in my garden.  I learned so much and am anxious to tweak things and try again next spring.
  • I painted Sophie’s bathroom and while we still need to buy a few things for the walls, I can happily say that we are finally 95% done with that project.  Finally!!
  • We celebrated two birthdays and now have a new 6-year-old and a new 8-year-old.  
  • I’ve been a decluttering fool whenever I have a few extra minutes.  Really motivated to finish up the 1,000 Item Decluttering Challenge ASAP.

On my nightstand: I just finished Home by Marilynne Robinson and am almost done with The Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Luisa Piccarreta.  Next up is Versions of Us by Laura Barnett.

My organization project for the week was a unique one, but long overdue: I finally went through my TBR list on Goodreads and removed the books that no longer interest me.  I’ve had a Goodreads account for almost 10 years now and wow, what a time capsule!  Most of the books I removed were books that centered around parenting, family traditions, or cooking, all topics I was absorbing back in 2010 as I attempted to do this new motherhood thing well.  I blinked and suddenly books on teenagers are more appropriate than the ones about sleep schedules.  Time flies.     

No.444: Last Week at the Farmhouse // More Organization Projects

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More organization projects this week!  We took advantage of a Labor Day sale to buy a storage solution for my daughter’s closet.  It’s definitely not a high-quality piece of furniture, but at least she now has a spot for her books and toys.  The other project was for my growing collection of seed packets!  Multiple gardeners use these plastic photo keepers and I loved the idea, but didn’t want to pay the price.  Amazingly, I found a used option on eBay and I won the auction for $1!   


Finished this week: Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers’ Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm by Forrest Pritchard.  Loved it.

On the financial front, we crossed off 100 Little Things #2 and closed on our refinance on Wednesday.  The much lower interest rate will certainly help in a lot of ways, but we’re most excited for the extra push toward completing Baby Step #3 (six months worth of expenses into savings.)

My brain feels so full lately and while it’s not necessarily stressful, it does exhaust me by bedtime.  I am sleeping so, so soundly these days!  Just a few of things I’m thinking about:
+ Fruit tree guilds // My little apple orchard is going to get an upgrade!
+ Cottage gardens // I’m excited to incorporate this idea along the outside perimeter of my garden.  Started my very first steps with a fig tree and a little rose bush that was on clearance at Home Depot.

+ Building a permanent chicken area using tips from Justin Rhodes’ system
+ A new white quilt/bedspread as ours is literally starting to fall apart // I went to straighten it on the bed one day and my fingers went right through!  It sure has taken a beating from six years of constant use and hundreds and hundreds of washings.  
+ Birthday presents for the kids and our yearly traditions // The first two are just a week away!

No.443: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Egyptians, A New Bathroom & So Much Rain

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The bathroom tiling is done!  I am so pleased with the workmanship and attention to detail; it looks awesome.  Now for my part – the painting!

My home project for the week was organizing our medicine cabinet.  Cooler weather is on its way, so I’ve been restocking our cough drops and cold medicines.  In between school and all of the other tasks of the day, I took a few minutes to organize everything into inexpensive bins…and even added labels.  Who even am I right now?  P.S. Don’t look too closely at the rest of the house – it’s not nearly as tidy.

I spent hours on Saturday working in and around the garden, pulling out more of the summer garden, amending soil and planting more of the fall seeds.  We had heavy rainfall early in the week and it completely wiped out some of my more tender seedlings, so I’m trying again!  I also started laying cardboard around the outside perimeter to kill the grass and get ready for topsoil.  I’ve got big plans for a cottage flower garden look next spring.

School highlights:
+ We’re learning about Egyptians in history and this week’s topics were hieroglyphics and mummies.  Nile project update: the grass grew!
+ My 8th grader is following Mater Amabilis’ Twentieth Century History plan this year and really enjoying it.  I like that they’ve included a wide variety of sources to tell the story of the time period (like first person narratives.)

No.441: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Plants Make Me Ridiculously Happy

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The biggest news of the week is that Sophia’s bathroom remodel is underway.  We hired out for the demo and tiling (a friend of Mark’s is a contractor) and I’m so glad we did.  What would have taken us forever, they knocked out in just a few days.  We will still have to paint and do a few more cosmetic-type things, but I’m so, so excited to have that room functional again.   

I went on a quick date with Mark to Home Depot to pick up grout and came home with $20 worth of houseplants.  The way to my heart isn’t through fancy jewelry or handbags, but definitely plants, ha!  I picked out a big dieffenbachia, which turned out to be poisonous for dogs so now lives in my bedroom (where Lucy’s not allowed).  I also got a pothos for the bathroom.

I started pulling out some of the summer garden and the spent wildflowers in the front beds – bittersweet, but also deeply satisfying.  I have learned SO much this year and am already planning what I’m going to do differently next year.


School highlights:
+ In order to keep the kids away from the construction, I brought out one of my secret weapons: a bag of balloons.  Good for everything from a science demonstration to PE class!  I blew up a handful and the little ones were happy in the basement for over half an hour, creating all kinds of games.  We had our share of popped balloons along the way, but definitely still worth the $2.
+ I’m really liking our new elementary science curriculum so far: Elemental Science’s “Earth Science & Astronomy for the Grammar Stage” curriculum.  This week, we finished a paper mache Earth model (after learning about the continents) and did an experiment about currents.
+ After a few years away, we’re back with Story of the World for elementary level history.  The kids made a model of the Nile, following the directions from the Activity Book.  Can’t wait to see the grass grow in the next few weeks!

No.438: Last Week at the Farmhouse // A New School Year Begins!

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The first week of school is done and it actually went better than expected!  In seven years of homeschooling, I’ve learned that the best thing you can do right off the bat is to find that routine, that steady flow of the day.  When the kids know what to expect and what is expected of them, when I can get even a tiny grasp on chores and other responsibilities…the days then become smooth and productive.  There will always be hiccups and small changes (life!) but the general routine is what keeps homeschooling from feeling like total chaos.

Recording what is working so far, for posterity’s sake:

  • I rise around 6-6:30, drink my coffee, read my Bible, start a load of laundry and get the dough going in the bread machine.  Then I hop in the shower, dress and eat breakfast.  During this time, the kids trickle downstairs, eat breakfast, get dressed, and sometimes watch a cartoon.
  • At 8:30, we all meet together in the kitchen to divvy up the day’s chores from The Confident Mom’s Household Planner.
  • At around 8:50, I have a mini meeting with my two middle school boys, go over the assignments/reading of the day and then send them off!  They pick different quiet places throughout the house and will typically sprawl out while reading and head to a table for written work.
  • At 9:00, we do kindergarten!  We start with TJ because he will otherwise relentlessly bug me for his turn.  This is the time we work on his math, letters and read aloud.
  • I take a quick break to switch laundry and put bread dough in pans for their second rise.
  • At around 9:15, my elementary students (K, 2nd & 4th) all meet at the school table for our group subjects like science, history, art and geography.  We do these altogether and just toggle the amount of work depending on grade.
  • I take another quick break to switch laundry again, put bread in the oven to bake for lunch and check in on big boys.
  • At around 10:15, we split up.  My 2nd and 4th graders do their math on the computer with Teaching Textbooks, so while one is on math, I work on the individual subjects of the other, like language arts.  With Mark home full time right now, he’s taking on their catechism and they love that special one-on-one time with him.
  • This takes us to about lunchtime and we break from 12-1.  This used to be our household quiet time but now that my kids are older, we just kind of hang out and relax.  It’s like a midday siesta minus the nap.  (Although I sometimes could go for one, ha!)
  • After 1:00, we finish up any work we haven’t completed yet.  If they work diligently and we don’t have any big projects, we easily can be done by early afternoon.  Sometimes we get in the kitchen and bake something at this time, or they play, draw, play guitar, get outside, etc.  On Fridays, we take a nature study hike through our back woods.  


100 Little Things Update: I checked off the first two tasks on my new list!
+ Get Lucy a new dog bed. (#57) – This technically breaks goal #100, but I found a reasonably priced dog bed and it was a Lightning Deal too!  Lucy cuddled right in, so I’m calling it a success.
+ Buy myself a pair of snow pants. (#79) – This one is random for late August, but my thinking is that I would pay less if I bought now versus later in the fall.  I ended up finding a secondhand pair, like new, for only $9! 

On the Nightstand: I just finished The Woman at the Window by A.J. Finn.  Still working through Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola, Gaining Ground by Forrest Pritchard and Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves by Jason Evert.

Recipe of the week, A is for Applesauce Muffins:

Applesauce Muffins
adapted from Mom to Mom Nutrition


2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine the dry ingredients together in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.  Add the wet to the dry and stir until combined.  Scoop into muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes.

No.437: Last Week at the Farmhouse // A Flat Tire & the Last Days of Summer Break

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What a week!  It started with a flat tire.  Simple enough to deal with, right?  Oh man, it turned into a fiasco.  We tried to remove the tire so we could put on the spare and drive to the mechanic, but it would.not.budge.  For two days, we tried everything, bought a few supplies to lift the SUV better, watched all the tips and tricks on Youtube, but to no avail.  We ended up calling a tow truck (to the tune of $100) and having to replace the one tire since it was too big of a hole to patch.  Since we were at the mechanic anyway, we decided to get Mark’s car inspected and were told that he needed all new brake pads to pass.  Later in the week, I checked our propane levels on a whim, only to discover that it was muuuuch lower than we thought and had to quickly make an appointment to fill the tank.  Money’s just flying out the window at this point.  
Other than that, it was a flurry of final school planning and project finishing as we prepare for our school year to begin on August 17.  The kids won’t admit it, but I think we’re all ready for a little more structure in our days.  I’m especially praying for a smooth transition as we begin – I’ve got five students, from 8th all the way down to K this year!

I’m always on a mission to prolong the lifespan of our clothing, so I’ve been doing a little mothproofing research.  (This article from Martha Stewart was helpful.)  I’m still on the lookout for hanging red cedar boards, but I did manage to find an etsy shop that sells lavender sachets to add to my closet.  Reasonably priced, cute fabrics and a wonderful seller.  Highly recommend.

On the nightstand: Follow the River by James Alexander Thom, Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola and Gaining Ground by Forrest Pritchard.  My reading has slowed way down these past few weeks as I can only read a few pages at bedtime before I start nodding off.  
For this week’s baking day, I made a new batch of granola and two loaves of banana bread.  Tried and true, this is our favorite recipe: 
Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil (sometimes I use coconut oil, sometimes unsweetened applesauce)
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
(you could also add in a cup of chopped nuts too)

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Butter the inside of a loaf pan and set aside.
Add all of the ingredients one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.  I typically bake mine for 45 minutes and then tent with foil for the last 5-10.

No.434: Last Week at the Farmhouse // Strawberry Crumble Cake & a Few New Pieces of Decor

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Don’t ask me how or why, but I finally got my groove back last week!  It felt so refreshing to be buzzing around the house, cooking and tidying and working in the garden, and jotting down huge lists of to-dos.  Not everyone’s idea of fun, but it is so very much me. 
In the garden, we have our first little watermelons growing and still have cherry tomatoes coming out of our ears!  My new zucchini seedling has already emerged, but is looking a little sad after all of the rain storms.  Hopefully it pulls through!  I also created a loose plan for fall crops: broccoli, carrots, brussels and lettuce are on the docket.  We’ll see what happens!  It’s all just one big experiment.
As part of our debt freedom celebration, Mark and I budgeted a little “fun money” for each of us to spend however we choose.  Since the thrift stores in my area have weird hours right now (and the idea of social distancing in these tiny stores seems stressful), I scoured the Internet for vintage pieces instead.  I had an idea of what I wanted and kept searching until I found the right item at the right price.  (Some pieces are insanely expensive!)  I obviously paid more than I would have at the thrift store, but I’m supporting small business and helping the economy, right?  Ha!  Here’s what I found:
  • a tall wicker picnic basket to hold my fabrics and in process quilt (this one, this one and this one are all similar ideas, but different shapes)
  • a small floral still-life painting to eventually be hung in a gallery wall
  • a Farm Journal cookbook from the 1970s that I bought for decor purposes, but actually want to cook almost everything inside! (here’s the same one!)
Sophia’s bathroom renovation is finally moving forward!  We pulled out her toilet last November (!!) with the intention of ripping up and re-tiling the floor and shower, but ran into a few problems…and then COVID.  I ordered the tile this week and we’ll hopefully be able to get this project going by the end of the month.  
I made homemade burger buns for the first time and they were delicious and so easy.  J and I also whipped up a Strawberry Crumble Cake together and while I could only eat a tiny piece due to my dairy sensitivity, it was really good.  I think it would be even better paired with a cup of hot coffee!  Here’s the recipe: 
Strawberry Crumble Cake
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg, beaten
4 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp. corn starch
Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 9×13″ pan.
In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the 1/2 cup sugar and corn starch.
In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, baking powder, salt and flour.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until the pieces are about pea-sized.  Stir in the egg to form a crumbly dough.  
Pat half of the dough in an even layer in the pan.  Spread the strawberry mixture on top of that.  Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the strawberry layer.
Bake 45 minutes or until lightly browned.

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