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Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

Life isn’t long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it! – Tasha Tudor

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this soup recipe to make for a friend who recently had a new baby
• also thinking about making these muffins for a snack option for the two big sisters
• the first episode of an old BBC series about daily life and rationing during WWII
• this cookie box option for Christmas neighbor gifts
• this beeswax candle kit to roll for Advent (getting a tradition to-do knocked off the list!)

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

“For to be a farmer’s boy” by Winslow Homer (found here)

A THOUGHT-PROVOKING VIDEO

CHRISTMAS COOKIE BRAINSTORMING

What are your go-to cookies and/or sweet treats during the Christmas season?  I’m brainstorming ideas for the neighbor’s cookie boxes and would love to hear your favorites!  I’ll go first and share one of ours: Gingerbread Men!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him – really rest – and start the next day as a new life. – St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Melisa shared this beautiful quote with me last week and I quickly jotted it down where I will see it often.

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this free typing course for my daughter
• this recipe for marinara sauce (we’re having pasta and homemade meatballs for dinner!)
• this recommended book from D.E. Stevenson

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

The Artist’s Garden at Vetheuil by Claude Monet

AN INSPIRING TALK

A HOMEMAKER CHECK-IN, TWO YEARS LATER

Time for another check-in!  As a review:

• Back in 2021, gas was $2.95/gallon, a gallon of whole milk was $2.81, a loaf of bread was $2.48, and a dozen eggs were $1.28.
• In 2022, gas was $4.19/gallon, a gallon of whole milk was $3.74, a loaf of bread was $3.34, and a dozen eggs were $1.88.

Today, our gas is currently around $3.65/gallon.  A few grocery staples: a gallon of whole milk is $2.84, a loaf of bread is $3.27, and a dozen eggs are $1.50.  So we’re looking better than 2022, but prices are still significantly high and we’re feeling the pinch!  What ways are you finding to save money where you live?

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Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

Daily exposure to an economically diverse set of people is one reason Americans began engaging in more upward comparison.  A shift in advertising patterns is another.  Traditionally advertisers had targeted their market by earnings, using one medium or another depending on the income group they were trying to reach.  They still do this.  But now the huge audiences delivered by television make it the best medium for reaching just about every financial group.  While Forbes readers have a much higher median income than television viewers, it’s possible to reach more wealthy people on television than in the pages of any magazine, no matter how targeted its readership.  A major sports event or an ER episode is likely to deliver more millionaires and more laborers than a medium aimed solely at either group.  That’s why you’ll find ads for Lincoln town cars, Mercedes-Benz sports cars, and $50,000 all-terrain vehicles on the Super Bowl telecast.  In the process, painters who earn $25,000 a year are being exposed to buying pressures never intended for them, and middle-class housewives look at products once found only in the homes of the wealthy. – The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need, p.10

This book was written in 1998 so naturally, the examples are a bit dated.  Yet I can’t help but think that this idea has exploded since the invention of social media!  We are constantly bombarded with photos and products and lifestyles that most of us cannot afford, which leads to envy, dissatisfaction, unhappiness and a lot of debt.  I’m excited to keep reading and learn about her solution to this problem.

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this site for canning recipes (getting ready for tomatoes!)
• this book about Sister Mary Wilhelmina
• this DIY stepping stone tutorial

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

The Blue Kitchen by Margaret Olley

AN INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO

I loved this video about the Fairfield Carmelites and the attention and care taken for their new monastery.  I’ve been inspired to make the ordinary spaces of my home beautiful, just like them.

A LITTLE HUMOR

A true to life picture of myself last week!  We managed to go without air conditioning throughout most of May and I was really hoping for a cheaper bill.  No such luck.  What do electricity costs look like where you live?

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Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

The Church is saying to us again and again, “Now is the acceptable time” (2 Cor 6:2).  This Advent will never come again…We recall the classic words of the poet: “The tender grace of a day that is gone will never come back to me.”  The graces of this day will never come again.  The opportunities for being loving and humble and generous and self-forgetful in this day will never come again.  That is a large thought, and we should fill our minds with large thoughts in this season. – Come Lord Jesus, page 65

I’m reading my favorite Advent devotional again this year.  There are so many little nuggets of wisdom and I reflect on something new each time.

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this new-to-us option for the cookie tins
• this post about an old-fashioned heating source (I want one!)
• this vintage radio program that would be fun to listen to with the kids
• a cool website to help use up random leftovers

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

“The Day Before Christmas” by Carl Larsson (found here)
How cute is that sweetie pie on the left?!

A POEM FOR THE SEASON

In Memoriam A. H. H. OBIIT MDCCCXXXIII: 106
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

WHAT WE DID FOR SAINT NICHOLAS DAY THIS YEAR

The kids put out their shoes last night in anticipation of a gift from Saint Nicholas and he didn’t disappoint!  Along with the obligatory gold chocolate coins, they always receive something to enjoy together.  (One year, they found a few Christmas movies, another year was playing card themed, etc.)  2022 will go down in history as the year Mom and Dad chose completely random things!  I picked a board game called LineUp and my husband chose a Battle Jousting Challenge Set.

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A QUOTE

The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard. ― Joel Salatin, Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this recipe for roasted cherry tomato salsa
• this recipe for homemade pizza sauce from fresh tomatoes
• this video which has my wheels turning for 2023
• these cool hair ties

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

“The House in the Forest” by Camille Pissarro (found here)

CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR READING (OR SCHOOL/HOMEWORK) TIME

A HOMEMAKER CHECK-IN, ONE YEAR LATER

How are you, my dear reader?  Last time I checked in was almost one year ago and in some ways, it feels like we went from bad to worse!  Everything from groceries to gas to electricity has gone up significantly where I live and it’s getting trickier to balance the budget.  I’m hoping the low-buy month will help, even a tiny bit.  How are you adapting?  What do things costs around you right now?  Our gas is $4.19/gallon.  A few grocery staples in my area: a gallon of whole milk is $3.74, a loaf of bread is $3.34, and a dozen eggs are $1.88.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

A QUOTE

I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. – Helen Keller

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• a possible option for elementary grammar next year (and free!)
• this recipe for sourdough applesauce muffins
• these fermentation weights
• these free recycling programs through Terracycle

A CREATIVE PROJECT IDEA

ON MY NIGHTSTAND

• Fiction: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
• Nonfiction: Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, An Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work by Jeanne Marie Laskas
• Religious: Christus Vincit: Christ’s Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age by Bishop Athanasius Schneider

HOW DO YOU USE UP HOMEGROWN SQUASH AND ZUCCHINI?

I planted a ton of squash and zucchini this year with the plan to eat it fresh, but also to preserve it for later.  What are your favorite recipes at your house?  Here are a few I’ve recently found and hope to try this summer:

+ Rigatoni with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Zucchini
+ Sweet and Sour Zucchini Pickles
+ 20 Minute Skillet Sausage and Zucchini
+ Zucchini Gratin with Yellow Squash

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Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing.  For to miss the joy is to miss all. – Robert Louis Stevenson

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• my go-to recipe for strawberry shortcake biscuits
• this recipe for mason jar whipped cream (to go with the shortcakes)
• this freezable bag that would be perfect for delivering chicken orders (or bringing to the beach or the park…)
• this video about creative ways to cut chicken feed costs

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

“Mother With Her Child” by August Jernberg (found here)

VINTAGE MUSIC FOR YOUR MORNING

FIVE THINGS BRINGING ME JOY

• sourdough waffles for dinner after a busy day
• foxgloves blooming after a year of anticipation
• watching the ducks splash around in their new pool
• the close of another successful school year
• my oldest passing his permit test – we’ve got a new driver in the house! (this one is so bittersweet….the days are long but the years are so short)

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Happy Wednesday and a (very) belated Happy Easter!  We had a wonderful, fruitful Holy Week and Easter Octave and I’m just now getting back into the swing of things.  I scheduled our Spring Break for Easter week, so I was able to spend full days working outside, finishing a few projects and making progress on others.  I’m exhausted, but so proud of how things are shaping up around here.  More details soon.

A QUOTE

One thing I know for sure: we are meant to enjoy each day we spend on Earth, which happens quite naturally when you nurture a garden. – Barbara Pleasant

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this recipe for sourdough chocolate chip cookies
• this post on raising friendly ducks
• these adorable feast day candles
• this list of camping food that requires no refrigeration (I stumbled on this and want to save it for this summer)
• this video from The Minimal Mom

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

“Fisherman’s Friend” by George Hillyard Swinstead (found here)

ON MY NIGHTSTAND

• Fiction: The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 by Lionel Shriver
• Nonfiction: Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden
• Religious: The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life by Fr. Charles Arminjon

FIVE THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

+ puttering around the garden
+ listening to the kids laugh at some joke only they understand
+ warm sunshine on my face
+ a room freshly tidied
+ summer vacation on the horizon (just a few more weeks to go!)

The post contains affiliate links.

Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

…there are between 3,500 and 15,000 insect species worldwide that can be considered pests, in terms of human endeavors.  These species eat our food, destroy our homes, bite our children, and transmit diseases.  In fact, over the centuries insects have killed more people than died in wars!  Most people have a negative attitude about all insects, just as they do toward “germs” and bacteria.  But for every pest species, there are between 400 and 1,700 species of insects that are beneficial to humans.  Without these beneficial insects, food webs and ecosystems would collapse.  Homans depend on insects.  If you like fruits, vegetables, or flowers, then you can thank a bee, beetle, or butterfly. – Dirt to Soil, page 54

I had the hardest time deciding on a single quote from this book; it is bursting with information and is inspiring me and my farm so much.  I will definitely be moving forward in a direction that encourages everything from bees to earthworms to thrive in our gardens and pastures.

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• this tip about freezing bulk beans – genius!
• this recently published book about Communist Romania in 1989
• this post on how to create a greenhouse from reclaimed windows – a dream for someday…
• this post about purple dead nettles – we have these plants all over our property!

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

“Springtime” by James George Bingley (found here)

BACKGROUND MUSIC, PERFECT FOR SPRING

FIVE SEED COMPANIES I’M USING ON THE HOMESTEAD THIS YEAR

• Territorial Seed // I’ve had good success with some of their vegetable seeds
• Park Seed Co. // I’m growing their tomatoes and peppers this year
• Eden Brothers // a lot of my flower seeds came from here
• True Leaf Market // their cover crop selection is awesome
• Southern Exposure Seed Exchange // new to me!  my son picked up a pack of beet seeds for me from his job at the farm

This post contains affiliate links.

Happy Wednesday!

A QUOTE

Beauty assures us that goodness is still real in the world, more real than harm or scarcity or evil.  Beauty reassures us of abundance, especially that God is absolutely abundant in goodness and in life.  Beauty reassures us there is plenty of life to be had.  I believe beauty reassures us that the end of this Story is wonderful. – Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad, p.33

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW

• Rocky Mountain Oils // researching essential oils again and am happy to find a non-MLM option
• DIY Bathroom Soap Scum Remover // hoping this will help (I have this post with more tips saved as well)
• Dehydrating Potatoes // learning a new skill this week!
• Pumpkin Bread // this sounds yummy

A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART

“Book Characters Coming To Life As Boy Reads” by Walter Beach Humphrey (found here)

NON-JUNK CHRISTMAS IDEAS

I’ve been making big progress on the kids’ birthday and Christmas gifts!  (Little side note: I found a lot of awesome things for the younger kids on Fat Brain Toys.  They have reasonable shipping charges and fast shipping.  Highly recommend!)  A few of my finds:

• Mega Marble Run Marathon // we keep all of the pieces in an organizer bin to keep it from getting crazy
• Magna-Tiles // my kids use these often, so I bought the car pack for P’s birthday
• Loopdeloo Friendship Bracelet Maker // this will be under the tree for my daughter this year
•  Art Supplies // my teenage boys are really into art, so I buy most of their supplies from Jerry’s Artarama

A THOUGHT-PROVOKING READ

I recently read a blog post from The Frugal Girl called “Soap is cheap.”  From the post: “That put Grandma…on my brain, and I was reminded of something she once told me: ‘No matter how little money you have, you can at least keep your things clean. Soap is cheap!’”  I loved the advice and her readers’ comments at the end were so interesting as well.  We have lots to learn from our ancestors!