September 2022

We’re trying Poetry Tea Time again this year with my four youngest students, but with a twist. The older two will be in charge of the sweet treat each week! They love to cook and this is a fun way to expand on those skills. During this time, we will also read a few poems and challenge ourselves to recite some from memory. I’m also incorporating an informal Art Study and will have the month’s work on display. My goal is to provide an environment for us to experience the arts in a relaxed, non-intimidating way.

Here are the highlights from Week Two:

THE SWEET TREAT

After browsing my Pinterest boards for inspiration, the kids decided on Raspberry Cream Cheese Danishes from Lovely Little Kitchen. We used strawberry jam because that’s what we had on hand. These were a big hit! We’ll definitely be making more in the future.

THE POEM

Another funny one by Jack Prelutsky!

Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face
by Jack Prelutsky

Be glad your nose is on your face, not pasted on some other place, for if it were where it is not,

you might dislike your nose a lot.

Imagine if your precious nose were sandwiched in between your toes, that clearly would not be a treat,

for you’d be forced to smell your feet.

Your nose would be a source of dread were it attached atop your head, it soon would drive you to despair,

forever tickled by your hair.

Within your ear, your nose would be an absolute catastrophe, for when you were obliged to sneeze,

your brain would rattle from the breeze.

Your nose, instead, through thick and thin, remains between your eyes and chin, not pasted on some other place–

be glad your nose is on your face!

THE ART

We’re still working on The Annunciation by Fra Angelico. Lots of discussions about detail and perspective.

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The weather outside is //

As I look outside my window // The summer garden is almost finished for the year, although we still have quite a few tomatoes on the vine. My fall garden has been a bust – maybe I can sow a few lettuce seeds before it gets too late.

As I look around the house // I’m gearing up for one of my least favorite motherhood tasks: the switching of kids’ clothing to the next season! Thankfully, as the boys get older and their growth spurts happen less dramatically, I have less plastic bins to dig through than in years past. We still have warm days ahead (see the forecast above!) but I definitely can put some of the summer things away and take out the jeans and long sleeves.

Supporting // my fellow resellers by choosing ebay/Poshmark first. (I’m sure many of us are stressed about inflation and are trying to make a little side money to compensate!) Anyway, I have a list of items each family member needs for the upcoming fall/winter and every day, I set aside 30 minutes to browse the secondhand sites. I am so pumped about the deals I’ve found! A few highlights:

a brand new pair of booties for my daughter (retail $20) = $12
a 100% wool throw blanket for the living room (preowned options range from $50-100) = $17
a brand new with tags Banana Republic button-down shirt for my son (retail $65) = $13
a brand new with tags blazer for my husband (retail $275!!) = $13

My biggest tip for extra savings is to favorite/save the items you’re interested in and then wait. Very often, the sellers will send you an even better deal!

Reflecting // on this quote from Padre Pio: “Don’t draw back, and worse still, don’t stop going up the Calvary of life. Jesus will extend His hand to steady you. The thought of the sustaining grace of God and the prize that Jesus has reserved for you will be a sweet comfort.”

On this week’s to-do list // – celebrate an 8th birthday! – mail baptism gift – muck out the chicken coop and get it ready for fall/winter – cover crop the used paddocks with winter rye

– organize the medicine cabinet

Currently reading //

On the menu this week //

Monday: taco salads
Tuesday: one pot chili mac and cheese
Wednesday: arroz con pollo
Thursday: Refrigerator Cleanout Night
Friday: oven baked salmon (maybe I’ll try a new marinade?)

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

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

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1 // A FUN WAY TO TRACK YOUR HABITS

My big goal for September was to bring some margin into my life. I have been laser focused on the expansion of our homestead and finally hit burnout stage in August. Anyway, at the beginning of the month, I made a list of “fun” things that bring me peace/happiness. I also found this free printable habit tracker to visually see what I’m choosing each day. Loving the daily check-in so far! (And you can tell from my tracker above that it’s still way too hot to have a big quilt on my lap, ha!)

2 // “TELL ME WHAT YOU REMEMBER” BOOKS

Inspired by Farmhouse Schoolhouse’s “Friday Exam” tradition, we are incorporating this in our school week too! She mentioned in one of her blogposts that she was transitioning from butcher paper to blank notebooks and I went that direction too. I bought these spiral-bound books and each Friday, I ask a handful of questions: “Tell me what you remember about Daniel Boone’s adventures with Finley. Do you remember how a compass works from our geography studies? Can you write down a Roman numeral cheat sheet? What was your favorite part in our read aloud this week?” We casually chitchat and the kids draw their favorites on one page of the spiral-bound book. Sometimes they are very detailed, sometimes they choose to only make pencil sketches. All of it combined shows me what things stuck and what I’ll need to review in the next week.

3 // A NEW-TO-US ART CURRICULUM

We are trying Art Tango for art education this year and loving it so far! In an attempt to accommodate a range of students, I decided to go down the middle and follow the Third Grade Level. It’s simple enough for my second grader to understand, but I can easily make it more advanced/detailed for my 6th grader. And the curriculum is free!

4 // A MIRACLE TOILET RING CLEANER

We get these really awful hard water stains in our toilets and it’s always so embarrassing when we have people over. I want to block the bathroom door and say, “We really are clean people, I swear!” I have scrubbed and scrubbed using a variety of products and they barely made a dent. Insert the Pumie toilet bowl ring remover! It’s safe for porcelain, contains no added chemicals and can remove anything. My toilets look brand new again! I’ll be buying these things in bulk from now on.

5 // A PRINTABLE FOR LEGO FANS

A fun activity that my little boys have been enjoying: coloring this cute Lego minifigure printable in a variety of ways. I love to see what they come up with.

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I feel you, Alexander. Last week was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration…

Still. Lots of hard things happened all at once. Isn’t that always the way? We had more farm catastrophes. I started a new skincare routine (per my monthly goals) and my skin completely broke out in response. My husband had a health issue flare up, causing him excruciating pain. I miscounted my cross-stitch and had to rip out a whole section of stitches. My clothes dryer started making weird noises. And on and on and on. Some weeks are like that, right?

Thankfully, there were still some bright moments sprinkled throughout the days. Here are a few:

We’ve been watching the progress on this spider web. Pretty incredible.

What a surprise and honor. I cried.

My oldest son helped a local farmer with morning chores while he was out of town for Labor Day. I followed along one morning and loved seeing another system. Definitely took some notes and pictures!

A line from the Litany of the Holy Ghost that I’ve been pondering: Holy Ghost, inspire in us the practice of good.

First book club meeting of the new year! I don’t know these women well, but they are all so kind and generous. Looking forward to reading and learning with them.

We had the most beautiful Mass in the new spot on Sunday. My heart was filled to bursting. How quickly I forget how He can turn a little into a lot! It also seems the Gospel was just the one I needed to hear at the end of this hard week, especially this part: O ye of little faith! Be not solicitous therefore saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? for after all these things do the heathen seek. For your Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and His justice; and all these things shall be added unto you. After that pertinent reminder, I’m back on track and ready to face whatever comes. Deo gratias.

Here are the highlights from Week One:

THE SWEET TREAT

For the first week, this kids picked Lunch Lady Brownies from Life in the Lofthouse. I think they may have overmixed the batter because it had a cake-like consistency vs. a gooey one. Still very rich and delicious. A little bite goes a long way!

THE POEM

I thought this light-hearted poem would make the kids smile and it didn’t disappoint! They could easily imagine the crazy chicken antics.

Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens
by Jack Prelutsky

Last night I dreamed of chickens, there were chickens everywhere, they were standing on my stomach, they were nesting in my hair, they were pecking at my pillow, they were hopping on my head, they were ruffling up their feathers

as they raced about my bed.

They were on the chairs and tables, they were on the chandeliers, they were roosting in the corners, they were clucking in my ears, there were chickens, chickens, chickens for as far as I could see… when I woke today, I noticed

there were eggs on top of me.

THE ART

We are studying Fra Angelico this year and began with the piece, The Annunciation.

I’ve always loved peeking in on Ginny’s Yarn Along linkup series and seeing what beautiful items are being created. Since knitting isn’t one of my skill sets (yet! maybe someday?), I thought I would start a more generalized series on my blog highlighting what handicraft I’m working on each month. I’m thinking this could be anything from quilting and cross-stitch to DIY home décor and mending. Anything that I’m working on in the little pockets of free time throughout my day.

So here goes! Here’s what’s in my workbasket right now:

I started a new cross-stitch project. I want to do a gallery grouping of framed sampler-style projects, but need a substantial piece for the middle. I found this pattern for free and adjusted the colors to match ones I already own. So far, so good.

I also pulled out the grandmother’s flower garden quilt again. I started the quilting by hand months ago, but it quickly became unbearable to have a thick blanket on my lap in 90+ degree heat. I’d really like to finish in time to actually use it this winter, so I need to get moving!

Last one: I found this little piece among my fabrics. I must have made it at least a decade ago? No idea what I had planned to do with it, so I’m brainstorming now: a doll quilt? a pillow? a zipper pouch?

a generous friend who helped us with pig processing logistics
baking with my daughter
the return of the dining room puzzle (and how it brings us together)
an easy start to school
new opportunities for my husband

The hits keep coming. // We were blindsided with bad news, but continue to trust that God will produce good fruit through this trial. We pray the lament of Psalm 42 and imitate the psalmist’s hope: “I will praise Thee upon the harp, O God, my God: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope thou in God, for I will yet praise Him: Who is the salvation of my countenance and my God.“
God can turn a little into a lot. // I read that sentence on a blog and it really resonated because it’s true!
Scammers are everywhere! // I fell down the rabbit hole of a Youtube channel called Catfished that chronicled the stories of people who were tricked by “romance scammers.” These slimy guys are everywhere, from Facebook to dating sites to Words with Friends.
I need to strengthen my “reading aloud muscle.” // I almost lost my voice by the end of the first week!
You can’t pour from an empty cup. // A lesson I need to learn over and over again.

Try to blog every weekday. I ended up writing 17 (out of the planned 23) posts. I started off so strong, but couldn’t keep up during processing and the first week of school. Oh well, 74% isn’t terrible! I’ll try again next year.
✔ ~~Complete a “low buy” month.~~ I consider this a semi-success. We were very intentional about every penny, but didn’t see the huge savings I had envisioned. Maybe I was unrealistically optimistic?
✔ ~~Get some animals off the property.~~ We successfully got Fiona to the butcher and processed the broilers ourselves the following week. We welcome the breathing room after such a busy season!
✔ ~~Finish as many homestead projects as possible.~~ My list isn’t completely checked off, but I got a big chunk of it accomplished: I finally finished moving the pile of compost to the food forest, amended garden soil, and tidied up/organized unneeded items from the animals and garden. We are also almost finished with one of the permanent winter pig paddocks.
✔ ~~Start school!~~ Yes! We’ve had a really easy transition.

Go on a date with my husband.
Follow a daily skincare routine and see if I can notice any difference.
Send some snail mail.
Try a new sourdough recipe once each week.
Paint the back doors.