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You are here: Home / Blog Post / What’s saving my life right now

What’s saving my life right now

01.27.2022 by Raelene Bradley // 1 Comment

My friend Anne of the blog Modern Mrs. Darcy and podcast What Should I Read Next pauses every few months to consider and write about both the big and little things that are saving her life.

Winter is hard for many and intentionally looking for the good in every season is such a beautiful perspective. I love winter, and it’s always so good for my soul to be reminded to take time to notice the good and the beautiful in my life.

Here’s what Anne says about this practice of intentional reflection:

To beat back the dreary days, this winter I’m remembering how helpful it’s been in the past to keep a list—a literal, physical list—of the things that are saving my life right now.

The idea comes from author Barbara Brown Taylor. In her memoir Leaving Church, Taylor tells about a time she was invited to speak, and her host assigned her this topic: “Tell us what is saving your life right now.”

Most of us know what’s killing us, and can articulate it, if asked. (My list is SO LONG right now, friends.) But few of us stop to note what’s giving us life. 

Anne Bogel, Modern Mrs. Darcy

I’ve been noticing more and more all the things – little and big, but mostly little – that are giving me life in these cold, bleak, frigid mid-winter days.

“Our lives reflect what we persistently think about,” Anne writes.

This week, I’m choosing to think about all the many things that bring joy, peace, and life to my days. And/or just make my day go better.

  • A well-stocked pantry

All that hard work and sweat equity during the summer months pays off in the winter when our shelves are full of home canned goods and the freezers full of homegrown meat. It’s a blessing and a privilege to be sure, but also one we’ve worked darn hard to make happen and there’s so much satisfaction in putting a meal on the table we’ve grown ourselves.

  • Leggings & yoga pants

But not for the reason you think. Of course they’re a comfy staple, but they’re also just right to add another layer under my chore pants and tuck my shirt into. They’re keeping out the chill as I sit on that milking stool at oh-dark-thirty in well-below zero temps.

  • A peg on the wall

Dixie, our 5 month old puppy, makes peace with the barn cats every morning to share the feast of fresh warm frothy milk. But lately she’s been stealing my gloves left on the ledge of the barn while I milk. She plays with them and carts them off to who knows where out in the snow. But this week I got smart and looked up. Sure enough, there’s an old iron peg in a beam above my head and my gloves have perched there safely out of Dixie’s reach every milking since.

  • 4wheel drive

We’ve been snowed in (as in the snow was so thick and deep we couldn’t get out the driveway) three times already this month. Our neighbor keeps digging us out with his tractor, bless his heart. But the snow keeps on coming anyway. We won’t even attempt the driveway (on a curve, up a hill, with an uncanny tendency to ice over) in the minivan. And so the truck with four-wheel drive is a lifesaver.

On the way to church this week Helen (6) said from the backseat: “I’m so thankful for four-wheel drive.” We all are.

  • No library fees

Because we’ve been homeschooling, I have an “educator’s” library card. It’s the same as a regular one except I can check out over 100 books at a time (lest you think this is overkill, we regularly have over 100 library books checked out. I agree, it’s a bit ridiculous). But the only reason I’m still financially solvent with a check-out limit like that is because the library has also temporarily suspended all fees. Thank heavens for small mercies like these, eh?

Also:

  • ice skating
  • winter sunshine
  • warm wool socks
  • my favorite toque
  • crisp, fresh air
  • peppermint tea I grew myself
  • breakfast sausage
  • snow plows
  • cream on everything (pudding, oatmeal, applesauce, pancakes)
  • love notes from my 6yo
  • the heating pad I keep on my feet at night

Tell me friends, what’s saving your life right now?

Categories // Blog Post

Comments

  1. Diane Mahon says

    January 28, 2022 at 4:32 pm

    Thumbs up to the heating pad on your feet! It’s my third winter here since moving from Southern California and I just discovered this. My feet get so cold from a thyroid problem. I have an extra long pad so I can put it from my chest to my feet with my legs criss-crossed and a blanket over me. And here I thought I was the only genius. 😊

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belvederefarms

Hey there friends! Long time, no see eh? . Popping Hey there friends!
Long time, no see eh?
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Popping in to let you know I’ll be posting over at @belvedere.farms from now on.
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Same farm, same milk cow / farming / homesteading / canning & preserving / free-range kids capers & misadventures kinda stuff, but a whole new chapter.
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Sneak peek: if you’ve been around for awhile, you’ll know Maude (our milk cow Sandy’s first calf). She’s a brand new momma herself!
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She and I are learning together how to train a milk cow from scratch. It’s an adventure, to be sure!
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Come on over to @belvedere.farms and follow along.
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- Raelene
Wow. Just wow. . This is how I feel every time I l Wow. Just wow.
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This is how I feel every time I look at the pantry shelves, filling slowly but surely, bit by bit.
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Summer’s bounty + hard work (and plenty of hot sweaty days in the kitchen) means my family will eat like kings all winter long.
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It’s such a blessing to know these skills and get to pass them along.
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Sign up for my newsletter (link in bio) so you know when the next homesteading/self-sufficiency class is happening here at Belvedere Farms and you too can start filling those pantry shelves with goodness.
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#homestead #preservingtheharvest #canning #cannedpeaches #canningseason #selfsufficiency #homemadefood #homesteadmama
“She is little, but she is fierce.” Don’t pu “She is little, but she is fierce.”
Don’t put out that fire.
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#farmraisedkids #farmher #farmgirl #ican #homesteadmama
Can I hear an AMEN? Just tell me one thing: Team L Can I hear an AMEN?
Just tell me one thing: Team Lake or Team Ocean?
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Me? Lake. All the way. Nothing in the lake wants to kill me. 😱
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#gooutside #wildandfreechildren #lakeday #summertime #outdoorkids
There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut hay. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut hay.
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#hayingseason #freshhay #hay #farmlife #summeronthefarm #hayfield #ohiofarm
Just like that, canning season has officially begu Just like that, canning season has officially begun.
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I drove down to the vet’s to pick up meds for a sick heifer and since it takes me right through Amish country, I couldn’t resist stopping at a farm just off the road to pick up 10 quarts of small but luscious berries (the small ones are sweetest, I think).
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Harvested rhubarb from the garden and a couple hours later : strawberry rhubarb jam.
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When you’re filling shelves for the winter, every little bit counts.
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Are you making jam this year? What’s your favorite fruit to use for jam? I loooove apricot jam, but have a hard time finding local apricots here in Ohio. If you know of a source - spill the beans!🤣
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#canningseason #strawberryjam #homesteadmama #homesteadskills #oldfashionedonpurpose #preservingtheharvest
It may seem like a small thing, but it always make It may seem like a small thing, but it always makes my heart happy to look out the window and see the cows grazing in the pasture.
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It took a lot of work to get here, and takes a lot of work to stay here, but working hard for something you love isn’t a burden. Instead it builds confidence, self-respect, resilience, and stamina.
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Go, friends. Work your tails off at work worth doing. And stop every now and again to take stock of all you’ve accomplished and all you’ve learned. It’ll blow your socks off and give you the gumption to do the next hard and worthwhile thing.
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Every farm needs a barn cat. We’ve noticed a hug Every farm needs a barn cat. We’ve noticed a huge difference between the years we’ve had barn cuts and the years we haven’t. They’re essential.
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And yet, I’m pretty sure my kids all think we keep barn cats for the kittens.
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There’s a new litter every spring and so far we’ve always been able to give enough away to keep from being overrun. Their momma, Scout, is a phenomenal mouser (and catches birds and squirrels and chipmunks too) and earns her keep many times over.
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So much so that when she decides to give birth, she finds a spot in the basement and we let her come and go as she pleases while the kittens are teeny. That in itself is a testament to her place on the farm.
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Are you team barn cat? How many do you have?
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#barncat #kittens #kidsandkittens #farmraisedkid #farmkid #homesteadkids
Eleven brand spankin’ new piglets born on the fa Eleven brand spankin’ new piglets born on the farm yesterday afternoon/evening.
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It never gets old this farming thing. There’s always something to work on, look forward to, get better at, learn from, grow into, and try again.
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I’m here for it and doing my darndest.
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#farmlifebestlife #babypigs #piglets #iamyourfarmer #supportlocalfarmers #berkshirepigs #farmher
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