It’s been a quite morning here on the homestead. Fishing guides have already left for the day. Others are preparing for their day. Coffee has been drunk on the front porch while watching the birds. Corny even got in on the action. I love when I have a slow start to my days and I can just sit and be and reflect. Today’s reflection was on how I’ve been filling up my days doing and not really taking the time to just be. I’ve been a little overwhelmed recently, I ain’t gonna lie. I feel like I’ve been given this time (because of the pandemic) and I should take full advantage and get things done. But then I’m not really taking the time to sit back and realize all that I’ve accomplished. And will continue to accomplish. I wake up exhausted. I go to bed exhausted. And sometimes I’m not recharging during the night like we should be doing. I’ve been run down (last week I had a dizzy spell from not drinking enough water). I just go-go-go. So today’s reflection was based off multiple days of thinking “I can’t do this anymore” and a very long conversation with a dear friend who keeps telling me ‘look at all that you are accomplishing’. But I can’t see it because I’m so focused on ‘doing’ and ‘getting things done’. So. Where do these conversations and reflections leave me? They lead me towards a path of balance. I must find a balance or I’m going to really do some long term damage. So. I need a schedule. If I’m working outside of the home I have a schedule, right? I go to work from XYX-ABC. Then I come home and I do a, b, c. But I haven’t been doing that. So I’m setting a work schedule and making a list of things I’d like to get done for the week and that’s it. No more filling in the time and not getting the important things done.
Here’s what it will (hopefully) look like–
Work on Chicken Librarian everyday from 9:30-3:30. Goals for the week:
1. Finish and ship knitted hat
2. Order yarn for 2 commissioned knitting projects
3. Make video (on soapmaking)
4. Organize 2 photo folders
5. 3 blog posts (not including this one. I have 3 already mapped out)
6. Catch up on reading blogs
7. Craft Along Tuesday
8. Make and list one new item in the shop and then promote it
9. Facebook Live Saturday
And for the homestead, I will work around the hours listed above. And it’s a pretty short list because I need it to be short:
1. Finish planting garden (dirt into last raised bed, plant tomatoes, squash, radishes, herbs)
2. Spend time with chickens
3. Make soap
4. Clean the house (working on this today. Hopefully get it done today-all the big items and then just do maintenance throughout the week)
That’s it. I need it to be short and sweet this week. I need to treat Chicken Librarian like a business. I need to focus. I need to give it my attention, but then walk away for the day like I would if I were leaving the house and going to work. We’ll also start our days with walks which is why I’ve scheduled ‘work’ to start at 9:30. Anna needs daily walks and attention. So do I. I need to walk daily and I need to give her attention too. And I need to spend time with the chickens. I didn’t get them so they would be cooped up in the chicken run all day without any interaction. But that’s exactly what’s happening. And honestly, the Mister needs more from me than the cursory ‘how are you doing?’ We’ve been spending time on the front porch of the evenings, but I have so little left to give that I mostly just sit there. I’d like to have the energy to be more present for him. For me. And for those who need me to. I’ve been so busy trying to turn this old farmhouse/guide house into a home that I haven’t taken the time to really enjoy it. And that’s what I want, and need–to enjoy this house that we’re turning into a home. SO that’s where I’m at and this is what I’ll be working on this week and in the coming weeks.
Today is a cleaning day and then mowing day. And the pictures above count as the newly updated front porch tour, right!??! I just bought the metal chairs yesterday. I’ve long wanted metal chairs like that and I found the perfect ones for a good, fair price yesterday. And my intention is to spend more time out there on that porch, reflecting, enjoying.
I hope you all are well. I miss each and every one of you. I will be working my way to your corner of the world very soon.
’til then
-k
xoxo
Bekah
A schedule is good for everyone! I hope you find the balance in your days you are seeking. Be gentle with yourself. It’s hard to transition from working outside of the home, or having certain places to be at certain times (so expectations from others) to not having any of those things.
What is Craft Along Tuesday???
I keep forgetting to tell you… My son Alex and I made your pie recipe (twice), but with a tweak. I made a different pie crust, and it has become a family favorite! The crust is not rolled out but mixed in a bowl and then pressed into the pie plate. It ends up almost like a cookie crust. At least that’s the best explanation I can give it. Super yummy and easy!
Hope your week is off to a fantastic start!
chickenlibrarian
Fantastic Bekah!! I love that you are making the pies with your son. I love, love, love that. And tweak away! That’s what it’s all about. Finding something, trying it, and then putting your own spin on it. The crust sounds amazing!
I need a schedule. I find that I’m just kind of aimlessly wandering through my days (busily too but with no real set goals). So far today has been good. I got some work done and some homestead stuff done. I’m just finishing up some stuff and then it will be time for dinner. We even decided on our dinner plan early today so all is good so far!
I just did a craft along post. Basically it’s just joining me via Zoho Meeting as we craft together. Much like my facebook live videos but interactive (if people want to be interactive. They can still just watch if they’d prefer). Here’s the link if you’d like to check it out: https://chickenlibrarian.com/introducing-craft-along/
Seriously though. I know I mentioned it over on your blog, but I’m thinking now is a good time to bring the book discussion back and with the new Zoho platform we could do it interactively! What’dya say!??!?
xoxo
Bekah
I’m always up for a book chat! What else have you been reading? I just finished a book called The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. It takes place in Kentucky during the Depression. Interesting read. It received really good reviews on Goodreads, but… I don’t know. I didn’t feel like the author did such a great job of making the characters believable. I I feel like if someone from Kentucky read it, they would disagree with how she portrayed the majority of the men in the book. I guess I need someone else to read it to tell me if I’m off base!
I just saw the Craft Along post. 7pm? Would that be 4pm here in Washington? I will try and join you!!
chickenlibrarian
Ooh! I’ve had that book on my ‘must read’ list. I just put a hold on it via the library’s e-book platform. Shall we pick a book to discuss? We can do it all via video chat! We’ll see how this platform works tonight. If all goes well we’ll stick to it. If not, I’ll look for a different platform. But I think video chats are the wave of the future. Shrugs.
And yes, 7pm eastern time. I hope you can make it. If for nothing else than to give me some feedback on the platform!
Tracy
Okay, how far behind on my Chicken Librarian reading am I? 🙂 I did see this one the other day, though. Love love love the chicken flag!
And, I LOVE slow mornings…. in fact, I am having one today. It’s the first time in a LONG time. My job (eyeroll, trying to feel gratitude, getting paid is good), the chickens / coop prep, gardens… everything has kept me at a fast pace lately. It’s been really challenging for me and I have been struggling to keep my chin up. So, today I am taking a comp day from work. So nice. (Oh, I already logged in and completed a daily task I do for work, answered a message, and made sure nothing was on fire in my email, but I am OFF as of now!)
So, as I drink my fourth cup of coffee (hehe… I love my coffee), I have been enjoying catching up on all things Chicken Librarian! I’m glad you are getting stuff done, but you are wise to step back and recharge. When I was younger and a real smartypants, when someone told me to stop and smell the roses, my comeback was: You can always smell the roses when you’re running with them in your hand. (I think Garth Brooks was the one who said that, but I could be mistaken.) I still like that quote, and at 25, yeah, that worked. Now? I need to stop and smell ALL of the flowers, and touch the growing vegetable plants, and talk to the chickens, and look into the distance, and so on…
Hummingbirds: We have visitors, too! I bought Mr. Gordon a Bolite red glass HB feeder for Christmas this past year, and we really like it. Mr. Gordon can see the feeder from where he works (his company is on “work from home” until at least after Labor Day) and he said he watched two male HBs battle it out for the feeder. He also said, one was chubby. A chubby hummingbird?? Apparently, yes. Nature has a sense of humor sometimes.
I semi-cringed when I read “Organize 2 photo folders” on your to-do list. I’m in the process of going through a decade worth of photos on my laptop and deciding what to keep and what to toss. I have a new laptop coming next week. What a long and tedious project. I hope your organizing goes well!
Alright… I see a new post up from you today. That one I haven’t read yet. Like you, I love to blog. I would put up more posts if I could…. gotta bottle some time!
chickenlibrarian
Ugh! Organizing the photo folders. What a drag. I’ve actually been making good progress, but there. are. so. many of them! I can’t believe that I was so organized before and then I just starting dropping all the photos into one folder and labeling it ‘new folder’. Sigh. We’ll get there! It doesn’t have to all be done today. or tomorrow. At least that’s what the Mister keeps telling me anyway.
I just ordered a new hummingbird feeder. The other ones I had were plastic and I kept melting them in the dishwasher. So I will now have two glass ones (with plastic pieces. The plastic containers are what were melting). I did have two males and at least one female. But now I’m not sure since I took the feeders down for a few days. It seems like it takes me days to get things done now!
And yes to recharging! It’s funny. I just said it seems like it takes me days to get things done but I think that’s a direct result of me not filling my days up anymore. I want to take time to sit with coffee and chickens and smell all the flowers and the veg and the plants and all the fun things you mentioned. Why does our society seem to think that being busy from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep is the norm? Why can’t we sit and enjoy our coffee on the front porch while we watch the chubby hummingbirds duke it out over the feeders?
Sigh. So many questions!
hehe
xoxo