30 Days of Thankfulness – Day 11

Every morning, I’m thankful for coffee. One of the most bewildering discoveries I made after moving here was that the nearest Starbucks is about 40 minutes away from our house. This seemed inconceivable after living in a college town with at least five Starbucks locations. Was I even in America? How would I get those delicious salted caramel mochas and gingerbread lattes? How would I know Christmas was coming without those cheery red cups? What would I do when I needed some of the ‘Bucks?!

Thankfully I managed to survive after I got over the shock, and when we do swing by Starbucks after market every month or so and share the biggest, most seasonal coffee we can buy, it’s such a fun treat. When my wonderful Mom even brought us a pack of “Via” pumpkin spice latte mixes when she visited last month, I was pretty much in heaven.

However, most of the time we survive on brewed coffee from home, and besides saving a ton of money (I was a bi-weekly offender), it’s super delicious. Our current favorite is Leelanau Coffee Roasting Company’s “Foothills Blend.” We picked some up when we were visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes with my parents, and it is seriously the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.

Not that I won't be heading to Starbucks for a peppermint mocha in the very near future. Shh.

30 Days of Thankfulness – Day 10

Today I went on a “Grocery Date” with Will. We drove to Ludington together and then while Will made some farming-related purchases at Lowe’s and Tractor Supply, I shopped the deals at Meijer. I was lured there by the promise of Will’s favorite brand of canned tomatoes (now that I type that out, it sounds weird, but they really are tasty). The bad news is, they were all out of whole tomatoes (devastating!). The good news is, they had plenty of crushed and diced, so I stocked up. We are serious about our canned tomatoes around here. (Probably this is the point where all three readers of this blog die of boredom and abruptly stop reading). Call me crazy, but planning meals, stalking coupons, and hunting down deals at Meijer on my bi-monthly shopping trip is one of my most thrilling activities these days… I give up. I'm crazy.

Besides the amazing canned tomato saga, after Will ran his errands and rejoined me at Meijer, we swung by the cereal aisle and bought a box of Oatmeal Squares as a treat, which we promptly went home and devoured. (If I was actually the tribal hunter I delusionally think I am while grocery shopping, this would be the equivalent of eating the heart and other desirable organs first in celebration of our victory). A successful grocery date that ended with bowls of tasty cereal to munch on as a late-night snack? I’m thankful. :)

30 Days of Thankfulness – Day 9

Will and I drove to The Big City (otherwise known as Muskegon) after dinner to attend a free financial seminar about basic small business accounting. It was rainy and wet and neither of us really wanted to venture out, but as dull as “financial seminar” sounds, we actually really enjoyed it. Listening to the lecture while quietly taking notes at our tables felt kind of like being back at college to me, except I was holding hands with my best friend under the table, and there were no tests, grades, or piles of homework (definitely a win-win… win… situation). We also got some helpful example forms to get us started keeping records of our own small business finances and my inner nerd gets excited about neat little columns where numbers add up at the bottom. I was pretty gleeful by the end, and Will was envisioning how, if we could just persuade my inner accounting nerd to focus, maybe we could keep much neater records of our farm finances.

One of the best things about the little seminar was that after it was over we got to drive home and eat ice cream. I didn’t even really like ice cream before I married Will, but, unfortunately, Country Dairy has made me a convert. Nutty Java Moo has even brought me to the point that once I took a spoon and furtively treated myself to a delicious bite of cold, creamy goodness straight from the carton in our freezer. That may not seem too terrible, but a secret spoonful is a slippery slope to bowlfuls and then cartonfuls and then before I know it I could end up in ice-cream-aholics anonymous, so I try to keep such episodes to a minimum. Will trustingly leaves that ice cream with me when he goes to work, and with great power comes great responsibility. I had better stop before I get any more over-dramatic... writing about all this ice cream is making me hungry. Anyway, on this particular night we broke into a carton of "Mookies & Cream" that Will had brought home earlier in the day as a special treat, and we decided unanimously that it was one of our new favorites. I’m thankful for nights that end with ice cream.

30 Days of Thankfulness – Day 8

One of the things I have been really thankful for since moving to rural West Michigan is the local library. For one thing, Michigan has a great library loan system called MelCat – the selection is truly impressive and I have had so much fun requesting books that I never was able to find at the local library back home. Getting the call that our books are in is always exciting. :)

Another great thing about the library is that it has internet. There are some things that are great about not having internet at our house… namely, that I get a lot more done. It’s amazing how much harder it is to procrastinate or get distracted without YouTube or Facebook hanging out nearby (unfortunately, I’m still a pretty creative procrastinator without their help). However, I still think the internet is a great tool (and sometimes just plain fun), so a couple of times a week I go to the library and check my email, clip Mperks coupons and plan my next shopping trip, check our banking, read a few friends’ blogs, or (most recently) upload the latest posts I’ve written. My favorite stop is (I admit) Pinterest. I held out a long time before I joined that site, but it’s so useful, and kind of a treat too. I love finding new recipe ideas there, and I save a smattering to my computer to try throughout the week. Will’s dinners would be decidedly less varied without the magic of Pinterest. There are lots of fun ideas on there for other things too, if you sift through the impossible and sometimes ridiculous.

Yet another thing I like about the library is how cozy it is. On days I am feeling a little isolated out in the corn fields with the chickens, it’s so nice to be able to drive a few miles down the road into the local “village,” walk into the local library, and peruse the shelves for new books or look at pretty homemaking ideas on Pinterest, and listen to the quiet, cheerful murmur of the librarians and patrons. There's even a fireplace. A fireplace! Sometimes it's hard to drag myself away.

Tonight after Will got off work we met at the library for a little “Library Date” to use the internet and look at books together at one of the little tables. We had so much fun on our little “date” that we decided to make it a weekly visit, as our schedule allows. After we got home I cooked up some Winter Veggie Soup with Bacon Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on the side. The soup was very delicious, but was even better the second day. Here’s the recipe, in case you too are feeling a hankering in your soul for some hearty veggie soup. I threw in a few more spices and added a bit of bacon that I had fried up for the sandwiches (because Will doesn't believe in meals without meat).

Winter Veggie Soup

recipe adapted from Butterflyfood

1 tbsp olive oil

4-5 strips of bacon (cooked and chopped into 1 in. pieces)

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

2 stalks of celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1-2 tsps fresh thyme

assorted spices

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes

3 pints of water

1 cup of pasta (your choice - I used ziti)

In a 5-quart dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper and cook until veggies are just soft. Add the bacon, tomatoes, and water and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste, and if necessary, throw in other spices with wild abandon (I recommend a bit of oregano, basil, cayenne and cumin). Add the pasta and cook for another 8-10 min. Serves 4-6.

30 Days of Thankfulness – Day 7

I’m thankful for Mondays. I love the weekends and the extra time I get to spend with Will, but often they’re quite busy and by the time the weekend is over our house sometimes looks like it was hit by a category 4 hurricane. Because of farmer’s market and Will’s job, Saturday is often still a work day or spent running errands, and Sunday is our day to go to church, visit with family, or curl up at home with a book and leave the dinner dishes in the sink for once.

I enjoy the adventure of Saturdays with Will, and I love getting to rest together on Sundays, but Monday’s are comfortingly quiet and unscheduled, a day to return to the comfortable, everyday routine of housework and bring the weekend chaos back into check… to wash the leftover Sunday evening dishes, to throw in a load of laundry, to plan meals for the week ahead, to manage mail, and to straighten up the house until I can sit down for a moment with a cup of coffee and just look happily at the clean kitchen sink.

So oddly enough, I'm thankful for Mondays.

30 Days of Thankfulness – Day 6

I’m really thankful for my family. Will and I had so much fun when my parents visited us last month. It was wonderful being able to explore more of Michigan together, to share our home with them, and even to spend a day butchering chickens together. However most of the time we’re separated by 951 miles of road, and I often miss morning coffee with Mom or seeing my Dad when he gets home from work.

I’m truly grateful for Will’s family and how welcoming, warm, and encouraging they have been. Sunday, after church, they invited us over for lunch, and we had so much fun sitting at the long kitchen table, eating lunch and talking and laughing. It’s been so nice to know we have Will’s parents nearby, and although sometimes I still forget to call them mom and dad, they treat me like one of their own daughters and I feel so blessed and overwhelmed to have two pairs of such loving, Godly parents in our lives.

I’m so grateful for both of our parents, and how they call to check on us and love and support us throughout each and every week. I’m thankful for our brothers and sisters – Sean and I were co-conspirators and best buddies growing up, and I never dreamed the joy of having eleven more siblings one day. I am thankful that God places the lonely into families, and how our family in Christ is always growing.

30 Days of Thankfulness – Day 5

The market manager took these pictures a few months ago.

Today was Saturday, and so, in usual Saturday morning fashion, Will and I drove down to the local Farmer’s Market (about 40 minutes south) and sold pastured chicken for a few hours this morning. It was a chilly day, but the building we have market in during the winter is nice and toasty, and it always feels so festive with the bustle of vendors and customers, and all the colorful tables of fresh veggies, flowers, cheeses, breads, natural meats, honey, maple syrup, soaps, aprons, etc. It’s fun to see the community of the market, how it’s a place to bump into friends, share stories, swap recipes, get advice, and of course, decide on what to eat for dinner (Will always recommends pastured pork or chicken).


My favorite part, however, is getting to work side-by-side with Will and see him enjoying work he loves and is gifted at. Sometimes (especially on cold mornings) I contemplate pulling the covers over my head and going back to sleep rather than getting up at 5am to fill coolers with meat, but by the time we climb into the car I’m always grateful for the time I get to just chat and laugh with Will on the drive down, and the merry hours we get to spend together talking to people and selling something we worked hard to produce. Will is really in his element at market, and it always renews my admiration for him.

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

Today I'm thankful for Christmas music. I know it may be considered too early by many, but as far as I'm concerned, September 1st heralds changing leaves, scarves, Christmas anticipation, and pumpkin spice from then on out. When I was smaller, Christmas seemed to stretch leisurely across several months of cookie-baking, tree-decorating, and gift-making. Unfortunately, over the years  it seemed to get suspiciously shorter and shorter until I found myself in college, where by the time I emerged from the exam-week coma of studying and classes there was only one week left to celebrate. The horror! Therefore, I feel no shame in marginally celebrating Christmas all autumn. When it's cold outside and the days are dark and overcast, washing dishes and folding laundry are far more festive when Harry Connick, Jr. is singing "Let it Snow." Christmas music can make the greyest of days cheerier, and always makes me want to bake something hot and spiced, start working on Christmas gifts (which, with my penchant for procrastination, is much needed), or wish I had an open fire to roast chestnuts on. What about y'all?

I leave you with one of my favorites. Enjoy. And then try not to go bake some gingerbread.