Weekly Update: 11.2.25
I write in the delicious quiet of a too-early morning. Regardless of the end of daylight savings time, my brain wakes my body long before the sun. I don’t mind — I enjoy my peaceful routine. I boil water to make a French-press of coffee. I put in a load of laundry. Today, I started a fire in the woodstove, as the frosty air had seeped into the house overnight. I lit a candle, filling the room with the warm autumn scents of pumpkin, apple, and spice. I poured myself some coffee and settled into my morning devotions.
Today is All Soul’s Day, the last day of Hallowtide. While I’ve observed November 1 and 2 for years in my prayer book, this is the first year that our family commemorated the three-day holy season, made up of Halloween (the Eve of All Saints), All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. For centuries, the Church has used these days to remember the Christians who have lived and died before us. Preparing for and enjoying these holidays — literally holy days — shaped the end of our week.
As a whole, it was an unusual week on our homestead. Cool, rainy weather kept us tucked inside for days, but we didn’t mind. We were exhausted after our big tent take-down last week. Plus, our sister-in-law Erin had company. Her sister Hannah flew out for the week, so there were days of visiting, crafting, and exploring to be enjoyed.
We used the rainy days to finish unpacking a few boxes from the tent. I have been working on plans for a spice rack, which will fit on a bit of wall next to our kitchen shelving. I call it a spice rack, but one section will have room for mason jars, which we plan to fill with thickeners and baking essentials — baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, arrowroot starch, etc.
When the weather allowed, we did a few minor outdoor projects. One afternoon, my dad and I repaired my mom’s antique bed. The bed belonged to my great-grandmother. A relative handmade it on a lathe in Arkansas sometime in the late 1930s. We believe it’s built out of cherry wood, though we can’t be sure. The bed was damaged when it was sent out here after my grandma passed away. To repair it, we had to remove and replace several broken pegs and glue everything back together.
We watched some videos on how to best drill out the pegs, as we didn’t want to damage the bed. We ordered a few new bits, as we wanted fresh bits of graduating sizes — up to the 3/4-inch required for the existing holes. My dad did the drilling, starting small and working up. The end result was amazing, as he was able to clean out all the holes. We cut some 3/4-inch poplar dowels to length to replace the broken pegs. We sanded the areas that needed glued, then we glued the bed frame back together. We used rachet straps to keep everything in place while the glue dried.
The process was easier than we expected, and we were thrilled with the end result. My folks ordered a new mattress which will arrive next week. The frame is designed to work with a box-spring, but we plan to build a simple wood support to use instead.
On Friday, we took a break from the ordinary to celebrate Halloween. Our family hasn’t celebrated Halloween in 30 years due to some misinformation we had heard regarding it having pagan origins. Over the last couple months, we’ve learned about the Christian origin of Halloween, which goes back to a 4th century day of memorial for martyrs. We still don’t like the secularized ghoulish vibes Halloween can have in our culture, but we love the idea of taking back Halloween as a day to commemorate the cloud of witnesses. It’s also a chance for some good clean fun.
So, on Friday, the kids and several adults carved pumpkins into lanterns. For many, it was the first time they had ever made a jack-o’-lantern. The effect was downright festive. Levi and Erin’s kids dressed up for our local Trunk-or-Treat to finish the day.
The next day, we made an impromptu trip to Springfield. We realized we needed some flashing and some leger boards (for deck and future porch) before we could go too much further with our siding. We took the opportunity to run a few errands. We had to exchange two Kobalt drills, as both had quit working one after the other. Thankfully, they were both under warranty, and Lowe’s provided a replacement. We also exchanged a weed trimmer at Home Depot, as it had cracked not long after we purchased it.
While we were gone, Grace dried and roasted the pumpkin seeds left over from the jack-o’-lanterns. They turned out delicious.
It was such a hectic day, we decided to pick up pizza for dinner. Of course, we had to get pumpkin shaped pizza in an effort to keep up the Hallowtide festivity.
After such a hectic Saturday, I was especially thankful for the quiet morning. Once my sisters woke up, we made soul cakes together — spiced biscuits not unlike small scones. I’ve wanted to try them for years, but this year we made it happen. Soul cakes get their name from children going “souling” — going door-to-door offering to pray for souls in return for spiced cakes. This medieval Christian tradition was a precursor to the modern trick-or-treating.
We enjoyed our soul cakes with coffee, then we got ready for Mass. The frosty air warmed to a crisp, nearly perfect autumn morning. I love this time of year. And I love what holidays do — shaping our thoughts and reminding us of all we have to celebrate. God blesses the world with autumn every year, and I never weary of the gift.
