Monthly Miscellany

october gems

Greetings! The Ancestral Homekeeper is a newsletter dedicated to slow & simple living for all of us. I’m Kristina, and I believe that the way we shape our lives at home will be reflected in our society at large. By blending the wisdom of our ancestors with contemporary thoughts on mental health, self nurturing, and social justice, we can find the path to changing our world. New letter is out every Sunday!

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This month has been rough. Between upheaval in my personal life (walking pneumonia, family financial tension, continued living in an unfinished construction zone) to what is happening in the greater world (war, economic instability, political despair), I have been looking for joy and comfort and self nurturing wherever I can find it. I share with you the gems that have been casting profound glimmers of light into these darkening autumn days.

Apple picking, the most quintessential of fall activities, is a much-anticipated event in our little family every year. We don flannel, drink cider, and pick far more apples than we anticipate. This year we went to a new orchard, and the experience was positively magical. Earthseed Farm is an organic AfroIndigenous permaculture farm in Sebastopol, CA, and it was truly a blessing to walk among such obviously cared-for trees. The land was alive and obviously well-tended. We gathered half a dozen varieties of apples and have been happily snacking and baking them ever since. I can’t decide which recipe to feature in my next YouTube video, which I’ll be filming this week. Apple streusel pie? German apfelkuchen? Spiced applesauce quick bread? Or maybe I’ll turn to a savory preparation, such as roast pasture raised veal loin with sautéed cabbage and apples! I’m open to suggestions, if you want to vote in the comments. (Please vote in the comments! I love hearing from you.)

I read this piece recently by Rae Katz, and I can’t shake it. The Men who Shrank Me touches on the less obvious aggressions, microaggressions, and come-ons that she has endured over the course of her professional life. To say I resonated with this piece would be an understatement! I felt seen; I felt less alone; I felt… angry. But it was an energizing anger. The more women who speak up and share their stories, perhaps the less we will collectively tolerate the blatant and subtle misogyny that is baked into our daily interactions. She also has a series called Ladies Illness Library, which features guest voices about unconventional illness journeys. It is also empowering and comforting and fascinating and enraging, all in equal measure.

In a similar vein, I’ve been deep in reading Touched Out, by Amanda Montei. It is stellar. For most of the past seven and a half years or so, I have used the phrase “I’m so touched out!” at least fifty percent of the days. It is only recently, as my two children have gotten older and slightly more independent, that I have found a bit of physical breathing room. But this book is so much more that an exploration of the trials of early motherhood. She touches on so many of the insidious ways our late-stage capitalist patriarchy has shaped our humanity, culture, and current reality. I am still savoring this one, but I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you want to get an idea of her writing, check out her Substack.

Another Substack I adore, Homeculture by Meg Conley, is transitioning to The Pocket Observatory. Meg’s work is fucking brilliant, and I am excited for her lens to shift and widen. So much of her writing hits me deep in the gut and refuses to let go. Not going to lie, I love how evocative the word homeculture is, but the desire to look beyond the structures of home and family and observe the greater world around us is perhaps equally compelling.

Homemade instant oatmeal. Did you know that if you toast oats in the oven, whizz them around in the food processor, you can have instant oatmeal that just needs a spin in the microwave or a steep with boiling water? No dirtying a pot required. I have been on a quest to recreate the Peaches & Cream oatmeal packet flavor of my youth, and I am getting close. I found a source for organic dried peach powder, and a source for pasture raised goat milk & cream in powder form. If I can calculate the formula correctly, I will have a big jar of ready-to-mix oatmeal that is nourishing, ethical, inexpensive, shelf-stable, simple, and speedy. Words cannot describe how happy this makes me!

Now, I am not a big television or podcast person, but I have been getting super into the BBC podcast series Witch. It is a wonderful primer for those who want to learn about the history of “witchcraft” focusing specifically on the persecution of those (mainly women) who were called witches, and the impression they made through various cultures across the centuries. As a typical American, I find the sound of British voices so elegant and soothing, making this podcast my favorite listen when I am doing laundry or the dishes.

spiderweb on our lamppost in the rain

Take good care of yourselves, my friends. With everything going on in the world, I hope we can all remember to be kind. I hope we can all remember that every innocent life is worthy of protection, worthy of saving. All humans deserve a home, and all humans deserve to live free from fear. As we continue to navigate worldwide conflict, let us remember to nurture ourselves, nurture our own young, and raise our voices to protect those who are unable to do so. I love you.

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