Author Archives: René Groom

Changes

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
This past week I have been faced with a lot of it…change, that is. The seasons are changing. I see evidence of it daily, with the nights arriving earlier and earlier and the coolness in the morning air. I even changed my hair, getting rid of my blonde streaks and adjusting to a darker color again. I have noticed the leaves changing on the tree outside my home office, and the grape leaves are changing color on the vines. I even changed some of the clothes in my closet, getting rid of some summer things and unpacking and washing some of my fall things. I have also been looking at my office and thinking of all the changes I anticipate making to it this fall and winter.

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A Blogging Smorgasbord

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]

I was born to be a gypsy, a vagabond, a wanderer. There is something about the road. It just seems to call out to me. It is not the destination that calls, but the journey itself. It is the back roads, the people I will meet, the things that I will see…the experience. So when a fellow blogger, a girl named Timi, invited me to drive over to the west side of our fair state to participate in a “meet the blogger” night in Snohomish, of course I said yes. In true Rene’ fashion, I set out without a clue of what to expect. I love the thrill of the unexpected! I knew none of the women who would be there, yet I was confident, based on Timi’s “zany” personality, that I would somehow fit in.

An Ode to Community

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
While meeting with a group of women from my church recently, I learned that one of the Farmgirls in our community needed some help. Emily had recently undergone surgery to provide a kidney to her ailing little girl, and she needed to have a chicken coop built and some garden work done before the winter hit. That did not sound like a huge request to me. After all, I thought, surely there are enough of us in our little farming community who could spare some supplies, tools and a few man/woman hours. I decided then- and- there that this was something that we could, and should, do.

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Happy Trails to You

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
I have been hearing Roy Rogers sing that snappy little tune for days now. If I knew how to whistle, I would be whistling it while I work. I have always been a Roy Rogers and Dale Evans fan, though I probably could not come up with any brilliant reasons why. Maybe it was their unassuming way of being humble in the midst of their success, or their fun and flirty style when talking to each other while on camera. I could never image one without the other.

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The Common Thread

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
Quilts have been on my mind a lot lately. I adore them, and I just don’t think that a person can have too many of them. I am really partial to the ones that have been made with scrap materials and old, cut up, tattered clothing. Not that I don’t like the ones that are gussied up with new fabric—I do. I am just more partial to the other.

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Hung Out to Dry

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
I am not sure what it is about certain tasks that make me fight them with every fiber in my being. Maybe it is the repetition of some that make them seem so mundane. Or perhaps it is that some tasks never seem to really be finished, like washing dishes. (You know, just as the last dish is washed, someone has the audacity to bring in another glass.)

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My Fair Lady

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
One of the things that I love about this time of the year is the county fair. What’s not to love, with their fair food, carnival rides, music in the park, and evening rodeos? I especially love walking through the barns. I love seeing the kids’ animals and reminiscing about being their age, sitting with my friends and conquering (or so we thought) all the world’s problems.

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Tea for Two

Posted on August 30, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
As a little girl, there was something magical to me about a tea party, even the ones that were around a little children’s table lined with teddy bears and favorite dollies. I wouldn’t say that I was ever a “girly girl”—I migrated more toward dirt and trees than sugar and spice and everything nice. But the exception for me, my journey into the world of ribbon and bows, was the tea party.

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Life-long Learners

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
I would like to say that I was a good student and that I excelled in school. But, truth be told, I was not. To this day I am still not one who would thrive in a brick and mortar classroom.
On a recent trip to my hometown, it seemed that every street in the little community held a memory for me—some of the memories good and others not so good. As I sat outside the old school house, I was a little surprised that I wasn’t engulfed in memories. Instead, the only thing that came to mind was a quote that I love by Mark Twain: “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

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Gone to the Dogs

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom
[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
There are cat lovers and then there are dog lovers. I am the latter. I love dogs! My dog Abby died two years ago at the age of 14. She was a fun and spunky little miniature schnauzer, and she was all attitude. I adored her and she loved me.
Growing up, my mom had poodles, the little “teacup” breed. Wherever my mom went, so did her poodles. Back then I would never have dreamed that I would be “that kind of gal.” You know, the woman you see driving down the road with a dog in her lap.
Now my son Cole has Drake. Drake is a six-week-old, AKC-registered chocolate lab that Cole hopes will be a hunting partner, even though he’s currently so little that he can barely pick up a sock.

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