Have you ever met someone and instantly became friends? That’s what happened when I first met my friend, Alison, in 2015, when I interviewed her for a blog post. Her story is such an inspirational one, as she traveled the United States in her pink glamper, on her “Odyssey of Love”, in honor of her beloved husband she lost to cancer. Now, deciding to set down some more permanent roots, Alison’s incredible story continues.
Hello! I hope this blog post finds you all doing well, and feeling the wonderful “warmth” of all things Spring! I know this time of year I might whine a bit because it always seems to take forever for the seasons to change and warmer temps to arrive, but this year takes the cake! We’ve had the heat and woodstove going, even into May. (Normally, this time of year, I might be fighting the urge to crank the air conditioner). I didn’t grow up in a four-season climate, and am often asked by warmer-weather-dwelling friends how I can stand the cold for so long. Here’s why…when Mother Nature wakes up from her long winter’s rest, it can arguably be the most wonderful time of the year!
Hi readers, and Happy Spring! Hopefully, you are experiencing some nice weather where you are! It’s finally thawed here in the Northeast, though it’s really still taking a while for winter to get the message and completely move along. Today is cold, raw and rainy, but it’s not dampening MY spirits! There’s been a lot going on since we last “visited” together…including that I reached a milestone!
We are a multiple-pet household, and always have been. Our pets are family. We do our very best to make sure that they are happy and healthy. Today I am sharing my favorite photos of our fur-babies (and some non-fur animals). We still can’t get outside very much yet with our doggos due to the cold, but every week brings us closer to a thaw with warm, sunny weather. We all know that there are dangers we need to watch out for outside – things like ticks, heartworms, toadstools and mushrooms that can be a danger to our pets, but have you heard of some of these little-known dangers to pets that lurk right in our own homes?
It is hard to believe we are in February already! I am glad, because I am feeling ready for some spring weather. (Dear, warm-weather readers, won’t you send me some sunshine)? Don’t get me wrong, I do love the four seasons, but January and February bring very cold and sometimes icy weather, and this season has been no exception! At least February is the month of love, with Valentine’s Day! February is a short month, but it is a good month to “nest” indoors and catch up.
Hi Farmgirl Friends! Welcome to 2022! I hope you all had a great holiday season, and that your January is off to a good start! I have decided not to make any New Year’s resolutions this year. Instead, I am going to try to be mindful, and really make an effort to take each day as it comes. There’s been just so much worry the last two years! I see it in myself, in posts on social media, and in the general public- out and about. I think we sometimes forget to take in the present, and appreciate the good moments even when things aren’t our ideal. We need to remember to not let that stress eat us up, and also to take care of ourselves. So many of us are hardwired to take care of everyone else first, which is great, but sometimes we forget about taking care of ourselves!
After the last two years (what a wild ride it was), I’m hoping 2022 brings on better things. I’m going to try to focus on the positive! For one, I will be turning fifty this year. When I was a really small child, I remember an entire room at a fiftieth birthday party bursting into laughter when I asked the birthday guest, “You mean you’re half of a hundred?!” I was shocked. Back then, it seemed like such a big number and so far away, but here I am; in just a few months, I will officially be “vintage”! Awesome!
In a few months, I will celebrate a milestone birthday!
I think we are fortunate that nowadays, age is more of a number. It’s often how we feel that makes us the age we are. But just like a classic car, we need to take care of ourselves so we don’t “rust” prematurely! In the past couple of months, I have found some new-to-me things that I really like, that I think you all might enjoy, as well. Some of them also make great little gifts (Valentine’s is less than a month away already)!
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happiest of Holidays to you and yours! It is truly my favorite time of year. I (happily) feel like one of Santa’s elves during December! After spending the first half of my life in a big Southern city, even though we have no family living close by, we are blessed that we’ve lived in a small New England town the last quarter century, especially at the holidays! Grab a cup of cocoa, take a break from the “busy”, and enjoy some “MERRY” with me!
Hello, dear readers! Here we are at the holidays, again! Let me wish you a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING! The past two years have been difficult for us all. I had high hopes for 2021, but I can’t wait to say goodbye to this stress-filled year! However, this Thanksgiving, I am trying to stay thankful! Despite stores and the internet pushing all things Christmas before Halloween, I am trying to slow down and enjoy the last bit of fall and November before the rush of the holidays!
Photo courtesy Renee Guarino, Barker Media Relations
Here we are in October once again! I am often nostalgic, and October is a month full of nostalgia, especially when Halloween comes ‘round again. I still love Halloween, as much as I did as a kid! I believe there’s a child tucked away in everyone, no matter how old we get, and we sometimes see glimpses of our childhood selves when we’re reminded of special times and happy childhood memories.
One special place where there are decades of childhood memories tucked under one AMAZING roof, is the Barker Character, Comic, and Cartoon Museum, located right here in New England, in Cheshire, Connecticut.
Have you ever surprised yourself by changing your mind on something you didn’t like, or perhaps even feared? That is just what has happened in our house!
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
calls herself a knitter, jam-maker, and vintage enthusiast who "never met an antique sewing machine she didn't like." Born and raised in the great state of Texas, she now resides in suburban New England in picturesque Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York state.
Married for over twenty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields and has been a world-traveler, entrepreneur, and homemaker, but considers being a mom her greatest accomplishment of all. In addition to blogging, she also teaches knitting professionally and is a Certified Master Gardener. Loving all things creative and domestic, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “bloom where you are planted.”
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