Monthly Archives: August 2010

Today is THE Day

Today is THE day I shall FINALLY…
I’m building quite a list for this day.
I felt a sense of autumn this morning, just a brief whiff. It is still hot as blazes here, but this morning there it was: an ever-so-brief cool breeze. It visited only for a moment, but long enough to make me a promise: fall is right around the corner.
We have had hot and humid weather for months now. “I’m melting, I’m melting….” Just like the wicked witch. Do you know that I had to switch to water-proof mascara just because of the humidity in this area this summer? Brutal.
And my summer gardening endeavors, as I’ve already lamented, were disappointing.

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Happy Trails & Pony Tails

Once upon a time, a horse-crazy gal had the crazy idea that it would be fun for friends from all over the country to meet and ride together. Several years later, the ride has become an annual event when summer is about to give way to fall. The location setting is the largest park in the U.S.A. that specifically caters to “horsefolk” – Fort Robinson State Park, located in western Nebraska. All in all, there are 22,000 acres that offer miles of smiles for trail riders! Swing your foot in the stirrup and join us for a virtual ride back into history.
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Gossip(ed) Girl

[Previous Suburban Farmgirl, October 2009 – October 2010]

It’s the social grease of back fences, front porches, and stitching bees. Or, more locally, of book clubs, school parking lots, walking routes, and wherever else two or more women gather. Gossip: Automatic sin? Or one of the great grey zones of female communication, that dicey – but navigable — intersection of entertainment, information, and, sometimes, just plain mean injustice?

I ask as someone who’s passed along her fair share of tidbittery about her fellow man (and, er, woman). And yet, now that I’ve recently been on the subject-matter end of some very snarky gossip of the worst kind – fiction – I’m feeling a little less cavalier about the topic.

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Yes, It Really DOES Matter

[Previous Rural Farmgirl, June 2010 – January 2012]

Do you think that giving someone a genuine compliment or holding the door for the next guy can change your life? What about listening quietly and peacefully to an important story someone has to tell? Or maybe it’s just giving a big smile to the person who’s directing traffic during road construction… These situations all have something in common – a kind response. Kindness. It’s a way of looking at life that requires changes that are so little yet the rewards, for everyone involved, are so big…
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I'm Just Saying

Oh yeah, I’ve got them. Doesn’t everybody? Quirky sayings.
“If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a Merry Christmas” is one I’ve been repeating for years. Now to be clear, I didn’t make that up. I heard it along the way some where and loved it. I’ve  said it a million times since.Not everyone gets it to start with, and I’ve surely gotten some funny looks when I say it. But somewhere deep within those wacky words is truth, a message.

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Potpourri, Pickles & Pearls

Summer is when bees are as busy as bees get and this summer has been a busy-bee summer for me. Question: How come I seem to be busier now than when I was younger? I thought slowing down a little is what us “vintage” farmgirls get to do. Turning 50 a few years back was a wake-up call. I was suddenly aware that my age was no longer just a number. If you’re 40 or younger and want to see what lies beyond…well, I’m on the trail ahead of you and I found some cowgirl “pearls of wisdom” to share.
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What's for Lunch? What's for Dinner?

[Previous Suburban Farmgirl, October 2009 – October 2010]

I admit it. I think about food pretty much all the time. Always have. Probably always will. Much as I envy those lean, food-nonchalant aliens who look at the clock in surprise and declare their sudden hunger because gee, they haven’t eaten in hours, this has never happened to me. No matter how busy I am, I tend to be perfectly aware that it’s 11:30, 11:45, 11:50, 11:55, 11:56…oh good, noon, time for lunch!

The silver(ware) lining is this: Where I once thought constantly about food in a less-than-healthful way, like a plump raccoon frantic for scraps — what can I nibble? what can I nab? how many calories? is this a “fat” day in which I can’t eat much or a “normal” one in which I can? — now my food-think is calmer, happier, healthier.

Why?


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You Have an Auntie Mame…

[Previous Rural Farmgirl, June 2010 – January 2012]

…I have an “Auntie Margaret.”

I’d like you to meet a friend – two friends, actually. When I first moved into this town, coming up on twelve years ago (my, how time flies!), I met Margaret. And just recently, I met Kate. I love these two gals individually, but I had no idea how they’d get along with each other – you know how it can be when friends of friends meet. They’re very different – Margaret is ninety years old; Kate is eight. Margaret is one tough old farmgirl; Kate has only been working on the land for about 4-5 years. Well, it turns out that these two are fast friends – not only that, but when they’re together, they’re a force to be reckoned with. Margaret is my farmgirl mentor, friend and “auntie.” Kate is my horse. C’mon over and say, “Hello!”…

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Three

“Three.” Yes, three. The sad, sad truth. The disappointing answer. Only three! After all the sweat and work.

The question? “How many tomatoes have you gotten out of your garden this year?”

What’s your answer? Go ahead. Make me drool. Make me jealous. Tell me about your ‘maters. Tell me what varieties you are growing. Tell me how the juice, warm from the sun, drips down your chin. How you never even made it in the house with the first one from the garden. I want to hear every detail of your tomato growing this summer. Tell me your favorite way to eat them and how you’ll be canning sauce soon from the abundance. Let me live vicariously through your tomato success. Let me feel what it is like….give me the whole scoop.

 

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