Monthly Archives: January 2014

Farmgirl Chit-Chat

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 Dear Sisters,

Today my heart is bursting with gratitude and happiness for the amazing farmgirl community we are all a part of. I’ve only been a member of the MaryJanesFarm family a few short years but I’ve grown in farmgirl years beyond measure. I simply wouldn’t be the ” me ” I am today if it wasn’t for Mary Jane, Meg, Carol, Gabe, the round table of farmgirl bloggers and all of the friendly, FUN, supportive, uplifting, and inspiring, farmgirls I’ve met along the way.

Do you feel me sisters?

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Farming In A Winter Wonderland

“I can never remember
whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve
or
whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.”
Dylan Thomas

Blue running in the snow

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Are Ya Smitten With the Abbey, M’Lady?

I don’t often watch a lot of television. Not content to sit still too long, I’ve recently joined the ranks of those simply smitten with the drama, Downton Abbey! The show not only has me glued to the television for each entertaining episode, it’s inspired me…

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Are Ya Smitten With the Abbey, M'Lady?

I don’t often watch a lot of television. Not content to sit still too long, I’ve recently joined the ranks of those simply smitten with the drama, Downton Abbey! The show not only has me glued to the television for each entertaining episode, it’s inspired me…

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All Grown Up

Dear Sisters,

I hope this weeks post from the shorelines finds you all in good health and high spirits! Can you believe we are already midway through January? The month of January is a month to celebrate in our household because it’s the month our first child was born! And this year is EXTRA- ordinary because our son turned 18 yesterday! Join me as I honor and celebrate this special day in a Happy Birthday letter to our son Zachary, inspired by Alex’s (the Rural Farmgirl) welcome Baby Wilder post, which I blubbered all the way through…

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Dear Baby

Hello Farmgirls! The baby hasn’t come yet. I am writing this on Tuesday as I have predicted that the baby will be arriving on Wednesday the 15th (or at least making an uncomfortable fuss). It is a full moon, and just two days from the due date. But who knows?

Nesting instincts took over for part of last week, leaving me with a freezer full of delicious home cooked food, clean baby clothes, clean car, contact list for baby’s arrival, and a packed bag for the birth center. Recently, I’ve shifted to feeling more contemplative. A result of this is a letter to our future little nugget. It seemed like a necessary thing for me to do, and I’d like to share it with you all!
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A Year at the Farm In Photos

2013 was my first calendar year living on a farm. Whew!

I ended the year feeling rather overwhelmed. Both my husband and I lost friends at the end of the year and it put us in a contemplative mood. (another way to say “in a funk”)

Man, we’ve got so far to go…

And then I started looking back at the photographs I took this past year.

And that made me realize that

Man, we’ve come so far…

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A Beautiful Tribute

December 14th, 2014 marked the one-year anniversary of the tragic event that occurred in my hometown.  Residents of Newtown will never forget that day, and I have found myself thinking often throughout the entire year of the families who lost loved ones. There have been tributes to Sandy Hook School all over the world, but one of the most beautiful tributes I’ve ever seen was created by a local group of Girl Scout Cadettes.


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Brand Spank’n New!

Dear Sisters,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a warm and happy Christmas with your loved ones. We had a festive holiday season with our nearest and dearest here on the shorelines. Today, I’m writing to you from my cozy basement office with the fireplace going and a delicious cup of hot English Breakfast tea. YUM! We are in the middle of a STORM WATCH on the eastern seaboard. Keep your fingers crossed we don’t lose power while I finish this post! Tell me, how are you feeling about the new year? Optimistic? Hopeful? Worried? Fearful? Anxious? Excited? Over joyed? I think we’ve all had years that we were happy to leave in the dust. Illness, death of a loved one, ( human or 4 legged ) losing ones job, relationship challenges, moving…These kinds of life changing events can drag even the cheeriest of farmgirls under leaving her gasping for air, and rightly so.

If any of you had one of ” those “ years I pray 2014 goes easier on you. In fact, I’ve got 10 ways for ringing in a Brand Spank’n NEW YEAR with a focus on the positive no matter what the weather! Come what may! Let’s welcome in 2014 together!

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Brand Spank'n New!

Dear Sisters,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a warm and happy Christmas with your loved ones. We had a festive holiday season with our nearest and dearest here on the shorelines. Today, I’m writing to you from my cozy basement office with the fireplace going and a delicious cup of hot English Breakfast tea. YUM! We are in the middle of a STORM WATCH on the eastern seaboard. Keep your fingers crossed we don’t lose power while I finish this post! Tell me, how are you feeling about the new year? Optimistic? Hopeful? Worried? Fearful? Anxious? Excited? Over joyed? I think we’ve all had years that we were happy to leave in the dust. Illness, death of a loved one, ( human or 4 legged ) losing ones job, relationship challenges, moving…These kinds of life changing events can drag even the cheeriest of farmgirls under leaving her gasping for air, and rightly so.

If any of you had one of ” those “ years I pray 2014 goes easier on you. In fact, I’ve got 10 ways for ringing in a Brand Spank’n NEW YEAR with a focus on the positive no matter what the weather! Come what may! Let’s welcome in 2014 together!

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