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Hello Farmgirl Friends!
It’s hard to fathom that we have all just spent the last 8 – 10 weeks in “stay at home” mode isn’t it? I think about the people I know that live in large cities in a condo or an apartment and literally have had no time outside. I’ve never been so thankful for living in the country on our own farm where we could get all the outdoor time we needed and never leave our property.
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.
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
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!
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
I love what you said about running faster by getting some who runs faster than you!….I’ll have to keep that in mind!..
Is it OK to ask another question?…Here goes: Are there any mosquitoes up as high as it looks you are? I despise mosquitoes. Sorry about that Mr. & Mrs. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Thank you for all your inspiration to those of us who need extra motivation. Aging takes a
lot of energy these days, but there is still so much to do and accomplish. Your joy and sharing that joy makes me want to “get ‘er done”! Thanks for helping me to refocus and keep going. Stay safe and productive!
Dori, thank you for that inspiring message. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I still have the quilted hot pods I won in one of your drawings.
Their bright red and beautiful! I love them! Thanks again!
Good for you finding lots of things to do during your down time.
I haven’t minded the ‘stay at home’ time either. We have been allowed
to go to the parks and walk, so it hasn’t been too overwhelming anyhow.
I live in an allotment in a small town, so there’s safe walking there and
waving at all the neighbors who aren’t usually home. It’s been nice that way.
Thank you again for the great blog! May God richly Bless you!
Hugs&Squeezles
Thank you for sharing! Love the projects you completed and way to go on the running. I have given myself a fitness goal and hearing others achieve theirs really is motivation for me. Looking forward to your next post. 🙂
I love this. Love everything about it. We’re not on a farm, and I’ve worked from home for more than 3 years now in rural Louisiana. I’m sending this to BF!!
Hi Dori,
I love the tissue box cover–those are beautiful. I would love to buy a couple of those. Do you have them on the website? Also kudos on the beautiful guest room quilt. I have mostly reds and navys in the quilts I have, yet I love the bright girly floral fabrics you used–I am inspired. Thanks so much for sharing that.
Best–newbie, Beth
While I don’t live in the country (don’t I wish…), I do live in a small town. Very thankful for that! And, while I do love company, I can be quite content staying home and near home. What I’m wondering is whether you might have a link for those wonderful fabric covers for the small square tissue boxes. I found some really cool Betsy Johnson Kleenex boxes a couple of years ago, but since then the ones I have are pining away for some style of their own! Thanks and enjoy that gorgeous farm!
I really enjoyed your blog. A crafter and do all my own cooking I did a lot over the past three months. You gave me more inspiration. We live on more than an acre but I would love to live in the mountain area instead of flat Florida. But we have been blessed and not have to live in a big city. We grow a small garden and have our two little Yorkers. So life is good. We have a 2,000 sq ft barb that I do painting on things and l do a lot of art work. When in the house I do crocheting or knitting. I also make jewelry and with all the things I make I give it all away. I love making people smile. I have missed being out among friends but I read and like you I can’t sit still for long. I have my youngest granddaughter coming to visit me and grandpa tomorrow for a couple of weeks. You gave me some ideas to entertain her while she is here with what you did with your grand kids. Grandchildren are wonderful and you so lucky to have yours so close. I have three, two girls and a boy. My oldest granddaughter is in the Army in Texas, my middle one is a boy and he is 15, my youngest granddaughter is 10. They are spread out in ages but they are wonderful to have. Glad you and your family have done well thru this trying time. Keep up the good work and God bless you and your family. You are making people like me smile.
I enjoyed reading your news.
Stay in touch; we love it.
Happy to hear that you and yours are doing well. The Kleenex boxes are lovely. Congratulations on your run. you now have two future runners in your granddaughters. i,too am a homebody and only go out when there is a need to. I have been ordering my groceries online. Here in New York it is difficult to get a delivery time soon. I do not have a car so it is easier to order online. I have been reading a lot. I also have been with my sisters throwing out a lot of things that should have been tossed a long time ago. We also planted some flowers and mow the front lawn regularly. We have been doing a jigsaw puzzle,too. Stay healthy and looking forward to your next post as usual.
Marilyn
Dori, I really enjoyed reading about your activities during this time of the shutdown, and you’ve inspired me to do more creative projects with my time. Thank you for the beautiful photographs and for sharing!
I moved from my long lived in farm home last fall to Sunset Courts, a place for folks that are up and about, but for reasons of advancing age and winter on a farm in Northern Minnesota or other reasons ………It now being June and summer is here my heart is back on the farm and enjoyed your e mail this morning so much……….I have loved your writings and magazine for some time……….I will be 99 years old on August 11th this year. My heart is full of love for farm life and nature………..so I look forward to each of your publications…………My love to you and your happy home……….Marie
Made my day!
Thank you Ida!
Love it!!! Where, oh where do you get all your energy?????
Ha Ha! It is actually kind of a fault of mine… sitting still is rather hard for me. As a matter of fact, a friend recently recommended a book to me called “The Art of Doing Nothing”! I’ve yet to sit down and read it, but it’s on my list! 🙂
Your house is beautiful. Are you ever lucky to have your family with you. Love your projects you post. You are indeed an inspiration.
Dori I loved the back porch kitchen sink. I was wanting one exactly like that for my indoor kitchen, but I had to settle for a single drain board and one large basin, which I really like anyway. I love everything you did. I too like to stay home so I had no problem with that. My son and I know most of our neighbors here in our small community and we all kept our distance but also knew we were not contagious either. Lots of sunshine and fresh air is good for the body and soul. I felt sorry for big city dwellers who weren’t able to get out into the country, but was horrified when I saw the destruction of so many business’ and the attacks by so many citizens on officers and others. Will be glad when common sense returns to people. But for the rest of the population praying all is well and back to normal soon.
I also am spending much time in my ‘Lower Level’ Quilt Studio (ie basement).So thank you for the patterns. I am looking forward to making them.
I too am sad to see summer go. However, welcoming fall in the mountains is quite beautiful. The air is crisp, leaves are falling and pumpkins are plentiful. My prayer for all you farmgirls is enjoy the fruits of yor labors.
AMEN Sister Hens