Author Archives: Dori Troutman

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Happy Summer to all my Farmgirl Sisters!
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I think it is safe to say that my daughter and I are thick into flower season!  Every day when we meet in the flower garden to work in our flowers we talk about how lucky we are and how much we love it.  And we also talk about the work involved and the balancing act that we juggle every day when we place the flowers on our cart and then walk away from it.  The demand for our flowers is great, we sell out fast, and we get a lot of messages from people wondering if we could make one more bouquet!  It takes a lot of will power to just sweetly tell people there will more bouquets the next day at 9:00! (We do bend the rules sometimes though!)

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I love books.  Every kind of book.  I can read just about anything.  Sometimes the pile of books next to my bed are so varied that you would laugh to look at them.  I don’t like to read a book from my electronic devices… I like to hold a book in my hand and turn the pages.  I also love sharing my favorite books.

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My Momma, 1953

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I’ve been thinking a lot about Mothers Day of course, and wondering what to send to my own dear Momma this year.   I decided to send a letter.  Because, in the busyness of life and the quick and hurried phone conversations from 2000 miles away (even though we talk almost every day), I know I don’t say enough.  I felt moved to share my letter here.  I hope it will encourage you to write a Mother’s Day letter to your Momma!  (I’m sharing pictures of my Momma here in this blog post… but I realized that most of the pictures I have of her include my sweet Dad!  So it’s a two for one deal!)

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Hello Farmgirl Friends!

So are you wondering what fabric tape is?  It is exactly as it sounds… fabric strips with double sided tape on the back!  It is useful and fun for so many things and I always keep some on hand.

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Hello Friends!
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Do you remember my blog post (here) that I wrote back in November about how hard the winter months are for me?   And even though I had so many good intentions and so many helpful ideas from all you wonderful readers, by the end of November I felt myself slipping into that awful state of wintertime blues.  My husband and I have joined the local gym for three months every winter with the hope that we’ll drop some inches and make the long evenings a little more profitable.  And every winter is a big fail.  I hate working out in the gym.  Could there possibly be anything more boring?  But the last day of November found me at the gym, signing up for another 3 month contract.  However, here is where it all changes.

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I know that we are still in the dead of winter here in Tennessee but once the days start getting a little longer, I feel like it’s time for a tea party!  And tea parties with little girls are the best!  Have you given a tea party for the little (or big) girls in your life lately?  If not… it’s time and I’ll help you!

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I know that we are still in the dead of winter here in Tennessee but once the days start getting a little longer, I feel like it’s time for a tea party!  And tea parties with little girls are the best!  Have you given a tea party for the little (or big) girls in your life lately?  If not… it’s time and I’ll help you!

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I love cooking with cast iron.  I grew up watching both of my Grandmothers and my own Momma cook with it.  As a matter of fact I’ve already told my Momma that I would like to have her cast iron and my grandmother’s cast iron willed to me!  Because is there anything better than 75 year old perfectly seasoned cast iron cookware?!  Smile!  My daughter has watched me cook with it all her life and now I love seeing her love and care for her cast iron just as much as I do mine.

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My post today is about gifts.  As most of you know that follow my posts here, I try to gift home-made as often as I possibly can.  I really believe in giving from the heart, and for me that usually means making something!  Unfortunately sometimes that also means that I don’t gift to as many people as I would like.    However I’ve also noticed that even the very simplest of home-made gifts are treasured.

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Hello Friends!

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For those of you that have been following along with me here you probably know that I am a Spring and Summertime girl!  And every September when people around me are talking about how excited they are about the coming of Fall and how they love everything about Fall, I just choose to keep my mouth shut.  Because really, who wouldn’t LOVE Fall???  But I do not.  And the only reason I do not love it, is because it means that my beloved Summer is over.  And Winter is right around the corner.  So I go into Fall sort of kicking and screaming.

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