[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]
There I was, completely sprawled out on the sofa begging the gods of all things to please stop the room from spinning.
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Debbie Bosworth
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.’”
Rebekah Teal
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.
Cathi Belcher
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
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.
Mary Murray
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.”
Alexandra Wilson
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!
Nicole Christensen
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 am so gald you are feeling better. Being sick is no fun thing.
I found your blog and enjoy reading it.
I live on the east coast. Lots of talk now about the swine flu.
Always,
Rene, you definitely have my sympathy and prayers. I hope that you are feeling much better. I had to smile when you wrote about working while you were not feeling too well. why is it that women, especially Mom’s seem to keep on keepin on when thy should be keepin still? Give your body the rest it needs and then you can get back to writing to us about all you wonderful adventures. Blessings to you, Debbie
So glad you are feeling better, just in time too, our Fall Funky Junk Sisters Show is just around the corner. We are just a hop skip and a jump from you. We hope you can make it! We have doubled the size of the show and we have so many fantastic vendors coming.
We love your blog and visit it often!
Linda & Dixie
The Funky Junk Sisters
I am so sorry you became ill after leaving our fair city, and I know Wende was ill as well. I’m so glad you are feeling better. I know sometime I’d rather be sick than have my hubby sick, he complains more thatn I do. Be careful of those flying pigs………Carol
Carol, Thanks for much. I had the best time in Kansas, you were all the perfect hostesses.. thank you all
Take a deep breath Rene and think I’m over it" and enjoy fall. Don’t even think how awful it was. I’m glad you are better! Great maybe. You go girl and enjoy life again. God bless.
Bonnie Ellis
🙂
I’m glad you’re all better now Rene’… it’s miserable being ill, and nothing seems to make it better as fast as we wish.
You used my fave remedie: Epsom Salts… once a week I enjoy a HOTTT soak in Epsom Salts and WOW do the impurities of the body get drawn out. Just a good foot soak after a long day on my feet makes them feel brand new and tingly.
GodSpeed as you return to Life…!
Gary
in Tampa
I love the stuff, too…Works every time.
I have always loved "when pigs fly" My mom and dad always said it. My dad is now gone and mom is almost 90 and I miss those good old days. It was usually in response to me wanting to do something I probably shouldn’t. My own children think I’m really weird when I say it, but I don’t care. Maybe some day they will miss it too. I love the poster too. I hope your feeling better and just glad you didn’t get it on your trip. Sometimes us moms just forget to slow down and take care of ourselves. We think will do it "when pigs fly" Have a great weekend, pamper yourself.
Oh Rene’,
you poor thing,,,,,I am soooo glad you are on the upswing & feeling better.
Sending you lots of "feel better soon" hugz,,,,
We miss you…so get well & hurry on back up this way lil sister #1281….
sister hugz,
gracie #472
I am so glad you are better! AND envious of you getting to go to the farm weekend. I enjoy your blogs SO much!!!
I am so glad you are feeling better! It is no fun being sick. I am glad you got the quiet you needed to heal. I also love "when pigs fly" quote! It always brings a smile and a laugh! Thanks for the laughter!
Rene,
So glad you are feeling better and as some of the others said glad you didnt get sick during your trip. It was so funny when I got on this morning and started reading your post and it was talking about pigs, the reason I say this is because I very rarely dream but his morning when I woke up I vaguely remember dreaming about 2 baby piglets what about them I dont know but I do remember the 2 babies so when I saw your post I just smiled.
God has a way of making us slow down if we dont do it ourselves. But I am sure glad you are on the mend. Take care of yourself amd that sweet family! Blessings,Karen
Oh, Rene, my deepest sympathies are with you. Being sick and away from home is the worst thing possible. I’m glad you are on the mend. Flying pigs is not a good sign.
Betty in Pasco
Rene,
I swear the husband and I both had h1n1 in May. We were so sick, we laid on the bed next to each other (not touching, that would have hurt)3 days. We knew we were sick when we were too sick to even be cross with one another. At one point, we wondered if either of us could stand up to let the dog out.
Glad you are better now!
Sorry to hear that you have been sooooo sick. I hope you will soon be back to your chipper self.
Take good care of yourself in the meantime and remember that it is okay to pamper yourself a little bit now and then
I know exactly how you were feeling. I wonder if WE picked up a bug at the casino. Everything was perfect until Sunday morning. Bed rest and hot tea for three days and "viola" I finally felt normal. Maybe it was the waitress? I know I won’t have her again!
Can’t thank you enough for your visit and health sacrafice you made to come to KC. We welcome you, and any farmgirl who would like to visit our meetings, anytime and we will spray with Lysol, too.
Take care,
WENDE
Oh, I feel for you…I’ve had some days like that at work…although I think in my version, I would be rewarded with a trip to The Webster (a knitting shop in Ashland, OR)…or Barnes & Noble…to get a "celebrate getting better" book or some yarn…Glad you are feeling better 🙂
You aren’t kidding Rene! We just got over the swine flu as well. First my husband, then me (the caregiver), then my daughter…fortunately she wasn’t nearly as bad as we were and my two boys were untouched. I’ve never coughed so hard in my life. I mean literally until I cried. I feel your pain and boy am I glad it’s over. 🙂