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I don’t know if you remember the post I wrote back in March about my two wonderful girlfriends that I’m so lucky to have? Well, here’s a little story for you.
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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 love doing trips like this with my girlfriends. Sounds like you all had a great time. I loved the pumpkins that you made, but I didn’t see the pattern or how to make them. Can you please send this to me? I saw the dishcloths and that looks like another great, quick project for my train commute every day to the Big City of Manhattan! Have a great day!
Diane
Diane,
The tutorial I wrote for the pumpkins is on MaryJanesFarm online magazine sister issue, which you can access if you are a member of the Farmgirl Sisterhood. However, if you are not, there are many tutorials online for fabric pumpkins. If you are a Sisterhood member and having a hard time finding the sister issue online, let me know! (The membership is only $20 a year and is so many, many things that it is totally worth it. The online magazine alone is worth it.)
The dishcloths would be the perfect thing for your commute!!!! 🙂
What do you in Manhattan? And how far is your commute on the train? I find it fascinating as I’ve never been there before and can only imagine it.
– Dori –
You were at one of my favorite places in Colorado. I’m blessed to live close to Estes Park. We have a gorgeous view of Long’s Peak outside my upstairs windows and when we have company, we always visit Estes Park. It’s really cool, when they ask where we’re going, to point at Long’s Peak and say “UP There!” I’m so glad you and the ladies had a wonderful time here.
Maureen,
It really is such a gorgeous place. There were so many things that we experienced that I didn’t even mention in the post. Like the Elk. Oh my word. I have never been that close to them and so to see them up close and personal was quite an experience! We loved our visit. Such a special place.
– Dori –
I am an Administrative Assistant for a great Actuarial company here in midtown Manhattan. I work across the street from Madison Square Garden. OK – are you ready – my commute is 2.5 hours in the morning and the same at night (door to door). In the morning I usually sleep on the train and at night we have a group of ladies that either crochet, knit, cross stitch, beading, etc. We are all part of another group called Home Bureau and we love CRAFTS and to make things to give back to our community. If you can provide any more easy projects for the train – any would be welcome! Have a great day! Diane
Oh my word, Diane. I can hardly imagine! I bet you get very good at sleeping on the train in the morning! I just would love to sit and visit with you about your work in the city and your life there. It is fascinating to me.
I’m working on a project right now that I’m thinking about doing a post on soon… it is a fantastic “on the go” craft!
What fun! Thanks for sharing . . . sorry you weren’t feeling good part of the time!
You were in my state, however, 400 miles (one-way) from me on the other side of a lot of Colorado Rocky mountain passes.
I’m hoping to enjoy more things like this with friends in the future!
Lucky you!
CJ
Hi CJ,
Colorado sure does have a lot of those mountain passes! 🙂 But it’s a gorgeous state isn’t it?
– Dori –
It looks like a good time was had by all. Lovely exchange of gifts.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO LUANN,MICHELLE AND DORI
Marilyn
Marilyn,
Thank you! Yes, the best gifts ever!
– Dori –
What a fun trip. It looks like you guys had so much fun! Colorado is such a great place to visit. I love going there. I haven’t been there in a while and should make a plan to get there again sometime soon.
Those pumpkins you made are absolutely adorable! I am sorry you felt ill for some of your trip but it sounds like you have such supportive and wonderful friends by your side. Do you plan on waiting until next years birthday trip to take the husbands? Or will you make plans to go earlier?
Happy late birthday! Hope it was everything you wanted plus more!
Hi Krista,
Well… we didn’t get that far on when our next trip would be! We used to do these yearly but that was before grand-kids!!! Now, trips to visit them must come first! (I’m lucky to live near mine and see them every day but not so for the other girls.)
It was the very best birthday I think I’ve ever had. Really!
Thanks, Krista, for reading and commenting!
– Dori –
So happy you got to enjoy ‘my’ state – well it is where I live now. Love Estes – and the Peak is beautiful from my ‘ranch’ view – but going up there is not on my agenda – especially now that we have had 10″s of snow – BLOWING drifts to 6′ – so your pic’s are reminders of what was so recently. God Bless.
Altitude Sickness is a real thing and you should not allow yourself to suffer from it! There is a treatment you can take beforehand to make it so much easier to detox when you get to altitude. Talk to your doctor about taking doses of Acetazolamide before you travel and for the first day you are at altitude. I used to visit the Rockies from Missouri, and I was so sick every time…until my dad told me I could be treated, and it made all the difference. Now I live here, so no more altitude sickness for me! I live about 25 miles from Estes Park. 🙂
Susabelle,
Thank you so much for this. I actually went to Urgent Care while I was with my daughter-in-saw and son and the NP told me somewhat the same thing. The other thing she told me is next time to drink massive amounts of water before arriving and during my stay. I was completely dehydrated when I went to Urgent Care and because of a sinus infection I had actually been drinking a lot of water (I thought) but not NEAR enough for the altitude difference. It was quite a shock to me how much it affected me! 🙂 So I learned a lot and next time I will do things differently. (It probably didn’t help that the day after I arrived we rode the tram up to Pikes Peak!!!) I’m thankful that I had a really awesome trip regardless and next time I will be way more prepared! Thank you again for your advice.
– Dori –
Dori, I’m glad you did go to urgent care. Too bad they didn’t give you the altitude med, it would have really helped. Yes, drink drink drink…more than you think you need to. I’m a midwestern girl, born and raised, but never drank as much as I’ve had to drink here. But even with extra fluids, the altitude sickness might not have been helped. It is a chemistry thing, and the acetazolamide basically “detoxes” your blood stream. That headache thing – that can turn into something worse if not treated or addressed. I hope you’ll come back some day, as it is gorgeous here, and there is so much to see!
Don’t you worry – I will be back! Now that my son and daughter-in-law live there nothing is going to keep me away! 🙂 I’ll just be ready and prepared next time!
– Dori –
P.S. I have something to say that is quite embarrassing really. Someone actually commented on my FB status when I said I was going to visit my kids in CO and they said something like, “Be prepared for the altitude… altitude sickness is a real thing.” and I kind of chuckled because I’ve been to CO many times in my life and never had a problem. But I was also living out West in a 4000 – 5000 ft elevation already so kind of used to it somewhat. Now, I’ve been in TN for almost 5 years where we are at 400 ft elevation. Anyway…. I learned the hard way. Altitude sickness is real.
Looks like you all had a great time! My birthday is October 4th and I was in Estes Park and around Boulder when you three girls were there. It brought back how much I loved it there. Did you see all the Elk around town? It is SO beautiful there….
Hi Julie!
Yes… we saw elk everywhere! Even swimming in that little lake right outside of town! I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to Elk before and I didn’t realize they were that massive. It was beautiful and such gorgeous weather while we were there.
Wish we could’ve met! 🙂
– Dori –