Lesson number 3,457 (for me): Baking bread is a healing thing to do. Same with breaking bread.
Bake and Break.
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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’m glad to hear your folks are okay after such a scary experience! Baking bread is always good for the soul. There is something about playing with the dough, the smell, I am convinced it’s genetic memory woven into our very DNA. What ever farm you are meant to have you will have it. Sometimes spirit with holds our "hearts desire" until we are ready for it. When the time is right, everything will fall right into place. Blessings on you and yours, Rebekah dear.
I am so sorry about your parents wreck…and hope they are alright! As for your farm dreams, I have them, too, so so bad! But, my darling husband thinks I am crazy and doesn’t share them at all…so sad. He won’t even let me keep a few chickens…he’s very supportive of my camping ‘sisters’ (Sisters on the fly) and my other ‘hare-brained schemes, though…I am very blessed to have him! So, that said, don’t give up! Reading this, I might just ‘try’ to bake some bread, too! Love your blog, sugar! From one "Southrun" girl to another…bless your heart!
Whewee now that was a roller coaster ride to get ones heart going this morning. As I heard about the farm not coming to fruition – I said ‘ah remember where a window is closed – a door opens’ and so it did — you received great love, learned how to make bread, was available for both your parents and your mother- in – laws birthday AND THEN maybe the farm once again. I do pray that your parents are doing well and God will see you through the joy or heart break of the farm. Thanks for sharing in your wonderful words your story – there is a lesson in there for each of us.
I really like lists 🙂 SO:
1. I’m envious of your inlaw situation. Certainly sounds FABULOUS!
2. I once spent months trying to make the perfect loaf of bread only to finally discover that my OVEN wasn’t heating correctly. Maybe it’s time to try again (with my new oven!)
3. Whether this particular deal is ON or OFF, I’m sure you’ll be hanging up your muck boots sooner than you can imagine (wait, does anyone hang their boots? I’ve been wanting to make something like that… trust me on this one!). Didn’t Goethe say something like "If you can dream it, you can begin it."? Well, you’ve already begun! CHECK!
4. I misspelled "their" and now you’ve reposted it. I might dye of embarrassment (catch that! ha!)
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
There’s the Goethe quote and he’s right. Here is a better quote for all of us:
“Nine requisites for contented living:
Health enough to make work a pleasure.
Wealth enough to support your needs.
Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them.
Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them.
Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.
Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor.
Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.
Faith enough to make real the things of God.
Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.”
Sorry–former English professor here and farmgirl at heart. Best wishes and good luck to you!
Oh Rebekah,
Stop, you made tears run down! I am so glad your parents are doing well through all of that and you had a wonderful Birthday for your mother in law. I can smell the bread now and will be baking some zucchini bread shortly.
Girl let me tell you if that farm is meant to be it will. I know that for a fact. We had a friend that lived on the farm of my dreams and I said if there ever come a time where we could buy it it would be the last place in the world I want to settle down one. Well in 2006 we lost our home in town to the crisis and as we stood on the courthouse steps we got a call from our friend and said I no longer live there and if you take over the payments you can move in today. The house or should I say the trailer was very run down and in dire need of repair, just 3 bedrooms but a wonderful 7 acre lot and I had twin boys a daughter and her boyfriend who just had my grand child all counting on a place to live. God heard our prayers our pleas. We have since become empty nesters and will be breaking ground for our new house. This 7 acres has all we need; our orchard with peaches, pears, plums,blueberries, apples, grapes and a great garden area. We have all the animals we need, dogs, cats,milking goats ducks chickens and donkeys rescues included. I know things happen for a reason and I have been blessed. I would have never in this life time thought I would ever have my little piece of paradise but I do. I plan to die here some day. So no matter what if you feel it in your bone stick with it. I wish you all the best and who knows it may have been the wrong dream and the other one is just around the corner and even better than this. You will be blessed with just that farm you always wanted. Never give you on that bread 🙂
First, glad your parents are fine. Can you believe some people and their lack of concern?!
Secondly, I’m so pleased we all have the love and support of each other. Farmgirls are the best.
Lastly, Your bread looks delicious. Since we are snowed in today, I may have to bake some myself 🙂
PS Your farm is still looking for you…
Oh,what a wonderful blog this is. I’m so glad your parents are ok. One little thing about the other driver, she might have been so shocked/embarrased/scared/appalled that she wasn’t able to show any concern at the time. People do weird stuff when they screw up, esp. in car accidents.
Anyway, I’m sorry about the farm deal, but thrilled with all that support.
One other practical note along with your riding lessons, you might consider doggy school for the dogs, if they have never been. You and they can get a head start on being around livestock.
How wonderful about your bread. AND even more wonderful about the farm deal on/off thing. eek. Can’t wait to hear more.
Looks as though you have received your daily bread as promised and my verse this year for myself and everyone else is another promise Jeremiah 29:11. So glad no one was hurt badly in the car crash and there are so many people in the world now that just only care about their selves. It is sad. Love fresh homemade bread. I bought a book a couple of years ago and baked along with another on line group. It was all rustic breads and hubs is not fond of them so I gained weight and ended up not making any bread since. I should try again but just not so often or so much. My daughter just made some English muffin bread that she found on Pinterest. I need to go pin it from her so others can find the recipe. It makes 4 loaves but she shared and it was wonderful toasted and hubs made us some tuna melts on it. Lovely post Rebekah, thank you for sharing your life!
Wow! You sound like me! Being Italian, a baker by trade and trying to find another farm for me and my 11 y.o. I was just mesmerized by your writings. Whether it is 6 am or 10 pm I always make bread to sooth the soul. Have always loved your blog! hugs
Whew! Glad your parents are ok. Yesterday my Shug was following me home (in town) from our house that we are building. Someone pulled over right in front of me. When we got to the house he said, "great defensive driving btw, those people had no clue what they even did." People do not pay attention while driving anymore. And so many younger people seem not to care about other people at all.
Now, about that farm…all you need is looove….baaa baaah baadaadaaah….and bread. Something goods gonna happen, I can just feel it.
Cindy Bee
Dearest Rebekah!
Stick to your guns and try to use this pathway in life as a learning experience. My new mantra in life is ‘Five years from now we won’t even remember being so upset about this event!’. In other words, we have to pick the time frame that we are anxiety ridden about issues!
I love your bread story, and as for me, I would give everything that I own to be able to sit down with my parents as a family one more time. Yes, appreciate and love those around you while you can..
I am going to make your bread!
Hang in there, sister!
It sounds like a platitude, but your farm is still waiting for you! Just remember, to make your wonderful bread, the grain had to be ground down, destroyed almost. Keep on looking for your bliss, and baking!
Nancy
http://www.liveasavorylife.com
Hi!Whatch out,your gona get fat!don,t worry,it,ll all come together when its time.good luck,carol
The bread is beautiful! I’ll have to try your recipe. Great luck and best wishes on your dreams coming true!