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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
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~ Mark TwainDebbie 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.’”
Column contents © Deb Bosworth. All rights reserved.
Being a farmgirl is not
about where you live,
but how you live.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.
Column contents © Rebekah Teal. All rights reserved.
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Keep close to Nature’s heart … and break clear away once in awhile to climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods, to wash your spirit clean.
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~ John MuirCathi 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.”
Column contents © Cathi Belcher. All rights reserved.
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Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine.
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~ Anthony J. D’AngeloDori 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.
Column contents © Dori Troutman. All rights reserved.
Shery Jespersen
Previous Ranch Farmgirl,
Oct 2009 – Nov 2013Wyoming cattle rancher and outpost writer (rider), shares the “view from her saddle.” Shery is a leather and lace cowgirl-farmgirl who’s been horse-crazy all of her life. Her other interests include “junktiques,” arts and crafts, glamping, collecting antique china, and cultivating mirth.
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.”
Column contents © Mary Murray. All rights reserved.
Farmgirl
is a condition
of the heart.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!
Column contents © Alexandra Wilson. All rights reserved.
Libbie Zenger
Previous Rural Farmgirl,
June 2010 – Jan 2012Libbie’s a small town farmgirl who lives in the high-desert Sevier Valley of Central Utah on a 140-year-old farm with her husband and two darling little farmboys—as well as 30 ewes; 60 new little lambs; a handful of rams; a lovely milk cow, Evelynn; an old horse, Doc; two dogs; a bunch o’ chickens; and two kitties.
René Groom
Previous Rural Farmgirl,
April 2009 – May 2010René lives in Washington state’s wine country. She grew up in the dry-land wheat fields of E. Washington, where learning to drive the family truck and tractors, and “snipe hunting,” were rites of passage. She has dirt under her nails and in her veins. In true farmgirl fashion, there is no place on Earth she would rather be than on the farm.
Farmgirl spirit can take root anywhere—dirt or no dirt.
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”.
Column contents © Nicole Christensen. All rights reserved.
Paula Spencer
Previous Suburban Farmgirl,
October 2009 – October 2010Paula is a mom of four and a journalist who’s partial to writing about common sense and women’s interests. She’s lived in five great farm states (Michigan, Iowa, New York, Tennessee, and now North Carolina), though never on a farm. She’s nevertheless inordinately fond of heirloom tomatoes, fine stitching, early mornings, and making pies. And sock monkeys.
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Archives
Monthly Archives: December 2024
Christmas Eve…
Christmas Eve…here we are deep in December. The night is comforting with a crackling fire, whispers of secret surprises, and the gentle melodies of familiar Christmas carols. There is laughter while watching favorite movies, ooey-gooey s’mores made in the kitchen fireplace, and yes, even a patient and understanding dog wearing holiday pajamas!
Continue readingCharming New England Christmas Traditions
Merry, Merry, Readers! It’s Christmas! It’s my favorite time of year, and there is Christmas charm by the bucketful here in New England. We shouldn’t stress about the holidays; it’s not what Christmas is really about. Come make a cup of something hot, and enjoy – for me, when it comes to the holidays, it’s all about family, friends, good food and charm! Let me share with you some of the best traditions of the season!
Having four seasons in New England is wonderful. Each season has it’s charm, but Christmastime is extra-special. I REALLY love Christmas. One thing I love about the holidays is having something to look forward to. Activities don’t have to cost a lot; many of the fun things around Connecticut are either low cost, free, or by donation.
Almost every town or hamlet in Connecticut has a “town green”, and a tree lighting. Our town actually has two.
My daughter and I love going together. We see friends, there are families and people of all ages sharing cheer, and carols are sung. It almost feels like we are “extras” in a special episode of the old “Gilmore Girls” show (also based in Connecticut).
There are so many wonderful, old churches all over the state. They are all so beautiful. The South Britain Congregational Church hosts a Victorian Tea, open to the public, each holiday. My friend, Linda, and I have been attending each year together for so long, we now know the ladies who work so hard to make it happen by name, and have even gotten to know some of the other attendees!
It is a wonderful, festive luncheon, with good food, good cheer, and a lovely area of handmade gifts for sale, as well.
Another wonderful tradition, the Annual Gingerbread Village and Christmas Bazaar at St. George’s Episcopal Church, in Middlebury, Connecticut, is something my family and I won’t miss.
We’ve been attending since my daughter was a baby. This year marked the church’s 56th year for the annual tradition! Each time, I think I must have seen it all, and each year, they wow us again! This year was no exception. I am in awe at the detail (everything, except for the actual lighting, is made from edible material).
My mind is blown by all their beautiful, hard work, as I am great at tedious tasks and details of all sorts, but have never been able to make a gingerbread house look so wonderful as these amazing bakers do.
Cranberries are such a big part of New England, and one of my favorite ingredients in so many foods this time of year. I also love homemade gifts. Homemade gifts are made with LOVE! I may not be able to make a good-looking gingerbread house, but I am a whiz in the kitchen. One of my favorite things to make and give, especially this time of year, is homemade jam. This year, I made “Christmas Jam”, and my family has declared it my best jam ever! After going over many recipes, I really found none I liked. They either had too many ingredients, too much sugar, or included butter (we have a family member with a dairy allergy, unfortunately). My version of “Christmas Jam” uses simple ingredients, similar to my other jam recipes, and only four cups of sugar. What’s also nice about canning jam is you can use the water bath method, and do not have to use a pressure canner. The naturally bright, red color of this jam makes it a stunning holiday gift. It’s delectable on fresh bread, or served as an appetizer atop a cracker and a nice cheese like a sharp cheddar or brie. Here is my gift to you, dear readers, my recipe for “Christmas Jam”. Enjoy!
Nicole’s Christmas Jam
- 1 and ½ 12-ounce bags of fresh cranberries
- 1 large container of fresh strawberries, hulled
- 1 mandarin or “cutie” seedless orange
- 4 cups of organic sugar
- 4 TBSP of low-sugar pectin
- ¼ heaping tsp. each of ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and a pinch of nutmeg
- ½ cup water
Wash and pat dry all fruit. Prepare six half-pint jars for canning.
Zest the mandarin orange. Peel, discarding the peeling. Set aside the fruit.
In a blender or food processor, coarsely chop the cranberries, and place in a large pot. Puree the strawberries (do not over-puree, I like lumps of strawberry). Add the zest and orange to the pot, and using a potato masher, smash the fruit a bit more and then stir together, along with the zest and spices.
Add the water, and place over low heat, stirring constantly.
In a separate bowl, mix the pectin with ¼ cup of the sugar. Stir into the pot with the fruit, bring to a rolling boil, and then add the rest of the sugar, stirring constantly.
Boil and stir for one solid minute, skimming any foam as needed. Remove from heat and let sit for five minutes. Ladle into hot prepared jars, leaving ¼” headspace. Process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, letting jars sit for five minutes before removing and cooling.
Enjoy!
There are so many wonderful, small, family farms in New England. One of our Christmas traditions in our family involves getting a fresh tree from Jones Family farm in Monroe.
Another tradition is enjoying a delicious ice cream sundae in the cozy, decorated room at Rich Farm, in Oxford, before they close up late in the month for a bit in winter.
Another thing I love about New England is how everyone decorates. Stores, streets, and homes – inside and out, are all dressed up in twinkling lights and decorations.
My personal favorite decorations are all old, vintage, or vintage-inspired, and I love to incorporate decor that I already have, making it more “Christmas-y”.
We have had two “Christmas Snows” blanket us already, which just add to the festive feel of the season here in New England.
Someone said to me recently, “No one sends Christmas cards anymore!” I beg to disagree. Yes, the price of stamps has gone up. But sending cards at Christmas should not be looked at as a chore!
I love to send cards, and work on mine gradually, while drinking my morning coffee or watching television at night with my family. We’ve already received quite a few, in the mail, and at my doll club meeting, and it is a tradition I love! I cherish handwritten cards I have kept through the years, from special friends and family that are no longer with us.
This is me at four. My face shows how I felt about Christmas.
Honestly, it is how I feel about it now, and think I am actually part elf. In all seriousness, though, I think we adults sometimes forget that childlike wonder. Letting ourselves enjoy the magic of the season is what brings the true joy and meaning of the holidays. It’s been a rough year for so many. Personally, this has been an awful year, with the passing of more friends and loved ones than any other before. My Christmas card list has sadly gotten smaller, and I truly miss those who have departed. I hold them close in my heart as I embrace the joy of this wonderful season.
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and have a Wonderful Holiday Season. Holidays are what you make of them. May the next few weeks be full to the top with joy, happiness, love, and wonder! Please drop me a comment so I know you have visited! See you all in January!
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