Ahhh, traditions! Almost every family has them, and they are especially prevalent this time of year. A lot of families bake batches of cookies or create ornaments for distant relatives. Numerous others have little whimsical things that are particular to their families.
We can’t start them too young, can we? Look at those cute little hands. This is making Thanksgiving leftover pizza!
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.’”
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.
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 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.
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.”
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!
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”.
We must have peanut bars. Some people call them mocha cakes, but my beloved mother-in-law called them peanut bars and thus they shall remain. These once a year treats are small squares of yellow or sponge cake dipped in a thin petit fours type frosting, and rolled in ground peanuts – salted is best. The cake cannot be a cake mix cake – it must be a fairly dense homemade cake. I used the ancient family birthday cake recipe. The delightful confections are wonderful fresh off the production line but actually taste better if left to age a few days in a cool spot. The flavors meld together and are literally food of the gods. I learned to make these 45 years ago as a very young wife. Mom is no longer with us but the memory of making peanut bars and ca 20 other kinds of Christmas cookies is strong and precious.
I love the pictures and the “new family” tradition. While we always had lefse when Evan was growing up, we didn’t make it….many good Norwegians, providing it freely at ample church bazaars. His Grandma Isabelle didn’t like sugar on hers…we now have the tradition of having an unsugared piece on the tray in her memory.
Krumkake with Dennis’ family was always special as the boys were growing up. Another assembly line needed to get them rolled before they cool. Going from the stovetop iron to the double electric revolutionized the process a few years ago.
Ava will be ready for her next clay experience with all that “rolling, rolling, rolling.”
We love you guys! Mom and Dad Pederson
Having moved a thousand miles away from our families five years ago, we have our own T-giving dinners now. Sometimes we invite single or at-odds friends who have nowhere else to go. This year it was just my daughters and my husband and I; we had horrible weather and it was best that most people just stayed home and away from icy roads. I wet-brine the turkey (I won’t do it any other way any more), peel lots of potatoes, trim the Brussels sprouts, toast the bread in the oven for stuffing. All sooooo good. We usually eat in the afternoon, so we can lay around being lazy the rest of the day. I do most of the work myself, because I’m truly a one-(wo)man wrecking crew in the kitchen – I work like a very well-oiled machine. I know what goes in next and I am not idle the whole time, about four hours or so. Then we eat all the noms. So good. 🙂
Such an adorable little lefsa a maker you have there. No wonder you take lots of pictures. Your master lefse maker is handsome too. Such a great tradition to pass on. We love lease with salmon and cream sauce. Or with jelly or lingonberries (something like small cranberries). We make lease for our church Smorgasbord ar Christmas. My dil sent me a package early in Dec. one year. I thought it was too early but put it under the tree anyways. When I opened it on Christmas it was spoiled…she didn’t tell me it was lefse so I didn’t refrigerate it. Now she clearly marks the package.
Thank you for sharing this post. One of our traditions is to hang our stockings up. We always purchase a tall 7 to 8 foot tree. In fact we bought ours today. We also open Advent calendars and have for many years. Wishing you and yours a Blessed and Merry Christmas. May 2016 bring you joy,health and love.
Marilyn and Family
Oh what extra fun this posting is!!!! Not sure if it the tradition of the lefse or seeing Ava in the kitchen – nothing more fun than making memories and traditions with children. Mine is grown and so are the grandchildren – so when I can, I share traditions with them if they are interested. I was raised in a huge family with lots of ‘must do’s’ for any time 5-10 of us got together – so that was often – miss those days. Thanks for helping me remember them. Thanks for sharing your family. God bless.
Hi Alex,
These pictures are so precious! I love it when little ones get to help in the kitchen! My daughter has always been so good with her little girls helping out with the cooking and now the seven year old can do amazing things in the kitchen! Ava will be the same way!
I’ve always been curious about Lefse and now I’m eager to give it a try! I love that Evan does that.
Hope you’re feeling good? Christmas is not too far away so that means your new little one isn’t either! Hope it all goes well for you and can’t wait to hear the news!
Tight hugs,
Dori
I remember Christmas Eve and oyster stew. I hated the oysters, so my dad got them and I enjoyed the creamy soup. The evening also included church and opening gifts.
Another memory was the Candy Cane cookies. I enjoyed making them and of course eating them.
Have a Merry Christmas way up there in Alaska.
Love you
Aunt Becky (Evan’s side)
Hey Alex,
It’s wonderful to see all of you working together in the kitchen. Ava is getting so big and what a great little helper she is! Let’s see… we spent Thanksgiving at home ( just our immediate family ) as well. Like you, no time crunches or extra food prep. I cooked all day off and on and relaxed in between with the family. My hubby is our cranberry sauce maker. He makes it every year and it’s yummy. So much tastier than the canned variety. Tart and sweet. You must be getting excited for the new arrival… Just think… Next time you write you just might be a a mommy of two! Can’t wait to meet the newest member of your family… Merry Christmas and blessings for a smooth birth!
Hugs,
Deb ( the beach farmgirl )
Sorry its taken me this long to respond ….avas cute….remind me when my kids were her age…..thry lived to maje stuff with me..,its probably why they are such good cooks now. And your flat bread reminds me of making potatoe pancakes, …i never was crazy about them, as they had a heavy taste for me and i could never eat more than one. But traditions have a way of repeating. Holiday baking was always one of ours. Glad you had a fun time….susana