| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| ponyexpress |
Posted - Dec 06 2006 : 5:50:38 PM
I've been wondering what others do, particularly those who live "in town" as I do, to honor their farmgirl beliefs and values. I try to maintain a "keep it simple" attitude and I recycle as much as possible. I don't have room to garden, but buy organic and patronize the farmer's markets when available. I no longer have any animals - my horse (who was boarded) went to greener pastures earlier this year. I support charities that work toward a better life for man and beast. I belong to guilds and groups that foster an interest in the traditional arts and crafts like quilting and weaving.
It's hard to maintain that farmgirl presence of mind when you are surrounded by what my friend calls "wretched excess", especially with the holiday season pressing down.
What do you all do? How do you cope?
Sandy in Missouri |
| 22 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| asnedecor |
Posted - Dec 11 2006 : 8:22:43 PM
My farm girl values come from gardening - I made sure to make room for a vegetable garden in our city backyard. The love of animals, whether they are mine or someone else's - I am always friendly to them and make sure my bird feeders not only feed the birds, but squirrels, raccoons, etc. I share my abundance with my neighbors and family - whether it be veggies or extra seeds/plants. I can some (only two of us, so don't do a ton, but enough for us and a few gifts) I recycle - plastic, tin, paper, etc. We also find ways to reuse old furniture or things from our house as we remodel - which is the biggest recycle of all for us - saving a 1912 old Portland home. I try not to get to caught up in the pressures of living in the city - which can be hard sometimes, but I just tell myself - do you really need that or have to be that way. I know some of my city friends don't always understand, but as one friend introduced me to another as her most stable friend. Which I took as a compliment.
Anne in Portland
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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| vintagechica |
Posted - Dec 11 2006 : 6:52:36 PM
This thread is so timely, I was just thinking about this very thing tonight while washing dishes. I too live in town. I was raised on a ranch in TX until I was 12 but have lived back and forth between city and country. With my DH being military, we just never know where we'll end up. I am so greatful to my grandparents and parents for instilling in me all of my farmgirl values. Values like knowing where your food comes from, a natural curiosity and love of being in the natural world, love of animals and plants, helping a neighbor out, being friendly, valuing the handmade, thriftyness, etc. Since becoming a mama, these things really hit home to me more now than ever. And I agree with Grace and the others that the way I learned these values is the way I should teach my boys...by example. We too recycle, reuse, turn the TV off except on special occasions, try to make most of our gifts and cook from scratch. We help our neighbors when they get stuck in the snow and we cook for someone when they have a new baby. We patch our jeans instead of running out to the mall and buying a new pair. We get outside as much as possible, even when it it snowy and cold. We garden garden and get really dirty. We visit out local dairy and farmer's market. We read to our kids and make up stories with them. However, I want them to be able to be a whiz on the computer and know how to program their ipod. I want them to value other cultures and not be afraid to (get off the farm) travel the world and then come back home and share it. I picked the name "vintage chica" because I want to instill "vintage" values in my modern kiddos. Thanks for starting this thread, Ive loved every single word. You ladies are the best!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A sure way to avoid housework...live outdoors.
www.vintagechica.typepad.com |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Dec 11 2006 : 3:41:31 PM
Sandy, great way to walk in the world and a big wave from me. Even out here when we moved in ten years ago you would pass someone on the road and they would wave to you from their car - even if you did not know them, now there are only a few of us who do it. The common gesture is a single finger and I guess we all know which one that is.
Jennifer my heart is with you - everytime the thought of me moving in town comes to mind I almost get sick to my stomach but remember we learn from our trials and there must be a very good reason you are walking in this one. It is easy to have farmgirl values in the country but greater to keep them in town. I worked for a year in town while still on my farm and I know that glazed look. I got "why would you spin yarn when you can go to Wal-Mart and buy it for 99 cents?" For some I would go into the talk of why Wal-Mart is bad, the joy of raising, loving and spinning fiber from my own animals and others I would say a silent prayer and give them a glazed look back. I will keep you in my heart for keeping your values and just know, their are alot of us who would never give you that glazed look (Unless we have been on all night lamb watch and can not find the coffee pot). Keep those hands dirty, thoughts clean and laughter in each day.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
htpp://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
htpp://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com |
| Libbie |
Posted - Dec 10 2006 : 4:17:59 PM
I just LOVE all of your "farmgirl values." Those are the things that keep life good and real - the open arms of friendship - the time it takes to do or make something "by hand" - the gumption it takes to run your home and/or farm the way you want to - the willingness to get dirty - the confidence it takes to freely give a smile and a wave -- I love it. All of it.
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| ponyexpress |
Posted - Dec 10 2006 : 08:12:53 AM
Dear Jennifer - I now live in a townhouse, with a neighbor just on the other side of the dining room wall and another just on the other side of the living room wall. Fortunately, they are not overly noisy or intrusive, but still....... Long story as to how I ended up in a townhouse, but nonetheless, I'm here.
I, too, have received that blank stare on many occasions. I was once felting a piece out on my back patio and my neighbor came out to inquire, "WHAT are you doing?" I explained that I was turning carded fleece into a piece of felted fabric that would become a hat and she said only, "why???" I was tempted to borrow the Jeep slogan, "It's a farmgirl thing....If I have to explain it , you wouldn't understand."
And I believe that Grace's suggestion of leading by example is the most effective way of both coping with a less than ideal situation and promoting the values of simplicity, concern for our environment, concern for our fellow human beings, and our animal friends. I have decided to treat our townhouse community and the immediate neighborhoods as my small town. When I take a walk around, every car that passes gets a friendly wave. Doesn't matter if I know them or not, and I almost always get a return wave. I usually get to know people through their pets - talking about animals is an easy conversation starter. I now have people coming up to me at the grocery store, or book store, wherever, and say, "Aren't you the lady who walks in our neighborhood? I drive the red Honda and we live on the corner."
Poeple who don't normally recycle at their home wouldn't dream of throwing away a can or plastic bottle when visiting in my home. I don't preach; they just seemed to have noticed that's the way I operate. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
This thread has been very helpful, very insightful, and very heart-warming. In the midst of some very cold temperatures, and the pressures of the holiday season, it has been a warm glow that keeps the home fires burning. Blessing to you all -
Sandy in Missouri |
| JenniferJuniper |
Posted - Dec 10 2006 : 06:56:53 AM
This spring we moved (fiancees job transfer) to my version of hell - a cookie-cutter subdivision in an overcrowded metropolitan area with our neighbors' houses not 20 feet away on either side of us. I had gone from living in big cities to small-town Mississippi for 2 1/2 years, and loved it so much I dreaded leaving, then we had to come "back" to city life. The ugliness of the construction, malls, traffic, fast-food restaurants, grime, etc. is so depressing, sometimes I cannot breathe.
It can be hard to relate to people at work when they chat about their weekend activities - usually shopping and going to trendy restaurants - and I'm like, I read some Dylan Thomas, sewed an apron for my cousin, and made a great pumpkin bread. I'm usually met with a blank stare. (Do any of you ever have that problem?) He however loves being back in what he calls civilization, and there's a growing disconect between us so I've seriously been reconsidering whether to stay on this path. I digress....
I practice farmgirl values by doing what keeps me centered and connected to simplicity: knitting, embroidery, sewing, papercrafts - any quiet, creative activity I can do with two hands; hanging laundry on the line; reading; playing with the dogs; baking; tending my tiny flowerpot herb garden; prayer; charity; contemplation; calling my extended family regularly. It sounds so small, but it is more rewarding than any paid job I've ever had.
As for the commercialism that tries to inundate us at every turn, the catalogs go straight into the trash (they don't recycle them here) and I record the few TV shows I like so I can skip the commercials entirely. I usually only go to a mall at Christmas, to get an Angel Tree child & buy some clothes on the list and one low-tech toy. |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Dec 08 2006 : 12:23:01 PM
It is hard to find the balance in a world that is so out of balance - I have taught my sons that we can only lead by example. I too find it hard to stomach the non-stop ads that are telling us we all need something that is not even worth having and then I take a step back - turn the T.V. off and go about living the life I wish to live. It is hard not to want to change everyone to my way of thinking but then I remember that everyone is on their own path and I can only lead by example. Everytime someone states "they wished they could do what I do", I invite them to the farm to do what I do and usually in a couple of hours they admit they do not want to work that hard and they can not live without being attached to their cell phone and malls. It is not that they "CAN'T" it is that they "WILL NOT". Life is a choice and I am glad to be in the company of great farmgals (both in the city and country) that value what we do and do it even if no one else will. Know in your heart that it sings with the purpose that you are here to do and some will never know the joys we have in planting seeds in the ground, bottle feeding a weak lamb, spinning gleaming fleeces from our four legged family members and each night breathing the air under the bright starts. Life is too short to worry about all the mall shoppers - just try to show one person a new way and we can change the world.
Seasons Greetings Farmgals and a BIG HUG to you all!
[violet][size=2]Grace Gerber[size=2][violet]
[violet][size=2]Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio[size=2][violet]
[violet][size=2]Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep[size=2][violet]
[purple][size=2]htpp://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com[size=2][purple]
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| Nance in France |
Posted - Dec 08 2006 : 11:26:37 AM
Oui, oui, Jonni. Maybe we are (soul) sisters (!), separated early in life by some tragic event. Love, love, love birds and collect old timey birdy themed things that make my heart sing. And Jane Austen, she was too cool for her time, you know? But I'm with you, I gotta get in the shower and wash my hair every day.....maybe Nancy Jo will stand by in her elegant apron and serve the tea once we're wrestled ourselves into those infernal corsets! Have a great day ya'll. Nance |
| Cindy Lee |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 6:20:32 PM
See Sandy, I told you, you are on the right track! And I hear ya Susan. I know I couldn't live on the praire everytime I go to a Dr. for a simple illness and think to myself, "100 years ago this might have been a BIG problem!"
If life gives you scraps, make quilts! |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 3:54:14 PM
I can live in her novels now, because I have an Edwardian apron from Tasha, I can't say that I live a real simple life, but I get better at the effort every year. I do buy a lot of used stuff if that counts.
NANCY JO
www.Nancy-Jo.blogspot.com |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 1:53:58 PM
Nance--birds and Jane Austen. We have much in common. I always think I'd like to live in her novels, too, but then I remember that there was little to no bathing or hair washing--tres elegant!! I don't know what I'd do without running water every single minute.
Just think of all of the roads there are...all of the things I haven't seen....yet. |
| Nance in France |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 10:04:03 AM
Wow, what an interesting and inspiring thread. I echo all the gals' sentiments, and although we live in a big city when we are here in the US, and a small village in France, my farmgirl tendencies come from within, and have little to do with our surroundings. Anything we do for ourselves, I think, makes us a little more proud and happy inside...skills we master and bounty we share with others, our veggies, our time, our hearts. We are blessed to live in these modern times, I think. I sometimes joke that I'd love to go back and live with Jane Austen, but I'm taking tampons with me! Go out there and share that farmgirl spirit! You never know how you might touch another life. Have a great day, gal pals. Nance |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 07:45:27 AM
I agree with Susan -- I like my modern conveniences especially the indoor plumbing! It's nice to have the choice to use these conveniences or not. Like running your clothes dryer or hanging on the line. There is great joy in living more simply.
The Rustic Cottage Etsy Shop http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
Visit my blog! http://nwfarmerette.blogspot.com |
| ponyexpress |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 07:29:55 AM
I'm happy to be in the company of so many home-centered and reasonably-minded women! I do believe that my "job", my purpose, is to maintain that sense of balance and nurturing in my home and family. The kids are all spread out - Atlanta, Baltimore and Chicago - so keeping the connection can be a full time job in itself.
Susan, I'm with you on the modern conveniences of indoor plumbing and electricity. There is an Amish woman I had become friendly with when she was hand quilting some of my unfinished tops. She was delighted when, for their 50th anniversary, her husband built her a "privy" just outside the kitchen door so she wouldn't have to walk across the yard in the cold. Like you said, I'm tough, but I'm not that tough!
I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and hope to inspire other family, friends and acquintances to simplify and focus their attention on what really makes a difference - in our personal lives, in our community, and in our environment. |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 07:20:04 AM
I think of Farmgirl values, and I think of the common ground we share with women through the ages. In my little world, I do my best to recycle, eat local grown produce, live responsibly to myself and others.., But when I think of Farmgirl knowhow and values, I think of my great-grandmother,Theodocia Wilkins and how she lived her life is a guideline for me. She moved from a farm in rural Ohio to the "city" when she married. She was an individual thinker, faithful to the lord and her church family, compassionate animal lover and protector (took many an animal right from the yard of an abusive home and told the folks why)an herbalist, and a constant source of strength to her three girls. She was a business woman (parked cars in her yard for the horse races--$1.00 to park), and had an open kitchen for jockeys and tack hands who never had home cooked meals (donation jar on the piano). Not having much herself, she was always generous and never turned away a stranger. My mother remembers her feeding "tramps" from the railroad tracks and in the winter time, allowing them to warm by the woodstove in the center room. She was never happily married, but often, women weren't in those days. She never said a cross word about him, even 30 years after his death when asked about her life with him. When I am knitting, making pie crust from scratch, gardening, hanging laundry, caring for my clan of animals, sending a friend a card "just because", volunteering or putting what little money I have in the Salvation Army bucket, I feel a strong affinity with Dodie, and I am proud of the inner faith, humility and grace she gave to me through two generations, to continue her Farmgirl values in this often frantic and self absorbed world.
Just think of all of the roads there are...all of the things I haven't seen....yet. |
| candismom |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 07:01:50 AM
amen. I haven't been to the amll in 4 years. I shop on line or little stores. I love the simple life.
Hugs,'Elizabeth |
| Beemoosie |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 05:05:07 AM
Well put, Susan! I find the more I learn to do with my hands and to "sustain" the home, the more inner joy I have.
...she is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.
Prov 31:10
www.beequilting.blogspot.com |
| TheSoapMaven |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 05:02:05 AM
You know, I think you have a handle on it. Just like MaryJane says so often and so accurately ~ "farmgirl is a condition of the heart". How many times in your life have your heard "its what's on the inside" - these things are true.
I certainly admit to buying things I dont need. And readily tell you I dont know if I would have made it "on the prairie". I am tough but I am not THAT tough. I love hot running water and love indoor plumbing and air conditioning in my home and vehicle. But I also know how to do things for myself. Sew. Cook. Bake. Make soap and butter and I know how to can and preserve. I know how to till and plant and harvest. I know how to prime my water well if need be. I can work outdoors along side my husband fairly well. But I do these things not because I would feel guilty if I didnt...but because it gives me great joy to do them. To know how to do them.
I think contentment is more about being a nurturer, a giver not a taker. Sounds like you are just these things.
Blessings to you!
Susan
Proprietress of Dahlem's Soapworks http://www.thesoapmaven.com
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| Horseyrider |
Posted - Dec 07 2006 : 04:43:40 AM
One thing I see behind the lines of most of the posts here is an ability to take joy in the little things in life. Like a perfect cup of tea, or a beautiful sunset, or the smell of fresh turned earth.
It isn't stuff that makes you rich, it's seeing the beauty in our everyday lives. |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Dec 06 2006 : 7:31:43 PM
I try to live as simply as possible, recycle, reuse, and especially support local and home businesses. I think what you're doing is great! You definitely have the Farmgirl mindset.
I don't go to the mall unless I'm being dragged there! I took my daughter a couple of weeks ago and as I sat on a bench watching people I was repulsed. The whole place is "wretched excess". People walking from one store to the next, not really needing anything, but buying just for the sake of buying. I'm always glad to get away from it and come back home to nest. I think that's the only way to deal with it.
The Rustic Cottage Etsy Shop http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
Visit my blog! http://nwfarmerette.blogspot.com |
| cmandle |
Posted - Dec 06 2006 : 6:46:27 PM
I spent the afternoon at the dreaded Mall of America with a farmgirl girlfriend the other day (it's getting cold out and we needed somewhere to walk with the babies!) and was astounded by the "wretched excess." We don't watch TV anymore, so this holiday season has been blissfully free from ads that shove Christmas junk down our throats. But I think it made me all the more sick to just jump into the mall. It was a shopping frenzy! Oh the junk! Oh the prices! I don't mind the crowds and actually like the Christmas-y decorations in big places, but the stuff, stuff, stuff really got to me. We're making all of our gifts this year so after my initial shock, I just put my blinders back on and came home to knit and be with my family.
I think that's what Farmgirls do. We can be part of the bigger world (and we should be), but we also have a special key to our simple places that a lot of other families don't have (or haven't found yet). For that, I am happy.
Catherine
p.s. By the way, welcome! I've been terrible on the Welcome Wagon greetings lately!!
http://yogurtandgranola.blogspot.com |
| Cindy Lee |
Posted - Dec 06 2006 : 6:21:56 PM
Sandy,
I don't have to much advice on this subject, except to say you sound like you are doing what you can at this point. It all takes time to figure out and making small changes DOES make a diffenence!
I love the way your friend puts it, "wretched excess", that's a good one! I work for a major toy company and see the excess everyday and just shake my head and wonder "what are people thinking?"
You are on the right track my dear! Hang in there!
Cindy Lee
If life gives you scraps, make quilts! |
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