| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lucky1 |
Posted - May 09 2013 : 5:50:46 PM
Greetings fellow farm girls! I've been wanting to join this chat for years, and finally took the time to figure it out (soooo a Luddite who still marvels at electric typewriters at "hi-tech).
I live in paradise with the man of my dreams, 20 years strong this November, 15 years responsible for 41 acres, two city kids of took the plunge, scared of every new country sound and sight. How cool that we can now walk the meadow that spreads out at the bottom of the hill where our VERY HUMBLE house sits, and do this in the dark, by moonlight!
I look forward to hearing/reading your stories, your reflections on stuff that matters, stuff that makes you happy and centered and connected to the Bigness of Life!!
Each day is a gift--unwrap it with gusto! |
| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| EllaRow |
Posted - May 23 2013 : 2:06:14 PM
Hi Liz,
I paint animals on rocks for gardens (haven't advanced to furry critters quite yet) and my husband builds birdhouses, feeders, window planters, wood toy cars, and other wood projects for our new business we started last year. This is our first year actually displaying and selling product. Caveman Woodworking and Crafts.... don't have a website yet, but we're hoping to get there. My mother is a 3rd generation woman greenhouse owner/operator and has recently told me I'm her only hope to continue the business for a 4th... so its a good thing I help her out when I can and I made her a website so I guess I'm in the greenhouse business in a way. Hope to get to know you more and welcome to the Farmgirl Connection! 
Soaking in wisdom as the showers fall |
| TexasJo |
Posted - May 20 2013 : 11:27:00 AM
Hi Liz,
Basket making sounds so relaxing! I can't wait to hear what you make. Good for you being creative with what you have on your property.
The fairy village is coming along. I think my granddaughter will like the changes. The first year I built a fairy garden for her my husband was digging fence posts and found some plastic pearls in the ground and gave them to me. I washed them up and snuck a few into the fairy village. When my granddaughter found them (under the tiny bushes and plants) she thought the fairies had brought home some treasure. I explained to her that when they come home from the beach (after a long winter) they usually bring pearls with them. She had been to the beach right before that and knew about shells from the ocean so I had explained how pearls were found in shells. And then shortly after that we went to a shop that had a jar of the shells in water and you could purchase one and open it to find a pearl. Her shell provided two pearls! She was thrilled. So now whenever she comes over she checks the fairy garden/village for "treasure", but she's careful to put the treasure back so as to not upset the fairies. One time she called me on the phone and made me go outside (in the dark with my flashlight) while still on the phone with her and look to see if they brought home any more "white crystals" (she couldn't remember "pearls" and that was the closest word she could think of -she was 3 at the time). You would have loved to witness the Fairy Search we had, too! She was spending the night last summer and wanted to go outside after dark try to see the fairies. We tiptoed in the grass with our flashlights and at one point a hummingbird moth flew right by us and she was certain it was a fairy! Then we heard a loud sound and I asked her "what was that" and she said she thought it was a car fairy. I told her I had never heard of one of those and she said, "I just made that up"... (LOL!!!) It was the most fun I had all summer! She really is a hoot!
My organization offers many types of treatment for teenagers -- we have residential facilities where the kids live, go to school and/or work while receiving therapy (family, individual, drug/alcohol, sex abuse, etc... depending on their history). Most our clients are court ordered and come from hospitals, jails, the streets, or are private clients. It's very intense, but unique in that each client has a treatment plan designed for them individually. It truly is a program where you see successful results, but hard to fathom there are so many out there that need these typse of services. It never seems to stop amazing me how many troubled people there are out there. So I try to focus on the success. It's an intense environment all the time, so getting home to normalcy is looked forward to on a daily basis. While I have often thought of doing something else, I have not found anything that I think would be more rewarding for me. I feel like this is where I should be.
I love hearing about other's and what they are accomplishing, even if it's just watching eggs hatch or planting seeds. Glad you are hear and hope you enjoy your time on the Farm. :)
Hugs,
Jo
We can do it! |
| lucky1 |
Posted - May 18 2013 : 11:24:10 AM
Hi Jody,
Thanks for the warm and detailed reply--you're a great story-teller, I can tell...I was thoroughly enchanted by your description of your granddaughter's approach to the fairy village and how it moved for the winter. Sweet!
Your job sounds interesting--what kind of treatment does your organization offer to teens? I was a high school teacher myself for a few years, and ran support groups for students with a variety of issues they struggled with--socialization, addiction, grief. Wow...and that was about 20 years ago. I suspect that the issues they face now have a greater intensity and context. Working with matters of the heart like that is such important work. Thank you for putting yourself there with those tough questions. I understand how important your sense of place is at the end of the workday. For a while I commuted 3 hours/day for my job, and loved the work...but the travel time was tiring. I was glad when the hospice job came around and my commute shortened to only 18 miles from home instead of 45. It's like a whole new part of my brain was freed up from not having to be so road-focused and tense. I was more than ready for new stuff to fill it up--creative ways to live, learning to sit still for minutes at a time (heading toward "hours at a time"--I'll get there!!), and keeping my relationship with my husband current and relevant. We don't want to look at each other in 20 years and say "who are you?"
Today we're going to get our chicken coops ready for some new girls, and then I'm going to try my hand at basket-making. We've got such an abundance of vines and other materials, and it looks like it will be fun. Since joining this chat, I've had renewed energy to create stuff, to try things I haven't tried before. The past 7 years have been rough--aging parents and family issues--and I've gotten too "crusty" for my own comfort, so...really enjoying this fresh feeling of joy, delight, and making things new.
Thanks for listening. Off to clean out the rabbit hutches.
Liz
Each one of you is precious. Remember who you are, and whose you are... |
| TexasJo |
Posted - May 17 2013 : 2:42:23 PM
Hi Liz, Welcome! I've only been a member for about a month now, I think. It's a wonderful way to connect with loving and caring people and you will most likely learn lots! I think that's great your five year old, handful neiece has you to help her create something fun. I, too, am working on a new fairy garden. My more-than-a-handful five year old granddaughter has inspired me to make one for her the past two years. Our first year, it was a small bowl size that moved to a small village size under a tree by our tiny pond. Due to snow, I put the tiny houses and other tiny village items in storage over winter and my granddaughter believes they go the beach for the winter where it's warm and where they can collect treasure to be bring back to their village. She figures they know magic and can easily move around with their houses. ;) She has been looking for them this spring, wondering when they will return so I have been building a new area (larger this time) for them before she comes to visit again soon. I have way too many projects going most of the time -- quilt peices laying out on a table awaiting me, a vegie garden that had to wait for late snow to be gone before planting, birdhouses that need repair and more... I work full time about an hour from where I live, so my commute is time-consuming, but I don't want to ever move (lived in the same tiny town for 20 years this July, raised two boys there and love it still), and I don't want to leave my job where I have worked for 22 years for an organization that provides treatment for teenagers throughout Colorado and just recently Wyoming. I completely understand about going home with work in your head -quite challenging at times, but so worth it. Getting back out to the country after working all day in that environment is a breath of fresh air every day! Seeing the farmers fields and critters along the way, makes me breathe deep and relax. Getting home to dig in the dirt or make something with my hands is a must. Being a farmgirl at heart has helped me to look at other ways to be a part of the community around me and to share in things that matter but that also mean a great deal to me. I look forward to getting to know you.
Hugs,
Jo
Farmgirl Sister #5000
We can do it! |
| ceejay48 |
Posted - May 16 2013 : 1:42:09 PM
Hi Liz,
Welcome to the Connection!
It's a great place to be!
Enjoy!
CJ
..from the barefoot farmgirl in SW Colorado...sister chick #665.
2010 Farmgirl Sister of the Year
Mother Hen: FARMGIRLS SOUTHWEST HENHOUSE
my aprons - http://www.facebook.com/FarmFreshAprons
living life - www.snippetscja.blogspot.com
from my hands - www.cjscreations-ceejay.blogspot.com
from my heart - www.fromacelticheart.blogspot.com
from my hubby - www.aspenforge.blogspot.com |
| lucky1 |
Posted - May 13 2013 : 4:54:50 PM
Thanks, Marlee, Sheena, Lori, Marly, Teri, Kristina, Jonni, Judith, Janet, Mel, and Tammy (did I get everyone??), for the replies. I'm eager to get to know you all...what do you all do to keep busy, for a paycheck or not? Hobbies? Passions? Recent projects or accomplishments you're really excited about?
I just finished painting one of our bird feeders a wild pink with green trim, and when it dries, will throw some mosaic tiles on it and try my hand at grouting...then I'll tuck the bunnies in for the night, and stretch for a while before bed. I'm one of those perky (sometimes annoying?) morning people who is up before the birds. My husband is a night owl and a paramedic, so you can imagine our sleep schedules. But there's nothing quite like watching the eastern sky change from blue-black to pink to gray to yellow all in the span of about 20 minutes...I am so lucky and grateful to be alive.
Getting connected to this chat has inspired me to dust off a few projects that I've been dreaming about, but haven't put my hands to yet. Quilts, painting, mosaics, and the biggest one so far--making a fairy garden under the big pine tree off of our porch, with my 7-year-old niece. She's so smart and creative (when we was five, you'd ask her how old she was, and she'd hold up one hand, fingers spread, and say "I'm 5, I'm a handful!"), she's the ideal companion for something like this.
I'm also interested in hearing from folks who work full time and also manage hobby farming, being responsible for any amount of land...how do you prioritize, beyond the life and death situations where animals are concerned? Most days I'm overwhelmed, but try to plug away regardless (I direct the volunteer program for a large local hospice organization, so too often bring work home in my head and heart--hard to shake off sometimes...)
Cheers to you all, and thanks again for your warm farm girl welcomes!
Each one of you is precious. Remember who you are, and whose you are... |
| Tammyb |
Posted - May 13 2013 : 4:00:47 PM
Welcome Liz ... from a fellow Ohio farmgirl!
Tammyb
Live to leave a legacy
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| Kirksmom71 |
Posted - May 13 2013 : 08:54:42 AM
Hi Liz....welcome to the farm! Enjoy! It is one charming, marvelous place and the farmgirls are fun and helpful and most important....kind, caring and loving!
My best to all,
Mel
Sassy City Girl with Farmgirl Fantasies! |
| lucky1 |
Posted - May 12 2013 : 07:51:43 AM
Hi Kristina! My folks grew up in the Tiffin/Toledo/Sylvania area, and I remember childhood trips to Perrysburg to visit cousins several times a year. Ohio is such a beautiful state for road trips like that.
What keeps you busy?
Each one of you is precious. Remember who you are, and whose you are... |
| FieldsofThyme |
Posted - May 12 2013 : 05:33:14 AM
Welcome Liz! My mother has family in Grove City. How neat!
Farmgirl Sister #800
My Life: http://pioneerwomanatheart.blogspot.com/
Recycle Ideas: http://scrapreusedandrecycledartprojects.blogspot.com/
Our Family Store: http://roosterscrowfarm.blogspot.com/
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| lucky1 |
Posted - May 12 2013 : 05:09:02 AM
Judith, I get it--it's a both/and world we live in, isn't it? I struggle with and enjoy the messiness of life. And Jonni, I used to work very close to Grove City waaay back in the 90's. Love our visits to Kentucky (was working in Cincinnati last week and was tempted to just keep heading south...).
Thanks, everyone, for the quick and warm replies. I think I'm gonna like it here...:)
Each one of you is precious. Remember who you are, and whose you are... |
| forgetmenot |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 5:20:17 PM
Welcome, Liz, from a fellow Luddite wannabe. I say wannabe because think of what I am keyboarding on...(I laugh at myself as I stir batter with a wooden spoon while talking on my cell phone.) sigh
Farmgirl sister #3926
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
| crafter |
Posted - May 11 2013 : 08:51:38 AM
Welcome Liz- thank you for joining the sisters!! You will be amazed at the love you will find here!!
Lori
God has promised strength for the day, rest for the labor, light for the way, grace for the trials, help from above, unfailing sympathy and undying love.
We are here to love each other, serve each other and uplift each other. |
| Bear5 |
Posted - May 10 2013 : 9:10:23 PM
Welcome, Liz. Nice to have you join the forum.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| kysheeplady |
Posted - May 10 2013 : 02:15:35 AM
Welcome Liz! Enjoy your time here.
Teri
"There are black sheep in every flock"
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| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - May 09 2013 : 8:13:58 PM
Welcome! Where exactly IS Homer, Ohio? The belly makes me think it's somewhere near the center....I am from the Northern Kentucky area and my mother is a 4th generation Grove Cityite (near Columbus).
You'll love the forum and it's great that you've finally signed on. Can't wait to see what you'll contribute--so great to have fresh ideas and thoughts. Again, welcome!
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
| SheenaJean |
Posted - May 09 2013 : 7:46:15 PM
Welcome Liz! I am relatively new to the forums, but it is pretty easy to get around. Everyone is super helpful! Welcome again!
~Sheena |
| jan49829 |
Posted - May 09 2013 : 6:50:27 PM
Welcome Liz. Looking forward to getting to know you. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Janet
Farmgirl Sister #3340
http://hardatworkcrafts.blogspot.com
http://Jan49829.etsy.com
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| marlee |
Posted - May 09 2013 : 6:08:34 PM
Hi Liz. I want to say Welcome to the farm. You will love it. And meet awesome ladies who really care about their farm girl sisters. So Welcome!
May I ask what a Luddite is?
Marlee
God is the painter, he paints the picture. And his son builds it, for he is the Master Carpenter!
Silly Boys Trucks Are For Girls |
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