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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!:  Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 16 2021 : 11:37:43 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Intermediate Level Stargazing Chicks Merit Badge!
“I completed my stargazing log from my back porch trying to use the binoculars to see the milky way for a week. I used my star chart to find Jupiter and diagrammed the 4 positions of Jupiter's moons for 4 consecutive nights. I tried to find the Andromeda Galaxy but could not see it with my binoculars. I hosted the star party at my ranch on July 13th 2021. The party was a lot of fun.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2021 : 11:38:41 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Expert Level Stargazing Chicks Merit Badge!
“At the star party that I hosted at my ranch on July 13th 2021, our friends the Clarks brought their very large telescopes and computer equipment to set up in a pasture to watch the night sky. 1st our friend Allie set up her tent for Glamping expert and she taught 2 crafts to the participants while it was still light outside. We also made the pemmican recipe and did our outdoor cooking for Out There Women. The ladies made cinnamon roll appetizers, main dish hot dogs and smores for dessert They also had watermelon, chips, potato salad and drinks. Once it was dark, we got we got to see the International space station fly almost right over head, the craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn, Jupiter with its 4 largest moons, the Milky Way and the M31 Andromeda Galaxy.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2021 : 1:47:50 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Putting Away for Winter Merit Badge!
“I don’t freeze as much produce these days as I did when my 5 children were home and I had a huge chest freezer in the basement, but I still like to see the bags of goodies in my freezer so I do still put some things in there for later. Berries are the very easiest because they only require washing thoroughly. I have had very good luck with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and wild blackberries. I have also frozen apple pie filling by simply peeling and slicing apples then covering them with the pre-blended dry ingredients (sugar, flour or cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon). The trick here is to really distribute the dry ingredients all over the apple slices before freezing, pour the apples into a Ziplock bag (enough for one pie, only) and then get as much air out of the bag as possible. I really prefer to can pie filling, but this is a quick and easy method if you have a basket of apples that need to be preserved. The thawed filling can be poured into a crust, covered and baked as usual, but in less time as the apples will have softened some. I have also frozen carrots, green beans, peas, summer and zucchini squash. These veggies must be blanched before freezing, and the timing is crucial. Not enough blanching means tough veggies later, and too much blanching means soggy veggies. The absolute easiest way to freeze zucchini is to cut it and remove the seed portion, then grate or chop the raw flesh. This can be frozen in bags with enough in each bag to satisfy the desired recipe, like zucchini bread, etc. For space saving, lay each firmly sealed bag on its side and flatten it out. Then stack the bags on top of each other in an area of the freezer where you can get to them easily.
Finally, did you know you can freeze eggs?? I had hens and we always ended up with more eggs than we could eat or give away, so I learned that they could be frozen for recipes by cracking them into a bowl and giving them a quick whisk. Then, you can measure the egg into ice cube trays so that each “cube” would be the equivalent of one egg. Once frozen, they can be popped out of the tray and put in a freezer bag for easy access later. The cubes will need to be allowed to thaw so plan ahead for your recipes. I also froze eggs in clean yogurt cups. I then marked on the lid the number of eggs in each cup so that I could pull them out later and add to recipes that required multiple eggs, like large batches of waffles or for a quiche.
Putting away for winter is just so satisfying!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2021 : 1:48:58 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an Intermediate Level Putting Away for Winter Merit Badge!
“My kids and I tried to dry some fruits outside on a piece of screen, based on some DIY ideas that we found, but we really didn’t have a clean place to leave the screen for the length of time that it took to dry the pieces of fruit. It was also hard to keep critters out of it. I think this method would be great in an arid area, just not in NY. We also dried hot peppers and herbs by stringing them up in the kitchen over the winter. This worked pretty well because we had hot air heat, but I was frustrated by the collection of dust on the foods. Then my father gave my family a dehydrator for Christmas so we tried a lot of recipes. We made apple and banana chips, fruit leather (this was messy and not entirely successful), and we experimented with carrot pieces (for homemade instant soup) and some herbs like chives and parsley. It was a lot of fun to work with these foods and my kids had a blast experimenting. The dehydrator was super easy to use but it did take a long time for anything dense. The herbs were the most successful and we made up some instant soup mix as “Gifts in a Jar” for the grandparents that included some of our successful efforts. The down-side to using a dehydrator is that it uses electricity to create heat and run a fan.
I’m still looking for the perfect “green” method of dehydrating items that will work for me where I live, although I usually do have a bouquet of herbs hanging in my kitchen, despite the dust.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2021 : 1:49:54 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an Expert Level Putting Away for Winter Merit Badge!
“I love to can foods! Everything from jellies to pie filling to soups … I think it's the most satisfying part of growing my own food when I can see the gleaming jars of goodies in my pantry!
Unfortunately, I no longer have a pressure canner but I still make jams and can use hot water bath method to preserve fruits and higher acid foods. I still have my mom’s old Ball Canning Book which is my total go-to for canning. I have used these methods for canning carrots, tomatoes, beef stew, green beans, apple pie filling, squash and spaghetti sauce. I have also made cucumber pickles and dilly beans but for some reason I have not had a batch that turned out as good as my mother’s used to.
I have always enjoyed gifting my homemade goodies, especially jam, to my family, friends, and neighbors along with some homemade bread or biscuits!”
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MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2021 : 1:51:54 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Bibliophile Badging Merit Badge!
“I have had a library card since I was old enough to read. In fact, there was a time when I had half a dozen library cards because my mom would take us to all the different libraries in our area and each one required their own card. Now, I am part of the Southern Adirondack Library System which includes 34 public libraries in 4 counties; one card, lots of books to borrow! This is an interlibrary loaning system so I can order books from any of the 34 libraries (and even those in the neighboring Mohawk Valley Library System with another 21 libraries) and they will be delivered to my hometown library.
The SALS system also utilizes Overdrive and Libby which are apps that allow me to borrow e-books and e-audiobooks without having to leave home. Unfortunately, due to local mandates, the community rooms are not currently open to the public at my library, but we do have several rooms for that purpose, and we used to have movie nights, Brown Bag Lunches with special guests, Story Hour for the kids, and summer programs. My library also has a huge Christmas event which includes a full floor display of gingerbread houses made by people in the community. We have an active website with “Live” events like incubated and hatched eggs or live feed of a local eagle’s nest. It’s really an amazing public library.
This pic is part of my TBR pile. I have a few of them, categorized by my level of urgency to read them. I am working through this pile currently. The top five books are my current reads, and the others will be next (three of them are from family members so I need to prioritize them!) My mom is a heavy reader and I raised all 5 of my children to be readers, so we very often share our favorites and each of us tries to read what the others have enjoyed so that we can talk about them with one another. It is one of my favorite things to do with my family!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2021 : 1:52:54 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Bibliophile Badging Merit Badge!
“I have done some reading challenges recently, and the year that I started school (2017) I read 51 books—more books than I have read in any year since I became a mother 34 years ago! It was absolutely amazing! I read books I would never would have chosen to read otherwise, and for the most I enjoyed them (all but a couple). Mostly what I join in are book swaps, because this seems to be the best way for me to get others to engage in reading with me. I have a daughter in California and we swap books (I sent Pour Your Heart Into It to her and she sent To Shake the Sleeping Self to me). My son in Manhattan and I trade biographical books and my mom and I trade spiritual and political books. There is always someone in the family to challenge us with a book that we may not normally pick for ourselves, and sometimes we are surprised at how much we enjoy them. Sometimes we don’t enjoy them as much as the recommender did, but I always find that it gives me insight into my family member, since you can really get to know someone by finding out what they like to read. Given the distance between us all, this is a great way to “stay in touch.”
I am also in a reading group with ladies at my church and we are on our 5th book as a group. We have been meeting for a year now, once a week. These ladies, including my mom, are all the same age as my mom and I am the youngster of the group. I am also meeting weekly on FaceTime with a young friend in Colorado (I’m in NY) and we are reading through The Book of Womanhood together. This friend is just 20 years old, so it is a very different kind of book study than the other group, but every bit as interesting.
We have great conversations in both groups and I look forward to them.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2021 : 1:54:05 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Bibliophile Badging Merit Badge!
“My book group at church holds a little party between books so that we can focus on just sharing and fellowshipping before we get serious about our next book. My birthday fell on the last break so my mom brought goodies and I made truffles to share. We brought little items to share with one another like bookmarks with scripture on them and World Missions cards. We had just finished a book on Womanhood (which I am now reading with my young friend and discussing via FaceTime) and had just started meeting again in person (rather than Zoom) so it was a really nice time of sharing food and just enjoying one another as friends.
I now have two large book case units in my bedroom and my books are well organized and situated. I have a shelf of knitting/crochet/craft books, a shelf of MJ Farm magazines and one of Sisterhood materials and related books, another of school textbooks that I cannot part with, and then my favorite two shelves (in photograph): homesteading/gardening/lifestyle books, and most of my favorite childhood books. My dream is to have at least one wall in my future home be entirely bookcases filled with stories of all kinds!
I also helped to fill and organize a small book case at my church which is meant to make materials available for borrowing or swapping. It is a nice place for people to bring some things to share. We are still trying to get people to notice its presence so I don’t think too many things have been taken, but we’ve been able to accept some donations from people who have moved out the area so the shelves are filling up and I keep it tidy and organized.
I love to read and so talking about favorite books and creating ways to share books are super satisfying to me!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 1:39:30 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Little Squirts Merit Badge!
“My front door was sticking a little bit so I looked at the wear marks to figure out where it was sticking and then I put blue tape on the door. I closed and opened the door several times to see where it was scraping and the tape was marked. Then I removed the tape and hand sanded it to smooth it down so the door does not catch anymore. Since I could do the repair without removing the door from the hinges, I did not need the screw driver or level. All the door locks are in working order. It was good to finally fix the front door.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 1:40:11 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Little Squirts Merit Badge!
“I set up a neighborhood bicycle repair day over at my grandkid's house in Brentwood. Unfortunately the neighbor kids down the street couldn't make it on that day (they were out of town), so I taught the grandkids how to oil their chains, check all the moving parts to see if they needed oil or grease because some parts you don't spray—you need to use the grease.
Parts on the bike that you oil are the chain, the derailer cables and levers, the brake assembly and the pedals. You want to grease the rear suspension the seat post, the bbs, spindles, crank arm, spindle interfaces and seals.
It worked out well, we did 3 bikes.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 1:41:59 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Weaving Merit Badge!
“I looked online to find out how knit and woven fabrics are made. Knit fabrics are one continuous strand of yarn and woven is using 2 different strands to make a weave. I made 5 woven bracelets on a handmade cardboard loom. I left the bracelets open ended I then added a charm so my friends can either use it as a bracelet or use it as a bookmark. It was fun.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:20:03 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Expert Level Glamping Merit Badge!
“I took a road trip to set up my glamping to another location. I went to my friend Candy's house/ ranch and set up my tent and glamped it up. I came up with a re-purpose/recycle project for my glampsite. I had this fan that was not working and the blades were sitting in a box. I re-purposed them by adding a table leg, old antenna, half circal piece of wood for my project. I then proceeded to paint it screw it together and make it into a dragonfly.
I planned two easy fun creative craft projects for glamping with my girlfriends. I upcycled again with the ladies by using a Can wrapping it in paper adding bling and a flower to the can to make a pencil holder. I also taught the ladies how to make a loom to get them started on their weaving merit badge. We upcycled cardboard and yarn to make bracelets. We did some stargazing and cooked a dinner a dessert and a snack. This was a very fun merit badge I enjoyed doing it.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:21:09 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a Beginner Level 'Out There' Women Merit Badge!
“I put together my survival kit. I put matches in a waterproof container, whistle, high energy candy, rainproof poncho, space blanket, first aid kit, reflective nylon blanket, reflective blanket for my mirror, knife, and a reflective nylon cord.
I then identified 10 native plants and their properties as food, medicine, or poison. Aloe vera-medicinal, peppermint-medicinal, rosemary-medicinal, bay leaf medicinal, thyme-medicinal, milk thistle-medicinal, chives-food, lavender-medicinal, basil-medicinal, garlic-medicinal, ginger-medicinal, and marigold-medicinal. Several of these can be used in cooking or in water to make it taste good. I enjoyed doing this.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:22:04 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Intermediate Level 'Out There' Women Merit Badge!
“I made my own pemmican using the recipe in MaryJane's Idea Book. I also cooked a full meal. For the appetizer, I made a cinnamon roll. The main course was hot dogs, potato salad, chips, and watermelon. I made s'mores for dessert. It was done over a campfire. It turned out great!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:23:08 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a Beginner Level Outstepping Merit Badge!
“I went on three separate hiking adventures to three different places that I have never been to before. I went to Santa Rosa to the Taylor Mountain Regional Park and preserve and went on a hike. I went to the Marin headlines Located in the San Francisco Bay, and went to the Point Bonita lighthouse and did some hiking on the trails. I also went to Delta Deanza regional trails and did some hiking there. I took pictures of the state bird which is a quail, pictures of the state tree which is a Redwood tree, and of the state flower which is the California poppy. I made a safe campfire.
I had fun going to the different parks and doing the hiking. It was a little difficult finding park that I have not been to before because I love to travel to parks and explore. I have a home daycare and one of my goals every year is to go to a different park once a week so the kids get to experience something different. When I did this, it was hard to find parks that I had not been to in my area. I had to go out of my comfort zone to find new parks which meant driving several miles sometimes to get to them.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:24:01 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Intermediate Level Stargazing Chicks Merit Badge!
“I started my Stargazing log. I noticed that every night was clear and there were no clouds to be seen. I could not see the Milky Way because of the light pollution from where I was observing it. The stars twinkled too much because we are at sea level. I did my charting of Jupiter and its moons for five nights. The 4 visible moons of Jupiter are Io, Callisto, Ganymede Europa. Every time I looked at it, the moons were in different spots. I observed the Andromeda Galaxy M31. It was poorly visible because of light pollution. I had to use a telescope. My friend Candy Hogan hosted the party. My husband and I brought the telescopes, binoculars, other equipment for the party. It was such a fun night.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:25:20 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Expert Level Stargazing Chicks Merit Badge!
“I spent some time looking for more elusive objects. Using the telescope, I saw globular clusters and nebulas. I observed the moon for several nights. It was a waning moon. I observed a satellite pass overhead. It happened to be the international space station. It came from the southwest to the east at 9:30 pm local time on July 14. This was such an amazing night, it went great.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:26:35 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Cross-Stitch Merit Badge!
“I cross-stitched a bookmark. It had two cats and two hearts on it. I did the background in a light blue. It turned out good.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:28:58 PM
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Allison Clark (Allison Clark, #8292) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Cross-Stitch Merit Badge!
“There are several different categories of cross stitch fabric: Aida, linens, several types of even weave, hardanger, canvas, perforated paper, and specialty fabrics. Each different type of fabric in the categories has a unique texture, feel, and sheen. The number of squares per inch determines the count of the fabric. For example, 14-count Aida has 14 squares per inch, which means stitching on it will give you 14 stitches per inch. This is the size I chose to do. I made a wall hanging of a star that has a flag and cross-stitched in the middle, with the words God Bless America on it. I put it in a frame; it was a little wrinkled, but I was ok with that. I had fun making this, it turned out good.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:37:18 PM
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Rea Nakanishi (Lacey, #8284) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a Beginner Level Glamping Merit Badge!
“Glamping with a friend. The tent and canopy was set up. I used a fourth of July theme. I even set up a wading pool to cool off our feet. During our glamping event we did crafts and had a cook out! It was a very hot that day but the pool to cool our feet was great. Posted in chit chat.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:38:07 PM
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Rea Nakanishi (Lacey, #8284) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Intermediate Level Glamping Merit Badge!
“For the Glamping intermediate badge, I bought and read the book Glamping with MaryJane. We had a day-stay glamping event. We fixed hot dogs in a blanket, apple pie dessert, and taco nachos all on the grill since outdoor fire pits are not allowed in my city.
This was fun to grill outdoors even though it was a very warm day. The book MaryJane's book has some wonderful ideas. I enjoyed the crafty glamper section!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:54:02 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Civics Challenge Merit Badge!
“I'm sad that this subject is no longer taught in school, as it is very important for every citizen and state national to know and embrace the wonderful Constitution of the United States. I taught some of this information to my children while we were homeschooling, but I have learned so much more about the Constitution in the last couple years, particularly by attending an online Patriot’s Academy that included erecting a flag (I already had one), saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag each day, and learning about the important founding documents of this great country.
I learned that the U.S. Constitution along with the Federal Laws and International Treaties are the Law of the Land. The Constitution is our founding document that establishes our national government and fundamental laws, as well as guarantee certain rights of citizens. The first three words of the Constitution, “We the People..” indicate the idea of self-governing and the first 10 amendments, or Bill of Rights, protect our freedoms including Freedom of religion/worship and to peaceably assemble.
The Declaration of Independence was an announcement to the King of England, to the colonists, and to the world that a New Country was being created. It established that each human being had God-given right to life, liberty, and to pursue happiness. It was also declared that no government could establish laws to enforce or prohibit any religion or the exercising thereof.
Our economic system is referred to as Capitalism, meaning that businesses can be privately owned and that competition is a motivating factor and where producers and consumers can negotiate and influences costs of goods.
Rule of Law is authority and influence of law in society which is intended to govern both citizens and government officials.
All of this is important for each citizen to know about the United States.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:55:18 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Civics Challenge Merit Badge!
“The three main branches of government are the Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches. The establishment of Checks and Balances in government keeps any one branch from becoming too powerful. The US President is in charge of the Executive branch, while Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes the Federal Laws. The Senate has 100 members, 2 from each of the 50 states, and are presided over by the Vice President. The House of Representatives has many more members since each state has a representative for each 30,000 state citizens. Senate members have 6-year terms and Representatives have 2-year terms. The Senators for New York are both Democrats, and Kirsten Gillibrand is one of them. We have 27 Representatives in New York and the Representative for my District, the 21st District, is Elise Stefanik. Elise was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and was recently selected House Republican Chair to replace Liz Cheney.
The President of the United States serves for a term of 4 years with a second term possible if re-elected, although Franklin D. Roosevelt served 3 full 4-year terms, and was re-elected and inaugurated into a 4th term, although he died shortly after. Now we have legislation that limits the President to two terms. The President is also the Commander-In-Chief of the military and has control of the “nuclear football.” He is also the one to signs bills into law, provided the bill passes the House and Senate.
Most of this I did learn in high school but it was great to go over again.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:56:53 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Civics Challenge Merit Badge!
“The President has the sole power to veto bills. Once a bill is turned into law, the Judicial Branch is responsible for applying that law in the system of courts. The highest court in the nation is the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington D.C. The Supreme Court has 9 justices with one justice serving as Chief. John Roberts was recognized as the Chief Justice until his recent removal. I am not sure who is recognized as Chief Justice currently.
Powers of Federal Government are different from State Governments, such as, printing of money and creating armies are Federal responsibilities under the Constitution, while setting marriage license requirements and issuing drivers licenses are State responsibilities. Currently, Democrat Andrew Cuomo is the Governor of New York, despite widespread disapproval among New Yorkers. He will have several opponents in the upcoming 2022 election, but the strongest so far is a Republican, the other main political party in the United States.
I live about an hour north of the state capital, Albany, New York. The capital building in Albany was built in 1899 for about $25 million, making it the most expensive government building of its time (according to Wikipedia).
Speaker of the House has been Nancy Pelosi since 2019.
This was all interesting to me!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16458 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16458 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2021 : 2:58:01 PM
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Carrie Williams (Carrie W, #147) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level International Civics Challenge Merit Badge!
“For this badge I studied the Government of Italy because I love all things Italian and hope to someday at least visit Italy, or perhaps live there for a time.
Italy is governed by a Democratic Republic, which differs from the United States which is a Constitutional Republic. Republic means that the government is elected and not a monarchy system. Democratic means that the majority makes the rules while Constitutional means that the Constitution has already set the rules, and the elected government has the job of upholding and enforcing those rules. Italian government is similar to U.S. government in that there are also legislative, judicial, and executive branches (a system of checks and balances that keeps each branch from exerting excessive power). Italy also has a Head of State, the equivalent of our Presidential office. The Republic is divided into regions (similar to states in the U.S.), provinces (similar to Counties), and communes (lowest, most local government, similar to cities/towns).
The Italian Constitution is similar to the U.S. Constitution in that it is in place to protect and defend the citizens, limits controlling powers, institutes a system of checks and balances by division of power within the government, and contains portions which are unchangeable as well as portions that can be amended or changed via vote by the people. The Constitutional Court is the body of the judicial branch that would be similar to our Supreme Court in the U.S.
Economically, Italy’s banking system has been similar to that of the United States, with the Central Bank at the center. Their trade has had a positive history, owing in part to their position in the Mediterranean. They have traded with Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. From 1985-1989, during the Reagan Administration, Italy had very positive trade relationship with the United States, despite a deficit in trade elsewhere. Since the 1990s, Italian exports in the metal and engineering sector improved and they now trade mainly with Germany, France, the U.S., the U.K. and Spain. The majority of exported goods are textiles, clothing, leather goods, and automobiles (think Alpha Romeo and Maserati!).
I was surprised to learn of Italy’s vast trade relations although I knew that they were growing in the engineering field and actually dominate the globe in engineering process and development. As a recent engineering undergrad, I am very interested in going to school in Italy since they have some of the top engineering programs in the world.
I guess I need to get serious about learning this language!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!: Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees
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