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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!: Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:19:01 PM
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Andrea Maliszewski (andyzewski, #8297) has received certificates of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning the Beginner and Intermediate Levels of the Shopping Green Merit Badge!
“After reading through the entire Merit Badge book and picking about 50 badges that I was most interested to start with, I picked Shopping Green as my first because 1.) It was the easiest and fastest to complete as I was already half-way through the beginner level already and 2.) After moving from Kentucky to Texas in 2019, I realized that Texas is not as much of a recycling friendly state as Kentucky was.
In the last few years, I have become more aware of environmental issues and have been trying to do my part where I can to live a “greener” life. I began this badge on March 4, 2021 with my commitment to use reusable shopping bags. I already had 2 reusable shopping bags and a canvas cooler I used for cold items so I only had to procure 3 more bags to reach the beginner level. I bought four more bags (to be safe) at the grocery store on my shopping trip that day and began using them immediately. I not only use them for grocery shopping but I also take them to clothing stores, home stores, etc.
On April 15, 2021, I began working on the intermediate level badge. On this day, I began researching natural and green household cleaners. I was so surprised to find that this simple natural liquid called vinegar could do SO many things! I made a commitment to replace my household cleaning products with natural and/or green products as I ran out.
It seems sad now that I never realized it on my own but now I constantly observe the packaging of products and I make an effort to purchase recyclable/biodegradable packaging. If I can’t, I do my best to reuse the packaging or to purchase items in packaging that’s made from recycled materials or buy the largest size so it will last longer and eventually reduce waste.
Although I have learned so much about natural and green cleaners as well as packaging of consumer products, I'm excited to continue learning and strive to keep doing what I can to improve the effects of human consumption on the environment.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:20:15 PM
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Andrea Maliszewski (andyzewski, #8297) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Going Green Merit Badge!
“I started with the Shopping Green Merit Badge as my first, but after learning about natural and green cleaners, I worked on this one at the same time. I began the beginner level on 3/17/2021, completed it on 6/22/2021. Although I began the intermediate level, I have not completed that one yet; it’s still a work in progress.
I immediately stopped purchasing household cleaners and after using up the cleaners I had on hand, I began making my own. First I made a simple homemade cleaner; a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water. I use this solution to clean my windows, mirrors, floors, wipe down bathrooms and kitchen counters and it’s what I use to polish furniture that has a finish. (I use coconut oil for raw wood furniture.)
After making and using my vinegar cleaning solution, I made a homemade version of “The Pink Stuff”, which I love using because we have well water that leaves mineral deposits that I haven’t been able to remove until now. I am amazed every time I use it. It works as good as the “Pink Stuff” you buy but it’s way cheaper! I also use a green bathroom cleaner (it’s concentrated so in mixing it with water, it lasts for quite some time!), I made an all purpose cleaner out of apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil and I had already been using a homemade “febreeze” occasionally. I used the plastic spray bottles I had on hand and purchased glass spray bottles to replace the plastic ones as they break/leak/etc.
While I sometimes use a green laundry detergent for extremely dirty loads, I have been using, the reusable Laundry Masher for most loads and I use wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. I also pour 1/4-1/2 cup of vinegar in the liquid softener dispenser. I used to be on scent overload; I used detergent pods, scent beads, liquid fabric softener and dryer sheets!
My mission statement is to strive to remove chemicals that are harmful to people, animals and the planet from my household, to strive to minimize my environmental footprint each year, and to share the knowledge I learn to educate others in the hopes they will do the same. I continue to learn new things weekly thanks to signing up for the Earth911.com e-newsletter! I keep information I find and recipes for homemade cleaners and such in one of my recipe binders and have recommended them along with re-purposing and recycling ideas to my extended family and friends.
I feel like our home and our clothes are just as clean as when we used harsh and harmful chemicals and I can feel good about using products that are safe to use around my animals, my family and the environment. And it’s amazing how much money we save now that we aren’t buying expensive cleaning and laundry products. And no more lugging heavy bottles home from the store! Win-win-win! I enjoy learning new ways to improve the environment and all of this knowledge so far has led to living a simpler life, a happier life. look forward to enjoying more of that.
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”-Albert Einstein”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:21:23 PM
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Tiffany Kibler (#8421) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Shopping Green Merit Badge!
“I gathered ten reusable bags and reusable produce bags and keep them in my car. I’m committed to using them! This has been a goal of mine, so I am excited! So far so good! So nice not bringing home plastic.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:23:45 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rythmatic Merit Badge!
“I wrote a fictional story about Luke the llama. I wrote my persuasive essay and I wrote a poem. I read them to my husband. I have read both books Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O'Conner and Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:25:04 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rythmatic Merit Badge!
“I helped my grandson with his math homework and read the book Math Doesn't Suck By Danica McKeller.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:28:42 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Civic Heritage Merit Badge!
“When I toured the East Contra Costa County museum, I got interested in how the streets in my area were named after the local original settlers. I wrote up a quick synopsis of how the town of Knightsen, California was named after George Knightsen and I posted it on Merrit Badge Chit Chat. I'm including a few photos of our local town.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:30:37 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an Expert Level Permaculture Merit Badge!
“I went to my city development offices for the town of Oakley and spoke with the superintendent for parks and landscape development. He said they do not apply permaculture practices to their landscaping needs for the city. There is not a public space where they employ permaculture practice to go view.
I went to the city council meeting on January 11, 2022 and they did cover open space needs and they were discussing park and recreation development as it relates to open spaces. Because there's no public town space in my city that would directly benefit from permaculture practice and all my neighbors around me do tree orchards, agricultural ground crop, and grape vineyards in a large scale capacity, my direct neighbors don't have individual gardens that would benefit from permaculture at this time.
I drove around my city to look at some of the other landscaping and I found one particular area where they burmed a hill for drainage and put in landscape plants to help with erosion. They used tan bark to keep the weeds down which is similar to the lasagna gardening practice of layering.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2022 : 6:31:48 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Expert Level Orienteering Merit Badge!
“On 1/8/22, I attended the Wild Goose Chase orienteering meet in Martinez, CA, hosted by our local TerraLoco Orienteering Club.
The next day on 1/9/22, I hosted my own orienteering event at my ranch. I advertised to our Brentwood Farmgirl Chapter. I covered the following information: What to wear and equipment needs, parts of a compass, Map reading- course keys, map legends, North symbol, went over example maps for topography maps, sharpie marked my hand to explain contour lines, example course orienteering map, then we played a game taking bearings to different orange cones.
It went well, we had fun. It was good to get back with a compass and maps again.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 10:49:10 AM
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Rea Nakanishi (Lacey, #8284) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Intermediate Level BakeOver MakeOver Merit Badge!
“For this badge we made a pizza and an apple pie. It was fun working with another farmgirl sister to do this badge. I think both turned out pretty well.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 10:50:45 AM
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Rea Nakanishi (Lacey, #8284) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Expert Level BakeOver MakeOver Merit Badge!
“We made an apple-pineapple BakeOver—a dessert BakeOver using apples, pineapple, cinnamon, sugar, and butter with the BakeOver mix. It was good and I'll make it again. It was fun working with a farmgirl sister again.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 10:52:42 AM
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Rea Nakanishi (Lacey, #8284) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an Intermediate Level The Good, Bad, and Ugly ... Bugs Merit Badge!
“For the badge, I found little green worms in my garden. I would find the leaves chewed and holes in my plants leaves. To control them, you use soap, water, and diatomaceous earth. I find those two solutions plus neem oil works well.
This works pretty well all the time. Bugs really don't like the diatomaceous earth—especially snails.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 10:54:58 AM
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Rea Nakanishi (Lacey, #8284) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level The Secret Life of Bees Merit Badge!
“I watched the movie trailer and read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
Most of the time I have flowers for bees in my garden. Bees like my roses, basil bush, butterfly bush and Crepe Myrtle tree. There are beautiful walking trails in my town where there are many wonderful flowers that attract the bees.
It is good to understand the importance of bees in our lives. With out bees we would not have the food for us to enjoy.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 10:56:03 AM
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Rea Nakanishi (Lacey, #8284) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an Intermediate Level The Secret Life of Bees Merit Badge!
“Raw honey is in it natural state and has not been filtered or pasteurized. Raw honey retains most of it beneficial nutrients and antioxidants.
Processed honey is heated and strained before bottling, which may remove beneficial nutrients.
I have raw honey from one of our local bee keepers, JME Farms.
Nature's Little Wonders by Candace Savage was a nice read and very informative. It talked about the ways and behaviors of bees as well as the collapse of the bee colonies. Varroa mite is a parasite to bees and can decimate a colony quickly.
I'm fortunate to live in an area that has a wonderful Farmer's Market. It started in 1975 and is a year round market.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 11:26:08 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Bibliophile Badging Merit Badge!
“I hosted my book event on January 14, 2022 via Zoom.
Two of the Brentwood farm girl sister's attended. Both became winners because I had lots of prizes. I dressed up as Hermione Granger from Harry Potter because she reads a lot of books and I am a Grange Master, so I became Hermione Hogan Granger. We had fun during our meeting.
I built my own lending library out of cinder blocks and boards. I have 45 books in my library but two are out on loan right now. All of my books relate to badge work in MaryJane's Farmgirl Sisterhood.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 11:27:53 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Farmgirl Jubilee Merit Badge!
“I planned our local farmgirl jubilee with our Brentwood Farm Girl Chapter. I hosted the event at my home. We had food and games but we also included a Zoom computer link for anyone that couldn't attend in person. I made my centerpiece out of lights, pine cones, and greenery in a broken repurposed colander.
I took homemade cookies to my neighbor to invite his daughter-in-law to join our group. This month, January 2022, we have gained 3 new members for our chapter. I'm hosting a State Jubilee in May at my ranch.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 11:30:25 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level UFOs Merit Badge!
“I have a long list of UFOs. Every week on Wednesday, I go down to the senior center and I work on them with a group of other ladies from 11 AM until 2 PM. For this particular unfinished project, I've been working on completing my curly scarves. Each scarf takes just over an hour to do depending on the type of yarn you're using.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 11:41:54 AM
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Nancy Joplin (Nancy Joplin, #8352) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Crochet Merit Badge!
“I knew how to crochet, so I helped my granddaughter with her crocheting. My granddaughter and I learned new stitches. I made 11 crocheted lap blankets for donation to a retirement home. I've really enjoyed this badge!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 11:43:35 AM
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Nancy Joplin (Nancy Joplin, #8352) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a Beginner Level Disconnect to Reconnect Merit Badge!
“My husband and I went to San Diego for the weekend. I didn't take my laptop or cell phone. We kept the radio off while we were driving. We didn't watch TV in the hotel room. I thought this would be difficult for me as I'm accustomed to having the radio on in the car. I also look things up on my cell phone and laptop.
We had an awesome weekend! My husband and I talked and shared all the way to San Diego and back! We spent time sitting by the pool in the evening instead of watching TV. We also spent some down time reading books and looking at magazines. We talked about our visions for our home, which we're remodeling.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 12:07:50 PM
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Tiffany Kibler (#8421) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning an Intermediate Level Shopping Green Merit Badge!
“I'm committed to using my new room spray and all-purpose cleaner, and made extra in glass bottles and have given them to friends! I made a board on Pinterest to pin lots of green living ideas and am paying more attention to packaging and trying to buy less plastic!
It going so well! Love my cinnamon cleaner! Love being able to share chemical free options with friends, and I'm using way less plastic!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 12:08:59 PM
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Tiffany Kibler (#8421) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Going Green Merit Badge!
“I threw away all chemical cleaners in my home and committed to “My household will only use clean, chemical free cleaners to improve our air quality and health, and produce less waste. I made a Pinterest board with recipes and ideas and shared it with my friend Jess!
It's great! My home feels so much cleaner. I walked through a cleaning supply aisle the other day and about gagged because of the strong smell!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 20 2022 : 12:09:51 PM
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Tiffany Kibler (#8421) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Recycling Merit Badge!
“I researched where to take recycling and what their hours are. I have a day each month planned on my schedule to take recycling. It’s also at a nature center so we're going to go as a family and take a nature walk each time!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2022 : 10:11:32 AM
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Connie Harrington (#6777) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Knitting Merit Badge!
“I earned this badge by knitting an Alice Starmore Celtic Sweater, which has dropped sleeves and is made up of 5 different sections of Celtic cables. This sweater has taken a few years to complete and I think I have over 200 hours of knitting. It's constructed of Aran English Wool and has a separate cabled collar at the neck.
I think it turned out fabulous and will never let it go. I did need to make some last minute changes because somehow I got low on wool but was able to finish.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2022 : 10:13:48 AM
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Connie Harrington (#6777) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Nellie Will-do Merit Badge!
“This is a scarf that I saw in handwoven magazine—a bumble scarf. I used a silk blend and Merino yarn. It's 63-inches long and was woven on a rigid heddle loom.
I was making it for a good friend. The color was perfect for her and had great drape. I think I'd like to make another for myself.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 26 2022 : 10:15:51 AM
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Connie Harrington (#6777) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Nellie Will-do Merit Badge!
“This is a vest that was woven in sections and then crocheted together. I had to pick up stitches around the front and neck onto long cables and knitted for several inches. I made three button holes. This whole project was then placed in a pillowcase, felted in the washing machine, and laid flat to dry. I did an appliqué of a ram on the back.
I love the colors and texture of the vest. It's just a little tight when I button it up. I loved the experience of multiple processes and look forward to showing it off at a guild meeting or wool festival.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16452 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16452 Posts |
Posted - Jan 31 2022 : 1:53:52 PM
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Andrea Maliszewski (andyzewski, #8297) has received certificates of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning the Beginner and Intermediate Levels of the Recycling Merit Badge!
“For the recycling badge, I began the beginner level and “finished” it on 4/24/2021 but I continue to learn ways to recycle (and repurpose/resuse!). I started the intermediate level on 4/29/2021 and “finished” it on 5/6/2021 but continue to recycle and add to my recycling system.
I began researching recylcing in my are and was quite disappointed with what I learned. Unfortunately, the state of Texas is not as recycling friendly as many other states when it comes to household waste. The only way to recycle normal household waste is by curbside recycling included with your curbside trash removal through a commercial trash removal company. They do not offer recycling centers or dumpsters throughout cities for those people who don’t pay for curbside trash removal and there are a surprising amount of individuals who DON’T pay for commercial trash removal. Obviously, apartment dwellers are included in this number but in addition to that, many rural dwellers have either dumpsters on their property or there are individuals with personal pickup trucks and/or trailers that consumers pay to haul their trash away. And Texas has large rural populations. This leaves a great amount of people with no easy access to recycling and that is very unfortunate. Because of this, I continue to make great efforts to recycle, repurpose, and reuse as much of my family’s waste as possible.
My home is one of the rural ones that doesn’t participate in curbside trash removal and recycling so I signed up with many programs on Terracycle.com. I utilized an old 3 tier cart I had used in a previous home but had no need for until I began setting up my home recycling system. I gathered up several bins that were collecting dust on top of a shelf in a closet but had to purchase several more to collect all of the recycling items. Since I have to ship some items, I want to be able to collect large amounts to minimize transportation. I began recycling that day and haven't stopped!
I continue to periodically check in on Terracycle.com to see if there are any new programs that would apply to my household, I will Google ways to recycle items prior to placing them in the trash if I'm unsure whether they're recyclable or not. I joined Freecycle.org and became a moderator for my town. I pass along information I learn to family, friends and social media. I enjoy recycling; it makes me feel good and I continue to research new ways to do it!”
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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