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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!:  Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 05 2025 : 5:49:57 PM
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Shennandoah Connor (Shennandoah, #8578) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning an Intermediate Backyard Farmer badge!
"For this badge I focused on expanding my skills raising poultry. I did not do the milking part, although I grew up on a dairy farm (picture of me with my dad when I was a kid included).
I started by researching the definition of heritage breeds and what the Livestock Conservancy deems at-risk/in danger. According to the Conservancy, "A Heritage Egg can only be produced by an American Poultry Association Standard breed. A Heritage Chicken is hatched from a heritage egg sired by an American Poultry Association Standard breed established prior to the mid-20th century, is slow growing, naturally mated with a long productive outdoor life."
I started listening to Coffee with the Chicken Ladies and their breed spotlights, paying close attention to dual purpose breeds that are adapted to my conditions. I also started researching how to hatch and breed my own chickens. I started with Buff Orpingtons, which are a heritage breed in the recovering category. It took some time to find an orpington rooster in my area, so I did have to secure some fertilized backyard mixes for a couple of broody hens while I worked on getting a mate and an incubator. From that I ended up with a Wyandotte, another Heritage breed, and an easter egger.
Earlier this year I finally secured a rooster and started incubating fertilized eggs, as well as letting a few hens go broody. Using the incubator and a brooder, I successfully hatched 26ish chickens, which I have since introduced to the main flock (which already had 25 hens and a rooster). The broody mamas outside also hatched a dozen chicks, but currently they only have 3 left. Some have disappeared, and a couple died without obvious cause. All the ones I raised are still thriving and should start laying soon. So far I have not spotted any roosters in the babies (I know they're in there though!)
I also decided to add some Muscovy ducks. They aren't classified as a heritage breed by the poultry association, even though they have been domesticated in this country long before standards existed. They are very well adapted for the hot conditions of south Texas. The organic farmers in my area use ducks for pest control with better results than just chickens (especially for grasshoppers). They also raved about the quality of the meat and the eggs. I found a local supplier and traded out plants for 6 ducks. One drake and one hen have disappeared, but the four remaining have been doing great. Fairly certain the largest one is a drake, but they are not sexually mature yet. They are great pest control, make cute noises, and I love their waddle.
I absolutely love raising poultry especially hatching babies!! I currently supply my sister's 16-room inn and kitchen with all of the eggs they need for their baked goods and quiches they serve to guests. They want to add more properties so I am exploring what I need to do to continue to be their egg supplier.
The chickens don't always behave, but all of the birds bring me such joy and I love having fresh eggs! I want to add meat birds at some point, and am toying with the idea of maybe selling chicks/pullets. Also still looking at getting sheep but it's cost prohibitive at the moment."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2025 : 6:21:52 PM
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Emily Nellinger (citychick03, #8229) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Her-Story badge!
"I chose Katherine Johnson's Autobiography, "Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson."
for my intermediate merit badge.
I posted 5 things I learned about Katherine Johnson in the merit badge chit chat discussion.
It was such an interesting read!
I learned so much about Katherine that it was hard to narrow it down to just five things!
Here's 5 things I learned:
1. Katherine was born in 1918 in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, the youngest of 4 children.
2. She was gifted and skipped a few grades in school, causing her to graduate from high school at age 14 and start college at 15.
3. She was a middle school teacher of mathematics and science. She met her first husband there, and they had 3 girls together. He tragically passed away due to a brain tumor when she was 38. She remarried a few years later.
4. She worked for NASA, programming analytical codes and pathways for rocket launches. Her calculations put Apollo 11 into space and helped Neil Armstrong land on the moon.
5. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, at 97 years old, wrote her autobiography."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2025 : 6:30:22 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Blogging badge!
"In June of 2025, I learned how to add pictures to customize my blog. This was a learning curve for me.
I created my blogging circle by advertising it on our Brentwood Farmgirl Facebook page.
GirlGab is no longer available to use, so I followed Mary Jane's advice and added my blog address to my signature on my member profile.
I finished my 10th blog post on 8/6/2025.
It has been interesting. I will continue to blog occasionally."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2025 : 6:43:28 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Connecting Growers and Eaters badge!
"I live on a ranch in agricultural land so most all my community farmers harvest and sell their produce.
In June the local Meals on Wheels had to relocate their offices, so that was not an option for my donations.
I made 13 donations of tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and basil to our local senior center to complete the intermediate requirement.
It went well."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:19:36 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Nellie Will-do badge!
"For the fiber, I chose yarn and to do latch hooking kits.
I started this project on our trip to Moscow, Idaho to see MaryJane's Farm. I worked on it during the train trips, in the hotel rooms and finished it at home. It is a gift for a sisterhood friend.
Next I will be doing a blanket size lion wall hanging.
It turned out nice."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:21:06 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Expert Outstepping badge!
"I went solo backpacking for the weekend up in Northern California.
I packed organic noodles, fruits and nuts to eat.
In scouts, I learned low impact camping, so I never walked the same spots or trails to reduce impact, I packed out what I packed in and I left my overnight camping sites better than I found them.
A deer came through my area on day two, that was exciting.
It went well."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:31:53 PM
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Tina VanDaam (TinaTina, #8437) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Farmgirl Gratitude badge!
"I earned this merit badge by writing letters to many service industries to let them know how much I appreciated their service. I also wrote to the editor of a local newspaper encouraging others to write or tell someone how much you appreciate them
This turned out nice, it makes you think about how their service affected you. I hope others will do the same"
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:39:44 PM
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Debbie Fischer (BlessedinColorado, #1582) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Bibliophile Badging badge!
"Finally in July I got my Coos Bay Library Card, we have been here 5 years so it took too long for some reason to get one. I learned many things about libraries today and what’s offered that we did not offer in my library in the 80's and 90’s.
How pleasantly surprised I learned that they had a library store where I can buy used library books no longer needed in their collections. Just what I need!
Also I found out an old book I wanted to check out that was printed in the late 60’s I could only get digitally! Amazing!
All the free community classes and programs offered. A bit different now, although I did have children summer reading programs and more for the military children of soldiers. We needed to keep them and their young minds busy when their soldier mom or dad was deployed. Very important during Desert Storm.
Also here is a picture of just one of my many, many piles of books that I need and want to find time to read. I thought I would have more time when I finally retired but is just not so."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:44:24 PM
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Debbie Fischer (BlessedinColorado, #1582) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Farmgirl Grammar badge!
"I will admit I have always had trouble with grammar, I must have flunked English at some point. And I have always been great at spelling until I got older and I do not remember like I used too, so I look up many words. I have always written letters, etc. like I talked. There are other reasons why I am like this, but just let me say, I do try and strive to do better. I do not use text language as I do not know it, and I need more practice not using slang and abbreviations when I write. Seems some habits are harder to break than others.
I believe I do a lot better truly since I joined MJFarms as I write so much more than I am used too. So I want to say it's all right!
I have been working for many months to get better at this.
In our Wildflower HH we work on some of our badges together; one of the Wildflowers started a thread entitled “Let’s earn a badge together”. So every two weeks one of us comes up with the word, meaning then we all practicing using the words in a sentence. I did my two weeks and all of us have been having so much fun."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:48:58 PM
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Debbie Fischer (BlessedinColorado, #1582) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning an Intermediate Make It Pretty badge!
"Finally finished my 4 watercolor pictures. 3 I did here at home and I took a class and painted the Crow in the moonlight in class.
I visited our local art museum.
Painting for me should be relaxing and fun, but I have not achieved that yet. And that is why I took the class and I was so stressed as I did not think my crow painting looked great at all. But what I learned about my little paintings is it’s about my interpretation, not how the others in the room looked. I need so much more practice, learning to blend and sharing picture and for gosh sake's, have fun. Plus I want to meet women my age. So, this painting stuff will take time, but this I know. I will take her class and practice at home. I will not give up!
We have a great art museum, Coos Bay local Art Museum. It is bigger than we thought and we will have to go back as we could not see it all. But, we have so many wonderful artists in our town and else where. So many amazing pictures and art."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:53:29 PM
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Cindy Kinion (AussieChick, #6058) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Crochet badge!
"I continued on my crochet journey by joining a "Crochet Corner" while still living in Bend, OR. Every Thursday a group of about 6 ladies would meet at the Fancywork Yarn Shop. Our teacher was Salena Baca who founded the American Crochet Association. She was so patient with me when I first started attending the classes & she also helped me convert my largely UK crochet patterns to US language. I attended the free 2-hour classes for about 12 weeks before moving back to Australia.
For this merit badge specifically, I made 2 Filet Squares Totes. The main stitches were chains, single & double crochets. This was the first time that I had made something 3 dimensional. I made two totes in order to make up the required 20 hours for this badge."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:55:30 PM
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Cindy Kinion (AussieChick, #6058) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Sew Wonderful badge!
"For this merit badge, I decided to teach someone else the skills of sewing. My sister's friend, Dulcie, was visiting from Papua New Guinea. She knew some of the basics of sewing & was able to sew their traditional meri blouses, but she wanted to learn how to read a pattern & how to advance beyond straight stitches.
We chose to make a button up blouse with a collar & short sleeves. I taught Dulcie about seam allowances and how to take care of the raw edges with both zig-zag stitch on a flat seam or by using a French seam. We both sewed a blouse at the same time so that she could see what to do, then follow along on her machine. She also videoed some of the techniques so that she could take the ideas home to Papua New Guinea. She was so proud of herself for finishing her shirt before she flew home & all the more exciting because she had sewn her shirt in a fabric featuring Australian animals."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2025 : 1:59:05 PM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Nellie Will-do badge!
"For Intermediate level I took on a much larger project.
The lion is almost the size of a twin blanket.
I have 70+ hours done so far and I estimate it needs another 100-150 hours of work.
It is a huge project."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:14:44 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Get 'er Done badge!
"My fellow sisterhood friend Rea #8284 and I have been working at my sister's two houses. We have been boxing up one house and moving it to the 2nd house.
We have been doing this on and off for more than a year.
Each time we work for at least 4 hours and have definitely earned more than 8 hours.
It is a lot of work."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:16:50 AM
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Karen Martell (Jokamartell, #8422) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Crochet badge!
"I learned to crochet many years ago but have not crocheted for at least 25 years. My grandmother taught me when I was in elementary school. I did lots of practicing in order to earn this badge. I made a scarf ... two actually! I didn’t like the way the first one felt to the touch. It has always been a struggle for me to keep the edges straight but I was successful. It took me about 10 hours to complete both scarves.
I’ve truly enjoyed rekindling my crocheting. It makes me feel close to my grandmother and I love keeping my hands busy when my hubby and I are watching tv!"
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:19:12 AM
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Karen Martell (Jokamartell, #8422) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Her-story badge!
"I read the book Grandma Gatewood Walks and posted on the forum about the 5 things that I learned about her.
1. Grandma Gateway was the first female to walk through the Appalachian Trail, 2,050 miles.
2. Emma was 67 the first time she completed the hike.
3. She walked the trail 2 more times ... once was a walk through (continuous walking). She was 69 the second time she walked the trail.
4.She also walked the 2,000 mile Oregon Trail.
5. She was the mother of 11 and divorced her abusive husband after 33 years of marriage.
I really enjoyed reading about the life of Emma Gatewood. She was a strong woman who brought about awareness for the Appalachian Trail and how upkept it was. Because of her notoriety, she was instrumental in the repairs that happened on the trail."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:20:48 AM
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Karen Martell (Jokamartell, #8422) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Farmgirl Grammar badge!
"I always type out words and sentences when writing text messages and emails. lol. It’s like my high school English teacher is still watching over my shoulder!!
I also posted a new word to our henhouse forum for two weeks.
It was fun to learn new words! :) Our language is quite vast!"
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:22:29 AM
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Charlotte Remmert (#8707) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a Beginner Collect It! badge!
"I have been collecting keychains for a while, so I decided that my passion is keychains. I answered the questions: the first one I picked out was made in China, but I got it in FL. There is nothing unique about the production process. It is very likely that there is another one just like it. It does not have a personal connection with me, except the memory of getting it with my grandad. And there are probably clubs or online chatrooms that collect keychains, I just don't know of any.
Now I have a backpack full of 22 keychains that jingle and jangle when I walk. They bring back a lot of memories, and are pretty to look at."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:24:08 AM
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Charlotte Remmert (#8707) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner The Good, Bad, and Ugly ... Bugs badge!
"I identified 4 beneficial bugs and 4 harmful bugs that live in my garden. The good bugs are Eastern-tailed blue butterflies, pearl crescent butterflies, honeybees, and ladybugs. The bad bugs are cowpea aphids, maize calligraphers (sweat bees), squash bugs, and Japanese Beetles. I also researched 17 methods of organic pest control, and 15 plants that attract beneficial insects, wrote them all down, and put the papers in my merit badge planner so I can hopefully improve my garden next Spring.
I now know a few of the bad bugs that live in my garden, so I know what problems I need to take care of. I also know a few of the good bugs that live in my garden, so I know what problems may take care of themselves. I also know different ways of organic pest control, and plants to plant that attract beneficial bugs to my garden, and repel bad bugs."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:25:20 AM
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Charlotte Remmert (#8707) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Buttoned Up badge!
"Since I have a collection of buttons already, I counted them and came up with 75 buttons, which is over the minimum number of buttons required.
I now have a wonderful collection of buttons that are no longer floating around my sewing box forgotten. Now, whenever my grandma gives me buttons, I can happily put them in my collection."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:26:28 AM
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Charlotte Remmert (#8707) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Buttoned Up badge!
"I made a bracelet using some bird buttons, some embroidery thread, some leather, one big button, a sew-on snap, and some hot glue. I wore it to Bible study a couple of times, and wore it around the house.
I now have a super cute bird button bracelet that I have gotten a couple compliments on it. It fits perfectly, and it is so cute."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2025 : 10:28:50 AM
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Tina VanDaam (TinaTina, #8437) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a Beginner Let's Get Physical badge!
"For this badge I set a couple goals of trying to get 10,000 steps a day and get my heart rate up by power walking or jogging each day for one month
This merit badge turned out okay except I hurt my back and had a few days that I tried to take it easy for a while and extended my month by a few days for that reason. The majority of time I did good. I will continue my journey for the intermediate level."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2025 : 08:18:21 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Ink Slinger badge!
"I read the book The Elements of Style by W. Strunk Jr and E.B. White. It was a hard read, like being back in high school and having to read English class text books.
I wrote my story in a notebook about my last backpacking trip to the Pacific Northwest California. My story was edited and my word count ended up being 1,076.
It was nice to return to writing. I am rusty but after 50 years I expect to have to relearn from my mistakes."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2025 : 08:19:52 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a Beginner Woman-at-Arms badge!
"I learned about gun safety on my CA fish and game website study guide. I enrolled in the hunter safety course. The cost was $44.95.
It will be fun."
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16742 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16742 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2025 : 08:21:41 AM
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Candy Hogan (Tigger9777, #8283) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Ink Slinger badge!
"I went to my local library and checked out several books to read. For this level, I read the books: Why Write by Mark Edmundson and Getting Started In Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Adam Roberts.
I am tending towards writing a children's book at this point, but I am also contemplating putting together the stories my grandmother shared about her life before those stories are lost to future generations.
I need to think more about what I want to write next."
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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