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Reading Room:  MaryJane's Magazine 'reading club'  |
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farmfilly
Farmgirl in Training
48 Posts
Jackie
Gilmer
Texas
USA
48 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 22 2006 : 10:07:49 AM
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I don't have all the issues yet. I just got The Art of the Egg, No Place Like Home and the newest one, Back Country Food. They came in this week so, I'm not near finshed with them! I got Mary Janes book too. I hardly know what to read first.
In the Back Country Foods, I was very pleased to see the Sew Happy article starting on pg 84. I love the old treadle machines and am looking for one of my own. I do have a box full of attachments for one I found when we went thru my Granny's house. I take them out and look at them wondering what they were used to make. Maybe a new apron or a Sunday dress for my Mom or one of my aunts when they were little? My Granny was all for progress (except tv's) and she got rid of the treadle long ago for a new 'power' machine, as she called it.
And then on pg 88-89 there's that cool article with instructions for the little folding camp seat. On the side is the large folding drying rack. I'd love to have one of those for winter drying. Doesn't it look to you gals that the camp seat instructions could be tinkered with a bit and multiplied to create the folding drying rack? I think so, and I'm gonna try as soon I get the chance. I just wonder what locks it open? Anybody got one of these to tell me?
Didn't you girls just love the vintage trucks and cars shown in this issue? I love old trucks. I showed my hubby the pictures and he said when he got his first really good job out of highschool, he bought his Dad an old truck just like the one in the photo. It was that green color too! They called it the Hoopie. He can't remember why it had that name, his dad named everything.
I love these magazines. I chose the Art of the Egg just for the cover picture. I like the old enamelware bowls and is anything prettier than a blue egg? I have a few Ameraucana hens and I'm delighted everytime I gather those pretty green and blue eggs. Speaking of gathering them, the pic on page 5 is frameble IMO. I usually wear my outdoor apron when I go out to the hen house to gather. It saves on the pocket omelet insidences in my cooking/house apron. I guess you can tell I love chickens.
Jackie
Life happens, I'm just glad to participate! |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2006 : 1:03:33 PM
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HI ALL,
I was just looking at the current issue of MJ again! love the pictures on pages 54-59. I think my favorite is the one of the women doing the wash, they all seem so happy, which tells us how important it is to have a circle of friends, that even the hard work of doing the wash by hand is a chance for fun and exchange of thoughts and ideas. I mean the dresses and the overalls were not small pieces of hand wash items, not to mention all the baby items. But its all worth while when you see and smell them blowing on the line. to this day i love hanging clothes on a line to dry. of course I LIKE TO iRON TOO, so there may be something wrong with me. But anyway, thoses pages show how women came together in order to keep things together.
NANCY JO |
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farmfilly
Farmgirl in Training
48 Posts
Jackie
Gilmer
Texas
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2006 : 1:49:20 PM
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I hope there's nothing wrong with you Miz Nancy, 'cause I like to iron too! I've been know to iron my sweatshirts and tees.
Jackie
Life happens, I'm just glad to participate! |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2006 : 2:00:09 PM
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JACKIE
Me too, the sweatshirts come out just like new, all flat!! GOOD TO KNOW i'AM NOT ALONE HERE.
NANCYJO
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2006 : 2:33:17 PM
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nancy .. jackie .. be expecting a big load'a wrinkled laundry on your doorstoop any day now! and no hurry to get it back to me ... heavy starch! HA!
True Friends, Frannie |
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farmfilly
Farmgirl in Training
48 Posts
Jackie
Gilmer
Texas
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - Feb 22 2006 : 10:19:54 PM
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Miz Frannie, would like this laundry folded or hung?
Life is good! 
Jackie
Life happens, I'm just glad to participate! |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Feb 23 2006 : 07:38:16 AM
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ha! jackie .. Hang it in the sunshine first ... THEN .. folded ... after a nice starched ironing!
i'm so glad all you gurlz are posting so many wonderful thoughts on maryjane's magazines .. i'm going to 'print' them all out to review over and over again!
xo
True Friends, Frannie |
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Carol
Moderator/MaryJane's Design Diva
452 Posts
Carol
Moscow
Idaho
USA
452 Posts |
Posted - Feb 23 2006 : 1:10:08 PM
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Hi Nancy,
Just reading your post about what you liked about our last magazine, and wanted to tell you an interesting little fact about the photo you love of the women washing. We found it at an historical photo archive, and what's so stunning about it is that the women are doing an outside community wash because they've just experienced a devastating tonado. If you look closely, you can see evidence of this is the background. Just another example of "farmgirls plowin' through" - and the power of community!
Carol
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, red wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming 'WOO HOO, what a ride!'"
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Feb 23 2006 : 2:32:34 PM
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Carol
what a great bit of info, I was thinking to myself when I saw that picture, did they all live near each other and do the wash, or was there more to it. good to know. now I want to know who the Baby in the highchair is on the cover of the plateful issue, my favorite cover so far. NANCY JO
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Carol
Moderator/MaryJane's Design Diva
452 Posts
Carol
Moscow
Idaho
USA
452 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2006 : 12:20:31 PM
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Hi Nancy. I love the Plateful cover photo too - isn't she the sweetest? The story about the cover photo is on the inside back cover of that issue. I've pasted it below for those of you that don't yet have that magazine.
Also, check out our "The Art of the Egg" issue - there's a wonderful story (p. 141) about the back cover photo - my personal favorite - which you'll see started as an inspirational postcard I'd had hanging in my office for years. I now have an orignal, signed by the famous photographer, on my living room wall!
Here's the Plateful story:
When the heavens dropped snow on my tulips and daffodils last spring, I knew I was in for some stunning photographs. Up until five days before this issue was scheduled for the print shop, we had the photograph below [a photo of daffodils covered with snow] singled out for the front cover of this issue.
Like a surprise spring snow storm, Will Pitkin came also from heaven. Claiming to be my long lost sibling, Will offered me shallots, chickens, orchard bees and editing. A retired Utah State English professor turned suburban farmer, Will began to take on mythical stature as I pecked around Utah asking old friends if they knew him. “Oh sure, I know of Will Pitkin. He’s this brilliant literary guy who walks around everywhere picking up litter.” And, “He’s a Quaker who supplies local restaurants with organic produce. You’ll love him, everyone does.”
When I found Will’s house, “the one with the wheelbarrow against the willow tree,” I was anxious to talk books and food. I sat down to a display of fresh carrots, grapes, jalapeno jelly, poetry and chocolate. Hanging on the wall next to me was the picture of his wife’s aunt Golda — our front cover. Teri Pitkin’s mother (Teri is Will’s wife), was born to Susie and Lawrence Morton of Rigby, Idaho. Lawrence, who was building a photography studio in Idaho Falls, was returning to Rigby when he was caught in a snowstorm. He contracted pneumonia and died, early in 1913, leaving his widow to raise seven children alone. Golda was born in 1910 and would appear to be about 2 when her father caught her napping. So our front cover photo was taken probably less than a year before her father died.
A professional photographer in the outback of Idaho in 1913! Imagine what went through his mind when he came into the kitchen and saw the scene captured on our front cover. He didn’t just grab a digital camera and push a button. Can’t you practically feel Lawrence’s heart thumping in your own chest as he set up his tripod and flashpan (or whatever they called them), hoping against hope that the cat wouldn’t finish eating, the spoon wouldn’t drop, his daughter wouldn’t waken or stir?
I explained to Will that the theme for our next issue was “Plateful,” and asked if I could share this perfect moment with my readers — a cat and a little girl echoing a heart on a highchair sharing a plateful. Once Will received permission from Golda’s granddaughter, it was scanned and downloaded in probably less time than it took her father to take it.
Will tossed in, “Lawrence and Susie had a penchant for rather unusual names. They named their children Ilo (a son that died as a infant), Whipple (son), Volney (son), Ufa (daughter), Wanda, Hazel, Golda, and Gwenna. You stood a better chance as a girl, but not a whole lot better.”
And the notion that Will and I are long-lost siblings proved true. Over tea, we both cited Wallace Stegner’s “Angle of Repose” as our favorite book and “Bird by Bird,” by Ann Lamott, as a book we’re both reading. I flew home from Utah with a jar of jalapeno jelly (good with cream cheese) and some hibernating orchard bees in my suitcase. |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2006 : 12:55:43 PM
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Carol
What a great story, and true. How lucky you were to find out all the family history. all so very interesing! and yes taking that picture hoping for all to remain the same must have been an anxious few minutes to say the least.
Thankyou so much for the info, and from now on I will make sure I read the magizine covers as well.
NANCY JO
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Feb 24 2006 : 4:20:18 PM
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Just beautiful! Thank you, Carol, for taking the time to share with us.
I was at my Moma's house the past couple of days and I showed her the 6 mags I've got. We layed around sippin' coffee and thumbin' through all the wonderful pages.....sweet stories, fantastic pictures and great tips and ideas. We laughed together about how my new obsession with all you farmgirls is her fault....she got me MaryJane's book last year.....not knowing anything about it except that she liked the title and the picture. She sure judged the cover of that book correctly!!!
She's trying her first BakeOver tonight. Something with shrimp. She'll give me the details later.
Blessings
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Feb 26 2006 : 08:50:31 AM
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Girls,
Still on the platefull issue of MJ magazine. loved being reminded of "THE OLD MEETING HALL" pages 130 and 131. We had two near where I was raised. The poem in the magazine pretty much says it all. I remember going with my Grandparents, and there was food and sometimes dancing, and us kids would run around while the adults sat about talking. It really was a night out for the rural folks. So it was nice to be reminded of that, I hadn't thought about the grange hall in years.
NANCY JO |
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Feb 26 2006 : 10:08:42 AM
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great magazine with great article, pictures, full of nostalgia. Michele
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2006 : 07:58:07 AM
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i got a kick out of page 86 in the EGG iussue with the fabulous photo of a bunch of women on a front porch .. now those women look like they could be the foremothers of very independent daughters and grand daughters and great grands too! the article is about 'the farmgirl in all of us' .. and about how it's INSTINCTUAL for we women to WANT to shop! oh lordy! i'm surely one of those women!
And don't you just adore maryjane's BELT on page 87!
Many YEARS and INCHES ago .. i worked the summer on a fun ranch .. RIVER VALLEY RANCH on the Maryland/Pennsylvania border and had a '21 inch' belt that proclaimed the name of the ranch on it ... (guess i could wear it as a 'necklace' these days!)
True Friends, Frannie |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2006 : 07:59:40 AM
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the SEVEN WONDERS that mary jane lists .. lawn alternatives .. treadle sewing machines .. wooden drying racks .. saurkraut and kimchi .. root vellars .. hand pumps .. hand-powered graters
IF .. you were to add SEVEN more .. what would they be for you?
True Friends, Frannie |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2006 : 08:06:44 AM
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ESCAPE TO A PLACE .. ON TOP OF IT ALL ... check out the article on page 112 .. doesn't that just look devine if you are confined to the city!
does anyone have any fun 'rooftop experiences'? city or country?
i have two rooftop memories that come right to mind ... one is as a child .. when we lived in the 'city' (washington, d.c.) .. just 20 short blocks from the Capitol of the United States. We lived in a 'row house' .. with roofs that connected each home to it's neighbors .. with about a two foot 'gap' between roofs that covered everyone's front porch. i remember climbing out the front window with my brother and sister at 'pre-arranged' times with the other neighborhood kids .. we'd 'jump' the space and visit with each other! ahhhhhhhh .. what sweet memories!
the other is the roof-top at the U.S. Department of Justice .. many moons ago .. the roof could be accessed through a 'hidden' stairway .. (now .. this was the 'good 'ole days' before federal government buildings had to be locked down and secured). there was actually a 'basketball court' up there .. and 'deck chairs' .. i remember we 'girls' changing into our bathing suits in the bathroom and heading for the roof-top at lunchtime to 'catch a few sun-rays' (and hopefully, the attention of a young, handsome basketball-playing attorney too!)
this was the day WAY before 'cell phones' .. but there WAS a phone up on the roof .. and if we had an office emergency and had to get back right away .. an office mate would give us a call!
what are YOUR roof-top memories?
True Friends, Frannie |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2006 : 08:10:25 AM
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nested egg toast (page 115 .. egg issue) ... preheat oven to 325 degrees. butter a slice of bread and place it on a cookie sheet or ovenproof skillet. crack an egg and separate the white from the yolk. (be careful not to break the yholk). whip the egg white until firm. on a plate, mold the white into a nest using a wet spoon. with a spatula, scoop the nest onto the buttered bread. put the holk intothe nest and bake until the nest is golden brown and the yolk is set the way your child .. ha! YOU!! like it!
gosh .. i've nade the sunshine toast on the same page .. gonna' try the nested one too!
what other fun recipes have you done with toast and eggs?
True Friends, Frannie |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2006 : 10:40:21 AM
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Well the roof thng I did, climbed out the bedroom window right onto the roof, portable radio and 17 magazine in hand, blanket, bottle of pepsi. Boy could you get a tan up there!!
NANCY JO |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9093 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9093 Posts |
Posted - Feb 27 2006 : 10:47:34 AM
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WELL I don't know if I can come up with seven wonders, but if I could the first one would be porch rockers. big summer fields that seem to go on forever. huge trees, always cry when I see one being cut down. A pantry, wow would I love to have a pantry in my house again. Wood stoves, because they just smell so good, and of couse my family and friends because they are wonders.
NANCY JO |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Feb 28 2006 : 06:31:20 AM
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That belt of MaryJanes is so cool! I think I may take up leatherwork to make me one.
Frannie, I'm justa' laughin' at your necklace comment.....so true......I pulled out my wedding dress (which I made, is a two piece skirt and top, hand beaded, etc...) Any way, I had a 20 inch waist then and just looking at the skirt I don't think I could fit one thigh in it. Oh, those were the days!
Seven wonders......One, that I ever had 20 inch waist...
Let's see, the article was about Seven Wonders:Everyday Things for a Healthier Planet.....
1. Well, if I had a 20 inch waist I would use less fabric for clothing.
2. My kids climbing big Magnolia trees....joy to watch, they're getting strong, having fun and not watching tv.
3. Reusing gray water to water my plants.
4. Reusing the animal manure in the compost pile.
5. Use paper bags at the grocery store (renewable resource) Not plastic (non-renewable) or better yet, when I have small shopping to do I use canvas bags.
6. Hand held and hand powered tools in the kitchen.... grain grinder, can opener, potatoe peeler, grater, chopper, etc....
7. Every day I love on my kids and spend time laying in the grass with them.....this makes us all healthier.....in body and spirit.....They're learning how to relax and just enjoy simple things.
Blessings Y'all
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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CabinCreek-Kentucky
True Blue Farmgirl
8529 Posts
Frannie
Green County
Kentucky
USA
8529 Posts |
Posted - Feb 28 2006 : 08:21:56 AM
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Catherine .. i love your list!
the good news is that at SOME TIME in our lives .. we ALL had a twenty-inch waist line .. now some of us might have been three months old at the time .. but NEVERTHELESS .. we DID have a twenty inch waist line!
True Friends, Frannie |
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Feb 28 2006 : 11:54:25 AM
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Frannie, you brought back memories!!!!! We use to jump from rooftop to rooftop in our small beach towns. One time in Bradley Beach as I was jumping the rooftop's after a rain, a shingle was loose (I didnt know it then) on the roof I was jumping too & when my foot hit the loose shingle, I did a SPLIT between two rooftops.Oh my did it hurt!I couldnt move & the homeowner had to come up and get me down. My faithful sibblings left me, they didnt want to get in trouble also. Thankfully, those homes were close to one another. It used to be alot of fun. Needless to say, I just climed trees after that. Michele
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Feb 28 2006 : 6:16:41 PM
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Michele,
I'm laughing at the image your words conjure up.....a split between houses and faithful siblings leaving you.....so funny! You could be rolling in the money if someone had videotaped that and sent it in to America's Funniest Videos.
My rooftop memory goes back to around the age of 9.....Wonder Woman was IT and I wanted to be her. I tied a cape around my neck, attached my golden rope to my waist and I would jump off the roof to the ground hoping I could do some heroic feat. I am so amazed that I never broke a bone.
Blessings
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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farmfilly
Farmgirl in Training
48 Posts
Jackie
Gilmer
Texas
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - Feb 28 2006 : 10:10:59 PM
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Seven Wonders
1) I have to agree with Miz Nancy G, porch rockers would certainly be on my list of seven wonders. Nothing I like better than to slip out of bed early on a summer morning, wrap up in a light throw, and take a cup of tea out to the porch rocker and watch the day wake up. By the time the sun is up good, I've thrown back the wrap and and am wishing for another cuppa. I love summer mornings! I don't know how it can be considered saving to our planet, but anything that starts the day with harmony must be, right?
2) The next on my list would be clothes lines. Yep, the simple, lowly clothes line. I can think of all kinds of benefits to a clothes line. Saving electricity is the least. Crisply fresh bed linens, yum! Ever wonder why we 'modern' ladies get those arm wings earlier than our grandmas - she was hanging heavy, wet laundry up above shoulder height. That will work those arms, not to mention carrying the basket outside, or swatting the bees, or shooing the birds that insist on perching on your unmentionables. Or the workout it takes to neatly fold a full size sheet without it ever touching the grass. Or the quick sprint to get all the clothes in when a summer shower blows up. Who needs Curves when you use a clothes line? Oh, and there are the lessons on modesty. Modesty, you say? Shurely your momma taught you that towels and sheets go on the outer two lines and you were to save the center line for private things - undies and lingerie. We don't want the neighbors seeing! What we do want them seeing is the brillant whites gleaming in the pure sunshine - makes us look like we are hard workers. The neighbors can't tell you had to have a nap after hanging all those wet clothes out. Go ahead and get that nap, you'll need it because if you hang it out, it needs ironing!
3) Cane fishing poles would be on my list too. I love a summer afternoon fishing with a cane pole. Hook a worm or minnow on and throw that bobber out. Then relax on your quilt with a quart jar of iced tea and good book. The fish will tell you if they just insist on being caught that day. I spent many a day fishing as a kid with my best friend Vic. We'd head out to the creekbank or someone's pool and make a day of it. We could spend hours in companiable silence. Makes for a lifetime friendship. The world needs more of those.
4) I'm not sure why, but just the surprise of spring bulbs fill me with joy. I love that they lay in wait all summer, fall, and winter just storing up their beauty to wow us. You never know exactly where they are or how many they will be, its like getting a present that spring unwraps full of fragrance and color!
5) The fifth wonder for me would be baby chicks. I love the infectious chirping, their cute little fuzzbutts, and the miracle of watching them hatch. Its completely amazing to me that an egg becomes a biddie.
6) For me the sixth on my list is not only a wonder, but a neccessity. I'm talking about the ocean shore. The crashing of the waves is like proof of creation. I stand in awe at the majesty of the sheer vastness of water. Within miles of the coast my breathing gets better, and the pure salt air can have me healed in a days time. My body forgets it has asthma and allergies. It forgets the tension carried in my tummy and shoulders. The steady rush and receding of water is like the steady breath of God. I need my yearly pilgrimage to the coast.
7) Babies are the seventh wonder. I'm mesmerized by their perfect little hands, the dimples on their knees, the sleeping smile that speaks of sweet dreams. Is their anything more precious than that little hand curled around your finger or the satisfied sigh of a sleeping baby as she/he settles into your arms? Then there is the sweet baby smell, and the first cooing sounds. It's a wonder and a joy.
These are some of the things that make me happy. In fact, just writing about them makes me happy.
Life is good!
Jackie
Life happens, I'm just glad to participate! |
Edited by - farmfilly on Feb 28 2006 10:15:25 PM |
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Reading Room: MaryJane's Magazine 'reading club' |
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MaryJane's Magazine 'reading club'
