| Author |
Across the Fence:  My kitchen table today....  |
|
|
harmonyfarm
True Blue Farmgirl
785 Posts
Debbie
Southeastern
Ohio
USA
785 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 06 2009 : 09:36:38 AM
|
I stayed up late last night so I could read MaryJane's Magazine from cover to cover. After I read the story on page 21, I sighed and said to myself, "Why can't I be more like that."
This morning as I sat in my favorite chair in the kitchen and glanced over to my kitchen table, (the same kitchen table that I bartered eggs for...for forever), I noticed that on top of it sits a huge stainless steel bowl, (covered with a well-loved apron) of sliced organic cucumbers from my garden that are soaking in salt water so I can turn them into sweet relish tonight. Next to it is a half-eaten pan of homemade coffee cake with streusel topping that my hubby made at 10:00 last night, cuz we wanted a snack, and if you move your eyes a little farther to the left there sits three bottles of homemade ketchup that took 16 pounds of tomatoes and used nearly 10 pounds of propane to make. Last but not least there is a dish towel draped over one of the chairs that I just used to dry a pile of clean dishes with and next to it hangs my old fleece jacket that I put on this morning cuz it was so chilly outside, when I stepped out to greet the day.....
So the reason for this post is... I guess I want to know, why it is that I don't already know,understand and acknowledge that (like the article says)I actually do have a Mary Jane kinda Day, every day...I just can't seem to see it....
Debbie
"If you can't find the time to do it right...how will you find the time to do it over" |
|
|
catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Sep 06 2009 : 10:34:22 AM
|
Sometimes it's hard to see what is right in front of our houses. I just had an epiphany about this when I turned 35 last week. I realized I AM a farmgirl and there is no more denying. I realized I had to let go of a lot of societal thinking and self doubt and just live, MY way. It really has been like a pile of bricks have been lifted off my shoulders. I hope you can find some peace. (((HUGS)))
Heather
|
 |
|
|
prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Sep 06 2009 : 1:57:26 PM
|
i kind of feel the same as you, debbie. i suppose some of us hold a certain "standard" of what they think a farmgirl is and does. i know i sometimes don't think of myself as one just because i don't do everything that mary jane or some of the experienced farmgirls do. i'm not crafty, i don't sew, i'm just learning to can and garden. there are different levels of being a farmgirl... maybe it's not even levels. it's just that all farmgirls are different in what they do, what they are good at, how long they've been doing it. but that's what makes us all so unique and special, right? from what you've shared about what's on your kitchen table, sounds like you do LOTS to be a farmgirl!!! what was it about the article that you wish you were like (i havn't read the article yet)? are there specific things you'd like to do as a farmgirl that you havn't yet? i say, admire yourself for what you already do and look forward to things you'd like to do. we can't all do it at once... i know i sometimes i wish i could, but it's nearly impossible! i feel good when i get around my city friends... man, then i REALLY feel like a farmgirl!
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
|
|
|
Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2009 : 9:00:36 PM
|
Oh gosh girls, luckily we were all given different gifts and talents. Farmgirls have to learn lots more. Being a farmgirl makes us strong, willing to learn and quick to act when needed. This certainly is what Mary Jane does. We are ALL awsome. Let's celebrate!
Bonnie Ellis
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
|
|
|
paradiseplantation
True Blue Farmgirl
1277 Posts
julie
social springs community
Louisiana
USA
1277 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2009 : 06:16:30 AM
|
I haven't gotten that magazine yet, but I do know how you feel. I live on a 60 acre farm, have a garden, cows, chickens, I can, preserve, weave, embroidery and am teaching myself to knit -- and STILL have trouble thinking of myself in terms of being a farm girl. I guess I'm waiting for my farm house to be perfect -- my preserves to make it from harvest to harvest -- my knitting to keep from dropping a stitch, and learning to purl -- in other words, instead of embracing my farm girl heart right here and now, I'm waiting.....and waiting...... and at this rate, I'll be waiting forever! So, thanks, ladies, for the encouragement to stand up, right here, right now, and scream I AM A FARM GIRL!!!!!!!! And Debbie, and all you others who feel the same way, you have permission to do the same!
from the hearts of paradise... |
|
|
|
Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2009 : 06:50:46 AM
|
My kitchen table don't look too bad right now. But about 5 p.m. yesterday it was a mess. We had company comming for supper (kind of a last minute deal). I got supper in the oven and started on the table. had 7 qts of tomato juice. A tray of tomatoes and onions that got moved to the utility room with the other tray of tomatoes. There was a cereal box, loaf of bread, butter dish, peanut butter jar. (Yesterday's breakfast and lunch) The lazy susan full of s and p, vitimines, spices and stuff. The zucchini was moved to the counter with the 'other' squash. Anyway, got it all put somewhere else and had a nice dinner with granddaughter and her hubby.
The article on page 21 sounds very much like my days. However, it don't sound the same when I say it. For instance, when I slip under the quilt at night, there is no lace curtains blowing, I look at the windows with NO curtains. They are still in the package. It has probably been a year since I took down the old ones and planned to paint. Other projects took over so never got to it. Maybe someday. Not today, tomatoes and peppers need to be put up, the hen house needs cleaned out. Grass needs mowed, dead cucumber vines need pulled down and put in the compost, it goes on and on.
Now I am off to another MaryJane day.
Belle |
|
|
|
Brenda Kay Groth
True Blue Farmgirl
100 Posts
Brenda
Manton
MIch
USA
100 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2009 : 06:52:13 AM
|
i really enjoyed her article when i read it too..and i do live a mary janes kinda life and have for 38 years..i've always felt so lucky to be able to live where i do..in the rural michigan home we have..and at this point in my life..my only responsibilities are those i choose to take on..(well except for government things like taxes and insurances..blah)
life is good
bloom where you are planted |
|
|
|
Autumn Leaves
True Blue Farmgirl
463 Posts
Jennifer
Northern
California
USA
463 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2009 : 07:04:31 AM
|
I think MaryJane would be proud of us all. Like Elizabeth said we are all different yet special at our Farmgirl talents. Regardless of how many "farm" things we do each day it's more of being a "farmgirl' at heart. Boy Belle your day today sounds like mine, better get going!
Jennifer
Never let yesterday use up too much of today - Will Rogers
http://jenscountrylife.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2009 : 07:35:07 AM
|
I think that is why MaryJane has always said that Farmgirl is a condition of the heart! I am glad we don't have to take a proficiency test before being a "farmgirl"! When I first found MaryJane and this forum I had NEVER used a sewing machine before, the embroidery I had done was just rudimentary embroidery as a young child. I liked crafts but never really had the devotion to stick with it because none of my friends were into crafts like I wanted to be.
The thing that _I_ really like about MaryJane that makes me comfortable in having my own MaryJane days is that she doesn't stress perfection. I have always been intimidated by the magazines and home shows of some of the other home and garden Divas as I choose to call them. My table is never going to be that perfectly laid out, and I am probably not ever going to take time to cut radish roses for thanksgiving, but that level of perfection is what seems to be the focus.
But with MaryJane's publications I don't feel that intimidation factor. I feel like things are more achievable, the projects more realistic and that it isn't as important the destination but rather the journey. I love that feeling! I love having MaryJane moments where I complete a project, comfort my daughter, take pride in hand washing my dishes, wearing my apron... I am still working up to full MaryJane days. I have a lazy bone that I am trying to convert to a crafting bone or a housecleaning bone... :D
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
ceejay48
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm/Sharpshooter
13620 Posts
CeeJay (CJ)
Dolores
Colorado
USA
13620 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2009 : 08:57:41 AM
|
I KNOW I'm a Farmgirl!!! Nope, I'm not out there milking cows anymore, however I have. I have made butter, cheese and sold milk . . .kept calves from dying of scours and fell face down, in the dark, in the manure muck in the middle of winter out by the barn.
I have picked tons of apples and other fruits . . . and I have shelled thousands of peas, snapped thousands of beans (still do), pitted thousands of cherries (still do). I still live on part of what used to be our family farm . . . and I look out the window or drive by the farmhouse I spent my entire life in until I went to college . . . I enjoy fruit from the various fruit trees my father planted and are now owned by very generous neighbors.
We raise a substantial garden, have a few apple trees, a pear tree, 3 Longhorn heifers, 2 of which just had calves, a llama (who gives "butterfly" kisses), a dog and a cat. I do canning of garden and orchard produce, bake bread when I can, mow the lawn, am diligent on thistle control and other weeds . . . .
Yup . . . I have MJF day every day!!!!!
My hats are off to all you Farmgirls!!!!
CJ
...from the barefoot farmgirl in SW Colorado...sister chick #665 |
|
|
|
Linder
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Linda
Lake Forest
IL
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2009 : 4:46:17 PM
|
Mmmmm, what you all describe sounds so lovely. I read a farmgirls blog through Facebook this morning and it left me a little envious.
I'm working a 24/7 job, no exageration(sp), so I have very little time to creative and nest in my new home. My new home which I only live in on the weekends btw because I live on the property where I work.
I've set the wheels in motion to look for a new job so I can create the type of life for myself that you are all describing.
Right now I'm a weekend Farm Girl but the nesting I do in those 2 days holds me up the rest of the week!
Thanks for reminding me how essential this all is to my sanity and peace of mind!
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom"
www.mylusciousjourney.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Diane B Carter
True Blue Farmgirl
1270 Posts
Diane
Blasdell
N.Y.
USA
1270 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2009 : 5:31:36 PM
|
I haven't looked at the magazine yet but I will look at it tonight after I put my grandson to bed. If you click on my blogspot you will see my kitchen table today. It has peach jam, newspaper, mail, flower arrangement from my SIL,I plan on cleaning it soon. Then reading.
Hope all your days are Sunnydays.
dianebcarterhotmailcom.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
HeatherAnn
True Blue Farmgirl
187 Posts
Heather
Rancho Cucamonga
CA
USA
187 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2009 : 9:19:23 PM
|
i'm still trying to talk my husband into expending the money for a MJF mag. This month isn't looking so good, BUT. I just wanted to say that I don't have any problem feeling like I have farm girl or Mary Jane days. Mostly it's because I have always had this good solid make due outlook and I love the country way of life. Working instead of watching TV. Cooking from scratch as much as time allows. I appreciate crickets and afternoon breezes. We live without a microwave because I need the kitchen space to cook. I listen to vinyl records. I like being barefoot. I'm staying home with my kids because that's what is important to me. I can live without a big house. We only have one little 4-door car. I write letters to people, rather often. I miss having a house phone. I'd rather knit and catch up with my husband in the evenings than go to a restaurant or a movie. I have a strange attachment to hankies and aprons.
the point here is that I completely believe it's a condition of the heart. And I believe 'it', this lifestyle, needs a name. And Mary Jane named it. People I talk to about any of these things look at me like I'm a lost cause. no tv? no microwave? one car? you stay home with your babies? being a farmgirl and embracing this way of life is wonderfully freeing. I fit somewhere. I have found a bunch of gals who understand the joyful feeling of a day wrung dry. People who understand why we would ever say no to better appliances and say yes to digging our potatoes out of the ground.
I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to have found a group of people who get that life, simple life, can be so very fulfilling. I feel like I'm struggling to put all this into words, but my words aren't falling on blind eyes, you girls know. you just know! thanks for that. thanks for being farmgirls :)
Heather Ann
Apartment Farmgirl
"You got to look at all the good on one side and all the bad on the other and say 'Well, alright then.'" - Aunt Eller, Oklahoma
www.plumblossomknits.etsy.com |
|
|
|
Linder
True Blue Farmgirl
592 Posts
Linda
Lake Forest
IL
USA
592 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2009 : 06:05:31 AM
|
Good Morning All!
After reading this post yesterday and feeling a big case of the "have nots" I re-adjusted this morning and got quiet with God and took a lovely long walk.
I said thank you for everything I have in my abundant life and I noticed that the leaves are starting to turn on the Maple trees and that it was cooler this morning.
I walked through the beautiful old cemetery by my house and noticed a doe and her fawn who moved towards me as I spoke to them! It felt like such a clear and incredible message from God that I am cared for and that all will be well.
On my way back home I spied chestnuts laying all over the ground and got an idea for a centerpiece for my kitchen table!
The point of all of this is, that I recognize that I am a true blue farm girl, that the way I think, act and see things are always colored by my rural roots. I feel very blessed and thank you for this post. It helped me see the truth of all the blessings in my life!
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom"
www.mylusciousjourney.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
kpaints
True Blue Farmgirl
1564 Posts
karen
cheney
wa
1564 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2009 : 09:25:55 AM
|
Thank you, Debbie for this posting. And thanks Farmgirls, each and everyone, I loved all your posts. I felt so many emotions grabbing ahold of me as I read each one. When I first saw the posting, I had to laugh as I have been feeling embarassed about all the stuff on my dining table in the last month or so. For almost all of August, it was wedding table decorations, plans, lists, fabrics, candles and holders and on the 28th of August....the table got clean. Not for long. Next came more lists, travel plans, totes and small travel containers, mending (for the trip), the dog's travel bag, dog food, leash, etc. Yes, I am taking a trip for 3 weeks.....to AFRICA! And my house shows it! But as I look around this morning, I see a well loved very old farmhouse, that looks lived in! Lived in and rode hard, in farmgirl style. Outside sits 'Trailer Trash' (vintage 1959 trailer) in dire need of attention, just beyond that a new riding John Deere mower, three new baby shade trees, unfinished projects in the garage but when you venture inside you find, homemade crocheted dishcloths, MaryJanes book (bible) sitting on the coffee table, a basket of yarn near the sofa, a knitted afghan in progress, items boxed and ready to send from my etsy shops, etc. Albeit, this is not your usual old style farmhouse but a twisted modern version. I am enjoying the 'fruits' of my world and yet when I want it (almost always) I am able to hold up in my 100+ year old farmhouse and be a true farmgirl. Thanks to all you ladies!
Find your joy and live it. http://cheneybaglady.blogspot.com/http://www.kpaints.etsy.com http://www.thevintagebaglady.etsy.com FG #377 |
Edited by - kpaints on Sep 17 2009 09:28:13 AM |
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
|
| |
Across the Fence: My kitchen table today.... |
|
|
|
My kitchen table today....
