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Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!:  Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 10 2020 : 3:48:10 PM
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Hannah Frankowski, (GinnyBelle, #6994) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Civic Heritage Merit Badge!
“I typed up a presentation about Tenskwatawa, The Prophet, and posted it under merit badge chit chat. Then I revisited the Tippecanoe Battlefield that I visited when earning my beginner level back in 2016. I hiked up to Prophet's Rock, where he chanted to his warriors during the Battle of Tippecanoe.Then I drove over to Prophetstown State Park and walked around the small recreated native village that marks where Prophetstown once stood. I made a collage of the pictures, but I will add full sized pictures to my presentation.
I had to cut my visit short due to an incoming severe storm, but I did get pictures of everything I wanted to. My husband and I actually walk out there fairly often, but it was different walking through and actually thinking about everything that once occurred there.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2020 : 10:14:13 AM
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Hannah Frankowski, (GinnyBelle, #6994) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Civic Heritage Merit Badge!
“I've been reenacting the French and Indian War time period every year since 1998 at the annual Feast of the Hunter's Moon in West Lafayette, IN. I belong to a troupe of Scottish Country Dancers and we perform in one of the arenas. I have also participated in Mississinewa 1812 and the Hartford City Civil War Days. I have made a collage of photos through the years as well as my wall quilt where I pin all my Feast participants badges.
Unfortunately, Covid has cancelled all of the historical events in our area this year. I'm hoping by next year, all will be normal again.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2020 : 10:17:06 AM
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Hilary Syddall, (KynttWytch, #6958 has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Nellie Will-do Merit Badge!
“I've finished a needlepoint for a cushion cover. I'm very pleased with it!”
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MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2020 : 10:18:35 AM
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Beth O'Nyon, (Beth Onyon, #8065) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a Beginner Level Rocks and Minerals Merit Badge!
“My husband has a degree in geology, so I thought I would learn more. I did some research online to get the first two steps. Then I went through my day looking for things that are either rocks or minerals. If I was not sure, I would get back online to research whether I was right about something that I thought was a rock or a mineral.
It is amazing how much we take for granted. One of the sites I was looking at talked about the tens of thousands pounds of minerals and rocks a human uses in a lifetime. This was a great exercise, and now I have something else to talk to my husband about. Thanks for this opportunity.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2020 : 12:35:06 PM
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Stacy Sundgren, (slsundgren, #7112) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Farmgirl Gratitude Merit Badge!
“I started a Gratitude Journal and began reading The Book of Awesome.
This has been an enjoyable project. I had a small journal that hadn't been used yet, and decided to make it the gratitude journal. I think most people consider themselves thankful for the things they have and the people in their lives, but never stop to define it better than "I'm thankful for everything." This activity makes one think daily of all those individual people, places and little things that make life good.
As for The Book of Awesome, I love it! Mr. Pasrischa is spot on with his observations about Awesome things!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2020 : 12:37:07 PM
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Amy Moberg, (Amy Moberg, #8115) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Buttoned Up Merit Badge!
“I've actually had a button collection for many years. It overflowed its box and became a junk mess. I searched garage sales for a jar with a lid that screwed on and had enough to add more to it. I've always cut the buttons off of repurposed clothes. I was fortunate to add to it from a garage sale button box (which required me to sift through some amazing old stuff).
I love my new button jar and had fun looking through the old tin of buttons. I also just added two new sets of buttons from another garage sale that included Scottish thistle. I love putting my favorite buttons on costumes I make. My favorite button was a bee that went on my son's peasant shirt for LARP.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2020 : 12:40:01 PM
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Cassie Thompson, (Cassie Thompson, #8115) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning an Expert Level Recycling Merit Badge!
“I collected up all my recyclables in the bins I made all month. On one of my trips to town I loaded it all up and took it to the collection center. I told my coworker about the bins I made and gave her some of the materials to make one of her own.
It was really rewarding to get all that out of the house and know that it all isn't going to end up in a landfill. My coworker made her a recycling bin and plans to fill it up and take it to the collection center once it's full.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2020 : 12:41:31 PM
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Jennifer Ettlin, (MsKathleen, #7128) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Know Your Roots Merit Badge!
“I sat down with the two historians of our family (one from dad’s side, one from mom’s) via Zoom. Apparently, recording the family history falls to the oldest daughter in each family so we have a recorded history for my dad’s side since the early 1100s and for my mom’s side, the early 1300s. My mother’s side actually has a book registered in Great Britain that updates with every generation. This was quite surprising to me, since I am the oldest daughter on BOTH sides, so it means I have some catch-up in updating our family trees.
Oh wow! We found out so many things about our family! We can write a series of adventure books on different individuals. Each person lived a fairly “unimpressive” life in comparison to others (Sorry, no Amelia Earhart’s or George Washington’s in our house...though we do have a second cousin who was related to Abigail Adams), but they were each stunning in their own way.
Our family on my father’s side came to America as part of a love story! My grandfather’s great, great grandparents were a soldier and a local orphan girl. One night, he didn’t show up for his post. He was so well known for his punctuality and being responsible that the other soldiers immediately knew something was wrong and a search party was formed. Everyone thought he was dead. His family mourned. It wasn’t until nearly thirty years later that his parents found out that he wasn’t dead, but in America with his bride and a small family! He had fallen in love with the orphan girl at some point but she was an illegitimate and was considered beneath him. They ran away together and got married in America where records for the church hadn’t reached the new continent yet. Our family was deeply religious, so to ”fake a death” (he didn’t know he was proclaimed dead, he had thought his friend had delivered a letter to his commander...but didn't) and mislead the church was considered a sin. He had to buy a large segment of land (which wasn’t difficult at the time) and donate a portion of that land to the church so they would recognize the marriage as legit and he would be forgiven for his “sins”. So, in Oregon, there is a small, two room little white church (on a street named after our family) that stood for the last several hundred years with a family tree sewn into a tapestry there as a result of this story.
On my mother’s side, we had equally interesting characters, including a runaway slave, a Native American who joined the wagon train, and a sheriff who mysteriously went through wives as one would go through clothes. But that’s another (murder mystery) story! My mother's family came over during the colonization days and was one of the first inhabitants of the town where the East India Trading Co. was established in Canada. He was a local blacksmith and she was the daughter of a banker. They married and had thirteen children before she mysteriously disappeared. Her children were distributed to the other relatives and that's how my mother's side started to spread across Canada.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2020 : 12:43:09 PM
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Jennifer Ettlin, (MsKathleen, #7128) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Quilting Merit Badge!
“This is an older badge I forgot to log. Ah! So much has happened since I made it for Christmas! I began my quilting journey by taking an online quilting class. I was going to make my parents a quilt for Christmas since they love old "pioneer-woods-y things". I'm going to say this right now before we have any pretenses that I am a master quilter who has unknowingly held some secret inner knowledge about fabric that I wasn't even acutely aware of. I'm not. For this quilt, I messed up. I wasn't supposed to make the smallish doll quilt I ended up with. I didn’t understand the instructions, so making a doll quilt wasn’t what I was supposed to do for the class. I was supposed to make a full-sized quilt in the same pattern. I had bought a fraction of the fabric I needed (thinking the amount of yardage was the TOTAL of the four different colors, not the amount of EACH color). Luckily, my instructor and my mother were there to help. Yes, I messed up her Christmas present and brought her in to help. We all had a good laugh (and some quality time together, which she said was the better Christmas gift anyway). Danielle explained how the pattern was supposed to go and we worked out what I did wrong, since the class was supposed to take five weeks (and it only took five hours with mom’s help). My mother, who is an amazing quilter, figured out what we needed to do to make the pattern work on a MUCH, MUCH smaller scale. So, we ended up making two identical quilt tops (after ordering more fabric) in different sizes. Thus, began my journey in a “basic” block quilt. Once I figured out that cut styles were what made each piece unique I was able to look at the pieces in block rather than some elaborate concoction of fabric and scissor artistry that only quilting wizards knew. Next, taking some scrap fabric from my mother’s sewing room, I was able to make a border and backing (thanks to mom who was entirely patient with me). I learned how to do stitch in the ditch on the doll quilt and learned to do hand sewing on the big quilt. I think I stabbed myself more times than a hedgehog has quills. Then, I followed all the joins to stitch across the surface (and I only had to rip it all out twice! Score!). My mother had another suggestion for the doll blanket.
The doll quilt actually turned out A LOT better than I expected (the big quilt…is currently one of my UFO’s in the craft room. I had to pull off the sides because I sewed the pins and needles into the quilt…So that's a future project). I’m kind of proud of my first quilt. I gave it to my niece for her doll house and she loves it. It’s kept in her doll’s “overnight bag” so she has her favorite blanket with her at all times. Makes me feel happy about it, even though now I can see all the places I didn’t quite line it up right. She loves it and that’s all that matters. My mother and I took another quilting class this spring (via Zoom this time) and will be taking one in the fall. I'm looking forward to it.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2020 : 12:44:40 PM
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Andrea Garey, (AndreaPA, #8166) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Recycling Merit Badge!
“Recycling isn’t something we have really thought about since we burn most of our garbage. I think my grandmother would be ashamed of me. She was recycling in the 1970’s when most people didn’t even know what that was. I remember her stomping on soda cans and putting them in a paper bag. She kept her newspapers in a stack ready to wrap with twine. She always said some day the dumps are going to fill up and then what is everyone going to do with their trash? My mother (her daughter-in-law) said she was nuts.
I went to the township web site to see what I could find out about the recycling program. I know there are dumpsters for recycling near the township building. I clicked on the link for Recycling and there was absolutely no information. Nothing. A completely blank page. I know they were closed at the beginning of covid for the safety of employees. They didn’t want employees handling the materials. I thought the website would at least say they were closed if that was the case.
Next I went to the county website. Turns out the recycling center in my township is actually run by the county. They have a nice table of acceptable and unacceptable items that I will be printing and putting on my refrigerator. There's a note at the bottom of the page: ALL items must be clean, dry and placed into a transparent bag. They seem to be very serious about junk mail, it is mentioned several times: "No Junk Mail"!
I learned weekly “county wide” curbside pickup is available by calling a local waste removal company. I don't think we will use this since the recycling center isn't very far. Next time I go shopping I will be picking up some clear plastic bags and will be working on the next level of this badge.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 10:24:32 AM
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Deborah Mraz, (#7866) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Gaining Ground Merit Badge!
“I've composted before, but it wasn't very productive. This is the first year that I've completely filled three compost bins!
I'm getting better use of early weeds and have a pile of old leaves. I've also begun adding mushrooms to compost and chicken manure! I'm looking forward to some very rich compost soil!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 10:25:17 AM
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Deborah Mraz, (#7866) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Backyard Farmer Merit Badge!
“I've raised six ducks and rescued a neighbor's injured chicken.
I've begun fermenting the grain for the chicken and ducks, while adding preferred plants to their water that they love to eat.
The chicken, whose head was relentlessly pecked by younger chickens, has recovered. The neighbor has gladly allowed me to keep Ophelia, who at seven years old has begun laying eggs again!
I had to take three of my drakes to a farm to live, since I only got one female out of six ducklings. That's not a safe ratio for the female duck.
I limit how much grain I give my ducks, to encourage foraging. They are doing great and love the fermented grain.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 10:27:14 AM
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Deborah Mraz, (#7866) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Bee Good to Your Mother Earth Merit Badge!
“1. I grew tomatoes and sunflowers this year.
2. I have not used any chemicals this year.
3. I have used insecticidal soap and hand picking pests.
4. I read Montrose: Life in a Garden, by Nancy Goodwin.
I'm enjoying fresh tomatoes off the vine and getting ready to harvest sunflower seeds for my chicken and duck feed.
I'm learning to gather Japanese Beetles and feed them to my ducks. It has been difficult to find anyone that gardens, but am hoping to get some girls interested.
I was very inspired by reading Montrose, to design a memory garden for my daughter, who I lost a few years ago.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 10:39:36 AM
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Andrea Garey, (AndreaPA, #8166) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a Beginner Level Speak for the Trees Merit Badge!
“A few months ago I bought the National Audubon Society book Field Guide to Trees Eastern Section. I bought this because I thought my son would enjoy finding out what kind of trees we have around us.
I know we have several black walnut trees and sumac. I took my camera out and took some pictures to figure out what else is growing.
Sumac: It’s everywhere! Bee’s love it. Smooth sumac, common sumac, scarlet sumac. “The only shrub or tree species native to all 48 contiguous states.”
Black walnut trees: I have 6 on my property that I know of. I say it that way because theye seem to just pop up. I knew we had 3. Then a few years ago I heard a thump when I was out in my yard. I looked around then looked up. Surprise! It’s another black walnut tree. This summer I found 2 more.
The Eastern Black Walnut or American Walnut is native to my area. We saved walnuts one year, cracked the outer husk off, made a mess, stained our hands. Then left them in a bucket to dry. The squirrels stole every one of them that night.
The next tree appears to be a maple or hawthorne. I had to look at a second picture and zoom in to figure this one out. I decided this is a sugar maple. It is native to my area. Fact: more Vermont maple syrup comes from Pennsylvania than from Vermont. Don’t tell anyone. Vermont might get mad.
I found the next one by our creek. I stopped in my tracks. I've been pouting about how the state killed all of the native elderberry plants when they sprayed poison to keep weeds down on the sides of the road. I tell people how my grandmothers road used to have so many elderberry plants and we picked some so my father could make wine one year. They're all dead now. So I bought 6 elderberry plants and put them in my back yard 2 years ago. No elderberries yet. Then I find this elderberry growing wild by the creek across the road. American Elder, Elderberry, Common Elder is native to my area, and I’m very happy to see a native growing on my property!
There is a tree right across from my driveway. My husband is threatening to cut it down because we come so close to hitting it when we back out of our driveway. After looking at several different leaves and bark I narrowed it down to 3 trees. I then looked at the descriptions and two had really large fruit so they were ruled out. I finally id’d the tree as a Pin cherry. This tree is native to my area.
I knew I had black walnut trees and sumac so I took pictures of a few more to identify them. I was surprised to learn that sumac is in 48 states. The trees I didn't know were a bit harder than I expected to figure out. This weekend we are going to a state park and now that I have a better idea of how to use the book I will see what my son and I can find.
I've attached a picture of a black walnut because I really like how it looks.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:09:11 AM
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Sandy Japhet, (S-Japhet, #8158) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Shopping Green Merit Badge!
“I have many bags for shopping. Small ones, big ones, cute ones, ugly ones, Chillers, ect. The county I live in requires you to bring in your own bags, otherwise you are charged 5 cents per paper bag. No plastic, except for meats.
It works great if I don't leave them in the car and remember to bring them into the store!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:10:12 AM
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Sandy Japhet, (S-Japhet, #8158) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a Beginner Level Recycling Merit Badge!
“We have curbside recycling pickup 2 times a month for cardboard, plastics and cans. As well as a pickup once a month for glass that must be in a separate container from the other recyclables.
It works great! Easy to sort and wheel it down the driveway for pickup.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:11:30 AM
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Sandy Japhet, (S-Japhet, #8158) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Heirlooms Forever! Merit Badge!
“This spring I had to move my garden location, so I took the opportunity to plan how I wanted my garden space to be used and enjoyed. I made raised garden beds from logs we had milled ourselves. I treated the wood by scorching it with the wood burner, it's a Japanese technique called Yakisugi so you dont have any wood treatment in your garden. I've always loved the history of heirloom gardens and seeds. My big love is tomatoes. I planted Brandywines, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter and several others. I've also planted heirloom beans. In reading the book "Gardening with Heirloom Seeds" by Lynn Coulter, I learned that I didn't know about a few heirloom tomatoes. I must order seeds for the Black Sea Man and Snowball for next year. Yep, I confess, I have a tomato fixation!
I love how the new garden space has worked out and my tomato patch. I've already canned some beans and pickles of heirloom variety.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:12:24 AM
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Sandy Japhet, (S-Japhet, #8158) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Plant It Forward Merit Badge!
“Oh my zucchini! I always have extra and donate to the local food bank and give away to neighbors. I have, on occasion, put up a free farm stand at the end of my driveway to have people help themselves to anything they can use. It's fun to see the reactions from people when you give away a harvest of veggies.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:13:16 AM
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Sandy Japhet, (S-Japhet, #8158) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Entrepreneurial Spirit Merit Badge!
“I've written down my business dream and hope to have a start up business next spring. It's a small retail store from my home that has flower baskets, plant starts, antiques, art, and wood outdoor handcrafted chairs that my 92 year old father-in-law makes. Summit Lake Homestead.
Working on the building now. My husband is building it and it's beautiful!”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:47:12 AM
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Jennifer Ettlin, (MsKathleen, #7128) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rythmatic Merit Badge!
“I read the following books:
1. Fiction: “The Sandman and the War on Dreams” by William Joyce is a beautiful classic and part of the Guardian Series. Most of the books in our reading group at the moment revolve around Vampiric Romances (they all sound the same to me after the third book), so I was pleased when the school assigned our summer chapter reading (as teachers, we read the chapter books before utilizing them in our read-a-louds). In this book, the Sandman, the mute god of dreams is introduced, there to assist Santa Clause, the Tooth fairy and Nightlight to rescues young Katherine (Mother Goose) from the Nightmare King before stories and pleasant dreams end for the world’s children forever. This book is an easy to read, imagination capturing fantasy that introduces the imagined origins of the world’s most treasured legends while keeping both children and adults on their toes for the next new adventure.
2. Fiction: “Smile” by Raina Telgemeier. This is another book we were assigned for summer reading at our school. This is a modern, coming of age story about a girl who is in an accident and ends up with braces as a result. It’s a sweet story with a happy ending, but it’s not in traditional format. Like several popular Articulated Reading books now a days, this book, despite its appearance of a novel (and it’s over 400 pages), is an easy read in a graphic format so it’s more engaging to young adults. While I wouldn’t recommend it for a more avid reader, since they can read it in a day, this is a great book for independent reading (primarily for girls).
3. Fiction: “My Mother’s Secret“ by J.L. Witterrick. This is a fictional piece based on a true story of a divorced woman who raised her two children in Nazi occupied Poland while hiding a deadly secret: She was hiding Jews in her house from the German Soldiers that had become her next door neighbors! This story is about the courage and wit of one amazing woman who went against the odds in a deadly game of cat and mouse to protect those she knew to be innocent. Based on the life of Franciszka Halamajowa who saved 3 Jewish families (and a runaway German soldier), as noted from the diary of Moshe Maltz and testimony from other survivors, this family gives a world of insight into the lives of those who lived amongst the deadliest of the time. I would highly recommend reading this book, though I will say that it is a quick read with only 200 pages.
4. Non-Fiction: “All You Need To Survive: Three Black Skirts” by Anna Johnson. This is a self-help book with tips and tricks from women of all forms. From the newly college grad to the grandmother of twelve. The book gives sagely advice on topics including personal well-being, style, life skills, career, mood management, emotional self-rescue, spirit and giving back. I enjoyed the humorous approach and easy to read bullet points. I ended up purchasing a copy for my personal library, only to lose it to my sister. My second copy I lost to my mother. The newest copy is hidden away from onlookers, but I would highly recommend reading the book for yourselves. It’s a good farmgirl sisters book.
5. Non-Fiction: “Midwest Forestry” by Phil Neadham. This is a book dedicated to identifying and preserving Midwest vegetation along the grain belt. There aren’t many areas locally that are forested around here, but we were lucky enough to have a small patch…that started to grow unusual orangish-red mushrooms. So, we read this book to identify the (jack-o-lantern) mushrooms and found them to be toxic, which is a lifesaver because it was next to our animal barns (and since chickens will eat silicone, I have no doubt they will eat poisonous mushrooms). We uprooted the plant, and using the book to identify any sprouts, we found something interesting: our property is home to several endangered species of flora, including the grass that the natives evolved corn from. This book was very informative and has lots of pictures as well as history for each species of plants. It makes identifying plants easy with its colorful photos and diagrams and gives advice on how to maintain each species you find.
6. Non-Fiction: “The Weekend Homesteader” by Anna Hess. This book is a how-to guide to set up simple projects around your home to establish a homestead, one weekend at a time. The projects are easy with lots of details and background information. Some of the projects included were Surveying your site, mulching, planting a garden, composting, herb drying, freezing, canning, budgets, making a chicken tractor and turning trash into treasure. There are fifty-two projects in the book, making certain you will never be bored. If you can get your family on board, that’s even better, but not necessary since most of the projects can be done by you lonesome. An excellent reference book for the farmgirl homesteader.
7. Poetry: “ William Blake: Jerusalem, Selected Poems and Prose.” Edited by Hazard Adams. This book is a collection of poetry from William Blake, starting with his short stanzas and rhymes, moving through his evaluation and comparison of the human soul in Songs of Innocence and Experience, continuing on through his prophecies involving mankind’s potential self-destruction (also in poem form), his favorite prose and ends in selected letters. I preferred his Ode to Seasons (Spring is my favorite). This is an excellent book for classical poetry lovers.
8. Poetry:”The Riverside Reader Poetry “by Trimmer and Hairston. This book is part of a series called “The Riverside Reader” Series and, like the rest of the series, is a collection of written works by a variety of authors on a variety of subjects. The subjects in this particular book included, Land, The City, Animals, Family, Education, Leisure & the Arts, Work, Science & Technology, Heroes, and various controversial issues. “Obituary of a Bone Hunter” was one of my preferred poems, based on what the poet considered to be major failures of his life. These are more modern poems, often connected to other writings, but excellent for those who are in the mood to read about a particular theme.
9. Poetry: “The Works of John Dryden” by the Wordsworth Poetry Library. This is a collection of poetry created by, obviously, John Dryden. Over one hundred of his known poetic works are found in this book, many of which were parts of longer poetic stories and tales. However, also included were responses from John Dryden to other individuals of the time, usually scathing responses to an issue or event, all written in poetic form. He seems to have been a VERY opinionated individual. The reading is rather dry, by the stories entertaining. It is similar to reading “Beowulf.”
I enjoy reading even though I don’t normally get a lot of time to do so. Covid has cleared up my schedule quite a bit. ^_^ What used to be travel time to and from the school is now my reading time~! Now with Zoom, I can get to the large pile of TBR books in my bedroom.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:49:10 AM
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Jennifer Ettlin, (MsKathleen, #7128) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Bibliophile Badging Merit Badge!
“I had actually signed up for the library a couple of years ago, at which time I was able to tour the facility, but had misplaced my library card until recently. It was in the laundry room amongst some linens I hadn’t sorted in a while due to our very eventful life. COVID-19 allowed me to find it again. I knew my library was probably a safe place to venture since not many people visit the subterranean building, the books kept in the overtly large basement on the bottom floor. They preferred the larger library with lots of light up in the city. When I arrived, I was reminded where the book topics were located, but cautioned that the library had severely limited hours due to COVID. They are now only open one day a week for roughly four hours. Luckily, as it turns out, the Librarian has been investing in having all the books digitalized and added to Missouri’s Digital Library System. I can download library books, using my library card, to my kindle. The best part is that I don’t have to remember to turn in the books anymore. A reminder will pop up on my phone asking if I want to renew the books at the end of the two-week period. If not, they are automatically removed from my Kindle. If I want to turn them in early, it’s only a button push away! I do still have a TBR pile. The library still lets you check out books, but it gives you a month now and up to ten books, one more than you are allowed to check out on Kindle for half the time.
I’m enjoying myself, and I’m keeping myself from getting bored. Our librarian made me a deal recently. The library has been letting me pick out some books from their “thrift book bin”, or “new” books that they ordered from discount stores (books not yet available to the rest of the library public), as long as I can successfully remove the stickers before returning them. I’ve gotten quite good at this and can usually remove the end sticker with my “book iron” and cornstarch. This week’s current pile is in the attached picture. I also posted it on the Farmgirl Connections Chatroom. The link is here: http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?whichpage=2&TOPIC_ID=84773#1005118”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2020 : 11:51:34 AM
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Stacy Sundgren, (slsundgren, #7112) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Know Your Roots Merit Badge!
“I mentioned in my beginner application for the Know Your Roots badge that I'd been researching my family's roots for many years. I maintain memberships with several fee-based genealogy websites and databases. I've searched countless county and state records archives for anything that would expand my knowledge about my family. It has been quite a journey that revealed some very interesting discoveries and created even more questions that still need to be answered.
There are two attached photos. One is of my paternal grandmother and part of the family tree I've documented for her ancestors. The other picture is my Dad and his father, my paternal grandfather, along with an ancestral tree for them. I've been able to document two Revolutionary War patriots on my grandfather's side of the family. I discovered that his 2nd great grandfather (my 4th) immigrated from Ireland at the age of three with his parents and maternal grandparents. My grandmother's side has been much more challenging. Progress has been made, but many brick walls still need to be broken through. There are two very good possibilities for connections to Revolutionary War patriots. Work is in process to confirm the parent-child connections that are needed. I discovered that my grandmother's grandmother lost her parents at a very young age. She and her siblings were split up and lived with several different family members and friends until they could live on their own. Two other of her family lines were early settlers to the Republic of Texas, which makes me a 7th generation Texan. There is always more to do, more to discover and learn. Genealogy is always a work in progress. The beginning date for the badge reflects the day I received my beginner status. My work on my family's roots goes back to the 1970's.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2020 : 12:55:38 PM
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Teresa Roberson, (#7386) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a Beginner Level Canning Merit Badge!
“I researched the different types of canning available and how pH and heat relate to each method. Water bathing is for canning acid foods with pH of 4.6 or lower. This canning method reaches boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Pressure canning is used for canning low acid foods with pH value higher than 4.6. This method kills botulism spores at 240 degrees or above at the correct length of time. I looked in my pantry to find store-bought canned goods.
1. Prego Spaghetti Sauce-Water bath method
2. Canned tuna-Pressure Canned Method
3. Evaporated milk- Pressure Canned Method
There is a science behind canning food. I learned the science about low acid and high acid foods and why temperatures must be reached during water bath and pressure canning. After failures a few years ago, I've finally mastered the science.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2020 : 12:56:39 PM
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Teresa Roberson, (#7386) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Intermediate Level Canning Merit Badge!
“I wasn’t confident when I began this journey of food processing and putting away my surplus for winter. I read and studied the science behind preserving food. Finally, it clicked. During this pandemic when I wasn't working, I wanted to garden and preserve my produce. I grew a surplus of tomatoes and decided to can my spaghetti sauce. I pulled out the water bath canner I had used for years, gathered the supplies needed, and successfully canned 5 quarts of tomato sauce. Pears have come in recently and I decided to can my pears, also using the water bath method.
The tomato sauce smelled so good as it cooked. I sampled it after ladling the 5 quarts of sauce into the jars. After processing, the jar lids popped. I will enjoy my homemade sauce. My "Pineapple Pears" produced for the first time this year. I canned 5 quarts in a sugar-based syrup. I can hardly wait to cook this winter.”
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16273 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16273 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2020 : 12:57:40 PM
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Teresa Roberson, (#7386) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Expert Level Canning Merit Badge!
“In 2017, I canned 10 pints of corn and 10 pints of squash in a water bath. Many months passed before I decided to use some. All of my corn was molded! The squash looked dried out. I trashed it all. So, during this pandemic while I wasn’t working I was determined to make good use of my time to grow and preserve food. I purchased a pressure canner that holds 5 quarts. I recently purchased 40 pounds of chicken but didn't have room in my side-by-side freezer to store it all. I cut up the chicken breasts, placed them in sterilized jars and processed using the pressure method. It was a long, tedious job! It took 90 minutes of processing. All lids popped once they all cooled. Chicken is beautiful! Over the course of the summer, I also canned 20 quarts of green beans using the pressure canning method.
I wasn’t confident when I began this journey of food processing and putting away my surplus for winter. I read and studied the science behind preserving food. Finally, it clicked. Today, I'm a confident canner, using both the water bath method and pressure method. I have a cheat sheet of high acid foods and low acid foods, and I have purchased canning books with recipes. I recently found a sale on apples and plan to make crockpot apple butter, then can pints over the weekend. I will also make jelly out of the peelings. I'm preparing to downsize in the spring, fully retire in July, and enjoy my newfound skills.”
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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