The farmgirl “sole” is rugged but feminine, tooled, and tough. Our winner today reminds us of a pair of red high-heeled dancing boots.

Kate said:

“I bought one of MaryJane’s books and found the website from there. I’ve always been interested in crafts but now want to expand my self sufficiency into gardening, etc. I haven’t bought or subscribed to the magazine yet but find the blog entries from various farmgirls interesting and inspiring. I’ve always loved open spaces and the self sufficiency aspect of farming life. One day I will own that small farm where I can grow my own food and keep animals and chickens and sheep and alpacas and other animals that produce wool so I can make my own yarn.”

For this week’s Cleaning Up/Recycling Merit Badge, I got back to basics. You see, I’ve been a half-hearted recycler, a part-time recycler, and a salvager, but I’ve never really focused, learned, and applied recycling practices in my home.

I know, I know. I hang my head in shame. I’m even wringing my hands, for crying out loud, so you know I’m contrite.

Being a very visionary-type person, one thing that held me back was not having appropriate containers in my house near the trash in order to properly commit to this recycling business. I mean, yes, I have my big ol’ county-owned recycling can outside, and that’s used occasionally for the big things … the flattened boxes from my over-abundant eBay purchases, large milk jugs, and my organic root beer bottles, to name a few. But when it comes to every last scrap of paper, or each and every tissue, or discarded envelope, or soup can, well, I must admit to tossing them willy-nilly in the regular trash under my kitchen sink.

But no more. I am repenting, girls.

First things first: I educated myself on what exactly could be recycled in my area and found out a few things I’d been doing wrong when I did get a wild hair (hare?) and tossed the wrong things in my recycling bin. Turns out I was tossing things like caps to my laundry detergent and ketchup bottles, broken glass, and mirrors (I was distracted at the time by fretting about my seven years’ bad luck), lightbulbs, and those heavier-type plastic containers (you know, like the ones lettuce sometimes come packaged in, or other produce). I feel very knowledgeable now, and also feel like I may owe my recycling man an apology. I’m surprised he hasn’t been leaving me warning notes. I decided to leave a full root beer bottle as penance for my sins.

So, now that I knew what my area could and could not accept, I set up a recycling center in the corner of my kitchen. One calico-lined bin was for glass, one candy apple was red for plastic, and one teal tickled was perfect for paper. Oh, and there’s always my little lidded bucket with my scraps for the chickens. Now, I suppose you could go all matchy-matchy on me and be a little more tied-in with your color schemes and look, but I am more the eclectic gal myself. Hey, my teacups don’t even match their saucers. (Wait, maybe I’m a better recycler than I give myself credit for.)

It’s hard to break a habit, girls, much less a bad habit, but I’m really getting the hang of recycling now. Opening my mail involves a kind of choreography: envelopes here, bills there, magazines here, etc.

It’s nice to do my part, and I’m pretty certain my recycling man is just as relieved as the planet is now that I’ve come around.

Is something goin’ down at the farm? No, up.

Cynthia O., you’re up next!

Cynthia O. said:

“I am a subscriber and absolutely love this magazine!!!! When it arrives in the mailbox, I know I’ll get nothing done til I’ve read it from cover to cover!!!!! Not only the articles, tips, recipes but I enjoy reading the advertisements as well. I know if they are in this magazine, I can trust them. I’m a country girl and always will be!!”

Watch your e-mail inbox for a message from the farm.

One fearless man with, well, more than just a little dirt under his fingernails.

His name is Mike Rowe.

Photo by Sklmsta via Wikimedia Commons

You probably know Rowe from his television show, Dirty Jobs, in which he spent several years traveling to all 50 states, working as an apprentice on over 300 jobs that most people go out of their way to avoid.

Septic Tank Cleaner?

Egads!

Shock value notwithstanding, Mike’s ultimate goal was to spotlight and celebrate hard-working Americans who make civilized life possible for the rest of us.

I love this guy.

And he just keeps getting better.

What you probably don’t know about Mike Rowe is that on Labor Day of 2008, he launched a website called MikeRoweWorks.com, which focuses on the decline of blue-collar trades that are essential to keeping this country on its feet—think construction, railroad engineering, road work, skilled manufacturing, truck driving … you get the idea.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

“As the host of a TV show about hard work, people often assume I speak for tradesmen and skilled workers. In reality, I don’t. I can only speak for myself and anyone else who shares my addiction to paved roads, reliable bridges, heating, air conditioning, and indoor plumbing,” Rowe declared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 2011.

Mike’s call to arms is aimed at redefining what he describes as “our nation’s dysfunctional relationship with work.”

And, no, he insists he is not running for office.

He’s just a good-deed kind of guy.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Wikimedia Commons

The mikeroweWORKS Foundation has provided over a million dollars in tool stipends and scholarships to people looking to learn a skill or master a trade.

What’s more, Mike has partnered up with Discovery Communications on a new multimedia initiative, Discover Your Skills, to provide unemployed and underemployed Americans with access to resources for obtaining marketable job skills and employment opportunities.

Thanks to Mike, it has never been easier to don a blue collar and bolster the foundation of America.

Tune In, Tradeswomen!

Lest you shrug off the topic of trades because it feels like “man’s work,” let’s regroup here.

Gender boundaries ain’t what they used to be.

Mike’s website highlights Pride and a Paycheck, a newsletter tailored to women who work—or would like to work—in the trades. It includes resources, announcements, safety tips, photos, stories, art, and poetry by tradeswomen as well as advice from advocates who recruit new workers into these surprisingly lucrative professions.

For a free e-mail subscription to Pride and a Paycheck, send your request to tradesis@aol.com.

Ta da!

To do.

Check.

Tiffany Bowman!!!! Tiffany said:

“Have enjoyed MaryJanesFarm from day one. Full of so many wonderful things from recipes to gardening ideas and soooo much more. The pictures are gorgeous and I have never seen any content that I didn’t love!”

We have a stack of poor souls that just didn’t survive the bumps in the road, the jostle of UPS boxes, and/or were squished in an overt display of misjudged stacking.

Our loss is your gain.

This particular book suffered a little ding on Calamity Jane’s trailer below her driver’s side tail light. Luckily, she dodged the bullet clean through her pages. Other than that, she’s perfectly ready to introduce you to the world of glamping.

Oh, except for one other thing … are you named Frances? Or, do you know a Frances with a birthday coming up?

Why do I ask? Well … before we noticed the “bullet hole” in the front cover, my mother had already signed a customized request signature. So, if you said “yes” to either of those two questions above, this copy is yours, for FREE! (This is a giveaway, after all.)

Just tell me below about the birthday Frances in your life and it’s all your’n. Next up, a battered Ideabook, magazines, etc. Although, after they find new homes, I think that makes them all bettered.