Author Archives: maryjane

Photo by Alex.der.2 via Wikimedia Commons

Running, playing, dipping and dodging …

High-energy dogs look like a lot of fun in photos and dog-food commercials, but when it comes to family life, many owners find they just can’t keep up with constant canine craziness. As a result, a whole lot of peppy pups end up homeless. A chosen few are lucky enough to become “conservation dogs.” But what about others?

Happily, the “performance dog gear” aficionados at Ruffwear recently realized the potential for perfect partnerships between active people and energetic dogs. Ruffwear partnered up with the national no-kill shelter advocates at Best Friends Animal Society to launch the Ruff Adventure Dog Adoption Service. Ruffwear will contribute $50,000 to the effort to cover adoption and travel fees for dogs adopted from Best Friends’ sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, to their new homes anywhere in the U.S.

“Ruffwear customers are adventure-loving, outdoor-oriented folks who believe dogs make the best running, paddling, hiking, and camping partners,” explains Bark, the dog-culture magazine. “Many of the adoptable dogs at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary are also fresh air-seeking, high-energy individuals who would LOVE to find an outdoor adventure partner for life. Throughout the year, Ruffwear will be highlighting a few hand-selected dogs and playing match-maker between these active dogs and Ruffwear fans looking for their new best furry friend.”

If you’re an adventurous gal looking for a perfect “out there” partner, this might be the opportunity to find a new friend …

OMG

In this case, I mean, “Oh, marvelous gourd!”

Photo by Eranb via Wikimedia Commons

Of course, I’m talking about the pumpkin (it is October, after all).

Yeah, yeah …

You’re no doubt wondering what more can be said.

Been there, carved that.

Painted that.

Embellished that.

Baked that.

But, my dear, I ask you, “Have you planted that?”

(You roll your eyes—of course, you’ve planted pumpkins, too.)

But that’s not what I mean.

I guess I should ask, “Have you planted IN that?”

Ah-ha!

I thought not.

That’s why I must share this wonderful video tutorial I found from Westwood Gardens in northwest Arkansas:

Photos? Post ’em on the Farmgirl Chatroom.

Here’s an idea I bet you’ve never considered …

Bra recycling.

Photo, circa 1900, via Wikimedia Commons

Okay, so maybe you’re not a big bra wearer (no pun intended)—lots of farmgirls are going without these days—but I’ll bet that most of you have some old wire-rimmed contraptions laying around at the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

Am I right?

Well, if so, Kathleen Kirkwood wants them. Of course, she wants the ones without wires, too—stretch, lace, cami, padded, training, but no gel or water cups, please.

Wait a minute … what?

Intimate apparel designer and QVC maven Kathleen Kirkwood wants your used bras.

Seriously.

The thing is, Kathleen knows bras. Like, lots of bras. She has been designing them, in one form or another, since the early ’80s. But a few years ago, as she was handling a huge shipment of bras from Hong Kong, she had one of those light-bulb moments.

“I thought, we have to start recycling bras,” she recounted to Mother Nature Network. “Let me go back to New York and find a company that does this. I’ll put it on my hang tags so I can be this super-cool designer. But lo and behold, there was nothing going on.”

The more she researched, the more she felt compelled to fill this gaping niche.

According to MNN, “Some 500 million bras—made of toxic materials such as polyurethane foam, which off-gases dangerous VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and doesn’t biodegrade for centuries—are tossed into U.S. landfills each year or are incinerated.”

Long story short, Kathleen got ‘er done. In 2010, she founded B.R.A. (Bra Recycling Agency), which transforms old bras into—you’ll never guess this one—red-carpet cushioning.

I’ll let Kathleen show and tell you in her original “test pilot” recycling video …