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.
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 …
Go ahead, ask my granddaughters …
I am positively mad for the madcap fun of Mad Libs.
(Did you see that I even took a stab at my own version, dubbed the “ag lib”?)
Yup.
So, imagine my delight when I learned that gals like me were goofing around with “libs” long before the template took on a trademark. Leave it to Susan Odom to discover such a treasure.
Who’s Susan, you ask?
She is the brilliant proprietress of Hillside Homestead, a historic Michigan farmstay that you’ll get to visit in the Oct/Nov issue of my magazine, on newsstands now (this is one you won’t want to miss … but aren’t they all?). When Susan isn’t entertaining guests with authentic turn-of-the-twentieth-century meals and activities around her pastoral property, she blogs a bit. And in one of her posts last summer, she wrote, “Well, here we sit on the longest day of the year as we prepare for our big Farmhouse Frolic tomorrow! We are all so excited—we will be waxing eggs; bubble bowling; making rhubarb sauce; playing games; watching pigs, ducks, and chickens; and so much more. One thing we could not quite fit into the schedule was a ‘mad lib’ found in a wonderful book called The American Girls Handy Book, which was published in 1887 (read more about that here). It’s called ‘Biographical Nonsense’ … Who know that there were historic mad libs? Great fun at a party!”
Thanks to Susan, we can all access this humorous helping of history here. Print it out and present it to the attendees of your next farmgirl gathering.
Giggles are guaranteed.
Photo courtesy of SimpleInsomnia via Flickr
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Rebecca Riccio!!!
Rebecca Riccio (ladybek9756, #4932) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Crochet Merit Badge!
“I made a doll for a farmgirl’s newborn baby. I used just about every crochet stitch to make all the flowers that adorned the doll’s dress as well as the dress itself.
The doll came out really nice and the flowers around the entire border of the dress added just the right touch to make the gift special for this baby and her mother.”
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
