A couple of times when I’ve been knee-deep in a cookbook project, I’ve joked that maybe it would just be easier if we were all breatharians, capable of surviving on air alone. Well, I’ve found just that … in a plant. A plant that doesn’t need soil to grow, just air, and a quick dip in water every two weeks. Meet T. stricta ‘Hardleaf’ and T. aeranthos—only two of many varieties available, brought to market by three guys in Torrance, California.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … CJ Armstrong!
CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Expert Level Glamping Merit Badge!
“My daughter and I call ourselves the “4871 Glamping Farmgirls” and have taken our glamping setup on the road more than once. Our locations in 2012 were:
-Black Canyon City, Arizona, in March
-Priest Gulch, Colorado, in July
-Flagstaff, Arizona, in September
Each time, we set up a 10×10 EZ-UP canopy and glamped it with all kinds of pretties. We also set up a nice tent with a screened porch and glamped it as well, including lace all along the edge of the rain fly, around the edge of the porch opening, etc. Continue reading
Today’s NEWS from Oregon: 2 Teen Girls Save Dad By Lifting 3,000 Pound Tractor Off His Chest
Jeff Smith, at home recovering from a broken wrist and compression injuries, was saved by his 14-year old daughter, Haylee, and 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, and their amazing feat of strength. Jeff was pushing his tractor against a stump when his foot slipped off the clutch. The 1949 Ferguson tractor walked up the stump and flipped over backwards, crushing him beneath the steering wheel. “We heard him yelling. When we got there, his face was white, his eyes blood red, and he couldn’t breath.” said Haylee. “So we each grabbed an axle, counted to three, and lifted.” Jeff was able to get one precious breath of air. They lifted again. He was able to scoot over enough for his lungs to fill but his arm was still pinned. One of the girls went for help while one of the girls stayed with him, continuing to dig beneath him with her hands so he could continue to breath.
Go super-human-strength can-do will-do FARMGIRLS!!!!!!!!
CJ Armstrong, our Farmgirl of the Year 2010, is stitching and selling glamper-ific aprons using my newly launched Glamping fabric collection. You can bet I’ll be wearing one when I’m glamping this summer in my ’68 Airstream, Lily. With this giveaway, you can get your glamp on, too! Picture yourself in one of these. Now, picture your perfect trailer or glammed-up tent.
CJ sells these lovelies on her blog, Fresh Farm Aprons. You can also catch up with her on her business page on Facebook.
Here are some closeups of my “girls” that you see on the fabric above. Yes, they each come with their own personalities and names.
Sunny Brook—high maintenance hits the road
You know I’m passionate about transforming waste into wonder,
but here’s a story that goes beyond anything I’ve ever dreamed possible …
and left me with tears streaming down my face.
It begins in Cateura, Paraguay, a shantytown that’s built upon a landfill where the water supply is dangerously polluted and rains bring floods of refuse.
More than 1,500 tons of solid waste arrives each day, according to UNICEF, and Cateura’s 2,500 families, young and old, survive by separating the garbage underfoot for recycling.
And yet, amid squalor beyond most Americans’ comprehension, beauty is blooming from the most unexpected places …
An old coffee can.
Bottle caps.
Discarded kitchen utensils.
………………………………………………………………….
One person’s trash,
it seems,
can become another’s …
Bach?
“A violin is worth more than a house here,” says Favio Chavez, director of the Landfill Harmonic.
A few years ago, one of the garbage pickers, “an untutored genius of the slum,” joined forces with Chaves, a local musician, to make instruments for the children of Cateura using what they had—trash.
Like magic, violins and cellos emerged from oil drums,
flutes sprung from water pipes and spoons,
wooden packing crates became guitars,
and garbage-picking kids were transformed into musicians.
The Recycled Orchestra was born.
As the dream continues to flourish in the hearts of blossoming musicians, the orchestra is beginning to take tours around the world, stunning audiences with the quality of music that can be produced from “waste.”
At the same time, filmmakers are working on a new documentary, due to be released in 2014, which tells this tale of trash and treasure. Take a peek:
In the coming month, Landfill Harmonic is trying to raise over $113,000 to support their ongoing effort and complete the film. If you’d like to help make it happen, visit their Kickstarter page to pledge as little as a dollar.
Photos courtesy of Landfill Harmonic
Photos courtesy of Landfill Harmonic
Photos courtesy of Landfill Harmonic
Photos courtesy of Landfill Harmonic
Thanks to all those who entered the Shabby Apple clothing giveaway for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to put some … polka dot panache into your life!
Louise reaches into the pile of names and picks out …
Robin Armstrong Miller! Congratulations!
Robin Armstrong Miller said:
“I love Shabby Apple! I am pretty partial to reds and blacks but I like the Mint Green. Something to get my pretty on for teaching!”
Robin, keep your eyes on your inbox for an email from the farm.
____________________________________________________________
And the original post dated March 23 was:
Are you pining for pinafores, perpetuated by plaid, and placated by peplums?
If polka dots predicate a pleasurably palpable prognosis, you’re not alone.
May I prescribe Shabby Apple vintage clothing—a return to what dresses were always meant to be.
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.
