The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,504 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,886 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ 

For this week’s Farm Kitchen/Know Your Food Intermediate Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, Nora decided to educate the rest of her family on her newfound knowledge of … drumroll please …

FRUIT.

Yes, once little Nora realized plain ol’ fruit was pretty plain delicious all on its own, she had forgone most of her sweet treats in favor of a juicy kiwi, or a bowl of peaches and cream, or some sun-ripened strawberries.

Photo by Nino Barbieri via Wikimedia Commons

She was even starting to come out of her sugar-induced coma. I swear I saw a twinkle in her eyes I had never seen before as she bit into an Anjou pear. It was a miracle.

To earn her Intermediate Level badge though, she had to share her knowledge.

In retrospect, I probably should have supervised this part a little more. Sharing what you love and don’t love about food at the dinner table, with over-tired parents and whiney siblings and the like can be a recipe for disaster. Note to self: Janey, my dear, when you have offspring of your very own, fruity looms, remember this.

Nora had been a sport about trying new fruits and veggies. We had a blast at the farmer’s market and grocery store, picking out new things. She even went totally overboard: she only needed to do one new item per week, but she was averaging one per day. The girl was becoming addicted to it. I wasn’t sure if her mom was going to thank me, or kill me.

Photo by Daderot via Wikimedia Commons

My Final Decisions and List of New Food
By Nora

The Good:

• Kiwis
• Cantaloupe
• Persimmon (but only under ripe, then they get gross)
• Plantains
• Starfruit
• Sweet Potatoes (made into fries only)
• Purple Cauliflower
• Radishes
• Pomegranates
• Jicama

The Bad:

• Sweet Potatoes that aren’t in the shape of fries
• Raisins
• Dragonfruit
• Squash
• Lima Beans
• Arugula

The Ugly:

• Beets (until you slice ‘em, then kinda pretty)
• Raisins (should be illegal)
• Turnips (yuck)
• Bean Sprouts (scary, alien-looking things)
• Ugly Fruit (No, really! It’s a thing! A form of a tangelo!)

Since no mom wants a report card after dinner, I took it upon myself to keep the list at my house. All in all, we tried lots of new stuff, and Nora enjoyed more than she spit out. Tastefully. Into a napkin.

We also learned that taste buds change over the years (they literally wear out like an old pair of socks), approximately every seven years to be precise. So though Nora may hate arugula now, she might eat it up cheerfully as a 20-year-old. (She is skeptical.)

Time will tell.

P.S. Jane here. Still waiting for my taste buds to accept asparagus. Maybe if I bury it in Hollandaise sauce? You know, for my health?

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Debbie Klann!

Debbie Klann (debbieklann #770) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Greatest Generation Merit Badge!

“I have always loved spending time visiting with my older relatives and hearing their stories. I especially love hearing the wisdom they have gained with their age.

Our church has a small mission church on the local reservation that we attend. There is a small group that stays afterwards for coffee and visiting. A couple of years ago, we started going to coffee and hanging out with our older members.

Sunday morning Mass and coffee has become one of the highlights of our week! These older couples have lived here most of their lives, and we went to school with their kids. It is so great to have this church family and sit and hang out with them and enjoy being with them and especially their HUMOR!”

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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,504 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,886 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …  

For this week’s Bibliophile Badging Intermediate Level Merit Badge, I had shortened my TBR pile from the Beginner Level badge, only to build it back up again. I’ve noticed TBR stacks are like bunnies. They multiply quickly and at a sometimes alarming rate.

Berliner Walk of Ideas, Humboldt University by Lienhard Schulz via Wikimedia Commons

One way to keep your tomes down to a manageable minimum is to loan your books out. I know, I know, it hurt my heart the first few times too. I mean, these were my babies. What if someone abused them? Dog eared their pages? Dropped them in the bubble bath? Used them as coasters? Or worse yet, never gave them back?

*gasp*

One thing I found to help alleviate that last fear, was this handy-dandy personal library kit. I recommend it highly, not just because it essentially gives the loanee no excuse to remember who owns that book, but it’s way fun to stamp things and channel your inner librarian.

Anyway, earning my badge meant challenging my friends to a book reading contest. You can do this with your local buddies, or do it online through social media, like Facebook or Instagram. I found plenty of willing participants, and we put ourselves out there with all sorts of goals and plans. We found we were all motivated by the same things: good books and prizes. That’s right, what’s a book reading challenge without a prize at the end? I gathered all sorts of fun trinkets to award to the readers: chocolate, coffee mugs, bookmarks, fuzzy socks, gel pens, etc. Then we separated our goals into easily obtained chunks, like this:

• Most Books Read in the Month
• Finishing an Entire Collection by One Author
• Keeping Detailed Reviews of Books Read
• Finishing a TBR Stack that is At Least Five Books High
• Reading Five Biographies

The possibilities for challenges and prizes are pretty much endless.

Next, organize your fellow bibliophiles in a real Book Club. Now, when I say real I don’t mean it has to meet in person right in your own living room: if that’s not a possibility due to living rurally or whathaveyou, you can have just as much fun joining or starting an online book club. Perk to that: you get to eat all the chocolate chip cookies you baked for the occasion all by yourself. Ahem.

Once your club is off the ground, so to speak, pick a book to read together and a date to meet. Also, a secret handshake and a clubhouse is not amiss, but maybe that’s just me.

My book club? We are currently reading spy thrillers, meet at a secret location, and eat a lot of cookies. But that’s just what floats my literary boat. Can’t find one to meet your needs? Check out our own Farmgirl Book Club on Facebook, and find what’s fresh and new (or old and vintage), chat it up with other bibliophiles, meet new friends and farmgirls, even be introduced to authors. Cookies not required, but highly recommended.

The Story Book by William-Adolphe Bouguereau via Wikimedia Commons

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My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is SuZan Brown!

SuZan Brown (Imascholar2, #4394) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Scrapbooking Merit Badge!

“In May 2017, I went on a two-week literary tour of England with 12 other women. When we returned home, I gathered the 16k photos that were taken. After editing the photos I decided to use and gathering the journaling from each participant, I compiled a 280-page scrapbook. It took 1500+ hours. I had the 12”x12” hardcover book printed at Blurb.com and then delivered one copy to each participant.

It turned out FANTASTIC! All recipients were thrilled.”

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Jill Lokke!

Jill Lokke (#6707) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Basketry Merit Badge!

“I have been making baskets for many years, and even taught beginning basketry classes, so for this merit badge, I researched plaited, coiled, ribbed, and wicker basket techniques, and discovered that there is a lot of overlap, and my basketry books don’t always agree with the Wikipedia article. The baskets I have made are mostly plaited, with the materials woven over and under each other at right angles. I have also made some that are more of a wicker style, with very flexible weavers over spokes of a more rigid material. For both types, I usually begin by twining the base of the basket with a small diameter round reed. One of my earlier baskets is wicker-style on the bottom and ribbed at the top, with a braided rim, but I didn’t know that until I did the research.

For my ‘first’ basket for this merit badge, I chose to make my first coiled basket. It is sea grass cording wrapped with my hand-spun, hand dyed wool yarn. I dyed it with indigo after spinning. The sea grass is entirely covered by the yarn.

In all, I spent at least four hours on the basket, and a couple of hours researching. I’ve already started looking into Native American basketry for the next level.

It was a lot of work for a tiny basket, but it’s very cute! The diameter is 4 1/2 inches and it’s 2 inches high. It will hold three eggs, which is about all I get in one day right now (6 hens).”

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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,504 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,886 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ 

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …  

For this week’s Each Other/Where in the World? Beginner Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, I wrangled me some Piper.

Just call me the Child Wrangler.

(Just don’t call me late for dinner.)

I was itchin’ to do this badge with her because I hadn’t yet attempted the grown up farmgirl version of it: National Geography. I wanted to ease my way in, so to speak. Why? Well, let’s just say geography isn’t my strong suit.

And if you teach someone to fish for a day, you teach yourself … how to fish for a day as well. Or something like that.

Also, expressions aren’t my strong suit, either.

Anyway, Piper was excited about this one because she recently been gifted a huge stack of paper maps. Most were from old back issues of National Geographic magazine and they were mostly in good shape. She’d used some already … to make paper fans, paper dolls, homemade envelopes, line her dresser drawers, and turn into paper airplanes with which she accosted nearby bystanders (like me). In spite of all that … um, geography, she had yet to do anything with her maps along the lines of what the good cartographer had intended them for: hanging them up on her walls for study purposes.

Map of Eastern Europe, 1836, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Armed with thumbtacks, we set about hanging the two most important ones: one of the United States, and one of the whole world. Hung right at eye level near her bed, I figured she would be doing a lot of learning and memorizing by osmosis.

And you know what they say: If you judge a fish a day by its ability to climb osmosis trees, it will spend its whole life believing it’s a stupid tree. Albert Einstein said that. Or something along those lines.

While I was staring intently at the map of America (When did North Dakota move over there? Has it always been there? Weird.), Piper was hanging up her own personal favorite map, one of Neverland.

You know, where Captain Hook reigns and the Lost Boys run amuck.

I was pretty sure this map had not been published by National Geographic, but I had to admit, it was a beautifully drawn map. Complete with crocodiles and flying pirate ships and mermaids! I was a little jealous and used a nearby crayon to add some mermaid doodles to North Dakota. It vastly improved the scenery.

Peter Pan, 1915, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

While Piper is not yet ready for the National Geography Bee, she had memorized quite a lot the next time I saw her. She knew the capitals of most states by their handy-dandy star icon, she knew which ocean was on which side of America, and she had added a sock to the boot-shaped Italy. She also knew the way to Neverland.

“Second star to the right,” she said, gravely, “And straight on till morning.”

We’re currently working on our flying ship to get there.

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Dawn Conrad!

Dawn Conrad (DawnC, #7297) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning the Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert Levels Bee Good to Your Mother Earth Merit Badge!

“Identify five herbs and uses for them along with using them daily in cooking and/or crafts = accomplished Beginner Level.

Started an Herb Garden. Grew more than two herbs and used them in coking and some for medicinal use. Harvested and used the herbs. = accomplished Intermediate Level.

Identified issues re: location of the herb garden. Moved the herb garden to a new location. Planted additional three herbs, harvested and used them. Dried Basil, Thyme, Lavender and Stevia. Packaged in gift bags, used in cookie recipes, used fresh, and gifted to friends and family. I also Joined a local Herb Society, which has been very informative and helpful. Accomplishing Expert Level requirements.

Super FUN and satisfying to grow your own herbs! Herbs are such interesting plants and there is SO much you can do with them. Herbs offer a great learning experience, and I find it very relaxing to be in the herb garden.”

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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,504 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,886 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

For this week’s Each Other/Bibliophile Badging Beginner Level Merit Badge, I brought along my BFF, Midge, and we sauntered off to the library. Being the mom of triplets, Midge doesn’t get out much, and she hasn’t read a book without pictures and rhymes in like, five years, so I figured I’d share the love of this badge.

We both had library cards already, which was Step 1, but since Midge couldn’t find hers and mine needed an address update, we went to the front desk first. I was a little skeered the librarian lady would take a peek at my overdue fines and screech like a cat on a hot tin roof, but she seemed nonplussed. Of course, it helped that I paid down the balance and also brought her a double mocha with whip.

It’s important to keep the librarians fed and well-hydrated, don’t you know. They run the world.

Steacie Science and Engineering Library at York University by Raysonho via Wikimedia Commons

Anyway, the next part of earning our badge, Madge (er, I mean, Midge), was to check out the other things the library had to offer.

Get it? Check out the other things? (I slay myself.)

We availed ourselves of the handy-dandy free pamphlets the librarian had to offer, took snapshots of the extra-large bulletin board in the main room, and made sure to update our e-mail addresses so we wouldn’t miss a thing. In fact, our humble library offered so much free stuff, we planned out the next two months of our social calendar!

Midge found things for the kids to do:

• A Lord of the Rings movie marathon, with popcorn and trivia
• A book club for mystery lovers
• A craft afternoon

I found several things of interest that I promptly put on my to-do list:

• Read It Before You Watch It: a book club specializing in famous films that were novels first
• How to Garden
• A tour of my local cemetery, complete with historical guide
• A 25-cent book sale

Midge found several things up her own alley:

• Story-time for kindergarteners (moms get to browse the Adult Non-Fiction area nearby)
• A class for journal lovers
• A calligraphy course
• A meet and greet with local authors

We were so excited about all our new interests, we totally forgot to check out any books! So after realizing our mistake, we went back the next day. Sometimes these badges take a while … good things come to those who wait, however.

The final part of earning our Beginner Level badge was to start our TBR pile.

For those of you book newbies, a TBR pile is a To Be Read stack. Some people have these all over their houses, some relegate them strictly to the nightstand, some keep them scribbled on a piece of paper or organized on a website like Goodreads, and others (like Yours Truly) sprinkle them willy-nilly throughout the house and car. You never know when the mood to read will strike, you know?

If you’re stuck on what to put on your TBR list, ask your friendly librarian. She will be pleased as punch to give you her recommendation (and a double mocha with whip will assure she doesn’t hold back the best of the best). Tell her what your favorite authors or genres are to date, and she’ll come up with something faster than you can say Dostoevsky. Which admittedly, might not be very fast because that guy’s name is hard to pronounce.

Still not convinced about the power of your library? Check out some of these quotes, and when you’re done, get thee to your library and get yourself a card …

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” ~ Albert Einstein.

“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” ~ Jorge Luis Borges.

“A library is the only single place you can go to learn something new, be comforted, terrified, thrilled, saddened, overjoyed, or excited all in one day. And for free.” ~ Amy Neftzger.

“Libraries represent the diversity and immensity of human thought, our collective knowledge laid out in rows of revealing inspiration.” ~ Manuel Lima.

“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.” ~ Andrew Carnegie.

“Without the library, you have no civilization.” ~ Ray Bradbury.

“What is more important to a library than anything else — than everything else — is the fact that it exists.” ~ Archibald MacLeish.

“The library is like a candy store where everything is free.” ~ Jamie Ford.

“The idea of a library full of books, the books full of knowledge, fills me with fear and love and courage and endless wonder.” ~ Elizabeth McCracken.

“Libraries really are wonderful. They’re better than bookshops, even. I mean bookshops make a profit on selling you books, but libraries just sit there lending you books quietly out of the goodness of their hearts.” ~ Jo Walton.

“There is no problem a library card can’t solve.” ~ Eleanor Brown.

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Marlene Laverty!

Marlene Laverty (#7503) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a Beginner Level Let’s Get Physical Merit Badge!

“About two months ago, I decided to start a workout program. I wanted one that I would actually do everyday. I allowed myself one day a week off from this program, but other than that, everyday for no less than 20 minutes a day. I suffer from depression, and I need a more natural form of control over it other than pills. I picked yoga. I did yoga several years ago to help with a back injury and it worked very well. I didn’t practice everyday, just when my back hurt. It really helped with my recovery. I stopped doing yoga for a long time. I needed to reconnect with my inner yogi!

Not to mention that studies show yoga can help with depression, stress, and a host of other ailments. I already have a few books and a few DVDs. I already have the tools to do yoga at my disposal. I am not even sure why I stopped my yoga practice in the first place.

I have been doing yoga now everyday for a few months now and I have fallen in love with my yoga practice. I was taking one day a week off from my workout, but I discovered that I didn’t feel as good that day. I feel better throughout the whole day if I do my yoga in the morning. I sleep better when I do bedtime yoga. I even have an app for yoga on my tablet. I can touch my toes again, I feel less stress, and I have lost 9 pounds to boot!”

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Shari Doty!

Shari Doty (Sharikrsna, #607) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Tatting Merit Badge!

“I ordered needles, and using my Stitching Room book, learned needle tatting. I had already been shuttle tatting. I have already made six ornaments, a collar, a hatband, and edging for a baby carrier I sewed for my neighbor. One heart shaped ornament was a pattern from 1917!”

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