Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Melissa Osborn!!!

Melissa Osborn (#406) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Sew Wonderful Merit Badge!

“I made a small sewing kit. It has places to hold all necessary supplies. I love crazy quilts, so I made the outside look like a crazy quilt and got to brush up on my embroidery skills.

I love it and it is handy to keep beside my chair in the living room for when I want to sit and hand appliqué.”

Photo from “Facial Exercises 1: Discover a Lovelier You” via Woman Alive magazine, 1972

“In the early 20^th century, a man named Sanford Bennett wrote rapturously about his face workouts in a book called Exercising in Bed,” explains Elizabeth Weingarten in Slate magazine. “Troubled by how quickly his face and body had aged, Bennett began exercising at age 50; after two decades, he was a regular Benjamin Button, known by some as ‘the man who grew young at 70.'”

Taking Sanford’s cue, an entrepreneurial gal by the name of Kathryn Murray published her System of Exercises for Facial Beauty in 1912, which was advertised far and wide as a veritable fountain of youth:

Now, before you dismiss these early facial fitness gurus as mere snake oil vendors, consider this:

“[T]he action of a muscle drawing in blood to itself [is] very important to the effect of my exercises for keeping youth and beauty in the face,” wrote English novelist Elinor Glyn in 1927. “The reason for this is fairly obvious, I think. The blood is the life, in it are contained all the gland secretions and nourishment of the body which are necessary for its upkeep and wellbeing. Therefore, if you draw blood to the flesh of any given part you nourish and renew it.”

It’s hard to argue. Much to the dismay of the multi-billion dollar cosmetic industry, Glyn’s wisdom makes darn good sense to this day.

Does facial exercising erase all signs of aging?

Don’t I wish.

Even so, contorting one’s cheeks is completely toxin-free, infinitely cheaper than cream and lotions, and …

it feels good. A real stress reliever.

Yup, I’ve done it for years after featuring the idea in my magazine eons ago, but you’ll find no photographs of me “drawing blood to my face.” Confession: I do it when I drive. Alone. On empty country roads.

So, give it a whirl, farmgirl—here’s a whole series to inspire you, from a 1966 record album called Facial Exercises and Massage Routines for Skin Beauty:

Photos courtesy of Discogs.com

Photos courtesy of Discogs.com

Just be sure to keep in mind the words of Lillian Russell, published in the Washington Herald in 1911:

“The use of facial massage and good cold cream or skin food will be found generally beneficial, but the most important factor in all beauty, as in health, is the mental attitude. If you would be beautiful, avoid all thoughts of evil, all unkindliness, all malice, all worry and dislike; learn a broad tolerance of sin and weakness and a general love for all mankind. Realize that no one can injure you but yourself. Take this mental attitude and try to maintain it at all times. You may not wholly succeed, but you will not wholly fail, and then, as day after day you make the same effort to live upon a higher plane, your face will relax and its contour soften.”

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,602 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—7,898 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Nikki Hurlbut!!!

Nikki Hurlbut (#5131) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Aprons Merit Badge!

“I used a pattern to cut out my apron and then trimmed it to size. I had to sew each pocket on, then each strap to the apron. Then I sewed ribbon around the length of the apron for added color.

It was my first apron, so I cannot be too upset. However, I am going to need a lot more practice if I hope to make a hobby of this one day!”

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,602 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—7,898 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

For this week’s Farm Kitchen/Cheese Making Expert Level Merit Badge, I got to spend some serious quality time with one of my first loves: cheese.

Mmm, ooey gooey, smooth as silk, slices of heaven. I never met a cheese I didn’t like. Well, I’m not super-fond of American, but I’m not entirely sure that is a cheese. Thoughts?

I had already made a few different types of delicious cheeses earning my Beginning and Intermediate level badges, so I was feeling pretty confident about my skills. While looking up the guidelines, I was intrigued by the suggestion:

If you’re adventurous, try smoking your cheese.

I can’t tell you how confused I was for a moment, thinking of some sort of whey-based tobacco or something, but then I realized what they meant. Like a smoked gouda? Smoked cheddar?

Why, yes.

I was halfway there already, since I have a little camping secret I’d like to share with you girls. Are you ready for this?

When you’ve had all the s’mores you can swallow at the campfire, try one of these babies:

A wedge of Brie, roasted on your skewer, then topped with dark chocolate. Or skip the chocolate (Now, there are four words I thought would never come out of this gal’s mouth!) and smooth it on a hunk of French bread.

Bliss on a stick.

But anyway, I assume the merit badge gurus aren’t talking about smoking your cheese quite like that, so back to the drawing board (and cookbooks) for me. I decided to try a smoked mozzarella, because let’s face it, no matter the question, mozzarella is always a good answer. Really! Try it.

Have a bad day? Have some mozzarella.

Need to jazz up some leftovers? Top with mozzarella.

Feel your blood sugar dropping to dangerously cranky levels? Snack on mozzarella.

Etcetera, etcetera, and so on and so forth.

Anyway, I made up a batch of cheese:

A gallon of milk, 1 1/2 t citric acid dissolved in 1/2 cup water, 1/4 of a rennet tablet, crushed and dissolved in 1/4 cup water.  I poured the milk in my pot, added the dissolved citric acid, stirred, and heated it to 90°F.  Then I gently stirred in the dissolved rennet and brought the temp up a little more (to 100°F). Then I shut the heat off and let the pot sit for another 5 minutes or so while the curds and whey continued to separate. Then I fondly recited “Little Miss Muffet” a few times, which isn’t required for cheese making, but is recommended. Then I drain off some of the whey and begin my kneading. It turns from a weird-looking, shaggy mess to a lovely ball of smooth cheese. It’s like magic! Magic, I tell you!

After my cheese was ready, I got Mr. Wonderful to heat up the ol’ smoker …

Cheese Making Merit Badge, Expert Level, Part II coming soon!

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Carla Crawford!!!

Carla Crawford (Farmgirl Sister #3366) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Quilting Merit Badge!

“I joined a group that was teaching beginner quilters, and we did a row quilt, learning how to make a new block each week. We then went home and made more of the same block to complete a row. We added sashing, borders, and a backing. A friend machine quilted it, and I finished with binding.

At first, I was pretty sick of the colors after working with it so long. But now, I enjoy how it turned out.”

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,602 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—7,898 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

For this week’s Make It Easy/Make It Pretty Expert Level Merit Badge, I was taking my artistic urges to a whole new place. A whole new level. The Expert Level.

Gulp.

I wasn’t feeling exactly … expert like. Half of my oil painting tendencies were still stick figures and the like. I didn’t think my best work was paintings of people, so I decided to stick to inanimate objects—like trees or mountains or something. Something that didn’t wiggle so much. (Mr. Wonderful posed for me and so did Midge’s triplets, but I gotta say, they all need to work on their Relaxation Merit Badges … talk about squirmy!)

I got out my collection of oil paints and my largest canvas. I had been saving this canvas for over a year, until the Creative Juices struck.

Until I could no longer put off My Muse.

Until the portraits in my mind shouted to be drawn!

Also for the day I ran out of copy paper.

That would be today.

The view from my back porch is ever so lovely at sunset, so that was my aim. I nervously paced through my house most of the day. I checked the time at least 14 times per hour (sunset was set to arrive at 5:05 this evening, according to my friendly television meteorologist). Then I become conscious of the fact that I could start everything but the sunset/sky ahead of time, so I got cracking.

I was so anxious to mar my blank, white canvas that my hand shook on the brush as I dipped it carefully into Cerulean Blue. I momentarily panicked as I second-guessed my knowledge on the meaning of the word Cerulean.

Was it sky-like enough?

Firmly, I gave myself a good talking to.

“Self,” said I, “art is subjective. A matter of opinion. There is no right or wrong. Only art.”

I was feeling much better. Rather sage-like. An art guru. The yogi of oils. The maharishi of paints. The counselor of creative expression.

The Yoda of Merit Badges!

Train you, I will.

Anyway, my confidence bolstered and the sun about to set, I feverishly painted away. (Note: I didn’t really have a fever, it’s just how we artists like to talk.)

I was so obsessed over a particular arch in my garden—getting the greens of the ivy just right—that I completely missed my sunset.

Grr!

Not one to let anything detour me in my quest for all things merit badge-y, I changed direction and cast a twilight appearance on my painting. Who needs sunsets anyway? Totally overrated. A few twinkling stars in the night sky, both in real life and still life, and I was nearly finished.

My fingers were covered in paint and so were my jeans, but I was feeling pretty good. All I had left was to learn the fine art of framing my masterpiece and then getting up the gumption to enter my creation in the local upcoming art show downtown.

Eek. What if no one liked it? What if they thought it was painted by a monkey?

Or a baby?

Or a someone who just drank a four-shot espresso and happens to be blind in one eye?

Or a baby monkey who just drank a four-shot espresso and happens to be blind in one eye?

I’m not sure I’m ready for this badge … talk me into it.