Farmgirl Follies

Workplace lovin’

Posted by Farmgirl on March 30, 2009  |  No Comments

Got ya with that title, didn’t I?

I’m talking about love as in kind, compassionate and caring. As in this tub full of goodies that arrived in a big UPS box this afternoon. This was one big barrel of love … sent to my family, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a bow.

If you’ve read back a few posts, I explained that the man of the house had a mild heart attack. Thankfully he is going to be fine—going stir crazy—but for the most part following the doctor’s orders. Except for the target practice. (You can read that story here.)

It’s tough for a young, active farm boy to sit around and do nothing. Even harder not to exercise his mind with the computer programming/problem solving mumbo jumbo he’s used to. There’s no going to the office. No working from home via computer. Sorry, Charlie.

Our coworkers, bless they’re kind and thoughtful souls, determined to make things a little easier for him. Thus the goodies and beautiful cards, boxes of heart healthy snacks, handwritten recipes, cookbooks and puzzle books and computer programming books (so he doesn’t get rusty while recuperating). Someone packaged nuts in little 1-ounce snack bags. Someone included a rubik’s cube (cue synthesizer music!).

This isn’t just a gift basket for a sick colleague. This is a a testimony … of one company’s compassion… of the family of people within that company. I’ve always known we worked at a great place. I’ve seen and participated in this love in action before … aimed at other folks. I’ve never had the opportunity to experience it so personally.

Thank you, folks at Certified Angus Beef LLC. We are humbled. God bless you, every one.

In honor of the E.T. DVD that someone included in hubby’s basket (the very first movie I saw in a theater!), I quote Neil Diamond:

Turn on your heartlight
Let it shine wherever you go
Let it make a happy glow
For all the world to see

Food for thought: an economics lesson

Posted by Farmgirl on March 30, 2009  |  No Comments

An economics professor said he had never failed a single student, though he had once failed an entire class. The particular class had insisted socialism worked and if poor and rich did not exist, everyone would be happy.

The professor determined a class experiment on socialism would be the best lesson. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade.

When grades from the first test were averaged, everyone received a B. The students who studied hard were upset. The students who studied only a little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little studied less; the students who studied hard wanted a free ride too, so they studied little.

The second test grade average was a D. By the third test, everyone received an F.

The scores never increased, but the bickering, blaming and name calling resulted in hurt feelings and animosity on both sides. No one was willing to study for the benefit of everyone else.

To their great surprise, the overall class average at the end of the semester was an F. The professor failed the entire class.

He explained to the students, ”When the reward is great, the motivation to work hard is great. When the government takes all of the reward away, no one will try harder or want to succeed.”

Is this story true? It very well could be …

Holy communion!

Posted by Farmgirl on March 29, 2009  |  4 Comments

Can you get kicked out of church for disorderly conduct?

I ask, because my family and its collective gaggle of kids was about as discreet as a three-ring circus during today’s service. Ironic, since my kids are—at this very moment—visiting a circus with their paternal grandparents.

My offspring

The chaos began with my almost three-year-old son. He’s a grazer. Always a healthy breakfast, followed by a morning of frequent snacking. I bring Multi-Grain Cheerios and bananas to keep him satisfied. But GRANDMA … she brings cookies and M&Ms and horrible candies that stain their teeth purple or blue.

Sugar + six kids of solid-food-eating age = Crisis

Then there was my brother’s boy—17 months of pure ornery cuteness. He likes to sneak away. He loves it when people chase him … especially during church. Grandma took him to the basement to run free.

My brother's offspring

My sister’s 3-month-old twin boys demanded to be fed. Then they demanded to fall asleep. Since sister’s hubby was sick at home today, I happily grabbed a baby. Sister and baby #1 went to the basement. He needs quiet to fall asleep. Baby #2 couldn’t be settled, so I ended up in the basement, too. Then came my hubby—with my son, who had to pee.

My sister's offspring

If you’ve lost count, that’s 1-2-3-4-5-6-7- COUNT EM - 8 members of my family hanging out in the church basement.  It was a communion of chaos. Desperate folks trying hard not to disturb the other 80 people attempting to hear the sermon in the sanctuary.

DEAR CONGREGATION: I apologize for the spectacle we make on a weekly basis. My family sits together at the back of the church in an effort to contain the noise. The eight of us who are adults usually succeed. The other members of our clan—ages 8, 7, 6, 4, almost 3, 17 months, three months and three months, fail.

Repeatedly.

So we endure a rather un-holy communion in the church basement—accepting servings of “Boo-hoo-h00!” and “Shush!”

P.S. My other sister will have a baby girl in June. We’re almost ready to open the “Church of the Holy Moses! They’re So Loud We Kicked ‘Em Out And Now They Meet In A Barn!”

March madness

Posted by Farmgirl on March 28, 2009  |  No Comments

Need I say anything?

Mission for memories

Posted by Farmgirl on March 28, 2009  |  No Comments

I left the house at dawn. Excitement hung in the air—a companion to the thick fog shrouding trees and fencelines. I slowed to allow a vibrant ring-neck pheasant and his mate to reach the safety of a ditch. I gave a cursory glance to a groundhog. A sleepy white horse was a stark contrast to my mood—a woman on a mission with fire in her eye and love for yesteryear in her heart.

I picked up a friend and we headed down winding roads to a red barn in the middle of nowhere. This structure was not filled with hay and straw, animals, pigeons or machinery. It was brimming with antiques … wood bowls, crocks of every shade, wool samplers, quilts, Colonial-style chairs, old rockers, sandstone water troughs and rustic miscellany.

Aaahhh. Heaven.

My enthusiasm was contained by the funds in my wallet, but I did come home with a few treasures like this delightful egg basket. A look-alike for the one owned by Ma Ingalls. My girls were thrilled. I loved this unique crock with a cork in the bottom and the small round one will clean up with a good scrubbing.

The $10 quilt is not a collector’s piece. I doubt it’s 50 years old. I don’t care. It is free of rips and tears. It has bright and cheery colors with a soft, washed-many-times feel. Someone used it … enjoyed sweet dreams under it. I can’t wait to curl up in it with a good book—or my blog—or my Pride & Prejudice DVD. Hello, Mr. Darcy, you tall, dark and complex man. I digress.

The other day, an acquaintance said to me: “I know you think antiques are fabulous, but I just don’t like old, cruddy stuff.”

Obviously she has never wrapped up in a time-worn quilt, molded her hands around a graniteware mug of hot cocoa and savored a sweet slice of banana nut bread on one of these …

Had she experienced such bliss, she could never have made that statement.

You don’t have to rid your home of modern creature comforts. You don’t have to like the “old, cruddy look”—but I encourage everyone to take a moment to enjoy something from yesteryear.

After you’re done daydreaming, fold up that quilt and stash it in the back of the closet if you like. I’m guessing you won’t, though. Soft, old quilts tend to become best friends. They absorb tears. They wrap you in fuzzy hugs. They’re sturdy.

Best of all … they age with you but never lose their warmth.

Mooncakes

Posted by Farmgirl on March 27, 2009  |  2 Comments

The girls made this recipe when we studied China. This is not a traditional Chinese recipe, but a simple way to use ordinary ingredients to make a cookie similar to a Chinese mooncake. It’s tasty—much like a shortbread cookie filled with jam.

Moon Cakes

3 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup strawberry jam for filling

Sift together flour and salt. Set aside. Cream shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the vanilla and mix. Work in the flour. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface. Roll to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut into rounds.

Layer half of the rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet. Top each round with a teaspoon of jam.

Lay the rest of the rounds on top of the jam-covered rounds. Using your thumb (or the tines of a fork), press down to seal the edges. Prick the tops with a fork  in an X pattern. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Enjoy … and you might want to make a double batch. These went quickly at our house!

Prim Living Spaces

Posted by Farmgirl on March 27, 2009  |  1 Comment

Came across some delightful primitive living room photos from Better Homes & Gardens that I thought you’d enjoy.

I love the blue trunk as a coffee table. The wood plank ceiling is great. Chandelier—new, but fabulous. Like the redware plates. Look deeper … can’t help but appreciate the purple-tones of the flowers in the crock and the bright green apples in the wooden bowl. I’m a sucker for buffalo checks, too.

Here’s another … very simple, you could say sparse. Like the look of the game board behind the wood bowls. Layers of texture appeal to me. Wingback chairs to capture the heat from the hearth. Again with the flowers—I can’t get enough of the bright & cheery black-eyes Susans.

Though I don’t normally like the bright wood tones and stark white chinking of a logs on interior walls (seems too busy to me, but I’m weird!), the muted tones of the old wood here are gorgeous. The floor is fabulous too.

Do you love antiques? Have a room—or a house—devoted to primitive country style? Send me your photos. Tell me what you love. I’d love to see!

Confronting addiction

Posted by Farmgirl on March 27, 2009  |  2 Comments

I have a confession to make.

I have spent approximately 168 hours over the last few years watching all 224 episodes of McLeod’s Daughters. That’s only … seven days, right? That’s a week. A vacation. Moms don’t get vacations from their kids (at least not this one) so over the past five years or so, I’ve stolen mini retreats in 45-minute bursts.

Have you seen the show? Heard of it? It’s sort of a soap opera drama-type show from Australia. The first couple of seasons aired on the Women’s Entertainment (WE) channel.

I used to watch it. Then I became addicted. Then the main character died and THEN the people at WE took it off the air. American fans mourning a death were left hanging.

But I had a plan.

I went to my trusty source for just about anything—ebay—and began purchasing the seasonal boxed sets from Australia. It’s taken me several years to acquire all eight seasons. It’s also taken a bit of Internet hankie pankie, but I found the “secret code” that made my DVD player zone-free. And then I began watching my stories.

Basically, McLeod’s Daughters is about a bunch of wild and crazy, brave and brazen, hard-working and compassionate women who run a cattle station [ranch] in Australia. It’s hard work. Perils abound. Tragedy strikes at every turn. It’s riveting. Lots of horses … sheep shearing … general farm work. I laugh, I cry, I sit on the edge of my seat. It makes me want to hop on my trusty stock steed and drove sheep across the Outback.

Interested? The first few seasons of the series are now available at Amazon—in the correct zone for U.S. DVD players. It’ll take you a few episodes to “learn the language”—the accents can be a little tricky. I had to look up a few Aussie terms … but it’s awesome.

If you need a new addiction, I highly recommend you get to know the ladies of Drover’s Run. Oh … there are some extremely appealing jackaroos, too.

Irish Brown Bread Recipe

Posted by Farmgirl on March 26, 2009  |  1 Comment

You will need the following ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and dusting
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 4oo degrees. Have ready a nonstick baking sheet. In a bowl, combine the flours, wheat germ, baking soda and salt. Whisk to blend.

Beat in the buttermilk and egg and stir just until moistened. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and with flour hands, gently knead 8 to 10 times. The dough will be sticky. Gather into a loose ball. On the baking sheet, form the dough into a 7-inch round. Dust the top of dough with a small amount of flour. Cut an X in the top of the dough, about 1/2 inch deep.

Bake until the bread splits open at the X and makes a hollow sound when the underside is tapped—about 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for two hours (ideally) before slicing.

Slather with softened butter (margarine if you’re being good!), homemade strawberry jam or apple butter. Enjoy!

Oh sweet July!

Posted by Farmgirl on March 24, 2009  |  No Comments

Remember sunny skies, steamy temperatures, warm breezes and balmy nights? Remember family gatherings and happy, worn-out kids? I do. I came across some photos today that made me long for the dog days.

Doesn’t this look like fun? Makes me want to go dig for worms and pull out the sunscreen (apparently I missed those sweet little cheeks last summer!).

And then there’s this … my daugher *sparkles* inside and out. She *dazzles* me.

I love her … and her sister and her brother and her daddy and the whole clan of great-grandparents and grandparents and uncles, aunts, cousins and siblings that were all around my child like a protective cocoon on this warm, summer evening last July. You can’t see them, but they are there. Just ouside the glow.

And because it’s fun and hysterical and stressful and warm and fuzzy when all of those happy people get together, we end the affair with children who resemble this sleepy creature.

Memories, folks! Make memories … commit every single moment to memory.

And if you’re crazy and distracted like me, blog about those memories. Then if you ever forget, there will be people to remind you!