Becoming a Farmgirl!

Yesterday was a day I'd been waiting for a while.  About 6 weeks to be exact!  But let me start at the beginning. 

A year ago Feburary, when my Daddy was in the hospital for almost two weeks and we almost lost him, we were at the hospital pretty much 18 hours per.day.every.day.!  My aunt (Daddy's youngest sister) would come and stay with us for a while and visit Daddy.  And she almost always brought Mama and me 'a little something'.  Often times it was a magazine, because she knew we loved magazines, and because it was something that would help time to pass a little more quickly.  Well, one particular time she brought me a magazine I had never heard of - Mary Janes Farm.  It was all about organic gardening, cooking, canning and preserving, and crafts such as quilting, knitting, sewing, etc.  I loved it!  But as time went on, and Daddy got worse, the magazine got forgotten.  Fast forward about a year.

One day I was riding up a road not far from here, and I saw a little yellow house I'd seen hundreds of times before, but this time there was a new sign out front.  This was the sign . . .

Now, I knew a few things about Mary Jane Butters from reading the magazine.  Things like how Mary Jane got  her start in farming, and how she was teaching how to live a more organic lifestyle, and one that gets back to the basics of things like homekeeping, etc.  Community service is also a high priority!

What I didn't know was that there were now 'Farmgirl Chapters' all across the country!  Hmmmmmmm, maybe this was just the social and creative outlet I needed!  (And one good thing - the 'Henhouse' is almost exactly 5 miles from my house, so it is extremely easy to get to!)  But it took me riding by that house and that sign a good 3 months or so before I finally broke down and started checking into it. 

I started by going to Mary Janes Farm online, then clicking on the section that said 'Chat with other farmgirls online"  and just kept clicking.  I found a form where you can find chapters near you, found the Georgia Farmgirls, and then e-mailed the leader for info about the chapter.  We e-mailed back and forth a few times and I planned on attending the next meeting - that very next Saturday - and I was very excited!  But come Saturday morning we had 5 inches of snow and ice on top of that, and getting out of our short-but-steep driveway wouldn't have been very easy, so I stayed home.  And waited for 4 weeks for the next meeting.  Which was yesterday.

Just a small glimpse of Mary Jane Butters' gardens!

And I went, and I loved it!  The leader was very sweet, and everyone was friendly.  There were about 10 to 12 people there, although there are usually more than that, I believe.  And the topic of the day was starting your garden.  The guest speaker didn't show, so we all just sat around and talked about our gardens, gardening experiences and tips and tricks we could share with each other.  It was a very open forum, too!  No one looked down their noses at you or anything - just a good open conversation.

I loved it, and I joined yesterday!  And I also volunteered for a 'job', and am now the creator and administrator of the Georgia Farmgirls Blog,  I was so excited that I came home and did it right away.  I'll share it with you when I get approval from the team leader to put it out there for the public. 

AND, they are having a craft show in May, and I have applied for a spot to sell my cards, pincushions, lavender sachets, etc.  My first ever craft show as a vendor!

If any of you live in North Georgia - particularly the Cumming, Gainesville, Canton, Dahlonega, Dawsonville, Alpharetta areas, you would be most welcome to come and visit one of our meetings!  You can contact me and I will give you the e-mail addy of our group leader so you can get more info and she will answer any questions you may have.

I am very excited and hopeful about this new venture.  When we got there we were handed a green shamrock out of craft foam and told to write down a wish.  It could be for our world, our community,  someone else, or even for ourselves.  My wish was for 'new friends', and I think that yesterday was the beginning of that wish coming true.

And friends, here is to all of your wishes - large and small - coming true!  Have a great week!  Becky

PS - if you are interested in receiving the Mary Janes Farm magazine, you can just click on the link and subscribe online.