Author Archives: megan

Don’t Worry. Be Happy.

Posted on May 21, 2015 by megan

Can you find something in your life to be happy about today? How about for 100 days in a row? It sounds like a pretty tall order, but 100HappyDays.com is challenging people to attain an attitude of gratitude by simply snapping a picture every day.

It started in 2013 as a personal mission for founder Dmitry Golubnichy to bring happiness back into his life. As is so often the case, Dmitry suffered from lack of contentment in a modern life so full of everything. He made a visit back to his hometown, where he tried to express his dissatisfaction to his friends and family, but found that he was met with happy people who were mostly content with their lives. He left promising himself that if all of those around him could find happiness in the everyday, then so could he.

Dmitry made himself accountable by posting his intentions and a daily photo on social media sites with the hashtag #100happydays. Much to his surprise, his friends started asking to join in, and then strangers wanted to join in, so he launched a website and had a staggering 3,000 participants sign up on the very first night.

To date, the challenge has been taken by 1.5 million people from 220 countries! Sounds like lots of folks want to be happier.

A snapshot of my happy … I am grateful for my children, a campfire, ice cream, flip-flops, sweatpants, and cozy quilts.

Intrigued? Visit 100happydays.com to register for the challenge and pick a platform for sharing photos. You can share your pictures on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram with the hashtag #100happydays, or if you’re a little more private, you can simply share on their website or link to your own private space. At the end of the challenge, you can receive a set of all 100 prints to remind you about the everyday beauty of your life.

Euphoria

Posted on May 18, 2015 by megan

Back in October, I mentioned the Kirkus Prize and its $50,000 award to each writer in a variety of genres. I also vowed to devour the chosen book in their fiction category. And devour it I did.

Photo Apr 21, 8 56 48 AM

Lily King won the prize in the fiction category for a brilliant little novel by the name of Euphoria. It also won fistfuls of other prizes and accolades, and I am happy to report that it certainly lived up to its reputation.

Lily King pays homage to Margaret Mead through a re-imagined tale of a true-to-life meeting of the revolutionary anthropologist and her second and third husbands, Reo Fortune and Gregory Bateson. Using this as a point of departure, the story depicts a tragic love triangle between three rival anthropologists working along the Sepik River in Papau, New Guinea, in the early 1930s. When the novel opens, our protagonist, Nell, has just published a brilliant and controversial book about natives of the Solomon Islands that has made her very famous. She and her jealous and competitive husband, Fen, are about to set sail for Australia after a stint of disappointing field work in New Guinea when they happen upon a colleague and competitor, the desperately lonely Andrew.

King’s descriptions of the three characters’ collaborative yet colliding journeys in the hot and muggy air of the jungle, the stolen glances of hidden love, and the background throbbing of tribal drums was beautifully done. I will most definitely read the Kirkus Prize fiction winner for 2015.

Selfies from the 1950s

Posted on May 11, 2015 by megan

One of the many benefits of living near two state universities is the steady flow of art and culture they bring to the geographical area I call home. Recently, I had the pleasure of a free afternoon in which I found myself wandering among a poignant collection of work by street photographer Vivian Maier that was on display at the Washington State University Museum of Art. I was really struck by the candid nature of her photos, and when I returned home, I did a little more research on this fascinating woman.

Man with mirror via vivianmaier.com

I love the thought of Vivian Maier wandering in 1950s New York City, camera in hand, capturing ordinary life for five solid decades. And I am truly fascinated by the number of “selfies” she took, celebrating her unique character at a time in our history when that type of behavior was often considered “unladylike.” She certainly couldn’t hold her Rolleiflex camera out at arm’s length like we do today, so she had to capture her reflection, which in turn, often captured unintentional snippets of life in the background.

self portrait via VivianMaier.com

I found some of my favorites from the gallery at VivianMaier.com. It’s worth some time to browse her story and portfolios and get to know her a little better.

PET Art

Posted on May 4, 2015 by megan

In our 21st century world, plastic is everywhere, especially plastic bottles with the widely-known abbreviation of PET. PET refers to polyethylene terephthalate, a substance found in nearly 80% of the bottles on Earth. Polyethylene terephthalate is derived from oil and does not degrade in nature, and PET bottles are quickly becoming the mascot for the pollution that’s clogging the world’s landscapes and oceans. Since PET won’t decompose, the bottles have to be collected and recycled.

This overabundance of plastic bottles has turned out to be a goldmine for Czech artist Veronika Richterová. She uses PET bottles to create whimsical sculptures, which she has dubbed PET-ART. She’s been at it since 2004, when she learned that heated plastic became very malleable and could be easily molded and sculpted.

Photo, VeronikaRichterova.com

Photo, VeronikaRichterova.com

In addition to creating phenomenal works of beauty, Veronika and her partner, Michal Cihlář, systematically gathered information about PET bottles and published it in an article on her website called “A Tribute to PET Bottles.” They’ve also built a collection of more than 3,000 PET bottles from 76 countries. The duo photographs “popular” PET-ART by “anonymous creative individuals” who use old PET bottles in ingenious ways and then use the photos to inspire viewers to reconsider the waste they put into the environment and find creative, new uses for their discarded items. Her online gallery is also full of hundreds of her fantastic plastic creations.

Pen Pals

Posted on April 28, 2015 by megan

Pen pals are back in style in a new and creative way, thanks to a gal named Janette Lane and the growing sensation of her Pocket Letter Pals network. Pocket letters are pen-pal letters in a pocket format. The idea is to fill all nine pockets of a 9-pocket trading card sleeve and send it to someone who’s agreed to swap with you. Pen pals connect by signing up on the free network, where they can also create a profile, join groups, receive news, and message other members.

Pocket letter samples via PocketLetterPals.com

The swap can be a one-time exchange, or you can exchange indefinitely if you find someone you really like. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a collection of new pen-pal friends from all over the world? I’m thinking it would. Visit PocketLetterPals.com to learn more.

Who’s Saving the Rhinos?

Posted on April 12, 2015 by megan

Meet Africa’s first all-female patrol unit, the Black Mambas.

photo, Facebook, Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit

The Balule Private Nature Reserve in South Africa has hired 26 local jobless female high-school graduates and trained them in tracking and combat skills. They are an unarmed, but visible, police presence whose main job is to be seen patrolling the fence to deter poachers. Their approach has been hugely successful. The Balule Reserve hasn’t lost a single rhinoceros in 10 months (compared to 23 losses in a neighboring reserve) and snare poaching has declined by 90%. The Black Mambas are challenging not only poachers, but also the patriarchal notion that it is unladylike to work in the bush on a patrol unit. They are now looked up to as heroes in their own communities—the same communities where the poachers themselves reside—and it’s a hope that this new respect will help to open everyone’s eyes and hearts to the welfare of their country’s endangered animals.

photo, Facebook, Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit

Find out more at the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit page on Facebook.

Girls Climbing Trees

Posted on April 2, 2015 by megan

The girls and I took a trip to Boise, Idaho, last week. The weather was warm and lovely, and we spent ample time at the park. Although we could have just as well been at home on the farm because as I sat on the park bench, I watched dozens of children playing on Boise’s state-of-the-art playground equipment, but guess where my girls spent their time? In the trees surrounding the park.

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Watching them climb gives me a slight heart attack, but it’s good for both mental and physical health, right?

Need a Bathroom?

Posted on March 30, 2015 by megan

In our busy world of travel and errands, there’s a universal question that we all must eventually face, especially if we’re the parent of little ones: Where’s the bathroom? Pulling over for a little “hike” in the woods is fine for many of us, but what if there are no woods nearby or your stop requires a little more, ahem, pampering?

Well, if your smartphone accompanies you on your jaunts, there’s an app for that! Airpnp uses your geographic location to give you a list of places to potty, from freebies at coffee shops and stores to private homes that rent out their bathrooms. Private homes that rent out their bathrooms?!

graphic, Airpnp

Yes, that’s right, people actually rent out their bathrooms. Listings on the site include photos, hours of service, and fees, and many boast family-friendly atmospheres or luxurious soaps. The founders, natives of New Orleans, created the app when they realized they could help frustrated revelers find a bathroom during the city’s annual Mardi Gras festivities. Co-founder and “PEO” Max Gaudin says, “You can use Airpnp on your phone via the browser, on your computer, or download our iOS app.” Their playful tagline reads “Urine good hands.” For those of us who sometimes have to really, really GO, this app could turn out to be ….? What would you end the sentence with? Dashing?

Have You Mailed Anything Lately?

Posted on March 26, 2015 by megan

Have you been over to our Farmgirl Connection chatroom lately? It’s chock full of farmgirls sharing their expertise in all things farmgirl. Many of us spend a considerable amount of time every day chatting via our computers, so we’ve decided it’s good to put our electronics aside now and then. How? We’re mailing mail art. Real art mailed through the post office. Real art that shows up in our actual mailboxes.

This is just a sampling of the awesome art our Mail Art Coordinator (and mail artist extraordinaire), Kristi, has been receiving.

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But don’t feel daunted by what’s been done—anything that gets your hands moving and your creative juices flowing is welcome, and we’d love to have you join us!

Snow Day!

Posted on February 11, 2015 by megan

I love the delight on my girls’ faces when they wake up to find themselves facing the pinnacle of childhood freedom: the snow day.

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Photo, Oregon Department of Transportation via Wikimedia Commons

They’ve been hoping for one with each snow we’ve had. I’ve never known a kid who didn’t love a snow day. And that got me wondering about snow days of yore.

Just like today, kids enjoying a snow day 100 years ago might break out their Flexible Flyers for a slide down the hill. The sled made its debut in the 1910s and by the end of 1915, consumers were purchasing 2,000 sleds a day.

Photo courtesy of The_Childrens_Museum_of_Indianapolis via Wikimedia Commons

After sledding, they might come inside for hot cocoa, but making it was a whole different ballgame in the days before microwaves and convenient packaged mixes. Hot cocoa had to be boiled, a long process that involved steeping cocoa shells or cracked beans and could take upwards of an hour.

While waiting, siblings and friends might have enjoyed a friendly game of Rook, a card game invented at the turn of the century whose deck did not include any face cards, thereby rendering it useless for gambling and safe for family play. By then, the gang might mosey back outside and gather teams for ice-barrel ball, a sport that falls somewhere between hockey and basketball and involved two opposing teams trying to throw a ball into a barrel while ice skating.

I’m sure those kids got all tuckered out, just like mine. It’s good to know some things never change.

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