Below are recently approved Merit Badges. Congratulations Sisters!

Jacque Felsheim, #8294, Mamasheim

Beginner Cleaning Up / Shopping Green

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Get It Together

Beginner Garden Gate / The Good, Bad, and Ugly … Bugs

Intermediate Garden Gate / The Good, Bad, and Ugly … Bugs

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Sew Wonderful

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Aprons

Beginner Garden Gate / Backyard Farmer

Beginner Each Other / Farmgirl Gratitude

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Buttoned Up

Patricia Krug, #8551, patty

Beginner Garden Gate / The Secret Life of Bees

Intermediate Garden Gate / The Secret Life of Bees

Shennandoah Connor, #8578, shennandoah

Expert Garden Gate / Birds

Expert Garden Gate / Bee Good To Your Mother Earth

Intermediate Garden Gate / The Good, Bad, and Ugly … Bugs

Intermediate Garden Gate / Heirlooms Forever!

Intermediate Garden Gate / The Secret Life of Bees

Expert Garden Gate / Water Management

Beginner Garden Gate / Putting Away for Winter

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Recipes

Expert Garden Gate / The Good, Bad, and Ugly … Bugs

Intermediate Make It Easy / Grease Chicks

Beginner Each Other / Differing Abilities

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Know Your Food

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Bread Making

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Canning

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Food Allergy Awareness

Beginner Cleaning Up / Green Energy

Stacey Mitchell, #6969

Intermediate Stitching & Crafting / Aprons

Tina VanDaam, #8431, TinaTina

Intermediate Outpost / First Aid

Expert Garden Gate / The Secret Life of Bees

Here are Merit Badges that were recently approved.

Congratulations Sisters!

Merit Badges Approved 6/3/24 and 6/6/24

Maverin Dei, #8653, MaverinDei

Beginner Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Jennifer Chapman, #8562, JenniferAnn

Beginner Garden Gate / What’s Your Beef?

Candy Hogan, #8283, Tigger9777

Beginner Outpost / Disconnect to Reconnect

Intermediate Outpost / Disconnect to Reconnect

Linda Bowlby, #7595

Beginner Outpost / First Aid

Intermediate Outpost / First Aid

Here are Merit Badges that were recently approved.

Congratulations Sisters!

Merit Badges Approved 5/28/24 and 5/29/24

Cindy Kinion, #6058, AussieChick

Intermediate Make It Easy / Candlemaking

Expert Farm Kitchen / Food Allergy Awareness

Heather Neeper, #4701, nndairy

Expert Cleaning Up / Shopping Green

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Bustin’ Out

Beginner Outpost / Orienteering

Beginner Outpost / Buzzin’ Around

Intermediate Outpost / Buzzin’ Around

Expert Outpost / Buzzin’ Around

Expert Cleaning Up / Recycling

Tiffany Bowman, #8644, HistoryGirl17

Beginner Make It Easy / Relaxation

Beginner Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Lily-anne Hein, #6071, GinghamGirl

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Palate Pleasers

Intermediate Farm Kitchen / Palate Pleasers

Jessie Yonkovit, #134, JessieMae

Beginner Cleaning Up / Green Energy

Here are Merit Badges that were recently approved.

Congratulations Sisters!

Merit Badges Approved 4/24/24 and 5/1/24

Jill Yelland-DeMooy, #6748, jillyd

Beginner Garden Gate / Birds

Kellie Wade, #8487, kelliewade

Beginner Make It Easy / Let’s Get Physical

Intermediate Make It Easy / Let’s Get Physical

Beginner Outpost / Buzzin’ Around

Intermediate Outpost / Buzzin’ Around

Merit Badges Approved 5/7/24

Krista Davis, #528, MaryJanesNiece

Intermediate Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Expert Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Mosaics

Beginner Make It Easy / Macrame

Hannah Frankowski, #6994, GinnyBelle

Beginner Make It Easy / Mindfulness Meditation

Intermediate Make It Easy / Mindfulness Meditation

Expert Make It Easy / Mindfulness Meditation

Beginner Cleaning Up / Leave It Better Than You Found It

Expert Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Expert Make It Easy / Relaxation

Debbie Klann, #770, debbieklann

Beginner Farm Kitchen / Kitchen Renegade

Intermediate Farm Kitchen / Kitchen Renegade

Expert Farm Kitchen / Kitchen Renegade

Beginner Farm Kitchen / MaryJane’s Better Butter

Intermediate Farm Kitchen / MaryJane’s Better Butter

Expert Farm Kitchen / MaryJane’s Better Butter

Here are Merit Badges that were recently approved.

Congratulations Sisters!

Nancy Joplin, #8352, Nancy Joplin

Intermediate Stitching & Crafting / Crochet

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Homespun Christmas

Denise Thompson, #43, levisgrammy

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Cross Stitch

Intermediate Stitching & Crafting / Cross-Stitch

Beginner Cleaning Up / My Fair Farmgirl

Intermediate Cleaning Up / My Fair Farmgirl

Expert Cleaning Up / My Fair Farmgirl

Patricia Krug, #8551, patty

Beginner Outpost / Geography

Beginner Cleaning Up / Shopping Green

Intermediate Make It Easy / Relaxation

Debbie Klann, #770, debbieklann

Beginner Each Other / International Civics Challenge

Intermediate Each Other / Languages/Culture

Expert Each Other / Languages/Culture

Intermediate Each Other / International Civics Challenge

Expert Each Other / International Civics Challenge

Nancy Joplin, #8352, Nancy Joplin

Beginner Make It Easy / Collect It!

Beginner Make It Easy / Carp-hen-try

Tiffany Bowman, #8644, Historygirl17

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Crochet

Shennandoah Connor, #8578, Shennandoah

Expert Farm Kitchen / Get It Together

Expert Garden Gate / Herbs

Beginner Garden Gate / The Good, Bad, and Ugly … Bugs

Tina VanDaam, #8431, TinaTina

Intermediate Each Other / Calligraphy

Below are the Merit Badges that were approved today.

Congratulations Sisters!!

Nancy Joplin, #8352, Nancy Joplin

Beginner Garden Gate / Horse Dreams

Intermediate Garden Gate / Herbs

Debbie Klann, #770, debbieklann

Intermediate Make It Easy / Through the Looking Glass

Beginner Make It Easy / Through the Looking Glass

Expert Make It Easy / Through the Looking Glass

Emily Nellinger, #8229, citychick03

Intermediate Each Other / Farmgirl Gratitude

Below are the Merit Badges that were approved today and last Sunday.

Congratulations Sisters!!

Debbie Fischer, #1582, Blessed in Colorado

Beginner Each Other / Languages/Culture

Beginner Each Other / Families Forever

Beginner Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Intermediate Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Buttoned Up

Intermediate Stitching & Crafting / Buttoned Up

Debbie Klann, #770, debbieklann

Expert Farm Kitchen / Apples

Beginner Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Intermediate Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

Expert Each Other / Lost Art of Letter Writing

 Expert Farm Kitchen / Icing on the Cake

Denise Thompson, #43, levisgrammy

                  Intermediate Stitching & Crafting / Embroidery

Beginner Cleaning Up / Recycling

Intermediate Cleaning Up / Recycling

Expert Cleaning Up / Recycling

Heather Neeper, #4701, nndairy

    Beginner Stitching & Crafting / Scrapbooking

Intermediate Cleaning Up / Recycling

Expert Make It Easy / Relaxation

Expert Farm Kitchen / Get It Together

Joyce Hein, #6071, GinghamGirl

Beginner Cleaning Up / Living Zero Waste

Intermediate Cleaning Up / Living Zero Waste

Expert Cleaning Up / Living Zero Waste

Karen Martell, #8422, Jokamartell

Beginner Garden Gate / Herbs

Krista Davis, #528, maryjanesniece

    Beginner Each Other / Families Forever

Tina VanDaam, #8431, TinaTina

   Beginner Each Other / Calligraphy

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 Farm Kitchen for earning an Expert Level Carpe Cocoa Merit Badge!

“I already knew how to make ganache, so I found 2 different ganache recipes to make my truffles, one dark and one white chocolate. The 4 flavors I decided on were White Chocolate Cranberry Orange (my favorite); White Chocolate Peppermint, dipped in Dark Chocolate (reminiscent of a York peppermint patty); a Bailey’s truffle dipped in dark chocolate’ and a Crown Maple truffle, also dipped in dark chocolate.

I had heard that Starbucks offered chocolate drinks during the holidays. I think I will watch for them and try their version if they are offered again. I tried to make a Mexican version of hot chocolate, not overly sweet but had hints of cinnamon. I really liked it! I don’t think I will try the Aztec chocolate drink (chocolate mixed with grown maize) anytime in the near future!”

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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 Farm Kitchen/Do You Know the Muffin Man? Beginner Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, Piper and I put up our muddy boots and got to talking.

Talking about? Muffins, of course. I mean, is there anything else in the wide, green world to talk about really? Right up there with Nancy Drew mystery stories, dresses with pockets, and whether or not one believes in ghosts, breakfast foods are really the go-to in any young girl’s conversational arsenal.

Perhaps Pooh and Piglet put it best:

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”

“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”

“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

“It’s the same thing,” he said.

But of course—and this is the really exciting part—muffins aren’t just for breakfast anymore. They belong to one of those remarkable food categories like eggs, apples with peanut butter, and granola bars: an excellent choice no matter the time of day. Midnight snack muffins? Um, yes please. Breakfast, second breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert? They can all be satiated with a muffin. They really are the perfect food …

“Aunty,” said Piper, “you’re getting that dreamy-eyed look again. Are you okay?”

“Just waxing poetical about muffins,” said I. “Top or bottom?”

“Top, of course!”

“What if you slice them from top to bottom instead of lopping off the top like most people do? Then each half would have half a top and half a bottom?”

Piper thought for a minute, then declared me a genius. (I know, I admit it humbly.)

Our next question was regarding our favorite flavors and it was such a long discussion we needed sustenance and lemonade, so we broke out the cookie jar while we deliberated. In the end, while we did choose current favorites, we realized our muffin knowledge was sadly lacking. Example: Piper had only ever had blueberry muffins and chocolate muffins, and I had been stuck in a lemon poppyseed rut for far too long. We had a feeling this badge was going to get us out of our comfort zone, and we were right!

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