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/Icing on the Cake Expert Level Merit Badge, I was inspired by my local gingerbread house auction and contest.

Okay. So it was a little bit of a stretch … from cake to gingerbread house … but I knew my fellow farmgirls were behind me. Yeah, I wasn’t making a butter cake from scratch, but all the decorating I was going to do was going to make up for it.

And how.

The great thing about gingerbread houses is how long they stay fresh, and how early you can start the decorating process. Example: I started my house two weeks before the contest and auction. I mean, it’s not like anyone is going to eat it anyway, right? It’s for gazing at in awe and admiration, not for snacking. We aren’t Hansel and Gretel, people.

Of course, should anyone want to snack upon my house, they’d be met with delicious flavors, I assure you. Licorice whips, candy buttons, peppermints, gummy bears, powdered sugar, mini marshmallows, gumdrops, sugar cubes, lollipops, red hots, jelly beans … well, this list is somewhat endless. Being a farmgirl, I really tried to limit my junk food and went with plenty of locally made candy, dye-free alternatives, and healthy options, like pretzels and shredded wheat.

I realized about three days in that gingerbread-house decorating is a lot like having a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. They become rather addicting. As in, I’ll just finish this one stained glass window and then I’ll use the bathroom, or One more tree and then I’ll eat breakfast. If you don’t have boundaries, girls, you’re gonna end up with a slight bladder infection and expired, uneaten breakfast foods. Helpful hint from me to you: Know when to walk away from the golden glow of the frosting-tinted roofs and caramel-studded window panes.

I was going to bed with not only visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, but also visions of jellied fruit slices, Skittles, shredded coconut, and cotton candy. Willie Wonka had taken over my dreams. I was getting toothaches and I hadn’t even been pinching the inventory!

I needed a break. Mr. Wonderful obligingly took away my gingerbread house for the night so I wouldn’t be tempted to ice some more, or frost something. I printed out a list of emergency numbers for him in case something happened to my sweet baby, and I tried to go to bed early. I got up the next morning and treated myself to a nice breakfast and didn’t even call to check in (though I wanted to).

Seeing my beautiful house after a little bit of an absence was just what I had needed. With renewed vigor, I placed the very last silver non-pareil atop the gingerbread roof, and together, Mr. Wonderful and I loaded it up into the car.

He drove like a geriatric snail by my request, and we made it to the auction and contest just in time.

Did I win? Did anyone buy my sweet baby?

Well, Second Runner Up isn’t too bad, and let’s just say Mr. Wonderful came with spending money.

Munch munch.

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/Organic on a Budget Intermediate Level Merit Badge, I gave myself a little pat on the back.

Why, you may ask?

I’m so glad you did.

Because I am officially chemical free when it comes to my fruits and veggies, that’s why. And do you know what? It feels good.

Like I knew that it would now.

So good … so good … I got –

Well, that’s where my fondness for segueing from vegetables into song lyrics goes awry. No matter, the point is: I have been successful at eliminating those pesky non-food ingredients from my “rabbit food,” as Mr. Wonderful likes to call plants. (He’s still working on Level One, let’s say).

At first, I admit to being skeptical. I mean, I’ve never been a veggie girl, let’s face facts here. My poor mom had to drown them in Ranch just to get me to swallow them without making a face (vegetables, that is, not facts. Though facts are better with condiments, too). Basically, as a kiddo, I liked my veg in this order:

French Fries

Potato chips

Dill pickles.

I know, I know. It’s a wee list.

But it’s gotten longer these days, and it’s amazing how broadening my horizons, culinary-ish speaking, has lightened my moods (and waistband). I discovered all sorts of foods I never knew I liked, and realized how much yummier it all tastes when there isn’t an aftertaste of pesticides and fungicides. Scary ‘cides aside …

I don’t even need Ranch anymore, which my mother would say is a small miracle. A little sauté in butter and my peas are delish. A squeeze of lemon on a spinach salad and I’m in heaven. A quick stir-fry of bell peppers and onions enliven my sandwiches, and a splash of apple cider vinegar wakes up my sleepy Swiss Chard. And when it comes to my organic fruit? Mm. I never thought a fruit salad could take the place of dessert for this sugar-aholic, but guess again.

Another perk to earning this badge is all the friends and farmers I’ve met that I otherwise would never have found. It’s much more fun, healthy, cheap, and delicious to buy my organic produce from my local neighbors than it is from the big supermarket. Also, there are more samples from the farmers, which is a definite plus when you’re a try before you buy kind of gal.

All in all, I’d say this badge was a pleasure to earn. I’d tell you more but I’m too busy stuffing my tummy with organic jicama.

Only lightly dipped in Ranch.

(But it’s organic, Mom).

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … CJ Armstrong!!!

CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Quilling Merit Badge!

“Papercrafting is not new to me; however, I had not actually pursued quilling. Quilling, also known as paper filigree, has been around for centuries. It was used in the Renaissance to decorate scrolls and books. In the 18th century, it became a “ladies” art.

Basic tools currently include a slotted tool, tweezers, glue, and a tapered needle.

I studied the different rolls and scrolls, which include tight circle, loose circle, teardrop, marquise, shaped marquise, square, rolled heart, loose scroll, open heart, V scroll, C scroll, S scroll and variations on the scrolls. It certainly is nice that you can purchase quilling paper already cut into neat, tidy, and even strips!

I decided to make a card with a simple flower design on it. Since I’ve made lots of papercraft cards, it was pretty easy to get into the process. I used teardrops for the flower petals, a loose circle for the center, and shaped marquise leaves. I’m very happy with the result and look forward to the next project!!”

Are you a fan of American folk art?

If so, you may know the artist whose passing we lament on December 13.

Need a hint? Take a look:

Image courtesy of Wikipaintings

The sweetly simplistic style of Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known to all as Grandma Moses, is nearly unmistakable. And her subject matter is as dear to this farmgirl’s heart as that of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

A picture speaks a thousand words, as the saying goes, and Grandma Moses proved it to be true. With the clarity of her almost childlike imagery, she preserved the rural arts of maple sugaring, soap-making, haying, quilting, and Apple Butter Making (below),  to name a few.

Image courtesy of Wikipaintings

She once said, “I’ll get an inspiration and start painting; then I’ll forget everything, everything except how things used to be and how to paint it so people will know how we used to live.”

Sugaring Off by Grandma Moses courtesy of Wikipaintings

“In person, Grandma Moses charmed wherever she went,” read her obituary in the New York Times. “A tiny, lively woman with mischievous gray eyes and a quick wit, she could be sharp-tongued with a sycophant and stern with an errant grandchild. Cheerful, as a cricket, even in her last years, she continued to be keenly observant of all that went on around her. Until her last birthday, September 7, she rarely failed to do a little painting every day.”

Talk about an inspiration!

Perhaps what fascinates me most about the iconic Grandma Moses, though, is the fact that she didn’t begin painting until she was 76 years old!

Photo of Grandma Moses, taken in 1953, courtesy of Wikimedia

She took up a paint brush, she said, because she could no longer wield her embroidery needle as a result of arthritis. “She had been too busy all her life to bear the thought of being idle,” reported the Times.

Grandma Moses died on this day in 1961 at the ripe ol’ age of 101.

To learn more about her and enjoy a bountiful sampling of her paintings, I recommend the out-of-print book Grandma Moses by Otto Kallir, the renowned art dealer who helped popularize Moses’ work. It even includes a summary of her life, handwritten in her own words.

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Barb Keefe!!!

Barb Keefe (#5355) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning a Beginner & Intermediate Level Let’s Get Physical Merit Badge!

“My goal for this badge was to get in some exercise 4 days a week, starting gradually and progressing. Daily exercise would not be realistic. I purchased a calendar book to document what I did.

My routine started out with a total body range-of-motion exercise program since I had not been active for a long time. I did each body part for 7 repetitions.

For strengthening, I did the following exercises targeting uppers one day and legs a different day. For the most part, I did 2 sets of 12 repetitions and if I felt real good, I did 3 sets.

Upper exercises:

-Bicep curls, starting with 3 pounds and progressing to 8.

-Triceps, starting with 3 pounds and progressing to 8.

-Press, starting with 3 pounds and progressing to 8.

-Bent over row with scapula retraction, starting with 3 pounds progressing to 8.

Lower exercises:

-Straight leg raises, starting without weight and progressing to 7 pounds.

-Hip abduction, starting without weight and progressing to 5 pounds.

-Hip abduction, starting without weight and progressing to 5 pounds.

-Hamstrings, starting with 5 pounds and progressing to 7.

-Bridges, starting without weight and low reps, progressing to 10 pounds 3 sets of 25.

-Abdominals, variety of curl ups, “100’s”, bicycle, planks

After 2 months of this, I needed a change and started yoga at home. I bought a couple of books and watched some programs on TV. It is much harder than it looks! It was very motivating to get me to do something, and I am still at it.

I continued with my exercises as described in the beginner level and started really paying closer attention to what we are eating. I did some Googling around on GMOs, all natural make-up, organic fruits. I subscribed to VeriaLiving channel on DISH for $5 a month. This has really increased my knowledge about many areas of health that are more holistic. I have started a home yoga routine. My groceries are changing to more organic, such as apples, spices, bulk tea, and herbs. I bought a ¼ beef from a local farmer that does not use hormones or antibiotics and I buy my eggs from a friend or get the organic-fed, cage-free variety even though they are more costly. I have yet to find any local chicken, however. In the long run, it evens out because I am not purchasing a lot of junk food.

While shopping at a second-hand store, I was able to “upcycle” a food dehydrator and am trying that now. Normally, I do not cook with beans very much and have tried a couple bean dishes and am planning on starting meatless Mondays. Moving forward, I want to drink more water and have started to drink a glass when I get up, at lunch, and when I get home from work. From now on when something needs refilling or replacing, I am going to do it with the most healthy natural choice.

This has changed a lot more than I thought once I was writing it all down to report. One thing at a time will make it easy and it does add up. It has increased my awareness and will make me healthier.”

Way to go Barb, keep up the good work!