We need to find meaning. We need to be useful. We need to know that who we are matters. I give, you give, we all give.
To celebrate 125 years of Oakesdale and 25 years of Old Mill Days …
you start with a cowgirl hat, braids, and boots …
Or if you’re my mother, you pose in front of the coolest pink truck you can find while wearing your “miller” outfit.
Laurie Dimino says: Thanks so much for sharing the great pictures Meg! Looks like a fabulous time was had by all, on a beautiful sunny day! What Fun!
Winnie Nielsen says: Oh gosh, I love your truck float! And the glamper pop-up store for Budget Mix!! What a fun day you all had. There is something very special about small, local celebrations. You can just feel the love. I bet JC Barron would be so proud of the preservation of his beloved flour mill and business and a day set aside just to celebrate and enjoy the blue prairie summer day. Those ribs look amazing!
Question. The Joseph”s Flour sign, was that a repro from the days of JC Barron? Do you have prints or posters available that someone could purchase? Like me? I love it because it represents another dimension of the MJF love of family, community, and valuing the treasures that make us where we are today. Just wondering.
MaryJane says: Are you landed somewhere? Of course we have a repro for you. That was Joe’s logo for the organic flour he milled and sold.
Winnie Nielsen says: Currently in Salt Lake City waiting for last flight to Spokane. Arrive there at 3:52 p your time. It is a long way!!
Wagons Ho!!!!
Looks like a ton of fun! Too bad we couldn’t have been there.
Meg and Mary Jane . . you two are just cute as you can be!!!
Thanks for sharing this celebration with us!
CJ
Loved this… Y’all are adorable!!!
And those turquoise boots??? oh yeah!
Looks like a wonderful celebration…Almost as good as being there!
hugs from the shorelines! xoxo Deb
Karlyne says: Pig and Pal laughs! Love it!
Cristan says: This is just wonderful!
Pamela Criswell says: Oh how Wonderful!!!! Love Piggies
Some folks looking at a landfill look down their noses.
Yet, I can’t help but regard “trash” and wonder,
what if?
What if all of those legless chairs, busted blenders,
tattered clothes, and dented fenders
had been patched instead of pitched?
Photo by Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons
Are you as tired as I am of how toss-away we’ve become?
Then you’ll love the idea of a Repair Café.
Launched in Europe a few years ago, this reconstructive revolution is sweeping the globe, rescuing all sorts of useful stuff from death-by-dumpster.
“Lots of people have forgotten that they can repair things themselves, or they no longer know how,” says founder Martine Postma. “Society doesn’t always show much appreciation for the people who still have this practical knowledge, but the Repair Café is changing all that.”
Repair Cafés are free meeting places that are all about repairing things together. They furnish tools and materials to repair clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, and more. Plus, visitors have the opportunity to connect with fix-it specialists who’ll lend a hand and share their know-how. It’s an ongoing learning process, Postma says, and valuable skills are getting passed from person to person. She believes that the Repair Café environment teaches people to see possessions in a new light and to appreciate their value.
Photos courtesy of Repair Café Pittsfield, Massachusetts https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pittsfield-Repair-Cafe/349694531801567?ref=stream
Winnie Nielsen says: This is a great idea! I can only imagine the kind of learning and fun that would take place. And yes, I agree with you, so many things are left piled on the side of the road for the garbage man every time someone moves out. Sofas, small tables , book shelves, chairs with some obvious breaks seem like they could have been fixed. In our university town, every semester end brings student moving out and tons of stuff just piled up on the roadside. Once it all gets the regular afternoon thunderstorm on it, it is pretty useless stuff!
Diana Lane says: Such a GREAT IDEA! Not only repairing stuff, but giving folks with skills a place to use them. We need to have more of this type of thinking!
Judy Erion says: Wish I had thought of the idea myself, but I don’t have the smarts to do it. I always feel badly about the useable , but dirty, broken and sad things along the road. When I went to the dump one day, someone was throwing a red wagon away. It only needed a slight repair on the tongue of the wagon. It sits in my backyard to haul around grandchildren, pots of dirt, plants or tools, etc. I think the term is “scrounge” and I don’t care what people think. If something needs a little care, do it and give it or keep it and use it. We don’t need to be a “throw-away society” because life is too short to leave a trail of trash behind us. Let’s fix ‘er up and use it!
Wonderful! Wonderful! I have spent over 40 years repairing and fixing and keeping stuff out of landfills. Had a sewing room with ten machines so that people could use them to fix what they needed to. Now I make a few dollars selling on line the things people want to throw away.
bobbie Calgaro says: What a super idea! An idea whose time has come but in our throw away society, I doubt that many will use it. Although re-purposing is starting to take hold.
Karlyne says: How fun! So often we throw things away because we just don’t have the skills to repair them. Thumbs up!
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
That is such a beautiful picture, I love to see the wheat blowing in the wind from a distance.
It has a soft flow about it.
Thanks.
darlene
I love living in wheat country! ♥