When we rely upon laws to enforce decent behavior, we end up spending our hard-earned money on attorneys. Rather than legal recourse, I’m on a mission to amp up my personal charm and collaborative kindness. Good manners are contagious.
Let’s get viral together.
Cindi says: What is it about a pile of fresh linen, various weaves and textures, strings of twisted cotton, that makes me sit here and just stare at it? Not sure what my mind is doing, but the smell of flour and vanilla and sound of a sewing machine humming seems to be slowly drifting to the surface from way back in my memory.
Winnie Nielsen says: Cindi, your response today is poetic!! I can’t think of a better way to describe today’s photo. Thank-you!!
Good Morning MaryJane! The log cabin renovation is happening and wallpaper is up on the big wall but I had to order one more roll this morning to finish the smaller wall. I’ve been taking pics and will share. Oh my but this is exciting for me as it is a project that has been formulating in my brain for about a year now. Should I attempt such a bold move? No, too weird? Yes? Once I gave into my fantasy of owning a log cabin within my limits, the project moved forward and I am so glad I listened to my Farmgirl Heart!! Oh, and my faux fireplace and insert arrived. Can I just say, I think it is the lynch pin for creating necessary ambience.
Linda Kozel says: This is so interesting. While still working on sorting and trying to let go of things from my parent’s estate and my grandparents home as well, I have come across a lot of linens, towels, sheets…etc. A lot of them were soiled and because there were so many, I did get rid of a lot. But I have also kept a lot, especially things with logos on them, hand embroidered linens, even if torn and soiled, because they are lovely to me. I even have pieces of a hand stitched quilt I found stuffed in the rafters of my grandparents attic. It was so rotted in places, (the quilt) I was only able to salvage some of the pieces with stars that were appliqued. I love thinking about the stories behind these fabrics and the work that went into making them and how they have managed to survive all these years. I mean, think about it. The natural fibers that became the thread that was finally woven into these creations, some humble, some extraordinary. Linens are made from flax, and the process that goes into making it is time consuming and a craft that, done by hand and simple machines is amazing. The wool and animal fibers that went into the blankets I found started with a sheep or goat grazing in a pasture! I just find it amazing that I have these treasures from days gone by that came from a blended effort of sunshine, rain and human ingenuity to create something lasting.
Barbara Criss says: Too much depth for me to make a comment! You go girls!
Lisa Arthur says: Nothing beats an old comfy rocker on a porch!!!
Barbara Criss says: This makes me want to sit down and relax and rock my cares away.
Cindi says: My favorite art activity in grade school was when the teacher would come to each student’s desk and draw some odd squiggly line across a blank piece of paper and then tell us to find the picture in it and draw the rest. I could find the most beautiful garden scene with trees and bushes, flying doves, and even a small lake in this photo. Mother Nature is the best teacher to awaken inspiration!
Lisa Von Saunder says: Ah frost on windows. You don’t hardly see that anymore in today’s sealed up houses. I always was so fascinated by frost on the windows when I was a child. Thanks for the memories MaryJane.
Barbara Criss says: Beautiful photo–but it is so warm and sunny here today that I don’t even want to think about frost on a window.
Lisa Arthur says: Great photo! A mainstay of every New England farm!
Barbara Criss says: This brings back pleasant memories of an old blue farm use truck my husband and I had in the eighties. We spent many happy hours working around our tiny farm with it. It also conjures up the time we dared to go several miles from home in it and the gears locked up and we were stuck in a remote area with no one to ask to help us. It was a long walk home.
Lisa Von Saunder says: Ah, we are still on the blue theme I see. Around here , in Amishland, the oldest tractors and trucks are still in use.
Winnie Nielsen says: Be Still my Heart!! Oh my, how I would love to own this truck.
Barbara Criss says: Although I grew up in a poor family in the sixties; the one thing we did have were very good manners. They have served me well all my life. I am appalled at the bad manners and rude behavior of so many people today. We all do need to spread kindness and respect for others every day of our lives.
Lisa Arthur says: Love the patina and the worn wood! Timeless….
Winnie Nielsen says: The colors on this gate lock are wonderfully old and layered. I wonder what stories that this gate has seen over the decades.
Lisa Von Saunder says: In times past, to the Lancaster Country, PA Amish, a blue gate meant that there were eligible girls to be married in the family at that farm. This is an old custom that is not used any longer. So I can’t look at this photo without thinking of that.
Cindi says: Well good morning Happy Friend! How lovely it would be to be greeted by such a joy every single day 🙂
MaryJane says: Meet my grandgirls new puppy, Layla Lollipop, a Bernese Mountain Dog (used to pull carts full of cans of milk for delivery to homes in the Alps). Such a sweetheart and growing like a weed.
Lisa Arthur says: Ohhhhh myyy!! Somebody is a lucky, lucky person! I love the Bernese Mountain dog :)) I was a vet tech for several years and only had the privilege to see and touch just one of these gorgeous and loveable balls of fur! The color contrast, thick wavy fur, and deep brown eyes are just too much!! ❤
Krista says: Oh my goodness! Super adorable! I just want to snuggle with that adorable puppy face!
Lisa Von Saunder says: For a large breed dog they are one of the sweetest. they get BIG but not aggressive, luckily
terry steinmetz says: AWE!!
Barbara Criss says: This is a beautiful puppy. As the proud owner of seven wonderful dogs that I raised from puppies I can smell that sweet puppy breath right now.
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.
I love the shape of this clothes line and how it is the focal point…and that tiny, cute birdhouse sits alone, just waiting for spring.
I just KNOW that to the right is a gorgeous and rustic cabin that should be MINE ! Lol
I also love this clothes line. It reminds me of when I was in my twenties and I washed clothes in a tub outside as our old farm house had no washer and dryer. Sometimes I would have snow around me. I can still feel my fingers freezing as I hung up the clothes. I will never take a washer and dryer for granted. I still love to use a clothes line for sheets in the summer. They are fun if you don’t have to rely on them.
I love the smell of clothes dried on a clothes line! There’s nothing like the fresh smell of sheets dried outdoors. No need for fancy smells placed in the washer. Clothes line freshness lasts for days!