Essay Contest Winner!

From Robin:

What does being a Farm Girl mean to me?
I had never given the phrase Farm Girl much thought since I had been raised a farm girl by a farm girl and around other farm girls. It has always been my way of life. But I never really had considered myself a farm girl until I read some of Mary Jane Butters magazines and her Idea Book. I realized then that I was a lot like her and her friends in many ways.

I think that family is the most important thing in a farm girls life. That is what she spends her day doing is taking care of her family. Of course every farm girl does this in a different way. I am fortunate enough to live in a small town and have some land of my own to raise a garden on. I am a frugal person and nothing goes to waste. I start my seedlings in my used milk jugs and tin cans. I use the tops of the tin cans nailed to a stick to mark the rows in my garden. I can and freeze as much as I possibly can in the summer time. I do share with the neighbors and friends. This saves on our household expenses tremendously. At each meal there is something that I have put away from the summer harvest. I try to sew as many of my clothes and household items that I can. I make all of my own cleaners and I of course use a clothesline. In the summertime we have big outdoor parties like you would see in Country Living or Southern Living magazines.

One of my favorite things about being a farm girl is having a Farm Girl Chapter that I regularly get together with my friends, old and new that I have met through the group. I think that this is one of my favorite things that I have found through Mary Jane. But how can you have just one favorite thing from such an amazing woman. Right now our chapter is working on a quilt block of the month. We are all having such a great time.

I have had friends of mine tell me that they would love to be a farm girl but they live in the city. I does not matter where you live or what your income is, you can always be a farm girl.