Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

I found these adorable farmgirl aprons at splendid things. Too cute. If I didn’t already have a closet full of aprons, I think I’d have to go for these. I’m already dreaming up an excuse to buy one…or a few for the farmgirls in the family. I also saw this Handmade Pledge on the site.Continue reading “Splendidly Handmade”

Victory! After way too long, we finally made it to The Farm for a lovely visit. We did so much, I’m not sure there’s space or time to recount it. But here are the highlights. Feathered Friends. It’s unanimous. We love chickens. We love that they sweep the yard and garden for bugs. We loveContinue reading “Fabulous Farmgirl Visit Home”

Finally…barring any last-minute kid illnesses…we’re headed to The Farm this weekend. Can’t wait to see the family and all the new feathered members of the flock. I’m also eager to see the fields, post harvest, the garden, which I understand is blanketed with a nice grain cover crop. The kids talk about The Farm almostContinue reading “Going to the Country”

Lots of family time this week…a kiddie Halloween parade in downtown Oak Park, following a firetruck into the heart of one of the merchant districts…Sunday School…then loads of cooking…cheese blintzes with strawberry raspberry preserves, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, Halloween sugar cookies, Cajun seasoned pumpkin seeds from our Jack-O-Lanterns. (This is the first year the kidsContinue reading “A Taste of Life”

So I was listening to some Gillian Welch on iTunes and wanted to get a visual, so I found this on YouTube. But while I was searching, I also found this little treasure. So I’m totally torn between the versions, especially since the Kanye West version on YouTube comes with a great Air Jordan montage.Continue reading “Americana to Urban Remix”

The latest from urban So.Cal. sis is that the smoke and ash is worse. Rumors — so far false — are flying that evacuations may begin for San Diego proper. Whole sections of the freeway near her were shut down today. Up north a few miles where mom is in Carlsbad, the smoke and ashContinue reading “Coming Together”

I had my first moment of panic today when I tried to call my sister and all I got was “network busy” on her land line. I’ve been careful not to call her on her cell phone, but even the land lines are maxing out, I’m sure with calls from concerned relatives and friends…in additionContinue reading “Fire Update: Moment of Panic”

The family in Southern Cal. is staying up late tonight monitoring the raging wildfires. I can’t believe these fires are so out of control. Reports are that Santa Ana winds aren’t going to let up for a couple more days. No rain in sight. My sister says her car was covered in ash this morning.Continue reading “Ring of Fire Closes In”

Got news today that the hens at the farm are finally laying enough to feed the family and to take a dozen on to neighbors. It’s a bit of an egg hunt because they aren’t in their nesting boxes yet. Dad’s still making room for them in the barn. But I’m looking forward to farm-freshContinue reading “Going Out (Back) For Breakfast”

Homemade pumpkin pie, cooling on a rack, is all the air freshener we need in this house. That with all the Halloween decorations and leaves yellowing in the tree and crunching under foot make it look and sound like fall…but the hot, humid weather the past few days feels like summer. I’m not in aContinue reading “Fall. Summer. Which is it?”