84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 8,2003
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other hazard
Joyce Bupp
Ice and snow.
More ice and snow.
Even more ice and snow. After
two years of pleas for rain, so we
are thankful; yes, remember, we
are thankful for moisture levels
improved by rain and snow.
Now, having worked hard this
winter battling the weather stuff,
we are now all due a good laugh.
So here’s one for you.
Spring fashions are out. Know
what looks to be popular this
year? Miniskirts. And, among
other things, apparently, garb
with a “peasant” look.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Give us a break. As if it wasn’t
bad enough, spotting swimsuits
at a local retailer while we were
still shoveling off heavy, frozen
residue of the great Presidents’
Day blizzard. Then, to flip open
an advertising flier last week and
eyeball a salmon-orange peasant
dress was the fashion equivalent
of a really bad “groaner” joke.
Just for information’s sake, I
grabbed a paperback copy of the
“Collegiate Dictionary” from the
shelf and paged to “peasant.”
The first description was “coun
tryman.”
Well, guess what. We’re about
as “countryman” as you get.
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600 Beck Mill Rd.
Hanover, PA 17331
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Mifflinburg, PA 17844
570-966-3822
Sandy Ridge Furniture
130 High St.
Bellefont, PA 16823
814-353-0660
And ... we don’t wear peasant
dresses. Nor do we wear mini
skirts. We’d catch our death of
pneumonia from the draft in this
old house with its built-in fresh
air flow.
For all those fashion folks out
there in designerland, let me brief
you on what we “peasants” do
wear: as much as possible, in this
fading (hopefully) Siberian win
ter with its Mt. Washington levels
of snowfall.
What is stylish around “coun
tryman” land right now are insu
lated coveralls. Found in classic
shades of denim blue, outback
brown, or hunter-glow orange.
Thermal, hooded sweatshirts and
vests are also popular choices,
with colors ranging from black to
navy to shades of gray. Once lay
ered with coats of manure, ma
chine oil and liberal flecks of
total mixed ration feed, color is
irrelevant, anyway.
Of course, the above must be
accessorized by heavy work
gloves, again in varying shades.
Most popular at this particular
“peasant” establishment are
those thick, fuzzy gold-colored
work gloves. If you can tell the
color under the stains of shop
grease.
Sew with the
Ift
My personal favorite hand
gear is a pair of thick, fuzzy, pink
gloves, perfect for after-dark dog
walking in subfreezing tempera
tures. For more mundane daily
chores, like heifer feeding and
moving hay bales, heavy cotton
ones are more practical and dry
faster after getting damp.
A hat, of course, is mandatory.
Some of us go for the wooly, ski
type hats we can pull down over
our heads and ears until only our
eyes are visible. More rugged
types sport winter-weight “farm
er” caps, though how they can
stand to have their ears exposed
to the weather wearing those is
beyond me.
Not all of us go for coveralls
because of their bulkiness. Some
of us just go for layers of vests
piled over sweatshirts piled over
sweaters piled over thermals.
Which is why it takes 10 minutes
to dress to go out to do bam
chores.
And 10 minutes to peel off the
layers after we’re finished and
hang them up to dry. And 10
more minutes to sweep up all the
hay dirt and straw bits and saw
dust that fell out of all the pock
ets during the layer peeling.
We long ago decided that
“fashion” is just another name
for spending money. And, what’s
“in” and what’s “out” in fashion
can change as quickly as the
March weather. Which is why we
“peasant” types around here
stick with rugged, practical gear.
And, whenever possible, pur
chased at our favorite sales estab
lishments:
The Salvation Army and
Goodwill.
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232 Wanner Rd.
Ephrata, PA 17522
717-354-0204
Purrfect Stitches
195 Doysher Rd.
Kutztown, PA 19530
610-683-0266
Stitch & Craft
2597 Lebanon Rd.
Manheim, PA 17545
717-664-4230
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4
4-H Awareness Week To
Celebrate 4-H Programs
WEST CHESTER (Chester
Co.) Across Pennsylvania, 4-H
will celebrate Pennsylvania 4-H
Awareness Week 2003, Sunday,
March 16 through Saturday,
March 22. Pennsylvania 4-H
Awareness Week, celebrated an
nually, provides recognition to
the 125,000 youth involved in
Pennsylvania 4-H programs.
4-H gives youth age 8-18 the
opportunity to explore new
things ... from rocketry, commu
nity leadership, livestock, horti
culture, sewing, horsemanship,
computer, and internet pro
grams. There are more than 150
projects available to choose from,
researched based and developed
to respond to youth and commu
nity educational needs.
4-H America’s movement
equipped for the future by a cen
tury of service. In 2002, the 4-H
movement celebrated its centen
nial as America’s premier youth
development organization. Re
flecting in its historic vision, 4-H
Child Care Directors Workshop
LEESPORT (Berks Co.)
“Hot Topics for Center Direc
tors” is the title of the workshop
being presented by Penn State
Cooperative Extension. All direc
tors and supervisors can partici
pate in the workshop from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday,
March 20, at the Berks County
Agricultural Center, 1238 County
Welfare Road, in Leesport.
Sue Giachero, Penn State Co
operative Extension family living
agent in Berks County, says
“This workshop will provide val
uable information on recruiting
March 15, 2003
Deco 650
j •«.«■’ Hi •'•
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Nothing Sews Like A Bernina. Nothing.
BERNINA'S
hopes to commemorate this cen
tennial initiative through conver
sations that brought together our
nation’s youth, youth leaders,
and communities.
In Chester County, the week
will include the Chester County
4-H Community Flower Show
coordinated by Penn State Coop
erative Extension and The Chest
er County Master Gardeners.
The theme for the 4-H Commu
nity Flower show is “New Direc
tions and New Beginnings.” The
flower show exhibits can be view
ed in the Chester County Gov
ernment Services Center in the
lobby and on the third floor dur
ing Pennsylvania Awareness
week. Also, throughout the coun
ty, different locations will exhibit
our window display contest.
For more information on the
Chester County 4-H program or
to volunteer call the extension of
fice at (610) 696-3500.
and training new staff and on se
lecting training for all center
staff.”
Participants can receive two
Department of Public Welfare
training credits for participating
in the workshop. Continuing Ed
ucation Credits (CEUs) are also
available.
For more information on the
program, support materials, and
other services from “Better Kid
Care Program,” call Sue Giache
ro at (610) 378-1327. Visit the
Better Kid Care Website at
www.betterkidcare.psu.edu.
*549.00
*490.00
♦* * 1
# • «
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$ t s
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