11/15/2015 (MBA Jane) For this week’s Young Cultivator Make it Easy/Music Beginner Level Merit Badge, I knew I needed a brush-up on my own musical skills, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. So to speak. No killing of anything required for this badge, Madge, rest assured. I wrangled in my partner in Merit Badge earning crime, the ever-so-lovely Miss Piper … http://bit.ly/1HMGcZZ
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
It’s defined as the pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts. I’d say that’s a pretty good descriptor of what’s been happening around our home on Wednesday nights. Sweet harmony.
And it’s a direct result of music—specifically, singing lessons for the girls. It doesn’t fail that after lessons, peace reigns. Sisters don’t squabble. The whole evening is perfectly pleasant, with extra pleases and thank-yous. And homework time is downright merry!
11/17/2015 You know that when you send your kids off to college, they’ll get the chance to broaden their horizons in many ways.
Especially if they’re attending the University of Connecticut, where one innovative purple food truck is serving up everything from Asian tacos to … crickets! http://bit.ly/1kCGubZ
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
11/19/2015 Thanksgiving’s almost here, and your iPhone just might be the perfect kitchen helper! Check out these four helpful apps … http://bit.ly/1QwEgYr
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
11/20/15 Have you ever tried using buttermilk in place of milk or cream in mashed potatoes? In a recent kitchen make-do moment, we did. The end result was a bowl of delicious mashed potatoes with fabulous tang that was too good not to share. We may never go back to milk or cream! http://bit.ly/1MZjZDU
11/20/15 Hear Ye! My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … CJ Armstrong!!! CJ Armstrong (#665) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Expert Level Origami Merit Badge! http://bit.ly/1PRdisN
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
11/21/2015 (MBA Jane) For this week’s Young Cultivator Each Other/Thank You! Beginner Level Merit Badge, I enlisted my handy-dandy, go-to, MBA newbies, Piper and Andy. No, it wasn’t just that they were the only two whippersnappers in my circle; it was actually their mother’s idea.
You see, she had noticed a bit of … well, negligent and perhaps slipshod behavior in her sweet little angels as of late.
Okay, I candy-coated it. What she really said was,
"These gremlins who live with me and call me Mom have become entitled, selfish Twerpensteins with ATTITUDES. Suggestions?"
11/22/2015 In the tiny farming community of Conetoe, North Carolina, a pastor with a passion for saving both body and soul has been named one of 10 finalists for CNN’s Hero of the Year award.
Rev. Richard Joyner says a large percentage of his parishioners in this predominantly African-American community of just 300 were suffering (and dying) from preventable, diet-related diseases. “Diabetes, high blood pressure—when we first got started, we counted 30 funerals in one year,” Joyner told CNN. “I couldn’t ignore it because I was spending more time in funerals than anything else.”
He knew a community garden with fresh produce (Conetoe’s nearest grocery store was 10 miles away) would help residents build better health, so he started a small garden with the help of local school kids. Today, Conetoe sports more than 20 garden plots, one covering 25 acres, providing 50,000 pounds of fresh produce a year. Student helpers also sell the produce to local restaurants and stores to raise dollars for school supplies and scholarships. And the kids are learning more than gardening—they’re involved in every aspect of the project, from planning the plots to marketing to learning how to cook healthy meals for their families. And parishioners are healthier. “By nourishing plants, you’re nourishing community,” Joyner told CNN. “It’s one and the same.”
11/25/2015 What do a magazine editor, a girl named Mary, and Thanksgiving have in common?
No, not this magazine editor, or this girl named Mary … although I can think of many reasons to give thanks this holiday season … and at the top of the list are all you farmgirls!
But I’m also giving thanks to a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” http://bit.ly/1OgOmuR
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
11/27/2015 My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Sherrilyn Askew!!! Sherrilyn Askew (Sherri, #1350) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning an Expert Level Shopping Green Merit Badge! http://bit.ly/1XmlJlK
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
11/28/2015 (MBA Jane) For this week’s Stitching and Crafting/Quilting Intermediate Level Merit Badge, I hadn’t planned on spending my week on a sewing project, but my sewing machine had other ideas.
You see, I normally like to get down with my crafty self during the chilly winter months, my socked feet resting by the fire, as I sip hot tea and watch the sun set at like, 3 p.m. Summertime, I normally reserve for glamping and fishing and hiking and identifying trees, and other such warm-weather activities.
11/30/2015 Thanks to the wonders of the internet, with just a few clicks, your child sends an e-mail letter to Santa with her first name, age, city, and her top three Christmas wishes. Then the fun begins … http://bit.ly/1Ssd4rG
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
12/3/2015 “Every single one of us at birth is given an emotional acre all our own,” wrote Anne Lamott in her book, Bird by Bird. “You get one, your awful Uncle Phil gets one, I get one, Tricia Nixon gets one, everyone gets one. And as long as you don’t hurt anyone, you really get to do with your acre as you please.”
I was reminded of this marvelous metaphor today when I stumbled upon a book called The Emotional Calendar: Understanding Seasonal Influences and Milestones to Become Happier, More Fulfilled, and in Control of Your Life by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John R. Sharpe.
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Sandy Merrigan!!!
Sandy Merrigan (#6186) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner, Intermediate & Expert Level Families Forever Merit Badge! http://bit.ly/1NLZu4t
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
12/5/2015 (MBA Jane) Boy howdy, this was gonna be good. I was ready for this—I was born for this. I had spent all my years perfecting drama and all the skills therein; never would the part of Third Tree to the Left be played with such convincing heart! I jest, of course. A gal like me—born for the stage—was awarded the part of Millie-Ann, a very prominent and important tavern owner … http://bit.ly/1Tsvjxa
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
12/7/2015 Well, this time of year, I get such a yen for some good ol’ dirt-grown grub that I’m liable to think about nibbling on anything I can get my hands on.
So if you don’t mind, take a look and let me know if any of these peculiar crops induces the urge to indulge: http://bit.ly/1jKpkre
Photo by Nzfauna S via Wikimedia Commons
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
MaryJane's Daily Journal
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Posted - Nov 15 2015 : 09:28:27 AM
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