Thank you for dropping by my Raising Jane Journal to participate in my giveaways! We’ve chosen a winner for this giveaway already (click here for details), but don’t be afraid to leave a comment anyway. I love reading them. And stay tuned for more great MaryJanesFarm giveaways.
For a chance to win these gorgeous, MaryJanesFarm-made 18″ lemon tea-towel pillow covers, tell me about a time in your life that you made lemonade because life-had-given-you-lemons in the comments below. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner sometime mid-April.
You’ll find out how to grow lemon and lime trees indoors, as well as get lots of ideas for lemon-themed décor, in the Apr/May issue of MaryJanesFarm. Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways. If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.
When I found out I had to be gluten free for the rest of my life. I didn’t like what was out there; tasted dry, no nutritional value so…I learned to bake gluten free making my own gluten free flour blends.
I opened my own gluten free bakery out of my home for now going to Farmer’s Markets, festivals and craft shows. My goal is to open up in our town in 2 years.
Everything is made as organic as possible if not organic then non-gmo.
A friend had given me a huge box of lemons and limes and they were already starting to go bad, so pucked out the bad and made it all into lemon lime aide and put into cubes in the freezer. We had lemon lime aide all through the summer and enjoyed each and every glass.
Also thought of my friend with each glass!
We are so lucky to have lemon and lime trees locally and often neighbors and friends will bring and share some of their abundant produce. Fresh lemonade is such a treat with these lemons as well as using the zest for cooking and the juice for salad dressing and desserts.
Mucking out the goat barn is hard work and the “leavings” means a rather large compost heap. I started running out of room for it all. I now have enough compost for my garden plus my friends that garden are enjoying the compost too. Thinking about bagging and selling some of the more ripe and finished compost……hmm, may be a start of a few extra dollars in my pocket
When I was in my late 20’s with young sons I got divorced. I had managed to save my house with the help of some women who didn’t even know me but gave me the mortage. Women helping women. I saved the house but that left little extra. So our get-a-ways were weekends spent at the family chalet my parents built off grid when I was a young girl. We had a two seater out house, had to haul water, but had electricity if we ran a generator. If not it was candles and Coleman lamps. We hiked our woods, walked ravenes, fished and swan in our pond, read, target practice with gramps, games, and campfires. It seemed the stresses we faced fell off our shoulders with every mile we got closer to our beloved Thrush Haven. Not having that extra money to go to the show or go on expensive vacations was really a blessing in disguise as we all got to spend quality time together and bond. I know my son’s look back on that time as special, since grams is no longer with us. It was her slice of heaven and my favorite place on earth.
I would have to say it’s when I became pregnant with my second son. It was really hard on me becoming pregnant only 2 months after delivering my first son. And many challenges arose as the pregnancy progressed. Now I wouldn’t change it for the world! I love having my boys only 11 months apart. They will be the best of friends and already love each other so much. My hands are full but my heart is fuller!
Nothing like a glass of lemonade from freshly squeezed lemons to reflect on the blessings of my life. LIfe often doesn’t go as planned, but down a path that may be difficult and challenging, yet an opportunity to grow stronger and more faithful. Life is wonderful for sure.
There had been a problem between my parents and my aunts for years, and they did not talk at all due to some differences. At my grandmas funeral I approached one of my aunts and she and another aunt and I visited, and gradually began to get together more and more. We got to know each other, making up for lost years – it has been such a remarkable inspiration, and I am so thrilled that my life has been enriched by them.
I think we all have many things that are hard to get through…every time you push through the hard things and remain hopeful for the good, you are making “lemonade”.
Lemons–to lemonade:
Several years ago I decided to go back to the University of Utah to complete my bachelors degree. My plan was to teach kindergarten upon graduation. I had no idea how much math was involved! It had been nearly 25 years since high school math but I dug in and
worked really hard. I am happy to say I did graduate and enjoyed nine great of teaching kindergarten!
When my husband was out of work for medical reasons, I decided to try to make extra money selling things on etsy. It did not make up for his lost income but I started my online sales side business and now have 3 etsy shops and also sell on ebay. It became a “hobby” that my husband now joins in with to help.
Life always brings lemons! BUT the help of God and others will get you through. I’ve been widowed twice and now have a wonderful adventures man that has taken me all over the world. You always look for the positive instead of the negative!
Because life is full of those “lemon” moments I think it is important to remember that our attitude will help us as we muck through the hard times.
The biggest lemon in my life is my chronic illness. The lemonade has been drawing ever nearer to the Lord, and the need to stay close to family. I didn’t ‘move out’ like most in their late teens – due to my health, and so here I am on the farm with my parents and brother. While I fondly imagine a life free of fatigue and pain, I dream of it here on the farm; imagine all my mom and I could get accomplished!
1996 was my “life gave me lemons year.” My 14 year old dog had to be put to sleep, my mother, husband, and father died that year and I was just 42. My son was in college; my 24 year government job was being contracted out to a non-profit organization – I was heart-broken and scared. Faith in God and courage to trust HIM to lead me to change got me through.
I lost my job, I was scared about the future so what’s a girl do she cans it. I made 48 pints of pear preserves using a recipe from my husbands grandfather. The lemony flavor was wonderful and everyone I gave them to thought they were amazing.
Most of life is filled with those opportunities, isn’t it. Trying to get by on a lower than average income so I could stay home with my babies led to homemade meals, gardening and canning and many other healthy choices. Also to camping as a family, and other sweet memories.
This past year my sister passed away from cancer. I followed through with her wishes and became involved in our local Relay for Life. (raises money for cancer research)
For the longest time I resented that my career path hadn’t gone in the direction that I wanted. I ended up in a position that simply didn’t afford the amount of creativity that I needed to feel whole and I didn’t see an option out of it. So I made it my own. I realized that in the post I had the luxury to make it more creative for myself and even surround myself with like minded people who also needed a creative environment. And so I did. I now no longer feel trapped but feel that what I’m doing is exactly what I was supposed to be doing all along. I just needed to mix it up the right way 😉
I got a flat tire on a back road. While I was waiting for my son to arrive and change it I picked a pail of huckleberries.
When I was pregnant with my first child I drank/craved lemonade made with real lemons and not the powder. I just love lemonade!!
I would make my little bedroom settee gorgeous with these pillows and make lemonade to sit with my friends & share together. Life is just full of opportunities to make lemonade and I find it all a wonderful challenge. The fact of life is we will always be handed lemons at times and God will always have our lemonade on hand to refresh and rejuvenate us in the toughest of times.
When my boys were 10, 12 and 14, I got divorced due to my husband being prosecuted for embezzlement. A few months later, on March 11, our house burned. I was virtually penniless, but, by the grace of God, friends and family, I was able to secure a good job with the same schedule as my children. Slowly, but surely, I was able to pay off my house and have recently retired debt free. Persistence paid off and looking back, I know I managed by taking one day at a time and staying positive. Lemons made into lemonade worked for me and now I have a sign in my kitchen that reads “Mom’s lemonade!”
I developed Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 17. I have tried to make lemonade for 42 years. Some years are better than others. My husband married me knowing the future was uncertain and had stuck with me for 35 years. God did not bless us with children so we try to make more lemonade. Some days are better than others.
My ex-husband is an alcoholic. After nearly 11 years I found the courage to take our young kids and leave. I left with no job or money. I was able to put myself through school and build my business. Now the lemonade is sweet as can be!
At a time when we were having to pinch pennies I really wanted to do something special for our anniversary. Instead of spending money eating out I fixed a picnic lunch and handmade a card for my husband. We went to the park and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day together. This is what memories are made of.
When I was 31 years old I found out I was ill. Thinking that would pass I went to the doctor for medicine. That was the beginning of a thirty four year journey, that continues today. During that time we raised two children into lovely, and loving adults. I taught junior high for 21 years and elementary school for 9 years. I am still ill, and now a quilter with 2 grandchildren. Through it all my faith sustained me, and my life. I am blessed.
Hubby was diagnosed with cancer almost 4 years ago, just 3 months after breaking his back in 2 places from a drunk hitting him and daughter. Up to that point he had never been sick more than a handful of days. We have had to make some major changes since this happened, most in the last year. Selling our home to relocate to a more city area for medical as well as going into a smaller and single story home (stairs are no longer his friend). He has had to medically retire early a good 10 years from a job he loved, can no longer drive, no longer plays in a band, skiis and we sold our river camp as it was just to much for him with upkeep and the travel to get there. On a plus we own our home and are debt free …. broke, but it could have all been so much worse! So we are together and happy and take things a bit easier now and are grateful for the lemons we had saved, to make the lemonade.
Last year my husband was diagnosed with skin cancer on his forehead. While going through treatment, he was a little embarrassed having to wear a large bandage around his head. So I made several adjustable headbands. They looked like biker headbands. 2 were red, white, and blue print and every time he wore one of them, he was asked where his chopper (motorcycle) was. We all got a good laugh and that made his recovery so much more easier. He’s healthy and that is our lemons to lemonade story.
the car breaking down… guess Im taking a beautiful walk today
Last summer, I was laid off of work, broke up with my boyfriend and ended living out of my car. And I’m super grateful for that entire experience! I was able to spend more time outside, settle deeply into a spiritual practice, committed to deep emotional healing and realized that I wanted to follow my heart more than anything else. I’ll be starting up my own business, embracing self-care and self-love, and have more gratitude for my living space while living with more intention!
When I found out that I had MS. I thought my life was over. Then I learned that I can live a normal life. I just take one day at a time.
My home kitchen is lemons and blueberries, but the lemons have trailed into our living room. These pillows will add some jazz to my new blue loveseat. Lemons are happy and yellow is one of the very colors spring and mother nature gives us each new year.
I went into the Navy thinking you could go anywhere you wanted to. I was really disappointed to find out I’d be going to Bethesda Md. instead of Hawaii. All that “brass”! No one thought I’d get through it because I don’t bow and scrape. What I DO do though, is to find all types of people genuinely valuable and interesting. It was pretty cold in Md. sometimes, no beaches or pineapples I’d so hoped for; but I thrived because the people were so awesome.
Nothing says happiness like a bowl of lemons on my counter. They are all ready to place in a mug of hot water and honey or to add to sparkling water. The right mug or glass makes such a big difference also. It says “you are a gift to my life”.
The first thing I think of when looking at these beautiful pillows is that lemon’s are so very good for our diet. They aide in digestion of food and help to make our bodies more alkaline. Once again, God got it right!
In 2014, I had to quit working because of health issues and because I needed to have 2 hand surgeries to repair a variety of issues. I was struggling with the “why, is this happening to me?” as I recovered from surgery. Little did I know that I was going to be a grandmother to a beautiful baby girl that stays with me lots while her Mother works. She was an unexpected joyful blessing in my life and I am thankful to God for her every day. I should know by now that God always has something better for me if I will learn to trust in him.
When life got/gets tough, my “lemonade” is pouring myself a tall l, cool glass of my Catholic Faith!
I grow not lemons, but kumquats! My opportunity to “make lemonaid’ came when awful scale attacked the tree. I picked it off every day for months, and it has now been scale-free for over a year. My potted tree is 15 years old, still only a couple of feet tall. It lives in my greenroom in the winter, goes outside when the weather warms and flowers in the sunshine. Once the fruit sets it is time to bring it back inside and I have kumquats for Christmas.
Loved your April/May issue.
I’d like a chance to win the pillows or the wonderful lemon clock on pg. 86.
Thank you!
A job I took shortly out of grad school to be closer to home happened to be a lemon of a job. I didn’t have one nice thing to say after work each day. It took me a few months of this before I said to myself…”Self, if you don’t want to do anything about it, you don’t get to complain about it.” I took to the internet to find my “perfect dream job” by googling physical therapy clinics, not wanted ads in my field of work. I narrowed it down to three clinics that I really liked their approach to healing and I sent my resume to them asking if they had any positions available. The number one place I had wanted to work for had just taken down their wanted ad a week earlier because they hadn’t had any response. I was hired within the week. And then I had lemonade. Seven years later, I’m still with that clinic.
My ten year old son and I were working on a ground training compatetion that required us both to work together to get Abi the Mule through the obstacle course. At the last obstacle her halter broke and fell off! My son and I had to think fast and work like a well oiled machine to finish. Which we did, and the judges were so impressed with our teamwork in the face of adversity they awarded us first place. Thank you Abi
When I sit alone feeling down with no family nearby. I make a cold lemonade with peppermint leaves over ice. Just makes me feel better.
🌳These beautiful pillow covers would
Inspire me to make lemonade 🍋🍋
Which I have never done and I even have a lemon tree…..New adventure in
The kitchen..,..
We had a heavy snow and when it stopped, I had 2 feet. I have a nice snow blower but the problem is a 280 ft stone driveway! If a larger stone gets caught in the blade, a “shear pin” breaks to keep the blades from twisting. There are 2 shear pins, one on each side… Anyway, one shear pin snapped which disabled one side of the auger which pulls the snow into the shoot, so that side was useless. I tried replacing the shear pin, but it was too cold and windy to keep my hands steady enough to knock the old pin out. I decided to use the snowblower by only keeping the working side against the snow – it took me a little longer, but I was able to clear the driveway and the shear pin will be replaced when they weather is nicer! IT WAS HEADING TO BE A LEMON DAY, BUT A LITTLE PATIENCE AND ONE SIDE THAT WORKED SAVED THE DAY, SO IT WAS A LEMONADE DAY!!!
Growing up in California with lemon trees in the back yard we always had our endless supply of lemons to make lemonade and Arnold Palmers. Oh so yummy and how I miss my home.
There was a time when I had went back to school and had my heart set on it. After a couple of years into it, some circumstances had happened and I decided to leave school and go back to work. I was crushed because I hadn’t finished. But it was shortly after that, that I realized even though it didn’t go as I planned, I gained a lot of knowledge through it, found my best friend, and because I went to work, I connected with a high school friend who in turn became the love of my life. I’m so glad that lemons that happened made the sweetest lemonade! 😊
Shortly after starting a new job I realized it was a big lemon;something I didn’t want to continue. There were a few things we really needed, but had no extra money. I told my husband I wanted to keep my paychecks specifically saved for these things as I didn’t know how long I could stand to stay in that job. After three months I had the money we needed.My boss came to me and said she knew i was unhappy and I told her it was a mistake for me to take this job. We came to an agreement and I was able to leave without any financial penalty as was stated in a contract I signed, if I quit before a year of employment.
When we moved to a sparsely populated area in Arizona and my children were young, I thought it would be a time of loneliness and boredom. We met the friendliest, most encouraging group at a small rural church. We have never learned more and felt so needed as we did in that town.
I don’t wait for a crisis to make lemonade, the grand kids love it and it my way of making them feel a little special. That’s just a simple way, but it’s the simple thing that count most in the end.
WAS VERY BLESSED THIS PASSED YEAR AS our Meyer’s lemon tree had almost 500 lemons! Not only did we make lemonaide, but we gave away loads of lemons.