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.
In the Apr/May issue of MaryJanesFarm, on newsstands March 6, you’ll see how Megan converted an old wicker bassinet into living-room picnic-gear storage that now holds a picnic quilt, a couple of pillows, and board games for the perfect indoor picnic.
In the photo above, you’ll see my MaryJane’s Home “”Busy Bee” quilt and pillow with my favorite patchwork shape, the hexagon. Why a hexagon? The hexagon, a shape that speaks the zen of the busy beehive or the wired manors of chickens (the oldest domesticated animal on Earth), symbolizes the unity and structure of the farmgirl life—a framework for the proper order of things, a pattern for life. In unwritten feminine language, it is a standard for farmgirls, or for that matter, the ordinary honeybee or the hen, rank and file workers that move the work along. It says that all things are to be done decently and in order, and that small things add up.
For a chance to win one of our “Busy Bee” twin quilts and matching 16″-square pillows, tell me all about your favorite picnic experience in the comments below. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner sometime mid-May.
Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways. If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.
My favorite picnic actually happened a few years before I was even born, but I can tell the story as if I had been there to experience it myself! Both of my parents were in the Navy during WWII; my mother, a Lieutenant, was stationed in Washington DC and was assigned to the Top-Secret Code Division, and my father, who had served as a Medic in the South Pacific was assigned to Bethesda Naval Hospital to complete his service at the end of the war. My “then dating” parents joined another Navy couple for a picnic at a local park in DC, and the gals put together a wonderful picnic basket lunch. There are even a few surviving grainy black and white photos to commemorate the event, showing each sailor in his summer whites holding his date high in the air, using only one arm. Such show offs! When my dad asked where the sodas were, the talking stopped instantly! My mother and her friend completely forgot to bring any drinks. The park did not have any water fountains, and there were no close convenience stores – as we have today. That certainly did not bother either of the guys who had made it back Stateside after the horrors of fighting in Guam. My dad took stock of their “rations” and noticed the jar of dill pickles full of pickle juice. And, I think we all know the rest of the story. They each took sips of the pickle juice, finished their picnic lunch, and had a great time! This has always been a favorite family story; my dad passed away many years ago, and sweet Mama is 95 years young. I still love to look at those photos of two young couples on a picnic – so long ago, all smiling and enjoying the moment – while anticipating the future. And… each time this picnic story gets told — that dill pickle juice simply gets sweeter and sweeter!
We didn’t go on picnics much growing up. The heat and humidity were usually too intense down south in Spring and Summer
When we did, my Mom would pack the round scotch cooler with Pepsi in bottles, the picnic basket bulged with a variety of sandwiches, mine was always PB&J, homemade potato salad, and Mom’s southern fried chicken for an army. Homemade cookies would round out the menu. We had a large, old bedspread for our ground cloth. It was big enough for all 5 of us and a follow-up nap. Good memories!
Every summer my maternal grandparents organized breakfast picnics at a park by a river. We would have to get up real early and meet at 7:00, but it was so worth the smell of bacon and the thrill of eating outside.
My favorite picnic: I live on 70 acres and we have a “secret swimming hole.” We enjoy swimming there, and lounging, and sometimes barbequeing our favorites on the grill that my husband will bring down ahead of time with the tractor! It’s such a peaceful beautiful and relaxing day anytime we go down there.
My favorite picnics have always been spent with my daughter and several of her closest stuffed animal friends! Since she was 1 or 2 we’ve headed to playgrounds, parks, rivers or just ito the back yard with our trusty picnic quilt and basket. She’s almost a teenager now but we still love to picnic! Now books and taking pictures have joined the animal friends and other customs we share to enjoy the special time together.
My Gram would take my brother, sister and I on a picnic once a week during summer break to this little river where my grandad fished when he was alive. We’d walk down an old path and then sit in the grass and eat yummy food. We always brought food to feed the ducks, too. Then we would pass the time by throwing rocks in the water. The simplicity of it all. But what great memories.
My mom would pack my sister and me little picnic lunches in school lunch boxes and send us outside to go have a picnic together. We could only go a little way into the field, still in sight of the house, but it seemed like a big adventure to us!
I’m fortunate to have a country home with a wrap around porch. This is were our family comes together. We have faietas made on an old plow disk. With all the trimmings. The kids 4-wheel, fish in the pond, soak up nature,sunshine and lots of love from each other.
They get away from the busy world. The cell phones and electronics. Learning the simpler things of life!
My favorite and only picnic memories are from my childhood in rural Wisconsin. I remember numerous picnics that all had one thing in common…keeping the flying pests out of the food. I realize that I need to have more current picnics maybe even a few Wisconsin winter ones! This quilt and pillow would be good additions to my picnic ensemble.
I love making up picnic baskets for an indoor picnic during the Christmas season. Gives a family a chance to have a fun night, no hassles. I usually include a game for making it a family night. Can give coupon for pizza if you can afford or just give all the plates, nspkins, table cloth, plasticware.
When my girls were little, we liked to have picnics in the living room. It was always too humid in South Louisiana !
My favorite picnic memory was when my friend, Glen, came to see me & we went to a lake with a picnic lunch. We had lots of catching up to do. He finally had a car & could begin coming to see me. We met when I was 14 & he was 15 but we knew we had very special feelings for one another. He was now getting ready to begin his 4th year of college & it would take 5 years to meet all the requirements. We lived in different states but decided that day that we were going to get married! How exciting!! So we soon started planning for our wedding the next summer.
My favorite picnics are on our summertime hikes in Colorado. If you can find a waterfall, it’s all the more special.
In the summer of 1988, i dressed up our 3 children, ages 2, 3, and 5 in the best clothes they had, packed a picnic lunch, an old table cloth that belonged to my grandmother and we went to a local RURAL park.
There we met an elderly gentlemen I had know all my life. He was alone, never had children of his own but a was an avid photographer. Everyone for miles around knew this man and greatly respected him. He was my grandfather’s age.
We spent the afternoon walking the park forest, sharing a picnic lunch on the front porch of an old cabin and later in the day, He took many pictures of my babies and I as we frolic in the water that afternoon.
Those pictures are among my most prized souvenirs today.
Its been 24 years since (Feb 14, 1994) we bought His farm ( from him) and we still feel SO BLESSED to live and grow here every day.
Our farm today is the gathering place every sunday for our 3 grown kids, their spouses , and our 12 grandchildren . (all under the age of 12).
That picnic took two people who had known each other for over 20 years as acquaintances, and turned us into best friends until his death in 2009.
Thats the ” GOOD STUFF” life is made of.
We just had a mini-family reunion at a 4 wheeling ranch and the picnic off our tailgates was so simple and yet so much fun! Every picnic is the best one and I’m looking forward to the next best one, already! Lol!
My grandfather worked for Posey Manufacturing Company. Every summer at the company picnic there were games, relays and baseball games. Posey made wooden piano sounding boards and other wood products. A huge pile of sawdust was dumped in the field and salted with brand new pennies for the little tikes to find. Relay races were for the older kids and winners won brand new silver dollars and coins of smaller values for other places. Best of all there was an ice cream truck that was open in the back and you could help yourself to as many ice cream bars as you wanted—for FREE! It was a wonderful day of fun!
Many, many years ago as a brownie we had a week of day camps at our beautiful town park (Wicker Park in Highland, IN). One day was picnic day & we dug a hole in the ground for a fire, put a grate over it & made THE BEST sloppy joes I’ve ever had, in a kettle. We also learned how to make woven bracelets out of those plastic strips & earned our badges! At 64 that’s still a special memory.
There are so many favorites it’s very hard to choose just one. A winter trip with friends who had four boys and us with our three boys to pick out and cut Christmas trees stands out as one of the best. Our youngest was so young he was being pulled by alternating older ones on a red sled. He was rolled out more than once and he would come up sputtering and we would pick him up and put him back in and he bore it like a little trooper. We had a small fire and hotdogs and somemores and took home seven sticky kids and two trees that we thought were the most wonderful ever.
My parents took us on a picnic somewhere in Florida. Two huge alligators climbed out of the river we were lunching next to. My Dad had my sister and I get up on top of the table then he carried us to the car and we drove away.
I love a great picnic and have started recently with my family having a picnic any time that we can. A favorite time was the last Easter that my husband, myself and daughters spent with my
Mother in law.
We spent the day with additional family, an egg hunt and pool time and of coarse a picnic. The kids had a great time. It will be a forever cherished memory. Thankfully we took some nice photos.
My most memorable picnic was when my husband asked me to marry him on the Island of Maui. We didn’t have much money, so we bought some picnic items at the Lahaina Grocery Market and sat under the huge Banyon Tree and shared lunch on beach towels. It was there that he popped the big question. I said “yes” and that was 43 years ago. I’d love to win the picnic set and recreate the memory!
I wish I would have made a picnic basket like the one shown in the April/May issue. My 2 little girls loved having picnics in our living room, our basement, on the trampoline, and in the back yard! Now those little girls are all grown up, but those picnics were my favorite!
Gosh I love picnics and have many to choose from. One of my favorite memories is back in the 60’s as a child our family and extended family would go to the lake and picnic and swim all day. We lived in Ohio so we appreciated those warm months that we could swim. Aunt Lois always grilled footlong hot dogs on a bun and it was a huge treat! Then us kids had to wait the required 30 minutes before we could swim( per our parents). Lol
Sweet memories of cousins and laughter and family coming together in love 💕
I have many favorite picnic moments. As a young girl my father had a job selling seatbelts and he traveled the country. Restaurants were far too expensive for a traveling salesman. I can remember all of us getting hungry and starting the hunt for the perfect picnic place along the roadside. I truly miss those days and of course my parents. There were no phones no iPads, we all just visited with one another. Happy memories! Thank you for the giveaway!
LOVE picnics. Me and my sweetie still take lots of picnics sometimes end up sitting in the car if we get caught in a storm. We always take picnics when we do our roadtrips. (we love roadtrips) and camping and take lots of picnics when camping. Have been camping in every state but ND,SD,Nev and Hawaii and Alaska…but making our way there and for sure will have picnics included. 🙂
My favorite picnic experience is packing things up and taking them on our boat, we stopped in a quiet shallow area anchored the boat and watched the sunset while we enjoyed a treasure of snacks, sandwiches and drinks!
Favorite picnic was a teddy bear picnic with some special small children. They brought the teddy bears and I brought the rest. Fun time in the sun -eating treats, singing songs and playing games. It’s the simple things in life that bring so much joy!
We always went tot he Ledges State Park in Iowa. Grandma would make her fantastic southern fried chicken, German mustard potato salad, oven baked beans with bacon, brownies or chocolate cake and apple salad, along with homemade lemonade in the huge old fashioned gallon thermos. We had an old quilt we always spread out over the picnic table. We always got to go into the creeks after we ate and waded around looking for baby fish tadpoles and frogs while she usually sat and read or knitted. We usually were there for 2-3 hours and then would pack up and drive home. Fantastic summers doing simple things with our Grandma that I really miss now…
My favorite memory is when we took our son to a vineyard. We got some cheese, bread and olives. We met our friends there who had a daughter about the same age. The kids ran through the grapevines and played in the sunshine. They dined on cheeses and enjoyed juice. I still have the most marvelous picture of my son bringing me dandelions. About nine months later, his brother was born.
Love the quilt and pillow! Let’s see a picnic that stands out in my mind. As teenagers a group of us decided to go to a state park. Guy and girls and it was a fun time. I fried chicken and made potato salad of course. One of the girls decided that her boyfriend was paying me and my picnic basket too much attention. (Little did she know he just loved my fried chicken..lol )..She brought boiled eggs so she politely walked up to us and threw a few of her boiled eggs in the shell at him….Funny stuff.. Truthfully the most important picnics were held underneath a Weeping Willow in our back yard with my babies and the kitty cats. We did that almost daily when they were young.
Having picnics in my backyard with all my relatives and cousins when I was growing up in the 1950’s.
When I was young, maybe 8 or 10, sometimes my Mom would bring a packed lunch to my Dad in the farm fields. We would sit on one side of the field as he drove the tractor to our side, then he promptly turned around for another round. Mom would pack up and drive to the other side of the field and set up again, thinking he would stop when he saw us setting up. This would go on for about 3 rounds or so before Mom got frustrated and just sat my brother and me down to start eating lunch without him. You would think after the first time she would just pick a side and wait, but every time we brought him lunch this would happen. He claims “he didn’t see us” so he kept going. Didn’t hurt that for as stubborn as Mom is, Dad is every bit as ornery. 🙂
Favorite picnic was while vacationing in North Dakota with our boys. Our youngest was an avid talker (never quiet). He loved achy breaky heart and he had the cassette with a player with ear phones and sang along while plugged in at the top of his voice. The other people sharing the picnic grounds with us, I am sure were ready to see us leave…
My mom was extremely talented in all home arts and loved picnics. One January in the late 70’s the weather was unusually warm for Wyoming and she made something delicious and she, Dad, her mom, my brother, my hubby and our girls and I went into the hills behind their home and found a cozy spot to put out a blanket and eat. I don’t remember the fare but I know it was delicious!! Wonderful memory as she, Dad, my Nanna, and my husband are all now gone. We talked about this for years and even managed to get a photo of us in our sheltered little spot in the bluffs.
My husband and I decided to brave the elements and go snow camping in February on Banner Ridge in Idaho. We had joined the Search and Rescue, studied how to construct a snow cave, prepared, and departed. Turns out, that it took more time than sunlight allowed (next time – leave home earlier!). So we were forced into plan “B” and pitched our wee tent; 12 degrees is quite cold! My water bottle next to my torso froze solid during the night, but we survived and woke up to a glorious day. Our attempt at our snow cave looked like a BBQ pit, blocks for walls, bench seating, an area to sit and enjoy the warm sun and made the best picnic area; we even had a “refrigerator” with a snow lid – how convenient! Daytime was T-shirt weather and our picnic was gourmet all the way! We could see for miles in the peaceful pines all by ourselves. We will never forget the lessons we learned on our adventure nor how mistakes can create blessings for anorher day.
My favorite picnics were always the impromptu ones. Just grab a basket with food and drinks and head out to McConnell’s Mill in Portersville, PA. We are blessed that it is right down the road from our home. We would hike, visit the old grist mill and covered bridge.
We enjoy “glam” picnics under the tent before the Opera Theatre St. Louis — it’s a wonderful tradition and fun to see how creative theatre goers can be!
My Dad died when I was 16, I haven’t got a lot of memories of him, but I do remember being very young and we used to get together with his cousins, my grandparents and have the most wonderful picnics. The women were always dressed up in pretty dresses, no tupperware either, there were glass bowls full of fabulous salads and desserts. We kids weren’t allowed to run around like wildlings, but we had a blast playing with each other and some adults always seemed to join in. Ah, the good old days.
Anytime I can spend time with my granddaughters it’ a great day, throw in a picnic and it’s the perfect day. They pick out the snacks, and help make the sandwiches which means everything is a team effort and we all get to have input. Something as simple as throwing it all in a paper bag (decorated with drawings and stickers, of course) and heading to my husband’s high school gym to play then stop for our “picnic” always turns out to be the best days. You’ve never had a picnic, until you’ve set up in center court of a gym to eat while listening to the Moana soundtrack over the loudspeakers.
Fried chicken, potato salad, iced tea and for dessert an un-frosted oatmeal cake, paper plates, plastic forks, knives, and spoons and cups, filled the hamper, as we called it, and off to the park we’d go. There was fishing and fish watching as well as walkways around the koi fish stream we’d visit on those sunny California days. I have always wanted a koi fish pond with stream so I could watch them swim up and down, since that time. Maybe someday. I love the idea of your bassinet made into picnic item storage. I love that idea and will make a note that if I come across a bassinet someday it can be utilized in a different way. Thanks for ideas and the memories.
Picnic lunches were a way of life on our old farm. While Dad was baling hay on a very hot summer day, the girls and I would take food and iced tea out to him to take a well deserved break. Even if it was a PBJ, it was a great time to spend some family time. Can still smell that hay!
When my older daughter was in kindergarten and had learned to ride her bike well, we’d sit her little sister on a seat on my bike and take a picnic lunch to “our” huge oak tree about a mile from our house. She still remembers those treks and the shock the day we went to discover that huge tree had benn cut down to mke way for a subdivision. BUT we still have our special memories!
My favorite picnics are at the beach on one of my quilts. I pack lots of drinks, snacks, salads and sandwiches for the grandkiddies and when the food is gone, we leave the beach. Great memories!
My favorite picnic is one that I was not invited to. Our now son-in-law took our daughter on a 4 wheeler ride to a picnic site for the BIG proposal along with food, wine, bone fire and a beautiful ring to seal the deal. She accepted!
I have many favorites. My mother would take an entire meal to my dad in the field so he could keep on working. I loved it–it tasted so different when you ate out there and my mother taught me in this way to care for others and their needs because it was more work for her to do that and also she always cooked for the threshers and it was one huge outdoor picnic with fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, pies (all kinds) and made lots of food for the hungry men 25 or more of them. I loved it watching them eat and hear the stories they told. Those were the days. My mother was the best cook in the neighborhood so they made sure they ate at our place.
Had a picnic with my mom on Mothers Day in the orchard when fruit trees in blossom sweet aroma from the trees.
I made a Smargastarta, layered sandwich cake, petite fours and tea was such a wonderful day!
When I was growing up, my mom would get up early to fry chicken. Our family would go to the mountains for the day and find “the perfect place” to eat our lunch.
I love impromptu picnics! Living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan offered many places to do just that. One of my favorites was just a little roadside park for travelers. There wasn’t much traffic, so we didn’t have all the noise and pollution. I would have everything ready when my husband came home from work and off we would go!! Sometimes it was purchased subs, sometimes it was hot dogs with potato salad. It wasn’t so much the food, but where we were and who we we’re with…each other!!
My favorite memory was a picnic taken at a remote lake in Southern Wyoming. We had been fishing all day, enjoyed a lovely picnic, and then headed home. On the way home, we came across a flash flood area that had taken out the road. The terrain wouldn’t allow us to go around and turning around or backing up wasn’t an option. My Dad ending up walking for miles to get help. For a little girl, I thought he was such a hero.
My favorite picnic was when my husband surprised me on our anniversary. He packed a picnic lunch without telling me and we drove an hour away to a beautiful park. He had brought a cd player with our favorite love songs and we danced the day away as we enjoyed the beautiful park and our lunch. We had glass plates, silverware, wine glasses for sparkling apple cider, candles, tablecloth and placemats. He brought flowers for me. It was an amazing day. 💞