It’s big. It’s unstoppable. It’s sparkly. Are you ready?
For the rest of the holiday season, that is. Feasts to prepare, halls to deck, family to see, and—oh, yes—gifts to give. Often, that includes whipping up our “famous” cookies, candies, and cakes and sending them to familiar faces in far-flung places.
But if you’re like me, you cringe to think what those goodies must look like by the time they’ve reached their destination. Have the cookies dried out? Did the frosting smear? Is your rum loaf still … well … a loaf? If the idea of people receiving a messy box of crumbs with your name on it makes you crazy, read on for some peace of mind …
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.
They know that Santa’s on his way;
He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother’s child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.
And so I’m offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
Merry Christmas to you!
The debate has been raging for decades of Decembers:
Real or artificial?
I’m talking trees, of course.
In one camp, you have the hearty, saw-slinging lumberjacks (and Jills) that relish the opportunity to strike out into the snowy woods …
(or tree farm)
to cut down a live fir for the holiday festivities …
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
The featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Heather Neeper!
Heather Neeper (#4701) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Homespun Christmas badge.
“This year, I decorated a Christmas tree with ornaments made from applesauce and cinnamon. I also strung popcorn and cranberries on the tree. For the homemade gifts, I made scrapbook calendars, sewn organizers that fit over a coffee mug, painted glass ornaments, and baked lots of cookies and bread!”
“It turned out wonderfully!! I love the way my tree looks. My kitchen smells so good from the cinnamon. The gifts are great too. My family and neighbors are going to love them.”
I was taking a little stroll through the snow yesterday with my Great Pyrenees, Tulip, when look what fell out of my hat … the winner of Rocky Mountain Gardener’s Handbook giveaway!
Congratulations, Kat Tylee!!!
Kat Tylee said:
Please add my name to the hat. I don’t live fully in the Rockies anymore, but I live at the historical beginning of the Rockies on the Oregon Trail. I grew up under the Tetons and lived for four years in the shadows of the Missions. All part of the Rockies. Gardening there can be a challenge to say the least. High elevations and unexpected freezes become a way of life in the Rockies. I would love to add this one to my garden book collection.
Kat, keep your eyes on your inbox for an e-mail!
Have you read the book-now-turned-movie, Life of Pi? A few years ago, it was one of my favorites. It’s about a 16-year-old Indian boy’s passage to start a new life in America aboard a freighter that shipwrecks in the Pacific. (He’s traveling with his family to move their zoo to another country.) He manages to secure himself on a life raft … but with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger. (You’ll have to read the book or see the movie to see how it ends.)
It seems a bit like this story I found on the Helped by Animals Facebook page featuring INCREDIBLE inter-species relationships that are formed when one (usually young and helpless) animal is put in life or death circumstances. (Make sure you visit their page because the photos and stories will warm your heart to its very core.)
This one below is udderly amazing. Not only does a predator quit being a predator, but its prey quits being afraid and in fact shows the predator care and love.
December 15 is National Cat Herders’ Day. To be honest, this is the first I’ve herd of this holiday. But, I’ll be celebrating.
The holiday is not to be taken literally, but rather, it is dedicated to doing the unmanageable. How impossible would it be to literally herd a bunch of cats? I can just picture it now, and the rodeo would be far more ridiculous than any of the adventures we’ve had moving cows from pasture to pasture out here at the farm. (Although we have had some pretty entertaining moments.) Guess we should be thankful we’re not running a cat dairy … for a variety of reasons.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
