I’m thinking I better not miss this one. How about you? The marriage of Junkin’ + Glampin’ is happenin’ June 14 & 15 on Valley Chapel Road in Walla Walla, Washington, and you’re invited. Check it out at loveofjunk.com and then get yourself signed up for one of their campsites or just auto on over for a weekend of junkin’ (better bring an empty trunk, though).
The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,945 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,765 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …
For this week’s Stitching and Crafting Merit Badge, I put my tongue between my teeth, settled down in a comfy spot, and got out my paper collection. Since I’ve been recycling and trying not to waste not/want not, my paper supply was getting out of hand. I’ve never really tried origami unless you count my heart-shaped valentines or the way I attempt to fold napkins at Thanksgiving (and I don’t think the Buddhist monks who perfected origami would consider it such), so I was in for a learning experience, thank you very much.
Evidently, no one knows for sure and certain who invented the art of origami—the Japanese or the Chinese—but I think I can safely say they have both excelled at it. Me? Not so much.
Not yet, anyway … but just you wait until Thanksgiving.
The average cost of health care per person, per year, in the U.S. is skyrocketing. But stats show that our health, as a nation, is on a rapid decline.
So, what gives? Watch the new documentary, Escape Fire, The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare.
To watch the full documentary, you can purchase it through iTunes for $17.99 or go to their website here and click on “see the film” for more showing opportunities.
Escape Fire has already won a large number of awards, including Best Documentary (Newport Beach Film Festival), React to Film Social Issue Award (Silverdocs Film Festival), and Human Rights Award (Full Frame Film Festival). It was also nominated at the Sundance Film Festival for the Grand Jury Prize.
Leave it to a bunch of hens …
Those garrulous girls can be heard
all around the farm.
Squawk!
Is a raccoon causing the ruckus?
A weasel, perhaps? Stray dog? Barn cat? Eagle? Owl?
The uproar sends me running every time,
tripping over my feet and bushes along our pathways,
to see what’s ruffling their feathers.
And more often than not,
what do I find?
Just a coop full of cachinnating chickens …
What’s so funny?
Photo by Jeff Kramer via Wikimedia Commons
Cachinnate (KAK-i-nayt): a verb meaning to laugh very loudly or immoderately.
What do you do when you have a pregnant cow that’s breathing hard, falls to the ground, looks uncomfortable, and seems to be having contractions? Well, you assume she’s going into labor.
My dear sweet rotund Emma has about a month left before she gives us a little gorgeous boy or girl—according to our records (that may or may not be accurate). She looked a little, well, due yesterday and so we went into a tizzy—the news spreading like a head-to-toe farm rash. Ace and Karina hung about with cameras, farmhands kept an eye out, and everyone kept asking, “Anything yet?” Nothing compares to the excitement and sweetness of a newborn calf.
Royal pregnancies, Beyonce’s Blue Ivy … they don’t have a thing on our love of Jersey, cows that is! Not Shore. Today, our Emma is fine again but no bundle of joy. Yet.
to stop and smell the flowers. Just a friendly reminder from Miss Mia, who had no idea the adult meaning behind it when she asked me as we rushed through our day if she could please stop and smell the flowers.
Many of you may have met this guy … or his sister, Flat Suzy …
Flat Stanley is a tool for us kids (usually kindergarten through second grade) to connect with others across the country. He is usually sent on a trip (via mail) to another part of the country by a student to another student. When he arrives, he has pictures taken of all the activities he enjoys in a new place. Sometimes, he gets new attire or accessories on his trip, too.
Flat Stanley, who will be celebrating his 50th year in 2014, was originally a children’s book published in 1964 by Jeff Brown. His story goes like this:
“When Stanley Lambchop wakes up one morning, his brother, Arthur, is yelling. A bulletin board fell on Stanley during the night, and now he is only half an inch thick!
Amazing things begin happening to him. Stanley gets rolled up, mailed, and flown like a kite. He even gets to help catch two dangerous art thieves. He may be flat, but he’s a hero!”
I received him all the way from Kansas from my friend, Alexa (we share the same birthday). Alexa is a farmgirl for sure, so we knew he’d enjoy a visit to the farm. Here’s a snippet of Flat Stanley’s day with us …
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.
