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

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.

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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

Intermediate Level

For this week’s Each Other/Land a Hand to Families Merit Badge, I traveled to Florida to see my Gramma Barbie. Well, I was going anyway, but an opportunity to earn another badge kind of presented itself. (What? I’m not addicted! I can stop anytime I want to. Is there a 12-Step Program for Badge Lovers?) Gramma broke her hip recently and could use a little help from her favorite granddaughter.

My gramma is a real get-up-and-go kinda girl, so I knew this weekend wasn’t going to be a walk in the park for either of us. She is more the serve-others type, not the sit-still-and-boss-your-granddaughter-around type, so I figured we both had our work cut out for us.

(Gramma could seriously use the Relaxation Merit Badge).

Still, knowing all this and surviving this were two very different things.

Gramma had already had her surgery when I arrived, had been released from the hospital, and was in a fine mood when I arrived. And by a fine mood, I mean she was stir crazy, going nuts, and fighting off a bad case of cabin fever. Just cleaning her house and plugging a movie in for her was not going to do it. I may have been over my head.

I started with making her some sweet tea. This I was prepared for. Most grammas like their sweet tea, and I was determined to change a few of her bad eating habits when I was there, so I had smuggled in some organic, loose-leaf Assam and a jar of my favorite local honey. Turns out, I was naïve. I had to wean her off her Lipton and a pound a sugar per glass, g r a d u a l l y. I started by diluting hers little by little with my homemade brew, until she was drinking half-and-half and none the wiser. I was feeling pretty sneaky, but since I was pretty sure I was saving her from a sugar coma, I smothered the guilty feeling with logic (and a cookie).

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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

For this week’s Each Other/Little Squirts Merit Badge, my ears really thanked me. All my doors, windows, hinges, well, nearly everything in my life that could potentially squeak, was squeaking.

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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,882 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,641 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

For this week’s Farm Kitchen/Forage for Food Merit Badge, I started paying attention to my feet. That’s right, my need-a-pedi-stat feet, in my new Spring sandals. Why, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Because up until now, I have been committing plant-icide. And not just on weeds, no, no! I’ve been guilty as charged for the heinous murders of FOOD.

Yes, food. Now, color me innocent (a violet or pale pink, I believe) but I really had no idea how many plants can be nibbled, munched, cooked, and snacked upon. In fact – get this – it’s easier and smarter to learn which plants cannot be eaten, and go from there. When I started out earning this badge, I had my handy-dandy sticky note/memo pad at the ready. I thought that would be appropriate and perfect for my short list of a handful of edible plants. Wrong. Turns out I needed page after page of full size paper to keep a running tally.

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