We finally had a good snow day and spent the day at the farm.
By the second run, the cows came around to see what all the fuss was about.
We had a wonderful day and learned about our echos in the silence of the snow.
Daddy and Mia found out their weight together made them so much faster! Good thing they wore their trusty helmets.
Just before the holidays, Mom and I snuck off to the big city for a couple of meetings and some Mom/Daughter time. The city was bustling as usual, but the holiday cheer was an experience in its own.
And somehow the nighttime was even more spectacular than usual. I’d never seen a tree as large as the glistening Rockefeller tree (this year’s tree was an 85-foot Norway spruce from Hemlock Township, Pennsylvania).
We spent two hours in Macy’s “shopping,” but are such country bumpkins that we didn’t buy a thing.
The Empire State Building is a marvel at night. And I took one silly selfie during the daytime. Only because I decided we needed a poinsettia for our hotel room, and as I walked back to the room, it began to snow on me and my mini poinsettia. Happiness.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Katie Wright!!!
Katie Wright (Sister #5600) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Knitting Merit Badge!
“I designed a purse (made up the pattern); chose the yarn; worked the pieces, making front and back, bottom, and side pieces, which included knitting the strap, measuring and planning as I went. I made a buttonhole in one side piece. The purse measures 9″ x 10 1/2″ and has a long strap for using as a cross-body purse.
I worked at this at my knitting group, which meets on Tuesday afternoons and also evenings in Hannibal, Missouri. I shared the pattern with a family member.
Working on this item took me over 20 hours with the knitting, piecing together, sewing a lining, and placing the lining in the purse.
My cross-body, deep-green knitted purse is very attractive. I knit in seed stitch, which just makes it a little more decorative. I made the bottom, sides, and strap in garter stitch to add some variety to the purse. I lined it with a pretty soft grey with white polka dots, which I had left from making a message bag last year. I used a buttonhole stitch around the buttonhole and into the fabric lining and then sewed on a nice, shiny red button … my favorite color. It turned out great and I have used it and received many compliments already. I am sure I will use it for many years to come. I also plan to make a few in the future as gifts for family and friends.”
In the midst of what seems like almost-daily bad news, I was recently touched to hear a feel-good story about a dog who rides public transit in Seattle all by herself in order get to the dog park. It appears that the 2-year-old black Labrador mix named Eclipse has become a regular fixture on the D-line. The bus stop is right in front of her house, and if her owner is not quite ready to go, she jumps on board alone and meets him later at the dog park. Regular riders say that she sits quietly in her seat and watches out the window for her stop, and transit authorities say they are happy that Eclipse can appreciate public transit, although she really should be on a leash. This whole idea made me giggle.
Does the age-old phrase “country pup vs. city pup” still hold true?? Haha. Our golden retriever wouldn’t know what to do with public transit, but he’ll happily hop right up into the bed of a pickup. Hmmm, maybe he could fake it like I do when I make a trip to the city?
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.
