Author Archives: maryjane

Author Portrait: maryjane

Today’s Recipe: Wild Bread Cinnamon Rolls

Posted on April 14, 2018 by maryjane

Even though my latest book, Wild Bread, is already on the shelves, we are continuing to add on to it. Lately, we’ve been dreaming of luscious, ooey-gooey, soft cinnamon rolls. As a result, over the last few weeks, we’ve been on a quest to create a sumptuous cinnamon roll. Along the way, we discovered that dates make a wonderful filling that stays put while the cinnamon rolls are baking.

Check out our cinnamon-roll recipe on my Wild Bread chatroom here.

While you’re there, join in on our conversation about everything Wild Bread!

If you haven’t picked up a copy of my latest book, you can find it here.

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Author Portrait: maryjane

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Posted on April 12, 2018 by maryjane

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Author Portrait: maryjane

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Posted on April 10, 2018 by maryjane

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Author Portrait: maryjane

Spoondrift

Posted on April 10, 2018 by maryjane

(n.) Origin 1760-1770

Definition: spoon, variant of obsolete spoom (of a ship) to run or scud before the wind + drift, spray blown from waves during a gale at sea. Spoondrift.

In other words, it’s what gives us “beach waves” in our hair (that are all the rage these days), and what cools off our sunburn during a trip to the coast. And it’s also the sea’s idea of an all-natural moisturizer.

Photo by Chris Richardson via Wikimedia Commons.

Quotes:
“Just the same, I guess I can show you girls a good time at spoondrift.”
– The Corner House Girls Under Canvas, Grace Brooks Hill

“Spoondrift is the spray from the tops of the waves,” explained Pearl.
– The Corner House Girls Under Canvas, Grace Brooks Hill

“And it was cold—oh, it was cold! The pinching cold was like a vise: spoondrift flew freezing, fold on fold. It coated them with ice.”
– The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886 Ministry of Education

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Posted on April 8, 2018 by maryjane

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Author Portrait: maryjane

Hear Ye!

Posted on April 8, 2018 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Joanna Vaughan!

Joanna Vaughan (JojoNH #566) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level of the Quilting Merit Badge!

“Learned how to sew the quilting squares together by hand. Using 2 1/2″ squares, I assembled the top to a table runner. The runner measures 31″ long by 15″ wide finished.

Learned an easy technique to add the batting and backing to the top. Learned which stitches would be best for the binding edge, and then decided on a tied top for finishing the quilting.

Since this was all done by hand, it took between 24-28 hours from start to finish.

I’m now obsessed!! I have always loved hand-sewing. Now, knowing how easy this was to do, I’m ready to tackle a larger project by hand as well. I could not be happier with the end result of my table runner!”

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Author Portrait: maryjane

Hear Ye!

Posted on April 5, 2018 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is Erin McBride!

Erin McBride (notathreatinsight, #3762) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning the Beginner Level of the Geography Merit Badge!

“I have a couple globes, and many maps of the world, and the United States.

Having worked as a trainer for an airline for 8 years, I have what I would consider more than a basic level of knowledge of national and world geography. One of the nice things about homeschooling is that when your kids learn something new, you have to learn it too. We are currently studying the United States, and have learned all of the capitals (I did know these already) along with their locations on the map of the U.S. Now we are learning geographical features, including mountain ranges, lakes, bays, rivers, trails, canals, deserts, and other prominent features, along with their locations.

YouTube is full of resources for learning more about geography in fun ways. We are using maps and songs to learn these features, which I would recommend to anyone of any age! It’s fun to learn and you gain valuable knowledge about the world you live in.

We also used this book to study cartography and map out the U.S. We all enjoy drawing, and this was a fun project to help us learn more about the geography of our country.”

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Posted on April 3, 2018 by maryjane

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Author Portrait: maryjane

She’s a virago!

Posted on April 3, 2018 by maryjane

Virago:

origin and etymology:

Middle English, from Latin viragin-, virago, from vir man

definition:

Plural: viragoes or viragos

  1. a loud, overbearing woman
  2. a woman of great stature, strength, and courage

Mixed messages, anyone? While once considered a compliment (one famous virago being Joan of Arc), it later became more of a slur or derogatory comment (think Taming of the Shrew’s very own shrew). Now it’s trending more towards the complimentary once again. Is there a virago in your farmgirl life?

Wonder Woman Lynda Carter, Photo by ABC Television via Wikimedia Commons.

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Author Portrait: maryjane

photo-of-the-day

Posted on April 1, 2018 by maryjane

Happy Easter!!! Hope your day is filled with light and love

(and a few daffodils).

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