What were my son Brian, SIL Lucas, and the guys from our food facility hauling onto the second floor of our building yesterday?
Why, my very own crafting …
bed!
Years ago, I found a gorgeous brass bed in an antique store, but when I got it home to put into one of my B & B units, it was an odd size. Sized in between a twin and a double bed, I couldn’t find a mattress to fit it. Planter box? Nah, too gorgeous to be outside. As I was finishing up my new Pay Dirt Farm School classroom where I plan to teach sewing classes, I thought, “Why not turn it into a crafting table on wheels?”
Right after it was put into place (it wouldn’t fit up the staircase—the reason my husband lifted it with the tractor to the height of our guys waiting on the roof), we received an order for a pair of our Raising Jane knickers. So Saralou, our resident seamstress, crafter, and graphic designer, gave my idea a test run.
I figure a bed is all about dreams, right? I dream a world in which I teach dozens of young women the joy of sewing, including my grandgirls. How and when did you learn to sew?
Have you ever considered how many women’s names have taken on double meanings in the English language?
If you’re scratching your head, take it from a gal who knows …
A Mary Jane, after all, isn’t a far cry from a MaryJane.
(I prefer the Butters version.)
See what I mean?
If you’re a Nellie or a Patsy, you’re nodding emphatically right now.
Unfortunately, girls named Nellie and Patsy are harder to come by these days,
thanks to popular expressions that have put a damper on their demand.
“Whoa Nellie! It just ain’t so,” said Nervous Nellie. “Don’t blame me. I refuse to be your Patsy.”
Let’s take a gander at several handles that have become noteworthy
(or even a tad notorious)
by their starring roles in our ever-evolving vernacular …
Mary Jane
My name, with a space between, doubles as the name of a …
perfectly legal …
shoe.
I must say I’m pleased as punch—who doesn’t love a Mary Jane? It’s a shoe-in.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Plain Jane
Some Janes have it harder than others. Jane paired with plain is a term used to describe a woman of “unremarkable appearance.” With a play on words, I named my milk chocolate “Playin’ Jane.” I quite prefer her lack of fanfare over the more complicated Janes. Divulge your favorite type of chocolate in the comments section below and this Playin’ Jane (along with her friends, Almond Daze and Mintsummer’s Day) will get mailed to you when our very own StellaJane picks your name out of our giveaway hat.
“Picture this,” invites night-beguiled blogger Moonfairy,
“It’s a warm summer night …
tree frogs and crickets are singing their night songs,
and the full moon is casting its glow on the landscape.
You wander through the moonlight until you come to a place
that seems to glow …
It is your very own moonlight garden,
and creating one is easier than you think.”
Cloud Study, Moonlight by Albert Bierstadt, c. 1860, via Wikimedia Commons
I’m entranced—how about you?
I wandered serendipitously into the magical world of moonlit gardens while wrapping up the latest issue of MaryJanesFarm, June/July 2013.
The theme of the magazine?
“Midnight Hour.”
So, I simply had to know …
Now that you’ve read my book, Glamping with MaryJane, you need to find a fabulous place to get your glam campin’ on.
And so, we’re back for a 6th day of where to glamp in 2013. Colorado has long been an untouched wilderness teeming with elk and undisturbed Mammoth trees, and every season will please.
Dunton Hot Springs
Colorado
Nestled in the San Juan Mountains of the Colorado Rockies, Dunton Hot Springs is an oasis of thick, fluffy snow in winter; hues of yellow and gold in fall; bright-blue, crystal-clear skies in spring; and warm, languid, heat during the summer.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Erin Rockafellow!
Erin Rockafellow (Erin Rock, #4131) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level The Secret Life of Bees Merit Badge!
“This badge was great to earn I had been looking for a reason to read ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ and this was it. The book was beautiful and I’m going to buy it for our family bookshelf. The vanishing bees movie was not something I knew existed but I did know about the horrible problem. The Easter bunny brought everything to the kids baskets this year to build a bee and butterfly garden and we have our plans drawn up. We just need to wait for our last frost date to plant everything. This was fun to do and I am excited about how the garden is going to turn out.”
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.
