Author Archives: maryjane

Downton Abbey

Posted on February 21, 2013 by maryjane

Gather ’round, Downton Abbey fans …

It’s time to dish!

Julian Fellowes, the Academy Award-winning fellow who created and writes Downton Abbey, has just offered up an interview about the series’ next season. (Here’s some fun trivia: In addition to playing numerous acting roles as English royalty, Julian is actually royalty himself—his full name is Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford.)

You may have a titch more self-control than I do,

and I totally respect that,

but if you are desperate to savor a few savory snippets of the season to come,

then surrender to temptation and read on …

“I’m not giving anything away by saying that one of the main themes is the rebuilding of Mary, that Mary has to rebuild her life in a society which is changing,” Fellows says. “We would see women’s roles in the ’20s as being very much behind women today. But it was a big advance on what it had been 30 years before. And that’s all explored in the show.”

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Fellowes also alludes to his plans to write a new period drama for NBC.

Want more?

Continue reading →

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 20, 2013 by maryjane

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Way Cool Compost Idea

Posted on February 20, 2013 by maryjane

Yee-haw!

The kooky-cool city of Austin, Texas, has just spurred a city-wide composting program that’ll collect compostable kitchen waste from your curb …

(with the tip of a hat and a thank you, ma’am).

Austin Resource Recovery recently launched a one-year pilot program called Curbside Organics Collection, and so far, they’re bagging a bounty.

In the past month, 7,900 random households around the city started hauling weekly collections of organic waste—stuff like food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings—to their curbs. Pilot participants each received a 96-gallon cart to use for curbside compost collection as well as a food scrap container to help with the collection of leftovers in the kitchen.

What does the city do with the salvaged scraps?

“Organic materials collected at the curb are turned into nutrient-rich compost, mulch, and garden soils specifically designed for central Texas!” cheers the city’s website. “Collecting organic materials at the curb will keep greater amounts of valuable materials out of our landfills, reduce harmful greenhouse gases, and help Austin get closer to Zero Waste by 2040.”

Specifically, the sundry scraps are carted off to Organics by Gosh, where they are brewed into “black gold” (compost, of course) that will be sold for use in local lawns and gardens. The cycle from curbside waste to compost takes about a year.

Photo by Kessner Photography via Wikimedia Commons

“Austin Resource Recovery manager Richard McHale ultimately hopes to expand the curbside pick-up of organic waste city wide within the next three years,” reports Mother Nature Network.

A number of other cities across the United States are beginning to offer curbside compost collection service, so it’s worth a call to your city hall or waste management service to “get the scoop” for your neighborhood.

Continue reading →

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 19, 2013 by maryjane

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photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 18, 2013 by maryjane

The Rest of the Story

Posted on February 18, 2013 by maryjane

Happy Monday morning my dear friends!!!! Here’s what I’m hoping will be a fun exchange between us. Can you help me write the ending to my “story” (adventure, yarn, whopper, taradiddle, mare’s nest, fabrication, concoction)? It can be three words. Or many. A smiley face without any ending at all. A total dud, fall flat on its face idea. (Oh, the embarrassment.) Here goes my first attempt. But wait. My future alert is this: I hope to sometimes drift into Garrison Keillor territory with a yarn or two. Maybe the occasional fable of yore. Maybe a pretend game of “you’re about to cowgirl up your milk cow when up drives …”

_______________________________________________________

It’s happened before. But this time, she does it in an even larger group setting. She’s someone you care about a lot, enough so, you can’t bear the thought of correcting her privately, let alone publicly. What’s a girl to do?

Send her an anonymous note? You consider her reaction and embarrassment and that idea stops you dead in your tracks. You begin to weigh the consequences. When she finds out she’s had it wrong all along, she’ll spend time trying to replay all the many times she’s done it and who was there to witness it. It might affect her confidence. It might make her retreat. If she retreats only a tiny amount, that’s never a good thing. Worse yet, maybe she’ll retreat from you if she even suspects you’re the one …

“Silly. Just tell her the very next time it happens. You’re over-thinking it. On second thought, maybe I’m guilty of something similar and no one’s ever told me. Now, this is ruining MY confidence. This is starting to be too much …

Say nothing …

Oh, for heaven’s sake, just say it! Tell her point blank …

No, don’t. Who do I think I am anyway? Little Miss Blunder Director Corrector? She’s only a dear acquaintance, not a BFF …

I got it! Tell a close family member of hers so they can tell her … “

Never mind. That is WAY too manipulative and underhanded.

But. BUT. Every time she says …

Continue reading →

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 17, 2013 by maryjane

Glamping Sites to visit in 2013: 1 of 15

Posted on February 17, 2013 by maryjane

Now that you’ve read my book, Glamping with MaryJane, you need to find a fabulous place to get your glamp on.

Here’s the first installment of 15 places in the U.S.A. (There are more, but I figure 15 will get you dreamin’ out loud.)

Cherry Wood Breakfast & Barn
Washington

Because who doesn’t want to stay in a tepee? These glowing bungalows in Yakima, Washington, are filled with cozy beds and are available April thru early October. Along with barbeque grills, compact refrigerators, separate super-clean and private water closets, open-air showers round out the amenities.

Have you ever been on a winery tour via horseback? Giddyup and sip up! Ride on an all-day tour, with your horse or theirs, to the local wineries, including a stop for lunch at Cultura Winery.

Mannerly dogs are welcome for $20 a night, but leave the kids at home, this is a working ranch. Your pup will get their own special bed beside yours, and a safe secure kennel to stay in while you’re on the wine trail.

And, while you’re at it (you’re on vacation after all), restore yourself in a twilight tub. Warm soothing waters, delicately scented bath salts, a gentle breeze through the willows, and nothing but the wide open skies above.
Take in the sunset, watch the moon rise or gaze at the stars – there’s no better way to end a day in the wine country of Washington. Outdoor bathing is an extra $35 / person per hour.

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 16, 2013 by maryjane

boustrophedon

Posted on February 16, 2013 by maryjane

While I can’t be sure that boustrophedon wasn’t the ancient equivalent of a modern-day party trick, I can tell you that its style was meant to emulate the pattern of an ox plowing a field, back and forth.

How might you use boustrophedon (boo-struh-FEED-n) in your daily life?

I have no idea.

No, wait, that’s not true …

How about: boost ruh feed ‘n then yer cows’ll be a whole lot better off’n …

Seriously now brown cow, that only helps you remember how to say it.

How about teaching it to a kid—kids get a kick out of writing secret codes to fool their friends.

What’s more, you can say “boustrophedon” while you’re vacuuming the carpet

or mowing the lawn,

and won’t you feel smart ‘n sassy?

Brag if you want to, girlfriend, because now you know a word that most people wouldn’t dare try to define.