For all of you landlocked ladies who feverishly need an ocean fix …
Photo by Skeeze via Pixabay
I have one word … well, it’s an acronym, really:
D.I.Y.
That’s right—a do-it-yourself ocean.
This cool concept puts a lusciously liquid spin on the dusty ol’ bottled-ship idea.
We’re talking real water here,
BLUE water.
Whether you call it your captive Caribbean, personal Pacific, or mini Mediterranean, you’ll love this simple craft from Rose Matthews of Dream Gem.
“This miniature bottle charm creates an ocean in a bottle just by using oil and water. When you turn the bottle side to side, the oil and water create the effect of a wave,” Rose explains.
Here’s her video tutorial:
Rose offers another watery craft on her Dream Gem You Tube channel that you might want to add to your coastal collection. Take a look at this marvelously mesmerizing jellyfish in a jar:
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Natalie Garcia!!!
Natalie Garcia (#7004) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Community Action Merit Badge!
“I’ve been aware for a little while that my town does not allow for the keeping of backyard chickens. The city council is responsible for this law and I spent about an hour looking into the city ordinances. What I found was that it is unlawful for any person to keep any chickens, ducks, pigeons, or other fowl in the city limits unless the same are at all times kept confined in proper pens or enclosures. No animals are permitted to be kept within the city limits, including those described in this section, unless allowed by any applicable zoning ordinance pursuant to Title 15 of this code. All pens or enclosures required by this section shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition and shall not be placed or maintained within seventy five feet (75′) of any dwelling. Further zoning information revealed that residential areas are zoned for household pets (defined as: Animals or fowl ordinarily permitted in the house and kept for company or pleasure, such as dogs, cats, or canaries, but not including a sufficient number of dogs or cats to constitute a “kennel”) and lofts for racing pigeons only. I could keep one cow, though. 12-7-5: KEEPING MORE THAN ONE COW PROHIBITED; PERMIT REQUIRED TO KEEP ONE COW.
There is a local group that is pushing for a change to these rules, to allow urban backyard chickens. It’s called the Ogden Chicken Alliance, and there is a corollary group called C.L.U.C.K. (Citizens Lobbying for Urban Chicken Keeping) and there are Facebook pages. OCA is Ogden Chicken Alliance and CLUCK is Ogden CLUCK I do belong to both pages and have attended my first meeting.
Many nearby towns DO allow chickens, but not here. There are semi-monthly meetings and the group has gotten a booth at the local farmers’ market, where we will be selling t-shirts and handing out informational flyers. Fingers crossed.”
If you feel a certain zeal for Zentangle, then follow me along another winding path …
Image by LittleGretchen via Flickr
to the Spirograph!
You might recall this mesmerizing pastime from childhood, complete with little plastic gears and multi-colored pens.
With all of the recent buzz about adult coloring books and Zentangle, it’s no surprise that the Spirograph is finding its way back into fashion.
“The only toy I still have from growing up is a Super Spirograph,” shares Heather Holm of Spirographic Art. “I was already a teenager when I got it, so that would have been in the early 1970s. My sister had a regular Spirograph, and we both loved it, so when the Super Spirograph came out, I had to get one. It has survived many moves and a fire … now my son enjoys playing with it too. One day he observed, ‘Whoever invented this was a genius.’”
Heather is such a passionate proponent of the Spirograph and all of its gorgeous geometric possibility that she dedicated her entire website to the art—tutorials, tips, product reviews, and coloring pages.
A variety of Spirograph kits are available from vendors like Amazon, from travel sized sets to super deluxe versions with a dozen or more discs in different shapes and sizes. To get an idea of how hypnotically creative you can get with circles and spirals (stick with the video to the grand finale), watch:
If you’ve read my Glamping with MaryJane book, you might remember my little story about a Shasta trailer I fell in love with after seeing it for sale on craigslist. After all, my family had an almost identical one when I was growing up (that’s me in the tire swing at our deer hunting camp).
So when I saw this craigslist ad …
… I couldn’t resist buying it sight unseen. So much for the “no disappointment” part. Here’s the tale of woe I told in my book:
“Let me be your example of why sight-unseen can be a problem. If you’re like me, you’re an optimist. You hope for the best. Plus, you’re short on time. When I talked to the owner of this Shasta (that I ended up buying sight-unseen for $2,500), he said there wasn’t any mold or water damage. (I asked twice.) And all the windows and outside lights had been recaulked. But he failed to mention a cheap caulk had been used that you can scrape off with your fingernail. Oh, and there was definitely mold and water damage. In addition, he didn’t mention the gaping holes in the side or rust in the fridge or the fact that the stove didn’t work OR that it had a shady history and had been stolen in a former life (revealed during the title transfer). When my farmhand pulled it into my driveway after a five-hour drive, I wrote the seller an e-mail expressing my dismay. To his credit, he said, “I would be happy to take it back and pay for the gas for the return trip.” Once I got the windows washed, I could see her potential. So I kept her, but I will never buy a trailer again without seeing it first.”
After reconsidering the extensive renovations it would need, I ended up selling it for the same price I bought it for to a woman from Boise, Idaho, who’d seen it in my book. When she asked if I knew of anyone in the Boise area who could help her glamperize and renovate her new baby, I posted that question on our Gampers on the Loose Facebook page, and was able to put her in touch with someone willing to renovate it. She recently wrote, “We are getting close to finished—just minor touchups and polish-it-to-a-mirror-shine and we’re good to go. It’s been a worthwhile journey that we couldn’t have done without help.”
Here she is all gussied up and ready to roll. All’s well that ends well.
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.
