Author Archives: maryjane

Hear Ye!

Posted on March 27, 2016 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 … Nicole Epperson!!!

Nicole Epperson (#6762) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Embroidery Merit Badge!

“I checked out a couple of stitch dictionaries from my local library. I read about the history of embroidery and learned a few stitches from the books. I put together a sampler of border or outline stitches and the new stitches I learned are blanket stitch, Chinese stitch, feather stitch, double feather stitch, feathered chain stitch, and chevron stitch.

It turned out better than I had anticipated. I learned how to cross stitch when I was younger, so I had the canvas to practice nice, straight stitches for this project. It was a good project for me to start with since there was a bit of familiarity. I even reused an old frame that was collecting dust in the closet to finish it!”

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 26, 2016 by maryjane

farm-romance_8866

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 24, 2016 by maryjane

farm-romance_8927

Score!

Posted on March 24, 2016 by maryjane

Seventeen-year-old Cedrick Argueta was one of only 12 students worldwide to recently attain a perfect score on the grueling Advanced Placement Calculus exam. More than 302,000 students took the 3 1/4 hour test last year, said to be one of the most difficult college-level tests. Cedrick also aced the English and math sections of his ACT college-entrance exam.

Student taking test via Wikimedia Commons

You might guess that Cedrick comes from a privileged private-school background. Nope. He’s the son of two immigrants who came to the U.S. as young adults, his mother from the Philippines and his father from El Salvador. His father never attended high school and works in maintenance at a nursing home, where his mother also works as a licensed vocational nurse.

Cedrick attends Lincoln High School, a public school of about 1,200 students in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, where the majority of students are low-income and 20 percent are English-language learners.

Kudos to calculus teacher Anthony Yom, whose 21 AP Calculus students taking the exam ALL passed—and 17 of them received the highest score of 5, indicating that a student is “extremely well qualified” for a college course in that subject. It was the third year in a row that all of Yom’s students passed the test.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Yom “treats his students like a sports team.” They even wore matching t-shirts on test day, “like they’re wearing jerseys to the game,” Yom said.

Kudos to Cedrick, and extra kudos to Anthony for making a difference in these students’ lives!

WINNERS!!! Endangered Species Chocolate Spread Giveaway

Posted on March 24, 2016 by maryjane

chocolate-spread_8708

The FIVE winners of my “Endangered Species Chocolate Spread” giveaway are:

Sara Kitchen, who said:
“WOW! Perfect treats for anything, even on picnics!”

Nicole, who said:
“I love chocolate because, well, it’s chocolate! Dark is my favorite, but I’m open to any. We even have a basket in my office that I keep filled with chocolate, and a sign that says, ‘Life happens, chocolate helps.’”

Ally, who said:
“I love chocolate because it’s a good de-stresser for me, and I love our planet because it’s pretty darn amazing. The things it does for us!”

Maryellen Benton, who said:
“I love chocolate and I love what this chocolate stands for. Chocolate can give you that little smile when you need it the most! Thanks for having a giveaway.”

Rebecca, who said:
“Who doesn’t love chocolate? This spread looks yummy and it’s so great that Endangered Species is giving back. If we’d all do that a little more, the whole planet would be better for it.”

Read the original post for the GIVEAWAY (thank you to the 29 women who shared why they love chocolate and our planet!).

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 21, 2016 by maryjane

farm-romance_8620

larger than life

Posted on March 21, 2016 by maryjane

I just ran across this photo of one of the largest bulls in the world:

Chilli, dailymail.co.uk

Chilli is a Friesian bull who lives at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Somerset, England. He weighs more than a ton and is over 6 feet tall (the same height as a small elephant!).

A few other giants of the animal world:

Hercules, the largest cat in the world.

Hercules, via guinnessworldrecords.com

Hercules weighs over 900 pounds, is nearly 11 feet long and a little over 4 feet tall (to compare, about 1 1/2 feet taller than the average desk).

Or how about Zeus, “the tallest dog ever” at 44 inches (just for reference, a standard kitchen counter is 36 inches tall, so I’m guessing Zeus’ owners never leave things on the counter).

photo, guinnessworldrecords.com

Then, there’s Romulus, the tallest donkey in the world, at 5 feet, 8 inches at the withers.

photo, guinnessworldrecords.com

Compared to KneeHi, the shortest donkey on record at just over 25 inches, Romulus is a true giant.

photo, guinnessworldrecords.com

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 20, 2016 by maryjane

farm-romance_8493

Hear Ye!

Posted on March 20, 2016 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 … Krista Butters Davis!!!

Krista Butters Davis (MaryJanesNiece, #528) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a Beginner Level Crochet Merit Badge!

“I earned my merit badge by first learning how to crochet. I tried teaching myself by reading books. With no success, I asked a friend to come and teach me how to do some basic stitches. Once I got the hang of it, I decided to make a simple scarf for my little boy. After the scarf was done, I decided I wanted to add some easy tassels to the ends. Since the scarf was light blue, I wanted a dark color for the tassels and chose black. Then I decided to create a simple dishcloth for me. I chose to use a bright and fun colored yarn that would help me smile as I did the dishes.

The scarf turned out pretty good for being my first crochet project. I’ve seen the places where my stitches were tight and other places where they were loose. I only restarted a couple of times. My washcloth tuned out really nice. I was very pleased once I put an edge around it.”

20160201_172712

Krista’s Auntie MJ (moi) couldn’t be more proud.

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 19, 2016 by maryjane

farm-romance_8201

Author Archives: maryjane

Archive of Posts