MaryJane’s Gift for Gab | Raising Jane

You know that pondering tilt of the head a person gives a work of art they’ve just completed? Writing about your life is that exactly. You step back, pick up your paint brush, apply a dab of compassion here, a brush stroke of flair over there. Putting your life on canvas allows you to see what your life looks like through the eyes of others.

Going Granny (actually my grandkids call me Nanny) is my best achievement yet! Here’s a phone message my barely two-year grandgirl left for me on my 58th b-day. I guarantee it; this will make your day.

Ho! Portland

Posted on November 4, 2011 by maryjane

Good morning Portland. Thanks for welcoming me. You are one of my favorite cities! I can’t wait to see what you have in store today.

Continue reading →

Pingback: Sun Valley (champagne wishes and caviar dreams) | Raising Jane Journal
Debi Chandler says:

November 4, 2011 at 12:03 pm

I loved your message… I have several similar ones I have been saving on my phone and would love to save… how did you get them loaded on your computer?

Reply
- MaryJane says:
  
  November 4, 2011 at 12:19 pm
  
  Well, you can bet I didn’t engineer that. My computer guru fussed with it on and off for a week until he figured it out. I’ll ask him how he did it!
  
  Reply
Deb says:

November 4, 2011 at 4:03 pm

I love to visit Portland and agree that Powell’s is a must see. I also always visit Bob’s Red Mill for breakfast (vegetarian bisquits & gravy! YUM) and then a stop at the Pendleton Mill End store. I’ve been collecting remnants for a wool quilt.

Reply
- MaryJane says:
  
  November 4, 2011 at 5:07 pm
  
  I met all the Bob’s Red Mill folks at a trade show in Anaheim.and would love to visit his “big red barn” to eat a yummy veg meal. While in Fred Meyer in Portland, I bought my first ever Pendleton sweater. I could spend some serious time in that area.
  
  Reply
J.F. Brown says:

November 7, 2011 at 12:15 pm

Wish we’d known you were in town, we’d have been happy to show you some great stuff, like all the backyard chickens in the middle of the city, the goat-rental (for weed & brush control) or a dozen other fun things.
Hope to have you back here soon, and we’ll put on the coffee or tea!

Reply
- MaryJane says:
  
  November 7, 2011 at 12:29 pm
  
  Leave the light on!
  
  Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

photo-of-the-day

Posted on November 3, 2011 by maryjane

Eileen Widman says:

November 4, 2011 at 11:13 am

Wow! Home grown eggs $3.15 a dozen!? When was that? All our local egg sellers including myself cannot even begin to break even at $5.00 a dozen any more with the price of organic feed getting upwards of $40.00 for 40 pounds. With the colder weather coming on and the local growing green stuff goes to sleep for the winter it is becoming even more difficult to sell eggs for less per pound that ground beef.

Reply
- MaryJane says:
  
  November 4, 2011 at 11:46 am
  
  I hear you. This is a pic I took a decade ago, when I drove my old truck to the farmers’ market every Saturday morning. I’m sure you’re like me in that you pamper your girls so much you really should charge $25/dozen!
  
  Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

Lions and tigers and fingers? Oh my!

Posted on October 29, 2011 by maryjane

Our amazingly talented, full-time food stylist/recipe developer (who just so happens to be my daughter-in-law), Ashley, prepares some fiendish food for the frightfully-fun Halloween party my daughter Meg is putting on tonight. Our newest photographer, Patrick, was on hand to capture the ghoulish details!

Continue reading →

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

Where Women Cook

Posted on October 25, 2011 by maryjane

My daughter is the featured guest this week on the Where Women Cook blog.

Go Megan!

Amber Conger says:

October 25, 2011 at 10:27 pm

yay Megan! thats awesome 🙂

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

Over the rainbow at MaryJanesFarm

Posted on October 20, 2011 by megan

Isn’t there supposed to be a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow?

My little Mia, age 2 1/2 said from her car seat yesterday as we were stopped at an intersection, “Isn’t that a money truck?” pointing to an armored car. I said, “It is, how did you know that?” She replied, “Mommy, I want an ice cream truck full of money.” From the mouths of babes … don’t we all want a money truck or at least that pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?

(With at least an ice cream cone or two.)

julia hayes says:

October 22, 2011 at 12:26 pm

Listened to the message form Mia. I must say that THAT is INFINITELY better than any birthday song-message I have ever left! holy moly!! I could listen to that all day long!

Ok, the rainbow…the money truck…the ice cream truck full of money…It’s too much. These kids are so stinkin’ smart!

Rianna said to me recently, “Whoa!! Mama look at that beautiful Jesus Building!” It was a lovely cathedral downtown Spokane. I was trying to suppress my giggle over the ‘Jesus Building’ idea when she said, “Mama, do people try to buy God there?” I nearly had to pull over. How smart she is. How intuitive. What an extraordinary question that is both innocent, provocative and profound! We think we are their teachers but they are far better masters when we let them…

Thoughts of money rainbows and jesus buildings abound! ~j

Reply
Annika Laurea-wood says:

October 23, 2011 at 2:29 pm

The other day in Moscow we had a truly humblingly beautiful rainbow and for a few minutes a double rainbow. I,too, thought of pots of gold at the end of rainbows, and then it hit me that the end of the rainbow appeared to be in a nearby field a few hills over, and I was truly thankful to live in the fertile and beautiful Palouse, surrounded by rolling farmlands. Plenty of gold!

But I wouldn’t say no to an ice cream truck full of money either 😉 and a double scoop of dark chocolate please!

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

Basil love affair

Posted on October 18, 2011 by maryjane

Oh my goodness. Just when you’re about to clip your basil because it’s flowering, harvest the stalks instead for a bouquet. The smell is divine. Once the basil aroma starts to fade after a day, simply brush your hand over a couple of basil flowers and POW! there’s that undeniable basil smell all over again. It lasts the entire day.

P.S. Hubby came in a few minutes ago and said, “What’s that smell? Basil?” Like I said, undeniably.

Karen England says:

October 20, 2011 at 9:25 pm

That is one gorgeous bouquet!

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

Feeling Tipsy Today

Posted on October 15, 2011 by maryjane

I’m in the mood to share some of my favorite tips:

I autograph my books with a permanent felt marker. Oops. Sometimes, I walk away with a marker stain on my hands. I spray the mark with hairspray and then scratch it off with a fingernail. Gone! (Good use for that can of hairspray I’ve had for ten years.)

Next time you bake a cake with raisins and you don’t want them to sink to the bottom, coat them with flour first.

I use an old-fashioned egg slicer to slice mushrooms.

Bad HABIT begone: Pick a habit you’d like to quell by putting the money you spend on it into savings and watch your account grow.

New HABIT that’s dead on: Suzie Orman recently challenged her followers NEVER to give coins to a clerk during a transaction but instead roll the coins once a month and watch your savings grow by investing it. Within a few years, you’ll be richer by the thousands.

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

We’re pregnant!!!!

Posted on October 11, 2011 by maryjane

“We’re pregnant” is farm-speak for …

Continue reading →

Eileen Widman says:

October 13, 2011 at 8:56 am

Love this!!! I still have a singing birthday message on my phone answering machine from my only grandchild Seren Abhren from 2 years ago!!! I am his Grammie! His Dads mother is his Nanna.

Reply
- MaryJane says:
  
  October 13, 2011 at 9:31 am
  
  Great Grammies think alike! I’m saving mine forever.
  
  Reply
Catherine says:

November 4, 2011 at 7:02 am

I just love this post – so cute! The ‘I’m so crafty..’ pic makes me think of my Mama! She’s my heroine! x

Reply
- MaryJane says:
  
  November 4, 2011 at 12:01 pm
  
  A mama as a heroine? It doesn’t get any better than that!
  
  Reply
Judy Jones-McCown says:

November 15, 2011 at 3:13 pm

LOL I’m still laughing about that “I’m so crafty….” That’s cute.
All of your cows are soooo purty….if cows can be purty!
I just love their sweet faces…and liquid eyes!
Thanks MaryJane!

Reply
Pingback: Cow Kisses | Raising Jane Journal
Pingback: Hi, I’m Eeyore. | Raising Jane Journal
Pingback: Getting Our Milk Certification | Raising Jane Journal
Pingback: a Baker made some bread … | Raising Jane Journal
Pingback: Intrepid Glampers | Raising Jane Journal
Joyce says:

October 24, 2016 at 8:55 am

Is this Bull for sale

Reply
- MaryJane says:
  
  October 24, 2016 at 12:54 pm
  
  No.
  
  Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

One of those days …

Posted on October 11, 2011 by maryjane

It poured rain this morning—almost 1/2 inch in 15 minutes—just as our employees were coming to work.

Bubba showed up half awake. Or would that be half asleep?

Leave a Comment Cancel Your Response

Zephyrus

Posted on October 10, 2011 by maryjane

I was on a “pitch slam” panel of four magazine editors at The Creative Connection Event in St. Paul last month. During the month prior, potential “features” signed up and paid money in order to pitch who they are to us. The cross-section of women was fabulous and over time I intend to feature all of them—everyone from a woman who creates tiny victorian embroideries to a librarian who wants to write book reviews to a woman who traveled from Australia who specializes in zen doodling to a …

Continue reading →

Pam deMarrais says:

October 10, 2011 at 3:25 pm

Stunning…a wonderful composition by a very talented gal!

Reply
Eileen Widman says:

October 10, 2011 at 4:28 pm

Lovely!

Reply
Amy Colburn says:

October 11, 2011 at 8:04 am

I loved meeting you and your daughter at the Creative Connection, Mary Jane! I am so glad you were able to be a part of the pitch slams. What a great opportunity these women had to present you with their ideas and talent. The rest of us all wished we were a fly on the wall!! Thank you so much for giving us a sneak peek. Amber’s work is brilliant. I am amazed at how she creates such gorgeous curved organic lines in her sculptures with seemingly unyielding materials. She is a true visionary!

Reply
Julia Rundberg says:

October 11, 2011 at 5:48 pm

Mary Jane, thanks for the great story about a great person- Amber Conger is amazing. The Idaho Botanical Garden, located in the Old Penitentiary Historic District in Boise, is honored to be one of the growing number of locations where Refinerii has artwork (count ’em, 3!) on permanent display. While her work is truly brilliant, even more important to me is that Amber is truly a kind, good and fun person. Can’t wait to read about other artists, and kudos to you for starting with such a good one!

Reply
Amber Conger says:

October 11, 2011 at 10:20 pm

*blushing* Thanks so much for all the positive comments & for the inclusion; very honored to be a part of this blog: I’m a big fan of MJ 🙂 Thanks Julia; was just out there last week; the plaques look great!! We need to talk soon!

Reply
Judy Jones-McCown says:

November 15, 2011 at 3:19 pm

What a work of art! Great job Amber! Do you come to peoples houses? hahaha

Reply