Monthly Archives: March 2013

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 17, 2013 by maryjane

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to my “green” gardening friends!

farm_romance-6931

Glamping Sites to visit in 2013: Day 3 of 15

Posted on March 17, 2013 by maryjane

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 third day of where to glamp in 2013. Wandering the Sunshine State in search of a Silver Bullet to rest your head?

Look no further than Silver Bullet Retreats.

Silver Bullet Retreats
Florida

Ever wanted to hook up without the commitment? Silver Bullet Retreats has your back. Pick a Central Florida campground, with full hookups, and they’ll do the leg work.

vintage_camper

They’ll tow in one of their dreamy, professionally decorated vintage Airstreams, set it up (oh yeah!), and after a quick orientation, all you have to do is sit back and get your glam on. While there, you can also visit these parks for free, that means no additional fee from Silver Bullet Retreats (you’ll still have to pay a park fee) including:

Fort Desoto
Hillsborough River State Park
Lake Manatee State Park
Little Manatee River State Park
Alafia River State Park

With a minimal charge for distance, you can also visit.

Chassahowitzka River Campground ($125 extra)
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground ($150 extra)
Lake Kissimmee State Park ($100 extra)
Myakka State Park ($100 extra)
Oscar Scherer State Park ($100 extra)

So pack up the kids and give ’em a trip in a Land Yacht they’ll never forget. Take a trip down memory lane to a time of nostalgia—fly a kite, play board games, walk the trails, help ’em build a fort. I’d suggest leaving the electronics at home, but if you don’t, go on a Geocaching treasure hunt. But leave Fido at home. Help preserve these trailers so they’ll be around for another 50 years.

RV park for birds?

Posted on March 17, 2013 by maryjane

Gather ’round, glampers!

You’re going to LOVE this!

Whether you have your own glamporous travel trailer or you’re pining for one with all your heart,

you’ll go ga-ga over these adorable birdhouses I found on Etsy, just in time for spring …

Take a gander at this Vintage Aluminum Airstream Birdhouse Trailer crafted by ChromeDomeStudio:

il_570xN.375110853_rd0h il_570xN.353544718_rr5s il_570xN.353544670_4bf0

The next two are travelicious trailers by Strictly for the Birds:

Continue reading →

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 16, 2013 by maryjane

Got time for a hug?

farm_romance-8525

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 15, 2013 by maryjane

farm_romance-8562

Hear Ye!

Posted on March 15, 2013 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 … SuZan Brown!

SuZan Brown (imascholar2, #4394) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Intermediate Level Entrepreneurial Spirit Merit Badge.

“I signed up to become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. I paid $99 for the beginning kit and then set a goal of $300.00 in sales each month. I also began a blog at agivingart.blogspot.com to showcase my creations and to offer tutorials to my readers. I named my demonstrator ship “A Giving Art” because that is what making cards, scrapbook pages and 3D projects/gifts is all about. I only dreamed about it for 2 days before making my dream a reality.

I set up my business. I am keeping accurate and detailed records. I created my business cards. They turned out GREAT! I am in LOVE with my SPRING business cards. This has been a HUGE blessing in my life. It has reawakened my creativity.”

Congratulations SuZan! Farmgirl hugs and blessings on your business.

photo-of-the-day

Posted on March 14, 2013 by maryjane

farm_romance-8511

Waste Not

Posted on March 14, 2013 by maryjane

You probably know that I’m,

well,

somewhat less than

savvy

when it comes to

cyber-stuff.

Techie-talk befogs me (wrong generation, I suppose),

but, my old-fashioned farmgirl radar recently recognized an electronic issue that warrants TUNING IN.

Photo by Mo Riza (GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0) via Wikimedia Commons

So, this is the problem:

Cell phones are generally “locked” to a single carrier company.
Until recently, it was legal to “unlock” your phone so that you could use it with another carrier.
Then, the Library of Congress made it illegal to unlock a phone via the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Continue reading →

Basket Weaving Merit Badge, Part I

Posted on March 14, 2013 by mbajane

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,882 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,641 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

For this week’s Stitching and Crafting/Basketry Merit Badge, I actually followed through on the course I like to tell people I majored it in college: Underwater Basket Weaving. Minus the underwater part. I mean, maybe when I get a little more experience under my belt and dry-land basket weaving just isn’t challenging enough, then perhaps I’ll channel my inner mermaid and attempt to kick it up a notch.

I was actually pretty thrilled to learn this ancient art. I love baskets. And what holiday are we coming up on, my little chickadees? That’s right: Easter. Easter baskets! And Easter bonnets, too, don’t forget the bonnets. Is there a bonnet-making badge? I need to look into that. I’ve always had a secret yearning to be a milliner. I think it’s because of Jane Austen. Who doesn’t love Jane Austen? But, anyway, back to the basketry.

Now there are a few different types of basket weaving, and I decided to go with the one that seemed most familiar: wicker. (I do get weepy over willow.) I’ve been collecting my willow for a few weeks now, so if this is a badge you want to try your hand at (or to be more specific, both your hands), then decide when and how you are going to find your stack of appropriate materials.

Continue reading →

Farm Effect

Posted on March 13, 2013 by maryjane

Dirt,

germs,

bacteria,

and pollen …

Are you squirming?

Scratching? Sneezing?

Reaching for the nearest bottle of antibacterial something or other?

Take a big breath (airborne microbes and all),

and nibble on this recent tidbit of news:

A new study has determined that the Amish of northern Indiana, whose day-to-day lives are ensconced in farming, have some of the lowest rates of allergies and asthma in the westernized world.

Photo by Gadjoboy via Wikimedia Commons

Surprised?

Researchers are calling it the “farm effect,” a phenomenon that is unlikely to shock born-and-raised farmgirls who have known for eons that farming builds hearty constitutions.

Yet another old wives’ tale turns up true? Hmmmmm.

“This [study] would suggest that if you have early life exposure [to allergens], then somehow it drives the immune system away from developing allergies,” says lead author and Indiana allergist Dr. Mark Holbreich. “Large animals are part of it, and the straw bedding animals sleep on … and what [the Amish children] eat, and the fact that their mothers are in the barn when they are pregnant.”

See?

Farmgirl fortitude isn’t just learned, it’s earned.

Photo by Ilamont via Wikimedia Commons

Continue reading →

Monthly Archives: March 2013

Archive of Posts