My Latest Vice #chocolatelover

This is the ditty swirling about in my head.  I invite you to sing along to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell.

I have a brand new vice.
I think it's very nice.
Although it's not too good for me,
I want to do it twice.

Now picture me with it.
A lot or just a bit.
I can pig out, without a doubt.
I'll not get sick a whit!

It's chocolate, so you see,
This is my fervent plea.
I'll give to you the recipe,
But drop down on one knee. 

Chocolate Vice Recipe:

One box of #brownie mix on sale (BOGO is best.)
Water to taste
One Fork

In a small glass of your choosing, keeping in mind a fancy champagne or wine goblet will make the tasting even more festive, pour at least a 1/4 cup of dry brownie mix into the glass.  Dribble a slight amount of water on top and stir with the fork.  Repeat and repeat and repeat ...

Oh, I just realized I'm saving money, too, by making this chocolate recipe!  To that end, here are some new lyrics to my ditty:

I have a brand new tip.
You'll thank me quite a bit.
No oven heat or eggs or oil,
Just happiness to the lip! 

See, I told you it's fun in my world.

                                                   -Jane Marie

Learn the Language of Flowers for Valentine's Day

Most people know the red rose speaks the  words of love. Few know this has been so for over 5000 years since they were first cultivated in Asia. But have you ever heard that a yellow rose signifies elation, while white represents sophistication, pink is gentility and style, coral is yearning, and a red and white combination means harmony, dating back to the conclusion of the War of the Roses in England?

White rose buds, on the other hand, are a warning that you are far too young for real romance. 

Although the rose is oft times called the "Queen of the Garden” for her beauty, scent and abundance, there are many more flowers that speak.  And they are as deafening with their loveliness.      

#Floral communications are referred to as "the language of flowers.”  This form of conversation became prevalent in the middle and latter part of the 1800s, both in North America and Europe. 

The following is a list of the more commonly recognized flowers with their mostly optimistic meanings:              

Alyssum (sweet) — priceless

Amaryllis — conceit
Aster — diversity
Azalea — self-control

Bachelor's Buttons — abstinence

Buttercup — immaturity

Butterfly Weed — freedom

Cactus — heat
Carnation, striped — rejection

Chrysanthemum, red — adoration

Chrysanthemum, white — fact

Chrysanthemum, yellow — snubbed affection

Clematis— psychological attractiveness

Clover, Four-leafed — desire

Columbine — foolishness

Daffodil — gaze at

Daisy — purity

Fern — allure

Forget Me Not — my one and only

Foxglove — disingenuousness

Geranium, Scarlet — consoling

Hibiscus — fragile

Hollyhock — aspiration

Honeysuckle — dedicated

Hydrangea — a braggart

Ivy — faithful in marriage

Jasmine — friendly
Lavender — suspicion

Lilac, Purple — early stirrings of love

Lily, Day — teasing

Lily of the Valley — cheer revisited

Magnolia — fondness for the natural world

Marigold — covetous

Morning Glory — quirky

Moss — a mother's affection

Nasturtium — self-involvement

Pansy — imaginings

Passion Flower — spirituality

Peony — shyness

Periwinkle, Blue — blossoming affection

Pink carnation — feminine caring

Ragged Robin — humor

Shamrock — breeziness
Snapdragon — conjecture

Tulip — renown

Violet, Blue — faithfulness

White Lily — spotlessness

Wisteria — salutations

Zinnia — missing you

Unfortunately, not all floral language is meant to be positive.  Should you receive narcissus, your vanity is being ridiculed.  A passel of petunias, no matter the color, expresses resentment.  The sunflower represents arrogance - receiving several would be dreadful!  A dahlia denotes instability, the marigold grief, witch hazel a spell, and lobelia exemplifies malevolence. 

The worst to receive of all is basil, which stands for hatred!  To me, basil is more a spice than a flower.  So let the spices, trees, fruit, and vegetables join the discussion with their own messages.
    

Allspice — empathy

American Elm — nationalism

Apple — inducement

Ash Tree — sadness

Bay Leaf — forever

Beech Tree — opulence

Chamomile — misfortune brings strength

Cedar — might

Cherry tree — well schooled

Clematis — pure thoughts

Cloves — poise

Cranberry — aid for pain

Cocoa Plant — fervor

Dogwood — stability

Elm — self-respect

Endive — thriftiness

Grape — a helping hand

Hawthorn — expectations

Live Oak — emancipation

Maple — stash away

Marjoram — embarrassment

Mint — high merit

Mistletoe — triumphant

Oak Tree — welcoming

Orange Tree — giving

Palm — winning

Pea — pleasant goodbye

Pear — caring
     

Peppermint — good emotions

Pineapple — ideal, welcome           

Pine, Spruce — positive outlook

Plum — liberty

Potato — compassion

Raspberry — repentance

Rhubarb — guidance

Rosemary — tribute

Sage — family values

St. John's Wort — disingenuous

Spearmint — moving

Strawberry Tree — esteem

Thyme — goings-on

         

Truffle — revelation

White Oak—sovereignty

     
May you understand what you have given and received in the past and, perhaps, choose differently what to offer/send/appreciate in the future.

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This is a reprint of an article I wrote for our original GraciousJaneMarie.com website.

                                                                             - Jane Marie

Our annual north Florida Amelia Island Book Festival is February 16, 17 and 18, 2017.  There will be many activities for both adults and children. I will be one of the authors attending the Author Expo on Saturday, the 18th, beginning at 10 a.m.  Make plans to come to our island for a long weekend or a day trip, but come if you can. 

If reading is part of your life, you'll find great enjoyment here.  If you're not a reader, give it a try. Slow down and  treat yourself by coming here or discovering a gem of a story at your local library.  The real world you know will  vanish as you delve between the magical pages of the unfolding story.  The written word is a gift from Above to the author and reader alike!


For details, visit: http://www.ameliaislandbookfestival.org/

I Did It !

Avert thine eyes!!!!

           This might seem an odd time to talk diets, being in the middle of the holiday season.  Most reasonable people would wait to discuss such until the new year.  No one has ever accused me of being reasonable. 
     Therefore, it is no secret that I am celebrating my 31st year of dieting. My plan has been to either lose weight, notice how original I am in my efforts, or to keep weight off.  Then there is the goal of lowering cholesterol. That's my recent focus.  In the words of my husband, Bruce, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing to excess.”  That must be why we get along. We’re prone to extremes.  
     And so, for the last three months, this particular diet has consisted of fruitsies (as my father called them late in life) and veggies.  We all understand the importance of such. Every day for breakfast:  low sodium V8 juice and nuked instant oatmeal with water and natural plant sweetener.  Then we have what we call phony eggs.  You know, the ones with no fat, no cholesterol, no nothing.  Happily, they make pretty good scrambled eggs.  Add some salsa and yummo!  Slice an apple on the side for dessert, sprinkle on a bit of cinnamon, which is supposed to be good for you, and you have minute touches of a gourmet meal. Perhaps green peepers stuffed with no fat cottage cheese steamed on a bed of marinara sauce on top of the stove or chicken in the slow cooker with a light mushroom soup and drinking sherry gravy- add salt and pepper to taste. How about that delightful treat of an entire bag of frozen broccoli sprinkled with lemon and pepper, thawed and heated through, of course.  (I was using the lemon/pepper you sprinkle on from the little condiment bottle. Even at 60% reduced sodium, we're talking salt bomb!  Then someone suggested I use fresh squeezed lemon juice. Doy!!!!)   

     No eating at restaurants allowed except when a friend arrived from out of town. I couldn't very well expect her to join my diet.  After all, I had a 30 year and 364 day jump start on her. So, we went to a Mexican restaurant.  I had greens, tomatoes and sliced avocado. My taste buds were satisfied, even if the visual of her gobbling away on her triple cheese enchiladas will haunt me till death.
     But the most suffering I have endured was no pasta, no cheese and no chocolate!!!  Ladies and gents, I can proudly say, I did not cave.  Shocker, right?  Yes, to me, too, since the G in Gracious Jane Marie might well strand for gluttony. 

    Someone told me to pop a daily dose of natural olive leaf and chlorella which is supposed to be good for everything from left-handedness to uneven eyebrows. Now Bruce just told me he heard a doctor interviewed on the radio saying that you need cholesterol to hold the body together. Oh, I like that. Still,  I'll try to be good and not eat the entire pan of brownies, again, myself. 
     If this post rambles and I guarantee it does, blame it on calorie deprivation.

     Disclaimer:  I am not a doctor, nurse or orderly.  However, I was once a junior nurse’s aide as a teen. Should you trust my medical interpretation on any matters of health, may I suggest you see a shrink because, how should I say this ... You're nuts.

P.S.  It's probably a better thing that Miss Ella, instead of me, is in charge of the menus for the Dunnigan family's Aqua Verde Passenger Line in The Goodbye Lie series.  She seems somewhat less extreme than I am.  

Peeper's Patterns-Goodbye Lie Diaries

Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida
Late 1800s

Grandmother Peeper writes:  From these here photographs Jane Marie helped put on this blog a hers, you can easy see what I dun. This is how it happened. I was asittin' on the front veranda at Dunnigan Manor.  That's where I live.  So, I saw some leaves blow across the drive and recalled a thing me and my ma dun when I was a wee child.  I dumped my knittin' from the pine needle basket I wove when Marie was a babe, got myself down them steps some how, what with my bad feet hurtin' somethin' fierce this day, gathered all kind a different leaves and began my project ta make a table scarf.
    I found a bit of muslin material I had left from cuttin' a test pattern fur Breelin's garden print dress last season.  I drawed me a rectangle ta fit the table, long-ways, cut it out, hemmed the edges and then headed out ta  Clover's workbench in the barn in the back.  I brushed away the sawdust ta make it nice and clean.  Then I laid out them leaves in  as pretty a pattern as you ever seen.  Very careful like, I laid the material over top, so as not to disturb the pattern with them leaves amovin'.  After that, I took a hammer and pounded the juice outa them leaves.  The leaf juice is what stains

Peeper

the muslin, like grass stains the children get on them sailor suits they wear.
   Go on now and make yourself a leaf pattern table cloth or use it fur a quilt backin'.   It's very great fun fur adults and little ones.  Just be atakin' care that nobody hits their finger with the hammer.

   P.S.  Even though this is a stained pattern,  it is best ta iron the leaf marks so they don't fade much when ya get ta laundering your beautiful creation.
     

For Info and Purchase of The Goodbye Lie historical series on Amelia Island, Florida, click this link!

New Friend

St. Michael's Craft Fair was well attended and I was one of the vendors there. As usual, I met many new people. One sweet woman stood out.  Meet Emma from Chicago.  I first met Miss Emma and her husband while signing books on Centre Street in our historic downtown Fernandina Beach on the island.  She'd gotten a copy of The Goodbye Lie then. She turned up at the craft show, told me she'd also read Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow and this day took possession of the third novel in the series, Amelia Island's Mark of a Man.  It is always a treat for me to discover folks who "get" the characters and "get into" the stories.  That is always my hope and Miss Emma is one of those people. 
     I chatted with others, discussing the fact that St. Michael's church is featured in the novels because the fictional Irish Dunnigan family attended there in 1882. It struck me how my characters and I live parallel lives in so many ways.  They go to church and have craft shows and potluck dinners, the same as I do.  The difference is just a few years, 134 is all.

The Shadow

Just in time for the shadows of Fall, here are some fun pics I snapped of our singing spokes-doggie, Abby, enjoying a bit of modeling in the sun's spotlight! 

right snout

Abby proudly displaying her neck length

Eugenia Price Quote

Joy might be God - in the marrow of our bones.       -  Eugenia Price

Festive Flamingos

I think of myself as a rebel. Not just any rebel, but a responsible rebel. By that, I mean I am happily different.  Not so different that they call the round-up squad from the local loony bin, but just enough that I have been known to deliver to folks a chuckle, chortle and, perhaps, the occasional guffaw.
    Yet, sometimes, I strive for something deeper than hilarity because I want to be well rounded. Okay, admittedly, perhaps I am more an oval than a perfect circle.  Whatev.  Keeping in mind, taste is in the mouth as surely as it is in the eye, you decide if my attempt at sprucing up our resident flamingos is a success.  My plastic bird buddies have stood sentry at our mailbox for many years.  With such dedicated service and their fake feather striations of color fading, I figured a few cans of half-empty spray paint from the garage sale down the block was certainly worth my $2 cash investment.  Plus, that investment is tax deductible since I'm sharing their photos on this blog.  Here at Gracious Jane Marie, you now have proof that we are fiscally responsible. Additionally, we forever advance not only the rich romance and mystery that is the Goodbye Lie series of historical novels I write, but we imbue your senses with art. What a deal!   

Goodbye Lie Diaries, Pat Dunnigan Quote?

Pat Dunnigan, Amelia Island's Mark of a Man

    It is 1898 in the small seaside town of Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida. Pat Dunnigan, our hero, (or is he?) is tossing one back at the Strathmore Hotel on the beach.  Watching the Atlantic Ocean's swells beat out their steady tease and retreat, this intense thought might have entered his partially focused brain. Turning to the barkeep whose black head hair and white ear hair bring the face of a panda bear before Pat's eyes, he asks the man with the worn towel in hand, "Hey, Stompie. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?"
    At the small square table across the tavern, his Aunt Noreen is seated beside her husband, Clabe. "These are the only chairs available to see a view as lovely as this. And here we have to listen to more of your  noxious comments, Jack Patrick Dunnigan."  Notorious for her show of decorum concerning all matters, except those of her own caustic tongue, she is unable to refrain from remarking.  "Yet again, sir, you have shamed and disgraced the good Dunnigan name with your indelicate sentiments. I shall instruct my Warren Lowell to disassociate himself from you completely!"
     Pat laughed aloud, then his gay expression vanished.  "Don't make him choose, Auntie, or you may find yourself without a son."

***

The quotation in bold lettering above is anonymous to my knowledge. If you know the creator, please alert me and I will credit him or her. But our Pat Dunnigan is just the kind of fellow who would say such, for his own entertainment and those around him, worldly enough, to his mind, to appreciate his quick wit. 

   You can survey Pat's ascension into manhood by reading The Goodbye Lie  series of novels.
Amelia Island's Mark of a Man is part of that series set in the late 1800s and tells Pat's personal story as a wild young man facing many challenges, physical, mental and emotional. It is not a smooth ride for anyone ...
 

Goodbye Lie's Latest Poster

What cha think?  I like it.
   - Jane Marie
 

A Writer's Tote

     Look what came in the mail from my ever-wonderful brother, Bob.  He saw it and thought of me.  I like the way this guy thinks! 
                                             Thank you, Bobby

Failure Highway

Some folk say I need to be smarter.
I have tried all I know how to do. 
The path to success is challenging.
The easy roads are few.

To fail is certainly needed.
Yes, it certainly takes its toll.
For Failure is the name of the highway,
That will take you to your goal.

Fear not the failures in life, you see,
They are the path to success.
No creature on Earth has done better.
None has avoided the stress.

So when you encounter failure,
Do not dismay or groan.
It's only another required step.
Treat it as a welcome step-stone.
                                    by Chuck Hall

I read this poem by my friend Chuck Hall and asked him if I could put it on the blog.  The message in it is so encouraging and says it all.

Chuck is a website designer and owner of
Websitesbychuck.com and one heck of a banjo player.

Guess Who

Who is this person on the right?  It's me!  I love fun surprises.  When I opened my email, I found this multi-color picture from Sarah W., sent all the way from Arizona!  She snapped my picture at a book signing here on Amelia Island and created this oh-so-artsy quad image. 
 

Her note read:

 To Jane Marie -

   The characters in your books are especially colorful. Because of that, I made this picture to

 represent all the rainbows in and around you.  

 -Sarah W.

I am so very touched, I have to share with everyone. Thank you, Sarah. You are too sweet!
                                                      -Jane Marie

Naked Ladies Return plus Goodbye Lie Diaries by Aunt Noreen

Present Day -
Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

Jane Marie writes:
Yes, I thought the title to this particular blog entry might catch your attention.  I was right because here you are! Some will be disappointed to find out the subject matter.  However, the gracious gardeners in the crowd will appreciate the information, if they don't know anything about this particular flower.  Yes, people, we're talking flowers today. 

About 15 years ago, a friend from Arizona gave me half-a-dozen bulbs and told me to "stick them in the dirt."  I did just that, except we have sand on Amelia Island, Florida, as you can see in the pictures. As soon as I planted them in the "back forty," I just as quickly forgot about them.  Did I mention I'm easily distracted?  Sometime later, oh maybe a year or so, I noticed the eruption of large broad leaves in the spring. Those leaves came and went and I didn't have to cut them back because they just disappeared on their own. The next fall, I was was surprised to see tall thin stocks shoot up quickly with no leaves on them, hence Naked Ladies. When the bud on top of each stock opened, there were these delightful red, whispie blossoms! 

I found some folks also call them Surprise Lilies, Lycoris (the real name) or Dancing Farmer Flowers. They are hardy in zones 5 though 10.  Being perennials, my favorite kind of flowers, plant a few bulbs and let these Naked Ladies entertain you for years!

For more info, visit this site:  Gardeningknowhow.com

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 1880s
Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida

Aunt Noreen

Aunt Noreen writes: Jane Marie, being a woman of good character, as you should strive to be, I have read every word of your books through what you call "the magic of electronics." I must say, some of the passages are less than decent.  I freely admit I have told my Orchid Society, my church ladies, Mrs. Ickles and the new librarian in town all about the depths of depravity into which you have descended.  They are all with me on this, so much so, they, too, want to read every word of your books, just to realize how far you've fallen. The final blow is you referring to such lovely floral specimens as Naked Ladies.  It is almost more than I can endure. We call this flower a Resurrection Lily.  In closing, you may be hearing from one or two of my outraged friends by way of this "magic" of yours, so be prepared!
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Jane Marie responds: Dear, dear, Aunt Noreen, I mean no disrespect, but my, oh my, how you carry on. I intended no corruption with the use of such a common name in our time as Naked Ladies.  I certainly love the beauty of your name for the flower. With regard to my novels and their, what did you call it, depravity, let me proudly declare that I dedicated The Goodbye Lie to my blessed father.  I did not want to be embarrassed when Daddy read it, meaning, to my mind, I write tastefully romantic stories.  I understand how the years between your generation and mine, sadly, have coarsened.  Rest assured, compared to much of what is written in my time, my stories a like nursery rhymes and I shall continue to keep them wholesome so my children will not be ashamed. 
 
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Aunt Noreen is a featured character, and I do mean character, in The Goodbye Lie series.

PURCHASE GOODBYE LIE NOVELS HERE

Makeup Discoveries

I researched 19^th century makeup for my Amelia Island's Mark of a Man historical romance novel and discovered a few fascinating things.
(Click on the link to learn about   Amelia Island's Mark of a Man   )

• Because great amounts of lead-based potions and dressings were applied to the face and hair by women and men, there was often hair loss, including eyebrows.  They used a pencil to fill in the thin spots.  That seems reasonable.  More interesting is that pet mice became popular for the single purpose of using bits of their fur to make false brows.  The glue/adhesive required was not so reliable and often times, or so I read, the glue let go, resulting in oddly shaped brows.

• The ladies would sleep the night away wearing slices of raw meat, beef preferably, lashed to their faces.  The reason is obvious, isn't it?  It reduced wrinkles.

• Because there was no real deodorant in 1858 and other bodily functions were less than sweetly odoriferous, the Great Stink of London  was named, and a sewage system was implemented. 

• Theatre folks burned corks and used the char for eyeliner.

• Finally, there was a young girl named Mabel who mixed Vaseline with coal dust to create a kind of mascara.  Her brother, T. L. Williams, thought it a fine idea, and formed the now world-renowned Maybelline line of make-up.  The name is a combination of Mabel and Vaseline!

Thank you to Jan Glazer, Beyond the Barricade, www.actingouttheatreco.org, for putting such educational things online for all of us to enjoy!  Click on the link to find out more fun stuff about the theatre.