Pack Up + Go!

March 24, 2026March 24, 2026 Vicki2 Comments

Well, I was going to link to the post I wrote about meeting Ann in Boston in January 2023, but it appears that I never actually wrote a post about that!

Ann was in Boston for a work thing & I tagged along because I’d never been. While she did work stuff, I visited a couple of museums, and we got together in the evenings for dinner & whatnot. I even rented a car one day and went to visit Carole & Dale! Ann didn’t have to work all day/every day, and had suggested that we go on a walking food tour — she always likes to do a little something like that. It was really fun, we learned a lot (like, lobster didn’t used to be a “fancy” food & was so plentiful that it was fed to prisoners), and we visited some great places & sampled lots of yummy food. There was opportunity to chat with fellow tour-goers, and we learned that one guy was there because it was part of the “surprise trip” itinerary planned for him by a company called Pack Up + Go.

A promotional flyer with the text 'Ready, set... Go!' in a playful font, encouraging excitement for a surprise destination. It includes a warning not to open until the day of departure, underlining the surprise element.

It was his second or third such trip. It sounded fun, interesting & adventurous… so fun that Ann gave me a gift certificate the following Christmas, and we finally got around to booking a trip for ourselves! We’re flying on Wednesday morning — to who-knows-where?

Pack Up + Go offers several types of trips — plane trips, road trips, outdoor adventure trips, and more. There’s a survey wherein dates & a budget are established, as well as interests, preferences & travel history — they won’t send you someplace you may have already visited, if you don’t want them to. We actually left that wide open because there’s always something new! They book relevant round-trip travel from the location of your choosing (we had three possible departure airports listed) & accommodations, make dinner reservations, pre-book at least one activity, and provide a list of recommendations.

Last week, we each received an email with a weather forecast for our unknown vacation destination, along with a suggested packing list, and where/when to go — our flight leaves early Wednesday morning from Green Bay!

On Thursday, I received the surprise envelope shown above by Priority Mail. We won’t open it until we get to the airport!

We’re super excited that departure is imminent, though not without some concern about what’s happening with TSA… and I’m not going to get into that much, except to say: PAY THOSE PEOPLE! It’s ridiculous that funding TSA is fettered. Anyway, I can already say that Pack Up + Go’s customer service is excellent, as Ann emailed with concerns… they were quick to respond, professional & reassuring. AND in the course of that exchange, we got a little clue in that we’re connecting (somewhere) — I was sure that wherever we were going, it would be a direct flight. haha.

I’m behind on the travelogue, obviously, but stay tuned… I’ll be sure to let you know where we land & what we do!! (And promise to catch up soon.)

Weekending

March 23, 2026 Vicki6 Comments

I took Friday off so we could attend the kids’ Literacy Fair at school!

A child wearing a green shirt is sleeping on the shoulder of an adult with long hair, who is wearing a plaid shirt. The child is holding a colorful drawing titled 'Hopped' by David.

A young girl holds a handmade book cover for 'Because of Winn-Dixie' by Kate DiCamillo, featuring a drawing of a dog. The background displays a school setting with people in the distance.

We visited their classrooms, first — I made it to everyone’s room except Davy’s. Boy, he looks pooped, doesn’t he? It was a very active, busy morning! Davy wrote his own book, and there’s even a bio page with his picture — absolutely adorable. The other kids each did reports in various forms.

Four people smiling together in a gymnasium, with one person holding a child who is resting against them.

I took a few group pics.

A group of six people, including children and adults, smiling together in a gym setting. A boy in the center wears a green hoodie, while the others are dressed casually. Some hold papers and the atmosphere is cheerful.

I actually have very few photos from Maddy’s visit. On the one hand, that’s good, no? We were in the moment, living life. On the other hand, I have very few photos from Maddy’s visit.

She’s begun her journey back to Australia, spending a couple of days in Milwaukee before departing Chicago on Tuesday. Miss her already.

I won’t be doing an Unraveled post this week, so am sharing my very exciting knitting news now. I finished the first Farfalle sleeve yesterday!

A knitted piece featuring a textured pattern with multicolored speckles and geometric shapes, predominantly in shades of burgundy and blue.

A knitted fabric piece featuring a mixture of colors including purples, greens, and browns, with a textured pattern and a dark brown edge at the bottom.

Right side on the left, wrong side on the right. (Click for bigger images.)

Close-up of a textured fabric in shades of burgundy with colorful specks of yarn, showcasing a woven pattern.

Oh, those color changes! The second sleeve is underway.

I also cut all the sashing for my quilt yesterday, and sewed the first two rows of blocks together. It’s starting to feel real!!

Smokin' (or NOT)

21/22

March 20, 2026 Vicki10 Comments

I quit smoking 21 years ago (as of St. Patrick’s Day)! That’s always worth noting/celebrating.

And 22 years ago today, I started blogging.

I won’t say that I’d never have quit smoking if I hadn’t started blogging, but man… the connections made and, in particular, my fellow quitters & #1 supporter, sure did help.

That was 7,670+ days ago. I used to smoke a pack a day. That’s over 153,400 cigarettes that I have not smoked! In 2005, a pack cost between $4 & $5; today, that cost is between $10 & $12! Let’s just take an average of $7.50… times 7,670 = $57,525. DOLLARS! That’s way more than the new car I just bought! And more than all of the vacations I’ve taken in the last 22 years. Where to next? (Stay tuned.)

Not to mention the savings health-wise, which equates not only to dollars (possible health issues) (my younger sister died of lung cancer at age 50), but also to time — and at this point, that time equates to roughly a decade of life expectancy added back.

The impact on my life of starting this blog 22 years ago is HUGE, but not as easily measured. I have traveled because of interests & connections, made some lifelong friends, and I’ve learned so much… about knitting, sure, but so much more.

Thanks to everyone who stops by here, whether regularly or occasionally, whether I know that you do or not. It’s incredible.

Thank you.

Quilting · Weekending

More blizzard weekend shenanigans

March 19, 2026 Vicki6 Comments

I can’t believe I didn’t share recital photos!

A smiling young girl in a light blue dress holding a red rose, surrounded by blurred figures in a busy setting.

Two smiling girls in formal dresses, one wearing a light blue outfit and holding a rose, and the other in a beige dress, standing together indoors.

They were in the same class & they did really great! It seemed like their group was one of the better prepared (i.e., confidently knew their dance moves).

Ginny was a little iffy that morning, having fallen asleep in a funny position the night before & suffering a very sore/stiff neck. She was using my flax seed heat wrap (purchased at My First Rhinebeck) and it ended up on her head…

A young girl wearing a stylish head wrap and a black sequined top, sitting and looking thoughtfully at the camera.

A young girl wearing a black shirt and a large fabric headband laughs joyfully while sitting indoors, with a phone held up in the foreground capturing the moment.

…which was totally giving Girl with a Pearl Earring vibes, especially since she just happened to be wearing pearl earrings! Ann was trying to direct the pose & the wrap kept slipping off her head… resulting in some pretty good pics.

A hand placing a candle on a birthday cake decorated with green icing and colorful sprinkles, featuring the text 'Happy Birthday' and the numbers 5, 1, 8, 2, and 4.

And the birthday cake! We decorated it with all the number candles (that just happened to be green!), and a few random other ones. It was so good. There were four pieces left & I sent them home with the kids — cake for breakfast (if it even lasted that long).

A snowy landscape featuring several chairs buried under thick snow, surrounded by trees in a winter setting.

And the snow! This was Monday morning… there wasn’t a spec of snow back there on Saturday. I thought those chairs looked pretty comical with their big “snow cushions.”

Colorful quilt blocks arranged on a cutting mat, featuring various patterns and vibrant colors, including floral designs and polka dots.

A variety of colorful fabric swatches arranged on a cutting table, featuring patches in different patterns and textures, with a roll of striped fabric from the Kaffe Fassett Collective.

Not related to the blizzard, other than that I did a little sewing over the weekend, I stopped at the quilt shop last night. We looked at quite a few fabrics with the sashing in mind — pinks, purples, even a yellow — my two faves were a grungy dark blue/black & a grungy purple. I ended up going with the purple — I think it ties them together better. I’m going to get it all put together with sashing & cornerstones before I make a final decision on borders — but that stripe is definitely in the running. Before I start anything, though, I have to trim up all 20 blocks so they’re consistently sized/squared!

Unraveled Wednesday / Knit & Read

Unraveled Wednesday & Other Stuff

March 18, 2026March 18, 2026 Vicki7 Comments

I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday!

KNITTING:

Progress on my Farfalle Cardigan!

A partially completed knitted piece featuring a textured pattern of multicolored motifs on a maroon background, accompanied by two balls of yarn: a dark maroon one and a colorful one with green, orange, and brown hues.

There are several more inches to go on this, the first sleeve. I already did the ribbing for the second sleeve, though, so I’ll just be carrying on. It’s been AGES since I knit with Noro, and it’s just as fun as ever. It’s hard to see, but there’s some very bright pink in the recently completed rows, and I can’t wait to hit that gold section!

Now for fun little follow-up. You may recall that three years ago, I Made It With Atlas… and knit a 5 Point Bomber for the kids using MDK’s lovely Atlas yarn. How’s it fitting/holding up?

Well, first, it doesn’t fit Junah at all. He’s only about a half-inch shorter than me & will probably be two inches taller next week.

A young girl with wavy hair is smiling while wearing a colorful knitted cardigan over patterned pajama pants, standing in front of a wooden background.

A smiling child with long brown hair, wearing a cozy blue sweater with a colorful collar, standing in front of wooden paneling.

It’s getting a little snug on Ginny!

A young girl with shoulder-length hair smiles, wearing a dark cardigan with colorful buttons and accents, paired with pink pants, standing in front of a wooden backdrop.

A smiling girl with medium-length hair, wearing a colorful cardigan, standing in front of a wooden background.

It fits Malina quite nicely and she really loves wearing my knits. The sleeves are a little long — always have been. (FYI: that top tooth is barely hanging on.)

A young child wearing a colorful knitted cardigan, smiling while holding a game controller, standing in front of a wooden cabinet.

Davy! Look at how much he’s grown in the past three years! The sweater was like a full-length coat on him.

The sweater has been washed a few times & is holding up pretty well overall. It’s still one of my favorite projects ever!

QUILTING:

I finished the last quilt block on Sunday morning. (I’m pretty sure it’s the last one.)

A colorful patchwork quilt composed of various triangular fabric pieces in vibrant patterns, including polka dots, swirls, and abstract designs.

Scrappy triangles in a loose “flying geese” arrangement. Sometimes the lights are light, and sometimes they’re dark — and vice versa. I had a different order but messed it up on the way to the sewing machine, so this is what it is.

On one of the snow days, I photographed all of the blocks so I could play around with layout & maybe even audition some colors for sashing & cornerstones… and, eventually, border(s).

A collage of various colorful quilt squares featuring different patterns and designs, arranged in a grid format.

Here’s v.1. This is utilizing an Excel spreadsheet, which is one of my favorite things. There will be changes, but it’s a start! I might stop by the quilt shop later today to scout some other color possibilities. I’m considering using all scraps for cornerstones, or using a variety of the polka dot fabrics for those… or using polka dot for one of the borders, and maybe a stripe for the other… or more flying geese (bigger). So many possibilities…

THE BEST WAY TO GET THROUGH A BLIZZARD…

…is together!

A young boy wearing a red Skittles-themed blanket as a robe stands in a kitchen, looking back at the camera.

A child wearing a colorful winter coat and gloves lies in a snowy yard, making a snow angel under a wooden pergola while snow falls around.

Ann & Brian came up on Saturday morning & we all convened for the girls’ afternoon dance recital at the high school. The weather was quite nice/okay, but the storm was looming. We planned meals & did a big grocery shop on Friday afternoon, knowing that Saturday morning would be crazy! I made lasagna on Saturday & Chili All Day on Sunday, and between us, Ann & I came up with enough for a really good chicken soup on Monday. I knew it was going to be snowy/stormy (we even had thundersnow), but I did not anticipate that almost everything would be closed on Monday, and many places still closed on Tuesday, too, so yay for a pretty well stocked pantry.

And we had a party! One of the things we bought at the store was a big birthday cake on which we had written, HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYONE! Maddy is rarely here for birthday parties, so we decided to have one. We sang & blew out candles, and it was really fun.

My house was the hub, but there was plenty of movement between Ann’s & Ali’s, too. Between shoveling stints (at all locations), hanging out, and cooking/eating, we watched some movies/shows & played games. Brian taught us how to play Euchre, which taxed our brains a bit; Kate & I taught Maddy how to play Azul (it had been a while for us); Skip-bo & Sequence, sometimes with a kid or two; Nerts & Liverpool Rummy (a new-to-us game that Maddy taught us). There was some crafting here & there; and Junah worked on a big school project. I stayed up late to watch the Oscars (which I recorded).

It was the most fun we’ve ever had during a blizzard. 10/10. Highly recommend.