And I thought August would be a fairly quiet month! Ann's back in Spain, Maddy's come & gone, Rusty's returned, I've been to Chicago for my "monthly" trip, I had a few days off early this week... and, boy, I really needed them!

Meanwhile, backing up a bit because I don't want to let this pass, two weeks ago, on Auntie Camp weekend, there was also a Civil War Reenactment at The Grignon Mansion that was on our list of possibilities. (The big kids & I went to see the Menominee Nation's Native American Dance Performance there in late June.) They used to have annual Civil War events there, but that hasn't happened in quite a while... the last time was quite some years ago (my girls were in grade school) and it was quite large -- there was cavalry! There was also a hospital where a soldier was apparently undergoing amputation without anesthesia and, let me tell ya, the guy could have won an Oscar for that performance! The girls were very nearly traumatized and we weren't even very close -- several yards from the tent -- yet it's the #1 thing that vividly springs to mind when anyone thinks "reenactment" around here.

So, anyway, we didn't make it while Mack & Addie were here and I wasn't quite sure what to expect (not really jonesing to traumatize my grandkids), so Kate & I checked it out on our own on Sunday. Historically, every event I've attended on the Mansion grounds has had free admission, with optional paid admission to take a tour of the house; this time (smartening up a bit?) admission was charged for the event, which included the house tour. It's quite a lovely house.

Camp was quite small and there was only a small skirmish each day (no cavalry)...

If you can block out the soccer nets, scoreboard, trash can, and pavilion... it could almost seem real! Haha. As I watched events unfold, I thought to myself that it would surely have moved along much quicker in real time... in the 1860s, the soldiers would, most likely, have been 30-40 years younger than any of these guys... a bit more fit, spry & agile, less concerned about bad knees and backs!  :)

We took the tour and were told that normally scripts were memorized but, because it was a special event, this time they'd be read. These two, alone, were worth the price of admission!

They took turns reading, lass on the left going first... but constantly being corrected (incorrectly a few times, btw) by lass on the right... bickering & shushing and, dang, those pigtails! They were the cutest, most realistic reenactors of all! (Do you see what I see?)

I spotted this guy on the dresser right away and was hoping there'd have been more information. I haven't done any research but, holy cow, isn't he amazing??

The view from the kitchen window was a bit more transporting...

...minus the guy wearing white tennies on the right!

I'm glad we went! I was told that attendance wasn't that great, but they intend to continue and grow the event every year... I hope so.

And now, I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend, as I'm sure you are, too! I promise to catch up soon.

Ali & I took the kids up to Bay Beach (not really a "beach") on Saturday and I learned that not only is there one overflow parking lot, there are TWO... it was SO BUSY! Perhaps it was because Bay Beach was recently ranked the 17th best amusement park in all of America by TripAdvisor! That is no small feat for such a tiny little park.

But first...

We started the day with beignets for breakfast! Ann & Brian spent a few days in NOLA while Mack & Addie were at YMCA camp, and brought us a box of Beignet Mix from Café Du Monde. Obviously, they met with approval!

After beignets, we had a change of clothes and a quick little photo shoot with the kids.

I still need to process the photos I took from this session -- the kids were cooperative and adorable -- but here's a screen shot that I nabbed from Kate's IG. That's me on the left, Ann on the right, and obviously Kate training a third lens on the situation. We'd been trying to do this since Ann arrived last month with those adorable coordinating outfits for Junah, Ginny, and Malina! (I still need to get the Mickey Mouse trio on "film," too!)

The running commentary on almost every photo that I posted of the kids during this visit was about Mack & Malina... was he ever gonna let her go?? My heart wants to burst every time I think of it... how sweet he is with her, and how they all get along so wonderfully.

At the park:

The train is always #1! This is actually a "new," second train -- a bit smaller in scale and on the north end of the park. It goes right under the Zippin' Pippin! Before we left the park, Mack & Addie took a ride on that rollercoaster -- after a bit of a delay when someone's seat belt was unbuckled as the ride began.

Junah and I took a ride on the carousel, and he was thrilled to get the red chicken! He's pretty fascinated by the mechanics of things -- looking up at the gears on the carousel, and very intrigued by the wheels & track beneath the Tilt-A-Whirl (above).

We had pizza for lunch and ice cream treats for dessert... nicely sharing an extra malt cup that I bought by accident.

In addition to the ticketed rides, there is a nice playground/picnic/pavilion area, as well, and there were a ton of people there for reunions, company functions, or just hangin' for the day.

We had a nice belated birthday celebration for Addie's 11th when we got home.

And they took off for Madison on Sunday morning... to Chicago on Tuesday and finally back to Valencia on Wednesday! It's about four months until Christmas, when we'll see them all again!

Thanks for sharing in our adventures!! Here's a little Eye Candy Friday bonus if you've reached this far:

I knew it would happen.  

Though I didn't cross everything off my list yesterday, I got the major stuff done -- including back-to-back massage & chiropractor appointments. I had a new-to-me massage therapist and she worked exclusively on the areas giving me the most trouble and, oh wow... yeah...

How about Three Little Things on this Thursday (returning to wrap up Auntie Camp tomorrow)...

1 -- I was ridiculously happy to see this yesterday:

I noticed them in the parking lot as soon as I pulled in: upgraded shopping carts at my favorite grocery store! Finally!! They're so smooth -- and quiet.

2 -- May all your weeds be wildflowers.

That's how we're rollin' here this year.

3 -- Park it!

My side of the garage has been in use all summer for lots of things -- that didn't include parking a car. But I have reclaimed it! 😊🚗 The "blue area" is where we hosed off the tie dye on Saturday! It'll fade in time...

*or Pool!

The plan was to go to the swimming pool (for the first time all season!) on Friday night. We were a little bummed when it started to rain in the afternoon just as we finished wrapping up all the tie-dyed items for curing.

Well, okay, not everyone was bummed! Addie & Junah had a blast in the rain!!

"A raindrop got in my eye!"

It was a couple of hours before we intended to go, so we just hoped that it would blow over by then.

In the meantime, MACRAMÉ got underway!!

The boys didn't make a ton of progress in this endeavour -- distractions!!!

But I'll hold onto it all and maybe we can continue at Christmas time. Kate joined us for that activity and finished a plant hanger... and since then she's finished another, and another, and is currently dreaming up all sorts of ideas for future projects (not limited to plant hangers)!

Lo & behold, the rain did blow over and we met Ali & the girls down at the pool (while Ann & Brian made supper)!

Mack & Addie went down the big slide a few times, and convinced Junah to try it, too! It's the first year that he can do it alone. He said that it made his tummy feel funny, so once was enough!

We took an opportunity to wrangle the kids together at the side of the pool and I handed Ali my camera for some of my favorite photos of the weekend!

This is the first year in four that we didn't break out the indigo but don't worry, there was plenty of dye sloshing around!

The first step was to set up the garage. Thank goodness the weather improved a bit with slightly cooler temperatures and a lot less humidity. I cut open some large trash bags, taped them to the work surfaces, and made sure we had plenty of paper towels!

Next, we had to prep all the items that we wanted to die. We used rubber bands, string, marbles, and even a bamboo tiki torch to wrap a shirt around (because I couldn't find anything else pipe-like in a pinch) to twist, fold, and bunch up the fabric as desired/hoped.

Junah joined us this year...

When I put aprons on the boys, one of them remarked that they looked like doctors. When I gloved them up, Addie said, "Yeah, we're doctors of art!"

Jün wasn't really all that into the process, but he was more than content to be hanging around... riding his bike, and coming in to check on Mack & Addie from time to time. I rather left the big boys to their own devices because a) they've done this before, b) we dyed a lot more than last year, and c) I was mostly busy just wrapping things up to cure!

There were six adult shirts, seven for Gin/Jun, three onesies in a couple of sizes, and six for Mack & Addie!

Once wrapped, it was all left to cure for approx. 24 hours.

It's a blast to unwrap everything. I hosed off as much excess dye as I could, first just as it's unwrapped and then when unbound... and, man, there is a LOT of excess dye! Then everything is tossed into the washer...

...I ran four cycles in hot water and with Color Catchers (lots and lots of color catchers... thankfully, Kate was running errands and brought more)! I laid it all out on my bed yesterday morning so the boys could paw through and admire their work.

Here are a couple of faves (I think I did these):

A onesie, a swirl shirt Gin/Jün size, front & back of another Gin/Jün size.
It's almost impossible to keep track of who did what...

Then we had some modeling and photos yesterday morning before Ann & family headed to Madison for the boys' Nana's 96th birthday party!

They're packing up and getting things done today, heading to Chicago on Tuesday to board their flight to Spain, where they'll arrive on Wednesday! We won't see them state-side again until Christmas... and I miss them already. It was a fun visit!

Ali came over later with the kiddos and they modeled, too!

Maybe you can see Ginny where already made her own mark on the one she's wearing... after finding a spray bottle of bleach/water that I had under the sink! (Uh-oh, Grandma's obviously slacking in the childproof department.)

We did a lot more than this at Auntie Camp... another post or two or three is in the works!

...sometimes forward, sometimes backward!

This photo was snapped last night when I was half-way through tinking a row!

It's my Savage Heart Cardigan (1) and as of last night, the first half is finished! Next, I need to find a spare needle while I get to work on the second half!

Summer Camp II (2) has also seen the light of recent days (though not a camera) and I'm just about ready to begin the bind off!

And swatching... I went up a needle size and made another swatch for my Rhinebeck Sweater (3).

That did the trick! Meanwhile, I think I've changed my mind about the pattern I want to knit -- same gauge, though, so whew!

 That's a little knitting update, 3TT style... visit Carole for more "Three Things on Thursday" posts!

Joining Kat & the Unravelers...

KNITTING

It's an FO and, oh, I couldn't be happier!

• Ravelry Project Page: TTL 2018 Mystery Shawl (more photos there!)
• Pattern: TTL Mystery Shawl 2018 by Kirsten Kapur
• Yarn: Make.Do Be Fingering/Sock; one skein "echevaria," and one skein "natural"
• Needles:  US 5
• Start to Finish:  June 22 - August 12, 2018

There are sections of this shawl that are "true lace" -- at least what I've come to know as that, meaning that there is stitch manipulation on both wrong- & right-side rows, not just purling across the wrong side -- and my first time ever knitting "true lace"!

It was truly a joy to knit along on this project and I think a big reason for that was the slower pace, with clues released over a period of six weeks.

I knit as usual... risky! I never used a lifeline, and didn't add stitch markers until the end -- and thank goodness because they really helped when those few stitches got away from me last week.

There was an optional extended version for people with an extra bit of yarn, and that is what I did.

The bind-off was a pretty little picot-like flower, and I used a stretchy (k2tbl) bind-off for the stitches between the flowers, so it blocked out quite large. I was fairly vigorous with the blocking, but I didn't take it as far as I could have. I love the shape! This would be beautiful in one color, and would make a lovely wedding shawl.

READING

Same as last time (from the slowest reader in the west): The Best Cook in the World: Tales From my Momma's Table by Rick Bragg, and getting close to the end of Calypso (audio) by David Sedaris.

I enjoyed a fairly productive and relatively quiet weekend. It's been a busy summer and that will continue right to the end; Auntie Camp next weekend before Ann & fam return to Spain, and a send-off for Maddy & Viv the following weekend before they set off road-tripping their way to Oregon for the vintage.

On Friday night, I noticed that my internet was super slow, so I called and spent a good half-hour on the phone with a very nice customer service rep; in the end, it was determined that I needed a new modem. I could have waited until late Saturday night for a house call, but decided to just go and do it myself on Saturday morning. I've been meaning to go in & discuss my service, anyway. So I did that... and now we no longer have a home phone! It's the end of an era. It had always been cheaper to bundle service, so we've had an active phone number, but haven't actually had a phone connected for months (we haven't had cable TV in 7-8 years), but the pricing structure has changed and now I'm saving a whole lotta money every month.

Ali asked me to come down to the market at noon and watch Malina for a bit while she closed up the Coffee Camper.

So I got to hang out with this little chickie for a while... she enjoyed some diaper-free wiggling in the shade!

Incidentally, on Sunday, I was putting a few things away and ran across this photo of Ali:

She must be just about the same age that Malina is now! I've sent it to her and am hoping for a recreation of this photo...

Maddy came home on Saturday afternoon to crash a wedding with friends. We made a lovely dinner together before she headed off.

I fixed my knitting and bound off while marathon watching The Wrong Mans, which I enjoyed quite a lot! Who mentioned that program? I feel like I read about it on a blog but I can't remember whose!

So, a busy Sunday began with soaking and pinning out my 2018 TTL Mystery Shawl:

I'll save the pretty FO photos for a separate post (I still have to take some pretty FO photos).

There's a peek, unblocked. Let's just say that IT'S HUGE (that's a double bed up there) and I LOVE IT!

Then I ran a bunch of errands... getting a tire fixed on Ginny's bike, picking up clogged drain stuff, dropping off some donation stuff, and also taking a few boxes to the girls' storage unit. When I came home, I unclogged a couple of slow drains, did a bunch of laundry, started cleaning up the garage (site of some future Auntie Camp activities), and bleached a shirt.

Someone had shared some photos of this discharge technique on The School of Making's FB page last week and I was excited to try it! I made a 2:1 water/bleach mixture in a spray bottle and used my Alabama Chanin Magdalena stencil. I laid my shirt out on the sidewalk, arranged the stencil, lightly sprayed, and watched the magic happen! I was working on the sidewalk right by the hose & just hosed everything off after a couple of minutes. It doesn't take long to work! Upon further reading, I might have used something to stop the bleaching action... we'll see how this fares in the long run (it is a fairly fine cotton knit). I had nothing between the layers and it did not soak through... except one little spot where I sprayed quite a bit as I got started (...is it working??). You can make out a little overspray on the inside back and even that didn't go through! I hung both the stencil and the shirt on the line and sprayed/rinsed them even more. Next time, I'll blot the stencil before moving it (there are a few drippy spots) (which I actually like)... live & learn. It was super quick to do and now I want to BLEACH ALL THE THINGS!!

And before I go...

There was a company picnic at the baseball park on Thursday evening. This photo of Junah was shared on Friday, the "Play Ball Kid" who didn't wanna! This just cracks me up... it is SO Junah! I believe we're all looking at a coach in the dugout who was trying to coax Junah into cooperating with the promise of a baseball. Um, it didn't work. Poor kid. For a 4yo, it was a very long & boring wait to get to this moment; he did phenomenally well, but had fallen just a few minutes prior to this and skinned his knee. The rest of the evening was fabulous, though.

I hope you had a great weekend!

Doing an all-in-one post this week!!

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Joining Kat & the Unravelers...

KNITTING

I washed my Rhinebeck Sweater gauge swatches, and the numbers didn't really change much.

I'm going to try going up a needle size and see what happens. Stitch count is spot on, but rows are significantly off and there's a fair bit of shaping in the sweater that I currently have in mind. I suppose I could do a little math/calculating... that takes a pretty specific frame of mind that's definitely not my normal frame of mind. Haha. Loving how that yarn is knitting up, though, and I'm determined to use it!

The TTL Mystery Shawl is still waiting to be fixed. (I hope I can fix it!)

READING

I am still reading The Best Cook in the World: Tales From my Momma's Table by Rick Bragg, and listening to Calypso by David Sedaris, and enjoying them both quite a lot! I would say that memoir is my favorite genre, so that's really no big surprise.

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Joining Carole and friends for Three on Thursday...

After threatening to do it -- and wanting to do it -- for years, I finally did a little macramé! Three photos:

I recently bought new curtains for the front room & love how much lighter & brighter & less lacey it is. I keep noticing -- and keep forgetting -- to remove the price tag from the panel on the front door! Or I could just channel Minnie Pearl...

It's not always the most photogenic of crafts, y'know? This was very simple, completely made up/from memory, and the very best thing was Kate's reaction when I took it upstairs. You just made that? Like, just now?? 

I did, even though there are a few other things I currently vying for attention (such as fixing dropped stitches on my TTL Mystery Shawl, hemming my Gypsum Skirt, sewing up another Geranium Dress)... I might do macramé with the boys for Auntie Camp (Aug. 17-18!~) and figured I should make sure I still had the skillz.

I do. It's like riding a bicycle!

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Aside...

While I was up on Kate's porch, I noticed the pergola. I've been up there many times over the last few years, but never just hanging out, so it was cool to take in the view from a different angle.

Not bad, I thought. Then I noticed it again after the lights came on at dusk.

These would look good on the Airbnb listing!

Not kidding! Also, not ready for lodgers -- yet! As established, Kate's renting the upstairs apartment, but she already knows that she's going to be gone for chunks of time -- some significant -- and it actually occurred to us both, separately, that Airbnb could be an option. Now that we've found ourselves on the same page, it's a rather exciting concept, and I'm thinking about it a lot. I don't really know how much demand there is in my area, but being only 20 miles from Lambeau Field is a definite plus... and it's been interesting to think of our house/property/location in terms of "selling it." We're excited to give it a go... sometime (there are a few things that need to be done first)!

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Eye Candy Friday...

Those are just two of some achingly sweet photos that Ali shared on Wednesday afternoon. Lordy, I'm a lucky one...

Happy Weekend!!

I helped Kate move some big stuff (specifically, her mattress) from the storage unit to the apartment, so Maddy could take over the guest room over the weekend. There are still a few big things to move, but the weather's been awful and Kate needs to return the borrowed truck... because she's leaving this week on a road trip to L.A. with a friend.

(There is no moss growing under that girl.)

(Any of my girls.)

The weekend was largely spent in the company of this crew, give or take...

That's not the best photo, technically speaking, but the SMILES show through loud & clear... and that makes it THE BEST! We sure have fun together... and, yes, Mack is still completely smitten with that baby. He & Addie had a great week at camp, and Ann & Brian enjoyed their time away in NOLA!

Maddy had an excellent adventure with her campers, in & around the Apostle Islands for nearly two weeks, and it was so great to see her so happy & relaxed. They had great weather except for one day, and they had three bear encounters all on one day... YIKES! Get it over with!! She's bound for Oregon in 3 short weeks!

On Sunday, Kate & Al took the boys to see Christopher Robin. (They liked it... was a bit melancholy.) It was Junah's first experience at the theater since our unsuccessful go at Cars 3 over a year ago. At one point yesterday, Ali wrote, "Two potty breaks and one drink refill so far... never got so much exercise at a movie!" Haha.

Annie & I took charge of the girls for those few hours!

We took a walk, played with blocks, read some books... Annie napped with Malina... it was really great!

Despite the busy weekend, I managed to get a little "me" time, too.

I cast on and started auditioning/swatching my Rhinebeck Sweater! I've finished one of two swatches and still need to block, but stitch gauge is spot on so far... not so much with the row gauge. I'll need to figure out how crucial and/or what adjustments to make on this particular sweater... or choose a different one!

Apparently over-excited about how close I am to the bind-off, I dropped a section of stitches on the TTL Shawl late last night -- too late to really even think about fixing it (I think I can fix it); hopefully, that will get back on track this evening.

I never got around to adding the pockets to my FAME dress, either, but it's on the short list for Wednesday!

Ann & family are back in Madison for the next 10 days; then return for a final few days mid-August before their departure for Spain on the 21st. WHOOSH!

Well, after we take one last 31-second (or so) look at July, here's what's happening in August...

Anticipating... another weekend with Maddy in the house! She's returned after two weeks incommunicado while paddling & camping in the Apostle Islands, and will be home this evening in time for supper.

Celebrating... Addison's 11th birthday next week! Can you believe it??

Excited about... pre-ordering Katrina Rodabaugh's Mending Matters: Stitch, Patch, and Repair Your Favorite Denim & More. I've been following Katrina on IG for quite a while and have no doubt that this is going to be some book!

Inspired by... I'm not super into online groups or forums, but I was invited a while ago to a group on FB called "The School of Making Stitchalong," started/moderated by employees of Alabama Chanin/The School of Making, and it's a pretty lively group of talented & creative people!

Itching... to rearrange my workroom. Despite what I just wrote about online groups, I've also been following "Sewing Room Ideas" and, while some many of those people are way more hard-core than me (gigantic rooms, thousands of dollars in machines of various types, enough fabric/thread to start a shop), there are lots of practical tips for storage, organizing, and maximizing space. (I don't know what these people did before IKEA!) There are also enough real posts to make me feel right at home & not alone. Heh.

Knitting... I have continued to suffer from tendonitis, though feel that it's truly, slowly, improving overall -- finally! I've begun doing some specific exercises (thanks to Kim asking the question on FB and also some helpful YouTube videos) and they are helping. I've also been paying much more attention to my posture & position while knitting and, thankfully, the pace of Kirsten's 2018 TTL Mystery Shawl has been very relaxed with the clues released over a period of six weeks. Anyway, all that to say that I am knitting and have kept up, for the most part, so the finish is... still a little ways off but in sight!

Looking forward to... going to a baseball game with Junah next week!

Needing... to pack up the stuff I'd moved out to the garage and get it ready for Auntie Camp!

Planning... this year, we'll be tie-dyeing t-shirts again, and making macramé plant hangers and/or doing some simple weaving. And it might be Sister Camp, as well!

Reading/Pages... The Best Cook in the World: Tales From my Momma's Table by Rick Bragg. I just read about how to make hog jowls and collard greens. Yep.

Reading/Audio... Calypso by David Sedaris.

Sewing... I plan to sew those in-seam pockets in my FAME dress over the weekend. And possibly start another dress! The sew/vac repair shop across the street from Ali's coffee shop has another location where they sell fabric & machines -- Baby Lock is the brand they carry -- and I stopped by on Tuesday night to take a look. There are one or two contenders from the four or five in my price range. Holy cow.

Watching... did you catch the premiere of Making It hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman?? I enjoyed it, am glad I don't have to judge, and didn't expect to cry.

Wondering... What's up in your world?

The Wisconsin State Capitol:

The Orpheum:

The National:

It was a great concert on Tuesday night, preceded by cocktails at Merchant and pizzas at Lucille. I can't remember the last time I didn't get to bed until 2:00 am, though that was the norm back in the day and I'm sure I'd easily revert to that again if I didn't have a 9-to-5 (or 7-to-4-or-5, as it were).

For more Three on Thursday posts, check out Carole and friends...