I'll cut right to the chase...

OH, HAPPY DAY!!!

I drove down to Milwaukee yesterday afternoon to pick up Maddy & Viv. They had a nice couple of days there at Maddy's friends' (Katy & Andres) new house to "land" and plan/prep for a hike at Pictured Rocks that Maddy, Viv & Katy will be doing next weekend.

Ali happened to be at a pond-side outdoor family-friendly gig that Rod's band plays at each year and the timing was perfect for stopping by on our way through. You can see how that went!

Rusty arrived home at about the same time we did, following his month-long trek to Oregon & Northern California. Ann & her family arrived in Madison on Saturday and we'll see them soon. I pick up Kate at ORD a week from today.

THE CONVENING HAS COMMENCED!

It might not surprise you to learn that I have a shortcut to Kate's page on Colossal. She frequently edits the daily email, but exercises her writing chops every now and then, too.

Occasionally, I click over to see what's new. Today, I was bowled over by a barn and I just had to share!

GO SEE/READ!!!

Here's a video preview:

It's a stunning project, and I can't wait to see more as it progresses.

Perhaps I should rename my blog... Random & Weekending & Occasional Unraveling. heh.

It was a GLORIOUS weekend! The weather was just right -- 70s, sunny, breezy -- and we needed that so much, especially on a weekend. Today & tomorrow we're back in the mid-90s (with dew point close to 70 - ugh), and in the 80s otherwise as far as I can see. I took my cue from the weather and mowed lawns on Saturday morning.

Ali came over with the kids around mid-morning and they hung out while I took a shower, and then we all headed out to Target! I've never been shopping with four kids before... I can't even think of a time when I went with all three of mine at one time (at least not without protest -- Maddy hated shopping!). We survived! No meltdowns, no tears, not even very much whining... though Ginny is super stealthy, just casually adding things to the cart.

I took a good number of photos over the weekend and it's hard to choose a favorite... but this might be it, even though not everyone is showing their best photogenic self! Actually, I didn't even take that photo... Ali did!

Junah had some cash burning a hole in his pocket, and LEGO was on his mind.

He got busy building as soon as we got back, barely breaking to eat a hot dog for lunch.

I bought some craft stuff and the girls were busy with that. Ginny was delighted to learn how to mix red & blue paint to make purple, not to mention yellow & blue to make green!

(Malina had just eaten an ice cream sandwich!) There's a fun series of selfies with Davy on IG, and a few other photos/selfies of/with the kids.

Sidewalk chalk & bubbles came out, we traipsed through the back yard & garden... it was a lovely day!! And I even had time for a nap.

Sunday began with coffee in the Garden Room.

Then I put together an IKEA shelf that I've had hanging around for too long, and did a very little bit of rearranging in the Garden Room to fit it in.

I puttered, did some cleaning -- and cleaning out -- and then met my current Airbnb guests at the pergola for a beverage and a nice chat. She was a brand new elementary teacher about the time we moved to Appleton, and it turns out she was one of Michael's! I told him that I hoped she was a nice teacher, and he said he'd remember if she wasn't!

Maddy & Viv start their journey today! It's very early Tuesday morning in Australia right now, and about 12 hours from the first leg. Unfortunately, the friends they were going to visit in Seattle for a few days have Covid, so there had to be some last-minute rearranging of plans. They'll end up staying a night at a hotel in Seattle before catching a flight to Chicago, then making their way to Milwaukee to visit with other friends for a couple of days. I'll be driving down there to pick them up on Saturday or Sunday -- whatever they decide. Bonus is a day or two extra here! I reminded her that the #1 requirement for travel right now is PATIENCE -- stay calm & cool & roll with it -- but I hope she doesn't have to tap that well. At least they don't have to worry about tests -- NZ just dropped their requirement yesterday. I also reminded her that we survived Aer Lingus/Detroit... thus, can handle anything! It's a packed itinerary: Orange > Sydney > Auckland > Los Angeles > Seattle > Chicago > Milwaukee > HOME! That's over 6-7 days, total, and not all of it by air, but still a lot. If you can send some GOOD TRAVEL JUJU their way, it would be appreciated! I shall be monitoring it all from here. haha.

Finally, my catalpa tree exploded in blooms over the weekend!

I hope you had a great weekend, too!

June 2022.

Admiring... peonies! This is one of Ann's.

Anticipating... a houseful of people in 2+ weeks!

Celebrating... my son-in-law Rod's birthday was yesterday, and can you believe that he & Ali will be celebrating their 9th wedding anniversary next week??

And Mack is going to be SEVENTEEN tomorrow! Time, time, time... why you gotta go so fast??

Drinking... the occasional ice-cold sparkling beverage (with or without spirits) using some recently made Rhubarb-Basil Shrub! It was especially refreshing last night after mowing TWO lawns, and nearly gone by the time I remembered to take a photo. I mixed the shrub with sparkling water and it was the palest pink... so pretty.

Enjoying... day-off naps. They've become a highlight! One recent day, I got out of bed in the morning and then crawled right back in... and got my nap in early that day!

Knitting... the next row on this/my panel is #405! I'm approaching "the end of May 1959," the "nighttime" stitch count is 19 now -- almost exactly 1/3 of the daytime number -- and there's only one more decrease before the nights start getting longer again!

Looking forward to... getting the upstairs (Airbnb) bathroom floor painted while Maddy & Viv are "here" but off on an adventure for a few days.

Needing... to get Organizing... my workroom... always and forever!

Planning... our trip to Scotland later this year. Kate & I will be putting our heads together in a few weeks to try and hash out what's reasonable. Our vacations -- especially to places like Scotland -- tend to be road trips and I'm using an app called Wanderlog to plot the course, which is extremely ambitious at this point and involves a few ferries. The ferry schedules alone are a trip, as both frequency and time can vary depending on the day of the week! One of my favorite things about the app is that it will "optimize the route," so it's easy to add whatever cairns, castles, standing stones and beaches we might be interested in without having to figure out the best way to get there myself. We'll see. So far, we have plane tickets, a rental car, and a hotel for one night in Inverness! So much more to do... Luckily, we'll be staying at Kate's for the few days in Edinburgh.

I've also purchased plane tickets for a trip to meet Kate in London around my birthday! It'll be a quick trip, the main impetus being an exhibition at the Fashion + Textile Museum -- Kaffe Fassett: The Power of Pattern. The only other thing I really want to do in London is visit Harrod's. I'm sure that ideas will emerge.

Pondering... this bird nest situation at Ann's! Lordy, that is a high, narrow ledge on which to build a home & raise a family!

Reaching... Ullapool! I have just a little over 40% of the North Coast 500 virtual walk under my belt, and from "here" (heading north) it's all new to me!

Sewing (mending)... NOTHING! Maddy & Viv will be bringing home hole-y socks, plus I have one of Ali's, so maybe at least some darning will get done!

Watching... Shameless. Whoa. I'm sure this series isn't for everyone, but I'm enjoying it quite a bit. There are 11 seasons and I'm only a few episodes in with S2... so it'll be a while! William H. Macy has been nominated for 6 Emmys for his role as Frank Gallagher and it's not hard to see why. I'm also recording & watching (when time allows) MasterChef Back To Win, MasterChef Junior, and So You Think You Can Dance... I just can't help it.

But last night, y'all. I wasn't expecting to be so riveted by the first Jan. 6 House Committee hearing! I thought I'd wait & catch the highlights, but Ms. Cheney drew me right in and I could not turn away.

Wondering... What's up with you right now!? And wishing you a great weekend!

I had an unexpected last-minute Airbnb booking late Thursday afternoon for the weekend, so had to abandon my Duolingo practice and spring into action to get ready for a Friday arrival! I might have finally learned that I need to be prepared for anything!

That done, I crossed a bunch of other stuff off my list over the weekend, and it feels so good! There are still a couple of stragglers, but I'll get to them soon... after I ready the Airbnb for the guests arriving on Wednesday! (There's no rest for the wicked, as my mother would say.)

One of the things I accomplished over the weekend was buying and planting plants in our decorative planters.

You may have seen my post about that on IG over the weekend. I've had this wicker fern stand forever, and it's always been on the back porch, but it's never held a plant of any kind. The cats loved it and would jump up and nap inside... especially after Rusty made it cozy with old porch pillows and a rug. We'd even spot cats in there that weren't even ours!

Not our cat!! We nicknamed this one Ferdinand!

It's been a while since it's been used as a cat bed, though, so I decided to buy some plants.

You can hardly see it now in its spot under the Marriage Window...

...but once these incredibly bright coleus grow a bit, it'll be easier to spot!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I can enjoy that planter from a couple of other vantage points.

This is from the other side of the Marriage Window... as things grow, I may have to move it a bit!

And this is from one of the kitchen windows... it's visible from three of four!

I have the need to mention -- just in case you've missed it -- that Maddy & Viv will be showing their faces here THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY!! I cannot wait to hug m'girls!! And I'll be driving down to Chicago, FOUR WEEKS FROM TODAY (yes, on the 4th of July), to pick up Kate!!

❤️❤️❤️

Oh, quick favor... I'm looking for recommendations for a YA read. It can be any genre, even part of a series, preferably not terribly long. Thank you in advance!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today for Unraveled Wednesday...

KNITTING:

I've made some progress on my Temperature Blanket since last we met, even though I've barely knit a stitch in a week.

I had "turned a page" on my chart, though, just before this little break, and that means I'm about half-way through my panel... heading into "the summer of 1959," and the colors will be shifting.

Work is very slow on Musselburgh. Though I cast it on for traveling, it never saw the light of day in Denver. It's been my project for group knitting, and there hasn't been a whole lot of that, either. I'm thinking Christmas for this project, so there's time... and I'm excited about the first color change taking place!

READING:

YOUNG MUNGO! I should be finished just in time for next week's discussion!

_ _ _ _ _

One thing that's not slow going right now is anything in my backyard! My Blue Angel Hosta went from this...

...to this...

...in less that a month!

It's been quite the rollercoaster spring weather-wise with huge swings in temperature! 

I've been busy with Airbnbs, but guests are arriving at Ann's today for the entire month, so there's some relief... and then the next "guest" will be Annie & her family! And as of now, I have only one guest scheduled this month at my place (for over two weeks... added relief)... and that means that my next "guests" will be Maddy & Viv!!!!! And fewer than five weeks until I pick up Kate again at ORD.

It's getting real, and I cannot wait!!!