I've been having a hard time putting together a post (or two or three) about Puerto Rico. There's a lot going on right now -- in the world, in my life. I wake up one day, such as yesterday (my day off), thinking that I'm going to tackle taxes & bookkeeping, only to end up running out to buy a laptop for a certain adorable nephew in Peru (his logic board fried), shipping it to arrive across the state by Friday to Annie's boss (who happens to be visiting for a few days), who will then schlep it back to Lima/said nephew. By the time that was done, it was noon. I grabbed a quick bite for lunch, and then had a scheduled video chat with Kate to get her taxes filed & paid (she was running into a roadblock), along with some other chit-chat (for an hour), and then I needed a nap. Ali & the kids were due after dance class! I guess I did get some tax-related stuff done, as originally planned, but it wasn't mine!

So let's try small bites, shall we?

I'm joining Carole & friends today for Three Things on Thursday... 

The only concrete engagement on our vacation "itinerary" was a guided trip to Gozalandia Falls on Saturday, from which I have three photos to share.

I had a couple of vouchers from Airbnb -- perks for maintaining Superhost status -- and we'd enjoyed our first Airbnb Experience in Mexico (just before the world shut down in 2020), so I searched for something similar in Puerto Rico. Our host/guide was Reynaldo, and he was intimately familiar with the whole property, having helped build some of the infrastructure (paths, stairs, etc.).

Rusty's taking a dip in the pool at the first falls. There is also a rope swing for sailing out over the water -- hopefully beyond the big boulder just under the surface -- and splashing into the pool. Rusty didn't do that, but it sure was fun watching other people do it!

It wasn't easy getting photos without people in them! Certainly most visitors found their way all by themselves, and we could easily have visited and enjoyed these falls without a guide.

But without Reynaldo, I would never have walked up behind one of the falls. Nor would I have hiked through the river from one waterfall to the other. I have few photos because all my stuff was in Reynaldo's dry-bag backpack, and good thing. I didn't fall, but I definitely needed my hands to steady myself a few times, jumping from rock to rock, sliding down bigger boulders, and needed all my wits about me instead of worrying about my phone getting wet (or dropping it). It was a fun -- wet & dirty -- challenge!

I didn't know just how dirty until we got home -- after stopping at the supermarket -- and noticing that my butt was not only wet, but super muddy, too! Rusty never told me! I bought a small bottle of laundry detergent on our next trip to the store and did some laundry in the sink. (Because my packing skills were MIA when prepping for this trip and I actually had only a few appropriate/practical/things-I-wanted-to-wear clothing items.)

BONUS:

We learned that the movie A Perfect Getaway was filmed at Gozalandia Falls!

The movie is actually set in Hawaii, but it was cheaper to film the waterfall scene in Puerto Rico, even having to truck in thousands of flowers... and equipment, crew, etc.! I was surprised to see Timothy Oliphant as one of the leads, along with one of the Hemsworth brothers, and we enjoyed it more than expected.

Rusty & I had a great vacation in Puerto Rico and both got what we needed most...

Him: Lots of beach time.

Me: Lots of sleep.

I slept in every single day, and napped when I could, too.

We did much more, and I'll tell the tales...

...but mostly it was this.

And a little of that! I'll have more to say about that tomorrow for Unraveled Wednesday... but right now, I'll say that I'm still amazed at how much that colorway (Hellebore) matches the coral that Rusty found, and that'll make it the perfect reminder of the trip (since we left the coral behind).

Rusty's "note" became a lovely record of our week in Puerto Rico.

_ _ _ _ _

Meanwhile, my heart is in Ukraine. I am so uplifted by some of the stories I've read about Ukrainians...

...along those lines.

And their president is incredible.

I am also lifted by the amazing work of people like Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen, who are not only helping to feed hungry people in Ukraine, but all over the world. If there is a disaster and a need for food, WCK is there, slinging hash and taking care of people. I've donated what we might otherwise spend going out for dinner, and perhaps you'd consider a donation, too.

I am so happy that we decided not to skip a visit to Biltmore this time! IMHO, it seemed like a hefty admission price -- even without all the optional add-ons (of which we opted for zero) -- but now that I've visited, I can see why. The house is gorgeous and well-cared for -- loved, even. It's off-season, so there were some things happening, such as refinishing of the wood floor in one of the halls, and repairs to the walls. The walls were plastered and stenciled, so there was a craftsman touching up the paint and it was so cool to watch him for a few minutes! Spring is just barely beginning to spring, so there were obvious signs of work being done in the gardens.

Oh, the gardens!

But first...

Yes, I sprung for the tourist trap photo op!

I took a few photos inside, but honestly, it's difficult to capture -- and, sometimes, I'd just be stunned by what I was seeing that I'd just forget that I even had a camera, or know that I wouldn't be able to capture half (swimming pool, bowling alley, kitchens and store rooms).

This servant's room, with its sweet "counting sheep" garland at the foot of the bed, certainly caught my eye. It was quite a nice room, too, and the staff was paid very well (New York City wages) back in the day.

I shared an orchid-centric post on IG the other day, so I'll (mostly) spare you those photos here. The Conservatory was...

...well, it's February and we came from cold snowy Wisconsin...

...it was so warm and green and colorful! And huge.

I love that orchids can be so different. That little wisp of a thing was quite small, though not the smallest. It was just something to see, as was that BLACK variety. The orchids were mostly gathered in a specific area. There was another amazing flower at every turn!

There was also a separate room for cacti and succulents -- a cool variety of size, color, and texture.

In terms of plant life, there wasn't a whole lot happening in the gardens yet. I was enchanted by the walls with their espalier trees, and was very happy to find blooming hellebores.

The admission price also included trolley transportation to different locations/parking within the estate, and a wine tasting, which we really enjoyed. Overall, I think it would be a very different experience to visit in high summer -- there were definitely people around, but it wasn't crowded in the least and we didn't have to wait for anything.

So, that's pretty much a wrap on our Asheville highlights... except for a word or three about food.

• We enjoyed lunch at Farm Burger on Saturday, knowing that it would be good because we ate there last time, too!
• On Saturday night we went to Sierra Nevada Brewing in nearby Mills River (actually, right in between Asheville and our Airbnb)... and I cannot get over it! It wasn't even on our radar, but we saw the sign a few times and it had good reviews when we searched for nearby dinner options (plus, I'm a huge fan of SNB's Hazy Little Thing) (and now I have some swag)! It was enormous, and the drive/entry to the property was amazing (lighting shaped like hops). We had a little bit of a wait, so went upstairs to the "High Gravity" room and enjoyed a beer and some live music. Our dinner was fantastic!! Along with Biltmore, I would definitely visit SNB on another visit to the area!
• And Ingles. I remembered Ingles from last time... and, I just have to say, what a fantastic "grocery" store. I want one.

I hope you had a great weekend!

Y'know, they are #whirlwindarttripswithkate (a four-day trip, two of which were all driving), but we pack in as much as we can... this will be my last post about our visit to Black Mountain College Museum, and then there will be a post or two about our visit to Biltmore.

We all, I suppose, hope to in some measure, at some point, achieve fineness in our work, but what is really exciting is the feeling that we are growing, that we are discovering things that we hadn't known before—and especially that there is so much ahead that has not been realized. And, for me, Art is the name of a direction, not a product.

–Joan Potter (Sihvonen) Loveless (1928-2009) from Three Weavers (University of New Mexico Press, 1992);
she studied weaving with Anni Albers at BMC 1944-1948

Oh, that last sentence!!

Experienced weavers were invited to sit down and work on this piece! My experience is limited to a child's BRIO loom -- I have no idea how those foot pedals work -- so I just admired.

Here are a few more pieces from Question Everything! The Women of Black Mountain College that stood out to me.

Lolita Georgia, Weaving Class Notebook, 1935

Lolita Georgia was the spouse of Black Mountain College faculty & founding member, Frederick R. Georgia. She was at BMC from 1933-1937. This is a page from her weaving class notebook, from a class taught by Anni Albers.

Anni Albers, Untitled, 1950, cotton and bast

Anni Albers (1899-1994) originally intended to study visual arts, but the way things worked at the Bauhaus in 1922, female students were restricted to the weaving workshop... which is terrible but also terrific & serendipitous, as Anni Albers became one of the most influential textile artists of the 20th Century! She and her husband, Josef, came to BMC in 1933, after fleeing Nazi Germany; Josef was head of the new school and also head of the painting program, while Anni taught weaving and textile design; they left the school in 1949.

Elizabeth Jennerjahn, Untitled, ca. 1960, textile with applied fabric wall hanging

Elizabeth Schmitt Jennerjahn (1923-2007) first attended BMC in 1943-44 as a student, studying art with Josef & Anni Albers. She left to study dance in New York City with Martha Graham, returning in 1948 with her husband, Warren (Pete) Jennerjahn, to study with Merce Cunningham, also working as a student teacher in 1949; the Jennerjahns left BMC in 1951.

Susan Moore, Composition with Dot, date unknown, oil on canvas

Susan Moore (1926-2013) was a student at Black Mountain College in the summer of 1946, studying design and painting with Josef Albers and Jacob Lawrence.

Evelyn Williams Anselevicius, Untitled (from the Geodesic Series, ca. 1970s, tapestry

Evelyn Williams Anselevicius (1923-2003) was a BMC student in 1947. She became known internationally for her large-scale woven tapestries, often using Mexican rug weaving techniques and wool that was spun & dyed in Mexico.

And, of course, Ruth Asawa (1926-2013), who attended BMC from 1946 to 1949.

Have a great weekend!!!

I'm joining Kat & the Unravelers today to share what I'm knitting and reading.

KNITTING

I love starting/knitting a project while I'm traveling because it's always a reminder of the trip!

I started the beaded Nugget Mitts while we were in North Carolina. The loveliness of this pattern is that the beading is all done in one row! I did that on the first mitt while we enjoyed a little downtime one evening, and now it's perfect travel knitting... and I did a bit of that during the daylight hours on the drive home.

I brought a lot of knitting with me, but this is the only thing I worked on. It was right back to work yesterday -- with a bunch of stuff to catch up on at home -- so I'm just going with this right now and will resume Banging Out a Cardigan when I have more than a second to think & breathe.

Ali & the kiddos were over for a bit last night.

Malina is now wearing the little Beatrice Top that I knit for Ginny -- and topping it off nicely, too! I knit much of that top while on a #whirlwindarttripwithkate to St. Louis in 2017.

READING LISTENING

I didn't do any reading on vacation, but we listened to quite a few podcast episodes:

• Revisionist History by Malcom Gladwell
• Hidden Brain : NPR by Shankar Vedantam
• Throughline : NPR by Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei

I don't usually listen to podcasts very much, but these were so interesting!!

I still haven't picked up my book since returning home, but I have resumed listening to The Dutch House on my commute.

♠ ♣ ♥ ♦

The trip was really great. Even though it was only for a couple of days, there's a lot to digest & share, so I'm going to start small... and right now.

Our Airbnb (plus) cottage was just about the cutest darn thing you ever did see... or ever might stay in.

We each had our own bedroom, separated by the bathroom -- those are the windows you see on the side of the house -- with a comfy & cozy living room and a very nice kitchen. The porch was big and welcoming, and there was a patio and a separate fire pit in the back (which we didn't use, but so nice!).

Great amenities, attention to detail & decor, and lots of little touches -- that's what makes it PLUS! That's a special designation for properties that go above & beyond... it's not available in my area, but you can bet that I'd be shooting for it!

Potentially mutually beneficial shameless plug: If you'd like to try Airbnb, use this link to save up to $55 on your first trip — and once your reservation is complete, I'll get a little credit to use toward future travel, too.

I've stayed at 28 different Airbnb properties in the last six years -- from Scotland to Spain, New York to Oregon, Michigan to Mexico, with many points scattered in between and some quite close to home. You won't be surprised to learn that I freakin' love Airbnb! They haven't all been as stellar as this adorable cottage, but I can honestly say that I've never had a dud. Next week it'll be a year since we welcomed our first guest as Airbnb hosts! We had 38 completed bookings last year, and five already this year -- with another this weekend and 11 more (so far) booked between now and October! We've had between one and five guests at any one time, for as little as one night or as many as 32! It's a lot of work, but I'm still enjoying it... I'll stop when I'm not!

Joining Carole & friends for Three (Pertinent) Things on Thursday...

Kate & I are leaving later today for a quick trip to Asheville, NC. The main reason being to see a show at Black Mountain College Museum entitled Question Everything! The Women of Black Mountain College.

A little background:

• Black Mountain College was the subject of Kate's master's dissertation at University of Edinburgh in 2014.
• Kate & I visited Black Mountain/Asheville in 2015. It was a pretty great trip, and we even visited the original sites of BMC.
• My first up-close & personal (mind-blowing) encounter with the work of Black Mountain College alum Ruth Asawa's work was on a pretty awesome trip to the Bay Area in 2010 to visit my friend and former blogger Celia.
• Kate & I made a special trip to St. Louis in 2018 to see Ruth Asawa: Life's Work at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

There are many other influential, renowned, or even famous people to attend and/or teach at BMC in its relatively short lifespan -- Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Merce Cunningham, and Buckminster Fuller to name a few -- and I've seen the work of many in various museums and/or documentaries.

Arguably, the best known of them all to knitters & textile artists might be Josef & Anni Albers, to wit:

• Albers Shawl by Amy Christoffers
• Albers Socks by Sachiko Burgin
• Albers Cowl by Ann Weaver
• Albers Baby by Ann Weaver
• Albers Shawl by Ann Weaver
• Albers Pullover by Julia Farwell-Clay
• Albers Collection ~ Head by Sarah Monroe
• Albers Collection ~ Hands by Sarah Monroe
• Albers Stash Blanket by Leigh Radford
• Albers by Stephanie van der Linden
• Albers by Laura J. Bellows

Though not the only ones to inspire knitting designs:

• Twombly lines by Susan Ashcroft

Anni Albers and Ruth Asawa are among the artists featured in Question Everything! For purposes today, I've plucked the names of three new-to-me artists, also included in the exhibition, to do some research ahead of the show!

1 - Suzi Gablik

Suzi Gablik (b. 1934) studied at BMC in the summer of 1951. She is an artist (painter, collage), art critic, author, and teacher. I am especially drawn to images in the "Tropism" series (#9, above).

tropism | 1 a : involuntary orientation by an organism or one of its parts that involves turning or curving by movement or by differential growth and is a positive or negative response of a source of stimulation

I'm excited to see if any of these pieces are included in the exhibition.

2 - M.C. Richards

Mary Caroline (M.C.) Richards (1916-1999) was a poet, essayist, potter, painter, and teacher. She taught writing at BMC in the late 1940s, having moved there with her then-husband Albert William Levi Jr., a social scientist, when he was invited to join the faculty in 1945.

Her book, Centering In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person, was originally published in the 1960s, and became an underground classic (an original paperback can be had for a cool $989 and some change).

The book... pulled together ideas about perception, craft, education, creativity, religion and spirituality, arguing for the richness of daily experience if carefully attended to, and the creativity of the average person. "Poets are not the only poets," Ms. Richards wrote. --New York Times obituary of M.C. Richards

She sounds fascinating! I am not really what you'd call a "poetry person," but I could not resist that book... it's on the way!

3 - Hazel Larsen Archer

The first things I learned about Hazel Larsen Archer (1921-2001) was that she was born and raised in Milwaukee, that she had polio when she was 10, and that she was a photographer -- so right away there are a few points of connection and interest. She was both a student and a teacher at BMC, and in 1949 joined the faculty as the school's first full-time teacher of photography. She documented life -- performances, events, people -- at BMC. After leaving NC, she and her husband moved to Tucson, AZ, where she operated a freelance studio.

I'm excited about the show/the trip and you can be sure I'll fill you in on it all!

This photo was in my in-box this morning:

It was seven years ago yesterday that I was on my way to Rio de Janeiro! There was that unfortunate missed connection in Houston (by only :15 with the connecting gate literally right next door... that still bites!) that set me back a day, causing Annie to have to deliver this news to the boys. It turned out OK in the end, though, as I was actually able to negotiate to extend my stay! Still... this photo of these little boys (5 and 7 at the time) breaks my heart!

I finally found a calendar for work:

I love travel calendars and, these days, I love ticking off all the places that I've been! There are plenty more places yet to go...

And I am RESTLESS! I am literally counting the days (hours, minutes & seconds) until I can GO SOMEWHERE:

It's barely less than three weeks until the next #whirlwindarttripwithkate, and thank god because I don't know if I could bear the seven+ weeks until Rusty & I leave for Mexico with nothing in between... not the way I'm feeling right now!

So, the trip with Kate... we're headed back to North Carolina! And it'll definitely be whirlwind, leaving on a Thursday afternoon when we're both finished at work and returning on Monday. Last time, almost 5 years ago (!), our focus was Black Mountain, and it will be this time, too, but specifically a show at Black Mountain College Museum in Asheville. Question Everything! The Women of Black Mountain College. Though we saw plenty of art on our previous trip, the BMCM was closed for an installation; Kate's on their mailing list and she popped in out of the blue a couple of weeks ago (with some sort of Spidey sense) (when people were flying off to Europe and Australia and I was feeling extra feels) (and knowing that this is right up my alley) to suggest that we go! Besides, trips like this are good for us! We'll be staying in Asheville this time, at our first Airbnb with the "Plus" designation.

In the meantime, I'm focusing on putting my head down and getting all the things done (especially the distasteful ones) so I can truly vacate on vacay! Maybe I'll even get the Christmas tree down... heh.

I'm also thinking a lot about knitting and what I want to do this year. I don't usually set knitting goals and I have no idea what all I'm going to knit because... how many patterns are released on Ravelry each year? But I do know some things, and I'll share them next week.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Rusty emailed me this photo taken this afternoon.

Subject line: WELL, LOOK AT THIS!

Though Kate wasn't coming with us to Cornwall, she was going to the UK for a while and she managed to get a seat on the same flight to Gatwick that we were taking, so we were able to share a taxi to the airport. We said our farewells on the way to rent a car...

Overtaken by the charm of St. Ives, apparently, I overlooked the fact that it was a 5-hour drive from London and I was the only driver. I treated myself to an upgrade...

...which bit me good in the end*, but it was still worth it!!

It was dark by the time we got to St. Ives and we drove around for a while looking for our Airbnb. I'm pretty sure I drove down a lane (maybe this lane)...

...not meant for driving... in my sporty little car, in the dark. Yikes.

We stopped once for a few provisions but mostly directions. Hahahahahahaha. OMG.

We stopped a second time and, lucky for us, there happened to be a policeman in the shop and he offered to lead the way and then told us where to park (and he'd know our car and be sure not to give us a ticket). Parking is a very big problem in St. Ives! This was where 1) I realized, when he told me about the very tight turn-around, that I'd been down the street before and had just continued right through that "very tight turn-around" right into the not-for-vehicles lane (in my car), and 2) I scraped up against the curb while parking (the first bite*).

Our Airbnb was FANTASTIC:

The guy is a surfer (note the cool "light fixture" in the kitchen) and his wife's mum is a knitter (though yarn shops are not plentiful). There were two tiny bedrooms (because Kate might have come with us at one point), one of which we used for our suitcases and stuff. And while cute & cozy, that's not why we were there.

The minute this came into view, I pulled over to take some photos. The light was so pretty! Also: Cornish coast, farms, stone walls, water, and beautiful sky.

We meandered and stopped a few places, most notably at Land's End!

We also hunted down some standing stones.

These are The Drift Stones located near Penzance...

...in a field of daffodils! This can be quite a hunt, and we turned around a few times before we finally made it. (We were originally across the road -- if you click on the map, those buildings are an abandoned farm.) (At least we think it was abandoned!) There were other stones we could have found, but it was spring and fields were wet & mushy... we felt pretty great just finding this one! Luckily, it wasn't too far off the road and we were able to pick a reasonably dry path. So cool!

We had some pretty good food & drinks on this trip, but this simple breakfast was one of my favorites!

Toasted Cornish Saffron Bread is DELICIOUS!!

Then we took a walk to & through the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.

It was just beautiful. Something to see at every turn. There's a tiny little house in the first garden photo above, in which there was a small bed... oh my goodness, I still get dreamy thinking about how wonderful it would be to take a nap there.

There was an old chapel and graveyard near the car park where we left the car most of the time. I couldn't help but walk through it a few times!

It wasn't long before we were on our way back to London, where I unknowingly picked up the second bite*! But first, we needed to see a few more standing stones...

It was a mile-long hike to get to Stonehenge from the (new) visitors' centre (we took a shuttle back), and I'm so glad we stopped! (You can also just drive by on the A303 and catch a glimpse.) It's amazing to see!

We returned to London and stayed at a hotel near Heathrow for our morning flight back home. Kate was still there, so we took the train to Paddington and met her for dinner & drinks at The Victoria (yes, I did that!) on our last night and caught up on goings-on.

Then homeward bound.

And finally home!

*They collected £50 for the first bite when we turned in the car. I was informed of the second bite by Hertz when they forwarded information from the Devon and Cornwall Police pertaining to a traffic violation; they charged another £50 for that "service." The email stated that "A copy of this fine is attached for your information (unless the offence is a Notice of Intended Prosecution, which legally has to be provided directly by the relevant police authority)." There was no attachment. Uh-oh. I got a speeding ticket -- my first in I-don't-know-how-long -- IN ENGLAND! They caught me on a camera! The cameras are marked by signs, most of which I noticed... I can almost recall breezing through that one, distracted by conversation with Rusty or something at the time. Anyway, to make a long story somewhat shorter, eventually there were forms to fill out and photocopies to send and it cost me another £100 + 3 points! Ugh.

That car was still worth it, though. Did you see that GPS? It popped up right out of the dashboard!!

Joining Carole & friends for Three Things on Thursday...

I arrived home last night and am back at work today. I have a lot of catching up to do (in every single area of my life)! Today, I have a quick follow-up on last week's 3 Things on my NYC list:

1 -- Landmarks: The Statue of Liberty and Strawberry Fields and Ellis Island.

2 -- Parks: Central Park and The High Line.

3 -- Museums: The Whitney and the Tenement museums (Irish Outsiders)... and the Merchant's House Museum.

I had a wonderful time, and the weather was great! It was great to see Kate and spend some time in the city with her. We put on a lot of miles, visiting museums, parks, eating some great food, visiting a few neighborhood pubs, and we even saw a movie (Rocketman). We never made it north of 34th Street!

Kate's there for another week, staying at a friend's apartment in the East Village and working in Brooklyn to hang a show for Greenpoint Open Studios.

OK. Back to work! I'll be back...

Our time in Valencia was so different this visit compared to last because of Las Fallas. The daily events, the crowds, the noise, the fireworks. We stopped at Mercado Central and that, in a nutshell, highlighted the difference between our two visits to Valencia -- it was all but deserted! Many businesses close altogether for the final few days of the festival.

We didn't fail to notice that it was spring!

Or the interesting logo of one of the Falla artists (maybe that was just me).

We had plenty of time before La Cremà, so took a walk around The City of Arts & Sciences. We'd visited before at night, so it was nice to see in the daytime. It's so beautiful and... other-worldly.

Contributing to the noise of Las Fallas is the fact that every kid in the city has a small box of their own fireworks to shoot off! Often carried around their necks, they're about the size of a shoebox (a boy in the photo above is carrying one on his arm), and there are entire stores and catalogs devoted to the selling of items with which to fill it. I saw young boys setting up/blowing off their own mini-mascletà type displays. I saw young fallera in traditional dress, no more than 4 or 5 years old, plopped on the ground and lighting off firecrackers. I saw old men toss extra goodies into kids' boxes as if handing out candy at Halloween. It was all quite something. And I didn't see anyone get hurt.

On the day after La Cremà, the festival officially over, most people went right back to work/school. Ann, Brian & the kids had an extra day off, but laid low and prepped for their return to work/school the following day (which would be our departure day).

Rusty took off for some time at the beach.

Kate & I took a walk to Old Town. We found some lunch, did a little shopping, and made our way to The Church of San Nicolás, aka The Valencian Sistine Chapel.

It was all pretty incredible, but the ceiling was over the top (as it were... heheh). Not an inch was unadorned, and so much gold!

We walked over to The National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts with the intention of going in, but were were already on overload and this was the EXTERIOR of that building...

I can't imagine the visual overload awaiting visitors within... we put it on the list for next time! (With a nod to my mother who always left something for next time, no matter how likely it was that she'd actually return... it was the idea of it, looking to the future, holding out hope.)

It was a beautiful day! And it was so festive with all those flags flying.

I think we saw this facade last time -- I know we were right there -- but there's also a "skinniest house" right there and last time there was a market of some sort in the square.

It's so cool, though, isn't it?

In our wanderings, we also found ourselves at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, and you'd never have known that a 9-story tall, wood & papier mache graffiti-decorated sculpture was burned there mere hours before.

"We were standing here," and I'm taking the photo within feet of where the sculpture was located.

We had a nice dinner and final evening together in Valencia. Ann, Brian & the boys were off to school & work the next day, and Rusty, Kate & I shared a cab to the airport for the next phase of our trip.

Randomly, this is Addison's favorite snack and, I have to say, it would also be mine if I could find them here (or anything even close)! They're like flat crispy bread sticks -- smears of dough, actually -- studded with sunflower seeds. Yum.

And with that, have a great weekend!!

Las Falles is... incredible! And impossible to "sum up," but I will give it a go. I shared a few posts on Instagram along the way (there's one linked later in this post), and the hashtag #falles2019 (or #fallas2019) are pretty great.

Las Falles is the biggest celebration in Valencia, held annually March 1-19 in commemoration of Saint Joseph... and/or spring. What it actually has to do with Saint Joseph and how/what this spectacle actually commemorates/relates is beyond me.

It's a party! Pure and simple. And it has many facets, not the least of which is noise and fire. It's a slow build, hitting a crescendo during the last five days/nights. That's when the falles appear.

Valencia is comprised of many communities, also known as falles, and each one constructs two sculptures every year of papier mache (or, as I've been told, more recently of polystyrene).

Guess which image was blocked on Instagram?

Each community has a large sculpture (sometimes enormous), often political or satirical in nature, and another smaller one for children (infantil). We had the chance to page through a publication about each community's design inspiration, designers, falleras, and cost -- there were something like 395 of them! Times 2. And some costing in the neighborhood of €300,000.

The detail is incredible.

The events during Falles, according to Wikipedia (which is a pretty good article) are such:

• La Despertà
  • "The wake-up call" each morning at 8 am when bands play and firecrackers are set off. I heard bands, but never at 8 am... and the firecrackers were going off 24/7. I wouldn't have believed it if someone told me that fireworks & firecrackers would become "background noise," but it most definitely does.

Crowd gathering for the final mascletà, as seen (and heard) from our perch at the Plaza de Toros.

• La Mascletà
  • This is an explosive, percussive, coordinated display of firecrackers and fireworks, almost choreographed, that occurs every afternoon in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. This also seems to build each day, and pyrotechnics compete for the honor of providing the final mascletà. The crowds are huge, and I never saw this happen, but I certainly did hear it and see the smoke.

This was the major winner. It was in a distant community, so we took a bus to see it. Do you see Bo Peep?

• La Plantà
  • All of the falles are to be finished by March 15th in order to be judged for the competition.
• L'Ofrena de flors
  • All day long on March 17 & 18, falleros and falleras make their way to a large wooden frame in the shape of the Virgin Mary with an offering of flowers. These flowers are added to and arranged on the frame to fill in the "dress."

• Els Castells and La Nit del Foc
  • We missed some of the earlier displays, but we definitely made our way to one of the bridges spanning Turia Park for La Nit del Foc ("The Night of Fire"), which began at 1:30 am. Wow. Seriously, Valencia during Las Falles is a pyrotechnics dream.
• Cavalcada del Foc
  • I didn't see this, but that's okay...

Notice the flower bouquets for the Virgin Mary's dress.

• Traditional Dressing
  • The traditional dress and costumes worn by the fallero and falleras is colorful and quite pretty. And they're all ages -- from infants (see the stroller, above, but I saw even younger) to their grandparents. I don't know the historical significance of it all, but there's a hierarchy to it all and almost nothing happens during Las Falles unless there's a fallera present to strike the match or give the signal to begin.

• La Cremà
  • On this, the last night of the celebration, all of the falles are burned. The falla infantil are all burned first, at around 10 p.m. There are fireworks going off here and there. There's usually some sort of small mascletà and/or ground display around the falla, which are strung and stuffed with fireworks. A fallera lights the fuse and... stand back. We saw one infantil burn. The main ones begin to burn around midnight. In addition to each neighborhood's falles, there is a large "city" one in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. This year it was a nearly 9-story tall, traditional wood & papier mache structure in the shape of a seated woman, decorated with graffiti. It was quite beautiful. This one was to burn around 1 am.

Instead of watching any of the larger neighborhood falla burn, we made our way to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento for the burning of the main "city" falla. Annie knew someone who knew someone, and for €25 each, we found ourselves on a 2nd story balcony with a fabulous view, unlimited snacks & beer & wine, and arguably one of the best spots in the city.

This is part of the crowd gathered for the event.

It was very dramatic, as all the lights went out (the illuminated building in the rear is the post office!).

Then the fireworks began... it was incredible. There are a few video clips in the embedded IG post, below.

Queue the dramatic music... I'm not sure what it was, possibly the Spanish national anthem, or maybe an important Valencian piece. It was dramatic with the flames, pieces falling off, everything...

We were probably 100' from the inferno -- and I mean inferno. We all had to vacate the balcony, and I thought my forehead was going to have blisters.

The clean-up crew was standing by. Katie & I were walking down there the next day and you would never have known that a 9-story tall lady statue burned there the night before.

Every neighborhood had a mess to clean up! And they did. It was just one more amazing part of this whole mind-blowing thing we witnessed.

I think that's as good as it's going to get. There might be one more quick post about Valencia... stay tuned!

Hola!! Popping in to say that all is well, we're having an amazing time! Off to Cornwall tomorrow for a few days before returning home on Monday (I'm pretty sure... the days are getting fuzzy).

I have managed, by pure luck, to unintentionally knock a few things off my bucket list here... such as, I never have to see another fireworks display in my life (if I don't want to), because nothing is going to top what I have seen (heard & felt) here!

There are some posts on Insta & FB... I am never going to be able to share it all!!

Anyway, I can't let my 15th Blogiversary/1st Day of Spring pass without a post, also a quick mention of the 14th anniversary of The Quit a few days ago.

The crescendo of Las Fallas happened last night with fireworks/mascleta and the burning of this nearly 9-stories tall falle. We had a balcony view and I am pretty sure my face would have melted off if we'd stayed out there the entire time. It was flipping amazing!!

Thanks for reading and for your comments and for coming along on these crazy trips of all sorts, whether in Spain or my own back yard! xo

Homeward bound.

We got a pretty early start... because it's a long drive (7+/- hours) and we had another art stop in Chicago. A bridge was closed, so we were detoured north out of St. Louis... advantage being a new view! (Bissinger's, by the way, is a chocolatier. Mmm.)

The weather was being rather dramatic right off the bat.

Our first stop in Chicago, though, was for food!

La Barca is a Mexican Restaurant/Taqueria/Food Mart that was featured on the Chicago espisode of Marcus Samuelsson's PBS Food series No Passport Required. This was actually Kate's idea!

And it was a very good idea! The tacos were delicious... I had asada and pollo. And chips & salsa. And a beer.

Next stop:

A visit with Aviv Benn at Devening Projects+Editions.

I met Aviv last year at her MFA Show in Chicago... a trip that I must not have blogged about! Kate's July 2017 youngspace interview with Aviv Benn. 

We also popped in to see Volker Saul's work and I kept being drawn to this one... with thoughts turning to sewing and Alabama Chanin.

The weather turned to crap (-pier) on the way home from Chicago. I thought I had the worst of it in southern Wisconsin, but then Kate took the wheel around Fond du Lac and it became crappiest -- wet slushy snow, not made any better by stupid drivers (of big trucks).

We ditched the freeway on the last leg home. At least downtown Appleton looked sort of pretty. We followed a snowplow for the last stretch. Needless to say, it was great to arrive home!

We had a leisurely start on Friday morning, then head out for a bite to eat before our museum stops. A friend of Kate's had suggested Cafe Osage at Bowood, so that's where we went. What a wonderful place! Very open and light, with huge windows... We both remarked that it was my mother's kind of place -- she'd have loved it -- and noted that 90% of the clientele reminded us of her, too! Nana-types!

We had to have a beverage with breakfast/more like brunch, so it might as well be something fun! I chose "Cherub's Cup" (north shore #6 gin, st. germain liqueur, adami prosecco, strawberry simple syrup) and Kate had "Rosey Bee" (barr hill raw honey infused gin, rose liqueur, rose geranium, lemon). We shared a plate of Roasted Cauliflower (pickled grapes, tahini, breadcrumb)  because how could we not?? Kate had Poached Eggs with Lox and I had the Artichoke Omelet. It was all so good!!

Kate overheard a woman at the next table giving the waitress what-for about a few things, including that the music was overpowering. Feedback is great and everyone has their opinion, but the music was NOT overpowering and everything was wonderful -- and I felt bad for our waitress. When she brought our check, I made it a point to tell her that everything was perfect -- the drinks, the food, the service, and the music! She laughed and it was as if I could see the earlier unwarranted criticism falling from her shoulders. It made my day, and I hope it made hers a little better, too.

Anyway, the Bowood Garden/Home/Gift shop that Cafe Osage is a part of was so fun, and there was a special Holiday Shop open in a building across the street, too. So we did a little poking around and shopping.

Then it was off to the main event. Ruth Asawa: Life's Work at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. I think the Pulitzer is one of my favorite places ever. The exhibit is breathtaking and, without apology, I'm going to post a ton of photos because it's all just so fascinating and mesmerizing... each individual piece, each part of each piece, the pieces as they hang together and relate to each other, apart and layered, the spaces, the shadows... It's ethereal and indescribable and... just so beautiful.

Fascinating.

Still fascinating.

And still fascinating.

I just couldn't get enough.

I want to live there.

This lovely children's book, Ruth Asawa: A Sculpting Life, was waiting when we got home and I can't wait to read it to the kiddos!

We caught our breath and walked next door to the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.

Sanford Biggers, Shepherd, 2016; glitter, tar, acrylic, spray paint, assorted textiles, antique quilts

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled panel, 1980; oilstick, graphite pencil, latex on board

It was a bit early for dinner, but not enough time to go back to the house, so we went to Sophie's Artist Lounge & Cocktail Club, located at the Kranzberg Arts Foundation.

And we had some more delightful drinks! This was a combo of gin, thyme liqueur, basil simple syrup, and cava -- it was the thyme & basil components + plus the sparkling wine that I found irresistible! Cheers!!

For dinner, we went to the brand new Grand Tavern by David Burke in the Angad Arts Hotel, and that was another incredible meal! We shared some emotional lobster dumplings, and then Kate had black linguine with clam sauce and I had branzino (with artichoke hummus, black olive, vegetable vinaigrette). Two Nana-types at the neighboring table (a mother & daughter, actually) had couch potatoes and clothesline bacon, and offered a piece of the bacon to us (they were big pieces and super-thick). The bacon is actually served on a little "clothesline," held with clothespins, and caramelized with a little torch right at the table. Yeah. It was crazy (and good -- it can be crazy if it's good)!! Oh, and we had some flame action at our table with an old-school baked alaska for dessert.

Then it was across the street to the Fabulous Fox and the Hip Hop Nutcracker... and you know the rest of that story!

Meet me in St. Louis! << Wouldn't that be fun??

Kate & I are headed south this evening, with an overnight at an as-yet undetermined location in Illinois. We've tended to do St. Louis in whirlwind fashion and this trip will be no exception, as we'll be back home by Saturday.

The main reason for the trip is Ruth Asawa: Life's Work at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. I've been interested in Ruth Asawa's work because:

How could I not be? I saw just this very small installation at the de Young Museum in San Francisco in 2010 and was positively smitten from that very moment. So intriguing.

Kate's familiar because her Master's thesis at Edinburgh was about Black Mountain College, where Ruth Asawa lived/worked/studied with the likes of Josef Albers (another favorite) and Buckminster Fuller for a few years.

I mean... REALLY!

It's just amazing. I'm very excited to see much, much more of her work. And since we won't likely meet in St. Louis and enjoy this show together, here is a pretty cool link to View an Asawa Installation at ruthasawa.com (and a million other fascinating things to click on there).

We will also visit the St. Louis Art Museum to see Kehinde Wiley: Saint Louis, and have tickets to The Hip Hop Nutcracker, and hope to get over to see the Christmas display at Anheuser-Busch (which is walking distance from our Airbnb, so very likely!). It would be interesting to see how the holiday display at the Botanical Garden has changed from last year, and it would be great to catch some jazz/blues somewhere... we'll see. Whirlwind.

_ _ _ _ _

I can't let this day pass, it seems, without acknowledging this accomplishment...

Happy EIGHTH Birthday, Parcheesi! You're still my favorite project, and still looking beautiful.

I drove down to O'Hare on Saturday to pick up Kate after her month in the U.K. We decided to stay overnight and chose the new (as in barely open a week) St. Jane for our accommodations. Formerly the Hard Rock Hotel, St. Jane is in Chicago's beautiful Carbide & Carbon Building and is named for Jane Addams.

Instead of a bible in every room, it was a biography!

The weather was fabulous and it was great to be outside!

We had a light lunch at the Purple Pig (of course) and dinner at Catch 35 (first time). I had those gorgeous scallops and Kate had a mixed grill.

We tried to get to a couple of (way up there) roof-top bars but most were busy with private events until late; we settled for a lower-level roof-topper with exorbitantly priced pre-mixed cocktails (which we didn't know were pre-mixed until they were poured). They looked & tasted pretty good but should have been half the price (and my glass should have been all the way full instead of 2/3, too... what's that all about?). /gripe

I had a great time with my girl!

We got up, had coffee and shared a blueberry muffin, and then head home. We were on the road by 10 and home before 2.

The girls came over for a little while, and everyone else came later for supper. It was a nice evening together!

Katie went to bed fairly early and I wound down with a couple of episodes of Anne with an E (I started on Friday and am bingeing hard -- love this show) and my TTL Mystery Shawl.

The photo is from Friday night, having barely begun Clue 2; as of last night, the first of two very enjoyable repeats is finished... and Clue 3 awaits!

I'm looking forward to next weekend already!

No, not for me... I have nothing even close to firm on the calendar until October, and then another possible trip way off in March (though, obvs, I am always up for a spontaneous trip to almost anywhere).

I am travel planning for/with Kate... while she's in the Scottish Highlands and I'm planted in Wisconsin!

She sent me a message yesterday to tell me that she'd arrived at her Highlands destination, and about some great gin that she found (the message also serving as a reminder for her future self about said gin).

We chatted about the weather, how long she'd be there, and what she'd be doing; one thing on the list was finding a distillery tour, specifically gin. She'd told me that it was Misty Isle Gin that she'd been sipping and, following a quick search, I informed her that it was from Isle of Skye Distillers... right where she just happened to be for a few days.

Another quick search led me to discover the Skye Food and Drink Festival, happening this Wednesday & Thursday, and...

What are the odds?? Minutes later, she was signed up for the GIN COCKTAIL MASTERCLASS! The entire list of exhibitors & events at that festival looks so fun!

I also found a not-too-far-away Gin, Rum, and Cocktail Festival on the weekend (and plenty more, actually), but I'm not exactly sure where she's headed after this.

Anyway, I told her that I NEED TO BE A TRAVEL CONSULTANT... ON-THE-FLY, EVEN! REAL-TIME UPDATES!! haha.

Seriously. I love this stuff.

It's the beauty of making "a plan," but not a hard & fast schedule... flexibility & openness... POSSIBILITIES!! That's not how some people like to travel, I know, and there are many reasons for that, but there are a million "tours" that cater to "tourists."

I want EXPERIENCES... or to help people (my daughter) find them. And when she comes home, she can mix up a killer "masterclass" gin cocktail to thank me!

...so you don't have to!! I trust that Bonny heeded my warning and had a smoother beginning to her travels today!

Thursday morning, Rusty sits straight up in bed next to me and declares, "SHIT! IT'S 5:15!!"

Here's the scenario:

• My flight departed Green Bay at 5:55
• My alarm was set for 3:30
• It's a 30-minute drive
• I needed to shower
• And finish (most of) my packing
• Obviously, I made the rookiest of rookie mistakes and didn't verify that the alarm was set for AM instead of PM!

"WE CAN MAKE IT!!" he says.

Um. Suurrrrrre... even if I skipped brushing my teeth and jumped in the car wearing my PJs, we'd maybe see the plane fly over our heads at best!

A bit less starry-eyed, I grabbed my phone, sat down at my computer, and called United. It was slightly maddening to listen to the very calm voice while navigating the menu, and I was relieved when it didn't take too long to speak with a real person. And they were SO helpful, rebooking me on later flights -- at no charge (just this one time...) -- essentially, I was on about a 3-hour delay. Instead of arriving NYC at noon, I arrived around 3:30. Kate had commitments at that time and wasn't able to pick me up, we weren't able to have lunch, and I wasn't able to a couple of things on my list (visit the botanical garden and/or Museum of Food and Drink)... but OMG, it could have been so much worse!

I took a taxi over to Brooklyn to the warehouse where Kate would be installing her show. The actual space (on the 2nd floor) wasn't available yet, so everything was being stored in a studio space on the 4th floor.

It was hot. Somewhat drippy. Sticky. No AC. No elevator. Ugh.

Prior to my arrival, Kate had been staying in Brooklyn, but we'd booked a hotel in Manhattan for the rest of the time -- until my departure on Sunday, and hers on Monday. She kept her car in Brooklyn, though (free, on-street parking wherever it could be found) and we mostly took the subway back and forth.

Luckily, the weather improved -- at least in terms of drippiness.

On Friday, Kate was able to get into the venue space in Brooklyn to set up and hang the show. I hopped in the car and drove over to Jersey to visit with Cara! We had a wonderful afternoon, talking about knitting (that AMAZING brioche shawl that she's designing/making), family & friends. We had lunch, made a stop at Yarnia, and picked up C from school (M had after-school activities). The school year is drawing to a close, so things are starting to trickle home... I had a delightful private viewing of all of C's 2nd-grade artwork!

I drove back to Brooklyn, arriving just in time to watch Kate hang the last pieces. The room had this great floor-to-ceiling window that looked out on some backyards. If you look, you can see a couple on the right hanging out and trying to catch a breeze... I didn't realize until later, when I saw the guy go back into the house, that he'd been standing there in his underwear! Haha. Whatever it takes... Lucky for Kate, the venue had AC!!

On Saturday, I had a lovely (if sweltering) morning walk through Central Park (which, despite a few visits to NYC, I'd never set foot in before!) on my way to meet MDK Kay for a breakfast date! She brought some of her Alabama Chanin Flag Quilt to show off -- utterly amazing -- and it was so cool to see my Wisconsin Blingfish nestled and sewn into its stripe. The quilt's been shining on Kay's IG feed lately, though Shakerag (the top)/Shakerag (the workshop) will soon be taking over, no doubt. After breakfast and show & tell, Kay walked me over to her LYS, Knitty City.

I walked through the park on the way back, too, and found Balto (along with some kids & their parents)!

I cooled off at the hotel for a while before heading over to Brooklyn again, where I sat with Kate at the show (always cooling off). Then I walked over to Brooklyn Craft Company, and from there I grabbed a Lyft to Brooklyn General Store -- two shops on my list. They were pretty different -- BCC is newer and smaller, BGS a bit larger and with much more inventory, and also happened to be celebrating their 16-year anniversary on that very day. I found out later that I narrowly missed a run-in with Kirsten Kapur there! (New TTL Mystery Shawl set to drop in a couple of weeks... I'm desperate for my arm to feel better!!)

With all these shop stops, I came home with much more yarn than I needed (pfffft), but also some fabric to share with Ali and this adorable Merchant & Mills girl's dress pattern (BGS had a sample and I couldn't resist!)!

Kate was in Brooklyn 'til late on Saturday, celebrating art & artists & CONVEYOR's huge success, so I had a lovely dinner on my own at our hotel. I spent the evening in, finally casting on my first WATER hat (current donation total = $6000 + counting)!

We had some great meals in NYC, including dinners at Fig & Olive and Empellon (photo above, view to the upper level from our table) -- both excellent and close to our hotel!

I went out for coffee on Sunday morning and found the street closed in front of our hotel, along with a couple of others, and police everywhere. The Celebrate Israel Parade was happening that morning on Fifth Avenue, and security was high -- including bomb-sniffing dogs and sharpshooters. There hadn't been any specific threats... I can't imagine if there had been! I left a little earlier than usual to get to the airport.

I had enough time in Chicago (especially since the flight arrived :30 ahead of schedule) to finally use one of my (unexpired) passes to United Club Lounge. Oh, hell yeah. 

It never gets old!

We had pretty great flyover on the approach into GRB... couldn't help thinking that Randall Cobb 🏈 on board had an influence on the pilot! 😉 RC was actually on the other side of the plane so wouldn't have even seen this amazing view. That's Mecca of the NFL... er, Lambeau Field on the left and the new Titletown development extending to the right (there is much more to come).

Despite the heat, it was such a fun trip!! It was so great to visit new places (Brooklyn, Central Park) and long-time friends.

For over a year, I waited -- anticipated -- attending the Alabama Chanin 3-Day Workshop in November. I'd signed up almost immediately when it was announced, and it wasn't long before Kym decided to join me.

We met at the airport in Nashville and drove to Florence, AL, home of Alabama Chanin.

We settled into our comfy Airbnb, found a place for dinner, and awaited Workshop Day #1.

It was pretty great. Each of the participants (9 of us) had our own work table with basic supplies and materials. The clothing racks beyond held simple, unembellished examples of every DIY garment in every size for trying on. I was a bit smitten with the collection of chairs -- those shown here, as well as throughout The Factory & Cafe -- as I've been something of a collector myself (to the point that Rusty called a moratorium on chairs some years ago)!

In addition, there were other garment racks, which I've shown before, that held embellished pieces in various colors & designs, which we could also try on.

"The Factory" is just that. Located in a large factory/warehouse type building, one very large space is divvied up with partial walls/partitions and curtains into spaces for retail, cafe, office, shipping, social media, design, fabric handling, stenciling, cutting, sewing, production, etc. Pretty much everyone, perhaps with the exception of some cafe staff, is at least knowledgeable -- but most likely has also performed -- every process/task/job within the company. It's pretty incredible, really. Natalie Chanin has employed some of the principles of Zingerman's Community of Businesses in the development of her own Alabama Chanin Family of Businesses, which include The School of Making, The Factory Cafe and Store, and Bldg. 14.

I could go to work in that factory everyday!

On that first day, we went over design possibilities, toured the factory, tried on garments, pored over swatch books, and each made decisions about the garment we wanted to make.

I chose the Car Jacket, with the June's Spring stencil design.

We also had lunch at the Factory Cafe.

I just had to have a Pimento Cheese sandwich!

And then I took about a million pictures of the June's Spring section of the swatch books!

Those are all the same design, worked in different colors and in different/similar ways... all serving to blow my mind!

And then I took about a million more pictures of the exact same thing.

And also the next day. And again the day after that.

I could have spent three full days just looking at those swatch books, to be honest.

I mean, look at that!!

With our orders being processed, we had a little free time before meeting up with the other participants for a local tour and dinner. Kym and I decided we had just enough time to dash out for a visit to The Wall, aka, Tom Hendrix's Wall, aka Te-lah-nay's Wall.

It's an incredible place, with an incredible story.

Peaceful, beautiful, contemplative, surprising.

We could have spent a lot more time there, too, but I'm thankful we were able to find the time to visit at all. We went back to Florence and met our group at The Shoals Gold Record Room to board a trolley and go on a Swampette Tour of FAME and Muscle Shoals studios.

I had been looking forward to that for a while, having even made a special playlist way back in August, and it was truly fantastic -- everyone enjoyed it and most weren't music nerds! Our tour guide was Judy Hood, a Swampette by virtue of having married one David Hood, bass player and original member of The Swampers, and true enthusiast of music*, the history of the music and these studios in The Shoals, community, preservation, and more. She was a delight!

Workshop Days 2 & 3 were spent exploring and learning more about garment construction and techniques. We had some lovely meals at The Factory Cafe (breakfast+lunch, brunch), and met Natalie; we had front-row seats at a talk/presentation she gave about the company's history. Everyone we met during the workshop was really wonderful -- Olivia, Maggie, Erin, Corey, Leslie, Bonnie, Diane (to name a few). Oh, to return someday... I still dream about the week-long workshops (either one, or both)!

On Sunday, Kym & I drove back to Nashville and another lovely Airbnb, first stopping to take photos of a cotton field. I had never seen anything like it before, though, if you cover the bottom part of that photo with your hand, it looks an awful lot like the snow-covered farm fields with which I am familiar!

We stopped at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens on the way for a much-needed walk & nature break, and it was simply gorgeous.

I was more than a little intrigued by at least parts of these pique assiette mosaic pieces (the term for which I learned just now -- who knew?).

It was certainly not the most beautiful time of year to visit a garden, but it was far from ugly; I don't think there's ever an "ugly" season in a well-designed garden. They were just beginning to ready their holiday displays, so we even got a little peek at some of the lighted garden features (which were pretty cool even in afternoon light).

I winged my way home and have barely had a chance to catch my breath since... Ali's shop remodel started the very next day, I'm trying to help with the kids as much as I can, Thanksgiving came & went, there was an ill-timed but previously planned (and much enjoyed) trip to Saint Louis, holiday party season is upon us, and Christmas is... what? 18 days away? Will I get my tree up???

I truly enjoyed every minute of that trip. I caught my breath only once at the beginning, when I realized that I'd be spending nearly a week with a woman that I'd previously met for lunch and a beer and to look at some art for a couple of hours, but we couldn't have gotten along better, and it was fun getting to know more about each other.

I've barely had time to even look at my Car Jacket project... ideas are percolating, and it'll be there when I'm ready!

*except rap. She told us that Dr. Dre/Beats Electronics is a supporter of the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation and that, as a grateful member of the board, she supposed she should learn to like it! More than a few of us suggested that Hamilton would be a good place to start!  ;)

The wind & rain was hard enough to wake me up on Saturday night, even before the front screen door got caught and started banging! Sunday morning dawned lovely & bright, though.

We began with leisurely coffee & breakfast, then cleaning & packing up for the trip home.

After all of my whirlwind travel this year -- especially the dashing through Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Saint Louis -- Annie says that perhaps I should consider adding a day to all of my future travel plans.

I didn't take that advice for this little jaunt, but that's exactly why we only went to the U.P.!

We checked out right on time and headed over to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge to enjoy the 7-mile Marshland Wildlife Drive. Yes! I spotted the eagle nest (but not eagles). It was so beautiful and quiet... except for the trumpeting swans and whatnot. We spotted a few swan families -- the young swans almost as big as their parents, but still unmistakably gray.

From there, we drove toward Manistique and Kitch-iti-kipi (The Big Spring), and was that ever worth the price of admission (even Rusty agreed)! I am sure that this would have been incredible even in the rain, but I'm so glad that it was sunny & bright!

We're waiting for the self-operated observation raft to return, top, and Rusty's straight across (in pink) peering through the middle of the boat during our voyage, above.

He's looking at something like this! Those are all fish... and their shadows. If you look closely, you can see some circular patterns in the sandy bottom and those are where the water that feeds this spring bubbles through -- at the rate of 10,000 gallons per minute! It was mesmerizing. All of it.

The water is super-clear! And chilly!

Twice, I heard a fish jump, and was then even more mesmerized by the "waves of light" left by the ripples as they moved across the water, the shadows crawling across the sandy bottom; I barely captured it in this photo (dumbstruck, I was)!

We drove down to Garden in the Garden Peninsula, had lunch overlooking the bay, and then hit the road for home in earnest. We arrived at around 4:30 -- in time to sit down and enjoy the second half of the Packer game with Kate (we won, yahoo!).

It was a damp  & drippy on Saturday morning. We'd planned to visit Tahquamenon Falls, and figured that a waterfall would be pretty even in the rain... and, since it was raining, thought we might practically have the place to ourselves.

Hahaha. Well, we got the first part right, though the rain let up and it was barely a mist by the time we arrived... to find a nearly full parking lot!! 

That's the Upper Falls -- one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It is beautiful beyond words!

We drove up to the Lower Falls and took a quick look... while also incredibly beautiful, there was a bit of a hike to get a really good look... but mostly there were people! Instead, we decided to visit Whitefish Point; Rusty was intrigued after seeing a billboard!

But first, a quick little lunch at the park concession stand.

My share of a dish of "Michigan Pothole" ice cream for dessert!

A drippy drive.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and the Whitefish Point Light Station are located at Whitefish Point.

a.k.a. Graveyard of the Great Lakes.

The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her

I was in high school about 30 miles south of Lake Superior in 1975, and the wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald was huge news.

While Rusty took a blustery hike around the Point...

I worked on a new hat for Gin that I'd cast on over morning coffee.

We re-traced our steps through Tahquamenon on our return, and decided to check out one of the hiking paths. It was a short, squishy little hike and we didn't go very far, but I found so many mushrooms!

I'd recently gone to a presentation about mushrooms at our local nature center, so it was really fun to spot some that we'd talked about! Nature is cool.

On the way back to our place, we drove by a derelict motel and were intrigued enough to make a u-turn in order to investigate more.

This, one of many roadside motels that we passed by, reminded us of a storybook cottage/village. Unfortunately, most are in a similar state, though I'd argue that this one holds some treasures within. It was as if time stood still... someone turned that sign to "CLOSED" one day, and never looked back (though I think they might still live next door). Recession, astronomical gas prices, changes in the way people spend their vacation time... whatever the reason they closed in the first place (and not terribly long ago, as all of the little cottages had satellite dishes affixed), the weather is definitely taking it's toll now.

We returned to our little cottage long enough to wipe a little of the mud off of ourselves and watch a bit of sunset before heading out for dinner. We went just a few miles up the road to Chamberlin's Ole Forest Inn -- where we didn't have a reservation because, I don't know... we seriously underestimated the goings-on of October in the U.P.! It was only a half-hour wait, and a gorgeous evening to sit on the porch with a cocktail. Rusty enjoyed stuffed whitefish and I had the most delectable pan-fried bluegill. It was cozy & charming!

Stay tuned for Day 2!

Rusty & I skipped town just as soon as we were able on Friday, headed north to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for a quick weekend getaway.

We stayed in a little cottage at Lakeshore Resort on South Manistique Lake that I'd found on Airbnb. After stopping for dinner and crossing from Central to Eastern time, we didn't arrive until about 11pm... unpacked and went to bed, set for a full day ahead!

It stormed on both Friday & Saturday nights, and was rainy & wet on Saturday, but we managed to do the things & go the places we'd wanted (and then some), and the colors were beautiful! I brought along this pair of Merrell clogs that Ann had given me when  she moved to Spain. I'd never worn them and almost gave them back to her over the summer, but I'm so glad I didn't! They were perfect for some of the "squish" hiking we did, but comfy & cute, too; that's always where I'm at in regards to shoes, no matter the occasion! ;)

I'll be back with more -- details & photos (so many photos)! I hope you had a great weekend!

It was two weeks ago today that we high-tailed it down to St. Louis, so it's about time to wrap up the travelogue!

It was Sunday morning and we took a last walk down to the Arch.

Then we checked out of our hotel and made our way to the St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM). "Dedicated to Art and Free to All."

SLAM is located within beautiful Forest Park, along with the St. Louis Zoo, the Missouri History Museum, and more.

Kate was interested in taking in the contemporary art collection but we'd also been given tickets to the special exhibition, Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015... and we managed to do both. I'll let the photos do most of the talking... it all sort of blew me away!

I see Rod Stewart!

I'm pretty sure my brother had this shirt.

Amazing Zoot suit!

Unisex Caftan, 1970, designed by Rudi Gernreich

The fabrics and colors were amazing!

These are tiny samples of wool knit bathing suit designs!

I don't know why, but I've a soft spot for the Pearly Kings & Queens!

The contemporary art was also amazing...

White Combustion, 1960, Alberto Burri

...and also more Wayne Thiebaud pie (Cafeteria Counter, 1961)!

And then we turned the car for home. It was another fun, whirlwind trip... and I sure do hope to get back there someday!

I will leave you with this:

And a wish for a fabulous weekend! You're welcome.  :)

We arrived in St. Louis late Saturday morning, and our first stop was for food!

We landed at The Urban Chestnut (midtown), so also had to have a beer(s)! It was pretty quiet when we arrived, but then a group of bicyclists rode in and between-time wedding guests (we decided) walked over from a nearby church. The food menu was sparse but excellent, and the beer selection was pretty great too!

Next stop was Bellefontaine Cemetery. I've been wanting to visit that cemetery for a dozen years or more... and I will need to go back. Our purpose this time was to visit the family plot where some of Rusty's & the kids' ancestors & relation are buried. He visited many years ago and brought back photos and rubbings and a drawing of the plot, but I've wanted to visit in person ever since!

The plot is oval (as many in the cemetery are) and the graves are arranged in within the oval, headstones all facing toward the center. The tall monument is for one Wilson McGunnegle, Rusty's great great uncle.

These are Wilson's parents -- Rusty's great great grandparents -- Elizabeth Starr & George K. McGunnegle (one of a great many GKMcGs... and I thought my ancestors were stuck in a naming rut!).

There are numerous familial military ties. Wilson was a Lieutenant in the Navy (beautiful nautical motifs decorate his monument at Bellefontaine); his son, Col. George K. McGunnegle (of course!) was an Infantryman; his sister Clara was wife of Brigadier General John Wynn "Black Jack" Davidson, both originally interred at Bellefontaine and later moved to Arlington National Cemetery.

It's all so interesting!!

The next stop was to pick up artwork -- the impetus for the trip in the first place -- but Kate swung by and dropped me at KNITORIOUS first!

This place has also been on my list since practically forever! It wasn't long after I began this blog that I came to know Sandy. She opened a yarn shop in St. Louis and I began blogging about knitting from NE Wisconsin, both in 2004, and we both called our ventures KNITORIOUS! We've been in touch on and off ever since -- giggling over things like a Target commercial (below, from 2010, notably at the :23 mark).

She's long known of my desire to visit, and it was such a treat to finally get there!

The space is truly wonderful -- open, well lit, and so much room! A dedicated classroom area (above), a more informal area with comfy seating beyond the magazine racks (below), not to mention a third table space near the front door, quite full of knitters while I was there!

Panoramic view of Knitorious!

A visit with Sandy -- on my list since 2004!

The yarn selection is lovely -- terrific product lines and plenty in stock.

I bought some Loft, which I've never used before (in truth, it's my first Brooklyn Tweed yarn of any type!), to make a Seeds Hat or two.

And I can't seem to pass the Unicorn Tails without snatching a few.

But this... KNITORIOUS Yarn!

Beautiful, rare natural colors of undyed Merino wool from Missouri's own Genopalette. It's all fingering weight, the three above and the marled are 100% merino, the white at bottom left has some silk. It's really terrific and I can't wait to knit with it!

Big whoop-de-doers that we are, our night life consisted of a walk to the Old Courthouse and Gateway Arch, dinner at nearby Caleco's Bar & Grill, watching Cardinals fans, tuning into the NFL Network from our hotel to catch a little Packers preseason football, and lights-out at 9:30pm... we were both SO TIRED!! So catching some actual nightlife & music is another good reason for returning to St. Louis!

We managed one more pretty sweet stop on Sunday morning before heading home... I'll share all about that sometime over the weekend or early next week. I have a few "chores" over the weekend, but it's mainly shaping up to be pretty quiet. Sweet!! I hope the same for you!

Last weekend's spontaneous trip to St. Louis, MO, with Kate helps the checking off of a larger "bucket list" item of mine, and that is to visit as an adult all the cities that I lived in as a child. The list also includes:

• Milwaukee, WI (check)
• Escanaba, MI (check)
• Denver, CO
• Toledo/Columbus/Cleveland, OH
• Toronto, ON
• Chicago/Highland Park, IL (check)

We were fully prepared to depart when I finished work at 5pm on Friday, but I was lucky enough to get off at 1 instead. Kate had an after-5 appointment to deliver some artwork in Madison, giving us time to detour to Milwaukee for a stop at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Seriously, is that not one of the most beautiful structures in the world? Even the lower-level parking is striking. Someday, I'm going to camp out and watch the "wings" open/close.

The main reason for our stop was the exhibition Rashid Johnson: Hail We Now Sing Joy

We were not there at a time when we could hear Antoine's Organ "come alive," but alive it was... relevant.

We had time to swing through a couple of other areas.

Refrigerator Pies, 1962, Wayne Thiebaud

Bluffs, 2009, Tara Donovan, buttons and glue (!!!)

Modernity Circa 1952, Mirrored and Reflected Infinitely, 2004, Josiah McElheny

From there we drove to Madison, where Kate made her delivery, and we had dinner.

Then we hit the road for St. Louis... we didn't make it that far on Friday night, though, construction & traffic making for angsty driving. We stopped overnight near Oglesby, IL, and set the alarm clock for an early start on Saturday!

To be continued, as usual... we packed a whole lot into just a couple of days!!  :)

Especially with timing & the connections we wanted to make early in the trip -- Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona -- the goal was to pack for a week abroad in ONE CARRY-ON SUITCASE + ONE PERSONAL ITEM (allowances of the airline). A new personal best!!

I used a hard-sided suitcase that fit the measurement requirements (21.5 x 15.5 x 9.5 inches) and a large imitation leather tote. The tote had both hand/shoulder straps and a cross-body strap -- I need options with a bag like that! It had one large zip pocket on one side, which was perfect for my wallet, and two smaller zip pockets on the other side, one of which worked well for my glasses case, and the other... keys & things that I needed to have with me but wouldn't be using while away.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to carry that large tote everywhere/everyday, I packed my new Baggallini Medium Avenue Tote inside the suitcase. It folded nice & flat and took up practically no space at all. The only downside to this (and mostly because of our nuts-o itinerary) was that I kept having to switching stuff between bags, which wasn't difficult, just a lot of back & forth sometimes.

I had also ordered a Baggallini Everywhere Bagg, but ended up returning it; even though I really loved the idea of the zipper that allows the bag to be slipped over the handle of a suitcase, I did not love the bag itself. I do, however, LOVE the Medium Avenue Tote and have since ordered the larger version (which has that luggage zipper thing) and think the two will make a great travel combo in the future. I've actually been using the Medium Avenue Tote as my regular purse since we returned.

Inside the carry-on tote:

• A couple of small knitting projects (never used)
• A tablet & headset (never used)
• Cell phone, earbuds, charger
• Wallet
• Sunglasses
• Travel dossier
• Liquids
• Ibuprofen, kleenex, hairbands
• Shawl

Travel duds:

I knew comfort & layers would be important. The shirt is one of my favorites, a lightweight, long (& longer in the back) knit top that I've had for a year or so. Scratchy tags drive me nuts, so I have no idea who made it. The pants are a heavy-weight knit from J. Jill that I've also had for a while; they are longer than they look -- about ankle length -- they hold up well and keep their shape. The long sweater is also from J. Jill, purchased earlier this year when we went to Florida; it is a lightweight knit with pockets and a hood. I don't usually like hoods, but this is so lightweight that it's barely there -- and, it came in handy to pull that extra fabric up around my neck (airplanes can be cold!) (I used the shawl, too!).

Pants/Skirts:

The other "bottoms" in my suitcase were a pair of J. Jill medium-weight knit capris, a pair of Eileen Fisher knit capris, and an Eileen Fisher skirt. I have quite a few pairs of the J. Jill capris and consider them my go-to at home/work in the summertime. They were a little heavy for the weather we experienced, as they don't really breathe very well. The Eileen Fisher pieces were definitely purchased on sale, and have been in my closet for at least a year or two. I never actually wore those EF capris out of the house before, but I loved them on this trip and wore them most; they were the lightest weight of all (though not "lightweight") -- and it was HOT in Spain!! The EF skirt is made of the same material as the capris, and has a little shape to it at the bottom; I wore it once, with my new Alabama Chanin tunic.

What is definitely on my wish list for my next warm-weather trip are some lightweight "hiking" pants/capris!

A note here about PACKING CUBES!

Maddy raved about packing cubes last summer, as she was perfecting her "packing for 9 months in a backpack" technique, and I immediately ordered an Amazon Basics 4-Piece Set for myself. I've used them a few times now and pack socks & unders in the small one; layer & roll up 2-3 items at a time -- tops/sweaters & pants/skirts/dresses -- in the medium sizes; and have not actually used the largest one yet (it is pretty big). Rolling instead of folding allows SO much more to be packed and, I think, reduces wrinkles by quite a lot. The packing cubes keep like items together and a bit more organized. I even used them for our quick weekend at the Flowage; stuff doesn't end up in a jumble!

Dress up:

I brought one dress. This was a fairly recent purchase from J. Jill, and it added some color to my otherwise (you may have noticed) very black wardrobe! I wore this dress once, on Saturday/Beach Day with (at times) the long hooded sweater; I love this dress. I brought a couple pairs of "slip shorts" along, my favorite being this pair by Maidenform (not really "shapewear" at all), as I find it makes wearing a dress/skirt much more comfortable -- especially in the heat.

Tops I wore:

Top to bottom:

• Eileen Fisher Knit Boatneck
• J. Jill Tencil Top
• J. Jill Short Sleeve (worn with a black knit cami, not shown)
• Target/Merona Knit V-Neck (still black/neutral, but pattern!)
• Alabama Chanin A-line Magdalena Tunic
• J. Jill Cotton 3/4-sleeve Mesh-knit Sweater

Except for the sweater, which I wore a few times, and the AC tunic, which I wore twice, I think I wore each of these once. I'm glad I brought a mix of sleeveless & short sleeves and different necklines, as there was a lot of time in the sun and it was nice to be able to cover up a bit.

Tops I brought but didn't wear:

Top to bottom:

• J. Jill Linen Tunic
• Alabama Chanin-esque Polka-dot Boatneck
• Old Navy V-Neck

I really wanted to wear that tunic, and even put it on one morning, but I already had a sunburn and it was too rough against my skin! I love the other two tops, but realize that I prefer to wear them with more structured (woven) pants or jeans, which I did not have. I'd also packed a white knit cami... but why? White with all this black? Needless to say, I never wore that either.

Shoes:

I wore my tennies while traveling, as they were the bulkiest; I also brought along two three pairs of sandals. Footwear is tough, especially since I have a tendency to swell when flying. We walked so much, and I definitely wore the tennies most; I wasn't able to wear one pair of sandals due to swelling, was happy to have the other two to switch between.

Miscellaneous:

I stripped my toiletries case to the bare minimum for travel, and so it remains! It "helped" to have a separate bag for the liquids & pastes, and the rest of it fit into a regular size makeup bag.

In addition to everything else, don't forget that I had a box of graham crackers and a box of cheez-its in my suitcase! That actually left a nice space, when we returned, to pack the few items I bought.

I have a few of these Brazilian Canga towels -- they are very lightweight and fold/wad up nicely. I brought this one along and it came in very handy at the beach, both for sitting upon and as a sun block.

Ann & Brian had a washer at their apartment and the girls & I did a collective load of laundry there. That wasn't absolutely necessary, but it was nice. As mentioned, it was HOT, and it was nice to freshen things up a bit!

I briefly considered bringing my big camera, but ended up leaving it at home... and I'm so glad I did. While there were some pretty amazing photo ops, it's just too big and heavy to lug around on a trip like this. Thankfully, my phone does a decent job (Samsung Galaxy S7).

That's it, I think! I hope that helps those of you who are interested and have baggage-limited trips of your own coming up! I'm happy to elaborate or clarify or answer any questions you might have.

Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.
--Frank Borman

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I left Green Bay on Tuesday - Fat Tuesday - bound for New Orleans, with a stop in Chicago. It was very foggy in Green Bay and there was a lot of turbulence on the first leg of my trip. (I learned that later flights from Green Bay that day had been cancelled.) I don't know if the pilots tried to get around it, or what, but we ended up arriving at O'Hare 15 minutes late and I had less than an hour to make my connection to begin with -- others had even less time. Anyway, I wasn't the only one sprinting through the airport -- luckily, the shuttle was perfectly timed -- and I made it! The waiting area was empty, the sign said "final boarding," and I was the last one to get on the plane. Whew!

I arrived in New Orleans at around 3 p.m. and took a cab from the airport to Ann's Airbnb in the Warehouse District. It was too late to see any parades, though I did see some floats on the freeway (with people still on board) from the taxi. I had a few minutes to kill before Annie could leave her conference, so found a nice place nearby and sat down for a beer. It was 80F outside, so a little sit down with cold refreshment was quite welcome.

Back at the Airbnb, we put our feet up for a few minutes and contemplated options for dinner. We ended up at Restaurant August, on the recommendation of one of Ann's friends. It was a lovely dinner in a beautiful space. We (and everyone who dined there that evening) were served a special dish to welcome us -- the most unusual and amazing brown butter custard, topped with cauliflower puree, with a crispy/roasted bit of cauliflower on top of that, all served in an eggshell and presented in an egg cup. It was just a spoonful or two or three, and so unusual not to mention delicious. Ann & I split a hot appetizer on the recommendation of our waiter (we'd been considering only cold options) - potato gnocchi with blue crab, black truffle & parmesan (turns out, I like truffles just not truffle oil) (same thing with almonds vs. almond extract); our entrees were "breaded" flounder with wild mushrooms, shrimp & crab fat, and roasted Mangrove snapper with tasso crab rice & pepper roasted oyster; for dessert we split grapefruit Pavolva with pistachio meringues, local honey (from an apiary on the "north shore" -- of what, I asked -- of Lake Pontchartrain), and rosemary ice cream. Oh, and cocktails! Mine was The Girl from Ipanema (cachaca, oolong tea, lemon, vanilla & sparkling wine) and Ann's was La Pasion Caliente (Cabeza tequila, lime, cilantro, jalapeno & passionfruit). That's a meal to remember!

And then... BOURBON STREET!! I don't have a lot to say about that -- it was crazy, packed, and fun. Not my normal kind of scene but, you know, when in Rome... or New Orleans!

Ann still had a conference day on Wednesday, so I had the day to myself... and a plan.

I took a walk down Magazine Street to Stein's Deli, recommended by Mary on an earlier post, grabbing a coffee at French Truck Coffee on the way.

Seriously, the internet -- whether a blog or Facebook or Instagram -- is just the best thing these days when a person is traveling and looking for recommendations. I was not disappointed -- Stein's was amazing. I took a number of panoramic photos on the trip, and this was the first from my seat at Stein's, awaiting my delicious turkey sandwich. Atmosphere and people watching... where it's at!

From Stein's, it was a just a little slide to the left on my way back for a stop at the Needlework Vault. That was a fun shop -- three very chatty ladies, one of whom was formerly a policewoman and a story or two about Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street. I found a little yarn and also a small New Orleans-themed cross-stitch chart.

On the way home, I spotted the unmistakable triangular tip of a shawl draped over the back of a chair on the monument above and, of course, needed to investigate further! Turns out, I was in Margaret Square, admiring the lovely shawl (and amazing hairstyle) of Margaret Haughery, known as "The Bread Woman of New Orleans" and "Mother of Orphans," among other things.

Did I mention the weather? Wednesday was also 80F with the dew point at 72! I took my second shower of the day before noon!! Then I walked up a flight of stairs to the roof where I took this 360 panorama of the view. You can see the Crescent City Connection right about in the middle. The "mushroom" building that appears on each side of the photo is called Plaza Tower, and has been vacant & unused since 2002. It's a bit of an eyesore -- okay, fine, it's downright ugly -- full of toxic mold and asbestos.

We hoofed it everywhere, as neither of us rented a car and, as established, it was 80 degrees on Wednesday & I'd already taken two showers, so I decided to explore my transportation options before heading out again, and settled on mass transit. Bus and trolley stops were nearby, plus there was an app and a $3 day pass. I hopped a trolley and set out for the French Quarter -- destination The Quarter Stitch. That's a lovely shop and, of course, I found a few more things to buy -- including a souvenir fleur-de-lis needle gauge, some 8" US 2 DPNs, and a Crazy Zauberball.

Yes! I jumped! Thanks to Mason-Dixon Knitting and A Year of Techniques, I am knitting helical stripes. (More about that later... it's so cool!)

I hopped a trolley for the return trip, but my inexperience as a user of mass transit showed as I missed my stop and, la-di-da-di-da, ended up riding to the end of the line! I hopped off and got back on and was only 40+/- stops and an hour late meeting Ann. It was a nice main-drag tour of the Garden District, though!

We'd planned to go to a concert at Lafayette Square on Wednesday evening, but nothing was happening when we showed up -- it's possible that it was cancelled due to the threat of thunderstorms. It's not like you can't find music & food in New Orleans... so we did a quick little search and ended up at Killer Poboys at Erin Rose. Hello yum.

We also did some club-hopping and dancing! I may even have had a seat on the "LOVE TRAIN" that snaked through Fat Catz...

Thankfully, Thursday dawned much cooler and less humid. We'd wanted to go on a tour of some sort, and decided on bikes. Andrew was our most excellent (and truthful) guide on the Queen of the South tour at FreeWheelin' Bike Tours - a little bit of history, a little bit of architecture, a whole lotta fun.

From the moment I knew I was going to New Orleans, I knew I wanted to eat at Emeril's -- it makes me think of Maddy because she was such a fan of his TV show -- and that's where we had reservations for dinner on Thursday evening. It was just a bit more casual than Restaurant August, which suited us, but the service was just as fine or better -- Herman & Tim stood out and were most helpful & attentive. Ann & I shared Emeril's New Orleans BBQ Shrimp appetizer (served with a delicious petite rosemary biscuit), Ann had drum and I had swordfish, and it was free banana cream pie day, so we split that for dessert. Oh, cocktails: I had the "Grasshopper" -- not the ice cream version -- it was made with Hendrick's gin, cucumber water, lime juice, wheatgrass, and jalapeno simple syrup (yes, it had some zip!), and Ann had a Moscow Mule (she'd never had one before).

We hung out a little closer to home that night, having a beverage and then catching a free comedy show at The Howlin' Wolf.

We started slowly on Friday. Ann had to deal with a little stomach bug in the wee hours of the morning, and thankfully that's all it was. Eventually, we headed out for beignets!!

And a really good sandwich, too, but BEIGNETS... at Cafe Beignet! We went to the Royal Street location because if it's good enough for Alton Brown... oh, so yummy.

Ann had an order from Addy in Spain for Cheez-Its, so we were in need of a grocery store... we contemplated taking Lyft to a big box store, but prices were still pretty jacked and those would be some pretty expensive crackers! We stopped and asked a pedicab driver if there were any full-size grocers nearby and we ended up getting a ride to Rouse's. She stocked up on things like peanut butter, cereal, and snacks (I'd already fulfilled an order for a couple bottles of maple syrup), and then we carried it all back to our flat -- stopping for refreshment on the way!

Our final restaurant destination was Peche on Friday evening. This was the most casual of our "fine dining" establishments. We'd been shown directly to our tables at Restaurant August and at Emeril's, and made it a point to arrive early at Peche in order to enjoy the scene and a drink at the bar. I had a delicious cocktail called Morris Day (Nolet's dry gin, thyme, grapefruit, lemon & tonic) and Ann had the Gintilly Shakedown (Hendrick's gin, ginger, cucumber, lemon & cava). Actually, I had two.

And oysters!! I'd never had raw oysters before... so that was interesting, and good! Meanwhile, Ann had struck up a conversation with the woman sitting next to her and we got on so well that we invited her to join us for dinner. Turns out she's originally from Michigan, is a knitter and omni-crafter, and her husband was our bartender! We chatted & laughed & ate the most amazing food -- a collection of shared small plates including steak tartar, caviar, snapper collar, fish sticks, and tuna spread. And also wine.

Ann and I talked about going out for a bit more music & dancing, but we were pooped by the time we got back...

And I had to be curb-side, waiting for my cab, at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning! Ann's departure was a bit later, but she had a lot of packing to do.

When I checked in at the airport in New Orleans, there was a message at check-in that the flight from Chicago to Green Bay was overbooked and I had the option of possibly taking a later flight in return for a voucher. And that's exactly what I did. I had knitting, an audio book, and all day. I was more than happy to take a travel voucher (and a few meal vouchers) in exchange for my seat!

Too early to return? There's SO MUCH left to do!! We didn't go to a single museum and didn't hear nearly enough music!

Meanwhile, Ann informed me that next year's conference is in Nashville! And as I spent the day at O'Hare, Kate was busy booking our flights to SPAIN!!

What's that they say??   A rolling stone gathers no moss...

We went to Florida!

We visited the Keys and the Everglades.

Everglades National Park

We visited the beach.

We visited a Japanese garden and museum.

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

And we flew home again.

There were some other things, but I'll have to fill you in later. The weather was perfect (outside of a midnight tornado warning on our last night) and we had a great time!

I kept up on the news as best I could, especially in regard to the March(es) on Saturday. I was thrilled to receive emails and photos from TWO of the three recipients of my Pussyhat Project hats. So cool. I'm hoping to share that, too.

Meanwhile, re-entry is a bitch. On top of which, I drive down to O'Hare after work today to pick up Kate from her London-Paris-Edinburgh adventure! At least we'll have lots to talk about on the drive home.  :)

We were this >< close last week to booking crazy-low priced flights to Valencia. Alas, sometimes it's really hard to get your ducks to line up in a timely & efficient manner, and by the time all was situated, the sale was over... we missed it by hours. It was heartbreaking; I even lost sleep over it. Ugh.

The bug had bitten!

Kate's making plans for a UK/France visit in early winter; Rusty's making summertime CA plans; and I will likely go to Spain in June, hopefully overlapping a bit with Maddy & Kate as they meet up during summer travels.

In the meantime, I'm taking Annie up on her offer to come & stay in New Orleans at the end of February when she's there for a conference. She'll be there for a week; I'll head down mid-week... we'll have evenings and perhaps an afternoon or two together. I've already scouted yarn stores. I think we'll catch a concert in a nearby park one evening, and maybe go to Emeril's for dinner on another... what shouldn't I/we miss??

Speaking of Emeril and food and travel, I really enjoyed his Amazon show, Eat The World. His show on Food Network was one of Maddy's favorites when she was a kid, and we'd often watch together... so perhaps I've a little soft spot for Emeril. BAM!  ;)

Create Your Own Visited States Map*

I am looking forward to coloring in this map (and my world map) a little bit more in 2017!

*According to my rules, if I've driven/traveled across you numerous times and/or got lost in your mountains for an afternoon, I've "visited" you.

I used to say that my mother had more style in her little finger than all of her children had combined -- and none of my siblings would disagree with me. She always looked great -- even at work! She was a surgical nurse and hated wearing the required headwear, but found fabrics she liked and made her own! She had a very distinct style and a clear understanding of what she liked and what worked for her.

Fashion and style were never all that important to me -- I was always more about comfort, though I drew the line at sweatpants (overheating being the biggest reason). I'd have my moments, and there were even some things that Mom & I could share -- we'd traded stuff since I was in high school, even though our "styles" were quite different. I've become a bit more interested in developing and figuring out My Style over the past couple of years, and it appears that my interest is growing now that my #1 style icon is no longer with us. Taking up the torch, perhaps; missing her; paying homage. Surprising myself, I've even added a few "over-50" style blogs to my list of blog reads, and created a couple of boards on Polyvore for this post! ha.

Also, I was quite pleased about successfully paring down my packing list for our recent vacation to Mexico! After struggling up a couple flights of stairs in Glasgow last spring while juggling/dragging a large bag and two suitcases full of crap I never used, I finally learned the lesson. (Not to mention lugging it all through airports, shuttles, the streets of Edinburgh, and various locations in the Highlands.) (Similar lesson during our first UK trip having completely bounced off my brain.)

This time, I gave a little more thought into what I was packing and how it all worked together and fit everything into two bags -- a single checked suitcase and a large carry-on bag. Granted, I still had at least one pair of space-hogging shoes too many in the suitcase, though thankfully it was mostly sandals and not boots! My large leather  carry-on held camera, lenses, tablet, phone, chargers, earbuds, all travel papers, sunglasses, chapstick, tissues, ibuprofen, and even a small knitting project. That's it! No extra carry-on and no purse to juggle!!

The leather bag is heavy even when empty, but it was so much easier to switch up when I wasn't juggling it in addition to another carry-on and/or a purse. The bag also has adjustable straps and it can be carried in many ways, including as a backpack. My recently finished Tasha bag was packed in my checked bag and I used that for day-to-day running around during vacation -- it was perfect!

I really don't mind checking a bag, so my goal was never to fit everything into a carry-on, but it's sure nice to be a little more efficient and, especially, to not lug around stuff that I use only once... or never.

For the record, and with an eye on possible improvement next time, here's what I packed  and how each item fared. I've used the roll-up method of packing for years to optimize space and minimize wrinkles. (Except for the Karina dress, the Eileen Fisher dress, the Fluevogs and the Keens -- all recent sale/reward acquisitions -- it's all stuff that I've owned, most of it for quite a while.)

• Karina Dresses "Audrey" (shown below) - wore 2-3 times
• J. Jill mid-length tie-die dress (shown above) - wore 2-3 times
• Eileen Fisher long black dress - wore once
• Eileen Fisher navy tunic - wore once
• J. Jill black tunic - wore 3-4 times
• Coldwater Creek long black sweater - wore on the plane
• Merona black shrug (similar, shown below) - wore almost every evening
• (2) Eileen Fisher tanks (taupe, gray) - one of these would have been fine
• (2) J. Jill knit capris (black, gray) - one of thesewould have been fine
• (2) Lysse Women's Cotton Capri Leggings (navy, white) (shown above) - wore white 2-3 times
• (2) Black leggings - wore 3-4 times
• (2) Bathing suits - wore one - didn't really need either of these
• Undergarments, socks - wore a pair of socks when I wore the tennies
• (3) Shawls, scarves - used only one
• Brazilian Canga towel + a long dress made from a canga - used the canga a lot on the beach, and never wore the dress as a dress, but used it to drape around my neck/shoulders - they're very lightweight and easy to tote
• Wolky sandals - wore a lot 
• Taos sandals (shown above) - wore a lot
• Keen closed-toe sling-backs - wore on the plane to Mexico
• Fluevog sandals (shown below) - wore two evenings
• Tennis shoes - wore on the boat
• Sun hat (similar, shown above) - wore everyday
• Tasha hand-knit bag (similar, shown above) - used everyday

I'd leave a few pairs of leggings at home, for sure, as well as a few pairs of socks and at least one of those bathing suits. The longer black dress was in case I needed something slightly dressier for an evening, the navy tunic was the only piece other than a sweater that wasn't sleeveless. I've actually just ordered a couple more cangas because those things are wonderful and summer is coming! And shoes... well, at least sandals don't take up THAT much room!

What are your best packing tips?