It was a very quick trip — Friday to Sunday — but so worth it. The weather wasn’t that great, but we we not deterred and much of our time was spent outside. Luckily, it rained mostly at night.
There was some fishing! My Uncle Jim rigged a small ice-fishing rod with a bobber at the end (no hook) for Davy and he was the happiest of clams! It was the perfect size & gave him an opportunity to perfect his cast without getting caught on anything/anyone. Jim also took Junah out fishing, and they both caught little bluegills… not keepers, though. The water is SUPER low and fishing hasn’t been that great.
The leaves are turning — there was much more on our way out than in, and will likely peak in the next week or two. And there were chores! Junah helped Jim with some transportation needs, and they put up a birdhouse that needed a new pole.
Maddy’s friend Katy came up north, too. They’ve been BFFs since grade school, gone to summer camp together, were roomies in college & after college, and camp counselors during college summers. Once a camper/counselor, always a camper/counselor… and they’re also crafters! Katy brought some supplies, and nearly everyone made an easy & forgiving friendship bracelet/anklet. Ginny made one for her BFF, Ivy, and added beads!
Davy was rarely without his little fishing pole. 🙂
This is Jim’s 15yo golden doodle, named Bogey. He’s a big dog and those 15 years translate to 100 +/- in human years. It’s showing. Mobility is severely limited, and he’s mostly deaf. I’m afraid we all may have stressed him out a little, though he did get lots of love.
These four were headed out on a father + daughters walk. I should have at least handed my phone to someone for a mother + daughters pic!
He turned 6 on Friday, but Davy’s a little old soul. Watching & poking the fire, chatting with Jim… or JAMES as he started calling him once he learned that Jim & Jimmy were nicknames for James! So funny.
In other news, the girls & Kate were to embark on their road trip to the Badlands today, but it’s clear that Ginny’s not ready to enjoy all that a trip like that would offer, so they’ve postponed it until late spring/early summer. Her foot is healing, but she’s not walking without assistance or putting much weight on it. Oh well, I have that much more time to assemble their activity kits.
I have two bins that I use in rotation while crocheting the granny squares — one that I pull from, and one in which used colors are deposited. I usually nest things together out of the way when I’m finished hooking for the day, but one day I forgot… and Kai mildly jostled a few balls of Felted Tweed. She was discovered before long, and no harm done, really. But then I did it again… and that ball of cumin didn’t fare so well! I managed to salvage a few balls.
When the kiddos were over a couple of days ago, Ginny brought some stitching to show.
She & Malina are going on a road trip with Kate to the Badlands National Park in a little over a week & I’ve been putting together travel activity kits for them — books, notebooks, pens & markers, National Parks Passports, stickers, travel games, etc. I want to send some crafty things, too, including fabric & yarn for sewing, weaving, and maybe even crochet/knitting. Ginny got a huge gash in the bottom of her foot a couple of weeks ago (requiring many stitches) while playing on a natural water slide — she found a sharp rock, or maybe a piece of glass — so she’s been pursuing more sedentary pastimes while it heals, as she’s not supposed to put any weight on her foot. The folks at urgent care had to pull a fishing hook out of her finger at the same time. She’s a trooper.
I really don’t have any new work to show, myself. I’ve had an allergy/cold thing going on, and the Felted Tweed fuzz was a bit much the last time I picked it up — possibly all in my head, but yeah… lots of sneezing & whatnot made me put it down.
Last Friday, I met Maddy & her friend Katy at Ann’s, and we all went to the The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show — and loved it!
I’m sharing a slideshow of some of the photos I took — some incredible work! The vendors were amazing, too.
Originally, I was going to stay at Ann’s on Saturday night, too, and bring Maddy home with me on Sunday. Turns out, she was able to ride up with a friend, after all, so I went home on Saturday — with a slight detour to Jefferson for Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival. I enjoyed walking through the barns, even though it was really hot — two big barns, as opposed to three times (?) that many at Rhinebeck… it’s like a mini version, and some shared vendors between them. My only purchase was a spool of light blue sashiko thread for my rice bag project.
Tomorrow, we’re all headed up to the Turtle Flambeau Flowage for a quick 3-day weekend up north & a visit with my Uncle Jim. Rusty & I will be staying at a nearby resort, while the kids will all be either camping or using the guest room/spare beds/sofas at Jim’s. It’s supposed to rain, but hopefully not too much.
READING
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid is my bedtime reading, so mileage varies each & every night. I’m almost finished listening to Brandi Carlile’s memoir, Broken Horses. Enjoying both!
We arrived early on Friday & picked up our rental car. I gave the woman at the rental counter my info & waiting for the spiel, when she handed back my driver’s license, saying, “Honey, you’re preferred!” And if that isn’t a great way to start a vacation, I don’t know what is!
We needed lunch, and found Cledis Burgers & Beer on the way to MDK HQ for a short visit & a couple of purchases. We also visited The Parthenon, Parnassus Books, and (believe it or not) the mall. The Parthenon was closed, which we knew, but it was fun to see it & walk around. Parnassus Books was fun, too, of course. We went to the mall because I’d been searching for some coasters, and I found some on Crate & Barrel that I liked (on sale, too) — the closest location to home is in Chicago. Turns out, the mall was right across the way from Parnassus Books.
We had a car & time… so we went out to Cheekwood, which I’d visited in 2017 when Kym & I were in Nashville en route to/from Florence, AL, for an Alabama Chanin workshop. We enjoyed it, but it was really hot & humid in Nashville — we were all dreading the weather — it was nice, but it would have been much more enjoyable if the temps had been more moderate.
We stopped at the grocery store on the way to our Airbnb and regrouped for a minute. Our hosts guidebook suggested Sadie’s & we could easily walk there, so that was our dinner destination. Wow, was that good — can’t go wrong with great Mediterranean plates to share.
Originally, I was going to return the rental car on Saturday morning, but decided to extend the booking for the duration of our trip. Am I ever glad we did that!
We went to breakfast on Saturday at a place we found called The Farmstead. I recognized the area immediately because I had to ship some posters home last October & the shipping store was nearby. There’s a row of cute little houses, one of which houses The Farmstead, others that are recording studios, and murals depicting artists who have recorded there.
We shared a Bronut (above, left), which was “stuffed with cheesecake filling, batter-dipped deep fried, and topped with blueberry compote.” They had us at “cheesecake filling.” It was delicious! My breakfast was pretty close to an English Breakfast, subbing grits for baked beans, and missing only mushrooms, black pudding, and toast. Dolly Parton was all they were playing. Our waiter told us that she’d been laid to rest the day before in a private ceremony at Woodlawn Memorial Park, and that people could visit — we could visit — it’s just around the corner!
So we did. The crypt is located right next to a window, and the plaque is beautiful. We also found the crypts of Tammy Wynette, Lynn Anderson, and Little Jimmy Dickens, and found Marty Robbins’ grave outside. It’s a huge cemetery.
We returned to the house & regrouped before heading to Broadway!
We didn’t go on a mural quest, but we organically found a few. This one was great because 1) Dolly and 2) Garth Brooks, who Annie saw at Summerfest in June. (She’s had a summer full of concerts!)
Posty’s had just opened when I was in Nashville last fall — I’d passed it on a side street on my way to parking, I think. Anyway, it’s sort of on a corner & also has an entrance on Broadway. We went in & enjoyed a beverage and the band-of-the-moment.
On the way out, we saw this huge framed piece — I thought it was interesting & snapped a couple of photos. I didn’t realize until later that the ensemble was made of “Dolly fabric.” I saw a clip of Post Malone meeting Dolly once and, honest to god, he looked like he was going to faint. haha.
We went to a few other places — Alan Jackson’s AJ’s Good Time Bar, the iconic Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge (rooftop for snacks), and my favorite honkytonk Robert’s Western World, of course. The Bridgestone Arena is located right downtown, so we walked over to our concert venue…
…where I recorded a couple of videos & took a few very bad photos… because I mostly enjoyed the concert. It was a long entry line, but security went pretty quick… we only missed a little of Gregory Alan Isakov’s set, but were there when Brandi joined him for some songs. She & her band — SistaStrings & The Hanseroth Twins among them — are amazing live! We laughed, we danced, we cried… I had tears streaming down my face for the first time in forever… and then she came out wearing a pink jacket & dedicated her entire encore to Dolly (more tears!), with whom she’s performed in the past. (And I’ve seen evidence that Dolly had the same effect on Brandi as she did on Posty.)
On Sunday, we decided to drive down to Franklin, TN… because we could. Our first stop was Puckett’s Restaurant for some BBQ. Puckett’s has quite a few locations, and their Nashville location was on our list, but Franklin was much more chill — and super cute. And delicious! Due to a poorly scaled map, we ended up trekking about a mile out of town to visit The Factory at Franklin — at least 2x “further than it looked” — in full sun & rising temp. I was so glad to sit down inside & cool off with some ice water! The Factory is a pretty cool spot, though, with interesting shops & restaurants. And Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Oh yeah. And I’m thankful that Kate & Ann went to get the car.
We had dinner reservations at Rolf And Daughters on Sunday night, our last night in Nashville, and it did not disappoint.
Everything was delicious, but the Cucumber Sherbet & Basil Panna Cotta that we split for dessert… OMG. I couldn’t stop thinking about that!
I’m sorry that I didn’t turn around to take a photo of this mural on our way to the restaurant, when the light was so much better. It’s amazing, and huge, and all I could think of was Kaffe Fassett’s Dots, which I’ve been seeing a lot because that’s the fabric I’m using for one of the quilt borders… he also does stripes, though not this bold. Here’s a better pic from the artist’s, Jason Woodside‘s, Instagram. Amazing.
Lastly, I sort of have a music thing going on in my Airbnb these days.
Another not-so-great photo, but there’s a Bluetooth record player, albums on display & to play, music-related letterpress posters, and…
…these prints from Soundwaves Art Foundation — because they’re cool, and also because of Soundwaves’ Mission. I’ve had these for quite a while, but the room finally came together & I had them framed so I could hang them. The image on the left (shall I keep apologizing for my terrible photographs??) is of Brandi Carlile’s The Joke. The one on the right is of Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing. Brandi’s came with a handwritten lyric from the song, “Don’t ever let them steal your joy,” but Knopfler’s/Dire Straits’ did not, so I asked Kate to write “Money for Nothing,” because they hang near each other (and because, otherwise, how would you know?), but it didn’t occur to me until later (obviously) that it should have been “I WANT MY MTV!”
Jeez, I just realized that Madeleine arrives in the States TODAY!! As per usual, she spends a couple of days with her friends in Milwaukee to recover & decompress. I’m meeting her & friend Katy at Ann’s in Madison on Friday morning for a day at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show & some visiting. I’ll be staying over at Ann’s on Friday & Saturday nights. Katy has to return home for a wedding on Saturday, and Maddy is staying a couple of nights with another friend in Madison. Maddy & I will drive home together on Sunday. It so happens that the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival is also this weekend, so I’ll be driving over to Jefferson to check that out for the first time in a while on Saturday — alone or with company. TBD. There are a few moving parts!
I laid out all the finished squares atop a cardigan that was at hand… 50 of them. I need to make more, but probably not all that many more.
I’m still so in love with all those colors & combos, how they play with & against each other.
READING:
I have finished Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart and passed it on to Kate, who is enjoying it a lot, too! I’ve picked Atmosphereby Taylor Jenkins Reid from the TBR pile, and I’m still listening to Brandi Carlile’s memoir, Broken Horses. She also sings a relevant song or two at the end of every chapter.
It was a short weekend, and a fairly relaxing one. I had laundry to do at Ann’s & had to prep our apartment for guests arriving today, but paced it out nicely — it doesn’t always work that way!
While I was waiting for the dryer to finish at Ann’s, I did some research into making Half-Rectangle Triangles (HRTs) and Flying Geese using HRTs… something I should have done earlier! Most of what I’ve done/cut is correct, but the sewing up & trimming isn’t as straightforward as when using the much more common Half-Square Triangle (HST) ratio. I’ll have to pay attention. Meanwhile, the Tuesday Quilters meet tomorrow & I’m looking forward to that. I haven’t done a thing in regard to that project, other than choose fabrics, but this will get me on track & focused.
I took a walk around The Butterfly Pond with Kate & Kai on Saturday morning, a slightly different/longer route. I love that there are a few different ways to navigate that trail.
Things are starting to change out there.
I get a very good view of our backyard/garden from the bedroom windows every morning, but it’s been almost two months since I was actually down there, mainly because it was so painful to descend stairs. Yesterday, I walked down with ease — still using the handrail, of course, but not with an iron grip.
The main attraction was our one-and-only head of broccoli! There are three or four plants, total, and suffered from an early season CHOMP by deer (probably), after which they were corralled & protected with chicken wire, but they’re probably a bit crowded. It’s a learning experience & definitely not discouraging. We also have leeks & celery growing down there & they’re both doing great! Kate made a pot of cream of celery soup last week & it was so good… celery from the garden is nothing like store-bought.
I’ve been rewatching THE BEAR on TV — I’d already watching seasons 1-3 (maybe 4?), but no one else had, and I’m not sad about seeing it again. Season 5 was released earlier this summer & is the last of the series.
I’ve been crocheting during TV time. I used up all the random stray balls of Felted Tweed last night, so I don’t have to think about them anymore… and now there are a bunch of partial granny squares to finish. I’m going to have to start a new stack because the current one is going to topple over pretty soon.
