Month: July 2024

Weekending

Weekending

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It wasn’t one of my long “vacation” weekends, but even with only one extra day off of work, it felt like it. I think that’s the sign of a GREAT weekend! I barely took any photos, though, which can (arguably) also be the sign of a good weekend.

The single gigantic blossom on my oakleaf hydrangea is putting on a show… and there are so many petals! Ope! I just spotted a bug, too.

I had just the right mix of social & alone time over the weekend, and finally a chance for some one-on-one time with Madeleine! We did a little shopping, made some wonderful meals, and watched some Olympics. She tooks some nice long walks with Kai, too.

Rusty left on Saturday afternoon for a week of teaching at The Clearing in Door County, and Maddy headed back to Milwaukee yesterday for a few days — Viv arrives TODAY!! They’ll spend a few more days down there with friends Katy & ‘Cito, and return with Katy for a brief stopover this weekend on their way to a 4-day hike in the Porcupine Mountains.

Honestly, I spent almost 2/3 of my 3-day weekend in my PJs. I’m finally tackling my workroom with a mission & some gusto… and just couldn’t be bothered to get dressed! haha. I can’t say that I’ve gotten rid of much (yet), but it’s all getting sorted, organized & stowed. I’ll be housing guests in there in about a week-and-a-half! Which means my big table will be moved out to the garage for a bit, and that’s okay… there are some tweaks I’d like to make & it’ll be easier out there.

Besides flowers, the only other photos I took over the weekend were of some photography equipment (finally!) that I want/need to sell. Wish me luck!

Oh, and I started a new knitting project! Holli Yeoh released a new sock pattern last week, Over Easy Socks — they’re knit on two needles & the construction looks so interesting, I couldn’t resist. I’m using Gauge Dye Works Colourwheel and we’ll just see what happens! I have two hanks of that yarn, one is trying to be a Musselburgh and I’m determined to knit some socks out of the other! You may remember that Holli is the designer of the fabulous 5 Point Bomber, which I made for the kiddos.

UPDATE: Holli just sent out an email with a 20% code for the Over Easy Socks pattern — it’s only valid through tomorrow. The code is: RUNNY

That’s what’s up around here in a nutshell… I can hardly believe that on Thursday it’ll be August!

Uncategorized

AI is weird

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I had the kids for a few hours on Wednesday night. Ginny, Malina & I occupied ourselves with Snapchat for a little while — I haven’t opened that app in a long time!

Malina (who looks exactly like one of Ali’s former employees), Ginny & me in our Y2K era! (I did not look like that or dress like that in my Y2K era, but I did have a flip phone!)

I just don’t even know what to say about these transformations! Me on the left, Ginny on the right. I’m not sure of the actual theme or inspiration, but I get a carnival vibe.

The way this particular filter worked is that we snapped a photo & then it sparkled & morphed into something new. The series below shows a transformation.

It’s fascinating, actually, in how it turned me into something complete different (not even human), added an arm for Ginny. Silliness… but OMG, future Gin??

Have a great weekend. Maybe with some silliness!!

Family Temperature Blanket · Weekending

Quick! Let’s catch up.

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Goodness, y’all. THERE’S A LOT!!

Cairo “Kai” Lepus Cumulonimbus 2000 joined the family (main charge of Kate) a little over a week ago… kept under wraps as well as we could to surprise… everyone! The kids, Annie, Maddy!!

Kai is a little over a year old and she’s such a good girl! She’s only gnawed on one or two things she shouldn’t have, including a ball of yarn (gasp!) — teeth piercing that paper label & sinking into a soft ball of string — I’m sure it was irresistible! The yarn was completely unharmed.

I had a few days off last week for various things — mainly to spend time with family. Ann, Addie & I took the kids to Bay Beach Amusement Park on a gorgeous day! That’s Malina & Davy on one of trains, and Malina in the boat. That little boy was the only other kid on that ride, and asked her if he could ride with her. He was very careful getting out, then turned & offered his hand to Malina — it was so sweet — but she was already jumping the gap!

Davy was hilarious. I’d ask him if he wanted to go on <a ride/any ride> and he’d say YES, then we’d approach the gate and he’d say, ACTUALLY, NO. I don’t know how many times…

Malina, Ginny & I rode the big swings… I thought Ginny was going to lose it there for a minute when the arms started undulating. I told her to look at Malina, not at the ground! In various combos, we also rode the Tilt-a-Whirl, Scrambler, carousel, race cars, and the Zippin Pippin! Somehow, Annie & Addie got Ginny & Junah on the rollercoaster. Ginny said that she’d never do it again (unless she forgot… but she probably wouldn’t), and Junah went at least two more times!! Count us all SHOCKED!

I had my breast biopsy on Thursday, and didn’t think I’d get results until Monday, but they were ready on Friday. It was benign/normal, all is well. Back to the routine…

In HUGE NEWS (in case you missed it on FB/IG), I finished knitting Maddy’s blanket panel on Thursday night while she was asleep upstairs!

No wimpy stepstool would do this time, I had to get out the step ladder! In order from l-to-r: Rusty, Kate, Ali, Maddy, me. I call the girls’ panels “Across Three Aprils,” and it’s the comparison of those three that I’ve been looking forward to ever since I began. Their birthdays are all in April — there’s a 6 year + 9 day spread — Kate’s is quite different because her first year was spent on the Oregon coast, Ali’s & Maddy’s are VERY similar and it’s funny because Maddy’s summer looks hotter, but it’s Ali’s summer that’s seared in my mind as being the hottest, humidest, most unpleasant summer ever!

There’s still plenty to do, joining all those panels together and knitting a border, but all I wanted to accomplish right now was to have all the panels finished while all three girls are here! Done & dusted. As a palate cleanser, I’m knitting a few dishcloths (the yarn that Kai got into).

How about one more picture of her! We’re anxiously awaiting doggie DNA results. Shepherd/Lab is how she was advertised… but what kind of Shepherd, what kind of Lab, and what else?? haha.

I’m catching up at work… hoping to catch up soon with all of you, too? Have I missed anything big? Besides the Biden > Harris news??

Food and Drink · Travel - Wisconsin

CSA Farm Dinner

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Rusty & Kate returned from their road trip on the 6th so had plenty of time to settle in (and clean the car) before I got back from Amsterdam! They had a great time — I know some of you follow one or both on IG (Kate | Rusty), so have followed along.

That means my foodie daughter is back in town! And perfect timing, since I signed us up for my CSA’s farm dinner which was held on Saturday.

My CSA farm is Park Ridge Organics in Fond du Lac. I don’t actually receive a veggie share this year, but I have a Farm Store Share — I pre-loaded a gift card & can use that money for anything in the farm store. It’s great because the store is growing & getting better all the time — loaded with all sorts of goodies from Wisconsin, including pasta, pickles, tortillas, shrub, meats, honey, jam, popcorn, syrup, and eggs. Not to mention vegetables.

The dinner was made by Braise, a restaurant/food truck in Milwaukee, using produce from Park Ridge and pork from Golden Bear Farm in nearby Kiel.

It’s been a few years since I attended a farm dinner, for one reason or another — last year’s reason being that there wasn’t one because the farmer, Robyn, got married! A benefit of that celebration is the new pavilion (though I did love the field-side tables), offering shade & shelter.

We were offered a beverage & appetizer upon arrival — a lovely gin smash, and beets & goat cheese on a homemade cracker. What a combo. Then we took a little “farm tour,” which I’d never done before. It was fun to learn a bit more about the history of the property.

So many tomato plants! Behind me was another house full of cherry tomatoes and we were invited to pluck & enjoy a ripe one right from the vine.

The menu was wonderful, as were the wine pairings, and there was plenty of food! We chatted with old friends and made some new… it really is the most wonderful kind of event! There was just enough of a breeze that bugs weren’t a problem, and offered some relief from the heat & humidity.

But weather was coming…

We’re the blue dot, just before departure, heading almost due north.

We stopped a few miles up the road to take some photos (there’s a little sheep farm to my left). Then about 3″ of rain fell in no time at all! I know y’all have had endured some heat waves in the east, as have we, but we’ve also had rain! So much rain!!

Anyway, it was really fun & I can’t wait until next year!

2024-Amsterdam (& Taylor Swift) · Travel

Amsterdam (non-TS)

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I booked two bike tours for us — a City ride on Sunday (when, I reasoned, it would be slightly less busy traffic-wise), and a Countryside ride on Monday (let’s get outta town!).

I have very few interesting photos from either!

During the city tour, we lost a rider! The three other members of his party never spoke up! Sheesh. It was another guy (sort of a blow-hard) who said, “Hey, I think we lost your dad/granddad!” We were all instructed, in the event we got left behind (totally happens because big group, traffic lights, etc.) to STOP & STAY PUT, which, of course, this lost guy did not. So we all hung out in a park while our guide went back to find him. Meanwhile, blow-hard’s wife took a left when we entered the park, instead of a right, so she was lost for a little while, too!

It started to rain just toward the end of our city ride. We were on a narrow street (they’re all narrow) and a BMW was trying to pass us — going too fast & not really giving a shit — side-swiping the previously lost guy who then fell. Thankfully, he was OK and we all hoped that Beamer got a good scratch for not even stopping.

We loved the people of Amsterdam unless they were in or on something with wheels. Ruthless.

The country ride was much more relaxed — once we actually got out of the city. At the start of that ride, on or way to the ferry, I fell! I wasn’t as comfortable with my bicycle on Monday as I was on Sunday, and lost control as we navigated two very tight turns. I have a few bruises in weird places, but otherwise undamaged.

We stopped at a little village cafe for more apple pie, and I asked our guide if we could please stop somewhere in the countryside to take some photos. The sky was amazing that day!

I wasn’t able to “operate” my Merlin app while we rode, either, but I did manage a few new “lifers” during our time in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, back at our hotel…

We loved the “art swap” area on each floor near the elevator!

I had information on this community project, and now I can’t find it! It was really cool, though, a cooperative project participated in by people of all ages. And it looked great!

We passed this place a few times, as it was sort of on the way to the bicycle shop. The photo does not convey very well how much this place leaned — it seemed to undulate! If I was over 400 years old, I supposed I’d be undulating, too. haha.

We had some quiet evenings in, watching Taylor Swift documentaries & music videos (total immersion), and we enjoyed a delicious dinner at our hotel one evening. As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, food was not a big focus, but we did enjoy a couple of nice cafe lunches, too.

And then it was Tuesday & time to check out! The flight was smooth and I got some sleep, thankfully, because I had to drive back across the state again once we landed. I dropped Ann off near Chippewa Falls as their family was spending the week at a lake up north. I didn’t get home until almost 11 and, y’know, no rest for the wicked… I was back at work on Wednesday morning!