This may or may not be the last report from the Swiftie Bracelet Factory, where activity ramped up over the weekend!
Ann loaded up, put on her t-shirt, and got to work!
Malina got in on the action… as did Addison & Junah!
And Ali! She’s making Swiftie-style bracelets, but they have an entirely different theme. Everyone found making bracelets to be as fun & addicting as I did! (Ann & Ali have both been back to make more.)
(Davy found my collection of binder clips to be quite fascinating!)
(Yeah, my workroom is still a mess.)
We fly tomorrow night! On Thursday afternoon we have a canal cruise, the concert is on Friday, Van Gogh Museum on Saturday, a city bike tour on Sunday, a countryside bike tour on Monday, and we fly back home on Tuesday. And there’s lots of room on the itinerary for wandering & exploring & other stuff!
We read an article about Kameron Saunders, one of the dancers on the Eras Tour — and the only one who has a speaking part. At the end of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” he says LIKE EVER.
On the international leg of the tour, he’s changed it up and it’s so fun — native languages, sayings, colloquialisms. The article has a tracker listing them all so far with links to a quick video of each of his moments (the crowd reaction is fun).
Google Translate tells me that LIKE EVER translates to ZOALS OOIT in Dutch. We’ll see if that’s what actually happens — she has three shows in Amsterdam and it looks like he’s been finding his groove & doing something a little different at each show.
Meanwhile…
…we’re having fun! Well, I’m having most of it right now. Ann’s packing her bags, though, and they’ll be departing Peru tomorrrow! I won’t see her probably until next weekend, but we have plans to make some bracelets together before we leave for Amsterdam.
My press & ink* have been pushed aside for the moment so I have room to make beaded bracelets!
I noticed that the “K” in Fuck The Patriarchy is backwards! Part of me wants to fix it, but another part says, “Fuck it!” haha. The pile on the left is for Ann, the one on the right is mine.
More/different beads are arriving today.
READING
Same as last time.
EATING
For lunch today, I’m having leftovers from a shrimp & zucchini dish…
…and remembered to snip a little fresh basil on the way to the car!
_ _ _ _ _
*I love the track I’m on with the Life Is Short prints, but I’m extremely limited by the type in my meager collection, so I’ve signed up for an upcoming evening workshop at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. It’s hitting a couple of chords, one being that it’s actually called Words In Wood, specifically about printing a quote or mantra that is resonating at the moment. I will have SO much more type to choose from, along with other design elements. Another chord is that the workshop will be taught by the 2024 BIWOC Artists-in-Residence and that can only be good & inspiring. I’m excited to play!
OK. Who knew that making beaded bracelets was so fun?
a.k.a. Swiftie Bracelets! Annie wasn’t even aware that they were a THING, and laughed… leave it to you to find the associated crafting endeavor! Even better, I found a helpful spreadsheet, too! One of my favorite things.
I had to do MARJORIE (Spotify) first — one for each of us. The song is on the list to memorize, and is a tribute to TS’s grandmother, an opera singer (some of her vocals are sampled on the track) who was about 10 years older than our mom, whose name was also Marjorie. There are definitely some stylistic & generational similarities between them (not the singing, however, lord no)! She (our Marjorie) died 10 years ago this month, and I don’t know how we’re going to make it through that song. I’m going to have to go the concert mascara-free… I thought if I listened to it a lot, it’d get better, but I think it’s actually getting worse.
Anyway, after securing a “kit” on Etsy, crafting my spreadsheet, and going shopping for additional supplies, I’m off… deep in the rabbit hole!
We’ve been hanging out in the back yard in the evening.
There are quite a few of those butterflies & when they’re not flitting around, they’re soaking up the sun… one even landed on my big toe for a minute last night.
We’ve had a couple of cats hanging around — one’s gray & the other is orange, but they both have very strong stripe patterns & look like they could be related. They look healthy & cared for. This one jumped up & lazed on the pergola bench for a little while the other day.
I was reminded this week that it was 10 years ago that we visited Kate in Scotland and drove up to the Highlands, hiking up to the Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye in the cold & brutal wind. (We did other things, too.)
I’ve recently been reminded, too, of getaways at this time of year to Las Vegas, North Carolina & Denver. So many fun trips!
And, sure, I’m going to a Taylor Swift concert in a few weeks, but mostly, I’m going to Amsterdam… with my sister!! It’s been ages since we’ve had a 1:1 vacation together, and I’ve never been to the Netherlands before.
We’ll be there for five full days! Even if you X out concert day, there are still four other days to explore. We already have tickets to the Van Gogh Museum, and there’s a long list of other possibilities, including a canal cruise, riding bicycles, visiting the Heineken brewery, a bunch of other museums, the botanical garden, some shopping… including yarn stores! Amsterdam is home to Stephen & Penelope’s! I haven’t lately been as enamored with Stephen West’s designs as I once was, but it would be a fun stop, and there are at least four other shops on my list of possibilities (I will not be going to all of them!).
I know for sure that Annie wants to visit Winkel 43 again for apple pie, and I want to find & enjoy a fresh stroopwafel somewhere!
I’m open to suggestions if anyone has any to share.
