We were lucky not to suffer any damage from the EF-3 tornado that ripped through here at the end of July. Just a few miles south of us… it was a completely different story. Many homes were destroyed, trees flattened — the landscape completely changed — and it still looks like a wasteland (some of it due to the proverbial Red Tape provided by insurance companies and/or government).

Calder Stadium, home of the Menasha Bluejays high school football team, took a big hit — the damage is such that the stadium can’t be used. The temporary “home” of the Bluejays is Lawrence University’s Banta Bowl in nearby Appleton. That quick & generous offer by LU was one of many “community coming together” moments.

T-Mobile is currently running a competition for a $1 million home field upgrade — Friday Night 5G Lights — and Menasha is in the running. The school with the most votes will win and Menasha is currently 2nd in their division, with a shot at advancing to the championship round. That community could use a boost. So, here’s the favor…

WILL YOU VOTE?

It’s super easy. Click on VOTE DAILY, choose the Midwest Division, and cast your vote for Menasha High School. You’ll be asked to enter your mobile number, consent to the rules, and agree to receiving a one-time text for verification. You can vote once daily through October 25th, and hopefully get them into the final… and then I’ll ask you to do it again!

The hibiscus at my sister’s house has been putting on a show!! I don’t remember it blooming this much or as long, but a big, poorly placed barberry bush that had been crowding it was removed in the spring/early summer & it made a difference. I’m not sure, but I think the cooler weather/waning light may account for that amazing dark pink around the edges — the earlier blooms were not like that! Annie gave me the little begonia + ivy planter when I had surgery & it is so happy right now. I hope I can keep it happy. And the zinnias (& cosmos) are still blooming! We have a frost warning tonight, so will need to get some things covered up.

We went out for Mexican food the other night & a storm was rolling through as we left the restaurant, so we took a drive! It was north of us a bit, and we weren’t really chasing it, but we did drive out of town so we could get better views over farm fields & with less light.

And we had a recent beauty emergency! That sky was on fire!! This was before I got my replacement phone, so it’s in selfie mode — and it’s really weird to see that flipped view of my street. (I could have corrected that in photo editing, but I did not…)

Please consider voting for the Menasha Bluejays! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I have been a fan of Kate Davies for quite a while. Though many of her designs are colorwork and/or top-down, neither of which are usually my thing for various reasons, she is an amazing human. And she lives in the Scottish Highlands. And her husband, Tom, is an incredible photographer… in the Scottish Highlands. What’s not to love? I’ve joined a couple of her clubs in the past mainly to enjoy her writing — she does her research & it’s always a deep dive.

I was sort of ho-hum about her latest club, Rip it Up, and Start Again (A Knitter’s Jukebox), which begins tomorrow. Mostly, I think I was distracted… because this sort of thing is right up my alley. The deal was sealed when I read her latest email/post (at the link) and learned about Bill Oddie and The Knitting Song.

Along with a bunch of other knit-related tunes/videos. It’s worth a read!

Knitting Bullshit from this spring is also worth a read…

/psa

…and I stayed home!! After being fairly home-bound for most of July & August (going to work & PT but not much else), I spent a long weekend in Nashville at the end of August, the next one in Madison, a quickie up north, and another long weekend in Denver — so it was nice to stay home. I got some putzy stuff done, took a couple of naps, did a metric crap ton of laundry, took some walks, and even did a little cooking & cleaning… and some knitting & sewing! Oh, and we got our Australian visas, too!

I went out to High Cliff with Kate & Kai for a walk on Saturday. We ended up on the Red Bird Trail — and I’m not sad about that! The trail goes along the top of the Niagara Escarpment, and the views are gorgeous. We’ve stuck to the evenly paved Butterfly Trail for many months, so it was nice to do something different. The terrain was a lot bumpier — lots of rocks & roots to look out for — but no problems.

I don’t have a current picture of my gnome, but I’ve just started Clue 4… working on a cabled sweater/body for the little guy. Clue 5 comes out tomorrow, and the last clue is released on Sunday. I’ve been taking it easy because we’re knitting at a pretty tight gauge (big yarn, small needles) & I’m feeling the strain. I’m looking forward to a finish and will be more than ready to pick up Farfalle!

I started laundry at Ann’s on Monday & worked on my project bag — that’s what I got done while the towels dried. It was SO NICE outside that I took all the laundered sheets (three queen sets) home & hung them on the line to dry.

Ali & the kids did a pumpkin-painting activity last week — I managed to get photos of three/five. Davy & Ali left theirs for us (and I can’t help but smile every time I look at Davy’s). (Ali’s is nice, too. haha.) (But Davy’s!!)

Rusty was in the crawl space under the back porch when they were over, trying to put a thwart the zoomers on the mouse highway into our house! Malina is offering him a little banana snack (much needed & very welcome, I was told) & Davy lent a helpful hand, too. The jury’s still out re: mice.

He fixed the dryer when I was in Denver, and for that I am glad. It was drying perfectly fine, but making the most godawful screech when it was turned on. A big benefit of that operation is that I had to clean off the tops of the washer & dryer… and so far they’ve stayed that way!

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.

A crazy storm ripped through our area yesterday. We are all safe!!

This is looking north from outside my office, just before noon. The sky was even darker in real life — I’ve never seen it so dark! Just a few minutes later, wind & rain ripped through & visibility was zip. Then our phones started lighting up with alerts, sirens started blaring, and torrential rain was slamming into our east-facing windows… “winds from the east” is never good. I am lucky to have a basement at work — and I’m able to navigate stairs (I didn’t even bring my cane with me), so I was down there for a little while. The power was out all afternoon, but we’re also lucky to have a generator so crucial power stayed on… lights, computers, fridge. Not the microwave, though, and I had brought quiche for lunch; I’ll eat almost any leftovers cold, but draw the line at quiche! I always keep a can of tuna and/or sardines in my desk drawer, so that’s what saved me yesterday. Phone & internet were spotty all afternoon. I work for an electrical contractor, so I was inevitably fielding storm-related service calls.

The cities of Neenah & Menasha were very hard hit by a confirmed tornado of TBD strength — about five miles +/- south of work. Menasha was “closed” yesterday, as was a big section of highway — I saw footage of vehicles actually wrapped up in huge pieces of sheet metal that had flown off of nearby buildings. There is a LOT of damage and it’s going to take a LONG time to clean up & recover. We experienced an F2 tornado a few years ago that destroyed several homes in our city — one of which was only two blocks from home. That one seemed to “bounce” whereas yesterday’s was on the ground for a while, devastating a mile-wide path.

Anyway, it’s heartwarming to see our communities come together to offer help, from restaurants serving free meals to individuals making room in their storage units.