April Re-Cap

On-going:

• Knit 1 skein on my sweater -- Did this.. only 2 or 3 more to go.  It is like torture to work on it, because the pattern is soooo boring.  I am loving the results though.

• Knit 15 squares on my blanket - I did about 25 this month.  If I do 25 a month, I may actually finish this thing in another year.  I would like to be done eventually.  Although, I have a hard time imagining snuggling under it!

• Knit one row of pin-wheels for pin-wheel scarf -- abandoned due to poor yarn choice for the pattern.  The yarn, the needles and the pattern just didn't get along well.  I plan to do this, but with different yarn.  So, I took the yarn for this project and am making a triangle scarf.  It is coming along nicely!!

Monthly Goals:

•  Christmas Stocking for Martha -- DONE!

•  Shur'rugal socks out of Happiest Girl, I never promised you a rose garden.  (I love the names of the colorways in this line of yarn!)

• For extra credit I made a small sheep.  Isn't he cute?  I love him... I must make more!  His name is Pedro.

I think this will be all I can get done this month.  If I finish up early, I will keep working on my blanket or start another project!

Retreated

The next two days were much better than you might think.   In the end, it turned out to be a good time.  The kids loved singing songs and playing with the other kids.  Mac wants to go to camp there next summer.  Sam and Hannah can't wait until next year.

The torah study sessions were not as boring as one might have expected.  People thought I should absolutely knit during the conversations and sessions.  Good folks!!  We met some other families that we liked, and they seemed to like us.  There is even plans for a park date or other get together!!

The singing, and there was a lot of it, didn't kill Bob or the kids.  Attending 3 hours of services didn't kill me.  There was only one melt-down and it was sort of justified.  All and all, a success.

On the ride home, all three kids passed out until we got to Bob's car at work.  Kids on Camp!

Guess what, we will probably do it again.  According to some of the other folks, we will probably also get lost again.  At least we will know to expect it!

Some photos:

Retreating

We have arrived.  I let Bob and the kids unload the van.  I needed to cool off for a minute and make wise cracks about the lameness of my husband.  Once I have started to settle in, and we are starting to find our way around, things start to look up.

I take the boys to their cabin.  They have paid camp counselors on staff to watch the kids.  This is a pretty nice thing!  I get everyone settled in, and it is time to head over for dinner.  So, we do that.  I think to myself, self, it is going to be really dark once the sun totally sets.  This was some foresight on my part.  So, I leave Bob and the kids to get seats and I run back to our cabin to get a flashlight.

Bob decides to position us at the kids table.  Not with the other families or adults, but with the kids.  Since our objective was to meet other families, sitting at the kids table was not going to really help with this.  Still frustrated.

We finish dinner, clear our plates, etc.  I need to use the bathroom, but I can not find it.  I look where people tell me to, but I can not find it.  I am close to tears again.  The learning curve is very steep at this place, and no one seems to realize we are new and need a little extra information.  I see a friend of mine, and she asks me how things are going.  I tell we aren't having such a strong day.  She says, she is on her way to the bathroom, to join her and we can chat.  Hallelujah!!  The potty!!

At 8:30 pm, we head over for an hour of religious services.  Hannah is shot, the boys are pooped.  Everyone behaved during the service, but it was a very long day.  I was very happy to deposit in the care of someone else!!

After that we did an ice breaker activity, where we did madlibs from the bible stories.  It was fun, except the group I was in wanted to do a dirty one too.  Might I remind everyone about the people who traumatized me at the Shabbat dinner (link in case you don't remember  The food was good).  Yeah, it was the husband who wanted to do the dirty madlib.  I was starting to wonder if I would make it out alive.

Thus ends our first day.  Based only on this day, I would never do this again.  But, there are still 2 more days...

Retreat

The much anticipated results from my confession on Friday.  You know the one where I say I am going to go on the retreat/conference in the woods?  What I learned, is that what my parents did at Family Camp was not really what most people do at these retreats.  I think my parents joined the church they did because they drink wine...  a lot.  Things are much less radical these days, but back in the 70's and early 80's there was lots of adults drinking wine.  It was one big party!

Friday was not such a good day.  I had a lot of errands to do before we could pack up and head to Wisconsin.  Everything took longer than I thought it should.  That said, I arrived at the arranged meeting place to pick up Bob right on schedule.  I am waiting.  I hear my phone playing its song and guess who it is, Bob.  He is going to be late.  So already we are leaving town later than I wanted to, we are now going to be even later.

We finally head out.  We make it through the traffic in Milwaukee.  We are finally in striking distance, when I inquire as to what I should do.  The GPS said to stay on Route 16, and Route 16 is turning.  BUT the GPS didn't say to turn.  Do you follow the sign or the GPS?  Since I am not allowed to look at the GPS and see where the highlighted route is, I ask Bob.  He tells me to turn.  He sucks as a navigator.  Have I mentioned this before?  If not, it really is long over due.  It is best for me to read the maps and him to drive.

Anyway, I turn.  I should not have turned, but I did.  So we get off on Lang Road.  This seems somewhat promising, for obvious reasons.  Sadly, Lang Road ends, but the GPS was under the impression that it did not do this.  So, in order to follow the highlighted route, I had to 4 wheel it through a pasture.  Not so much in the mini-van.  I turned.

The GPS was no help, Bob was no help, it was getting dark in we are in the middle of nowhere and we are lost.  GREAT, just great.  I knew this whole retreat was a bad idea.  I lost it.  See I wanted to leave earlier, I wanted Bob to take time off of work so that there would be time for us to get there, in the day light.  I was crying because I was so frustrated.

Bob decides to drive.  This is a good idea, because I understand how to use the map feature on the GPS.  So, I start to give some directions.  Of course, Bob is going about 80 mph on a country road, so we flew by many of our turns.  So here is the scene, me yelling at him to slow down and turn.  I would like to note, if this was me behind the wheel there would be 85 thousand cop cars on my butt writing me tickets.  Bob is driving, not a cop in sight.

Finally, finally, we find this place.  But, we found the back of it, not the entrance.  One can not put the entrance to correlate with the address, that would be too freakin' easy.  You know, plug the address in the GPS, and show up at the entrance. 

Anyway, since I actually know how to use the map feature for the GPS, I directed us to circle the camp, eventually there will be an entrance.  At least one would think.  Amazingly, we found it.  When I arrived, I was ready for a divorce.  Sadly, not a divorce lawyer in the bunch.

So to say things didn't get off to a good start is an understatement.  More tomorrow.

Goals for May

I don't know what my readers think about this whole goals thing, but it is working out mostly ok for me.  I did have a little anxiety about it last month, which made me rethink the whole concept.  While they are what I would like to complete this month, it is not like there is a monster that will eat me or knitting police.

The question... what am I going to make with this??

Monthly Goals:

• Knit one skein on my February Lady Sweater (almost done with this!)

• Knit 25 squares on my blanket

April Goals:

• Finish scarf from last month

• Make Sunday Swing Socks

• Make Just Enough Ruffles scarf

• Pokeball hat for Sam (hopefully!!)

Confessions

Alright, on the eve of this great idea, I guess I have to fess up to the journey we are about to embark on.  I signed us up to go to a retreat, sponsored by the Temple.  Sometimes I wonder about these decisions that I make.

When I was a kid, we went on tons of these retreats.  It was all hiking, swimming, crafts and playing.  The adults would sit around drinking wine and talking.  We would have a bon fire and sing.  I think they may have gone to a few bible study deals, but it certainly did not fill the day.

So, I had visions of wine, relaxing and some good times.  I got the schedule. It is like a freakin' conference.  Every minute of every day is scheduled.  I am not a fill every minute kinda girl...  I am also not a have 8 hours of bible study every day kinda girl. It will be very interesting to see how this goes down.  Perhaps bible study is code for drink wine?

My visions of knitting, relaxing and generally having a very chill weekend, might not come to pass.  We will have to see... but I do have a few posts ready for you to read over the weekend while I am gone, so I won't be totally without opinions while I am away.  Check back early next week to see how this whole little "idea" of mine goes down.

A long day!!

There has been a lot going on lately... Tuesday, at o'dark thirty (2:00 am, to be precise), I got a phone call.  Once my brain registered that the phone was ringing and I needed to answer it, I got the news that my friend was in labor.  YEAH!!

Of course this means that her 3-year old daughter is going to come and stay with us.  So, at o'dark thirty I put the dog in her cage, set up the sleeping bag and got things ready for her visit.  Then I rested on the sofa, and promptly fell asleep.  Fortunately, the dog started to bark when they pulled into the driveway.

It was a long day taking care of another child.  I had forgotten how labor intensive small kids are.  Yeah, she is only a year younger than Hannah, but still, having another one around... well, I am glad we only have three.  Sure if we had 4 I would be used to it by now.

I took the daughter to JoAnn's while Hannah was in school.  Apparently, she had never been in that store before, because she had to touch everything she saw.  She wanted everything she saw.  This was surprising to me, because her parents don't really buy her a lot of things.  They aren't things type of people.  To see her need everything was really funny.  She also did not say, "I want this."  It was "this needs to come home with me."  I am sure that is just they way her family talks, but it was cute to see the different phrases that are common place in one family and not another.

When we got home, we learned that the baby came and there was very little issue with the birth.  I am very excited for the family and their new addition!!