Fun in the Sun

Bob and I have been enjoying our summer in NJ very much. Last Wednesday we had a family gathering at daughter Emily’s house in honor of granddaughter Eve’s 5th birthday. And what better way to celebrate than to have a pool party!

Eve and Quinn enjoy the water

On Saturday we spent a lovely evening at the home of Bob’s brother Bill and Bill’s wife, Brenda. It was such fun to hang out with them as well as Tom and Nancy, Emily, and Ryan. I wish I had gotten a photo of the group. I’ve been very lax in taking photographs lately.

On Saturday Bob and I met up with my friend Robbie and her husband Bruce for lunch at Norma’s Eastern Mediterranean Cuisine where we had a delightful time catching up. And the food was excellent, with vegan options as well as meat.

In between all this socializing I have been keeping my fingers busy, crocheting some amigurumi animals and finishing the weaving of my band.

This is a pattern from the book Latviešu Jostas featuring a double flower pattern. It was a fun weave.

Yesterday was Ben’s Half Birthday, a special day that all-too-often goes unnoticed. But not this year! Daughter Kristen picked up a small cake, cut it in half (and frosted the cut side,) added 5 1/2 candles, and we sang half of the Happy Birthday song to him. Only half of his brothers were there (Rob was at a friend’s house) as well as half of his parents (Jason is still away on training for the Air Force) but Bob and I celebrated with him as he ate his cake on paper plates cut in half and forks with half the times removed.

On Sunday we kick off the start of GrandCamp 2018, in Cape May, NJ. It’s going to be a fun two weeks.

Veganniversary and New Microwave

First off, I want to offer my sincerest condolences to my friend, Joan, whose husband John passed this week. John was a sweet man and will be missed by all who knew him. This photo is from last summer and we will remember him fondly.

It has been exactly one year since I stopped eating meat, eggs, and dairy products. In that year I have lost 35 pounds and I feel so much better. I can honestly say I do not miss any of it. Big thanks to my sister Gail for all her support!

The convection part of our convection/microwave stopped working over a year ago and we finally ordered a new one. Bob did some internet searching and found the best price at Office Depot, of all places. So I contacted Lowe’s and asked if they would price-match. They agreed and we saved $126. Score! It arrived on Wednesday and Bob and I spent a really fun (just kidding) 90 minutes getting it in place.

Our old one, which was the exact same model, was missing the manual and cookbook and I was surprised to discover I was not using it properly. So now I get to learn how to do it right.

On Thursday it was so beautiful that Bob, Kristen, and I decided to take the train to Philadelphia and get lunch.

We walked around a bit first, enjoying the sights of cobblestone side streets and carriage arches.

Then we ate at Reading Terminal Market and I had my favorite, Chana Masala from Nanees, with the best curried spinach I ever had. I found a recipe for it and will make it soon.

That’s all for now. Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!

SJGSH

On Saturday I attended a meeting of the South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers. What a joy to see old friends and meet new ones! I was very inspired by the show and tell. Here is one of my favorites—Helena showed off her hand beaded necklace and this jacket she had woven and sewn. Isn’t it amazing?

I went out to lunch afterwards with my friend, April. Neither time nor distance can separate true friends, and our friendship is a prime example. We always have fun when we are together!

I started weaving a new band. This one is from the book Latviešu Jostas, and is a type of flower band. It’s easy to weave and very relaxing. Details are on my Ravelry project page.

We started having problems with our computer about a month ago when we could no longer connect to the internet. Since it has been six years since we purchased it, we decided it was time for a new one, and we took advantage of a Memorial Day sale at HP to order it.

Because we subscribe to Carbonite, transferring all our files to the new computer was easy. We logged on and clicked the transfer button. After 24 hours we calculated that it would take a month for our files to all transfer, so we plugged into daughter Kristen’s router and twelve hours later it was done. So far, we are liking this new laptop.

Weather here in south Jersey has improved and we see the sun daily. We’re getting temperatures in the ‘70s, which is lovely. We are so glad the constant rain has stopped.

Wildlife in South Jersey

We have seen a bit of wildlife around here lately. Despite this part of south Jersey being pretty built up, and we are in a neighborhood full of houses, a family of turkeys walked through the yard last week.

Mama and her thirteen babies strolled majestically past our window. The chicks looked newly hatched and are pretty hard to see in this picture. A few days later we saw Mama again but she had only one chick with her. I suppose predators had gotten to the others. Wild turkeys are not seen very often around here and I would assume modern life is not kind to them.

We also had this visitor to my daughter’s back yard. This groundhog, or woodchuck as we used to call them, ran to the back corner of the property when we came through the gate. After a while he found his way out and we haven’t seen him since.

Recently Bob and I visited a Camping World and found this little switch.

It attaches to the underside of our under-bed compartment (the bed lifts up to access storage) with a screw-mount. It is bright enough to illuminate the whole area so I can find what I’m looking for. I’m going to have to get a few more of these!

Now that I can see my sewing supplies under the bed, I decided to make granddaughter Jillian a purse. It’s a simple pattern I found here.

I used fabric I had purchased near Walt Disney World, and I’m very happy with how it came out. Jillian was, too. She immediately put it over her head and didn’t want to take it off.

On Friday Bob dropped me off at daughter Catherine’s house so he could visit his friends in north Jersey. Catherine, the kids, Auggie, and I went to Pitman, NJ’s Fourth Friday festival with son Tim and daughter-in-law Bernie.

We ate at A Fresh Start, a sandwich and salad shop with outdoor seating, enjoying yummy paninis and salads. Most of the shops were open (and dog friendly, too!) and we enjoyed strolling around. Alaura Kitchen tempted us with homemade ice cream (she even makes a vegan version that is to-die-for!) and we chatted with the man on stilts walking around town. I loved it all.

It’s not any too early to be making summer reservations for campgrounds so last week I settled in and firmed up our August and early September plans. We’ll be spending time in Portsmouth, RI, Monson, MA, Rhinebeck, NY, W. Chazy, NY, Montpelier, VT, Shelbourne Falls, NH, and Orono, ME. The plan is to visit family and friends, see the FDR Library, cross the border into Montreal for a day trip, and drive up Mt Washington. Plus, I think I’ll be able to get a visit in to WEBS, to Vävstuga’s store, and to Macomber Looms. I’m very excited! We’ll be back well before daughter Emily’s September 30th due date.

The Past Two Weeks

The time has just flown by since we arrived back on NJ. Daughter Kristen and I have been going to the gym just about every morning...she joined, and I get to go as her guest. It feels good to move.

Our son in law, Anthony, graduated last week from Stockton College with his Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry. We are very proud of him!

Here he is with my daughter, Emily, and their two daughters, Quinn and Eve.

I finished my Hearts Band.

And wove a short one I’m calling Tiny Circles, using a little rigid heddle from Vävkompaniet.

Bob and I went to the movies to see Black Panther this week. I had seen it with Catherine in March but Bob never saw it. He enjoyed it, as I knew he would!

Other than that, we are dealing with the weather. It started raining last Saturday here and has rained daily since then. We hear it should clear up by next Friday. Ugh. I remember reading my great grandmother’s diary where one day’s entry said only “Rain. Rain, rain, rain.”

I know how she felt.

Back to NJ

This has been a traveling week, for sure! We left Punta Gorda, FL on Monday morning, and it is now Saturday afternoon as we are pulling into our spot in NJ for the next couple of months or so. That’s 1445 miles in five days of driving. We tried to keep the mileage closer to 200 miles a day rather than 300, and we accomplished that for the most part, with the exception of our first day which was over 300 miles. Sometimes you have to go a little farther to get to a campground.

On Tuesday we pulled into Little Tallapoosa Park in Carrollton, GA. We really like this little county park. It boasts pull through wooded sites, full hookups with 50 amp service, horse trails for the equine set, and even a splash pad for little ones. But the big draw for us was our good friends, Mike and Retha, who were there for the week. We haven’t seen them in a year and a half,  and it was so good to see them again even though it was a short visit. We hung out at their campsite with their seven Japanese Chins, and were even treated to a yummy Chinese food dinner at a local restaurant. Bob and I are really hoping we don’t go another 18 months without seeing them again.

The rest of our trip was uneventful (a good thing!) but traveling every day gets tiring. So why did we do it? We miss the kids and grandkids too much to dilly-dally on our last part of the trip.

We look forward to visiting with family and taking the grandchildren on a camping trip this summer. And seeing friends, too!

Sisters Weekend

There’s not much better than having a Sisters Weekend, in my book. Bob and I drove to Punta Gorda after we left Fort Wilderness and camped not too far from our sister Wendy’s condo. Bob and Auggie hung back at the campground while I joined my siblings for a fun filled four days.

Wendy’s condo is within walking distance to a marina where we admired all the yachts moored there.

We lunched at a nearby restaurant that featured seafood but also had a yummy Portobello burger for Gail and me.

It was such fun to visit local consignment shops, looking for furniture for the condo. And on Saturday we went to a street fair, meandering through little stores and outdoor booths. Afterwards we lounged by the pool, and in the evenings we reminisced about our childhood together, making new memories as we did so.

On Sunday Bob took our photo as we prepared to return to our homes...Cheryl in Massachusetts and Gail in Texas. It was a lovely weekend!