First Harvest

This first harvest is meager; this first harvest is small, but it doesn't make it any less important nor enjoyable.  

A blast to the past

On 4th of July weekend, a few friends and I went camping in quaint Taylor's Fall MN at  Camp Waub-O-Jeeg.  And really what could be more appropriate than bringing along a friendship bracelet as my craft of choice? As a child, I never quite mastered anything except the spiral so I have been extra pleased with my fancy chevron.  In true friendship bracelet fashion I fastened a safety pin to the end and toted it around with me all weekend.  I found that my water bottle works perfectly well as an anchor.  I have a feeling this may be my obsessive craft of choice for the rest of the summer. 

Lazy Boys

It has been in the 90's everyday for the last few weeks and despite my best efforts to keep my un-airconditioned home cool it has still been uncomfortably steamy.  My poor boys have been napping much more than usual and it hasn't been uncommon for me to find them passed out under the table.   

Out with the old

I made a  New Year’s Resolution (don’t we all) to not buy anything new for the rest of the year.  I have held to my promise for a good 6 months until summer truly came around and I was facing a serious sandal dilemma.  I am sentimentally attached to my trusty old leather sandals.   I picked them up on a family vacation to Oaxaca in 2004 for the equivalent of 10 US dollars and they have brought me through every single summer since, so it was heartbreaking when the first strap popped off, followed by the second.  I might have lived with these minor adjustments, but then a hole developed in the sole and rocks started to puncture my feet.  


It was time to move on and as sad as I am to let them go, I was pretty excited to get my shiny new sandals from  Frye.  

Tin Fish

Summer in Minneapolis wouldn’t be the same without a couple of visits to Tin Fish (the closest thing we have to a shore view eatery ).  And while there may be some debate on who has the best fish tacos in town, it is undeniable that Tin Fish is a perfect place to pass a summer evening.  Even Bubbsie enjoyed himself.  

Off the loom and off to Sweden

 How appropriate that I would happen to be finishing up my Scandinavian bread towels, pattern  courtesy of “Favorite Scandinavian Projects to Weave”,  the same week that I booked a trip to Sweden?  It has been much too long since my travel buddy, Melisa, and I have taken a trip together. 

I’ve known Melisa since 2004.  We met in Florence as foreign exchange students. Thus far we have been to Italy, Sicily, Germany, Morocco, India, Greece,  Belize, Guatemala, and New York together.  A wanderlust travel bug like me I was almost certain we would be hard pressed to find a destination that would be new to both of us. As it turned out Sweden seemed to be the only Northern European country that she hasn't traveled to and thanks to my relatively new weaving hobby I too am anxious to check it out.

I look forward to good eats, good conversations and good memories with my good friend.  I know, no matter where we are, we are guaranteed a good time.

 Santorini, Greece 2006

 The Palio in Sienna, Italia 2006

India 2006

India 2006

The First

I awoke on Saturday morning at 7:00AM.  My first chrysalis had started to darken the night before and I knew that my first butterfly of the season was scheduled to emerge that morning.  In lieu of my Saturday morning farmer's market routine, I stayed in with the hopes of observing the butterfly actually emerging.   I had already propped my phone up at an optimal angle to film and I had my digital SLR loaded and ready to start shooting at the first sign of movement.  And there I waited and waited and before I knew it, it was 7:30, then 8:15, then 8:30.  I finally started filming the chrysalis in stints of 5 minutes as I went about my morning activities.  At 9AM I still had no luck and was almost verbally cursing that darn chrysalis.  By 9:05, Emily and Danielle had arrived to go berry picking and woefully I dismantled my video set up and started getting ready to leave.  And then? And then, that darn butterfly came out!  Of course it did?  I didn't catch the entire thing on video, but I took some good shots and I got to share the moment with my friends.

And it's a girl!