A Summer of Scouting

Summer is flying by.  We are preparing for the trip to New Mexico!  The end of June I spent nine days at Grey Wolf, which was an amazing experience.  Five adults + 21 youth staffers + 62 participants = week  3 Grey Wolf!  Watching the participants over the week transform into leaders was an amazing experience.  In a nutshell, it is living the Scout Oath and Law intensely for a week.  We began developing our team in January in order to put on a great program for the participants.  I believe we accomplished that!  Course 4 finishes up today and it is time to put the equipment away for another year.  

After a couple of days rest at home, I drove over to Tomahawk Scout Reservation to spend time with the troop at summer camp.  I lucked out with the weather--it was very cool and comfortable for sleeping.  Kerry and I were happy that the camp installed new latrines with a side for women!  The boys were doing well, working on merit badges, and having fun.  It was good to have a fire going in the campsite all day.  A nice place to take a load off the feet and relax.  On cook's day off, we had Cheeseburgers in Paradise at Scoutcraft and then for supper the boys fixed steak, baked potatoes, and dessert.  A new twist is to have a couple of staffers join us for supper, which was great.  They sit with the boys and it is a nice way to see how the scouts are doing and get feedback about the programs, etc.

I drove back home in torrential rains, did laundry, and have been resting up for the trip to New Mexico.  I will take Outdoor Training, and Jim will take Round Table.  He made copies of my little Dutch oven cookbook to share at the Midway.

Gery and I are ready for Course 3!

Dutch oven cooking!

There is always time to sing

Quiet time

Mrs. C. checks her notes

Happy totem

Breakfast--A's mom made us muffins!

Morning assembly flag ceremony

Out for a walk.  I guess you could say this is a self-portrait.

I took time to observe the color and textures of the woods.

Mmmoss

The ferns grow in circles

A valentine from nature

Ballista lashing 

Summer camp! 

The weather was nice and cool, so I planted myself and picked up my knitting! 

Pretty blooms near the Trading Post.

Adult campsite--Big Agnes and the Gnomes are back!

Weekend in San Antonio

I went on a brief trip to San Antonio to see my brother in June.  The weather was hot, and thankfully dry.  My brother looked great considering the surgery he had and it was wonderful to see him.  Here are some highlights from the trip...

Neighborhood deer at my brother's home

Bill and Mariana checking out the view from a WWII sub

A light tank--the same one my Dad drove in the South Pacific

Old Glory

Sharp looking cowboy boots at the Buck Horn Museum

Sheriff badges displayed in the shape of Texas.  We lived in Collin County.

Polar Bear paw

Optical illusion--still the little sister

...now I am the big sister!

A nice view from the plane back to Minnesota

Home again!

What in TARNation, the unofficial start of summer!

28.05.11  Early this morning we took Ben to the airport and he is on his way to Philmont.  The flight to Denver is not long (2 hours).   He met three others at the airport from Minnesota and they all know each other.

02.06.11  Since Ben arrived at Philmont, he has been in training.  In fact, they started the evening the Rangers arrived at camp.  Right now he is on a trek that will take the (Ranger) crew over Mt. Phillips, which is one peak Ben had not scaled, yet.  He was happy about that and I hope he takes lots of photos!

I will be going to Texas to visit my brother soon and am anxious to see him.  He is doing well and getting stronger each day.

I love my Little Brown Jug

04.06.11  I finally unloaded the photos off my camera and did some editing, rested my hands, and have been drawing.  I took some photos of myself wearing Little Brown Jug.  It is a challenge, but I believe they are sufficient to show how the sweater looks on me.  

A great little cardigan to cover the shoulders

Walk club is going well and I enjoy that.  I am back practicing yoga, too.  Too much marathon knitting was making my left shoulder and hands sore.  I cannot afford to lose the use of my left side (I am left-handed).  It is surprising how much better it feels to take a break, although staying active and moving is how I roll!

Ben went through his clothes and had a large tub of (mostly) t-shirts.  Rather than just adding them to the charity bag, I decided to make tarn (t-shirt yarn).  There are lots of videos on the web.  Finding ways to recycle is always fun and making yarn is a bonus!  My Aunt Leona used to crochet plastic bags into items when I was a kid.  Tarn is very easy to make and knits up nicely.  I particularly like the colors!  I will probably have Jim go through his shirts, also--I will get more yardage!  My shirts, not so much...

1. Cut the body below the design and trim off the hem.

2. Cut strips about 1" apart and just below the top
of the tube.

3. Open up the tube and cut the end at an angle.

4. Repeat the angled cuts--you will have a continuous
strip of fabric.
5. Stretch the strip to lengthen and roll the edges inward.

6. Roll the tarn into balls and knit with large needles!

Little brown jug how I love thee...

Ho, ho, ho

You and me

Little brown jug

How I love thee!

I finished the little cardigan and it fits nicely.  Also, I have very little leftover yarn, which is great.  I have enough stash!

Books and such

I ordered a couple of books and they came yesterday!  One is by Jade Starmore, and the other is from Rowan.  Lots of lovely projects to knit and wonderful inspiration.
The past couple of weeks have been interesting in terms of weather.  We were lucky to dodge the damaging winds that hit above and below us.  Recently, there were some amazing cloud formations and I could not resist taking photos until the sun set.

Looking west

Right now I am making a simple, neck-down, short-sleeved cardigan for summer.  You would think that I could knock it out in just a few days, but for some reason (inattention?) I had to keep frogging it.  Now I am on the right track and ready to work the sleeves.  To add a new skein, I did a Russian join, which worked nicely.  I whipped the  end of the yarn on either end so the threads are not noticeable.  In the meantime, it is time to decide what project to do next.  I believe I found a good pattern for the Shepherd's Choice yarn.  Other possibilities for the stash are Amaryllis or Wild Saffron from the Purelife Autumn book.   In the stash:  18 skeins of Kathmandu Aran Tweed and 14 skeins of Classic Elite Skye Tweed.  I will have to check yardage--especially with the Aranmor near disaster!