The good part of the summer is finally here!  After all the pain of losing a beloved doggie, the angst of  what CJ is going to do for the semester, the grief surrounding Donna’s  accident and Ed’s death, I finally get to escape it all and return to my ancestral home.  Internet access is severely limited, so I may or may not take the time to upload pictures, but I’m here and happy.

Saturday was travel day, making two stops on the way from Huntsville to Milwaukee, just so I could sit next to my baby sister on the leg from Detroit to Milwaukee.  She has lost a tremendous amount of weight in the past two years and looks incredible.  I’m working on absorbing her determination by osmosis so maybe I can do the same thing.  Sometime.  Not this week, thank you.

We hung around the airport, waiting for Mom to arrive from Phoenix later in the afternoon.  While there, we toured the Gen. Mitchell Museum of Flight.

Who’d a thunk I’d find my Saturn rocket following me from the Space & Rocket Center to Wisconsin?

Anyway, Mom’s flight finally arrived.  It was hard to keep from bursting into tears when I saw her, because she arrived in a wheelchair.  She has had a difficult year as well, and at 79 she’s beginning to wear out.  I was struck by just how frail she can be seeing her this way.  Turns out she injured her leg packing countless boxes for their recent move.  Stubborn fool that she is, she won’t let anyone help her.  I’m afraid she’s going to kill herself with overwork.

We eventually ended up in Oconomowoc, which has changed substantially in 30+ years.  Brother KC drove in from Minneapolis and was waiting for us when we arrived.  Other brother Peter, who still lives in the area, joined us for dinner and an evening of catching up on family news.  I took pictures, but they’re awful, so you’ll have to wait til later to see us all.

Sunday was baseball day.  We all love baseball, and none of us had been to the new Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, so we went to see them play the Phillies.  Long game, extra innings, we lost.  But we had a good time, and some of us had a good nap for an inning or two.   I took pictures of the stadium, but I’m stupid and deleted them instead of downloading them (that’s what I get for operating electronic equipment sans coffee).

This is a knitting blog, really it is.  What am I knitting?  Monkey socks.  I love this pattern.  Big surprise, huh?  They’re detailed enough to be interesting, but the pattern is easy enough to memorize so I’m not chained to the chart.  I’m using my own handspun — Blows Smoke merino from Adrian at Hello Yarn.  I had hoped to knit all during the game yesterday, but we were crammed into the row like sardines, so I didn’t.

Oops, I’m almost out of battery juice, so I’d better upload now.  Pictures tomorrow, I promise!