Wisconsin!!

Living in Princeton, Iowa has many, many benefits. One of the big ones is that I am very close to two way more interesting STATES. First of all -- I can almost see Illinois from my house. Getting to Chicago is an easy train ride -- and, well, I don't want to start that whole Hamilton thing again -- but you know what I'm talking about.

And then -- Wisconsin is just an hour away. WHAT?? (another line from Hamilton...)
We go to Wisconsin at the drop of a hat. John and I always enjoy a Fall car trip to see the leaves...

Mary and I -- at this year's Sewing Weekend in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin...

The minute I get through Dubuque, Iowa -- Wisconsin Hwy #151 -- has these cuts on either side of the road...

Besides cheese curds, they have their own snack food...

I frequently write about their wonderful thrift stores!! I always stop in Mt. Horeb, and during my last solo trip there -- I was visiting my favorite Bargain Nook when I saw this cafe next door:

They had an old fashioned lunch counter!!

My food was delicious, so I decided to buy two of their "pasties" for my upcoming Iron Range luncheon...

I adore these quaint little Wisconsin towns!!

This is the best picture I have of the pasties! They were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G...

Yesterday, John and I took the kids on their first GRANDPARENTS DAY TRIP...of course -- to a location in Wisconsin. It just might be worth a whole week of blog posts...really...it was THAT GOOD...

Grandma Camp Lessons

If you're doing it right -- Grandma Camp is all about the lessons. Only a Grandma has the time to teach a child how to roll out a homemade pie crust...or the benefit of doing at least one good deed every day...

And, hopefully, even if things don't go EXACTLY as planned, there will be lessons.

Take our afternoon of tenting...

I should mention here that Ross barely remembered his tent...and as Lilly and Warren were excitedly running outside to begin our "camping" adventure, Ross said, "It may not be as much fun as you think..."

His pessimistic prediction was very annoying...

All the parts were there...including the instruction BOOK...

But, even though we got off to a good start -- and I DID READ THE BOOK in advance...things went downhill...

Lilly and I could not do it without Warren's help...and I thought we were on our way to a great team-building lesson...

But not so much...after the first hour...we're all sweating...the kids are tired and bored...(GRANDMA, TOO!) and it was HOT AS HELL...

HOW COULD ROSS HAVE KNOWN IT WOULD TURN OUT LIKE THIS??

I am sooo over this damned tent. The stupid thing collapsed at least four times...and what did Warren do with those tent stakes? I lost my temper (3 times) There was some cursing...Lilly started to cry...Warren was begging to go inside and take a nap...

FINALLY -- after two hours and six meltdowns (3 for me, 3 for the kids) -- the tent is finished.

Lilly was pouting by that time, so, to cheer her up,  I said, "when we see Uncle Ross, we are going to act like this was the most fun we ever had..."

She chuckled...kinda...

It actually looked pretty good...

I'm pretty sure this will be the ONLY picture I ever get of Lilly and Warren inside the tent.

At the end of the day,  there was a lesson I hope the kids will remember. ..

But it wasn't about how to put up a tent...and it wasn't about teamwork.  It certainly wasn't about patience...

Here it is...after losing my temper for the third time, Lilly started to cry, and I said, (still yelling)...

SEE -- THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THINGS AREN'T GOING RIGHT, AND THE ADULT IN THE ROOM IS PISSED OFF AND HOT...THEY GET CRANKY AND WANT TO BLAME SOMEBODY ELSE FOR THE TROUBLE. 

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY START YELLING AT INNOCENT CHILDREN.

YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG.  I AM SORRY I LOST MY TEMPER...and I will try to do better. 

Grandma Camp 2017

Grandma Camp is going just fine...Mostly...

This week, I'll have Lilly, and/or Warren for at least a part of every day. They both LOVE going with me to swim at the YMCA. We do a lot of cooking, and we are library gypsies (I pay so many fines, I like to spread that wealth around.)

We have a surprise DAY TRIP event coming up...

But -- this activity was all about the CAMPING..

ugh.  you heard me...C.A.M.P.I.N.G. Something I have NEVER done. Something I know NOTHING about...

Double Ugh...

Apparently -- we gave this tent to Ross for Christmas in1994...It was still in the original box...

I have NEVER actually set up a tent...

And -- here's the alarming thing, people. THAT complete lack of knowledge or experience DIDN'T STOP ME...I do not remember having a single moment of pause...I just willy/nilly said to these two innocent children..."Oh, look what Grandma found!! IT'S A TENT...!! We'll set it up tomorrow."

They were sooo excited....

Lilly's job was to hold this end up, while I read the directions...She was fine with it...for the first 20 minutes...

After several crashes, I needed BOTH children to hold things up...although this point, I still thought it was a fun activity, and something I'd want to have pictures of, right?

This is the selfie I tried to take after we put up the tent.  Lilly is forcing a smile...but Warren is too young to even try.

This tent-making activity did NOT go as well as I'd hoped...Let me say here that I was wrong to be so optimistic.

But, Grandma Camp is all about the lessons, right??

And I GOT THAT PART RIGHT....

to be continued....

Life After Hamilton/Morton

I am not going to write a review of Hamilton. As a matter of fact, I am going to put all my energy into NOT TELLING YOU A THING ABOUT IT.

Because I don't want to ruin it for you. It is just possible I could rave so much, and share so much, your expectations would become sky high and no performance could possibly live up to them. This is the exact same tactic I'm taking with my friends and Lilly.

In January, five of us (including Lilly) are going to see Hamilton in Chicago...and I want them all to experience it the same way I did.

So -- you might be relieved to know that HAMILTON WEEK IS OFFICIALLY OVER.

On the second day of our Chicago excursion, Kimberly had a library conference to attend -- so Linda and I went to the Morton Arboretum.

There was a huge outdoor sculpture exhibit...origami...

A peaceful little garden, just outside of the Morton library

Inside, I learned how to origami a drinking cup (or drinking themble?)

Linda made a paper...train??  toothpick?  No...wait for it, wait for it...

The base of this sculpture only LOOKS like water...(it's really mirror tiles)

Spectacular either close up or from a distance!!

Can you guess what this sculpture is called?

Yep. Scissors, paper, rock!!

Hanging high in the sky. Such great imagination, eh?

Linda and I went to McD's for a cold drink...we had about 30 minutes before we had to meet Kim. GREAT!! Time for one spectacular game of Bananagrams!!

It was such a stunning beautiful day. I kept thinking...

HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW...(okay, so I'm not QUITE over Hamilton yet!)

HAMILTON!!!

We arrived in downtown Chicago, located the Private Bank theater, then looked around for a nearby place where we could eat lunch.  BINGO!!!  Just a half a block away -- the Beef 'n Brandy was the PERFECT SPOT. 

The had an extensive downtown/diner menu with everything from breakfast to Porterhouse steak...(they a special of Blini's with black cherry sauce... I tried to say no to this... )

Two Iowans and a Texan....walk into the room....

We walked to the Private Bank Theater.  Ooh, there’s nothing like summer in the city.

Someone in a rush next to someone lookin' pretty

Excuse me, miss, I know it’s not funny But your perfume smells like your daddy’s got money..

We were so happy to be IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS....

P.S. It is just possible that only Laura and Jim will actually appreciate this post...
***********
MMWI:  241.4

Original Hamilton Outfits

THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE. Wednesday, June 21 -- THE DAY I WILL SEE HAMILTON.

Linda and Kim did not know I was making Hamilton outfits for us...I brought them to TMBC for a pre-theater impromptu style show.

Kimberly's shirt fit PERFECTLY...

And so did Linda's! A crisp white shirt is kind of her signature look...

Can you see that I cut up a vintage HEMSTITCHED SHEET to make the cuffs on my Hamilton pants?

Really -- THAT'S COMMITMENT!! (one leg said RISE UP...and the other leg said, TALK LESS, SMILE MORE)

The back of Kim's shirt and Linda's sleeve have the words, "Do Not Throw Away Your Shot".

We are only hours away from seeing Hamilton....FOR THE FIRST TIME...

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Here is the link to the New York Times review of HAMILTON.

I can hardly wait to write my own review of the Chicago Production!!

Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

From Wikipedia:
Hamilton earned the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and was nominated for a record-setting 16 Tony Awards, of which it won 11, including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book. For his performance in the lead role of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda was nominated for another Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. The Hamilton cast recording spent ten weeks atop Billboard's Top Rap Albums chart in 2015, while The Hamilton Mixtape, an album of covers of songs from the musical, developed by and featuring Miranda, reached number one on the Billboard 200 upon release in December 2016.

Oh, yeah...2017 Grandma Camp is gonna be all about the Revolutionary War.  THANK YOU LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA.    

Frankensewed Hamilton Shirts

Hamilton It was late one night...I was cruising the internet (don't judge me)...and I pushed "BUY" four times for "Hamilton" shirts. My intention was to modify and customize these shirts for Linda and Kim (who were taking me with them to Chicago to SEE HAMILTON).
 

The first shirt arrived in time for the Hamilton Women luncheon. OF COURSE Lilly got that one!

Because the other shirts did not arrive -- I decided I'd have to Frankensew shirts for my friends. I knew these shirts would be ALL ABOUT THE WORDS. And it is very difficult and time consuming to paint words on fabric.  Paint takes too long to dry...it's hard to load enough paint on a brush to make letters without it being splotchy...

I decided ink was a better way to go. I went to the local office supply store and bought a bunch of markers and pens.  I spent almost $30. But, I can afford that because the shirts I'm using only cost 88 cents!!

The first decision was how to stabilize the fabric.  I could tape the shirts onto a board -- or use an embroidery frame.

The second decision was what words I wanted to use...

THAT was easy, because Lin-Manuel Miranda is such a genius -- every song is wonderful! 

I rolled up a towel, and put it in a plastic bag to write on the sleeve.

You can't go wrong with a crisp white Jones of New York shirt.

Kim's shirt had these words ALREADY going down the center back of the shirt.

Of course, I had to tweek it just a little bit.

For the front of the shirt, I cut away the elephant that HAD been there -- and added a panel with nothing but words...Then, of course, I sewed on a new bottom to the front of the shirt..