July 2019

Meanwhile a summer festival in Japan. Look at that sweet girl.

In the process of working on the Nerdy Gurdy I decided to try using some wood grain PLA and some stain-able birch plywood. I went through my stains and tried to pick one that worked on both and looked nice. The block is 3D printed and the wood beneath is the birch I will use.

I went into Haven to cut the wood parts. This should have been pretty quick but the person who put up the file is clearly using a laser cutter with a longer bed than the one I am using. I tried to scoot the bits around and re-position them so that they would fit on the size scale that I am used to but discovered that the big parts (the back the neck and part of the front) would not fit. Once the Haven guys are back from vacation I am going to ask them how to use the pass through. I am stalled but with many pieces in hand.

The Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Department Fair happened.

Kiernan wanted to stay home and did.

I got Megan a ride all you can wristband and she took it to heart. She spun on machines for 3+ hours. She rode the thing behind her before I got there. Thank goodness that mom doesn't hate rides like I do.

Some time shortly after I got there she found a friend from school and they ran off ahead of us slowpoke adults for more fun. It was very sweet.

I really wanted to go to the beach but have no vacation time because I just started my new job so we did the unthinkable and drove off towards Ocean City on a sunny Saturday in July.

The traffic was horrible as you would expect and we decided to save time and make for a new beach.

We went to Lewes Delaware.

According to the google while you are on the road discovery Lewes is a great kids beach and very family friendly.

The internet did not lie.

No waves to speak of and despite being a crowded day it was actually not crowded at all.

We got beach pizza and blizzards and built sandcastles.

For the remainder of the weekend we cooked.

We made Piroshki.

We have been enjoying the weather and going to the park.

I stopped by Licia's in time to catch Mrs. Scearce. We took a little trip to a local nursery.

Megan got to have a sleepover at Licia's place for Licia's birthday and kept poor aunt Licia up half the night (no doubt eating all her ice cream in the process). Happy Birthday Licia.

I've been working on a cool archery project.

I found this cool backstop idea on pintrest. As I am hoping to compete for some 2020 Pennsic Archery War points I need to practice. In the SCA they use only period appropriate bows, so basically long bows and recurves and crossbows. The arrows have to be wooden or bamboo and the fletching must be feather. I love this but the arrow cost is significant...something like 2.50 per arrow.

The backstop is to help me lose and break fewer arrows.

I used the truck to pick up some 4x4s (the horsestall mat part of the backstop is super heavy so 4x4s are required). Then I started cutting and drilling and attaching the mat.

David moved the throwing target. Kiernan and I measured out 20 and 25 yards in the back lot and I started clearing brush.

I worked more on a list of millenial foods to try.

Megan is a big fan of the unicorn toast from this list.

Its mostly cream cheese and a little food coloring but there is a bit of marshmallow in there as well.

We had a 4th of July firework watching without poor Kiernan who was sick.

We went to our usual spot and set up.

Megan played and caught fireflies.

She was pretty sleepy by the time the fireworks started.

Mount Airy dose their show on the 3rd so on the 4th we did our own.

It was fun.

The sparklers make the best pictures.

I finished printing the Nerdy Gurdy printed parts.

David split my desk in two so that Megan can have one of her own. We have big plans for an office makeover that include a wall length desk for me and the kids but this is very helpful as she can get her legs under while on her computer.

I made some really good asparagus and lemon risotto.

The garden started producing.

I made Kuehnert green bean soup.

We killed the fatted zucchini and made zucchini bread.

We harvested blackberries and made cobbler.

Megan started some summer Ballet classes. She takes it very seriously and loves it very much.

I took her clothes shopping which was a bit of a trial but she got some great stuff that fits well.

We have been doing some Marie Kondo cleaning and she finally got rid of a ton of clothes that she has been holding onto since she was 4. It was then that we discovered that she only had 2 shorts and 3 t shirts to her name.

We did our 4th of July tie dye. It was a smaller affair than it has been since Kiernan was born. I had to call off the party version because of a thunderstorm that turned out to not even happen.

We got some nice looking shirts out of it though.

I think David was quite relieved to have it be smaller and I will try to make it smaller hence forth.

I wish the colors would stay this good after washing. This amazing shirt of Kiernan's turned into a very light purple blur after rinsing.

This is a great tradition and I'm so glad we do it.

Davids mom used to love 4th of July and I feel like this is sort of in that vein.

I love this orange and pink one of mine.

We made stuffed peppers from local peppers. We have been going weekly to a local farm stand for tomatoes until ours start producing in full.

David is on a healthy food kick and fresh veggies are a big part of it.

I got a camping cot and tried to set it up viking style.

I put some foam on it and it was pretty good. I would like to come up with a camping set up that makes it possible for David to enjoy camping at all.

I think I have given up on taking him to Pennsic but not for some later in the year events. He is too unhappy in the heat for Pennsic to work well but there is a fall event I might ask him to come to.

He likes viking stuff so I am gearing towards viking for the SCA stuff and towards lightweight and well organized for the other stuff.

We used Kiernan's basil and our tomatoes for some bang up bruchetta.

It was so good. Kelsey gave me the heads up on this cheese.

I got it at Wegmans and it is super delicious.

Another millennial food item was the cloud egg.

These are basically merienged whites and then slightly cooked yokes.

They are pretty great for eggs and soldiers. They were fun to make but the kids were unimpressed.

We went to a family get together and my lovely Aunt Becky's house. She is the consummate hostess and a wonderful cook and it was so great to be with family.

We got a new canopy for Megans bed because her tent topper was trapping hot air and the crazy heat have been making her room intolerable at nights. I think its very pretty and the ceiling fan can move air right through it.

I started making ice cream. This one was peppermint. There is a peppermint ice cream from Braums in Kansas and Oklahoma that I think it the most refreshing summer treat I have ever had.

So I gave it a go. I think with peppermint sticks it would have been perfect.

I am focusing on cooking and projects right now. I think its mostly due to stress about being at a new job and thinking about Shawn.

Its something I did after 9/11. I started watching Martha Steward semi obsessively because she never gave me panic attacks and because order and rich food and growing things and detailed crafts are all soothing to me.

Yay Martha.