Bossygirl

Band Camp: a week of living with 89 teenagers in the woods, supporting them in their quest to create a decent halftime show with some instruments, a lot of drums, and girls with flags. Did I mention the sweat? Lordy. The weather turned into uber-summer last week, which meant 95 degrees and about 120% humidity. We adult chaperones were puddles...and we weren't the ones on the field every day. Regardless, the week was a booming success. The kids are a great group, most of them good-natured and armed with a collective wicked, joyous sense of humor. We had a bit of girl drama (it's not a good trip if someone's not crying at some point). My boys and I kept our professional distances from each other; it can be tough to have your doggone mom there, for Pete's sake. Ethan and the seniors seemed to have a good time moving into their leadership roles. Evan, the freshman, cashed in on knowing many of his brother's friends...and therefore was cool... and had a blast. We adults got along famously, the food was great, and the kids say they had a great time. No cell phones, no internet, no tv, no a/c--forget the music; it's just so wonderful to take a group of teenagers into the forest and away from technology, if only for a little while. They really need that...I think we all do. As we rode into civilization on the buses yesterday, I realized how much I hadn't missed the traffic, the shopping, the skyline full of buildings. I'm no granola girl, but I really enjoy being in nature. (It's probably a throwback to all those summers at YMCA camps--it's a part of who I am.)

I will also admit that I enjoyed the most excellent shower I had yesterday afternoon with plenty of hot water and spider-free walls.

Here's a photo of me with my charges for the week. I had the Junior girls (sprinkled with a sophomore or two). They were a delightful group. I will say the cabin was astoundingly, atrociously messy all week, but get this (and some of you will faint): the night before we left, I told them that the next day we would have to get everything packed and out of the cabin before we could sweep under every bed, blah, blah, blah. The next morning, we finished breakfast--I got hung up with something or other and didn't make it back to the cabin for about 20 minutes. No lie: when I got back, every duffle, suitcase, pillow, and sleeping bag was piled neatly in little groups outside the front door, bags of trash were filled and ready to pitch, and the girls were already sweeping...and the floor was really clean! I didn't have to say a single word to get them going. I almost had a stroke, right there in front of Cabin 3. If their mothers could have only seen that in action...

For this reason, I have dubbed them The Best Cabin in the Universe:


Look how cute they are (and they are just as nice). Love those girls.

As for the knitting...still in a sock slump, but the new Cat Bordhi book came to my house while I was away, so I'm inspired to try something new. I made her Coreolis socks awhile back, and really like the way they came together. This should be fun, if I can find the time to get back on the wagon.


As for Kauni, I was able to get a couple of strips done:
It's not a lot of progress, but it was hot, and I was...am...easily distracted.*g*The cast-on ribbing at the bottom is still rolling a bit, even with the Twisted German method. I'm hoping it'll steam out. I do like the color progression better than the first time.

I did wake up this morning in "Oh, Sh**!" Mode, as we are opening the doors to our new school three weeks from Tuesday. I said, "three weeks from Tuesday".

Oh, sh**.