Camp Ree-Ree

I never went to camp when I was growing up.  But I began liking the idea of camp ever since the first time I saw The Parent Trap (the 1961 Disney version).  How cool would it be to stay in a cabin with your friends, going swimming and canoeing, marching in formation while whistling, having food fights, and even finding your long lost twin sister?!

Credit: Walt Disney

While I don't have a long lost twin sister, I do have a sister almost two decades my junior.  I remember her arrival fondly...I was on my senior trip to Disney World, and got a phone call from my dad as I stood outside Cinderella's Castle with my friend Kristy.  "You have a little sister!  She just got here!"  And then a bird relieved itself on Kristy's head.  It was memorable on two counts.

So doesn't it make perfect sense that now, after all these years, I should host my own camp with my very own sister?  I may or may not have had visions of myself wearing knee-high socks and sporting a whistle around my neck.   Just like the camp director in Parent Trap!  But, no....I played it cool.

"Camp Ree-Ree" was a hit!  We did almost everything this city has to offer a pair of generation-gapped sisters.  Six Flags, Grant's Farm, the zoo, The Muny, Ted Drew's...the works!  We also watched a lot of Harry Potter and she introduced me to Billy the Exterminator...

Credit: aetv.com

Yeah, he's a bit of a strange bird.  But he doesn't kill his catches, which is nice.  Unless they are giant alligators.

It was great having Little Sis here.  She is much cooler than I ever was at ten years old.  She even skateboards!  At one point, she was skateboarding in the living room and I asked if she wanted some music on.  She said she'd like to listen to some heavy metal.  I said, "I have some of that."  Her response: "But you're quiet...And you go to the library.  Why do you have heavy metal music?"  I think I definitely racked up some cool points there.  Good thing I purchased that Big Hair cd in high school...

Cooking Tacos

Child labor with Bil (Bil = "Brother In Law")

Skateboarding in the middle of the street

Petting sting rays at the zoo

We even made matching camp shirts!

My only regret is that Little Sis and I did not do this routine together: 

So, was Camp Ree-Ree a 2012 edition of The Parent Trap?  No.  It was better.  Move over, Hayley Mills!

Francy Pants, in the third person.

Once upon a time...a couple months ago...

...there lived a young midwestern wife who was whisked across the Atlantic Ocean into worlds unknown to her.  It was a land filled with stretchy pants, pointy shoes, cigarettes, and pigeons.  Her inner Dorothy Gale whispered, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."   Inner Dorothy was right.  She was, in fact, in the Land of...Paris.

Paris was a city of:

 Towers made of metal...

Towers made of chocolate...

Angry men made of gold...

 

Men who thought hard for a really long time in a squatting position...

Angels with cool dance moves...

Dogs who peed without ceasing...

Dogs who ate dinner with you...

Plastic women wearing circular hats and dresses...

Trees in perfectly straight lines...

Old castles...

With tiny secret doors...

Fabulous dancers...

And ham and cheese sandwiches with Cokes for every meal (with a killer Shania Twain soundtrack)!

Needless to say, the young midwestern wife struggled to find her place in this new land.  There were moments of doubt...Would she be able to survive in a world so different from her own?  Surely it was a lost cause when she found herself announcing a celebration of her homeland, "America Day!".  There was McDonalds for lunch!  The Avengers 3-D movie in a theater!  M&Ms in her hands!  And a newfound crush on Captain America!  So what if she did spontaneously erupt in a proud rendition of "God Bless America" on several different occasions?

But wait, dear reader, don't lose faith in her yet.  Just when you think she has been defeated by The Unfamiliar...The Uncomfortable...The Unknown...

She goes and makes a new friend...a Parisian friend.  A professor at the University of Paris who teaches a class on 1930s American culture.  There were long discussions of Jimmy Stewart, old Hollywood, and The Great Depression.  And with a hearty "Sante, Paris!" (French for 'Cheers for Paris!'), she found herself comfortable, confident and content in the strange land.  On her last day there.

The young midwestern wife at last found her Francy Pants, and wore them proudly.  But the best part of her journey across the Atlantic was being there with...

Young Midwestern Husband

Sante!

Faking It

Recently, on an airplane ride out to California, I was flipping through Sky Mall magazine and stumbled upon something that made me laugh.  A before-and-after photo of a woman demonstrating Clip-On Bangs, for the low, low price of $50.  The synthetic bangs reminded me of how I used to be a bit of a faker.  In early elementary school, I frequently faked sickness to watch The Price is Right (or Bob Ross...or Sewing With Nancy) at Grandma Alice's.   Once I even faked laryngitis with my 5th grade teacher, miming "I don't have a voice" right to his face.  He was either thoroughly impressed with my mime skills or too tired to have a one-voiced conversation with me about sticking it out for the last half of the day.  I got to go home.

Probably the peak of my faking came in the form of socks.  In junior high, I really wanted some Nike socks, but thought they were too expensive.  So what did I do?  Made some of my own by drawing a Nike symbol on the sides of my white socks with black permanent marker.  Oh, how I wish I had a picture to show you!  But here's something even better...a home video from 1996.

Ahhh...dorkdom.  Let me know if you would like to order a pair of custom Nike socks;  I'd be glad to make you a pair for the low, low price of $50.  I jest.

Here is a random sewing project I completed recently, hopefully a little bit cooler than a pair of tube socks I colored on.

A nice springy hot pad!

I did some flower quilting for the first time ever; happy spring!

Cluck Cluck!

Cluck, cluck!  I am a like a proud mother hen...I have to show you this!

This iPad cover was made by my amazing little sister Karli as a gift to me for my birthday.  She is 9 years old.  She picked out the fabric and whipped it up with the help of Coach Grandma.  The R is for Ree, obviously.  I am so proud of her, and SO grateful for her gift!  Just had to show it off.

You may remember a few months ago when I shared my failed attempts at sewing clothes.  Well, I'm at it again.  As usual, it was a spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of decision, this time in the form of, "Hey, I'm going to sew a summer nightgown!"  Because, those are wildly popular right now, right?  Oh wait...that was the 1950s.  Right up my alley.

But, good news, it wasn't a flop!  I actually wore it last night and it was comfortable and I had sweet dreams of performing in a musical with my little brother Luke (true story!).  I decided to make a scottie dog to put on the front, because that seemed pretty 1950s to me.  Here's a close up:

Once again, a big thank you goes out to my #1 fabric supplier, Grandma Alice, for the pink knit fabric and turquoise gingham.  I may end up making another one of these because I have a lot of knit up there in my sewing room!  Perhaps an old-fashioned nightshirt for Michael?

More amazing men's nightshirts  (click here)

We can only hope!