Wherein The Gimlet takes his Scout troop river rafting, and all return home safely! See more photos from the trip in the Gimlet Gallery, and look for the report from Scout Camp in mid-July.

Friday, June 20, 2008, we set off for Cashmere outside of Wenatchee to go rafting. We arrived at the home of the grandparents of one of the adult leaders. They had the three professional rafts and we camped on their large, park-like, yard. The first night we cooked hamburgers and hot dogs over an open fire. The Gimlet’s ginormous tent housed all the boys (about 14 of them) with room to spare. The adults slept in two other tents.

After a pancake breakfast Saturday morning we were off to the river. We were guided by able guides who volunteered from the local church unit. (The guides had 15 and 20 years of experience.) The section of the Wenatchee river we rode is a Class III river. The ride was great; Drunkard’s Droop, Snow Blind and Suffocator were particularly exciting for our group. Snow Blind knocked the entire group of paddlers, except for Thing One, into the bottom of the boat. The guide had to do a 180 degree turn after Snow Blind to keep us from going through Suffocator backwards. Excitement! Only one paddle lost, and we recovered it in the calm water after the rapids.

After the river trip, the boys enjoyed the hot tub back at the host’s home, and then we packed up and drove back to the city. The new SUV got nearly 25 mpg! Not bad since the first part of the trip was in Seattle’s Friday evening traffic.

The local strawberries are finally in season, and they are tender, sweet, and so delicious! The season is later than usual due to our chilly spring, and according to the farmers at the fruit stand, the strawberries will last through mid-July.  We’re lucky enough to live within walking distance of a pair of fruit stands, and in addition to the Hood, Puget Summer, and Totem strawberries, have been indulging in fresh Rainier cherries, and the free samples of plums, nectarines, and melons.

We made enough freezer jam to last the year and have been enjoying the rest on shortcake and homemade strawberry milkshakes. If you’re feeling ambitious, this melt-in-the-mouth white chocolate strawberry bagatelle will make good use of the berries and is well worth the effort, but if you can’t wait that long, try our favorite snack: fresh berries dipped in sour cream, then rolled in brown sugar.

Grandmas always have the best ideas for entertaining bored kids: the Niña’s weekend visit to the Center for Wooden Boats was a perfect way to spend a sunny morning.

The original Niña, Christopher Columbus’ favorite ship, disappears from records around 1501. A historically correct replica of this 15th century caravel was built in Valenca, Brazil using hand tools and period-correct design and construction techniques. The new Niña was completed in 1991, appeared in the film 1492, and now visits ports around the USA and Canada as a ’sailing museum.’ She visits Seattle from 18-23 June; other local stops include Tacoma, WA and Victoria and Port Alberni in British Columbia before sailing to California.

We were all surprised at how small the Niña is: just short of 94 feet overall with a deck length of 66 feet and beam measuring 17 feet. The replica houses a seven-person crew, but in Columbus’ day there would have been about two dozen or more men on board, plus the animals stored in the hold. Thing Two was intrigued by the ship’s rudder and tiller and the large opening in which they were placed; Monkey almost fell into Lake Union when his keeper tried to give him a closer look. (Unfortunately the photo of this event is too blurred to share; your humble narrator chose to lunge for Monkey instead of keeping still. We need a faster camera, and perhaps I should make a tiny life jacket for Monkey as well.)

The Virginia V, a classic steam ship from the Mosquito Fleet, was also open for tours. Thing One preferred the Virginia V to the Niña, especially the steam engine room. At the entrance to the Center for Wooden Boats a local artisan was busy creating a canoe from an immense cedar log.

Our morning ended on a sad note when Thing Two made it clear that he had expected to do more than simply tour a ship. Deeply disappointed that we didn’t actually sail on the water, he sobbed softly all the way home. He may be living up to his namesake: a great-great grandfather who is reported to have boarded a sailing ship at age 14, served in the Danish navy, and had many seafaring adventures in the process. Poor little Thing Two, would-be powder monkey; you’re too young to break your mother’s heart and run off to sea just yet.

Exploring Further:

• Gimlet Gallery album of our visit to the Niña. Includes more information about the ship and plaques describing the captain’s quarters, the ship’s boat, and the hold.
• Niña’s official web site: history of the original and replica ships, photos, tour schedule, and more.
• More about caravels

A biscornu is a tiny eight-sided embroidered pillow. It can be used as a pincushion, a key or scissor fob, or filled with potpourri for a sachet, to name a few possibilities. The name derives from a French adjective which literally means “several horns” and refers to an odd or bizarre, irregularly shaped object. Sometimes they’re called tuffets, too. I had seen a few of these little gizmos and wasn’t sure I could make one, but they’re not difficult after all! I began stitching the pieces late one afternoon, finished most of the stitching that evening, and assembled the biscornu the following day.

To try it out, I used a quick, simple pattern and materials already on hand. One of my favorite eBay sellers often includes extra fabric with my purchases, so I chose a small piece of her khaki colored Quaker cloth (28 count). The biscornu instructions on the Own Two Hands blog includes a list of links to patterns; I based mine on the “Popular Red Biscornu” pattern, but instead of red I used alternating bands of cream and lilac. While stitching the design, I decided to add cream-colored beads to the ends and points, and chose a pair of honeybee buttons to decorate the center. So much for keeping it simple. This is a good time to point out that biscornu-making can be addictive like embroidery crack. The design possibilities are endless, and they can be embellished with beads, buttons, charms, ribbons, hand dyed fabrics — anything goes.

There are several great how-to sites (I already mentioned Own Two Hands; also check out Violarium and Biscornu Basics) which show off lovely examples to pique interest, then walk the biscornu-curious through the creation steps. Here are a few lessons learned:

• The pattern I chose used only one color. Was that good enough for me? Oh, no. The light colors I chose give this biscornu a lovely antique look, but it would have been a lot easier to stitch with a dark color … like red … especially on the khaki-colored fabric. These stitches were hard to see and I had to unpick the design several times because I kept miscounting the evenweave. Not a big issue, but if I were making one for the first time again, it would be much easier if there were greater contrast between the floss and fabric.
• The how-to sites suggested attaching some backing to the evenweave. Good idea, because the evenweave frays like crazy. But I chose to back mine with felt, which was so thick that it made it difficult to stitch the two pieces together. The corners are not as square as I’d like them to be, either. Next time I’ll use much thinner backing.
• I used #12 perle cotton to stitch the connecting backseam, which may have been overkill and was almost impossible to see against the khaki fabric (see do-over #1). But between the felt and the perle cotton, it’s sturdy!
• Not precisely a do-over, but the rest of Team Gimlet claim the buttons aren’t honeybees, but houseflies. Even I have to admit these buttons are a little bit ambiguous (but I still say they’re bees). Perhaps I should name this the Pestilence Biscornu?

Even with these missteps, I’m pleased with how my first attempt turned out. Speaking of first attempts, here’s another peek at that band sampler I’ve been working on. It’s proceeding more quickly than I thought it would; ten out of the fifteen bands are finished. At this rate there shouldn’t be any trouble completing the sampler on time, but the Hardanger embroidery at the end promises to be a challenge.

This weekend was the annual church fathers and sons outing at Ensign Ranch. Ensign Ranch is a church property in the Cascade Mountains with camp sites, a lake for fishing and canoeing, and horses to ride. With a weekend forecast predicting rain, I elected to stay in the bunk houses rather than pitch a tent that would have to be dried when we returned home.

After work for me and school for Thing One, we quickly packed our sleeping bags and coats to go to camp. Thing Two was excited as he got to pile his coat and mini sleeping bag (a Christmas present) among the gear. Thing Two seemed a little bit concerned that we would leave him behind and made sure he was ready to go. Because the mini sleeping bag is not really made for real camping we had my old sleeping bag available to put the mini sleeping bag in.

We loaded our gear into the new SUV and picked up a couple of other campers, filled the tank (with the new car I had to find out the highway mileage) and then drove for an hour at 30 miles an hour to get out of the city. (Maybe next time I will really get the highway mileage.). The drive over Snoqualmie Pass was beautiful as usual. The snow pack looks great for the summer.

We arrived at camp, unloaded our gear and claimed our bunks. Then it was time for burgers in the lodge and playing pool, foosball, and shuffle board. Thing Two wasn’t too sure about the noisy activity, but enjoyed playing catch with Thing One.

Fortunately, the weather report was accurate and soon after dinner the heavy rain let up and a slight drizzle replaced it. In the Pacific Northwest this means we can go outside for a campfire. Thing One roasted marshmallows and made s’mores. Thing Two and the Gimlet ate the chocolate and Thing Two ate unroasted marshmallows. Thing Two was pushed over by a boy one month older than him. The other boy’s father was appropriately chagrined and Thing Two recovered quickly. After the campfire there was more playtime in the lodge.

The Things were now tired and it was time for bed. I slept in the bed next to Thing Two with Thing One in the top bunk. Thing Two moved over during the night and reached out to grab my hand in his sleep to make sure I was there. While he was quiet when we were in the lodge, with the lights off he kept saying over and over that he was in a sleeping bag with Grover and Monkey.

We ate a hearty breakfast of pancakes, sausage, orange juice, and hot chocolate. After that I signed the boys up for riding horses. Thing One got the one hour trail ride, and Thing Two got the ride in the meadow with me leading the horse. Thing One rode Jackson, and Thing Two rode Micah. They both enjoyed it immensely; Thing Two has been telling everybody he sees about his ride on Micah.

After the horseback riding, it was time to head home. The fishing and canoes will have to wait until next year. Upon the return home I determined I got 20 mpg. Not bad considering the traffic at the beginning of the trip.

Editor’s Note: The Gimlet has recently been heard to complain that all the recent cross stitching posts have made the blog rather too piano for his taste. Your Humble Narrator suggested that if he started remodeling the kitchen (or the bathroom, or building his tool shed), subsequent posts might be more to his liking. Since he didn’t jump on any of these great ideas, a book about tools (and monkeys) will have to suffice.

Monkey with a Tool Belt by Chris Monroe already has everything Thing Two could hope for in a story: (1) a monkey; and (2) tools. Lots of tools. But there’s more! Chico Bon Bon (and what a great name for our monkey hero) builds and fixes all sorts of interesting things for his family and friends (clocks, swings, roller coasters), until the day he’s kidnapped by an organ grinder. But the organ grinder doesn’t realize he’s dealing with a primate packing hardware. Resourcefulness and Chico’s can-do attitude triumph in the end!

The illustrations (also by Chris Monroe) are a treat: funny, colorful, and full of details to delight both children and parents. The countless gadgets and gizmos Chico pulls out of his tool belt are especially fun. Until Chico Bon Bon gets his own show on the DIY Network, enjoy reading Monkey with a Tool Belt with your favorite little tool-loving monkeys.

In addition to Owl and the Pussycat, my other long-term stitching project this summer is a band sampler. It’s intended to be a gift, so I’ll leave out certain identifying details about it, but I’m using Victoria Sampler’s Heirloom Birth Sampler chart with just a few changes to the text to suit the occasion.

As per the directions, I chose to stitch the sampler on 32 count Belfast linen, platinum color. Everything about this project is new to me, from stitching on evenweave fabric (after a few false starts on a practice piece I’m getting the hang of it) to the embroidery threads (I’m loving the various silk flosses), ribbons, and beads, and nearly all the stitches are new, too. The sampler doesn’t need to be completed until the fall, so I’m going to take it very slowly, one or two bands at a time, learning the stitches as I go.

This week I finished the first three bands. The top band is a gorgeous garland of ribbon embroidery and beading, which may look more difficult to make than it was. The ribbon had to be handled carefully to keep the loops full, but the stitches themselves were easy to learn (and the ribbon loops are a great hiding place for any stitching sins). The garland is followed up by a band of pulled three-sided stitches, then double-sized cross stitches.

So far so good, but there’s a lot more left to do, and I’m especially nervous about cutting the fabric for the hemstitched band a few rows down. If it doesn’t work out, I can always give the intended recipient a gift card instead, and nobody will be the wiser.

A pair of Anna’s hummingbirds have been visiting our feeder several times a day; we regularly see them at breakfast and lunch time. We’ve wondered if they have a nest nearby. The male “flashes” his iridescent red head at us. We haven’t been able to take a really good photo of them yet, but we keep trying. For now, I think this is the female enjoying some lunch.

Meanwhile, the Things’ grandparents also installed a pair of bird feeders, and the goldfinches who visit stay long enough to be admired. Bestemor was able to take two photos of them this week (see the other picture in the Gimlet Gallery) and very kindly shared them with us.

May is almost over, and it’s finally starting to feel like spring:

Lilacs! They bloomed about a month later than usual, and didn’t stay long, but we loved them while they lasted. Thing Two had to stop and smell the lilacs every time we went outdoors. Now when Thing Two sniffs the flowers, they crumble and shower him with little blossoms. He thinks that’s pretty funny.

Baby birds! A sparrow family has been visiting our seed feeder several times a day. The two babies wait none too patiently in the nearby rhododendron (we know they’ve arrived when we hear their insistent chirps) while the parents fill up with seeds, which they then feed to the kids. It seems like the parents spend all day doing this. We feel for them.

Other new stuff! To finish off May, the Gimletmobile shrugged off its mortal coil (or more precisely, its air conditioner compressor) and ascended to Valhalla with a tremendous death rattle and thick white cloud of freon. The Gimlet returned to his roots, or as he said, “This time we’re buying a car that’s reliable.” (We loved the Gimletmobile, but the past few months of expensive repairs have been less than endearing.) The new and improved Gimletmobile has plenty of room for everybody (especially the Things) and will be a welcome addition to summer Scout camp and family outings.

Mary Hickmott’s New Stitches magazine has published a series of tropical fish charts; so far I’ve completed five out of the six designs. These circular charts are approximately 5″ in diameter and I’ve been stitching them on 16 count white Aida, although the magazine also suggests using 32 count evenweave. Generally about 16 colors (Anchor floss) are used per chart, although the first one I made (the starfish) requires only 9. The charts in New Stitches include the number of ½ metres of floss needed for each color, which I find very helpful. It’s great to be able to prepare a floss card in advance. I wish more charts included that information.

It’s been a fun series of charts, each taking about one week to complete. These projects have been my first experience working with blending filament. The filament adds sparkle to the fish, making them stand out from the coral reef background. I haven’t decided what (if anything) I’ll do with these designs, but while I’ve been working on them, Thing Two has become very fond of the fish; he loves to take them out of the project box and look at them. So I may frame them for his nursery, or if a few more charts are published in future issues, the fish could be made into panels for a quilt.

Thing Two has become an eager assistant. I was worried that letting a toddler loose in a yarn shop was a disaster in the making, but our occasional floss expedition has become a fun way to practice learning colors and counting — and little children love to have a job to do. At the “color store” he loves to hold the floss skeins. We count them, of course, and he tells me what the colors are — often offering suggestions for colors he thinks I should buy if the ones I’ve chosen aren’t interesting enough. After briefly surrendering his colors to the cashier, he then carries the bag for the return drive. Some of them are unravelled by the time we arrive at home.

There is a sameness to a series of charts; after five fish I needed a break and wanted to try a larger project. The Owl and the Pussycat, based on Edward Lear’s poem and adapted into a colorful, enchanting image by Sue Cook (Cross Stitch Collection, issue 128) was ideal. Thing Two can recite the poem with a little prompting here and there and has been following my stitching progress with great interest. Every morning he examines the scroll frame and asks, “Where’s the owl? Where’s the pussycat?” He’s going to keep me on task until it’s done. I started May 12, and finished the “beautiful pea-green boat” yesterday, so its occupants will materialize soon.

This spring Thing One landed a spot in the school musical, Bye Bye Birdie. He played a policeman with one line, but made appearances in several scenes and even shared a quick dance with Rosie in the “Spanish Rose” scene. (Family blogs are for bragging. Repeat as needed.)

All the cast, orchestra, and production positions were filled by middle school students, who all did a fantastic job — and gained valuable experience for future school plays and musicals. It’s been a challenge balancing the rehearsal schedule with homework and other activities, but Thing One survived and had a lot of fun in the process. We’re all a bit sleep-deprived though, and looking forward to less busy days … at least until the auditions begin for next year’s winter play.