I started a new craft project this weekend. It involves knitting, felting, and sewing. So far, I’m getting only fair results, but each attempt is showing improvement. I’ll post some pics if I get something that looks less amateurish. I think I’ll need to invest in a felting needle to get the effect I’m hoping for.

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My dad belongs to a group that holds a family picnic every summer. This year’s picnic was yesterday. Last week, I complained about the water temperature in Florida being too warm. Yesterday, I got the other extreme. The temp outside was only in the 70s. The water temp was in the chattering teeth range. But, being the stupid, water park loving Michiganders that we are, we braved the water anyway.

One of the other activities was a pie eating contest. The prize was a PS2. My boys don’t like pie, so chose not to participate. Two of my cousin’s kids competed though. (The girl on the left, and the boy on the right.) Can you guess which kid won? Ahem.

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My MIL is up from Naples and is staying with us this week. Unfortunately, our weather hasn’t been very welcoming. The forecast is rainy and cold, which changes at least one of our plans.

From early on Friday until late on Sunday, Rob and I were on our first “adult-only” getaway since our honeymoon nearly twelve years ago. Rob’s brother Jim is turning 40 this week, and to celebrate, his family and friends threw him a surprise party at the Don CeSar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach in Florida.

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D*Con, in a nutshell, was good. It wasn’t my favorite year of the four I’ve been there, but I’m still glad I went. I met one person who I’ve been wanting to meet for a long time. I met another person who I wasn’t sure I would like, but after meeting her, I was very happy that I did. I spent some time with three very unlikely people, which turned out to be a good thing. And there was one person who I very much wanted to see, but couldn’t make it this year.

New experiences? I was offered pot for the first time in my life. I did not partake, but the offer was new to me. I was selected to go through the V.I.P. security check on my return home from Atlanta. I was mildly disappointed at the lack of thoroughness as they searched my luggage though. I was very chatty with the passengers seated next to me for both the flight to Atlanta and the flight home.

The worst part of the trip was the vertigo I started to experience two days after I arrived in Atlanta. I experienced the same thing two years ago, and it kinda spoiled the trip. A week later, I’m still not over it, despite the medication my doctor swore would work right away. The dizziness I can’t get rid of and the drowsiness from the medication have made my first week back to school interesting.