Hayward

I went to Hayward, WI for Memorial Day and spent 4 days with assorted family members coming and going over the holiday weekend.

On my way there, I stopped in Spooner, WI at Northwind Book & Fiber to buy yarn (of course).I got some great Cascade Eco+ for another sweater, and it was priced much lower than my LYS. What a deal!

My Aunt Pam, my dad, cousin Gillian (not happy with her hand) and my famous Uncle Tom

My parents were there when I first got there, and my cousin Gillian came shortly after. Gillian grew up in the small town of Crookston. I moved there for my first year of college when Gillian was16 or so, and we have some pretty awesome memories of that time. She goes to school at UW-Stout now, and I don't get to see her often. It was awesome to see her at the cabin, and we had lots of adventures together.

Gillian is disappointed that she has not transformed into Brad Pitt as advertised.

Good thing this travel typewriter was $10 at the thrift store!

All weekend, my parents were super excited about all the garage sales they went to - they couldn't stop talking about them! My mom got a helmet and this hoodie and she wanted to wear them all the time :)

My dad and I

Me with my Auntie Pam

Gillian and my parents had to leave on Sunday, so I spent the rest of the day with my aunt and uncle, who are super amazing. They are really the reason I went to college. Unlike my mom, who just left me voicemails weeping about how she didn't know what would become of me if I didn't go to college, my aunt and uncle walked me through the specific steps and made the right introductions to get me into school. My aunt worked at U of MN-Crookston, which I had never heard of, and I was able to qualify for awesome scholarships with my test scores. She introduced me to my work-study boss and I earned an Americorps educational award. My uncle got me my first job at a treatment center/detox, which really changed my life by getting my foot into the amazing profession I practice today. They are so, totally, amazing.

Monday morning, I woke up at 7am due to crazy thunderstorms. My uncle, aunt, and I dragged in stuff from the deck - table saw, sofa, and chair cushions - and stacked them up. Coincidentally, in front of the door. That storm is not getting in, no way, no how!

Grr.

Brian and his cousin-in-law Gunner came up later that day to ride bike on Hayward's mountain bike trails. Brian was not impressed with the rainy weather.

Gunner was undaunted, and about 2 hours after the rain stopped, they hit the trails. They sounded like they had a good time, and Brian is really looking forward to our next trip to Hayward. 

I worked on my June sweater of the month, and am now almost done with the second sleeve. Pretty fast! It's the Lodi Sweater from the current summer issue of Knitscene.

Gunner headed out early Tuesday to get home to his family in Iowa. Brian and I stopped at The Angry Minnow in town before heading out. I got the awesome mushroom-wild rice vegetarian burger with sweet potato fries. It came as two cute little patties, so Brian and I each had one. Brian also had the perch fish sandwich with jalapeno coleslaw. Yum!

We had a great time, and the long weekend went so fast! We're planning to go up again in July, and I'm also trying to plan a knitter's retreat for my birthday in September. Big thanks to my aunt & uncle for sharing their cabin with us!