Dear Kay,
A quick little note before I head out to a family reunion in Virginia. See! All the sibs in one location! Imagine a weekend with no cell phone service! Will the horseback ride be a washout? #prayforrain
There will be charades. Sister Buffy is running this show.
Meanwhile, the optimism contained in a list titled “Follow Up” cannot be overstated.
The likelihood of working through that list while surrounded by busted-out wicker and bed swings cannot be understated.
I did manage to make headway on this sock using Jill Makes Stuff‘s Esopus yarn. The colorway is Fording Fjords, and I have to say, I was knocked out to run into the actual Jill Draper Who Made This Stuff on the way to the convention center in Washington. It’s strange how often I think about whoever made the yarn I’m knitting with. To conjure her in the flesh, minutes after turning the heel, was downright spooky.
This Fringe Supply Co. Bento Bag is my summer Bento Bag. You need a wardrobe of these things.
Wishing all a peaceful evening as we lurch toward the weekend. All advice on family reunions welcomed.
Love,
Ann
We never had a family reunion. I can imagine what the experienced will say but my advice is, “enjoy!”
I pulled off the first reunion in our family since the early 70s about 3 years ago. Not an overnighter, and no animals were harmed (or ridden) in the process – but boy, was it a hoot! That dreamy cousin you thought you had a bit of a crush on 40 years ago turned out to be a long-haired theater rat, while his nerdy little brother became a handsome county sheriff. You just never know. My advice: expect the unexpected, but most of all HAVE FUN! (Btw, love the sock)
Don’t allow old stories to focus! That happened the last time all 7 of us siblings were together. One brother has many, many embarrassing stories (disproportionately more than the rest of us) and as the night wore on, his stories became the focus and it was less and less fun for him. Share the embarrassment!
Love my bento bags! I think I have that same one. I will have to make it my summer one as well. haha!
Lovely yarn. If you’re using the magic loop method, why not go whole-hog and try the two-at-a-time method? I can’t go back to DPNs now.
Dying to know where you’ll be and whether I could swoop in as a fly on the wall. Our reunions have been fun. Old-fashioned games like two-legged race and egg toss are fun for all ages if it doesn’t rain. Old photo albums are good to peruse too (if folks remeber to bring them). Have fun, and cherish the oldest ones (if they’re coming) – we are down to Aunt Anne, the youngest sister. XXO
Not that this pertains to you and yours but I like you take a bag full of knitting wherever I go and my son once said to me that he felt I was not giving him my full attention when knitting in the midst of family affairs (not that his phone hadn’t occupied his time..oh no 🙂 ). It did make me think. My advice..be mindful and put temporarily aside your focus (knitting) and fully engage with others eye to eye …even if they have a their focus (phone etc) close like a security blanket. They’ll remember your eyes…happy reunion 🙂
Don’t talk religion or politics and always have knitting and knitting water available! And enjoy!!!
A little wine makes any family get-together less stressful! Also recommend old photo albums, love laughing at hairstyles and fashions!
Our book coming out the fall (in which you play a part) has a special family gathering project. Wish I could share it right now!
Take lots of pictures and notes.
One word. Wine.
That’s my family’s secret ingredient to a happy family get together. It’s how my sister and I get along at Christmas dinner.
I have 2 bento bags and bought another to wrap a shower gift (Ballband washcloths) for fellow knitter. It’s a 2 for 1!
Throw yourself at it wrecklessly and have fun. Time goes by too fast. Before you know it … you’ll be fondly remembering the get-together ! (and bring knitting just in case …)
I long for a family reunion, especially as our small family is already dwindling. It’s unimaginable when the family is spread across many states. At this point, weddings and funerals lead to gatherings, but those aren’t quite the reunion kind. Enjoy your and cherish the togetherness.
And thanks to you I have two Fringe Supply bags already. Next up is the Bento. Enabler!!
Some suggestions:
Knit (a mindless project)
Listen.
Formulate your novel based on what you see and hear.
Hang out with the kids (or old people)
Enjoy every minute!
Do whatever the alpha in the family says and don’t talk politics!
Walks, alone and together. Simple games that all can play. If the wine is flowing, match it with pitchers of water. And of course, lots of good food. Enjoy!
Agreed.
Alcohol.
Alcohol?
Games that include kids and adults (we find card games work well here – though things like bean bag toss or memory and others can be good if this is an outdoor thing). A family favorite: Pass the Trash. Even the youngest children can play – and because it’s totally based on the luck of a card, can whup the grown ups soundly. (See also: Memory. Watch as the 3 year old whose brain is not yet cluttered, beats the distracted grown up Every.Time.) Another good one is Spot It.
Have a big jig saw puzzle going on a table some where. People can come in and out – and there will be an introvert who spends all his time at that table, but that is okay too.
FOOD!
For some families – music is important (but not all).
Good luck. Enjoy.
Calamine lotion. Family reunions give me hives!
Alcohol and ibuprofen also help.
Don’t talk politics. I hosted a cousin reunion in May and the focus was on getting to know each other and sharing family stories. All left with good memories. Later I found out that one pair of siblings at our event agreed some time ago not to talk politics at family gatherings.
I have never seen a bag like that! Looking at the pictures from the link – seeing them tied up – all I can think about is Huckleberry Finn, putting a stick through the knot and wandering down to a river…
Re family reunions… that much together time leads me to ask myself every 30 minutes, “Would I rather be right or happy?” and most of the time I choose being happy so I let stuff go. However, other times I choose being “right” and argue (because I’m the only one with a decent memory!) that so-so did NOT attend XZY’s funeral/wedding or that dad was absent on Easter at least 4 times and so on… Good. Luck.
You know you don’t need any advice, you’ve got all the pieces. There’s gin, there’s knitting, there’s a good porch. Done. Enjoy it! XOX
For the “big” family reunion – the one that is aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins – we just sit around and eat and talk. I can’t imagine getting most of those people on horseback! For just the sibs – well, there are only 3 of us, and only one is currently married, and only one has reproduced, so adding Mom to the mix means there would be a total of 6 people there. I guess we have a reunion every time I visit San Antonio! Horseback riding isn’t involved then, either, but board games frequently are – Apples to Apples is a favorite, and a lot more hilarious than Monopoly!
I have very little family to reune with, so no advice there. On the other hand, I’m driven to comment on the Bento Bag. I have several and love each and every one and am sorely tempted to buy even more Bentos.
Card games. Board games. Walks are good. Music is fun too. Share stories, but make new memories too. I agree about mindless knitting throughout. Stay away from heated discussions, and if one ensues, it’s a good time for another walk…… As for a bed swing? I want one!!!
Take a photo with everyone. Finagle a neighbor to take it. And enjoy!
Best tip for family reunions is to have a good family. Barring that you have the options of drinking, getting a strategic migraine/stomach bug, or embrace them anyway and be grateful you don’t all do holidays together regularly. Finally, be prepared to be generous in accepting made-up words in the Scrabble tournament. (Although I still think that ‘dovebarf’ is not a word.)
I thought two bento bags would be enough but once you get going you can find all kinds of uses for those things. So my small one is now my lunch box and the large one is in need of a twin. Off to get one more before the summer traveling begins.
I’m looking forward to playing Monikers with my adult cousins and our grown up kids at our family reunion this summer. We love playing games like that – silly, but mentally challenging, not hard to learn games, that can include a range of ages. Apples to apples is a long-time favorite.
We also like to wade in the stream (we reunite at a camp) if it gets hot. Also I want a Bento bag.
Funny enough I thought I had conjured you. Is this your dream or mine? Also I’m in VA too right now so quit following me around, okay. If you need a knitting break I’m at Fibre Space in Alexandria tonight & tomorrow for a trunk show.
We had 3 of the oldest family members attend our last reunion. So we did a little family tree from ancestry.com and we made picture boards and had the old ones tell stories. We all loved it so much and the memories are amazing. Two of the 3 have passed now so we are so glad we took the time to have the reunion and to listen to their fun stories and take a ton of photos.