Welcoming Sandy!

Believe it or not, we actually did arrive in Pahrump to pick up Sandy. We got our car back on Tuesday and moved out on Wednesday. We spent one night in Hawthorne, Nevada, at a place called "Whiskey Flats." It was great, except that we were never able to connect to the "free WiFi." Thursday, we drove on to Pahrump and stayed at the Lakeside Casino and RV Park. We had a great space close to the "dog Park."

It had a great view out the window.

We had to disinfect the trailer to rout all the Parvo (and other) germs dangerous to puppies, so we took a day to do that.

We had some time to walk around the lovely lake, which boasts a variety of water birds and water animals, with a paved walk all around it.

It was much warmer than we have lived through this month. The walk all the way around the lake is a half mile. We went around, then turned around and walked back, making it a mile. Birds and other animals, like turtles, have been sunning themselves.

Sandy, our new puppy, had his next round of shots on Friday, a couple of days early (with the vet's approval). Saturday was the big day: We went to meet Sandy. I snapped this photo, which reminds me on the photo of Mariah I took when she first arrived to live with me: "Are you my new mum? Somehow I expected someone a bit...younger."

So here's Ash's-Mystical Coconino Sandstone Trekker, aka "Sandy."

Here's Dusty meeting Sandy for the first time.

He would love any human family members, but he really took to his daddy.

When we got back to the (now relatively clean) trailer, the four of us took a walk around the lake. Sandy watched Dusty and copied him as much as he could, including when we told Dusty "Make potty!"

We had a really good play session that first night. Dusty doesn't take any guff from Sandy, which Sandy needs. Dusty is very competitive, and every toy is his, even if it came with Sandy, who arrived with a nice collection. Sandy is very feisty when he plays, and it's hard for Dusty to intimidate him. He works to keep him in line, though.

As I write this, we have lived through two nights with Sandy. When you take him out and tell him to "make potty," he usually does. Of course, the key to success is to take the puppy out every time he wakes up, every time he has finished eating or playing and every time it has been a while. He's had two accidents, fewer than one a day, and they were my fault. I got busy doing other things. When he potties (outside), I tell him "good potty." He looks at me and seems to enjoy the praise. Puppies his age pee 8-10 times a day, so I think we're doing well.

Whenever we need to put him into his crate (at night or when we travel), we make sure he has pottied. He whimpers for a bit (usually measured in seconds). Then he gets quiet and stays quiet for some time. When we travel, and he wakes up, we pull off as we can find a place to pull off. Then we get him to potty. Until he has full immunity from his puppy shots (one more set due next month), we clean his feet with disinfectant wipes and put him into either his crate of the clean trailer with a drop cloth over the carpet. Charlie referred to Sandy today as our "bundle of joy."

I've made some progress on the Talvinen cardigan, in spite of the dog days of winter.

On Sunday we left Pahrump, stopping in Hawthorne again at Whisky Flats RV Park, which still didn't have any of their advertised "free WiFi." This is why my blog post is late.

Our next night will be spent in (guess where)?

Oh, and guess what? Now I have a cold. (Probably not COVID19, but I'll test when I get home.)

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Talvinen cardigan and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom, my sewing machine and in my hoop: I have no idea. I've been away from my home all month!

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In "Homesick," the boys realize they miss home and all their earlier activities.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to No More Lies by Rachel Abbott.

What's in my wine glass: Yellow Tail Shiraz. We ran out of wine because we hadn't planned to be gone so long. We got this at the supermarket. We have had it before, and it's cheap but nice.

What's my tip of the week: Don't leave home without some COVID19 test kits.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

<a class="blsdk-follow" href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/highfiber-7365001" target="_blank" data-blsdk-type="button" data-blsdk-counter="false">Follow</a><script>(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s);js.id = id;js.src = "https://www.bloglovin.com/widget/js/loader.js?v=1";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "bloglovin-sdk"))</script>

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7365001/?claim=kkvctsdtf4n">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> 

The Tale of the Three Billy Bookcases Rough

But first, since we have everything else...the kitchen sink:

The faucet had to be in just the right position to shut off, and it wouldn't stay turned to the right-hand sink, which was where I intended to wash the dishes most of the time, since that sink is smaller and needs less water. The new faucet is exquisite, works well and now makes the water-filter faucet look cheap, so we're getting a new one of those.

Remember the Billy bookcases from IKEA? We put together the first one, doors and all, and then realized it wasn't safe to leave it without fastening it to the wall. (They actually tell you to fasten it to the wall and then put the shelves in and doors on, but did we follow directions?) We propped it up with the ladder weighted down with full book boxes and hoped for the best. It was still upright the next day, so DH anchored it to the wall, and then I filled it with my fabric stash.

Fast forward to a few days later, we were ready to put the other two bookcases together. 
Now we have all three put together, a marvel of marital teamwork.

I helped slide the backs on, square them up and held them while the nails were hammered in. Once enough nails were installed, I could take a photo.

We had an audience.

(When you take a group photo, someone always has to blink. In this case, it's always Dolly, because she's the only one who can.

Soon we had the two new bookcases up on the wall. 

Empty, each Billy bookcase stood 1/4" higher than the first one. (I'm a quilter, so I can visualize 1/4" fairly accurately.) We decided that the first one had sunk into the carpeting while sitting with shelves and doors, which are heavy, so we decided to weight down the other two with book boxes and stack the shelves on each side of the boxes before fastening them to the wall. The next day, they still hadn't sunk into the carpet as much as the other, so the brackets went on but not tightly, so they could be adjusted later.

I can turn a screwdriver about as well as anyone, and we did have two screwdrivers of the right type and size, so we set to work putting on the hinges. We had to use a camping lantern to see where the hinges went, because the sun was going down, and the only light in the room is a can light in the ceiling right in front of the closet, and our lamps are all in our (ahem!) shipment. We finished after a couple of hours, and we are still speaking. I snapped this photo Sunday, as I was getting the loom parts unpacked and unwrapped.

The plastic baskets are for yarn to go into the Billy bookcases. I wonder how much will fit.
The boxes in front of the Billy bookcases are full of the screws, heddles and other hardware for the loom, all carefully labeled as I took the loom apart. Here are all the parts, more or less in the locations in which they belong. The light was dimming again, and that's the opposite end of the room from the light, so I had to put off putting the loom together.

I had made reassembly instructions for myself when we took the loom apart, but there was a piece I couldn't identify from the printed copy, so I went back to my iPad to look at the photos I had saved in a folder. I was able then to see the detail needed to identify the part. (You have to love technology when it works.)

I thought at first I would put the loom turned so I could look out the window, but then I realized that A) I wouldn't be able to see over the loom while sitting on the bench, and B) I could see better with the light coming from behind  rather than facing it. It would fit turned 90º, but only when in use, not when warping the loom. I gave up on the idea of having it in the middle of the room, because it takes up too much space, and I really need a work table in addition to the sewing table and cutting/light table cabinet.

Thursday evening, we went out to dinner with DBIL...Mexican food.

After dinner, we went to the local IMAX to watch "First Man." It was very good. We remembered many of the details brought out in the film about the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, having lived through them as adults. Much of the personal side of Neil Armstrong's life was unknown to the public at the time. I found the film to be both artistic and thought-provoking.

Our ballots came on Friday, along with a postcard from a contractor who claimed to provide "stress-free remodeling." LOL!

One more bit of joy from the moving adventure: Our furniture was supposed to arrive today, but about 700 lbs. of our household goods didn't make it onto the truck. Mind you, the shipment was already delayed because they didn't have a driver. Now they have no idea when our extra 700 lbs of stuff will get here.
Speaking of the stuff that made it onto the van...the van was supposed to arrive today. As I write this, we still don't know when it's coming, but here's what we know so far: The driver departed Salt Lake City Sunday afternoon (!) and had to stop in Brigham City, because the van was too heavy. As of late Sunday, he was waiting there for another truck to come and take the excess. I hope they thought to put that last 700 lbs of our stuff left behind onto the second truck. I'm glad I have these blog posts to remind me of the details when I write this all up someday. It could be an entertaining read. I hope it has a happy ending. Some of my best quilts are either in the van or in the 700 lbs left behind.

My new sewing table is due to arrive on Tuesday by the end of the day.

In the meantime, I have managed to put together a Halloween story for this week's The Doll's Storybook. Writing the stories brighten my life.

I've also been trying to figure out how to arrange for a boy to join the cast. I kept hoping Götz would make a boy in the Happy Kidz line, as they have had boys in other lines of dolls, but it doesn't seem to be on the horizon. However, recently they have produced a new face (at least new to the Happy Kidz line) that I think will work well as a boy:

(My apologies to My Doll Best Friend for shamelessly pilfering one of their lovely photos. Maybe this photo credit and link will make up for it.) The doll is Lily of London, a special winter edition. I think this face could be either a girl or a boy, so when Lily arrives here, she will undergo a gender-reassignment procedure, which will involve a haircut and new clothes and become Billy. But not a bookcase.

We have accumulated several piles of flattened boxes. On Saturday, I posted the lot for free in the local online yard sale Facebook group.

A young man took almost all of it. He may want more, but I can check with him before I list the new batch in the group. We will have more when our household goods arrive. 

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the Halloween humor demonstrated by the locals in my new hometown. This car was ahead of me at a red light. I managed to get a photo just as the light turned green. (I think the electrodes under the nails is a really nice touch!) I blurred the license plate to preserve the driver's anonymity. He really did have a valid plate.

What's on my needles: Still Kisu Cardigan and the Coastal Skies Shawl mostly hibernating, but just CO Jacknitss Design's "Comfy Cardigan Set" for Billy.

What's on my Sparrow 15 and my Featherweight: Still sitting in my future fiber studio.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Being Good came out on Friday. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen. Not much more progress with the story.

What's in my wine glass: This was a week for the Big House, so I'm drinking Big House's Prohibition Red, vintage 2016. Not only is alcohol not prohibited in Oregon, neither is pot. Not that I care to buy any; for me "pot" on the grocery list means "potatoes," or if just one, "potato." (Not "potatoe")

What's my tip of the week: If you have to take apart something that will need to be put back together again at a later date, take photos and write down how you took it apart. Then you can reverse the process to put it back together.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

This Week Will Make My Autobiography Interesting

Real adventures usually get off to a rocky start. And this is the short version.

As you may remember if you have read my recent blog posts, we sold our home 18 days after we listed it for sale. That was the easy part, as it turned out. Our contract allowed our buyers to research our property up until August 10th before committing. They tried to get more money out of us by bringing in contractors who gave estimates on what it would cost to tear down our bowed back deck, which they knew about when they made the offer on our home. We agreed to pay for radon remediation and a small amount for a new water pressure valve, as showed up in the inspection, but not the amount they asked for. Fine, they said. All was well, except that we fell behind in packing our stuff. (Well, I had packed my stuff already, but DH had held onto lots of stuff he didn't have time to go through. Monday the movers came to remove everything we had packed.

They packed everything into what they called "vaults," similar to pods or U-boxes.

We all worked until 8:00 PM, when the boxes/vaults were full, they drove off to put things into storage for us until we find a house in Bend.

At the same time, we had a cleaning lady affiliated with the woman who received our piano and came back to help us get ready to move. She worked tirelessly, moving around as needed to accommodate our moving workers. She finished at 8:30. Everything was cleaned except the floor under the items left in the house: bags of food and cleaning materials not possible to include in our shipment.

We had decided to give our guest bed and the matching dresser to our buyers, if they wanted it, and they did. Here's the bed.

Here's the dresser:

(It needed refinishing. We did find the connectors for the mirror, and we left them on top. He can repair furniture, and I hope they will send us photos when he's done.) With all the other furniture removed, our plan was to sleep on the spool bed. That was when we found out that the trunks under the bed (now removed) had been holding it up. It collapsed under our weight. We moved the mattress to the floor to sleep.

We were expecting to have to be out by the end of closing day. However, a U-Haul truck showed up early on the day of closing with three U-boxes full of the buyer's stuff. Shortly after that, the buyer showed up. I had been moving everything to the garage to have the house clear, but the buyer said he had to have the garage clear for him to unload the boxes, and we had to accommodate them because his wife had taken off two days from work. We hadn't even closed yet. We wanted to do our part to help with the situation, so we offered to move everything we could to our storage unit, instead of going for our trailer and moving everything we needed to take with us into it. With almost everything in the storage unit, DH went to pick up the trailer to take it to our local RV campground. He had misplaced the piece of paper (never use paper in this day and age) that had the site number on it. The office was closed. In the process of turning around, he took the corner at a tight angle--too tight--and the corner of our 5th wheel removed the rear window of the pickup. I found out from another camper that they had a folder with the list of who had which campsite by the laundry. Whew! We settled in for the night there, and DH discovered that not only was the pickup stuck in 4X4, it wouldn't start up again. He took the Honda went back to the house, where he worked until past midnight, removing everything left in the house and putting it on the front deck. I had put everything from the refrigerator/freezer into an ice chest and four refrigerator bags, and that was now in the storage unit. Unfortunately, they close up at 10:00 PM. Of course, all the canned and packaged food was in the storage unit, too. I had one bottle of water for myself and the pups, and no way to get food or more water except by walking several miles in the dark.

When DH returned after midnight, we hadn't eaten all day. "Hey," I said. "We're homeless. There's a homeless packet in the Honda. Let's eat from it." (It's a plastic bag of food and other items we give out to the homeless we encounter while driving around.) We had chili beans and canned mixed vegetables from the homeless packet, and the bottle of water from the bag. We could have had the can of tuna, but we were full enough.

The next morning, we called the Auto Club to help with the pickup. They towed it two blocks up the street to the Chevy dealer, where it was determined that we needed a new battery. It seems that if the battery goes out, nothing works. That took two days, and then we needed to put in a new rear window. That meant we had no way to remove everything from the front deck, and the new owners were getting upset. It looked liked this...

...and this.

The new owner had told us we could leave it for the MS pickup on Saturday, but his wife apparently nixed that. (I don't know for sure, but he said it was OK, and then it wasn't, so I'm guessing.) I got on the Facebook group "Park City, Utah, Online Yard Sale" and said I was ISO someone to cart everything off for $50. I got a reply right away, but he wanted $100. We met him there the next day. I noticed the tarp was off, and the stuff had been picked through. Peeking through the front window, I saw some of the things we had left to be picked up, so it was clear that the new owners went through to see what they would like. I wouldn't have minded, if they had been more tolerant about our leaving the stuff on the deck. 

They also demanded we remove some items from the side yard. DH went back and picked that up to take to recycling, and we were done. 

My takeaway: They were not legally permitted to start moving in before closing. We did everything we could to accommodate them and allow them to move in early. Doing so created a number of problems for us and eventually caused us some difficulty in removing everything from the property (although some of that was caused by our problems with the pickup, not entirely because of them). When we were not legally allowed to have things on their property after closing and could have used some understanding, there was none. Things work better when everyone is cooperative.

The pups were happy to be able to lie down in the trailer, after spending so much time sitting in the car.

Of course, Jolena would be the first one to stick her head out of the bag to investigate her surroundings.

We had planned to go down and pick up another U-box on Saturday, but that had to be postponed until (because of the long weekend) Tuesday. 

While all this was happening, a new "Chosen" doll (limited to 250) was due to be released by My Doll Best Friend. I was only mildly interested, because the past Chosen dolls had been on the market for a few months before selling out, and I had no idea what the new doll would be. Lo and behold! the new doll was a nonwhite doll called Mariah. Of course, I had to have her to add diversity to my stories. So there I was, with no real address in Bend other than my BILs. I thought I would wait until I got there to order. Here she is:

Well, as the hours went by (I had nothing else to do, right?) it was clear, that I could miss out. I decided to order her and have her sent to my BIL's house and deal with whatever complications arose. Within hours after I ordered her, they were all gone. 250 dolls gone in 36 hours!

DBIL will be out of town for a few days later in the week, and we may not be there yet, so I may have to recruit our real estate agent to pick her up, unless I can reschedule delivery. I believe it will all work out. Our current plan is to leave on Friday, if nothing else goes wrong.


Fortunately, I had scheduled the stories through the middle of September, and the latest one came out on Friday.

On a bright note, we have been wondering what happened to DD's dolls. We found this lovely treasure trove in the storage unit on Sunday:

And Pumpkin and Bye-Bye saw the light of day for the first time in decades. (Bye-Bye needs new eyes to see, but I'm sure he felt the sun on his face.) Pumpkin wears a size 1 and had our DD's baby bonnet on when we found her.

We're now scheduled to leave Salt Lake City on Friday. Stay tuned. Next week's blog should be interesting.

What's on my needles: Still the Kisu Cardigan for Jolena, and still att the BO for the neck. Also the Coastal Skies shawl for me, no progress this week.

What's on my Sparrow 15: Packed away in my Honda.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, no progress this week..

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still waiting patiently. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen. No chance to listen this week, but when we hit the road, it will be my entertainment.

What's in my wine glass: Bota Box. (Does a box wine have a vintage?)

What's my tip of the week: Get rid of stuff when you buy new. Life is too short to spend a week going through things and tossing them out or giving them away.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Extreme Family Team-Building

Camping trips to the Uintas are usually low-drama, because we don't have to travel far from our home to reach beautiful campgrounds close to lakes for swimming and trails for hiking. This adventure was a little different.

It all started the night before we planned to leave, which was Saturday, July 22nd. Everyone had arrived to spend the night at our house. Late that night, we discovered our furnace/water-heater room was flooded.* We had 10 people in the house, including four children. We planned to leave Sunday about noon to get a campsite as other campers left after a weekend or week of camping. We knew our destination was without water and had only an outhouse, so we all planned to bathe or shower in the house that night, reserving our trailer water supply for a quick Navy shower about midweek.

After they determined that the leak was coming from the water heater, the men attempted to shut off the intake valve to the unit. It wouldn't work. Our only alternative was to shut off the water to the entire house. So not only did we not get hot showers, we didn't cold ones, either. Each of our three toilets had only one flush. We decided to use our trailer as an outhouse except for emergencies, and to flush when we were able.

Of course, few plumbers work on Saturday night. We decided nothing would be hurt by waiting until we got back to get the plumber to come, so we sent the two young families off with their kids to select campsites at Cobblerest, while we attempted to reach a plumber and schedule an appointment for Friday, our planned return date. (We would have no cell coverage up in the mountains.)

The kids were able to find two campsites side-by-side with access to the brook and away from the road.

They set up their tents on each side of the picnic table we would use for meals, so they could hear the kids if they woke up while the adults were still up in the evening, and they parked a car in the adjacent campsite to reserve it for our trailer. We arrived while they were still setting up.

On Monday we went to Washington Lake. We found a nice place away from other people, so the pups could run free, chase the ball, go into the water and generally do what water dogs like to do.

I had worried a bit that the dogs would have issues with being manhandled by our youngest grandson, who is three...and good at it! However, the pups endured a variety of tortures at his hands without complaint. Dusty, in fact, seemed to enjoy the rough treatment, as well as the opportunities to run, hike and swim afforded by camping.

Tuesday morning I had planned to cook a hot breakfast, so I set my alarm for 6:00. While I was working in our little galley, I glanced out the window to find a doe happily munching on the grass and bushes. I grabbed my phone to get some photos. She saw me watching her, but seemed unconcerned. She approached the trailer coming within inches of my window. I put my phone down, so I wouldn't scare her. She craned her neck to peer in at me. We just stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes, and then she turned and returned to her breakfast. I had the sense that she knew I wouldn't hurt her and was enjoying the connection.

Later that day, we went to the Provo River Falls. We had a look at the falls from several different angles, following the little trails in each direction for a good view. The boys took turns holding an extra leash on one of the dogs, a trick I learned from training with Therapy Animals of Utah. We stopped to have a snack.

(He looks so innocent, doesn't he? Did I say he's good at being three?) I took a group photo.

The following day we took a picnic to Trial Lake. We found a secluded part of the trail around the lake, where the kids and pups could swim. Our 3-yr.-old grandson threw his brother's hat into the lake and had to retrieve it. Our son found a unique way to help him get to it.

The dogs had a good time chasing sticks the kids threw into the water. Dusty, in his zeal, actually got in deep water and discovered he could swim.

We had saved the highest destination for last, to give the lowlanders a chance to become accustomed to the elevation, so on Thursday we went to Mirror Lake, which is about 10,400' high. We found a picnic table where we could eat and then swim or splash in the water. After lunch we hiked the trail that goes around the lake, stopping at the signs that described the plants, animals, habitats and biomes present along the shores of the lake.

I noticed a man fishing and imagined offering to teach him to knit. "I could never learn to knit," he would say. "I just don't have the patience." (From my favorite cartoon in Franklin Habit's It Itches.) It amazed me that people could just sit there and stare at the water for hours, waiting for a fish to bite.

For part of this hike, we could see Bald Mountain. DH and I have been to the top of Bald Mountain, but it isn't a good hike with kids or adults who aren't used to the high elevation up to 12,000'. (I've always wondered if we would hear Mussorgsky's music if we spent the night up there.)

There was a lot to do in the campsite, too. When we still had power*, we could go around taking photos. The kids could use their Leap Pads and iPads while I cooked.

A campsite is a great place to read. All our grandkids enjoy books, and some of the time one of the parents read to them.

Sometimes the two older kids read on their own, either outdoors or in the tent.

Or an older one would read to the younger ones.

When we ran out of water* in the trailer in spite of our efforts to conserve, the brook was handy for bathing...nekkid (which was how the kids swam).

We set up the hummingbird feeder we keep in the trailer, and it didn't take the little birds long to find it. (She's hard to see. Look at about 9:00 for her. Theres another one right below, but he/she is just a blur.)

We had our own sweet goodies, including S'mores made with vegan marshmallows, thanks to DD.

There were lots of other things to do, such as taking advantage of a handy tree stump to practice your dance moves.

The two grandkids who had come by car had brought their dolls, Zachary Jr. and Daphne Jr., with them. Baby Ann was added to their family at our house and would return to Wisconsin with them. I brought Dolly along, thinking I might need her to help with the size for another doll sweater after I finished one for Baby Ann. The dolls appeared to have a good time camping as well.

Dolly's one big adventure was when the 3-yr.-old (did I mention he was good at being three?) threw her across the main room in the trailer. Fortunately, Dolly nailed her landing and was unhurt. (What a trooper!) The kids had a good time with the dolls.

I didn't get as much knitting done as I usually do when we go camping. The only thing I finished was Baby Ann's cardigan, based on the free Gracie Cardigan pattern from My Doll Best Friend. I made it with long sleeves, because Baby Ann just has vinyl hands, so generally just wears a long-sleeved dress. Otherwise, I just knit it as-written. I finished it on Saturday night, as Baby Ann was supposed* to be leaving with her family the next day, heading directly to Wisconsin from Cobblerest by way of the Mirror Lake Highway.

Our DDIL finally got to see her moose. This one popped up very close to where I saw my doe. The white arrow points to the bull's rack; the yellow one shows you where his face is. I didn't want to get too close, because moose can be very dangerous if they feel threatened. This one seemed unconcerned.

There were also two (at least) rabbits that put in an appearance from time to time: a large one, possibly a hare, and a small bunny. We don't know if they were the same two individuals or if there were several identical individuals from each species.

*If you haven't noticed the asterisks already, here's a by-no-means exhaustive list of our more important misfortunes by the end of the trip:

The generator stopped working, so we couldn't charge the batteries
Our battery backup for charging devices (including our phone cameras!) ran out of power
The trailer water tank (for washing and flushing) ran dry
We discovered there was no sugar (DSIL had to use hummingbird feed in his coffee)
The outhouses were stinky
It rained sometime during each day and every night
Rocky threw up on our bed
One of the boys wet his sleeping bag two nights in a row
One of the boys developed croup and needed to go to urgent care
One of the boys fell and gave himself a fat lip; there were tears
Our daughter-in-law misplaced her cell phone
Our daughter's family car wouldn't start (major complication, as they were planning on going home from directly from Cobblerest.)
I misplaced my trailer and truck keys

On the bright side, we managed to figure out how to deal with each issue and had a great time. No one was attacked by a bear. The kids didn't set fire to the campground. The trailer roof didn't leak when it rained. The generator can be fixed. The kids had no permanent damage. The cell phone and keys were found. The new water heater and new shut-off valve were installed on Friday afternoon. The car just needed a new battery, which meant the family's departure was only delayed one day. DH and I each have a Golden Age Passport, and we were able to get a significant discount on the week of camping.

Even though there were some tense moments while we jointly worked out how to deal with various "changes in plans," such as how to get nine people, four of whom required car seats, and two dogs back to town in two cars, we had a lot of laughs, good food, exercise and great family time. (I loved the snotty kisses!)

Everyone made it home safely, and the 3-yr.-old got to help fly the plane IN THE COCKPIT from SLC to Seattle.

We found packets of sugar in one of the lockers as we were cleaning the trailer.