Earlier this week the kids and I packed up the car and headed to Palisades-Kempler State Park (well, to be perfectly honest, the kids did very little of the packing up, they mostly argued over everything they could think of while I did the packing). We camped in a cabin with our friends. Another friend had a cabin next door. We hiked. We ate delicious food (did you know that campfire nachos are a thing?). We drank wine (the moms, not the kids). We saw a lot of wild flowers. We saw the freaking northern lights!! We hiked some more. It was delightful.

It was a lovely break from our normal lives. We’re now tired and cranky. I can’t wait camp again.

I finished the Mickey and Minnie cowl for my niece. I like how it turned out.

Both kids insisted on modeling it for photos.

Today the kids and I made cake pops from a TikTok recipe (which I saw on an Instagram reel, as I am over 40). The pops were very easy and quite delicious. They were a hit with 75% of our household.

Have you tried making any social media viral recipes?

On Tuesdays we eat tacos. Bonus if they are fast. Added bonus if they are a budget meal. Super awesome bonus if they are a recipe shared by my favorite nutritionist/dietitian (I never remember which word she prefers, so I’m just going to use both). Dinner tonight was all of these things.

Crazy easy fish tacos. Made in ten minutes. Feeds all four of us for $10 (Aldi is really the best). This is a meal we have had in our rotation for a few months, and I keep forgetting to tell you about it.

Ingredients

Cook the fish for 10 minutes at 400 in an air fryer, flipping once. While the fish cooks makes the salad and open the tortillas. When the fish is done put everything together. We split each fish filet into two tacos and pile on the salad.

Boom! Dinner is done. Fast, easy, and delicious. Perfect for those nights where we are running out of the house to get to swimming in time for lessons.

I finished a pair of socks for John. They are Patons Kroy Socks in the Teal Stripes colorway. I have a lifetime supply of indie dyed yarn, but I find myself reaching for Patons when I’m making socks. It lasts forever and it is a remarkable value.

I finished some handspun that looks like the sort of yarn I would have made when I started spinning. I’m going to complain about this yarn for a bit now. This merino top is the WI Sheep & Wool 2022 colorway from KnitzAndPearls Fiberworks. I had a very hard time with this spin. At first I thought I had forgotten how to spin merino. Given how often I spin merino that didn’t seem likely. Eventually I figured out the fiber was felted in parts. The pink and the rust were felted and made it really hard to spin. By the time I figured out that it was felted I knew I could work through it if I tried, so I did.

In the end I have 250 yards of worsted weight yarn in a color I don’t like. My mom likes it though, and she has requested mittens in this yarn. Given that it was almost entirely spun at her house that seems fair.

I now have a new braid of merino on my wheel and it is spinning up beautifully. It feels good to have a good spin going after one that made me pull my hair out.