‘Ink Re-Cap 142. Sketches and Inklings of Life
‘Ink Re-Cap 142.
Sketches and inklings of life.
The good, the better, the best.
We’re still learning and working and living.
‘Ink Re-Cap 142 Sketches and Scribbles
We like to publish a blog post every day (except Sunday),
but the last two weeks we only managed 4 out of 5 days.
Too much life was happening, we couldn’t keep up.
Last week Mr. K and I went on a little anniversary trip from Wednesday to Sunday.
This week orders and the beginning of school were more important. The g’little’s school starts on Monday, and their mom needed help with their patterns for the new first-day-of-school dresses. They’re red and white knit this year, with a solid red on the wrong side. The necklines and sleeves will have accents made from the solid red side of the fabric. They are going to be soooo ca-yute. (Sorry, but they’re my grandchildren.)
With Fall in our binocular sights, closer to happening for some others than for us, we are thinking about Our Favorite Fall Wedding Trends for 2021. We thought coffee would make a fun theme for a Bridal Shower, so here’s some ideas for a latte fun party.
In line with our honeybee nursery theme, we shared our Personalized Nightlight Cricut Tutorial. Then we heard the exciting news about the new baby coming to the little farm on the prairie, and got inspired to create these free Nursery Prints.
Switching to the kitchen, we posted our Family Favorite Pasta Recipes, thinking we’d simplify menu planning. Because we need all the help we can get for making our kitchen work as short as possible. Unless it’s “food art” cooking isn’t our strong point. So finding this Edible Cake Decorating Paper was exciting. We can hardly wait for an occasion to try it.
We didn’t totally forget about the kids these weeks, and added God’s Creation Day 7 lesson to our Creation Story series.
Since we’re a stationery store, the need for envelopes comes up regularly. Sometimes we have to make them to get a perfect match and this is how to do it, just in case you’d like to try these fun and pretty designs.
SF and the Golden Gate Bridge. And wind.
You know how I said we went to San Francisco for our 39th Anniversary?
We’d never been there together, but Mr. K talked about Pier 39, so we thought it would be a fun place to pass this landmark moment in our lives. It was. Fun, I mean.
But we totally weren’t expecting the climate shock. I mean, California is beaches, right? Surfers and sunshine? Well, not SF. We knew the temperatures would be around 78° so we took sweaters and jackets and I stuck a pair of leggings in. Never expecting I’d cool off enough to wear them. I mean, it was 110° here the day we left.
So we grab a shuttle to get a car, and stand shivering and digging in our bags for warm stuff while we wait our turn. In spite of the cold, there were almost no cars available (so glad we’d reserved ahead). They warn you not to drive in SF, but we couldn’t listen to that advice since we come from a place where cars are imperative.
Turns out, even though parking was super pricey, we’re glad we did rent a car. And we’re glad we chose a downtown motel even though that broke the bank, too. We had a room on the 15th floor overlooking the finance district, but between us and the skyscrapers… wait for it… was Mint Square. Right below our window!! And Union Square behind that, with the high end shopping, the cable car, bus and transit stations right there!! Our blinds never went down on our motel window, not when the sun shone in, or the clouds floated by at eye level toward evening and began to obscure the lights. One morning the fog was so bad we couldn’t see the ground or the skyscrapers a few blocks away.
We didn’t know what we were getting into when we coasted off the Bay Bridge and drove down Mission getting further into the city and the buildings getting shabbier and older. Then Miss GPS said we’d reached our destination. But we looked around and couldn’t see our motel. The traffic didn’t let us slow down, so it took till our third time around the block before we could park in front of this narrow glass and brick façade tucked between two “vintage” buildings. Valet parking only. Just ask for your car, and 2 minutes later it’s at the curb.
And this is only the beginning of our weekend story!
‘Ink Re-Cap 142 Most read posts of the week:
Once again, thank you, dear readers, for visiting our blog these two weeks.
It’s always a surprise which posts will top the chart:
Navy Nursery Swag: Dark Blue Baby Room Eye Candy
Rahab Saves the Spies | Children’s Bible Lesson
Note: There’s a side bar on all blog pages that helps you get to the topic you most want to read about. The main topics are Weddings, Babies, Kitchen, Crafts and Inspirational Stuff.
New Products in the Shop
Some weeks we don’t add any products, especially if we’re busy with other stuff.
Listing is a beast. So many hoops to jump through and pictures to get ready.
Maybe we’ll start deleting instead of adding.
This week we present to you:
Creative Handmade Envelopes Tutorial: Basic and Origami
So you can make your own beautiful product.
Top Sellers This Week
Another reason we didn’t get as many posts out was because our orders were too much fun. Wedding invitations, event calendars and birth announcements.
I like to write, but work is good, too.
Inspiring Inklings of Real Life
More San Francisco
You thought I’d let you off without pressing more trip report on you?
Too bad. Not happening.
It was a monumental trip, in spite of hurricane force wind and teeth chattering cold.
What are my recommendations of have-to-see?
Well, Pier 39, of course. Not that the pier itself or the shopping is the greatest, but that’s where everything happens. The clam chowder. The crepes. The harbor cruises. The seals. The view of the choppy, icy water between the city and Alcatraz Island looming right there all the time. Ugly prison island. Sad, infamous prison island.
The Golden Gate Bridge, which we walked one day, passed underneath on the harbor cruise, and drove across to get to Sonoma and Napa Valley to view the vineyards. But never saw silhouetted against a sunset. Maybe you’ll be luckier.
But the cable cars surpassed everything else for providing drama. The most exciting and the most ridiculous experience of the weekend. We got off our freezing harbor cruise and warmed up on our long walk (little did we know) hurrying to the boarding station. To stand in line for an hour to board. While we became besties with the family from Iowa behind us and the grandmother with her two bored granddaughters from Montana in front of us.
Then we were on, a ride from history! Past the painted ladies. Through Chinatown. And on. Until we got to the end of the line, and got in line to ride back to our car. Only the line didn’t move. And the cars didn’t go. And didn’t go. Then they did. Until we got on, and then they stopped again. We waited until my dear hubby could not wait any longer, and we hopped off. And started walking to our car. Which was just over a mile away, but seemed like a climb up Everest in the middle of winter.
So you know why I now have a little ambivalence towards the SF cable car system. It’s the neatest thing to last through history, but I wish the problems had happened a different day. Like this week, when I’m home and warm in a place with no vertical streets. But they had a good excuse, I guess. The cars were stopped all year during the pandemic, and only started again this month. Hopefully they get it all straightened out soon.
Inspiring Book: “Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco“
by
After our weekend I found myself enthralled with the stories from the past.
Did you know SF had an “Ellis Island” named Angel Island? Not as many immigrants came through Angel, and it isn’t as well preserved, but definitely a place of importance.
The city is amazing. As columnist Herb Caen wrote long ago, “San Francisco is surrounded on three sides by water, and on the fourth by a foreign country.”
Your children might enjoy an SF book of their own:
“Boxcar Children: The Mystery in San Francisco” by Gertrude Chandler Warner (Author).
We’ve got quite a few of the Boxcar Children books, but not this one. Now we’ll need to add it to our collection so the g’littles can read it when they get bored. When we pry them off the electronics.
Miscellaneous
Our totally useless factoids for the week are all about SF.
What did you expect after our immersion course last weekend.
But more dogs than children in the city? Crazy priorities. But then, I’d move out if I had children. Like across the bay for sure.
Inspiring Quote
No fridge quote this week.
But we do have a First Day of School Interview for your children. They fill them out (their first homework of the year), and then you file them in a binder. One for every year they start school.
Get the printable when you sign up here. (Comment “get First Day of School Printable.”)
