There is a formula to life here for us. At the beginning of the trip there is enthusiasm. We might kvetch about the heat and the bug bites and rain on days we wanted to go to the beach, but we love it.
We have ideas about what we want to do, but there’s no rush. We have energy to go to the beach or take a drive every day.
Last night, our last Sunday here on this trip, we decided to finally sneak out and go to Sunday School in Buccoo.
What I really want to see is live steel pan, and Sunday School is supposed to have it.
There aren’t a lot of tween and teen sized patterns out there compared to adult and kid patterns. It’s easy to find patterns with sizes that will fit your kids from baby age through age 10, but after that, the options dwindle. Plus, who wants to buy a pattern and make clothes only to have your moody tween stick up their nose at your efforts?
After my firstborn outgrew my kids’ shorts pattern, I drafted a bigger size for him for a couple of years, but then he stopped wearing them, so I stopped making them.
My ten and a half year old daughter recently outgrew the kids’ pattern, but she still likes the handmade shorts, so I decided to use the free women’s shorts pattern I use for my own shorts to make something that would work for her.
My dad is a lean, mean, packing machine, and I like to think I got those genes from him. I get a kick out of planning and packing efficiently, and love arriving at a location when everything I need and nothing more.
I also struggle with self doubt and the tendency to want be over-prepared.
Cylon and I have been doing our big trip to Tobago since about a year and a half after we got married. This summer we’ll have been married for 12 years. We have agreed that we can’t remember how many times we have made the trip, but are pretty sure this is #9.
I mentioned in my post about packing for travel with kids that I have lists detailing what each person in the family needs for the trip. I edit and hone them every time we come down.
The lists only work when I use them.
One of my favorite sewing projects is making a pair of shorts. They come together fairly quickly, use a relatively small amount of fabric, are super comfortable, and fit my summer uniform, which is typically shorts and a tank.
I use the free pattern from Melly Sews, which fits S-M. (You can purchase her pattern for the full range of sizes, or use her slash and spread tutorial to increase the size of the free pattern.) I find the shorts fit well, but are too short for my taste, with just a couple of inches to the inseam.
