June 9, 2026

It is raining this morning. The clouds opened up as predicted (about 7:45 AM), and the rain fell in a steady downpour for about three hours. It allowed me to indulge the girls with a long Breakfast Club story (the first long one of the summer). Mac’s talk was awesome (as usual), and classes proceeded as normal in the liquid sunshine. After the first period, the rain stopped, and we entered the pattern for the rest of the day. Scattered showers, with a chance of rain all day. It feels great (mild temperatures), and the mist on the mountains is glorious (feels like we are in Scotland). Reminds me of my childhood.

Cue another Falling Creek memory… On rainy days in those days, everything kind of stopped. We could go where we wanted, and that opened the door for my favorite thing in the world: Ghost Stories in the hayloft! I know, this sounds bad, but it was awesome! There was a counselor who was really good at telling scary ghost stories, and we campers ate it up! We would gather in droves (about 20 of us at least) and set up a little cave of hay. It was dark, and the sound of the rain gave a perfect backdrop as we listened to the long stories without a word. The “fun” lasted till the sun came out, then we had to go back to classes. We would watch the sky with hope anytime clouds gathered. I love rain to this day!

As I write, the girls are still playing “rain games” on the grassy area outside the tennis court under my window. The modified baseball game (played with a pickleball and a tennis racket) is REALLY loud because today is Challenge Day. The odds and evens are doing competitions in every class this morning, and the score will be read out at lunch. It is amazing to see how much they love it. The spirit is deafening (I now wear hearing aids thanks to a lifetime of enduring team announcements in the dining hall). Good camp memories come in many shades!

Let me tell you about a couple of classes that impressed me greatly yesterday. Wood Burning and Cooking knocked it out of the park and deserve a shout-out.

Have you ever done wood burning? I never did until visiting Cat’s twin (JF) in Montana a couple of years ago. He was excited about Margaret and me visiting and had every day planned out. Imagine our surprise when “Wood Burning Class” was on the agenda one night. I feigned excitement as we drove to the city activity center (which was really nice) and made our way to the classroom. It was just as you would expect… a bunch of wood-burning “things” plugged in around a big table, a bunch of wood planks in a pile, and that’s it. “Oh Boy!” I exclaim ironically, getting an annoyed look from JF. But boy was I wrong!

Margaret and I are not artists, but for some reason the techniques of wood burning allowed us to shine. Our choices of subject were completely different (a beautiful leaf for her, a leaping cat for me), but both shone with inspiration. We kept both and will always remember that night fondly.

Well, that is what is going on at the Wood Burning class at Greystone today! For some reason, I am still prejudiced against wood burning even after our good experience in Montana… but not anymore! The girls are making cool projects (signs, dice made of wood plank squares, pictures on larger pieces, name tags, among other things), and they are fully engaged in their art. It is astounding to create something artistically cool; woodburning appears to be a key that unlocks that door for a lot of people.

Cooking… PASTA DAY… OH BOY! Your girls made pasta the way you do at home (if you are a gourmet chef or Italian grandmother): a pile of flour, a whole egg cracked into the pile, then mixed with a fork as the flour is slowly incorporated into the egg. Mix it all the way, then knead the lump of dough until it becomes “pretty” (smooth, slightly luminescent). Roll the pretty dough into a small rectangle and work it through the pasta-making machine (start with a wide setting and reduce by one click every time). The small rectangle becomes very long and very thin, ready to be cut into whatever shape is desired.

Yesterday was ravioli, so small squares were cut, and a heaping teaspoon of tasty mushroom mixture was carefully placed in the middle of a square. Put another square on top and crimp the edges with a fork, moving the ravioli to a flour-dusted sheet pan. The assembly lines were very effective in making a lot of pasta, ravioli filling, and marinara sauce. Then it was time to cook!

The ravioli was put in boiling water, cooked for 1 minute, then put into individual bowls with a dollop of marinara and a dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (from a huge wheel of actual Parmesano Reggiano we keep for the occasion). The look on the girl’s eyes told the tale- WOW! I’m definitely making this when I get home!

Expect good things when you think about the classes your girls enjoy every day. They are awesome in surprising ways! You can be proud of what they are accomplishing.

Breakfast: Ham and Cheese omelets

Joke: Hare Spray

Weather: Rain 40% chance, scattered after 11:00 AM

Lunch: BBQ Chicken

Dinner: Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole

EP: Rotating Group Night (Water activities, cupcake decorating, “messy fun” on the field.