Camp NoFun

Back in the closing decade of the last century -- which is to say in the 90s -- our young nieces used to visit for a week or two every summer.  We called it Camp NoFun and it was meant to give us a chance to get to get to  know each other better and to introduce the girls to country living -- baking bread, picking blackberries, gathering eggs, learning to sew -- all that good stuff.  There was still lots of time to do other  things like playing dressup in my old skirts . . .

...and the ever popular trick of dyeing Queen Anne's Lace by sticking the cut stems in a container of water and food coloring.

Of course, the flower is quite pretty in its natural state. But it's irresistible fun to watch osmosis at work.

It works within a few hours -- except when it doesn't. The stem I put in the red dye keeled over rather than osmose. So did its replacement.

Note to self: Avoid red food coloring.