mainely stitching

There are lions and roaring tigers,
and enormous camels and things,
There are biffalo-buffalo-bisons,
and a great big bear with wings.
There’s a sort of a tiny potamus,
and a tiny nosserus too -
But I gave buns to the elephant
when I went down to the Zoo!
~A.A. Milne

 The kids had a free day yesterday, due to yet another teachers’ study day (I told Max he should give his teachers a pop quiz Monday morning!), so the five of us piled into the car as soon as the worst of the traffic jams were over and headed for Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam. Honestly, the kids spent more time & energy just running around and playing than looking at any animals – an educational trip it certainly was not. LOL.

In the evening, I managed to put the last stitches into two of the three gifts that’ve been languishing on my To Do pile. Will the last one be finished this weekend? I’d like to know, too. Deb and Coral both received packages this week, so I can share a few stitchy pictures.

Coral won my birthday giveaway drawing. I made her a little tiny bag with First Moon Colony by Bent Creek stitched on it. It’s one of those patterns that I think I could happily stitch a dozen times.

And Deb’s belated but heartfelt birthday gift arrived, which included a tiny angel (cutout from a Mary Beale pattern) in a SanMan pre-made pillow form that Vonna sent me. I secured the angel with some invisible stitches and made some additions/changes to the original pillow form, so it’s now a true Deb Original.

Today’s big excitement was finding a little bunny on the way to Scouting. I don’t know if someone dropped it off over there, figuring it could range free, or if it escaped from someone’s backyard. I’ve contacted the animal services people and in the meantime, s/he is enjoying the amenities of Chateau Chaos. She’s staying in Lola’s indoor kennel and has made friends with everyone.

My birthday was as beautiful as these gorgeous flowers sent by my father and step-mother, Jim and Gaby!

The day began with a bit of a lay-in (as it was a holiday here) and when I came downstairs, Niek had breakfast all ready. The Chaos Crew was also ready to dig in – opening presents had to wait till after appetites had been assuaged!

We did, however, sing. Arden got very excited with the hip-hip-hooray bits, as you can see.

But the wait was worth it. Max had painted me a castle with a wishing well and Rowen made me a treasure map. Niek surprised and delighted me with a new camera!! WOW! I could hardly believe my eyes. And a fabulous case to keep it safe in.

Needless to say, as soon as I opened it, I had to start taking pictures of everything and everyone around me, which Nick felt was his cue to duck under the table. But not quick enough to escape this veteran child photographer! LOL!

Not long after breakfast, we piled into the car to go to the open air jazz festival in Den Bosch, aka Jazz in Duketown. I’m a big fan of blues and of traditional jazz but there aren’t that many opportunities to drag kids (who aren’t usually big fans) along to performances. In the southern end of the country, though, around this time of year, there are informal, open-air performances that are ideal for a family like ours. Of the kids, Arden enjoyed the music the most. Rowen, as you can see in the pictures, was a pretty critical audience. LOL!

No birthday would be complete without at least a little bit of stitching, so here’s a peek at my latest project (Curious as a Cat by Birds of a Feather). And hold on to your hats, I’ll actually be keeping this one! Hopefully exchanges will arrive at their destinations this week and I’ll be able to show you some other pictures.

the winner is:

There were 56 entries for my birthday giveaway and the randomizer chose Coral. It’s pretty cool when a long-term, regular reader gets chosen. Coral, your gift will go out before the end of the month! And everyone, thank you so much for commenting and for extending your good wishes! I received a beautiful card from Dianne, ecards from Rachael, Harmien & Annemarie, and emails from several other good friends including birthday twin Deb. Thank you all SO MUCH – your friendship means the world to me!!

After a missed appointment a couple of weeks ago (due to illness, of course!), I was pretty eager to go visit my friend Conny yesterday. She graciously allowed me to bring both Max and Arden (as Niek is busy with Scouting activies all day on Saturday and can *only* care for Nick and Rowen), so the three of us set off with high hearts on a gloriously sunny day.

Arriving at Conny’s house, a few gifts were exchanged while Max enjoyed a plate of donuts that was especially for him as Conny can’t eat them and I’m sticking to my healthy eating habits.

Conny surprised us with this gorgeously stitched and finished Danish Handwerk designs by Gerda Bengtsson, stitched with Fremme floss and filled with lavender. It smells heavenly, and a soon as I got home, I hung it up on my Wall of Fame! She also had a sweet assortment of Easter gifts for the kids (as I was originally supposed to arrive before Easter) and a beautiful cut of linen with coordinating ribbons for me.

After a delicious & healthy lunch, we set off on foot to the local shopping area and had a lot of fun rummaging through dollar shops (where I made a few excellent purchases of Plane Distractions Items for our upcoming trip home). Conny insisted on purchasing a couple 0f kids’ cross stitch kits – one for Max to do himself, and one of princesses for me to make for Rowen. So guess what? Another new start! They’re small, so hopefully I’ll finish soon. With Rowen’s pressure, actually, I’m sure I’ll finish soon! LOL! Naturally, all that shopping made us thirsty, so while the boys and Conny waited in a sunny (if rather windy) park-like area, I ran off for drinks. Here are their happy faces.

The day went altogether too fast, and before I knew it, it was past the time I was supposed to head home. Luckily, Niek had held off on starting dinner so I wasn’t the cause of burnt evening meal. I was, however, the cause of a rather big family gaffe- I’d written the date down wrong for Niek’s Oma’s birthday celebration, which was actually yesterday rather than today. An apologetic phone call to Oma soon had everything set straight, and we’ll celebrate with her in a couple of weeks.

The sun is out again today and if it’s possible, today is even more gorgeous than yesterday. We’ll probably bundle the dogs and kids into the car again and head out for a long walk in the woods. I hope that whatever your day brings, it makes you happy!

Or should it be ‘birds on the brain’? I seem to have something of a preoccupation with my feathered friends. I’ve told Niek I want a voliere (is that also an English word?) but he thinks I’m joking. Anyway, today the kids and I headed over to the Avifauna, a sort of bird zoo. Because it’s winter, the cost of admission was nearly halved so it seemed like a brilliant outing for this chilly, gray day. I think it’s the most fun any of us have ever had there because we nearly had the entire place for ourselves. Nicky and Rowen in particular were going wild with the sense of freedom & discovery.

In addition to running around and enjoying lots of space (a luxury here, I can assure you), we saw a lot of birds. We think that because there were no crowds, the birds were more relaxed than usual. So even though it was quite cold, we had an eyeful. I think my funniest moment was being interrupted while I was deep in discussion with a Scarlet Macaw.  I tired to explain to the people that parrots are about as intelligent as a 3-year old child, but they were having none of it. LOL.

Aaaah.  A very busy week is over and, for the most part, I’m pretty sure we all had fun. We’ve had a couple of stellar theatre performances and an outing to a museum of natural history in addition to all the regular activities of swimming, guitar lessons, door-to-door collections, school and work. The weather has been dark, damp, and chill. I’ve been hearing from friends left and right that February is just not a great month, weather-wise, and I have to agree. But it is a short month, and after it follows … Spring! Yay! The mailman surprised me greatly with Valentine’s Day cards from Cathy B and Conny. Thank you both so much! You might find it funny to know that you made my husband blush, too. Conny also sent a packet full of wonderful finishing goodies – thank you!

So as I mentioned, the kids have been busy being little thespians. Max’s theatre group finished up with a gala performance of an original play written by the kids themselves. I’ll admit that I found it a bit difficult to follow the plot at times, but as the average age of the kids was 8, I think they did a pretty good job. Max played arch villain Mr Flame and did it with a delightful sense of humor.

Rowen and Nick’s Scouting troupe put on a play too, with Niek cast as the villain. He was deliciously dastardly in the theft of the playhouse keys, necessitating several trips through a time machine by the children who were determined to have their keys returned. Nick played an Indian (though he was quite disappointed that he did not get a real bow & arrows, LOL) and Rowen played a very mischievous ghost.

School was out today because the teachers were having a study day, so I packed the kids up for a long-overdue trip to Naturalis, a museum of natural history in Leiden. We all love going there, but don’t do it nearly often enough. It’s not easy getting decent photos in a museum, but a couple came out okay. We had a great time, but Mom came home exhausted. Boy am I glad it’s the weekend! I hope to put my feet up and have my stitching in hand!

For those who’re fortunate enough to celebrate Valentine’s Day, I wish you a day full of loving goodness. For the rest of us, I hope something unexpected comes our way to brighten the day. (For me, it really already has, thanks to Cathy and Conny!)

Thank you to everyone who purchased a pattern or a magazine. If anyone is still interested, scroll down for details.

Okay, I’m going to admit that I was feeling perhaps a little bit sorry for myself today for a variety of reasons that I won’t get into. I decided to go online after breakfast and visit with my fellow stitchers, at least over the Internet waves, and in my wanderings I came across a new-to-me blog (she has a Barb section of stitching – shouldn’t everyone?!) and in particular, this post of Eva’s had me absolutely rolling. I’m still wiping the tears off my cheeks.

Another online stop, though not new to me it may be to you, is The Toymaker.  Here are a few words of wisdom from her most recent newsletter:

(There are more detailed photos at my Flickr account.)

We also enjoyed the exhibit of vintage paper cutwork, which I’ve noticed is enjoying an upswing in popularity. And of course, when I saw this tile rooster, I had to take a picture.

I hope this finds you well and enjoying a great weekend.

Today we went to Kasteel de Haar to celebrate my MILs upcoming birthday – she wanted a special day to celebrate with the grandchildren. It was absolutely lovely, but I can’t show you very much of it because my camera decided after only a few photos that it just wasn’t playing anymore. This has been happening more often than not lately, and I fear that the time is rapidly approaching that I’ll have to buy a new one.

But I did manage a few photos, and Niek has more on his new phone (which is with him, at a table tennis competition).

I also finished Earth, by Beardie Designs, although this picture doesn’t show the closed herringbone border (which really does add a very cool ‘finished’ look to it).

Only two more days of autumn break … sigh. I wish it could go on longer or that I knew of some way to carry on the feeling of reduced stress I’ve enjoyed this week. I’m really glad that we had a good time and I think the kids will have lots of fun stories to share with their friends next week.

We went to Amsterdam today to visit the US Consulate so Arden can have his American status and passport, and to renew Nicky’s passport. I was expecting the worst, in terms of rudeness and ‘bother’, because it’s never been a picnic to go there and the additional security measures seemed certain to make it even worse. This was also my first time going with all four kids and Niek. So you can imagine my surprise when after clearing the initial security checks (yes, there are several) we encountered friendly people who were helpful. I was amazed. Grateful, too. To the folks who were working at the US Consulate in Amsterdam today, this family would like to say thank you!

After doing our mandatory business, we set about having some fun. After all, if you’re going to drive all that way, you’ve got to enjoy yourself a bit. The weather was – again – glorious. We hung out in the park that’s beside the Rijksmuseum and the kids had the playground all for themselves. No pics, sorry, because electronic devices aren’t allowed at the Consulate. Then we leisurely made our way toward the Leidseplein (a famous spot for tourists and people who drink too much, LOL) including a visit to Vondelpark. (Were we just not getting it? Did we go in at the wrong entrance? Vondelpark looked to us like a green street rather than a park.) Then we backtracked to The Hard Rock Cafe, where I enjoyed a dinner with Rachael, Ash, and Carol about … um, two years ago. Wow, time flies. The kids loved it, as I knew they would. Nicky and Rowen were dancing in their chairs and on the way to and from the restrooms. It was fabulous to go to a restaurant where the customer service is top-notch.

I stopped in at a deli (Voskuilen, for anyone interested) that an Irish friend of mine used to swear by. She’s snuck back home to the UK since, but I finally had a chance to pop my head in, and of course I didn’t come out empty handed. For the Americans out there, if you can believe it, this little spree cost me 20 euro, which is $27 (okay, there were 3 boxes of Cracker Jacks and 3 envelopes of Kool-Aid powder, but I couldn’t get the camera out fast enough – LOL!). The Pop Tarts, sadly, were 7 euro a box and the Toll House chocolate chips were 7 euro a bag. Niek pointed out that the shop owner has to make a living, too!

When we got home, I found some other stash awaiting me. There were a lot of charts from The Needlework Show that I liked, and I will eventually catch up with Kathy Barrick-Dieter’s offerings, but the one design that I felt like I absolutely  had to have was this one by Annie Beez. It appeals to me tremendously! So I begged Mary Kathryn after the show ended, and wonder of wonders, she had one to send me. Thank you, Mary Kathryn! And recently Traditional Stitches had a special offer for newsletter subscribers that I could also apply to items already on sale (!) so I finally bought some fabrics I’ve been curious about: 32/33 ct Flax  linen, 32/33 ct Cream Strathaven linen, and 32 ct Blue Grass Lakeside Linen. I also ordered The Ackworth Friendship Book for a RR I’ll be in this spring and some OWS I missed from my collection. Janice also included some ornament-size pieces of some Zweigart fabrics that are new to their line as a little gift. Thank you, Janice!!  :)

And while my better half went grocery shopping and prepared dinner – am I lucky, or what? – I finished 1821 Sewing Pocket by Stacy Nash! And within five minutes, I’d already begun Emma’s Framed Sampler. Woot! I’m not sure if it’s still the case, but these were offered as freebies from The Pattern Marta couple of months ago. I’d been saving them for a rainy day – well, the sun is shining, but these aren’t waiting any longer to be stitched up! Thanks to Tanya for organizing a SAL and for setting up the Stacy Nash group!

Your time to sign up for the giveaway is nearly over. I will draw a winner tomorrow!!

We’ve been busy with this and that and the other all week, but in a happy way, and time has continued to slip out of my grasp. I told my Dad that I feel like I wake up on Monday morning and go to bed on Friday night. It all just goes so fast! He’s warned me that it just speeds up the older we get. Yikes!

Arden’s been busy growing new teeth. You know, babies really do have a lot of hard work to do. Teething hasn’t been too much fun for him, though he remains even-tempered about it most of the time. Right now the poor dear is sleeping off a baby aspirin after his hectic, red cheeks alerted me to the fact that he might be running a fever (which he was, 39.28 Celsius). Here’s a series of photos I took of him on my lap the other day – you can see what he’s thinking, all the way from ‘not now, really’ to ‘one must not disappoint one’s admirers’. LOL.

When I was uploading these pictures from the camera, I found some that were still there from our trip to Luxembourg in August. How they escaped unnoticed till now is beyond me, but here’s a last glimpse of summer fun.

Arden has been sitting up a little more often, and is doing much better about not tipping over when he reaches for something. I couldn’t resist snapping this photo. Doesn’t he look delighted with himself?

He was also delighted when Chiloe surprised us all with a package of gifts – Chiloe, that was so unexpected and so generous! Thank you, Chiloe!! Nothing like a soothing bath and massage to forget the pains of teething!

I was also surprised to find my name over at Anna and Lennu’s blogs the past day or so. You two made me seriously blush! Thank you for your kind words and your generous support. Speaking of my etsy shop, however obliquely, I’ve gotten two more custom orders this week. Yay!

I have been stitching, but I’ll wait to post a picture till it’s 100% finished. It is finished, but then I decided it needed a bit more, so it’s under the needle again. LOL. I’ve also been reading. I finished Paul Auster’s Oracle Nightand it was an inspired follow-up to Murakami’s collection of short stories, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. I loved The Kite Runner, as I’ve already mentioned. I greatly enjoyed Sarah Water’s novel The Night Watch, particularly how it moved backward in time. Here are my favorite lines from the novel: She supposed that houses, after all – like the lives that were lived in them – were mostly made of space. It was the spaces, in fact, that counted, rather than the bricks. Today I read Pat Barker’s Double Vision, which was as “unputdownable” as the jacket claimed, and I was jolted by the realization that Pat is a woman, not a man. Have you ever had that, in reading a novel, that you’ve just assumed the gender of the author and then been surprised to find out you were wrong? Just a little tangent, there, nothing important. It was a very readable novel. Niek was pointing out the other night that we seem to have reached an age in which we enjoy the movies where ‘nothing much seems to happen’, when the story is more important than the action. Anyway, my current novel is A Scientific Romance by Ronald Wright. So far, I’m not sure if I like it or not.

But the biggest surprise of this weekend will have to wait till tomorrow, because I want it to have its own post. So I’ll see you later, alligator!

Special thoughts going out to some dear friends who are struggling with physical pain. Dear Deb and Jennifer, I do hope that relief is just around the corner.

Today is our last full day at the campsite, so we made sure we did all the fun things that the kids wanted to do – this mainly involved the swimming pool and the playgrounds as well as playing badminton and Frisbee by our cabin. I only have pictures of the playgrounds, as Niek took the kids swimming in the pool one at a time. Nicky is convinced that I don’t go swimming because “they don’t make swimsuits in mama’s size”.

Rowen didn’t enjoy the playground without her brothers’ company for very long, but she did enjoy being pushed in the basket swing till I thought my arms might fall off. LOL.

Nicky and Max both enjoyed the playground very, very much however. And Arden had a good time, too, picking various grasses and clover and depositing them on the blanket for midday salad to enjoy with his biggest brother. Even Rigby and Niek got in on the fun while Photographer Mama scurried around trying to catch all the fun on camera for posterity.

Tomorrow will be the long drive home. I’m already dreading the part through Belgium. Driving in Belgium feels to me like being shot from a canon, LOL.

I loved reading your comments about forced marches, starvation, and other highlights of family holidays! Thanks for sharing!

Oh, not sure who asked … but I got precious little stitching done. I will actually have to do a tiny bit of frogging when we’re home! Oops!