despite a double header

… very little stitching was done yesterday.

I started with this, a design of my own, because the over-one verse requires either good daylight or my magnifier (which is a bugger to use in the living room because of the appalling lack of outlets).

As you can see precious little was done – thanks largely to the interruption of the neighbors’ wolf-hybrid/Malamute beast running loose AGAIN. As usual, it made itself at home running up and down our property – but this time, our own dogs were out … and the dog doo quickly hit the fan. Thankfully it was Niek walking our dogs – anyone else would’ve been unable to contain Rigby (at nearly 80 lbs) and Lola (only around 45 lbs but full of energy) as they struggled to protect their territory from the intruder. And also to be thankful for, the chickens were in their coop – believe it or not, this dog has already killed numerous chickens in the neighborhood, yet no legal action has been taken!  Less thankfully, I ran out screaming and shouting at the dog to get away from our dogs and it turned its attentions on me. Yikes. I wasn’t thinking clearly; I just wanted Niek to get our dogs inside where they’d be safe. (And honestly, I was mad as blazes to see it threatening our own animals.) When I burst on the scene, the dog went from being mildly aggressive to downright scary and once I was back inside, I didn’t really dare go out again till I know the owners had been contacted and had taken it home. I’m writing a letter to the animal control officer, who will use it in a court case, but he said there’s really nothing that can be done. So am I supposed to wait till the dog attacks the chickens, one of my dogs, or one of my kids??

Later in the day, after things had settled down, Rowen had her first Girl Scouts meeting and I agreed to stay with her. Knowing I couldn’t stand an hour of idleness and that stitching over-one wouldn’t be possible, I brought my Early Maine Pincushion along and put in a few stitches. Very few, actually – but that’s better than none, right? I’m doing this on one of Vikki Clayton’s unevenweaves using her silks. Love it!

So far this morning, I’ve already mucked out the large room in the chicken barn and I have a business meeting coming up, but I hope to put in a little activity with something or another. I’m teasing – I have a great project pulled out that I’m really quite excited to work on, but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see if I’m at all successful.

The sun is out and it is an absolutely gorgeous day. I hope you’re smiling and doing something you enjoy!

thief! stop that clock!

Oh my heavens, where is the time going? How can I slow it down?? I hate it when time seems to speed out of control, but I suppose we did try to pack rather a lot into one little week: Max’s father was here from Holland, my aunt hosted a small family reunion, my Dad returned from Florida, and I had one full-day outing with the kids. In addition, we all worked on school projects, visited with family and friends, and had fun just hanging out. I’m delighted to say that I also finished the next two samplers for the Gift of Stitching series and have begun my Blackbird Designs exchange.

The kids and I went to Ellsworth for the day yesterday. We started at Birdsacre, a volunteer-run bird sanctuary that I used to love going to as a child with my Aunt Cindy. It hasn’t changed a bit over the years! After visiting the birds, we enjoyed walking one of the shorter nature trails. Anyone (in this area) who’s looking for an affordable day out really shouldn’t overlook Birdsacre – the trails are free, although donations are appreciated. We’re all looking forward to going back again soon. Nicky even made a new friend who has promised to meet up with us  next time we go.

After all that walking, we were hungry so we went over to Pat’s Pizza - it’s not a fancy experience, but the food is fabulous and the service is so incredibly friendly. It’s quickly become a family favorite. And then we headed down into the old part Ellsworth, just walking around and having a great time following our curiosity. One of our stops was an antique mall – Rowen thought we stayed a little too long, but just check out the treasures I found for under $15! 

It was one of the most enjoyable days I’ve had with all four kids – no one fought or whined or complained of being bored – and as a result, we were out for the entire day, barely making it home for dinner.

I started my day off today with a companionable walk along the local trails. Rigby got to come along this time and he enjoyed it tremendously. Another thanks to Katherine for organizing these walks!

I hope your week was wonderful and that your weekend will be bring many smiles! Thank you for sharing some time with me here today.

adventures in giving

Not only do a have the winners from my blog giveaway to announce, but I also have the details for another fabulous giveaway at Prim Originals to share.

First off, Prim Originals is having a giveaway and I really hope I win! So I probably shouldn’t tell you about it, right? Fewer names = greater chance of me winning? Nah, that wouldn’t be playing fair. Liz is a talented artist and to prove it, I have two of her prints hanging in our living room on my “art wall”. Okay, it’s really only a half wall, but it will grow…. My embarrassing admission is that one of these prints was purchased as a gift, but I liked it so much that I kept it. (Don’t worry, the intended recipient never knew what happened and got a different gift that made her just as happy!)

On to my giveaway, I was surprised at how fast the comments poured in – and very touched by all the nice things you said! Thank you! I printed out the first 40-odd names at  midnight when I was getting ready to go to bed, and printed the rest out today. Snip, snip, and into the hat so everyone had a chance to pull a name. Without further ado, here are the five winners:

Congratulations, and once again, thank you so much for your friendship and encouragement!

Today’s adventure was heading over to the doggie hotel where Rigby and Lola will be staying during our time in Maine. I wanted to see it for myself and also to give Lola a chance to experience it before getting “dumped” there for three weeks. Lola’s a bit of a scaredy-cat and I thought it would be less frightening for her if she could see it beforehand. Ideally, I’d prefer to bring both dogs but I can’t handle both of them and all four kids in a new setting on my own. Visits to the kennel are only permitted during certain hours to reduce stress for the dogs who are already staying there; Niek would’ve been glad to help, but of course visiting hours occur during the workday. But we managed fine and I’m feeling better about the necessity of leaving our dogs behind.

Other recent adventures have involved ice cream. It’s been hot-hot-hot, and that means cool treats. Arden is a huge fan of popsicles and since we are all huge fans of Arden, I thought these pictures would bring a few smiles.

And there have been some cooking adventures as I experiment with some gluten-free products – I want to show my mom how easy it is to live gluten-free (so she’ll stick to her doctor-recommended diet), and that means experimenting on my family beforehand. Ha ha. I’ve learned that soy flour cannot replace regular flour, but only enhance it (to add extra protein/moisture/etc.). I should’ve read about soy flour before attempting this soy-flour foccaccia bread. As you can see, it was a resounding failure. Fortunately, I baked a “normal” one at the same time so we did not go hungry. LOL!

Tomorrow’s adventure will be having Annemarie over for a visit. Actually, she’ll be the one having an adventure, as both dogs are shedding like mad at the moment and even twice-daily vaccuuming doesn’t keep up with the furballs and dirt that’s constantly getting tracked in. Chateau Chaos looks much more chaotic than usual these days, but Annemarie’s a brave woman. I can hardly wait to see her!

Wishing you well! Thank you once again for visiting with me here – I certainly enjoy the company!

tiny treasures

Yesterday afternoon we were able to take the kids and dogs for a walk in the nearby community “forest” (okay, I’m from Maine and I just cannot call this a forest without cracking a grin). When we left the house, it was overcast and that helped a lot with the humidity, but while we were there the sun came out and it was sort of like a huge sauna. Hot stuff, baby. Anyway, in an ongoing attempt to figure out how to use my new camera better, I decided to take pictures only of special tiny things that came along during our walk. A sampling of tiny treasures.

On the stitching front, HOHRH has been put away for a couple of weeks so I can concentrate on some deadline stitching. Today I worked on our Quaker RR. Fingers crossed I won’t have the miscounting problems that I did with the last round! Dear friend Cathi let me know that her Independence Day gift has arrived – when I saw this freebie, I immediately thought of Cathi. I’m so glad she likes it. I’ve used HDF silks (the Be-series) on 35 ct HDF Bunny Brown linen. It’s backed with Moda fabrics and stuffed with wool rovings to make a humble pincushion. I just love how it came out and fully intend to stitch it again for myself … next year!

I hope your day is full of beauty, big or small!

your patience shall be rewarded

You guys are too good to me. Now this is where my stitching is at this moment, which is a sunny moment – a rare thing in the Netherlands in January in my experience – but I hope to uncover my turbo needles later in the day and tear right through Brightneedle’s Covered Bridge Sampler which will be to the right of the cemetery (The Olde Churchyard by Designs By Pamela, altered). You’ll notice that Four Friends has been finished/changed, including Aunt Kathy’s (aka the girl in purple) dress and the white flowers by the door became rosebushes (trust me, they are). The kitty and the bunny are clamouring for more wildlife, too – the cat, a rough old tom that I’m calling Dick (as in ‘every Tom, Dick, and Harry’), wants some birds. Anyway, here’s my Primitive New England Village. (There’s something showing through the linen by the tree at the church, btw, that’s not stitching.)

 

*For those who’ve asked, I’ve been editing my photos using Picnik. I love how easy they make it, but I hate how slow it is, even with our hi-speed connection.

For a laugh, here’s my progress with Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I’ve only stitched 3 1/2 hours on it (OMG, am I a slow stitcher or what?!). My progress is pretty laughable compared to Heather and Cathy,  my unofficial SAL-mates. I’ve shown it in the Q-Snaps so you’ll see just how insignificant my progress really is! (That’s the laptop showing through – I used it as an impromptu easel.)

I’m not having a lot of luck staying off my foot, but it’s healing up despite me. I still limp, but that’s better than hobbling. Or at least it is in my private dictionary. Off to the ER doc tomorrow to get it checked and to hopefully burn the smelly elastic support sock I’ve had to wear all week. The kids have been great – Max even helped with the dishes last night!

While off my feet, I’ve been reading. I just finished Every Dead Thing by John Connolly and the gruesome title gives you an idea of just how dark and horrific the story is. I really enjoyed the references to John Donne, a poet I briefly thought of building an academic career around in my misspent youth. And the Epilogue’s reference to Portland, Maine is the exact same neighborhood I lived in – I could look down the hill and nearly over to the Inn at St. John (where I’ve also lodged). Ah, these little touches of home. Next up, by the same author (I checked out the only two books the local library has by him) is The White Road.

Here are my furry canines, who greatly miss their daily walks and have been very naughty this week as a result. You’d never know it by looking at them, though, would you? They have their paws crossed that the doc says I can go back to walking them again.

And in closing, here’s Arden reminding us all that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

a roaring success

I guess that would sum up both our New Year’s Eve celebration and the unexpected response to the 3 1/2 year blogging non-anniversary giveaway.

new year’s eve at chateau chaos

For New Year’s Eve, Niek prepared the usual array of delectable Dutch treats – homemade oliebollen, apelflappen, and what I call banana puffs; salmon salad; a cheese platter; and so on. And the best bottle of champagne we’ve had yet . Max chose to stay up till the midnight celebrations, and he and Niek had so much fun playing together on the Wii that it was 11:30 before we even knew it! We quickly tidied up, got the goodies and candles arranged, and woke the younger kids. Nicky and Rowen were so cute in their cuddly tiredness. Arden slept through it all. LOL! Unfortunately during the fireworks, Max came down quite ill and had to go to bed. We saved a few fire works for when he feels better.  Nicky and Rowen had a great time with the fireworks, and the dogs watched everything from the front window (as you can see in the bottom right photo). Lola, however, is still afraid to go outside and I’ve had to carry her for walks. Which I guess makes them ‘rides’ for her.

my 2009 stitching start

What was I doing when I wasn’t laughing myself silly at the boys’ Wii antics? Why, stitching of course! I just had to get a start on my neighborhood round robin. I’ve chosen for a sort of Primitive New England Neighborhood and started with Four Friends, by Brightneedle, in my choice of colors. I got off to a good start, but I’ll hold off on posting a progress photo till the roof is on.

and the winner is …

And now, the big news that you have all been waiting for. My heavens, I was absolutely flabbergasted by the response to my non-anniversary! You guys really shocked me. Lots and lots of new commenters who I really hope will be back. Lots of new blogs for me to check out, too, and I have been enjoying that. I may have to post a “Favorite Five” or something of my new discoveries.

Anyway, because there was such a landslide response, I decided to draw one grand prize winner and three runners-up (who will receive small gift packets, though probably not anything handmade). I came up with that magical number because I have four kids and that way they could each draw a name from Max’s wonderful Cat in the Hat hat. Max drew the Grand Prize winner, who will receive the stitched gift, chart, and assorted smaller goodies: Roberta! Nick drew the first runner up and thought it was really funny that he drew nearly his own name: Nic! Rowen, fresh from a morning bath, drew the second runner up from her bedroom: Mireile Blanchard! And I helped Arden, who is under the belief that paper is for eating, to draw the Honorable Mention: Deb! Congratulations to a group of wonderful stitchers!! And to everyone, thank you so much for making my little blog part of your day – your friendship, support, encouragement, and inspiration are what keeps me coming back.

Best wishes to all for a most wonderful year, full of good health, good fortune, and the love & laughter of family & friends!!!

Edited to add: It took awhile (!) but I’ve visited all the blogs of everyone who left a valid URL address in the giveaway post and left a comment. Nice to spend the day visiting with everyone!

grab a cuppa … lots to share!

Whew, we’ve seen some busy and fun days (in that order, I suspect!) since I last had the chance to post. I hope all’s going well in your little nook and that the fast-approaching holidays are not sending anyone else into a panic. LOL!

First off, we had 40 names to enter for Santa’s Winter Garden by Schoolhouse Samplings, and I’m happy to announce that a new commenter won: Courtney! Courtney, you’ll need to contact me with your postal information and I will do my best to get the chart off to you today or tomorrow.

The mailman has been paying frequent visits to my house. Luckily, I’m a happily married woman and there’s no undercurrents reminiscent of Jessica Lang and Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice. :0

Stephanie’s FS squares arrived on the same day that I finished stitching hers. Wow, Stephanie, you’re fast! (I intend to get mine off to you today.) I had to really laugh, as Stephanie’s card made mention of the fact that she hoped I hadn’t already stitched this design - because this was indeed the first one I wanted to stitch from the current JCS ornament issue! You obviously know my taste, Stephanie! I’ll be whipping this up into an ornament ASAP. Thank you!!

I also received a big, fat envelope from my dear SA friend Coral full of gorgeous varigated flosses that she claims not to be very fond of, and the LHN Berries chart/CC floss combo. Good heavens, Coral, you are far too generous! Coral’s card said the flosses were for both Max and I, and you should’ve seen his eyes when I told him. He just couldn’t get over it. From both of us, Coral, thank you so much!!

Speaking of Max, guess who has tried his hand with cross stitching with silk? Yep! I’m so proud of him! He wanted to make something special for his Papa this year, and chose a pattern of bells … but they had to be ‘real gold’ and not simply gold-colored. I hate using metallics and don’t really have any, but some brainstorming brought to mind the heavy silk thread I bought from The Natural Dye Studio back when she did embroidery threads as well as yarn. (Sadly, she only does yarn now – but if you  knit, they are gorgeous yarns!) So here’s his progress with his Papa’s ornament:

Arden still can’t manage to really get over that cold that’s been dogging his heels for a couple of weeks now. It’ll almost clear up, and then it’s suddenly back. I suspect there is some teething-action involved. Thankfully, he’s either less fussy than he was, or I’ve simply gotten used to it. LOL! The other day he managed to pull himself up onto his knees for the first time. He couldn’t see into the toy box otherwise! After I snapped this picture, he used the box to steady himself as he knee-shuffled forward a couple of paces. Hard to believe he’s going on 11 months. Where does the time go??

We had a busy weekend that included a family birthday party at the BIL’s house where we got Lola. We took her along and she was very excited to see her mama, but she was also very happy to come back home with us. She’s such a member of the family now, that it’s not possible to imagine us without her. (Though I will be most relieved when the house-training finally takes hold!) That’s chocolate on Nicky’s nose and in Rowen’s hair, btw. Messy eaters. LOL.

I have been busy stitching Christmas goodies, but in my own odd fashion, I decided to start at the back of the oldest JCS issue I have and work forward. Since I can’t show you any pictures of that, I’ll leave you with this gorgeous tree that caught my eye on a dog walk the other day. Wishing you a splendid Monday!

PS: I nearly forgot, but I have to tell you that last night I dreamed that President Obama was my university honors professor in English lit. We were studying the poetry of Sappho. Is that incredibly strange, or what? For what it’s worth, he was an excellent professor!

PPS: Anna’s having a giveaway at her blog - go look!

it’s your future!

My little public service announcement: Americans, don’t forget to vote today. Remind your neighbors, friends and family. We create the world we live in – don’t forget it!!

Before I get started, a great big thank you goes out to Anna for sending me the JCS ornament issue and a whole assortment of small kits & goodies for Max! I should have a photo, I know, but Max rushed his treasures up to his room faster than I can snap a photo. Thank you, Anna, that was SO kind and thoughtful!

So what’s been going on around here lately? Lots of dog walks, LOL! So how long does housetraining take? Lola was allowed to go to the bathroom where ever she felt like it in her birth-home, so I figured that housetraining might be a rather large hurdle to clear. What confounds me is that she’ll go to the bathroom outside, but come in and do it on the floor immediately after. Not every time, but often enough. Any experienced puppy raisers out there? We’re giving her a treat and praise every time she does her business outside, and trying to just clear up the inside ‘accidents’ without a lot of fuss. She’s fit into the family like we’ve always had her. Spin loves playing the curmudgeonly uncle who acts gruff but lets her get away with no end of naughtiness. Rigby loves to play with her, protect her, and teach her. The kids think she’s the best thing since sliced bread. Last night, I came home from work with teeth-cleaning bones for both the doggies, and although Lola’s was nearly as big as she was, she got to work on it with a gusto!

There has also been a tiny bit of stitching going on. We had a wonderful time at Annemarie’s on Sunday. I didn’t take my camera since it doesn’t always work and I wanted to avoid the frustration of having a non-functional camera. Annemarie’s family came by to wish her a happy birthday, and Pelle kept us all happily entertained with his sweet, social actions. I finally met Heidi, and it was a great joy to see Margaret and Harmien again. Another friend of Annemarie’s was also there – a new stitcher! Good job, Annemarie! Here’s what I worked  on – my Eleanor Spooner Spot Sampler. Didn’t get too much done ….

Last night I gave the dogs an extra long walk and just before we arrived home again, we found a wee hedgie in the grass. Rigby’s well-behaved enough that he’d sit and stay, allowing me a closer look (but not close enough to scare the poor thing). It was such a cutie, and it’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen one in the wild. It reminded me that I must show you my very own hedgie. Remember those cats that showed up in some of Harmien’s pictures awhile ago? I checked out the same etsy seller and fell for this tiny hedgehog.

It’s a very misty, moisty morning here. The dogs are a sleep on their cushions and Arden, who has a cold, is playing happily with his Noah’s Ark bus next to them. It’s all very cozy and nice. I hope that your day also contains little bubbles of simple, total, happiness.

from spring to winter

The day began beautifully – the morning walk with Rigby was so warm and pleasant that I was tempted to take my coat off. But the dog treats were in there, so that wouldn’t be a good idea. I did remember to take my camera (finally) and can share these tantalizing spring-weather photos with you. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

I quickly decided that we were going to the zoo, despite the continuing forecast for truly awful weather. Scrambled some eggs for the kids while eating leftover ravioli myself, fed Arden, fed and cleaned all the animals, and packed bag lunches for all of us. I tucked Arden back into bed with Niek (who is improving, but isn’t better yet) and we were underway! Rowen and Nicky were insisting they’d never been to the zoo before, but I think they were just confused because I was using the English word zoo and they are more accustomed to the Dutch word dierentuin. We arrived – to find approximately half the inhabitants of of South Holland! What a line! But it was well worth it, even though the weather had already changed from spring back to winter … brrr!! The wind found every gap in my clothing, I swear. Luckily, the zoo is designed with a lot of indoor attractions, too, although they were the most crowded. As long as it isn’t raining, I try not to complain about the weather. That’s my deal with Mother Nature since moving here.

Rather than continuing to ramble on, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. We really did have a great time.

Tomorrow is a family gathering for Niek’s father’s birthday. The kids are pretty excited and they’ve all made drawings for him. I have to admit that I’m clueless each and every year as to what to get him for a gift, and Niek’s no help. I picked him up a box of special Belgian chocolates. When in doubt, get something you yourself would like. LOL!

And to close on a high note, look at our wee man now! Is that just the cutest baby you ever did see?

PS: I cannot say how relieved I am to read your comments and see that not only am I not the only person who dislikes ironing, but also not the only person who simply does not do it! That was a guilty secret I’ve been hiding for ages!

forest fun

Please pop over to my new page ‘help me with my holiday’ and cast a vote to send me on my way next month. We have a long weekend and want to take off with the kids, but … to where?? Thanks!! 

 Took a family afternoon outing today in the Reeuwijkse Bos – a little forested area with walking paths where dogs are allowed to go loose. Rigby was very good and had a lot of fun and really, we can’t blame him for testing the water. He only went in a tiny bit. But afterward, when Nicky threw his stick into the water, Rigby dived all the way in. He has an interesting organic odor now. The kids had as much fun as the dog, which is really saying something. After, we tried to go in the pancake restaurant nearby, but they wouldn’t allow dogs. To fellow Americans, that might not sound strange, but over here in Holland, dogs are usually allowed in family-style restaurants. So we headed back to the car and got our refreshments at a nearby McDonalds. To both the kids and Rigby, that spells p-a-r-t-y!

We continued our lazy Sunday afternoon by taking a drive past a future development site, where Niek and I wrote in on one of the four houses being built. What a disappointment! But it’s good that we know now, rather than later. We finished up our fun by dropping by Niek’s parents’ house. While we were there, we noticed that Rowen was looking a little peaky, but it had been a long day and we didn’t think too much about it.

After a delicious dinner by my chef-husband, we dumped all the two-legged critters in the tub for a cleanup … and discovered lots of little red dots popping up all over Rowen’s cute little body. For good measure, there were a few on Nicky’s sturdy little frame, too. Yep, chicken pox! Guess who is not going to work tomorrow. Guess whose manager is going to have 32 kinds of conniption fits and turn blue. We have a release going out the door this Friday and, as usual, the planning was … ahem, rather lacking … and about 90% of the work was left till the last week.  Ah, well, life will go on. If I can stay home with two kids who have chicken pox, the Pointy-Haired Boss can deal with some missing documentation. (Oh boy, I sure hope no one at work has this URL!)

In between internships, studying, and having family fun, I managed to finish-finish my SBEBB exchange and make a very decent start on another one. Good thing, since I sort of signed up for a bit more than I should’ve. I’ll mail it tomorrow and post pictures here as soon as I can.

Here’s the last pre-chicken pox picture of Nicky and Rowen, taken this afternoon during our walk.