bianca_b's Xanga

Summer in brief

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 02:54:34 GMT

July was hot. My husband had two weeks vacation and we spent our holidays in Germany, to be more precise in Medebach-Oberschledorn. A beautiful environment! Our house for two weeks stood up a mountain and we were able to look over Oberschledorn and Düdlinghousen. A regular rhythm were brought by the church bells; they rang three times a day: around 7.15 in the morning, at noon and at six in the evening. The children played in the garden behind the house and they were accompanied by the neighbour's dog, who loved to play ball with them. In the valley the top temperature reached to 38 degrees C...on the mountain it was more comfortable. Personally I want to go back next year, but that is going to be a little problematic...the house is for five people you see

That brings me to another subject... We found out during our vacation that something was going on... did a test and were stunned... a little baby is on its way. Due on March 19. We never expected that, so we accepted this as special gift from God. Between the youngest and the baby there will be an age difference of 11 years! But the kids like the fact that they are getting a brother or sister in time. And I am glad.

August... we won't talk about the rain that came down...

Now it is September...the kids are back to school and Steven is going on a school camp today. Strange to be alone, for the first time in weeks. Tomorrow we have to visit the hospital, for an echography. This is standard for people over the age of 35... can't wait to see the first images of the little one.

Computer problems etcetera

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 08:42:20 GMT

It seems June was the month of computer problems. We could not access the Internet for two weeks as the computer crashed. Ah well... it is repaired now and we're back online.

The kids are working on their last school days. Alexa has to bring her books back tomorrow - then on the 29th she can pick up her report. Steven and Jouke went to school camp last week, and they have two weeks to go until Summer vacation starts.

Last Thursday we had a small disaster in public transportation... It takes ages to travel to Rotterdam, by taking the bus - you'd better cycle, or not go at all. A bus smashed over concrete, with result that the diesel tank under the bus broke - all diesel streamed away and the bus could not go further. We were on a deadline, and had to walk. Rotterdam is huge when you have to walk, I can assure you that.

On Wednesday we had a renovation on our house - the housing company decided to remove the windows, doors and woodworks on the back of our house and replace it by new - aluminum and double glass windows. In the old woodwork there seems to have been asbestos inside... so that was removed by a little man in a protective suit and a gas mask.

We had a wonderful time! May 3 we went to Carré in Amsterdam.

Wed, 10 May 2006 08:00:39 GMT

Waiting for the tram, we stood on Amsterdam Rai Station. Close to Amsterdam Rai Station is a huge parking garage, where we safely parked the car.

There is the tram... We had to go five stops...

Inside the Royal Theatre, the children were waiting until the show started. During the show, making photos was not allowed. We were fortunate to have excellent seats.

The sponsor...

Musical billboard. The kids are still singing songs from that musical.

A photo of Royal Theatre Carré.

We had a wonderful time. On our way back home though, we ended up driving slowly in a huge traffic jam. That could not spoil our moods for sure!

Finally it looks like Spring

Tue, 02 May 2006 06:35:51 GMT

May vacation for the kids started with an entire day of rain yesterday. But today things are different. The sun is shining. It is not warm yet, but it will be approximately 17 or 18 degrees later, especially in the sun. The kids are playing in "De Kievit", a playground close by. I updated my knitting blog at http://lansingerland.blogspot.com And I saw that my apple tree has countless blossoms, waiting to open up when the time is right.

Tomorrow we'll visit the city of Amsterdam - as we are going to Carré - a theater. It is an assignment for Alexa's school, and I was lucky to get free tickets through Johan's work. We'll see what we'll do further, but it promises to be fun for sure.

Enjoy the sun!

A productive week... een productieve week

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:22:08 GMT

Een productieve week/A productive week

Er was niet veel tijd om online te zijn deze week. Veel dingen te doen, en zowaar ook het een en ander af gekregen. We zijn naar Moordrecht geweest, naar de Wolschuur, en hebben daar katoen gekocht. Daarvan heb ik twee pannenlappen gehaakt. Konden de oude pannenlappen eindelijk worden vervangen!

Onze jongste heeft zijn sjaal af. Hij is van plan om die aan de taxichauffeuze te geven, zij is vandaag jarig. Hij heeft zelf de steken afgekant. Ik ben trots.

En ik heb een babytruitje gebreid met het Grolse patroon. Ik vind het wel een stoer ding geworden. Deze is bestemd voor de verkoop op e-beebie.nl, en anders tzt gaat die naar een vriendin, wiens dochter haar tweede kindje verwacht. We zien wel.

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There was not much time to be online this week. I have been busy, knitting, crocheting etcetera. My youngest son finished his scarf. He is going to give it away tomorrow, as a gift for his taxi-driver, who is celebrating her birthday today.

I have crocheted two dishcloths in cotton, that we bought in a woolstore in Moordrecht. And I finished a baby-sweater in a traditional Dutch pattern. It is looking good!

A scarf finished...

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 05:04:23 GMT

I finished the scarf I was working on yesterday evening. It looks good and is in the same pattern as the mittens. It is knitted round - so the scarf is double as thick as a normal scarf. It uses approximately 500 grams of yarn.

Tonight we have to attend to a parent-teacher night at Alexa's school. It will be a short week for the kids; as they are free for Easter weekend starting Friday. LOL! I am not complaining...but time flies!

Cookies?

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 08:32:25 GMT

***You Are a Jam Cookie***

On the outside, you project a straight-laced, innocent vibe.
But on the inside, you're complex, exotic, and full of flavor.

What Kind of Cookie Are You?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofcookieareyouquiz

Grolse Wanten

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 05:19:46 GMT

I have been working on a nice project recently. Traditional knitting from The Netherlands, as done in Groenlo since the early 1600's - the pattern is the so called Grolse Want - and I am proud of it. The way these mittens are knitted is different from the normal knitting as the yarn is guided through both hands - which has as result a more beautiful inside - not that loopy.

The lady who is showing the mitten is a friend of ours - and she is our mail-lady as well. She received this pair as a belated gift for her birthday. Now I have to put the pattern in the computer!

Today is a special day though! My youngest son is ten today!

This is interesting for people who like to knit or crochet

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 05:39:40 GMT

There is going to be a yarn-exchange project active, on an international level in the coming months. I signed up, curious as I am... here you can find more info: http://www.oneskein.com/secretpal.asp

Sunrise on April 1st

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 09:14:38 GMT

I already wrote that my parents in law celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on March 29th. For children and grandchildren they arranged a festive day in a little town called Oranje (Orange) in the province of Drenthe. A 2 1/2 hour drive from where we live. On our way I made this photo...

Amazing huh... the sunrays coming through the clouds.