Another year gone by

Yep. Another one.

Sometimes I feel like I'm sleeping through it. Like I must have missed something, how else can the years be flying by so quickly?

Guess that's a sign of old age, huh? *gulp*

Happy Birthday to us! Pam and me, that is.

We're not older, we're wiser.

Yeah, that's it. Wiser.


I made some cookies to celebrate the day.

snickerdoodles

Come on over and enjoy a few with some coffee or tea! Please. So I don't eat them all! (oh my, they're so good.)

Trees are budding, flowers are blooming - there's color all over the place!

Kwanzan Cherry blossoms

 

The photo is a few years old, but they're still just as gorgeous this year. I love that they're in bloom on my birthday.

don't you love the hot pink centers?

Are those apple blossoms (above)? I have no idea. I saw the trees a few weeks ago while walking around the neighborhood, and I just had to have a picture.

my favorite flowers

And of course, what Spring/Easter season would be complete without tulips? These were such a dark ruby red. LOVEd them.

I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying your spring as much as we are here.


xxx

a spring shawl

It's done!

The one I started a few weeks ago. This one?

the beginnings

Now it's done! My fancy schmancy lacy shawl is done! Wanna see it?

oooh....aaaaaahhhh....

Isn't it pretty all pinned, and stretched tight so that the points actually come to a point? Wanna see those closer?

purrrdy, ain't she?

Here's the pattern link again, if you're interested (it's the Ashton Shawlette on Ravelry). I made it a little larger than the pattern called for (it gives instructions how to do that). It ended up being almost 200cm x 100cm. Sounds huge, doesn't it? I could have blocked it even larger, I think, but I didn't push it.

I like how it turned out. I wish I were more of a shawl wearing kind of gal, but I'm going to try to wear it at some point anyways. I put too much work into it not to. It didn't hold the points when I unpinned it though. It's 90% acrylic yarn, and acrylic yarn doesn't block very well. I would have had to add starch to it or something. That would have taken away the lovely squishy softness though. So I'll live with it not being all pointy at the bottom.

It really is a shame that I'm not much of a shawl wearing kind of gal. Cuz I'd really like to make another one. A different pattern, but more shawls.

Are any of you shawl wearing kind of gals?

Would you like a shawl?

Can I knit you one?


please?


I so love knitting.

xxx

Five Years Ago

What were you doing five years ago?

Five years ago I moved to The Netherlands. Five years! It’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years already. It feels like a lot less. It’s been a little bit of a bumpy ride so far, but it’s getting better. I expected the bumps though. I knew that it was going to be quite a transition and guessed it would take five years to get into my Dutch groove. I called it a Five Year Plan. I thought surely in that time I could learn the language, get a decent job and make a good life here. Last year (or maybe even sooner?) somewhere along the line I revised that Five Year Plan into a 10 Year Plan. I made some great headway into The Plan in the first five years, but still need a couple more to make it to the finish line.

While living in another country has presented more challenges than I expected, it’s also allowed me to do things that I would probably never had the chance to do if I still lived in the States. If I hadn’t moved here, I might not have

-become semi-bilingual! I took French in school for 5 years, but studying a language in a classroom is a whole different ballgame from learning it while living there.

-seen upclose the horrors of the haulocaust. Visiting the site of a concentration camp in Germany was very eye opening.

-traveled to Prague, Czech Republic. Very special! Not only because of it being near to where Dad’s family is from, but because it’s such an awesome old city. If you ever get the chance to go there, I’d take it!

-taken up knitting. If I hadn’t moved here and had so much free time on my hands, I might not have started crocheting. If I hadn’t started crocheting, would I have learned to knit? That would be a shame, since I love knitting.

-learned that I love brussels sprouts. It’s all been worth it to find the love of my vegetable life.

-started a blog! I am pretty sure that if I didn’t live thousands of miles from family and friends and want to come up with a way to show them a slice of my Dutch life, I would never have started this blog.

As difficult as the transition might have felt sometimes, it’s still brought about many good things (many more than I’ve written here, I’m sure). I wonder what the next five years will bring?


xxx