Apr 30 2009

Queens Day

Why should I try to explain to you what Queens Day in the Netherlands is all about, when sombody else (Shannon McAllister) can do that a lot better! So I copied the following text for you all from the site “goamsterdam.about.com”

“On April 30, the Dutch celebrate Koninginnedag (“Queen’s Day”), a national holiday to commemorate the birthday of the country’s (former) Queen. It is by far the most widely celebrated holiday in the Netherlands. Amsterdam festivities in particular rival those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans or New Year’s Eve in New York City. As such, Amsterdam is packed to the gills on April 30, welcoming up to two million party-going visitors.

Every year Queen Beatrix visits one or two Dutch towns to greet her country’s people and visitors, who receive her with fitting celebrations. What began as a commemoration of the Dutch Royal Family has evolved into a nationwide day of creative, carefree springtime revelry.


Orange cake…. yummy???

The first time I saw the Dutch national soccer team playing in the World Cup, I wondered — as many people do — “What’s the deal with all the fans wearing orange?” The colors of the Dutch flag are red, white and blue — there’s no orange at all. So what’s the Netherlands’ relationship (make that borderline obsession) with the color orange?


Alot of people dress in orange on Queens Day

The answer: Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty — the House of Oranje-Nassau — dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch.”

‘Till so far the explanation….

› Continue reading


Apr 27 2009

A little blah blah…

Thought of writing a short post to update you all ’cause I’m afraid it won’t be until Friday before I find the time to write a post again.

So just a few things:

  • Tomorrow my friend Lena will come visit me and it will be two days
    of fun, giggling, crafting, eating, drinking and definitely NO blogging.
     
  • Thursday it’s “Queens Day” over in the Netherlands (Yep, I live in a monarchy) The whole country will turn into one big orange “thing” and I’m planning a post about that to tell you foreigners what a bizarre country I’m in (and maybe show you some photo’s too, to illustrate the madness – so stay tuned!)
     
  • I applied for the Design Team over at Lotus paperie… Eeeeeeck!
    Keep your fingers crossed, ’cause I feel ready to join a DT now but
    I don’t know if they feel the same and
    I. SO. WANT. TO. BE. PART. OF. IT.
     
  • The “Alice in Wonderland Journal Circle Swap” is finally getting somewhere… 
    There are already 6 participants (you can still join the fun! Come to the SIStv forum overhere , sign in will be due May 15th) It probably will be a 6×6 journal; everybody makes a left and a right page, and we all end up with a “Alice Journal”…. Exiting huh!
     
  • My niece is doing a little bit better (under the circumstances).
    The surgery on her elbow on Friday went OK and from yesterday on
    she breaths on her own (at least, that’s what the latest mail told us.)
     
  • Nout (my son) has school holidays this week, he’s with his dad now but he’ll come to join us on Wednesday. I asked him to come over early so he can take a photo shoot of me and my friend Lena. Nout is a real good photographer (at 16!) He works with a tele lens most of the time and I can do with some fresh pics of me and Lena! (it’s been a long time!) He uploaded some of his pics here and you really should take a look at that, or at his weblog! (He likes to get comments too you know, and if you’re a mum you know how much it means to a teenager to get a compliment now and then!)

I’ll leave you with a photo Nout took from me and my beloved last week.
(Don’t forget to love each other!!!)

back to homepage


Apr 24 2009

Don’t frame me in…

M: “Hey, that’s a nice lay out you’re makin’…”

Me: “Oh, but that’s not finished yet.
I’m just cutting squares to glue them in a grid.”

M: “Why in a grid? It looks great this way.”

Me: “Yeah, now that you mention it…
but uhhmmm, the challenge at “Scrapping out Loud” was:
“This week we want you to get out those rulers and get measuring,
because we want to see you use the grid technique to create a LO!”

M: “But you’re measuring already, and you ARE using a grid, aren’t you.
You just glue them outside the grid, they didn’t say it had to be all square,
did they?”

Me: “No………”

M: “Well then, look at it!
But it’s your lay out after all…. you don’t have to listen to me.”

 

I looked at it.
I thought about it.
And I did it!
I glued the squares just as it lay there, random.

› Continue reading


Apr 22 2009

Ups and Downs

I want to thank you all for the sweet comments you left on my former post!
It’s good to read all your kind words!

This is just a short post to keep you all updated.

On Sunday Evening, Lisa should have the first surgery (her elbow) but she got breathing problems, went into a coma and was brought to the IC instead. 
Because of the time difference between Canada and the Netherlands, we learned this only yesterday morning. (My brother writes an update every evening when he comes home from visiting the hospital, but we read that only the morning after…) so yesterday our family had a bad and fearful day again.

This morning, the e-mail brought better news… (Well, what’s “better” in a situation like this?) She woke up out of her coma. She’d had the breathing problems because a lung folded up… and they discovered she had broken ribs as well. Anyway, she’s awake and today they’re gonna start surgery on her elbow. Let’s hope and pray everything goes well and stays that way.

 

My brother also sent this picture… OH MY…
this is her car after the accident.

 

 

 

Today, our family is full of hope and I got a bit more energy to DO something, so in the background I hear the printer spitting out some nice photo’s and I’m gonna play with patterned paper for a few hours! I’ll keep you informed…

Again, thanks for all your support! Je t’embrasse!

back to homepage


Apr 20 2009

Troubled weekend

I had planned a weekend full of scrapping time for myself, but life doesn’t always follow your plans, does it? On Saturday, very early in the morning,
I was waked by the phone (and everybody knows that when the phone rings that early and that long, it’s gonna be sad and frightening news…) My brother called me from Canada (he lives there with his family) to tell me his daughter Lisa (my niece, she’s 17 years old) had been in a car accident and was very badly injured…

It wasn’t yet very clear what injuries she had at that time but now, two days later, we know a lot more and briefly this is it:

Sad news,

Lisa was involved in a serious car crash Friday afternoon, and is in a serious condition in The Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg
It’s not life threatening anymore, but she will be in hospital for a long time. She got a broken neck, broken back, fractured elbow, her arm and wrist are broken and a couple minor injuries. The doctors say she will recover 100%, but it will take a long time.

I didn’t do much for the rest of the weekend…

› Continue reading


Apr 17 2009

Happy birthday sweetie!!!

Today is my best friend’s birthday – and she’s a true follower of my blog too
so here it comes just for you Lena…
HOORAY, HOORAY, HOORAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I sent her a lot of good wishes in this little book I made last week 
(I scraplifted my own “morning paper” book)

I have another yummie present laying waiting for her.
She will visit me soon and I will give her the present then. Rather than putting the money into stamps, I’ll buy us a fine bottle of wine instead which we will drink together… 

She’s very creative, and I guess we will spend the days scrapping, painting, playing with paper, talking, drinking, eating, giggling…. the usual girls stuff.
I’m soooo looking forward to it!

She likes to scrap too, but she’s more of a painter.
She makes the most marvellous paintings and I’d like to show you one …

› Continue reading


Apr 12 2009

@ seventeen…

…I looked like Kate Bush. At least, that’s what they said…


And hey, I didn’t mind!
Can you blame me?
Look at her!
That’s one lovely lady!!!

But to be honest… I didn’t look THAT much like her. Her face is heart-shaped (and mine, obviously, wasn’t. And isn’t. And never will be!)

I think it was the hair though! My hair is kinda red too… not really, but with certain light conditions – yes – OK – there were moments that I looked like her. I have that one particular 
photo to prove it. 
And I used it on my lay out!

› Continue reading