Looking Back...

...at all my Blog Header Designs of 2012:

I guess you can say I've been pretty busy this year! {smile}

Crystal Mountain...

We spent only one night at Crystal Mountain earlier this week: it felt like a lifetime! {smile}

Now that x-mas is over I'm purging and cleaning like crazy: love it! Hopefully it will bring back some much needed creativity...

All Is Quiet...

Merry Christmas to all!

It is 7.52am, X-Mas morning. Mr. G. and myself have been up for over an hour, but the kids are still sleeping, exhausted from their snow adventures the last two days!  <wink>

Just In Time For Christmas...

A slight variation on the previous one I have made: a Peter-Pan Collar this time. (made without a pattern so a major pain in the ...)  <wink> The collar is not falling as nice and flat as I would have liked it, but it definitely looks better on me than on the hanger. Pictures will follow I'm sure....

No Words...

...just smiles with these kind of views!  {smile}

We haven't seen the mountains in weeks so this afternoon's view was a special treat! 

Have a great weekend everybody!

(all pictures were edited with the Lomo-effect on PicMonkey)

Quiet Beauty...

And a couple more...

Amazing what a little frost can do...

Signing Off, Just For A Little While... (or not?)

PS: I'm not sure if I can do this: this 'non-blogging stuff' for a few days I mean. I miss you guys already!  <wink> Hope your days will be wonderful and bright and warm and together and... and...  {smile}

PS again: look what I found via Nest Of Posies! Very nice indeed...

Looking Forward To...

... making this cool bag from 'Dog Under My Desk'!
Yesterday I paid for the pattern online and then immediately received the PDF-pattern in my inbox. Quite a bit of printing out is involved and then some fun cutting and pasting of the pattern pieces. I actually like that pre-sewing stage. This way you get to know your pattern more 'intimately so to speak...  <wink>' 

I also ordered some fabric. Not the regular cotton but actual laminated cotton. They've added some kind of vinyl layer to one side so that it protects from the weather, but it is not as heavy as oilcloth. At least, that is my understanding. 

All from Michael Miller

I was quite enamored with the scrapbook looking fabric (French Journal Belle Rose Pink) so that will be my main fabric and then I might use some of the other two fabric as accent pieces. I will decide when I finally have them in my hands (at least a week from now since those shipping orders always take a while, especially this time of year)  Or maybe I will use the other two for that other bag that is in the top photo, the more rectangular one, who knows...

Anyway, I've got something to look forward to. I'm still busy sewing another dress at the moment which I would like to wear for X-Mas, so I'd better hurry up. <wink>

Along The CowRoad...

Very chilly today, that nasty wet cold that just creeps into your bones. Believe you me, I had my long undies on today at Little Bit! (and a hat and two pairs of gloves and...) But no snow to be found unfortunately, in our area at least.

Lots of snow up in the mountains though! Enjoy these views found along the CowRoad today...

(mainly cross-process and sepia editing)

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Ramblings....

This picture was taken Saturday morning when all was quiet and calm...

Today we're having very different weather: lots of wind! I woke up this morning just before 5 am because everything just sounded so different outside. I got out of bed, opened the sliding doors downstairs and woooosh there it was. I could hear it coming in from a distance and then just swell to a crescendo and then.... then it was gone again. Waves riding through the air!

I found several broken branches strewn through the yard and I have heard of several trees down and intermittent power outages. So far we are just fine, but  another front is expected to hit us overnight with even a winter storm warning for the early morning hours. I'll believe it when we see it, but there is a bit of excitement in the air nevertheless...

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So with all these wind gusts and large trees in our area I decided to not go out for a run today and instead I did my dvd workout. I will feel those glutes tomorrow! I did go out for a run Saturday morning though but it was not a very pleasant one. I was just about half way on my route when all of a sudden several shots rang out!!! Somebody was hunting in the area (we do live very rural) and the concussion from the shots made several little branches nearby fall down, so it was indeed very close! Not to mention how loud those shots were, I just about .... well, you can imagine how I felt. And then, a few minutes later, a coyote ran across my path about 100 yards ahead! Wow, what a morning!

--  **  --  **  --

Well, that is enough excitement for now. Miss M. has another Basketball game this afternoon and then the rest of the week the kids will have their finals to get through and then..... we will finally have our Winter Break. We have been invited for an overnight stay at Crystal Mountain with friends of ours for some skiing, snowboarding and snow photography (that will be me) so that will be a magnificent start to our Holidays!

Remember this one from last March?  {smile}

View of Mount Rainier...

Sssssst.....

7.45 am, Saturday morning, all is quiet, all is calm after yesterday's horrendous acts of violence on the other side of the country. We take a deep breath and continue on, they can not...

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And in the middle of all this sadness we hear that Master C. has been accepted at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon: I am so proud, I have to shed a tear. A tear of joy...

Still Here...

In the back yard this morning...
(all pics straight out of camera)

The title of this post says it both ways: I'm still here, but it is also very still here. Not much going on. The weather remained dreary through yesterday but today promises to become very nice, calm, and a tad bit chilly: perfect for a run!  Off I go...

Post edit: I ran 5 miles today, a new personal record!!!! (= 8 km)

Dreary Sunday Afternoon...

It's been pissing with rain (excuse my language) the whole day now and all I can muster up to show you are these cute little birdies outside our office window.

I've been feeling a bit under the weather today: fatigue, some chills and just plain bleegh, if that is a medical term. After doing a little bit of sewing I decided that the best place for me was the bed with some more episodes of James Herriott (All Creatures Great & Small) to watch and that's what I'll get back to in a moment...

I certainly hope your Sunday has been spent in a better way... (but spending a Dreary Sunday Afternoon in bed is actually not too shabby at all, especially with my electric blankie on...)  <wink>

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

... but not here unfortunately! It has been raining and blowing and raining some more. I have to look at a lot of Dutch and Swedish blogs to get in to the wintry spirit. Just look at these pictures that I found online at NuNieuws of my old hometown of Utrecht today (The Netherlands)...

Sigh... Let it snow, please!

But...things are not bad here at all! This morning I visited  my friend Tif, a.k.a. Dottie Angel in her new pop-up shop called Gladys, her airstream trailer. I bought a most lovely trash bin for under my sewing table. (I'm very messy when I'm sewing and bits of thread and fabric are constantly flying around...) and received a wonderful poster with very wise words indeed...

After I got home I opened the long awaited parcel from my sister and oooohed and aaaahed at its contents!  Lots of different washi tapes, cinnamon sticks (the Dutch candy kind), marzipan, many many lovely postcards, fancy Dutch tea and a super-duper long poem written by Sinterklaas himself!  <wink> 

The best bit though was the Flow Winterboek that I had been awaiting for so long! And look what was in it: Postcards made by Tif!  How fun was that?  {smile}

Now it is the middle of Friday afternoon and the rest of the clan should be coming home shortly. They will find me behind the 'Flow Winterboek' with a cup of  'speculaas' tea beside me, but no marzipan left I'm afraid...  <wink>

5 December!

Yay, we had 'pakjes' morning at 6:30am today to celebrate Sinterklaas' birthday!

Having not lived in The Netherlands for over 20 years now (23 to be exact) I have adapted the celebrations a bit, to better fit in with the American Christmas celebrations. So now the kids get gifts on both the 5th and the 25th of December! Lucky ducks!  <wink>

And yes, that is a beer bottle you see standing there: Sinterklaas thought of Mr. G. as well!

And here is a link that will hopefully take you to Sinterklaas arriving in Amsterdam in 1962. (only a few years before I was born...)

<link found via 'De Tante van Tjorven'>

Marshmallow Goodness...

Today Miss M. and our lovely neighbor Miss T. made this gorgeous looking recipe, courtesy of Rachelle from Ted & Agnes. They said it was really easy to make and the little squares tasted just heavenly...

I guess now I know what we will be making for our neighbors' annual x-mas present!  {smile}

This Last November Day...

It's raining outside, but nice and cozy inside with some X-Mas music in the background and my morning cup of coffee next to me: not a bad morning at all!

My first of two lessons at Little Bit was cancelled for today and suddenly I feel I have a sea of time and crafty opportunities in front of me. I think I might either make some more pom-poms or some paper baubles like this one...

(This is not made by me, 
I just wanted to show you what I was thinking of making.)

My sister sent me a lovely block of assorted papers last year and I haven't used them yet: oh the shame of it!  <wink>

Yesterday afternoon I was unexpectedly out with a friend and we ended up at Joann Fabrics where they had some good sales going on. I bought some yardage of the fabric below and can't wait to start sewing again with an easier fabric this time. (compared to yesterday's cape) I'll let you know which pattern it will be once I've made up my mind...