Sunday Morning...

Really???

Sewing Failure or Success?

The jury isn't out on this one yet folks!

It was all going so well, until this happened:

Yes, the 'Flying Nun' collar... (old tv series for those of you who are not familiar with this title) In the mean time I've sewed the collar down a bit more so it is looking a tad bit better but I am not convinced yet.

And talking about how 'to fly like an eagle': look at what I encountered at the Target parking lot yesterday:

I only had my little point & shoot camera handy but still, not a bad picture! And then last night I spotted this little creature on the outside of our kitchen window:

Well, it is Saturday once again. We (Mr. G., Master C. and myself) are off to the Department of Motor Licensing to first: change the address on my licence (it is 4 years old) and second: have Master C's. eyes checked so that he can sign up for his final driving exam in April. How exciting! (and so scary)

And in other news: wet snow is coming down once again....  Just think of us when you're enjoying your Spring-like temperatures!  {smile}

Ramblings...

Well, it has been a few days since I last posted and to be honest, I just don't have too much to say at the moment. (I know, a rare occurrence)  <wink>

Last Monday I met with  Tif and Jennette at the Goodwill store in Monroe, about half an hour north of here. Somehow I had never been there before so it was fun to explore a new region. We also stopped at a local antique market where we spent a couple of hours. I bought some fabric (more fabric Marjan, Really???) and a fun ceramic vase/ pitcher. Here it is:

I also bought this mint green postcard holder which was a lot of fun I thought...

Sorry, bad light and
thus a bad picture...

We had lunch together and chatted and chatted and chatted.  {smile}

--  **  --  **  --

The next day I had to do three lessons (instead of two) at Little Bit and this what I encountered on the way:

Yes indeed, that is snow and that was not the first time this week either! Since then  it has been raining non stop for many, many days now. Truly awful, especially since the rest of the country is experiencing way above normal temperatures! Oh well, our time will come... It will, right?

I did take a couple of nice pictures at the barn... (it was so cold, I had my ski-pants on with my long underwear underneath!)

--  **  --  **  --

I've finally started a new sewing project and I'm combining several different patterns together, very scary. If it turns out, I will show it to you...

Otherwise not much going on over here. That's just fine with me, life doesn't have to be crazy busy all the time. Talk to ya later!  {smile}

Signs of Spring, Week 2...

Very obvious Signs of Spring this week: the ever changing weather! Snow on Tuesday, warmth on Thursday and lots of wind and rain since then.

The most obvious Sign of Spring however was the change to Daylight Savings Time: I had an extremely hard time getting out of bed this morning!   <wink>

Indecision...

So many fabrics, so many patterns: I just cannot decide!  {smile}

Word Verification...

Ha, I think I have finally figured out how to get rid of that nasty word verification program. Go back to your old Blogger Interface and under settings etc. you will find the option to turn of the word verification. Why is that option not available in the new Interface???? I had it set on 'never' but it was still showing up. 

Please tell me that all is good now?  

Beautiful moon last night...

PS I hear that it is no longer on: Thank Goodness for that!!!! 
The annoying part was that I had never turned it on in the first place so how did that happen??? Anyway, it is gone forever!  {smile}

Out & About...

Absolutely lovely temperatures here today, almost 60 F/ 15C!

I've been trudging around the yard in these...

...and have been doing some snipping: both of the actually snipping kind with clippers and of the photographic kind, with my camera. (getting ready for the 'Signs of Spring' for next week)

The rain will be back tomorrow so I'm enjoying the mild weather while I can...

--  **  --  **  --  **  --

PS I felt it was time for a new Spring Time Header. Hope you like it?  {smile}

Crystal Mountain...

What a weekend we had on Crystal Mountain!  {big smile}

Miss M. had already arrived there Thursday evening and we got there around 10 am on Saturday morning (Mr. G. had to work on Friday). The weather was super cloudy and the wind was gusting so hard they had to  close the gondola to the top. 

We had to park at the end of the road and then we got picked up by a snowmobile (!)(plus sled) by Miss. M.'s friend to make it up the 6 mile road to their cabin. I must say getting up and down that mountain in that manner was the most terrifying experience ever. For me that is, the rest all thought it was awesome of course.  <wink>  Man, those things go Fast!

So, on Saturday the weather was pretty awful but when we woke up on Sunday this was the view from the cabin's porch:

So blue and so bright! We could actually see the top of the ridge while the day before we could only see half way up...

Anyway, enough chit-chat, you want to see the pics of course. I had a hard time sorting through them since most of them came out so beautifully. Here is a small assortment. By the way, most of these pics are pretty much straight out of camera, so they are barely altered, except for the obvious ones... Here we go:

"Powder Bowl"

Some local wildlife. ("Camp Robbers")

It was very 'warm' (relatively speaking) so there were some pretty icicles to behold.

Mr. G., Miss M. and Master C. getting ready to hit the slopes!
By the way, we didn't see Master C. again 
until the end of the day after he had done 28 runs!

View when you get up the ridge stepping out of the gondola: Mount Rainier in the 'flesh'!!!!
It was a big Tadaa-moment...

Miss M. made it all the way up and was rather exhausted!
She hadn't been snowboarding in a couple of years, 
but picked it up right where she had left off...

And this is where we rested: on top of the world!
(view is toward the West)

Views toward the East...

Mr. G having the time of his life!

Our hosts' daughter (13!)  has ski-racing for a sport. Here she comes barreling down the mountain! (so glad my kids haven't taken up this sport...)

A para-glider-skier! So cool, first he was skiing and then he was flying!

Miss M.s classmate (and our hosts' son) doing some flips on a giant inflatable pillow!

Towards the end of the day, on my way back to the cabin. (Lenticular cloud formation which means a change in the weather is coming, and yes indeed, that is exactly what happened yesterday)

Beautiful light caught my eye...

The cabin's entrance, almost all the way snowed over...

So yes, it was an awesome weekend. My cheeks were red by the end of it, both from the sun and from the permanent grin on my face!

Now this morning, this is what we woke up to...

Signs Of Spring Week 1...

Last year I joined the Swedish bloggers group Varteckens Utmaning   (see button in my sidebar) to show you the Signs of Spring in my area. If you want to you can join up with her site and show your own Signs of Spring every Monday. It doesn't have to be nature (although that is the most obvious one to choose) but it could also be spring clothes etc. Anything that says: Spring Is Coming!  {smile}

Since it is absolutely pouring outside I have decided to take some more pictures of my Flowering Pear branches. I'm also trying out some new Photoshop techniques on these...

Maybe the effects are a little bit too strong (especially on the first one) but it is so blah outside that I needed something to go 'POP'!  <wink>

--  **  --  **  --  **  --

So, in completely other news: our weekend on Crystal Mountain was absolutely amazing! I took 350 pictures so it will take me a while to sort through them, but I will try and show some of them to you this afternoon.

See you soon!


PS Word has come to me that you guys have to go through that nasty word verification process in order to comment on my blog. Is that true??? I have not chosen that option since I  strongly dislike these word scramblers myself. Please let me know...

Photoshop Fun...

Ha, I've been fiddling around in Photoshop some this afternoon and I've finally been able to make my own photo template! This was just one to try out, but it's a start, and not a bad one at that. Here it is:

In this template I can change the size and location of the circles and also the background pattern and the text.  I've added some drop-shadows to the circles as well. The possibilities are once again endless....

Well, we're getting ready to spend the weekend on Crystal Mountain at a ski resort no less. We've never been so it will be exciting.  It is about a 2 hour drive (or more) and once we arrive at our destination we will have to park the car and then continue on (with all our belongings) on a snowmobile!!!
Miss M. is already there with our hosts and is having a blast trying out her new snowboard. Since I do not ski or snowboard in any shape or form I will be taking lots of pictures of the snowy scenery while stomping around in some borrowed snowshoes...   <wink>

I will leave you with this lovely picture that I took yesterday. We cut of some branches of our Flowering Pear Tree  a few days ago and some of the cuttings are now starting to flower in a vase...

Have a great weekend!

I Made A Leap Of Joy On Leap Day!

Oh yes, what a day we had!  {big smile}
Tif and I finally had our day out, to good old Duvall of all places. (a tiny little town right here in the Valley)  

I don't usually share the more somber emotions within me on this blog but I will share with you that times have been very dark for me lately. No particular reason, just dark. You know how it goes this time of year...

So, it was extra wonderful to spend a day away from home with a lovely friend and to find a new one! {smile again}
We first stopped at the 'not looking like anything on the outside but incredible large on the inside' antique mall and spent over two hours in there! Just thinking back makes me hyperventilate again, what treasures we found in there! This morning when I came downstairs and saw them all lined up on the table again  I had to smile again. 'So what did you all get?', you might wonder. Here we go:

Starting off we found this awesome (not old) mint colored milkshake blender. 

I happen to have another kind of blender at home in exactly the same color so that was a no-brainer, especially when I saw the price: $15!

Then I found some really nice blue  Ball Mason Jars and a big glass pot for buttons etc.

Then we came across another mixer type of item and this one is definitely older. And it came with the very cool bowl as well!

Still gasping for breath after all that goodness I spotted this beauty hiding in the back somewhere.

We had the exact same one at home in The Netherlands thirty years ago so I just had to have it!  I haven't had the chance to clean it yet (see the dirty hand smudges on it) but that will be a fun job to do later today...

Wowie! And if that wasn't good enough, we then headed next door (our original mission) to meet Jennette of Smashing Rubbish in her own store: how cool is that! 

A local 'girl' (our age) who knows all the great thrifting places in the area. In a little over a week we're off to explore the Goodwill in Monroe (half an hour north from here) and some other little spots. Yes, I'm finally meeting some more like minded people in the area! (and that is why I have been feeling so dark lately...)

Hurray and a relieved sigh...