So far, so good.

Goodmorning everybody!

The visit to the doctor was one that brought some good news. She said that the MRI results were positive, no strange things were found, so that was another relief.
She still doesn;t understand why Jan suddenly holds so much fluid, and she said: "I think it will go better, very slowly, but I don;t like it when I don;t understand what is the reason".
So just to be sure, she wants Jan to have a heart function test, although his heart filn taken when we were at the First aid, showed a good result. But she wants to rule out all possible things.
I don;t mind that Jan is "researched"completely, always good to have a thoutough check up.
For now she raised again his watering pills, but wants to keep him under close control. So he has another appointment in 14 days, she wants to monitor closely if the higher amount of these pills will not effect in a bad way his kidneys.
Okay, our minds are nevertheless at peace for the moment, knowing that no strange tumors or blockages are found.
Now hoping the pills will do their work quickly, and that he will loose the fluid in his feet and belly.
That is the so far, so good part for now.

Oh, I did tell you that I went this week to a supermarket by tram, it's one where I go from time to time, to get some stuff that is good but nicely less expensive than in the supermarket near by.
Hmmmm, when I arrived I found it CLOSED! They were busy with a renovation, or something like it. Damm......... I wasn;t happy with that. Went there for nothing!
Nothing to do about it, I will call them perhaps today, to hear if they are open again, so that I can make my trip.

Another startle thing happened yesterday. When I woke up I put on the tv, to hear the news. But......I just had the menu screen from the decoder for digital tv, and wasn;t able to get rid of it.
Ghee, what happened there. First thought Jan was busy changing some cables and such, but when he woke up a couple of moments later, he also didn;t understand why that happened. We tried some things but no luck, so I called our provider for the digital tv(same as for internet and telephone). I was lucky, I got somebody one the line after just two minutes of hold!
Gave him to Jan and the guy on the line helped us right away. How it happened, we still don;t understand, but apparantly the broadcasting frequence and some code jumped to another one, which couldn't be recognized by the decoder. The guy told us how to deal with that and tadaaa...............we had back all our channels. Pffffff. that was quite a relief.
Only thing is that Jan had to re-arrange the favourite channels and re-number them again, which is a pain to do, but that's done and all is well again.
It seems to be a period in our life, that we get all kind of little surprises, but not the kind to get happy about LOL!
I only hope, that was the last of it for a loooong time. We need a bit of "boaring"time again, how wonderful that would be, grin grin.

We still cannot complain too hard about the weather, yes, it's getting a bit colder, we even might have a tiny bit of night frost, but during the day we have temps between 5 degrees C and 10 C(around 40 and 50 Fahrenheit), with very little rain and not much wind either.
I can do with that kind of weather till next Spring, but I think we will have worse weather conditions later.

But all this didn;t stop me from designing, which is a great thing to do to forget a bit all for a moment, yeah!
Today I have the kit "Cycle of Time"for you, and clusters to match from Arlene. I think there can be made some sweet layouts with it.
That's all for today, folks! Let's start the weekend with a happy and hopefull heart, Because although there are moments in life, things aren;t going too smoothly,there are always little rays of sunlight to enjoy too, if you just take the trouble to look for them and see them.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Download     HERE

Download     HERE

IMPORTANT, I MADE A MISTAKE

Goodmorning everybody!

A quick post, because I have to say I made a mistake in yesterday's kit, A Poet in the Afternoon.!
Lucky I have visitors who read and look well LOL!
In the kit is a sheet with the poem, but I made a mistake in the name of the poet.
It has to be "Emily Dickinson".
So I changed the name on the element as well in the matching clusters and re-uploaded the kit and clusters.
Meaning .all of you who already downloaded the kit and/or clusters should download again. (If you want to have it all as it should be).
I am sooooo sorry for the trouble, please forgive me!
So again:

IF YOU ALREADY DOWNLOAD A POET IN THE AFTERNOON AND OR CLUSTERS, PLEASE DO IT AGAIN AND DUMP THE OLDER FILE.

Now have to hurry to get ready for appointment in hospital with Jan.

Sorry again, see you tomorrow, hope to have some good news.

Can you tell which holiday will come first?

Goodmorning everybody!

Things over here are about the same. Jan is going to hospital for a bloodtest, his doctor wanted to have for the appointment tomorrow. I told him I am going with him, he didn;t like it i announced it, but pitty for him. I want to hear it all LOL.

I just came from reading Edna's blog and you should take a look there, because she has a fantastic cartoon there. Then I agree with Edna about this:  all stores start sooner every year displaying the holiday stuff!
Like here in Holland, already some weeks ago you could find lots of candy and wrapping paper and such for our Sinterklaas, which is only at the 5th of December! And almost at the same time you see already all kinds of things for Christmas!
So who could tell which holiday comes first? I think it is a shame, and it also takes away a bit the excitement for the holiday to come, so long before the actual day you are already confronted with it all.

But we are a little bit the same, we crapbook designers LOL! Although we do it different, we start some time before preparing our Christmaskits, which is logic, you need some time for it, still we act different: We keep them stucked away till around the start of December, although here and there you can already find Christmas stuff offered.
Also understandable, if you want to make cards for it yourself, to send away.
And this was just an introduction to give you the link to Linda's blog, who offeres you already two lovely cards to print!

I am late today, slept longer than I wished, but....................it was nice! So morning is almost done with, meaning I have to get moving and do something around here. Just will wait till Jan has left, then I can go with some speed all over to dust and wash and such.
And in the mean time keep an eye and ear from time to time on tv, cause the new government is under attack in the parliament. Great, not even started to govern, already problems to push through their wonderful plans(read that last as NOT SO GOOD AT ALL, at least, large parts of it.
But it will end, that everybody agrees more or less with it and who will pay the bill?
Yes, we common people, and specially the ones who already have difficulties getting through each month! Sigh, isn;t that always the case?

To birghten everybody up a bit I have another kit and clusters for you.
The kit is named "A Poet in the Afternoon".
Make some great layouts with it, but why say this, I know you will!
Have a great day.

Download    HERE

Download    HERE

Finished seat cover of couch.

Goodmorning everybody!

Weather looks lovely at the moment! I can see lots of blue sky, sunshine, almost no wind. I suppose it is still fresh outside but may be I'll pop out later today to catch some fresh air, if weather conditions are still the same.
I worked hard this week to finish the seat cover(well, just a blanket actually LOL) for the couch and yesterday I could put it on. Of couse it's not how the couch should look, but to keep it a bit nice for a longer time, it's not a bad thing to do.
I must say it looks not bad at all.  Now I should make also the armrests, I think. But first I will finish the head mats. Gosh, I still have work to do!

I had in fact a rather quiet weekend, yuppeeeee, and that was a good thing! The speed skating season started and we could watch the Dutch championships, and some amazing promising talents did very well! So now next week there is the first competition in the World Cup, held here in Holland in the Thialf stadion in Heerenveen. That should be nice to watch, cause that is an international competition, time to see if all known "celebrities"are in a good shape and perhaps see some new skaters with great performances!

Friday afternoon Jan had his first moment outside for a long time, he made a little walk.
I could see when he came back, it didn;t go yet very smoothly, but it is a try and start. With still inflated feet, it must not have been easy to walk, but hey, with some trouble he could get on a pair of shoes. Let's just see all little things that seem to be an improvement as positive things!

My stash of Christmaskits is growing succesfully, ROFL! I try to do also a "general"kit in between, but it's hard, grin! But I am happy, the creative flows are a bit back again.
Speaking of such, you should pop in to Miriam's blog, she is kind of back on internet, had lots of trouble with that, if I read well, she will change provider next year. But she can access sometimes internet and she has posted a lot of lovely freebies! As well as Mat did too.
Then my friend Snowy has some great ones too, and Linda has made some sweet Christmascards for you.
And keep an eye on Edna's blog, today or tomorrow she will post the 1st part of the November collab with Su.
So lots to snatch and if that is not yet enough you should just go to http://www.craftcrave.com/
where you can find all freebies you want from all kind of designers!

Somewhere this week I think I will have another photobook for you, or it may be start of next week, but today there is a serene kit for you, with really fantastic clusters from Arlene.
The kit is named "Inner Peace", I think so suitable for the time of year, with Christmas time around the corner.

Time to work a little bit more on a Christmaskit, I think and later this morning a bit of activity, like some ironing and dusting and perhaps a quick visit to the supermarket a bit further away. But of the last thing I am not sure yet LOL.
Have a lovely day and see you again on Wednesday!

Download    HERE

Download    HERE

Romance knows no age!

Goodmorning everybody!

First thing I want to share with you is some great news I heard from an internet/blog friend I know for many years already. Her mother is getting married on Valentine's Day next year at the age of...........83!!!! Now isn;t that  great news?
It certainly gives you a boost to hear that and here you see that romance is of all ages, and even if you are not the youngest anymore, you still have a life and still can have some romance.
You can read about it all on Valinda's blog. So if you need a little boost you should visit her an read this beautiful news.! It surely brought a big smile on my face.

Oh my, our newly installed government already has big problems to solve LOL! They announced some measurements about health care, that weren't recieved well in both their parties and also not in parliament shortly said almost not by anyone! So today they have big talks together to come to an acceptable solution or change of the plan. Oh my God, couldn;t they have forseen that this plan would cause real big resistance? (and I mean REAL BIG, all through the country and through all parliament).
Anyway, this weekend will be a hard one for the prime-minister and his folks, lots of hours of talk, to come up with something much more acceptable on Monday, and if they can produce something it will be discussed in parliament on Tuesday.
We'll see how they wriggle out of it LOL!

Astonishing! Jan yesterday, by himself, told me, it was improving a tiny little bit with him. He still has thick feet, but the legs are a bit better, not feeling like a brick wall when he touches it, his belly seems to feel also a little "softer"although still too big, but okay, he said a few words about it.
He even said that today, after a looooong shower, he would dress "properly"LOL( the last couple of days he was dressed in a pair of jogging trouser and fleece pully) and perhaps will try to make a little walk outside. That certainly will not be for long, but it's a try and start. It might help too for his back-trouble he has. Might be caused by his health problems at the moment, but also, because he hardly moves around.
So, no big improvement yet, but hopefully the start of it. I am not right away overwhelmly optimistic, but every inch to "a bit better" is a gain.

I had a wonderful lazy day yesterday, I did nothing! Well, no things in household( apart from making dinner) or anything like it. I spent a lot of time at the computer, designing a Christmas kit.
I was again invited to jium the Worldwide Christmas Scrapbooking blog train, and yes, I will participate. So good excuse to spend some time in PSE LOL.
I also am busy at the moment crocheting and knitting, making some mats for our couch, to protect a bit the headrest of it. When sitting on it, you can rest you head against it, but then slowly you can see where you always have your head and that is not easy to clean. So therefore the mats.
Also am knitting a cover for the couch we always are sitting on, more to protect it from the cat so that it stays a bit clean and without little holes of the cat's nails LOL.
I'll see how long that will be on, but it gives me something to do during the time I'm watching tv.
It keeps you busy, specially your hands, of course and that again keeps you from smoking, yes!
I notice that I take less cigarettes as long as I am knitting or crocheting. Well, that's a good thing.!

Today I will not have so much time for the computer, cause there is a little bit of shopping to do, the house can use a sweep with duster and vacuum cleaner at the leat and in the afternoon the speed skating season is starting again. Today and during the weekend there will be the Dutch championship. You know Jan and I like to watch that, so we will be busy with that for one.
In the evening there is to watch The Voice of Holland, we start with the live shows, now every candidate can show what they are worth. There are a few, that I really like and that have "something special".
So, it's time to end this post, not without the freebie, naturally!
This kit is named "Untill the Last Moment", with clusters from Arlene to make it complete.
Have all a wonderful weekend, thanks for your visits and all your nice comments, and for bringing a little smile into my heart!

Download    HERE

Download    HERE

Still waiting for real improvement

Goodmorning everybody!

Just a few words about Jan. I thought there was going on a tiny little bit of improvement, but I am afraid that was wishful thinking. Jan isn't really improving yet, he's not feeling well, as far as I can tell. Perhaps we are a bit too unpatient, you cannot expect that all is suddenly gone and improving in just a few days, I know. We'll just have to give it more time, but it's no fun I can tell you that.
Stubborn ox as he is, he does;t talk about it, but I rather would have it the other way. Oh sigh, I know how he is and have to deal with that LOL.
Worst thing is, that it effects me, of course, but it shouldn;t. I have a bit low energy in undertaking things, just the normal things that have to be done in household e.g.
I try not to give in to it, but the fun and real drive for it is gone for the moment. Oh, we still have our moments of laughing about something and humor isn't too far away, and that's great.
Okay, enough about this, let's just keep up hope that soon there will be a change for the good!

Important day it was yesterday in the US, with the elections. I think I am happy with the result, that Obama stays for another 4 years. Not that I am a real attentive and understanding follower of the politics there(we have our own problems here in Holland to deal with LOL), but I believe he can make a change, but needed more time for it. He has that time now, hopefully it will be used well. A lot is depending too on the fact, if Democrats and Republicans can find a way of working together, trying to understand eachothers point of view and find a good compromise in it, that at the end will be the best for all the nation.

We too have our new government now, but the program they revealed more or less now, isn;t one to jump of joy. We are going towards hard times, lots of people will have a lot less to spend, for one thing. And that is caused by several measurements that will be taken, just to fight the crisis and the shortage in money in the governmental wallet ( meaning the state debt) so to say. So the big word is "cut back" in a lot of things. We'll just have to deal with it, it's understandable for a part, but not for all the new government is planning to do!!!

It's a bit gloomy blogpost till now, I see LOL! Are there any things that might give a positive sound? Yes, a small thing but still important in daily life.
Problems with phone are gone. It wasn't a provider's problem, but in our phone itself.
I found it out by having a call with the service desk of our internet provider, very nice guy at the phone, and it seems that on our phone there was button for "pulse"and "tone"and that probably somehow it has been touched and put on the "pulse".
So I tried to change it again, which sometimes succes, but I am afraid some connetction of the button or so isn;t working well anymore. Okay, a phone is important, so Monday I went on the search for a new one. I have found one, for a real small price, I found a picture of it:

Looks nice hey? Now let's hope this one will work also for many years ! It's really a phone for "elderly"people, with a good display with rather big letters and numbers, also the buttons are of a nice size and very good to see and manual is really easy. So it's perfect for me yeah!!! ROFL.

Well, as we are again in a brighter mood we should keep it that way and what better way than to finish the post with the freebie?
This time a one colorpallete kit, named "If I Could Tell You", and the matching clusters from Arlene.
Have a wonderful day,

Download    HERE

Download     HERE

Problems never come one by one LOL

Goodmorning everybody!

we had a bit of early rise this morning, cause Jan has to go to hospital for the MRI scan.
During the weekend his legs and belly didn;t show much improvement yet, but we will have to be patient I guess. You cannot expect that his raise of mg from the waterpills will have immediate effect.
But although I think Jan didn;t feel too much better during the last days ,somehow he was better too, I think it was because he had the hectic test on Thursday and the results were rather positive. That has set his mind to peace, I presume.
Now just hope nothing wierd will come out of the MRI, and then we can get to work for his recovery and hopefully he will be able to get to work again.

But as problems never come alone, LOL, suddenly on Friday I could not make a phonecall. The "steday"phone is working via internet, but I seem to have kind of connection, only when I start to dial a number there is a strange ticking sound and no connection with the chosen number.
Lucky I have Jan's mobile phone, but at the service desk it was soooooo busy, I couldn;t get through. And then also had the bad luck it was the weekend. So I sent them a mail, but I am not very confident that I will have a quick response to that.
Sigh, I will try again today, because I don;t think that suddenly my phone is broken, or kaputt, it must be something at the providers side, at least I hope so.
I hope it will be fixed soon, it's very frustrating not to be able to contact anybody and visa versa.!

Oh I had such a sweet surprise in my mail from one of my visitors. It's a kind of "award", made with some of my stuff. Look here:

This sweet thought and all of your fantastic support are little rays of sunlight!

So I will have some things to do today, when Jan is on his way, I'll occupy the bathroom for a couple of minutes, then during the time my hair will dry, I can try to contact the internet provider, and I also have to go to the bank to bring a bill there that has to be payed. Hopefully I can find a dry moment, cause there are again rain showers expected.
One happy remark": it seems( yes I still stay very cautious!) that the plumber did a good job, till now it stays all dry in our kitchen. I think it still needs a bit of time to dry, the wall I mean, but in a few days I can at least give it a bleech solution treatment, and hopefully soon I can give it a new coat of paint.
But that's for later, first thing I really want to happen is Jan's recovery!

Okay, enough rambling for the moment, let's go to the freebie department.
A kit in nice colors, I think, with marvellous clusters from Arlene. Kit is named"The Fusing of Seasons".
Have a great day!

Download    HERE

Download  HERE