We had some snow and cold here!

Goodafternoon everybody!

Oh, the snow and some ice finally arrived in our country, and do i tell you this with a big smiel on my face????? NO, NOT AT ALL!
But..... it didn;t last for very long. We had about two days of snow, not all too much, just a couple of centimeters(at least here at the coast) and some freezing nights.
However, yesterday and today the temperatures suddenly came up to around 6-7C, weven at night just no less than 5C! So that isn;t too bad.
Next week it will drop again a bit, but only at night it will be freezing around -3C, and at daytime temperature will rise above zero, to perhaps +3C, still not too bad.
Nasty thing is that later today in our part of the coast there might be quite a heavy storm for a few hours. I do hope it will not be too fierce and that it will blow not for a long time.
On the other hand we still shouldn;t complain too much, we didn't have really cold weather till now and almost no snowfall, quite different to e.g. Austria where they had snowfall in a few hours to around 2 meters high! And that for several days along!
And also in other parts of the world winter had knocked heavily on the door.
But I notice that with every year I get older, I am more against freezing and snow than I used to be.

This year lots of prices have gone up, and not with just a few euro, but with tens of euros. Like energy cost, for example. We pay a certain amount every month and they have raised it with around 33 euro's per month! That is quite a raise( and we still have to hope we will not use too much so that we don;t have to pay an extra amount when we get our year bill!) Then the government also raised the taxes with 3% on all kind of groceries, so mostly all the shopping you will be doing(and specially the daily or weekly things you need) will be more expensive, Then the health insurance has gone up with around 10-15 euro per month, and then I am not speaking about all kind of taxes of city council, provincial taxes etc.
Okay, government has lowered a bit the rate of the taxes we have to pay on our wages, but it will not help a lot. Here and there some wages have had a general raise of may be 1,5%,nice, sure, but not enough to pay for all the more expensive costs of living.
Government has the nerve to say that in general almost everybody will have a bit of money extra to spare at the end of the month!
But I am sure that it will not be so for a lot of people. The government have a counting model that says we go upward, but in that model they didn;t count in the council taxes, provincial taxes, lots of things more that had gone up in price.
Am I sounding too critical or even depressive? I don;t think so. I didn;t even mention the rents of houses and prices of houses. They have gone up enormously too.
So all together it will be hard for a lot of people to pay for it all.
Like pensions for the elderly, they don;t go up, they have been frozen already for several years, no index raise was done on them.
Yes, we live in a pretty good country, still, but the gape between the richer and really rich and the common man is getting wider and wider and that isn;t a good sign at all, to my opinion.
Good that is off my chest, now we can talk about other things LOL!

In fact, there hasn;t been much of a change here. Oh, Jan is feeling slowly better again, I don;t think he is up to 100% yet, but you know, as he isn;t talking much about his health or how he is feeling(which is making me mad at times ROFL), still going better is good.
I cannot complain at the moment too much about  my tummy, sometimes is is not nice, but it seems to go better slowly. You will see, by the time I have to go to hospital for that gastroscopie,  I will feel almost fine hahaha.

Tuesday my hubbie will have his birthday and then we both will be again the same age of 66!
We'll see what we will do that day, nothing too special but I will cook a nice meal I guess and perhaps have some tasty cake with our coffe in the evening.

I did find some time to do a bit of designing, still it is going slow these days. But as long as I do something, it is okay, I guess.
Today I have clusters from Arlene for you, made with the Floating on Dreams kit.
Wishing you all a lovely week, with not too much cold, or extreme heat, best of all try to keep safe and healthy.
Till next week!

Download   HERE

There are some amazing artists around.

Goodafternoon everybody!

This morning I could sleep a bit longer, oh, it's a wonderful feeling after long times of not sleeping all too well, or just in kind of shifts LOL.
Then i watched a recorded episode of The Greatest Dancer from the BBC.
 https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-20/what-is-the-greatest-dancer-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-dancing-talent-show/
This link explains what is all about and how it works and you can also see some performances, if you like.
I love Strictly come dancing even more, but this also is a fantastic program and you are able to see some pretty talented people!

Then I took a nice shower and then prepared a bit of our dinner, I put on the washing machine and even did a little bit of ironing. After that I went out in the garden to leave some food for the birds and then I thought it was time to take it a while easy and so here I am!

The weather here has changed somewhat, it has become colder, at night we have (at the coast )around 3-5C frost and at daytime just 2-3C in the plus. Yeah, we aren;t used to it anymore. But the good thing is that it is dry and we have some sunshine. may be one day later in the week there might be some snow, but they aren;t sure of it.
Well, the snow can stay away for me!

I managed to do one necessary phonecall concerning our state pension. I forsaw that it would take a long time, mostly waiting on the phone, but i was ever so lucky. I was through in one ot two minutes and the person helping me was ever so nice and all was settled in a few minutes. Sometimes we still can be lucky, hoorray!

I am receiving in the post already every now and then papers I need for the taxes, I have a folder where I put them all in so I cannot forget one. Still I think I must make a phonecall to one bank to ask if they can send me the annual statement for the taxes.  have one bak that does it automatically, but the other might think we can go on line and print it out for ourselves. Of course that is a possibility. But as I have no working printer at the moment and a very lazy laptop, I want to ask me to sent it to me on paper. Shouldn;t be such a difficult thing for them, hey? Some however aren;t too willing to do so. We'll see how it goes.

Somewhere this week in a program I cannot remember anymore, I saw some amazing work of an artist, who is making, among other things, portraits with tulle fabric. I was in awe! I have two links for you where you can see for yourself what amazing work this guy is making.
His name is Benjamin Shine, a London artist. Never had heard of him before, but it really love the work he makes and it is so difficult!
Take a look for yourself:
https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/inside-the-studio-of-benjamin-shine-nycs-fabric-sculptor.html
https://www.fineprintart.com/art/the-fabric-portraits-of-benjamin-shine

All this week I tried to take some time for me to do some designing.  managed to make a new kit and started on a new one. It is going not really quick, but at least I am back into designing a bit.
I also like to do some games when at the computer, simple ones like a card game or a mahjong. It is so relaxing! Then sometimes do some blogreading, and an hour has gone in a flash!

Talking about going in a flash, I should finish this post now, the laundry is waiting for me, and after that I would like to relax some more, okay??
I have a new kit for you, Floating on Dreams. Hope you like it.
Wishing you a marvellous week and stay safe!

Download   HERE

Sorry for not checking the blog!

Hello eveyone!
Just now I noticed that my last post wasn;t published!
So there is nothing to worry about, just perhaps Blogger, or may be me not being accurate enough, was to blame.
Good, hope all is okay again,
I'll be there Sunday, if all is well.

A year older, do I notice??? Not really!

Goodafternoon everybody!

I am aweful late today, it's already late afernoon.
First I woke up late, then I did some housework in between watched sport on tv, speedskating spring and also allround EK Championship.
Plus also EK Championship short track skating.

We did well, so it was a good day for Dutch speed skating lovers.

Weather here is kind of dull and grey, rather cloudy most of the time, now and then some rain, some days with stronger wind, even one day almost stormy, but temperatures are okay , just around 6-8 C.

My birthday was a nice day, nothing really special, but just nice, some sweet telephonecalls, a few cards, we had a nice dinner and when we had our coffee a bit after it, I had a yummie piece of cake.
So I am a year older, not that I really notice. As usual in the head I still feel something like in the 40's, but there I also know that I am not and my body tells me the same LOL!
Rest of the week went by quietly, there isn;t really much to tell.

I fear this is all there is to tell, sounds very boring, but there are happening enough little things, only I don;t think they are all really worthwhile to write about, or may be I just forget about some of them.
Hopefully I will have a more interesting post next week.
I do, however, have a download for you Clusters from Arlene, made with the Joie de Vivre kit.
Oh, before I forget, thanks for the nice birthdaywishes, you are so nice to me.
Gosh, it is already almost time to go to the kitchen to prepare our dinner, yes, that late it is.
Have a wonderful week, stay safe.

Download    HERE

Nearer to be a pensionado this year!

Goodafternoon everybody!

First of all I want to wish everybody a wonderful and happy New Year!

Our New Year's Eve was just quiet but so cozy, we enjoyed some good tv, and at midnight the temperature wasn't too bad so we did go just a step outside our door to watch some of the firework.
And some neighbours wished us a happy New Year, always nice, isn;t it?

The new year's day we, as more or less tradition, watch the new Year's concert from Vienna. it's so nice, not too difficult music, some wonderful views of Vienna and some of the buildings, having our morning/lunch coffee and just being lazy!

we already started this week to put away some of the Christmas decorations. We just left the tree and the manger, because today is the holiday of the 3 Kings, that visited the new born Child.
So tomorrow we will do the rest into the boxes, and all will look as usual again. Also have done a stash of laundry of all the Christmas throws and doilies, plus some usual laundry too.
In a way it is nice to have the room back to "normal", but I also will miss it for a little while. Most of it the little Christmaslights, they give such a warm light and look great. May be  I will hold back a little string of lights and put them e.g. on the wooden shelf at the fireplace. It is kind of a dark place in the evening, so that might be an idea.

And then on Tuesday I will have my birthday, oh boy, I will reach the age of 66! Jan will have his birthday 3 weeks later, and then we will have to hold on for another 4 months and then....... we will have our state pension(with some pension we built up during our working days).

Oh, I can't wait till that day will come.

Weather here is a bit boring, but not too bad. At least we don;t have frost and snow and for that I am already grateful. Still we have some tricky months ahead of us, January, February and March can have very strange weather. Just when it looks that Spring is around the corner suddenly there could be cold, frost and snow. I really hope we will be spared of that! Good thing however is that we are getting longer daylight. I hate it to wake up in the morning and it is still dark. Okay, at the moment it still is darkish around 8 o'clock in the morning, but every week it will be better. I think it gives you more energy when you wake up and it is light and, even better, the sun is shining!

This week I even managed to make a little kit for you. I named it Joie de Vivre (Joy of Living).
Hopefully I will be able to make another one this week. I have some things to do that have priority, some phonecalls to make to city council, tax office and such and fill in some forms. All to do with the upcoming state pension. Pfffff, you know they have all information, but still you have to fill in forms with everything the same things. Frustrating sometimes!

Good, I must look at the washing machine, think the laundry will be ready. Just have to hang it out to dry and in one or two days I will do the ironing and I can put away a lot of things.
Then for the rest of the day I will do not much anymore, LOL.
Our dinner is easy,  yesterday I made us a big pan of soup(with brown beans, potatoes, vegetables and smoked sausage) and there is enough left to have another meal today. Great planning, Kyra!hahahaha.

Have a wonderful day and week ahead.

Download   HERE

Was Santa good to you???

Goodafternoon everybody!

weather here is bit grey, not really cold, but boring weather.
We have temperatures around 6-8C, so not all too bad.

Our Christmas was wonderful! First want to thank everybody for their good wishes, you are all so kind to me!
Santa was very good to us, we had lots of presents and we loved them.
One particular one gave me a big smile on the face, it was send all the way from the U.S.A. and it was a windchime in the form of a windmill! t is sooo adorable! I will make a photo of it when I found the right place for it in the garden.
We were really spoiled  and it brought a warm feeling into our heart.
Dinner I made also came out good, there was enough of it for two days( I always seem to make more than really needed, LOL).
We enjoyed wsatching some great shows on tv, but my absolute favourite(of course) was on Saturday before Christmas. it was the Strictly come dancing Christmas special on the BBC.
Fantastic!
It is such a shame that it is over for this season, I will have to wait a long time into next year to watch the next one. But okay, there are other things to watch and that will be almost as good.

 Yesterday I had my friend Heidi on the phone for just a moment, but it seems that her operation went well and she already was on the way home. I will leave her in peace the coming days, but surely will pay her a visit somewhere next week, in the new year.
I am already happy to know, that for know she is doing well.

Can you believe it that in a few days we already are starting a brand new year??? Gosh, it looks as if it flew away again in a second. I think I say that every year, but really, looking back, it seems it has been so short!
Think I have all in the house for New Year's Eve. If possible I want to avoid going shopping on Monday , probably the shops will be crowded.
We will stay home, nice and warm, and at midnight we will watch a bit the fireworks in the neighbourhood from our window.
And then "normal"life will start again. In January Jan and I both will have our birthdays, we will be 66!! In the head I don;t feel like it, but sometimes my body says something different LOL!

I have one more Christmaskit to share, named it Christmas with a Blush.  I also put Arlene's clusters for download with it.
Now I want to wsh you a fantastic New Year´s Eve and a very good start of the New Year.
Till next year!!

Download  kit   HERE

Download clusters  HERE

Are you ready for Christmas?

Goodafternoon everybody!

We have rather mild weather for this time of year. Last couple of days we had temperatures of around 11-12C, okay, with some rain here and there, but still not cold. The coming days temperatures will drop a little bit to around 5-6C, but with practically no rain and very little wind. So no white Christmas here(and I don;t mind it too much at all).

I had the prescription from my doctor for a Gastroscopie, I could pick it up last Monday. So rigth away I phoned to the hospital for an appointment. Oh my, seems to be very busy there, I couldn;t get one earlier than on the 8th of February!. If I opted for another hospital there was may be a possibility to have one somewhat earlier, but the hospital is not close, takes a long voyage with the tram and isn;t practical at all. so I opted for the one in my "own"hospital.
Okay, I still have every now and then some trouble with the tummy, and it isn;t nice, but I can live with it. So we just will have to be a bit more careful with the things I eat(not too spicy, not too much coffee, those things already help). If things get really much worse I always can call my doctor and then perhaps I can go earlier. Just let's hope that won;t be necessary. I just want to know what is causing this trouble, and hopefully there will be a solution for it.

On to more lighter and nicer things.
I have I think all in  the house now for Christmas and Christmas dinner and the days before and after too.
I did it in batches and it wasn't stressing I must say. during my visits into town city(mostly just to relax) I stumbled upon a few things that I bought for Jan as Christmas present. I know, we long time ago already agreed not to buy presents for eachother, but once in a whbile I cannot resist it ROFL. They aren;t expensive, but nice and practical too.
Not telling now what, you never know who reads the blog, hmmmmm?

Got a phonecall from Heidi, who invited us for a drink on Boxing Day.
We agreed, so we will be there around 3 o'clock afternoon. Think it will be till may be 5 and then we go home again and have our dinner nice and quiet. It is sweet she is doing this. I will make her a batch of stew pears, I know she likes them.
Then the day after she will have to go to hospital for her heartoperation, the repair on a vain around her heart. They must burn that little vain away, so to speak, because it is causing a to high blood pressure for her. The operation goes through her groin, so not too straining, but she still will have to stay a day there, just for check and security. If all goes well, she can be home again on Friday.
Let's cross fingers and pray that all goes well. f course she will have to recover a little bit from it, so if possible(and with her it is very difficult to achive hahaha, I know her!!!!)she will have to take it easy for a month or better two. We will see if she can force herself to do it!

When I will have finished this post i will pop into the kitchen, first to prepare a little bit for today's dinner, but also already prepare a little bit for tomorrow, Christmas Eve. I will make a potatoe salad with slices of smoked salmon, yummie! so I will cut now already the ingredients for the salad, and boil the potatoes. Then if we are may be a bit hungry later on, I have some really nice salami and a piece of french Camembert cheese, with some rustique bread pieces. 
well, Christmasday you know already we will have rabbit, with home made apple sauce and potato croquettes. Oh for starter we will have a small cup of mushroom soup(I will add lots of fresh mushrooms to it) and desert will be Tiramisu.
Think, it will be a yummie dinner. Then if we like to have a little bite, I have some more french cheese with some toast or bread.
Next day it will be very easy. We will just have the left overs, and I expect there to be more than enough of it.
But first Jan and I can finally open ur presnets under the Christmastree.
I think it will be around 4.00 o'clock in the afernoon, with all the lights on and cozy and warm. Oh it will be sooo exciting!

Good, this is it for now.
I have a Christmas kit for you in more traditional colours, named it A Christmas Hug, together with Arlene;s clusters.

Last thing to do is wishing you all a Merry Christmas!!!

 Download     Kit Here

Download   clusters   HERE