holiday in the sun

i'm off to meet maggie in barcelona in a few hours. obviously haven't packed yet, but i'm working on it. i'll be sure to take loads of photos and post them promptly upon my return. miss everybody a lot!

here are some photos from the amsterdamse bos - the forest. gijs and i went last saturday afternoon in search of owl pellets. sadly, we returned home empty handed and rather defeated. but on the bright side, i was reminded of nature's infinite beauty. i think the fact that it was a beautiful sunny day really helped; the lighting was just perfect. you can see for yourself.

overload

was in the midst of a slightly tense household today. sometimes its hard to tell if my presence is helping or hindering, or perhaps passively going unnoticed? after a good discussion, i realize i'm part of the family and therefore shouldn't feel uneasy about this. by now, midnight, all tension has been eliminated and hopefully a couple of good night sleeps all around will bring a happy day tomorrow.

lots of things to catch up on but i'm getting pretty tired so must try to make it brief:

went to the family's summer house in the south of holland for easter weekend. they have a farmhouse on a large property surrounded by acres and acres of farmland. we played lots of football (*soccer), planted some tomatoes and strawberries, watched movies, stacked wood, ate chocolate and went to the local flea market. going back at the beginning of may.

discovered a wonderful summer hangout with phil - a farm in amsterdam! it's so quiet and peaceful and feels like you're far from the chaos of the city. it has a little restaurant on it that sells yummy dutch pancakes. oh and it has a free store - reminded me of hornby, on a much smaller scale - from which we took a double puzzle

went to jet's apartment for the first time and was very inspired. it was beautiful - both the nature of the apartment and her decorating taste. once again, can' t wait for my own space.

got a part time job looking after a baby named sive. it's just one afternoon per week but still worth it to have a little extra pocket money. plus i'll be getting my baby fill, which we all know pleases me.

finally finished the power of one. just started a new atwood - life before man. so far so good.

i bought my own bike! a few days later the one i had been using (that belonged to one of the boys) got stolen. good timing?

only two dutch classes left?! i really can't believe it. too bad i'm not fluent yet. although i think i'm starting to understand a lot more. or at least picking up on pieces of conversations and slinging the gist together with a few guesses here and there.

listening to these songs lately: 1. 2. 3. 4. and still...5.

got my first sunburn of the season.

phil finally kicked my ass in scrabble.

saw another mouse at the movie theatre tonight.

that's all for now. here are some visuals.

middleburg cityhall

the flea market

this trio reminds me of you april

my attic room at the summer home

easter sunset

my favorite trees around - if you look closely you can see them holding hands

phil at the farm, probably about to show me song #1

our bikes

de oranjerie
phil & phil

the defeat

festina lente

the birds are back bookmark

flowing juices nostalgia

her imagination

"yesterday was such a beautiful day here. it was supposed to rain but the sun was out. the sky was white though. and it was so beautiful. i went to yoga and kept imagining 65 red helium balloons being set free into the white sky. dancing and floating and running up to heaven. i think that may be the image i will always carry in my heart. red balloons dancing into the sky. with everyone on the ground looking up, watching, inspired. she was a hero for so many people. i am amazed." -lp

a new idea

i've been looking around for some suede string that i can buy by the meter and i've finally found some. i happened upon a little craft shop alongside the albert cuyp market that turns out to be quite a famous place apparently. the shop sells all sorts of trinkets from buttons to feathers (april - they have some beautiful feathers but unfortunately they're a little on the pricey side..i'll see what i can do). anyway, i'm so happy about my suede because it's very fun and multifunctional. bracelets, necklaces, belts, hair bands....gifts?! i bought four colours, one meter each, and so far have used each piece except the turquoise one.







(too bad i didn't have a wrist model handy)

with the new arrangement of my room i've now sort of got a craft table which has been very conducive to my craft productivity - my supplies are out and there is space to work, not much of an effort is required now. i bought some beautiful handwritten sheet music and some old maps at a market a few weeks ago which have added some new inspiration. despite the fact that it feels rather vain, i think i'll start posting some of the things i make on here. i hope it will help motivate me to continue making things and perhaps will make me feel a wee bit accountable.

on a whole other note i'm getting very excited about the weekend of april 22nd - maggie, steph and i will potentially be meeting in barcelona! we're still at the point of trying to reach each other on skype but i have a feeling it will actually happen. i'll keep you posted on our planning progress.

well i'm being distracted by delicious smells of pesto pasta wafting up to my room. i better go eat!

rearranged

so today was the day i finalized my decision about rearranging my room. as many of you know, this is something i do every couple of months - for the past 12 odd years. i find it really fun to think of new ways of making my furniture fit differently into the same space, and of course to increase efficiency (fran) and usability while i'm at it. i suppose i shall post a photo...perhaps a before and after...or three of each.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

it feels more like a full apartment to me now, rather than just a big bedroom. i think separation is key. now i feel like i have a living room, a bedroom, a hallway (kind of) and of course a kitchen.

i had a great day today. yesterday was a hungover one. and it sucked because it was such a beautiful day and it was my day off too. i had thought of a lot of ways i wanted to spend my day but i ended up horizontal on my couch. at least i was able to keep my terrace doors open, letting in some sweet spring air. so anyway, when i woke up today (after a nine and a half hour sleep!) i decided that i must make the most of this monday and make up for yesterday's idle time. between the things i had to do for work, i went to an outdoor market and perused through some real nice stuff, i did my room, i made dinner for the family and i went for a run. then i talked to rach and drank my new favorite drink - fresh mint tea with honey - and ate some milk chocolate. i'm feeling very comfortable and content.

i'll post some photos of my mom's visit too. it was a treat having her here. we got to spend a lot of quality time together. she stayed at dorith and derek's place so it was also nice seeing a lot of them too. they have been so unbelievably welcoming to me. so what did we do?

we went to traditional villages

we ate lots of good food

we strolled through the flower market many times

and more markets

look at all that chocolate!

we ate at lots of cafes

despite our allergies, we both started liking cats

these cats are a serious exception

we made lots of delicious dinners

we enjoyed the comfort of the delint's beautiful home

we ate carrot cake and drank coffee

all in all - it was so fun! it's now the next morning because i got too tired to organize these photos last night so i better get to work. also just wanted to say thank you for all your comments - they make me so happy.

tears of frustration

parenting is going to be so hard.