Home Again

Hello everyone, I am finally posting again, sadly from Canada.  I took sick two and a half weeks before my vacation ended and really had no inclination to post other than make every effort to rest.  I even brought home a nasty souvenir, a head cold!   
I confess, my trip simply was not long enough, and I am so missing everyone across the huge pond. 
However, I took well over 1,000 photo's on day trips that I took with Els and will share these as I begin posting full time again.  I lost a whole set of pictures taken with Anneke, Paul and family, and one such set was of her daughters' sonogram where I actually joined in on the experience of seeing this new person who will be arriving late December or very early January.  What a fantastic experience this was.  Usually it is just mummy and daddy that enjoy this pleasurable experience.  This little girl waiting to come into the world already has been named, but unfortunately I may not divulge her name just yet as it is to be a surprise for her grandparents.  Lucky me, I know it already.  If every you are invited to attend such a wondrous event, attend, I found it to be absolutely thrilling.   Thanks Ingrid for the invitation. 
I left Anneke and Pauls' not feeling well, didn't know what I had, and went to Els for my last days in Holland.  Day trips were the thing, no large cities, just tiny villages and lots of country that remains as yet unchanged.  When first I arrived back into my Native country I discovered super highways not unlike those we use here in North America and it made me sad.  I realize countries must accommodate growth such as improving its infrastructure and transportation corridors, but my memory of the "way it used to be was still fresh even though it had been 16 long years since I had last been in Holland.  Once you slip off these super highways into the towns and villages of Holland you will continue to experience the look and feel of yesteryear.
Before leaving Holland, I simply had to go back and visit the well stocked  PATCH & QUILT Shop so off to Winterswjk Els and I traveled the day before my scheduled flight back to Canada.   REMEMBER I posted about this shop in an earlier post and it is only open on Wednesdays because it is managed by strictly volunteers.  I could easily have stayed forever hidden amongst all of those well stocked shelves.  A very enjoyable morning it was and I really did not want to leave.  Sitting among the women who were there that morning each enjoying each others company and discussing the many projects each one was working on that particular meeting.  

It begins with opening the door 

and walking into the store, there you will find fresh brewed coffee and very warm smiles, next you find a spot and sit among those who are already seated and enjoy the coffee and a discussion of those who are unwell, or other activities which each person is engaged in, 

Connecting with Quilting buddies

Discussions of projects

 and then, out come all of those wonderful projects in the unfinished stages. Not unlike our guilds here where show and tell is fun, discussions of techniques, fabrics, possible new projects, or even events take place.
Before leaving the shop and waving cheerio to my new quilt friends I took pictures to share with you of the many quilts about the shop.

The Cutting area at the front of the shop

Checking out a pattern

Showing progress on a puzzel quilt

One of the many quilts which adorn the shop

Ahhhhhh my favorite color scheme

Hand made Cathedral Windows Wall Quilt

I adored this Scrappy Pinks

I loved the colors in this Quilt, a Project from 2009

Scrappy Squares

Thank you for stopping by to see me today and remember no matter in which part of this wonderful world you live in, make your day a wonderful day because you DESERVE IT.

One last thing, my cousin lost her beloved husband who was only 56 last week, a man so well respected and never ill a day in his short life, so make your days count for you, live them as full as you possibly can and laugh, laugh, laugh yourselves silly as LAUGHTER is so good for your health.