Hello From Holland

Hello From Holland!!


 -DAY 1


The bus was on time and let those passengers travelling from the various terminals out of Pearson International airport right at the front door leading into all of the departure terminals. 

My darling son managed a few hours and met with me at the airport between jobs, and he more than likely won't be too cross with me for showing you a picture of a working son who interrupted a job to see his mum off on her lengthy vacation.  He is a fine son and a fantastic husband and step dad to my daughter-in-laws children, did I tell you I just love my new family?

I made it!  How I survived a teensy tiny seating arrangement and a bulk head seat that isn't a bulk head seat and not being able to turn or leave my seat was beyond me!  I was imprisoned in a seat that was so tight (I weigh 179 and my hulk isn't a huge bulk"  yet that seat was tight!  Once I got me seat belt fastened there I remained until landing!  Mt seat mates were two long legged 6'+ men and I just couldn't find it in me to try climbing over them and so I remained in my seat!  Disappointment turned into anger for awhile but there was absolutely no way I could change my seat because the plane was totally filled to its capacity, cramped tight seats, stewardess' that ignored me until I pointed out the additional travel package I had purchased to give me better seating, a meal choice, and some additional extras!  She wasn't nice and unfortunately and left me with the feeling she didn't like me and I discovered I didn't like her all that much either. All part of my vacation adventure.
Hopefully I may make some changes before having to fly home under the same conditions, that simply will not do for me as the costs for the additional seat choice and meal package over and above the cost of my flight was not cheap!

I realize this image is an advertisement, but when you look at that person at the left this is exactly what I mean about the cramped seating arrangements, nothing near the picture on your right!
My country has changed and one of the first and major of those changes is the interconnected highway system.  When first my friends drove from the airport the change wasn't that noticeable, however not 20 minutes away from the airport and I began to mark those changes in the highways or as I call them spaghetti string highways and these you can just about find around any country in he western world now.  I remember the days when there were those small roadways, nothing is compared to what you can drive on today - if you have seen the 400 series in Ontario, then you have seen what it looks like here in Holland now.  
All in all this too has become a part of my vacation and will be added to the excitement of being back in my native land.  
I landed early morning in Holland and by supper time the obvious question arose, saying with a real smile and a twinkle in her eye, my girlfriend wanted to know what it was I might like to have for my supper?  My answer burst forth patat and a kroket.  Off we went to get my treat!  IT was so good!!  You can keep your gourmet food and plated beauties, just lead me to the place where I could get my taste buds treated and this is exactly what I had!  The following pictures really are true to what it was that I ordered and ate for my first nights supper in Holland. 

If you have never tried this food I am here to tell you to give it a try.Mmmmmmmmm Good!!!

 Enough for the first day, I promise to catch you up.

I am so very happy that you have come back for a visit and will be sharing my vacation with me.  If you have a question or a comment please leave it for me and I will answer as quickly as I can.
I am having such a wonderful day today and I wish the same for you and yours.

Breaking With Dieting This Weekend

Its that time again in the dieting cycle when I capitulate and have something which is totally not conducive to good dieting practices.
My brother called last night and invited both mother and me out for a bit of a Sundae drive and I said to him, not this was Saturday, LOL, get it SUNDAE?   I know I should have declined, but, like all people who diet, the dieting cycle gets broken from time to time, and this was my turn to deviate from my 1,438 calories a day.  It has taken me close to one whole year to lose a measly 10 lbs.  You'd think I would be more mindful of the length of time it has taken me to lose just those few pounds, but the devil made me do it!   
After driving around a part of the country I live in and in three years haven't explored and seeing the massive new houses being built in a new sub-division we stopped at the DQ!  

Ten minutes later I sat in the back seat with a caramel sundae topped with lots of nuts and began digging in.  My sister-in-law had a cherry sundae - she just loves charries!  Anything at all which contains cherries and she'll have it.  My mother, bless her heart, she indulged in a chocolate fudge sundae, and my dear brother a huge vanilla cone. 

DQ Ice cream cones are sooooo delicious!

Don't these look absolutely scrumscious?

There isn't a member of my immediate family that are not ice cream lovers and Dairy Queen has always been the favored drive to treat place.

After having finished these scrumscious treats we were on the way home which is nearly a half hours drive from home. 
The road to home is very dark and we were moving slower than normal as the deer have been spotted coming out of the forests onto the road these pat few weeks and we didn't need to meet one of them on this dark road at night.  While we didn't meet any deer last night, we did see lightning streaking across the sky, huge beautiful streaks all compliments of Mother Nature.

When we arrived home I went in to close up the windows as the wind was picking up and with seeing the lightning I believed we might be in for a storm, my mother didn't believe me and decided then and there she'd water the flower beds.  I kept saying, it's going to rain, but nope, would she believe me?  After she finished that watering task in she came, locked the door and just before her nether end could come into contact with her chair the rain burst from the sky and came down in buckets!!  Not many times do I get to be right when it comes to my mother, but by golly this time I was right.  All that water used when it wasn't necessary.  

Oh well, now the flower beds are doubly watered and should last for awhile before needing a drink again. 

I finally came into the sewing room and completed a few more 4" stretched stars for the border of that Stretched Star quilt top.  Near 1 a.m. it really was time for lights out and a bed inspection, but before that, , I thought it best to make the rounds and make certain all windows and doors were locked, while doing that I looked outside and there they were, three little kittens romping through the front flower bed.  My goodness but they are so sweet, I am so torn as to whether or not to bring them into the house and look after them (mother included) or, to leave them be and let them grow and become a stray like their mother and more possibly their papa too. 4X trouble me thinks!
TONIGHT is our local Lions Club end of year party, oh boy!  BBQ chicken dinners all around and for some of the shut in seniors in town as well.  Every year our United Church puts on a Chicken BBQ and it is a great social event as well as a much needed fundraiser for the new steeple for the church.  The steeple was in sad need of repairs and they finally had to remove it from the roof rather than have a mishap or nasty accident while fundraising for much needed repairs. Watch this video of the steeple being removed, it is quite extraordinary.

Our Lions Club holds it year end party the same date as the church BBQ and nicely donate to the church while having a delicious dinner and get together all at the same time.  Two birds with one stone so to speak!  Seeing as I live across the river from where the party is being held I will collect all of the dinners and deliver them as well as mother and myself.  Can you just smell the aroma's coming from my back seat now?  I think you might.  There will be chicken, potato egg salad, coleslaw (all homemade by the way), hot buttered buns, and a side salad, then wonderfully home backed pies...now, here I go again, breaking out of the diet mode - you'd think by now I would have said no to the ice cream sundae last night know full well about all of wonderful food I would be eating tonight!  I will be taking the camera with me and making the good effort to get lots of photos, so, if you are not already bored, stay tuned for tomorrow's post when I get to show off what tonight's party looked like.
Now, have I told you more than you wanted to know?
Have a happy weekend and be mindful on those roads and by-ways if your travelling about, apparently the wild life in those woods are being driven to distraction by all of those huge and nasty deer flies that are biting them and so pose a hazard to vehicles especially around twilight. 

Why Does Time Fly To?

Seemingly I am not having fun, so why is time flying?  Isn't that what is said? "Time flies when your having fun"!  It just seems like yesterday was Friday and I was planning a not too busy weekend, now here it is, Wednesday and I haven't done anything of note with quilting since last week, but darn it all I sure have done a lot of seeming everything but nothing you can see that is tangible.  Why is that this happens, it happened to us all at some time or other during our much too busy lives. 
Finally I found time to find myself a good priced flight for my vacation this year and I am off to Holland for two months for a much needed sanity check.  There is sits, the plane that will fly me home and bring me back again when my vacation ends.

I plan on taking in all of my Birth country with fresh eyes as I haven't been home since the early 90's and even then it wasn't for an extended stay so there was no time to really see it and rekindle memories from my youth.  Now I shall have "Time".

This time there are family and friends with whom I may visit and take time to get reacquainted, plus I will have time to visit all of the museums I didn't have time for in the past, just to wander at will with no "time" constraints will be a pleasure and then to view as many of the Masters as I can, including my most favorite of The Masters, Vermeer.  To see The Milkmaid once again will be another wish fulfilled.  A Museum Card can be purchased which will allow you entrance into any one of the 600 Museums which are throughout Holland.

Museum Card

 I will have time to wander through, the gardens and the flower growers fields to ooh and aah over again. 

Keukenhof

Keukenhof

 as well as artisans of all types including market stalls where there is a plethora of goods to choose from, just take a look at these little houses.  

Market Stall selling Tiny Dutch Architectural Houses

I have some of these which are fridge magnets, but I intend to buy a few more and make a magnetic board with all of them and have it as a picture in my sewing room.

Begijnhof

A revisit to the Begijnhof is definitely on my itinerary, this is the 14th century residential hideaway deep in the city of Amsterdam, built for a sisterhood at that time and as time has progressed it was turned into a place for single women to live in, and to this day this is a peaceful and beautiful place to be in the heart of a busy metropolitan city and where the noise of the city is quieted by the walls of the houses.

Then I really want to investigate as many of the Dutch Quilt Shops as I might find, here at the Passionate Quilter you can read all about one of her trips to Holland and read what she discovered, and I plan to follow in her footsteps as it applies to the "Dutch" quilt shops.   YAHOO quilt shops are now plentiful in Holland, whereas in the 80's and 90's there were but a very few, lots of fabric shops but not many dedicated to quilters...now there are so many and the question is, will I manage to find them all?  I especially want to find and buy the book titled  A History of Dutch Quilts by An Moonen, that should be a welcome read and study.

I think you get the idea of my panned vacation and I do so hope if the opportunity ever arises where you might have the chance to visit Europe that you will also have the time to visit my native land, small, compact, jammed full of people and so very warm and welcoming, I know you will fall in love with the country because the welcome you receive there will be genuine.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for me to post again, but, as I said in the beginning, TIME just has not been very friendly to me lately.  I do hope you will post a comment, no matter where you live, tell me about your summer, as you can see I have mine all planned....