Happy New Year!!!! and a new blog started!!!!!

I started a new blog for the Shores of Hawk Run Hollow lovers. Look at the left for the link and feel free to participate.

For all my Blogger Friends!




I wish you all a lucky, healthy and good 2010 with a lot of cross stitch finishes!!!!

And now I have to post some last pictures for 2009.

Some of you already know that my youngest Dorine is sick for almost 3 weeks now. She's recovering from a pneumonia and right now the medicine are doing good work. She's eating again and not throwing up anymore. That's why I was going to my office in the evenings. Because my works keeps me very busy the last month.

When she was getting sick already, she and her sister had a Christmas diner at school:
Cheese Croissants for Dorine's class.

A special salad for Emma's class.

Just a couple of days before Christmas it went snowing and snowing and snowing:

Lots of fun for Emma making a snowman. Dorine just a little bit ofcourse; here she was already throwing up, but she wanted to go outside for a short time.

Look how much; not normal for Holland.

Troubles opening and closing the backdoor.

This my DH's motorcycle, but he was wise enough to take his own car to work. Last year he didn't have a car, so I had to push him to the road, sitting on the motor. Can you believe it?

And a least but not least, my progress on The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow:

Block six and seven almost done. I'm going to finish this today.

And a little sneak peak...

I hope to start on Januari 1st with my first Christmas ornament. I'm planning to do these one per month. So I must have twelve pieces at the end of 2010.

This is my last post for 2009, so... till next year... lots of love and hugs!

And the winner is....

Wow, it's one year ago! Let's celebrate!

So according to List Randomizer the happy winner is....

Grandma Yellow Hair (Maggie)!!!!!

And this was her comment:
Just found you tonight and joined you as a follower before I found your giveaway. Does that count. lol
Happy Anniversary!
Maggie

Yes, Maggie! That counts!
Please email me your complete address (look at my profile) so I can sent you your winning present!

Santa Claus is almost coming to town!

Brrr.... it's really cold outside. Seven degrees below zero at night and one degree below zero at noon. That's why I could take this picture today.

The kids were both sick since last Friday, I couldn't go to work today. So I take the time to set up our Christmastree.


Sorry, no ornaments this year, but I'm going to change that for next year. I will follow the monthly club 3 "christmasornaments" from De Handwerkboetiek. I have to stitch one ornament per month. So I must end with twelve at the end of 2010.

Did you see Santa at the back? Look closer...

We all hope, that he brings lots of presents this year! lol

And ofcourse a progress picture. "Sailing home..."

And a little sneak peake of the sea from the shores.


Next Thursday the kids will have the annual Christmasdiner at school, so I have to spend some time in the kitchen that day. I going to make a lot of chees-croissants for Dorine's class and a special salad for Emma's class. I will take some pictures to show you later this week.

Lots of hugs and love, till next time...

The Story of Sinterklaas!

Especially for the non-dutch bloggers, here's the story about the Dutch Sinterklaas, founded on the net:

Please only read this when your are interested!

The Feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas, is an annual event which has been uniquely Dutch and Flemish for centuries. St. Nicholas' Feast Day, December 6th, is observed in most Roman Catholic countries primarily as a feast for small children. But it is only in the Low Countries - especially in the Netherlands - that the eve of his feast day (December 5th) is celebrated nationwide by young and old, christian and non-christian, and without any religious overtones.
Although Sinterklaas is always portrayed in the vestments of the bishop he once was, his status as a canonized saint has had little to do with the way the Dutch think of him. Rather, he is a kind of benevolent old man, whose feast day is observed by exchanging gifts and making good-natured fun of each other. It so happens that the legend of St. Nicholas is based on historical fact. He did actually exist. He lived from 271 A.D. to December 6th, 342 or 343. His 4th century tomb in the town of Myra, near the city of Anatolia in present-day Turkey, has even been dug up by archaeologists.

This is his story:
Born of a wealthy family, Nicholas was brought up as a devout Christian. When his parents died of an epidemic, he distributed his wealth among the poor and became a priest.
Later he became Archbishop of Myra, and it is from here that the fame of his good deeds began to spread across the Mediterranean. Desperate sailors who called upon the Good Bishop to calm stormy seas were heard; prison walls crumbled when victims of persecution prayed to him. He saved young children from the butcher's knife and dropped dowries into the shoes of penniless maidens. Over time, St. Nicholas became the patron saint of sailors and merchants, and especially of children. After his death, the cult of St. Nicholas spread rapidly via southern Italy throughout the rest of the Mediterranean and eventually to coastal towns along the Atlantic and the North Sea. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Holland built no fewer than 23 churches dedicated to St. Nicholas, many of which are still standing. Amsterdam adopted St. Nicholas as its patron saint, and Rome decreed that December 6th, the anniversary of his death, should be his official Feast Day.
St. Nicholas' strong influence in the Low Countries - an area heavily engaged in trade and navigation - was primarily due to his role as patron of sailors and merchants.
However, his fame as protector of children soon took precedence.
In the 14th century, choir boys of St. Nicholas churches were given some money and the day off on December 6th.
Somewhat later, the pupils of convent schools would be rewarded or punished by a monk dressed up as the Good Bishop, with his long white beard, his red mantle and mitre (bishop's hat) and his golden crosier (bishop's staff) - just as he is still presented today.

All Dutch children know that Sinterklaas (the name is a corruption of Sint Nikolaas) lives in Spain. Exactly why he does remains a mystery, but that is what all the old songs and nursery rhymes say. Whatever the case may be, in Spain he spends most of the year recording the behaviour of all children in a big red book, while his helper Black Peter stocks up on presents for next December 5th. In the first weeks of November, Sinterklaas gets on his white horse, Peter ("Piet") swings a huge sack full of gifts over his shoulder, and the three of them board a steamship headed for the Netherlands. Around mid-November they arrive in a harbour town - a different one every year - where they are formally greeted by the Mayor and a delegation of citizens. Their parade through town is watched live on television by the whole country and marks the beginning of the "Sinterklaas season".

The old bishop and his helpmate are suddenly everywhere at once. At night they ride across Holland's' rooftops and Sinterklaas listens through the chimneys to check on the children's behaviour. Piet jumps down the chimney flues and makes sure that the carrot or hay the children have left for the horse in their shoes by the fireplace is exchanged for a small gift or some candy. During the day, Sinterklaas and Piet are even busier, visiting schools, hospitals, department stores, restaurants, offices and many private homes. Piet rings doorbells, scatters sweets through the slightly opened doors and leaves basketfuls of presents by the front door. How do they manage to be all over the Netherlands at once?

This is thanks to the so-called "hulp-Sinterklazen", or Sinterklaas helpers, who dress up like the bishop and Black Peter and help them perform their duties. Children who become wise to these simultaneous "Sint-sightings" are told that since Sinterklaas cannot indeed be in two places at once, he gets a little help from his uncanonized friends.

The Dutch are busy too - shopping for, and more importantly, making presents. Tradition demands that all packages be camouflaged in some imaginative way, and that every gift be accompanied by a fitting poem. This is the essence of Sinterklaas: lots of fun on a day when people are not only allowed, but expected, to make fun of each other in a friendly way. Children, parents, teachers, employers and employees, friends and co-workers tease each other and make fun of each others' habits and mannerisms.
Another part of the fun is how presents are hidden or disguised. Recipients often have to go on a treasure hunt all over the house, aided by hints, to look for them. They must be prepared to dig their gifts out of the potato bin, to find them in a jello pudding, in a glove filled with wet sand, in some crazy dummy or doll. Working hard for your presents and working even harder to think up other peoples' presents and get them ready is what the fun is all about.

The original poem accompanying each present is another old custom and a particularly challenging one. Here the author has a field day with his subject (the recipient of the gift). Foibles, love interests, embarrassing incidents, funny habits and well-kept secrets are all fair game. The recipient, who is the butt of the joke, has to open his/her package in public and read the poem aloud amid general hilarity. The real giver is supposed to remain anonymous because all presents technically come from Sinterklaas, and recipients say out loud "Thank you, Sinterklaas!", even if they no longer believe in him.

Towards December 5th, St. Nicholas poems pop up everywhere in the Netherlands: in the press, in school, at work and in both Houses of Parliament.
On the day of the 5th, most places of business close a bit earlier than normal. The Dutch head home to a table laden with the same traditional sweets and baked goods eaten for St. Nicholas as shown in the 17th-century paintings of the Old Masters. Large chocolate letters - the first initial of each person present - serve as place settings. They share the table along with large gingerbread men and women known as "lovers". A basket filled with mysterious packages stands close by and scissors are at hand. Early in the evening sweets are eaten while those gathered take turns unwrapping their gifts and reading their poems out loud so that everyone can enjoy the impact of the surprise. The emphasis is on originality and personal effort rather than the commercial value of the gift, which is one reason why Sinterklaas is such a delightful event for young and old alike.

And yes, we ate our chocolate letters too!

The next post will be about stitching again, till next time....
Lots of hugs and love.

Sint Nikolaas and a progress picture!

On December 5th in Holland all the kids celebrate Sint Nikolaas. And he was early this year. Not in the evening like last year, but we came back from our weekly groceries and our living room was filled with two big bags full of presents. And ofcourse a lot of candy spreaded over the floor!
Please don't look at all the stuff around them. I haven't had the chance to clean the room.

And if you like, your can click on pictures to enlarge.




And yesterday he had already visit the school:


Lots of happy kids, but unfortunately it was raining very hard:


Emma waiting with her classmates.


Dorine with two schoolfriends telling Sint Nikolaas a poem about "zwarte piet".

And a last picture of Dorine. Later she asked: "Mam, why were your taking so much pictures of me?"

Sorry sweetie, I will stop. For now!

And at least but not least a progress picture of the Shores:

As you will noticed, I have done a lot of stitching. Quiting smoking is very hard sometimes during the progress. The Shores will keep at least my hands busy.

Thank you for stopping by and for your comments. I always appreciate them very much. Till next time... lots of hugs and love!

My first bloganniversary GIVE A WAY!

On December 21th, I will celebrate my first bloganniversary. And because it's in December I have the following two new charts for my give-a-way.



On the left: Mystic Stitch - Santa Claus from Jo Moulton. (stitches 90 x 200)
On the right: Mystic Stitch - Snowman from Jo Moulton. (stitches 80 x 200)

If you'd like a chance to win this give a way please leave me a comment on this post only. And because it's almost Christmas, please read below if you want more chances to win!

If you leave me a comment on this post your name will be entered into the List Randomizer one time.
If you leave a link on your blog back to my giveaway your name will be entered three times.
If you are a follower your name will be entered five times for a chance to win.

Please let me know in your comment if you have done any of the above.

Anyone may enter this giveaway and I will leave this giveaway open until December 20th and will announce a winner on the 21th (on my bloganniversary).

Good luck and till next time....