Christmas is coming...

... and the goose is getting fat. Hey, put a penny in the old man's hat....

This is one of the songs that we will sing during our Christmas concert next Saturday. Maybe the English readers of you will know this song, but it is pretty new to me. I am singing in a chorus and I really have to learn my text until then. But the most difficult song is a wonderful Swedish one called ' Jul, jul, stralande jul'. Do you want to listen to it? There is a  youtube video here, a Swedish chorus singing it just beautifully. I really have problems with the text, so I have to find half an hour to learn it before Saturday.

If somebody of you happens to be in the Northern part of Germany next Saturday and doesn't know what to do, here is my invitation:

 I love those concerts in a church, the atmosphere there is always so festive and moody and everyone is in high spirits.

Finally our house is getting a little christmassy, my daughter started crafting, paper stars and Christmas trees. The stars look just lovely in windows.

She already uses these trees to play with her Schleich animals, but I like them very much, as well and rearranged them for my purposes.

 

 I have crocheted a mug cosy in rainbow colours, to freshen my spirits.

 I drank a yogi tea this morning, with honey and cream and when I had a look at the paper of the teabag there was this quote: 'Du musst dein Haus verlassen, um zu lernen' (You have to leave your house to be able to learn). This is definitely true but as it is rainy and stormy today I am very lucky that I haven't go to work today and that I can spend my time indoors. 

Another lovely Christmas crochet project were these star coasters that we are using daily at the moment. The pattern is very simple, it is just a chart and you can find it on pinterest, here.

Have a wonderful Christmas time! 

Thank you all for your sweet comments, I am happy that you didn't forget me while I have been away from blogland. A warm welcome to my new followers, I will write more regularly as long as everyone keeps well and fit.
 

Remember me?

Gracious me! Is it really that long since my last post?

Time is flying by.

I thought I should get in touch with you again.

Say a big, big.......

HELLO!!!

I have been lost in the fog somehow... 

In the fog of lots of activities (first) and lots of illnesses (second). We have really been knocked down, one by one, by colds and stomach flu. I am surprised how much it has taken hold of me! I feel like I have been ill for weeks! But being a mum it is impossible to spend a few days in bed to be completely cured and as a consequence I ended up with a bronchitis. Now life is really slow, I'll try to prepare for Christmas but one by one. The kids are alright again, thank goodness!

I haven't been to blogland for such a long time, so much has happened since last time and I am really sorry that I couldn't find  time to share snippets of my doings here with you.

But I'll try to catch up now and I think it's best to do a little overview:

At the beginning of October I won a give-away! I got this gorgeous pattern through the lovely blog of Annemarie. Aren't these petits fours cute and look delicious? I do love them so much but unfortunately I haven't tried the patterns until now. I got 17, yes, it's right, seventeen! patterns as an Ebook and I will definitely try them as soon as life is running in normal pace again. Thanks a lot for your generous give-away, Annemarie!

 About one week after I won the fabulous petits fours crochet patterns I won another give-away! Can you imagine how astonished I was? I was swept off my feet because usually I am not the winning type of person. I got this wonderful Drops yarn with a pattern for crocheted wrist warmers. Thanks a lot Anne from Crochet between two worlds! I will make something very nice from this yarn, I have already worked with it, it is a wonderful yarn, a mix of cotton and merino and very soft.

 
Then Autumn school holidays started, two much needed, lazy weeks for the peewees. And it was my mothers birthday! I gave her the granny hottie I crocheted not long ago and a light crocheted dragon shawl. For that shawl I used a soft merino yarn, light but snugly.

I do love the pattern a lot, maybe I will crochet one for me, as well.

  Then there was another birthday to celebrate! 

 My daughter turn 10! 

 It was a significant birthday for her, she just loved getting her first "zero". I was a little nostalgic and reflective as I realised that now my both children have turned from small children to almost teenagers. Our life will definitely change. On the one hand I really appreciate them getting more and more independent because it allows myself room for my own interests but on the other I will miss them being so close to me. 

On the morning of her birthday Little E was very excited because we promised to visit the Harry Potter exhibition in Cologne. She is a great Harry Potter fan, she's read all the books for several times, we just couldn't stop her. She is able to recite whole passages of the books and sometimes I have the feeling that for her the lines between the "Potter world" and our world are blurred. J and I and even Little J have read the books, as well, so we were all exited about this exhibition. And apart from the horrendously high entrance fee the show was very interesting and the kids were fascinated and delighted.

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My Little E got a magic wand as a birthday gift and the next days thousands of magic spells filled our house. We are now so well protected, no dark magic will do us any harm. I fell save and well-protected with such a skilled daughter in the house!

Of course, we did organise a birthday party for Little E at home with all her friends. As it was a girls' party, it was no problem to find something to keep them busy. I bought some horses, elephants and dolphins from papier-mâché and the girls had a lot of fun decorating them with decopatch papers. 

They were sitting around the table, working with their hands chatting and enjoying each others company. And after a good 1.5 hours they were very proud of their results: 

  There was a lot of cake and cookies, as well:

Little E's own style of lemon cake. 

 Some Americans... (how do English people call them?)

 ... and some brownies.

On St. Martin's day we were all not feeling too well, therefore we didn't participate in any St. Martin's procession. But we spend a peaceful afternoon baking 'Stutenkerle' and enjoying a wonderful 'Kaffetrinken'. 

J (on the left, before it was getting hot for him in the oven... and he really got more and more voluminous during baking) and me (on the right)...

 













Little J (on the left, the red spot is nothing poisonous, he just tried some Haribo bears on his Stutenkerl) and Little E (on the right, the one without raisins...)
 

Then another surprise waited for me. Elizabeth from Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse sent me a set of rings and lights to crochet a lantern. This is how hers looks like:

Isn't it gorgeous? I have already started with mine but it is nothing I can show you at the moment. I will do it soon, promised! I want to light mine at Christmas, I have already chosen the window where I will put it. Thanks a lot, Elizabeth! I really appreciated your parcel a lot.

I hope that you will forgive me my past silence. November is a difficult month for me and I was feeling too unwell to express myself in English. But I promise that I will show you soon my crochet works of the past. I am so behind with the things I started early in September or October. But I did a little Christmas crocheting. Want to see?

And at the end of this post - if you had the patience to read it until the end - I 'l come back to the fog...

Nach Martinitag viel Nebel sind, so wird der Winter meist gelind'... (If there is a lot of fog after St. Martin's, the winter will get mild). 

See you soon, großes Indianer-Ehrenwort! 

(Indian Scout's honour???) 

Stay healthy, 

Viola

Beautiful Yorkshire, part 2

I am so sorry that I didn't write this post earlier. I started already last week but I just didn't manage to finish it. School holidays started again and we drove the children to my parents and spent some days there because it's been my mother's 65th birthday. But now I will continue with my post about our beautiful trip to Yorkshire.
 
On Saturday we decided to go again to Bolton Abbey. The weather was wonderful and we were eager to take a good walk on this gorgeous ground. What an awesome scenery! What a glorious day! It felt so me walking through the fresh green grass, looking at the ruin, the sheep and the river Wharfe. My heart was filled with happiness that J and I had the chance to spend some precious time together in such a beautiful place.

After a good walk we went back to our car and drove through the wonderful Wharfedale heading north. I wanted to see Wensleydale, especially Bolton Castle. The further we went to the north, the worse the weather got. When we reached Bolton Castle a rough wind was blowing and dark clouds appeared.

 Bolton Castle was built in the 14th century and it was damaged in the English Civil War, but much of it remains. It has never been sold and is still in the ownership of the descendants of the Scrope family. Several movies and television productions have used the castle as a location, including Ivanhoe, Elizabeth and All Creatures Great and Small.

St. Oswald

The solar

Mary, Queen of Scots, was brought to Bolton Castle in July 1568 where she spent six months under custody. During her captivity she and her retinue took over the Solar and the whole of the adjoining rooms and two large bed chambers in the tower directly above. The Solar was a family sitting-room, in which Mary is said to have spent hours gazing out of the window and writing long, desperate letters to people of influence.

This is where Mary is said to have put her glass to heat up her wine.

Mary's bedroom

When we went up to the roof a cold wind was blowing, a flock of crows was screaming and dark clouds were gathering at the gloomy sky. I could imagine how life would have been some hundred years ago in this chilly and rough castle. The hills covered with dark forests where you could find bears and wolves. My overactive and vivacious fantasy bubbled over and I could feel the desperateness and distress Mary may have felt when she was under custody in this castle. 

Up on the roof

Veeeeeeery chilly, indeed!

We went down again, visited the stables, the kitchen and several other work spaces of the castle but soon we wanted to leave this place to find some warmth. We were chilled to the bones. On the one hand I somehow felt sad and emotionally shaken, a very strange feeling, on the other hand I was so impressed and fascinated by this castle. But we definitely needed something uplifting. So we continued our drive through Wensleydale and made a stop in Askrigg. Yes ASKRIGG, the village where the series 'All Creatures Great and Small' was filmed!

When I was a child I just LOVED watching an episode of this series, snuggling on the sofa. I even read the books though I have to admit that I like the TV series much better than the book. Because of this series I wanted to become a veterinary surgeon for many, many years. Childhood dreams ...

We had a look at the house where James Harriot 'lived' and were lucky that there was a nice small tea room right next to it.

I had a strong Yorkshire Tea and a scone with clotted cream and jam. This really lifted up our spirits.

After our break we continued our way. I asked myself if there was any opportunity to buy some Wensleydale wool or yarn. It is quite known here in Germany and I couldn't understand that there was no sign, no shop that offered this wool. But I read that there was a creamery that made Wensleydale cheese and so we headed to Hawes. 

Askrigg

The landscape is soooo beautiful! I didn't do any crochet on our way because I had to look around all the time. I took so many photos on the way, here are just a few.

We reached Hawes shortly before the creamery's closing hour. We just popped in for a quick tasting, bought some cheese and left again. But Hawes is a nice little town worth a visit, as well.

And even here the Tour de France had passed and the cyclists had fighted for the climber's jersey. You could find the 'polka-dot-bikes' just everywhere!

Again, a long post about our travel. But it is my last one, promised. We really enjoyed our short trip on our own (without kids and dog). It is something very special and luxurious for me and I am very thankful that once in a while it is just possible to do something 'couple-like'.

Next time I will tell you about two give-aways I have won. Yes, this is not a typing error, I really won two give-aways the last week! And I will write about my ongoing crochet projects, as well.  

And until then....

Viola