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Monday 8 December 2014

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.

 
 
 
 
 

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













9 comments:

  1. Hi Viola! First of all, welcome back! I'm sure I wasn't the only one who missed you and wondered what had happened!

    Sorry to hear you and your family had to fight against illness, hope everybody is getting much better now and feeling ok?! (Having said this, I am now also coming down with a bad cold, my son came to visit last week and has left again today. We had a great time going out to Antwerp, but that's probably how we both caught colds!)

    Thanks for your many lovely photos, it must have taken a good while to write this post!

    I love the long crochet dragon shawl you made, it looks fantastic! Not to mention the different decorations as well, very pretty!

    Happy (belated) birthday wishes to your daughter, looks like she had fun and a feast, not to forget, a great day out!

    Oh, and congrats on winning your give aways!!! Happy making!

    Enjoy the time of advent!
    Ingrid xx
    http://myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

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  2. Lovely to catch up with you Viola! So sorry you and the family have been ill - not a good time of year for bugs. Love your makes and happy birthday to your daughter - 10 is a lovely age to be! So happy to see another of your German sayings at the bottom of your post too! Wishing you a happy week! Elizabeth xx

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  3. hello viola,
    ich freue mich das euch wieder besser geht.die martinsmännchen sind süß..ich liebe amerikaner.
    der gehäkelte adventskranz und das herz sind der hammer. die sterne gefallen mir auch,gibt es dafür eine anleitung?ich wünsche deiner tochter nachträglich alles gute zum geburtstag. danke für die tollen photos!
    hab noch eine schöne adventszeit,
    alles liebe regina

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  4. Hello Viola, welcome back and glad you are starting to recover, a circle of bugs does take it out of you.
    Well done on your wins-great projects to keep you going until Spring and wonderful Christmas displays already, love your wreath.
    Take care, hope the fog lifts and Winter is indeed mild
    Helen

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  5. Welcome back to blogland and sorry to hear you have been unwell. I hope that all the giveaways helped to bring some cheer when you are probably least likely to be feeling cheerful. Don't apologise for a quiet November on the blog. It is YOUR blog so there are no rules. I would rather have a good read once in a while than meaningless posts for the sake of posting daily. I am sure your readers will be here when you are ready to blog again. I know I will.
    I love the way you explained the changing nature of parenting as our offspring grow from children to teens. Every stage has its joys and frustrations. The trick is to seek the joy and savour every moment.
    Wishing you a mild winter indeed and lots of get well wishes and warmth from Australia.
    Hugs, Jodie xxxx

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  6. Good to hear from you! I was a bit worried about you. Glad to hear you are feeling better now!

    And what a wonderful post you brought us! I might visit the Harry Potter exhibition too... Big fan girl here. Friends of mine saw the exhibition when it was in Sydney and loved it.

    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

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  7. Welcome back and glad to hear you're felling better. You've been busy making lovely things! Happy birthday to your daughter. Both my sons have their birthdays next week!

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  8. That scarf is really beautiful! Love that blue color. And your Christmas wreath is to die for! Great job. It'll look so good hanging in your house, and you'll get to love it every year for many years to come. You're a lucky girl winning all those giveaways. Welcome back.

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  9. Welcome back Viola. I'm so sorry everyone has not been too well, I hope things have improved.
    You have been busy, and I love your "fog" photos they are so magical. Please don't apologise for not
    not blogging, it's your blog to do so when you wish. And what a stunning wreath.

    luv
    irene
    xxxx

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