Top 3 Entrecard droppers

...for September are:

Buzzing J from Brick for Jade

Tiddles from Tiddly Winks

Life Ramblings

A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!!!

Happy Birthday H!

Happy Birthday to you, FIL - sorry about the candles - couldn't fit all of them on the cake!

Cheers,

D.

Port-a-Loo

Apparently there are some roadworks scheduled for the main road near our house. Since we live at the end of a cul-de-sac, the workers have put up a Port-a-Loo directly infront of our kitchen window.
Thanks guys, very thoughtful of you...our morning cup of coffee will taste so much better now!

Aaaah...roses

I was feeling a bit under the weather lately, so my husband surprised me with these gorgeous yellow roses. Aren't they lovely? Cheered me up no end!

Happy weekend.

Choose your skyline

While browsing the internet for suitable Christmas gifts, I came across this:






The candle light projects a skyline - choice of New York, London, Paris, Munich and others - onto the shade. Nice desk accessory and it only costs Euro 16,90. Check the website for more gift ideas!

What have I been up to lately?

Well, for one, I've created a new blog for all my creative endeavours. It's called 'lovelypurses', and no, this is not my preferred blog title, but this was the one that was still available. So, from now on all my bags, purses, totes etc. will be displayed on my new blog, which coincidentally, BlogExplosion has declined due to 'no content'.
Actually, there are five posts in there already, but apparently there needs to be more. So, I'll do my best to update it this weekend and get some sewing done as well. Hopefully, I'll have my online-shop on DaWanda up and running soon, too. These things take time. Obviously, I'm not giving up my day job just yet!
At this point I'd also like to give a big THANKS to fellow bloggers who have left such nice comments regarding my various bags. If you're interested you can click on the 'Dunibagz' icon on the left and see what I've got so far.
I will re-submit my new blog to BE eventually, but first I need to get some work done.

Country Life

People generally say that big cities are anonymous and that moving to a new city means having to come to terms with being lonely for a long stretch of time...well, I beg to differ. I've moved around and lived in plenty of big cities across the globe, and it was only a matter of days before my neighbours came knocking on my door or the news agent started engaging me in conversation, thereby confirming their acceptance and making me officially 'one of them'.
Not so out here, in the country. My immediate neighbours have been here for generations, and although I've been living here for a couple of years now, I'm still only referred to as 'that new girl'; whether I live here for 3, 5 or even 10 years makes no difference! Which is sad, because I have tried to ingratiate myself into this community. Oh, there are plenty of other people who do talk to me - families that have moved here too, college kids returning home to find work, women in a similar situation as myself - I just feel that the people living adjacent to us, I mean, we share the same hedge for chrissake! - they're acting a bit bolshy if you ask me.
Last time I came across the lady of the house she was picking apples. One apple happened to have strayed onto the path that separates our bit of garden and hers, and all she had to say was:

'Don't step on the apple.'

Well, at least she acknowledged I even exist!

Up up and away

I bought my husband a ride on the gyrocopter for his birthday, so these two specks you see in the photos aren't giant mosquitos - that's my hubby flying over our house!
As you can see it was a rather hazy day, and the gyrocopter flew by so fast, that I was only able to snap two shots.
He told me later the flight was amazing - like driving full speed in a convertible, but up in the air!

have a good week everyone.

Embarrassing moments

I'm starting a new series of posts about my most embarrassing moments to date. Here's the first:

Way back, when I was a poor, cash-strapped student, I got a job at a retailer selling the kind of clothes your aunt Jane might wear. You know... frumpy blouses, elasticated waistbands, cardigans in subdued colours. Well, beggars can't be choosers, all right?
Anyway, the manager of the shop gave me half-a-day's training (including how to operate the cash register - yikes!).
I remember her specifically instructing me to say the following words to each customer after they had purchased an item from the shop:

'Thank you. Have fun with your new clothes!'

At the time I thought it was a bit strange, since these kind of clothes were anything BUT fun...however, I did as I was told, smiled at each customer, helped them select clothes, and when they bought something, told them to have fun with their new clothes as per the manager's instructions.
Then, just before it was closing time a woman came in and bought a cardigan/skirt ensemble in a sombre colour. The whole time she didn't say a thing. Just tried on the clothes, came up to the register, and plonked the clothes on the counter. I added them up on the register, told her the price and folded her new clothes up nicely before putting them in a carrier bag. I handed her the bag, smiled and said :

'Thankyou. Have fun with your new clothes!'

Upon which the woman turned and said deadpan: 'They're for a funeral.'

Oops.

Just one of those days

Today wasn't a good day. I woke up at 5:00 AM thinking I heard my cat in distress, so I stumbled down the stairs, but thank goodness Sammy was in his usual place, curled up on a chair in the kitchen. I wasn't completely awake yet, but I thought I saw him give me the evil eye - he wasn't amused being woken an hour early, you see.
Well anyway, since I was up I decided to shower and get ready for the day. I had an appointment with the local gyno this morning, which for me is worse than a visit to the dentist.  Apart from my husband, I don't really appreciate strange men gaping into any bodily orifice of mine.
It was freezing cold this morning, and the brisk walk to the gyno's office left me quite breathless. Formalities taken care of I scuttled into the waiting room where a girl of about 18 was talking loudly, and I mean VERY LOUDLY to the woman next to her. For the next ten minutes I was forced to listen to her complaining about her boss, wondering what to wear to a friend's party, the chocolate cake she was going to eat and so on. My mood took a decided dip.

The gyno called me into his office via the intercom and as always grinned at me in that typically professional cheery way which I always find so irritating, more so this morning. He's also prone to chit-chat, which I'm absolutely not in favour of with my pants down.

I escape his office in under 20 minutes, which is a feat and I'm quite thankful for. I'm usually stuck in there for an hour. I rush back home to get ready for my tutoring, which I enjoy most days, but even my youngest pupil can tell I got out on the wrong of side of bed this morning. Oh well.
Then it's off to the supermarket for the weekly groceries, back home to cook, eat, drink and fix my printer which has been out of order for the last couple of days and now I've got a massive headache. Where are the aspirins when you need them?

It's definitely an early night for me.

Oktoberfest 08

Oktoberfest kicks off this Saturday 20th! Two weeks of non-stop drinking yourself delirious and (forced) merriment. Another plausible excuse for skiving off work and for menfolk (mostly) to lech for all those dirndl-clad women...
Ahem.

Years ago I was coerced into joining the fun, which consisted mainly of downing as many beers as possible, while swaying to and fro to the sounds of a brass band. Since I'm not much of a drinker I was swaying to and fro all of my own accord. But the worst bit was when my colleagues insisted we should all go on one of the 'fun' rides. It wasn't the beer that was sloshing around my intestines that had me worried - it was the fact that they paired me up with the most obese woman in our group, and since the cart only held two people at a time it made for an utterly lopsided (and scary) ride. I remember hanging onto the front bar for dear life...there was soooo much space between me and that bar. It was a nightmare, I tell you.

But if you're into that heart-attack inducing stuff, by all means...go.

Peek-a-boo

Skinny vs Slouchy

Katie Holmes has traded in her skinny jeans for slouchy ones. Her husband's slouchy ones, to be exact. Yes, they're men's jeans from Prps.
Katie and Tom have even been seen stepping out together in identical ones. Now, the only time my hubby and I have ever gone out with matching clothes was when we were both in a hurry and both grabbed T-shirts that happened to be black. On all other occasions we're a mismatched couple - fashionwise of course!

So how about you? Do you frequently raid your boyfriend's/husband's wardrobe or do you both aim for that matching look?
Coincidentally, Prps are starting a new women's line in the near future...

Red Carpet Treatment

This little town's full of surprises.
In an effort to attract more customers, the clutch of shops on the market square have rolled out the red carpet. Not that the good citizens of B-town would ever fall for that - they're making a beeline for the One Euro Shop like always. Business as usual, I'd say.

A bit of advice to shop owners, if I may: try having the carpet cleaned before laying it out.

;-)

Sorry, usual fare tonight.

 

Accustomed as we are to mainly grey and rainy skies, we've been enjoying unseasonal mild weather these last few days - which didn't deter the local supermarket from stocking up - and me - from buying our favourite Christmas goodies: 'Spekulatius' (spiced biscuits) for me; Domino Squares for my hubby. I'm really proud of myself that I refrained from buying even the smallest chocolate Santa - it is, after all, only September!

I had another hour to kill before it was time to cook something for dinner, so I continued to amble through the aisles, pushing an enormous shopping cart in front of me (I'm fairly small, so this usually merits a few guffaws from fellow shoppers), when I came upon something called 'Toasty'.

Basically, it's a chicken nugget that's been flattened to resemble a Swedish crispbread. You slot it into the toaster and switch it on to the highest level. It pops out lightly browned, hot and crispy -   I briefly wondered if I could get away with serving this for dinner, then immediately dismissed the thought...well, it was one of those days, when I just couldn't be bothered with churning out a three-course meal, so I shuffled along, threw in some pasta, celery, a few carrots, a tin of tomatoes, some ground beef...spag-bol it is. Again.

Who's that kid?

Every morning the kids from this neighbourhood file past my kitchen window on their way to elementary school. They mostly come in two's or three's, but one little fellow usually dawdles along all by himself. After watching him from behind my curtains most mornings, I've come to the conclusion that he's slightly creepy: for some reason he keeps making this alternately smacking/ howling/ gurgling noise all the way to school. Maybe that's the reason he walks alone?!
Or he could be communicating with his e.t. friend, since he seems oblivious to the fact that he's the one making those eery sounds...
Not having children of my own, maybe this is normal behaviour? Speaking of which - who's the LITTLE BRAT who keeps mistaking our front garden for a rubbish bin? Bad, bad behaviour!

I'm keeping a lookout for you...so watch out!

Ladies -don't try this at home!

Recently, I came upon this beauty advice in the September issue of a popular women's magazine:

for super shiny hair: blend one banana, gently rub into scalp, leave in for 10 min. , rinse well

This is TOTAL BS!
I tried this out in the hope of taming my somewhat straggly hair, and guess what?
The sticky goo was worse than trying to remove chewing gum or candy floss. I kept washing and washing...in the end my hubby came to the rescue and had to scoop out the mess with a wide-toothed comb. Thankfully, he got most of the gunk out - along with great big chunks of my hair :(

Trust me, ladies, this is one piece of advice we could've all done without. Shame on you P-magazine!

Apple Pincushion

Granny Smith

Keeping long distance friendships alive

I've lived in many places, therefore I have friends in many places. I know that it's difficult remaining good friends over great distances, but with a little dedication it is possible. What's a few thousand kilometers between friends right? Here's my advice:

*email frequently, not just on special occasions
*better yet - buy a webcam and skype
*send photos or videos of your latest vacation
*attend alumni events, or any other common interest event where you might meet up with
  old friends
*don't forget to invite them to an event of your own, i.e. wedding, housewarming party, baby shower, graduation, book launch, whatever - make them feel included. Even if they can't make it, your friends will appreciate the thought.

And who knows? Maybe one day one of your friends will surprise you by showing up on your doorstep!

Bowling Bag

The leaves are turning and there's a certain 'spicyness' to the air - yeah, summer's definitely over. This bag I made from tartan wool fabric is just perfect for the coming season.

Medieval Faire

Last weekend the nature park that this town's smack in the middle of hosted a medieval event called 'Spectaculuum'
If you went there dressed up as a knight, Friar Tuck or a chamber maid you got a discount on the entrance fee. In my opinion, those people who really put a lot of effort into their costumes should have gotten in for free. But who am I to complain? This is the first action-packed event this little town's had in a long while.
There was mead to drink and spareribs to eat, lots of other 'medieval' delicacies, stalls that sold leather goods, jewellery and clothes. There was swordplay to watch, and jousting, and up on the wooden stage a group of performers acted out medieval sketches. There was a huge haystack that kids could jump around in and throw at each other.
The event ended with a fireworks display. I'd say it was a success!

Killing Season!

It's that time of year again, when the first thing I do each morning is kill...

...spiders, that is. And I'm not talking about those little baby ones - no, I'm talking fat, black bodies and hairy legs!

Don't get me wrong; I've got nothing against spiders per se, I just don't want them in my living room. I have no idea why they make an appearance en masse once a year. And don't ask me where they hide the rest of the year ( I don't want to know).
Believe me, it's no fun waking up on a Monday morning all bleary-eyed only to discover a huge black hairy thing stuck underneath the toilet seat.

Trust me, after that I'm WIDE AWAKE!