New International Picture Blog Project!

I am so very excited to share a project that has been brewing the past few weeks. Friends from very different regions of the world have teamed up with me to create an international picture of the week project called Snapshots Around the World.  Each Monday Sue in Japan, Rebecca in the US (midwest), and I in Germany will share an image from our own cultural perspectives interpreting a general theme.  (Earthquakes, labor strikes, floods, nuclear blasts, emergency surgery, and acts of God permitting – because between us we have some of those this year ; ))

Please come join us and if you want to play along leave us a link in the comments with your take on the week's theme. 

 

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Prettyfunny icon

pretty:

I glanced up from the kitchen window this afternoon and this web caught my eye. 

 web

happy:

Abbie and her Daddy.  

squish
smile
funny:

I have come to take a deep breath when I hear Hey, Mom c'mere!

milk tower

I think this one was the milk tower mastermind. 

 kitchen

He had a funny little run in with Brendan this week too. B had gotten one of those rubber bracelets as a promotional giveaway at a booth. Aidan had been eyeing it and I noticed he was wearing it another day.  I asked how that came to pass.  He said "Brendan gave it to me."  "B," I said, "did you decide not to keep it?"  "Yes," he said very seriously, adding,  "but I am still little and I didn't know better."

So yeah, he's got it back. ; ) 

real:

sigh.

There is a story here. It pains me to write it.  I blame Angry Birds… 

 phone
No, it's not what you think.  Truth be told I have never played with an Angry Bird.  I am not sure how the game even ended up on my phone.  Nor the giant pimple one which makes my stomach turn everytime I flip through my app's wondering where my Hipstamatic disappeared to. 

Anyway, I asked for my phone the other day and several people under double digits knew right where it was and rushed to get it, like, before the others got to it. The race to retrieve it was over faster than I can type this out. Abbie had an early lead but Brendan was closing in fast. She 'won' by making a Hail Mary pass in my direction…

"I gotchyer phone Moooom!" she squealed in jubilation.

so yeah again. 

If it survives the screen transplant I swear every frog breeding, pimple popping, bird flinging app is gonna be SO gone. Just Mom's boring old ical and shopping lists.  That's it. 

making things with light

The littles have had fun way disproportionate to the $11 price tag on the Lite Brite this week.  Retro Hasbro games have a special place in my heart. ; )  Lite Brite was invented the same year I was and I still get a rush seeing the neon pegs light up. (remember this? I have been humming it all day.) 

 lite 3

Turns out that magic works in this generation as well. 

lite
 screen
Since she is wearing it here I should show you the outfit for Tess that is finally finished and on the girl.  We made the peasant blouse from Emma Hardy's Making Children's Clothes which I have mentioned before.  I LOVE this book for people like me with very basic sewing skills. It is a compilation of the best kinds of online tutorials but someone has drawn up and printed the patterns on heavy paper.  Saves a ton of time. 

 blouse
Best part is that there are no special constructions and the sizing appears to be spot on.  The parts assembled easily and the finished piece lays nicely.  

blouse
And it has been tested and proven twirl worthy. 

zon en zee

(remember I am editing all out of order)  

We decided rather spur of the moment that we would proceed to the coast. We landed in Noordwijk between Den Haag and Amsterdam.  

sign

On the way we were held up for a bit as a boat passed through a canal ahead.  The road was rising up in front of us which completely amazed the children. 

road
We were able to park very close to the beach and spent a few hours roaming the beach.  It has been ten years since I have stood on the seashore which means several of the little kids had no frame of reference.  It didn't take long for them to decide it was a very good place. 

lighthouse
 walk
bridge  beach tents
 dig
 family

run
parasail

 

feelin’ stitchy

And now, a little intermission.  Because I have a very short attention span.  And every now and then my hands will absolutely fly into the air in a frenzy if they cannot make something.  Even something small and sorta useless. But hey, a smile is never wasted right? 

 flower
And there is always room for a flower SOMEplace.  

Playing around with the Crochet Stitch Bible.  Love it.  Incredible graphics, a complete crochet how-to in the beginning, and my fave – the diagram patterns alongside the written instructions.  Trying to learn those because you can follow the international pattern books if you can.  

First look at Keukenhof

There is nothing quite as magnificent as springtime in tulip country.  Our first stop in the Netherlands was to Keukenhof Gardens, which boasts acres of bulb beds tucked amidst woodlands, streams, and reflecting ponds.  

If I wait til I have a cohesive post you may never see them all so am just going to jump in and upload.  

 garden 1

I had to challenge myself to step back and take the long view ; ) 

canal

tulips
 garden

…and a challenge it was at times to shoot completely manually when the light and shadows changed at every turn. 

2
pond
closed bud
 
But I still got plenty of close in shots to play with. I am a detail person. : )