friends

Playing at Tour Guide

Posted on March 19, 2013April 13, 2013 by ghotiindustries

No matter what the temperature tells me, Mother Nature is telling me that it’s Spring!

So much has happened since getting back from Prague! We still had our travel companions staying with us for several days once we returned home, but we continued on with our normal weekly routine as well, so there were still Language classes for me in amongst all the sight seeing.

When our friends headed back to Australia that was when the plague descended upon the household. I don’t remember much of that week. I was sick enough that I didn’t make it to my first Dutch Class. I had no voice, and I didn’t really think anyone else wanted to get my fever or cough.

That week though, ended with some other friends in town who I haven’t seen in years! It really is a wonderful experience to be able to show off our beautiful city to people we have known since childhood, but not seen or really spoken to in fifteen years.

Combining sight seeing with catching up is a great way to spend several days. Would you like to know more?

Errands and Handwerkbeurs

Posted on February 18, 2013February 18, 2013 by ghotiindustries

Wow! It never rains when it pours! Have a couple of quiet weeks, and then suddenly a week where I’m out constantly and feel like I’m doing everything!

I had a few errands to run during the week and whilst out finally made it into the secret convent garden of Begijnhof Court. The Begijnhof is the only inner court in Amsterdam which was founded during the Middle Ages, and therefore lies within the Singel — the innermost canal of Amsterdam’s circular canal system. The Begijnhof is at medieval street level, which means a meter below the rest of the old city center.

There is a plethora of information on this place and it’s inhabitants if you’re so inclined to go searching and reading.

It was beautiful, serene, quiet and a perfect place for meditation … until the next tourist group walked through. So I didn’t spend long there, and vowed to go back and visit the chapel on another day. It’s not going anywhere after all.

I then walked through to Dam Square where there was a bagpipe player. This is remarkably incongruous with the country, and so I had to snap a picture to prove to you all that I’d seen him!

Opposite him was the regular Batman. (Palace backdrop is quite effective, don’t you agree?)

Then on Friday I packed myself up onto a train with a group of friends from knit night and we went off to Zwolle for a craft fair! The snow in Amsterdam had melted away under the drizzling rain which had set in; Not so once you got a little bit more East though!

If you squint really hard you can see a farm house in this picture. I swear!

I was glad we’d all been able to go on the Friday as if it was this packed when the general populace was at work, then I wasn’t so keen to be under the crush of people who would have turned up over the weekend!

I’ll think about whether or not to thank my “friends” later. They may have introduced me to a remarkably dangerous store that goes by the name of Bart and Francis.

650m cobweb weight baby alpaca cones, three for EUR15.

You better believe it came home with me! I’ll figure what I’m going to make with them later!

It was only then that my new “friends” introduced me to one of their friends Loret. But by then I was out of budget! And she had the most amazing packs of yarns in colour pallets inspired by the Dutch masters! Oh well. I know for next time that I still need to have money left to hand over to Loret!

The floors were filled not just with stalls that catered to every kind of craft, but there were classes too!

I might look into those for next year when I know the language a little better.

All in all, a spectacular way to spend the day! Thank you guys for taking me with you!

The Long Weekend

Posted on April 10, 2012 by ghotiindustries

The Easter long weekend will always be a special one for me. It is a time to spend with friends both old and new, renewing old friendships and forging new bonds up in Lawson. We spent a fair amount of time catching up with our ANZAC who is heading back to the sandpit just in time for ANZAC Day this year … but more on that later!

This year there were special guests that arrived all unobtrusively and invaded. Like good ninjas should! This one is the coffee ninja.

As with all great Aussie back yard BBQs, it ended in a backyard bonfire. I’m glad it was cool enough and there weren’t fire restrictions!

On Saturday night we were again with a friend, catching up over heinous amounts of meat on swords.

The carnage was rather epic.

I’d like to point out that the first person to turn over the little stick from green (I’m up for more meat) to red (stop with the meat) was Himself. I think it just goes to show how unwell he was with his cold the poor blighter!

The only other thing that could truly make my weekend complete was knitting. And boy did I achieve that! I’m finally nearly finished the socks that I began WAY back in April last year! (I can’t believe it’s taken me a year to finish these socks. I wonder where my mojo went?)

I only have to kitchener this one closed, and decrease the toe and kitchener the other and they’ll be done! Just a little something to keep Himself warm and snugly!

I guess I’d best drink my coffee and get on with the week! What did you get up to over the weekend?

The end of Summer

Posted on March 12, 2012March 12, 2012 by ghotiindustries

So, Sydney and New South Wales in general has been flooding. This was what I walked through on the way to work last Thursday. And by the time I’d gotten to the awning to take this photo it wasn’t as bad as what I’d walked through.

I was completely drenched from the belly button down, and only need to walk a block from the bus! Not long after my bus went through, that bus route was closed due to flooding. YAY for starting work early … or something …

Surprisingly the weather cleared up remarkably well for the weekend!

We had a busy weekend. There was some celebrating at our favourite pub, with some wonderful friends who it had been entirely too long since we’d seen. There was much chatting and catching up, and it felt like old times again. It had its poignant moments.

I have to keep reminding myself that it really is Autumn now, not Spring. We had such a non-event of a Summer, that when I walked down the street and saw this beautiful tree busting with buds and new blooms just waiting to explode, it really felt like Spring …

On Sunday we woke up bright and early and decided that exercise was the order of the day. So we went for a walk down the road to the local pool. We did some laps (and boy did I feel out of shape!), and then I lay in the sun warming up a bit while being amused at Himself jumping off the diving tower with all the kids. We both got a touch of pink to our complexions!

Being that there were kids, and it’s a local pool, I didn’t take any photos. Not worth it. But it is a lovely pool! And I’m looking forward to frequenting it in the next couple of weeks while/if the weather remains warm enough to enjoy it.

With exercise done, I came home and achieved lots of knitting! I’m up to row 16 of chart 3, and only need to reach row 71 before I can begin the edging! Each row is taking approximately an hour. It doesn’t look all that different from the last time I showed you a picture.

That’s about it for this week. More photos in the next exciting episode!

Day Trip

Posted on February 20, 2012February 18, 2012 by ghotiindustries

I keep seeing signs that it really is Summer. Even if it often hasn’t felt like it.

Last Monday (part of the reason I missed a post) I went on a day trip up the Blue Mountains to see a dear friend of mine and have a good ol’ natter and a catch-up! The train trip is not short, as some of you will remember.