by Danielle Drescher

Advent 3

Running to the advent third week...know it isn't supposed to be this way....as quiet pace would be fine this time of year.... but in reality. Hai!

The animals have arrived, in our garden.. Also a barn is quietly awaiting.. In here the animals find shelter because we have here in Vancouver...loads of rain...

(nativity barn is of set from Dick Bruna) I wish to find a nice wooden one, or make it ourselves....

But this is our present we gave julia for her 1st Christmas... it is nice to see her growing into the images... at first she liked to chew the angel... now she likes to know why the family is on their way...and the barn is filled with the animals. just as she likes it as an almost three yr old, with a touch of...

Ps. on the picture a little barnhouse (find at www.hestiaglobal.com)

Advent2

Sorry, forget all about putting pictures on the blog, following up the weeks....(flying by actually)

So 2nd week: Flowers and plants are added. From quiet we go to powerful as this feels for me.

In the mean time, maria is pregnant on her donkey with Joseph approaching step by step... via our windowsill...

Mother&Child-2

By Carrie Groenewegen

Whistler

Skiweekend at Whistler. Good cold fun!

Knitting in winter...

The best thing you can do in winter, is working with wool. All different kinds of wool. gliding along your fingers, keeping you warm. and the one you are knitting for.....warm too....

A nice difference of knitting I have spotted.. the european way and the 'uh' north american' way? or where is it originally from? I like it! Anyway, in making an effort trying it the north american way great help for me is: www.knittinghelp.com if I need some video guidance.

The wool I used is NORO. inspiring it is, keep buying the same coloured one and the colours make me want to make, Next to the hat, Maria, joseph, They are on the way, aren't they, so a cape is nice and warm... mittens for Julia. etc.

I personally see no ending yet....

The book 'Knit one, embellish too' from Cosette Cornelius-Bates I used for the hat and mittens is good, works easy and very good to follow...as well in the european way.......

Christmas in our home

Mother&Child

by Lura Schwarz Smith.

Till Christmas I will try to put some nice pictures here on my blog as I like these images so much

13 december 09 Santa Lucia

Angels descending..our version...

A little porch to heaven, bringing each morning a little angel during advent. like a big staircase.....

engels descending from heaven, love the image...

As Christmas is for me all about Family, quietness of the outerworld.

Here is a postcard I got from my beloved grandma. (we shared a similar love for angels)

by Rudolf Sonnleitner

Book of the season:

Now we have shifted from reading Elsa Beskow's

Woody,Hazel and little Pip, we continue in

Freddie Langeler: Children of the stars.

whatresults in me make a little woolen 'painting' of a girl catching stars.

advent

The silk etheric ones

Angels in all their different qualities.

angels...and....fairies....tinkel...tinkel...bells

Some of my angels and fairies I made for the fair.

Also I used an original pattern of a starchild, (just because I love this image)

Christmas event at work...

Julia in her silk skirt. (quickly assembled by me in the days before....).

looks really neat, even if I say so myself....

Especially with all the stickers she has put on her top....

It was a nice idea of the company, to bring a gift for a child and to bring food. Of course there was loads of food to eat ourselves..lovely.... all ways fond of that one...and julia even got a present herself from Santa Clause after being photographed with him.....wauw. so well organised. and the tradition of gingerbread cookies...

painting stairway from heaven....

Advent! November 29th 2009

The first sunday, the first candle, the first moment to stand still by all the energy we are surrounded by.

This is the first week of advent in the Paradise garden. which is all about earth, water, fundamented with all treasures found on our walks (love the quietness we have now in the corner of our living room).

Hazelnutbaby

Lena makes these little children!

She will sell them this weekend as well at the Delbrook Christmasfair.

Thank you!

How nice and succesfull the fair was! (my humble opinion)

With my compliments to all. I loved being together with all of us, the sphere was so nice, selling each other creative goodies in our room under the guidance of Susanne! Thanks for meeting all of you. let's keep in contact!

To all my customers: Thanks for giving my creations a new nice home! Thanks for making my creativity work! Now you are giving me the possibility that I can continue making nice things and share it with all of you.

Many many thanks. xx

From Autumn to Winter....

The Time in between is always so promising, with a bit of pain, I say bye to the Autumn colours and at the same time I am embracing the fresh cold & crisps days we are experiencing now. I think it is beautiful how nature pulls herself back.

The mushrooms are knitted!! by Andrea, beautiful piece of art!

This is our Sint...

Living normally in Spain, he arrived in the Netherlands on the 14th of November. From that time he is busy preparing his upcoming birthdayparty at december 6, organising and teaching all the helper-Sinterklazen and keeping track of all the naughty tricks of the black peters. Also one important thing is that the black peters find out what children are 'good', and which have been 'bad'. All that info will be written in the big Sinterklaas book.

During the time of Sint's arrival and his birthday children can put their shoe, they wore that day in front of the chimney, with a song and drawing for Sint and Peter, maybe a carot for the horse. In the night Sint and Peter came through the chimney and have put a little present in the child shoe. (guess it's a bit the same as stockings here)

Lots of families in the Netherlands celebrate Sint's birthday on the 5th of December with the family together, a sudden big knock on the door, to find a big bag filled with presents for everybody. so exciting! all sweet goodies are in the house. little rhymes will be accompanying the gifts for the bigger kids. With a big smile I remember our Sinterklaas evenings at home. Julia is now getting the idea a bit, so we can all be children again! Pictures out of Sinterklaasbook, Courtesy of: Charlotte Dematons.

Sinterklaas, Good holy man....

Making 'Pepernoten', spicy little thumbnail size balls, with recipes found on the net. tried twice, the third one is promising....

(We follow Sint his way on the Wereldsint.nl.)

It is even possible to see him here nearby in Lynden, the little dutch town, (just across the border in the US) this Sunday!

Dutch night

We've had ourselves a real dutch night with traditional pea soup, following my mum's receipe, yummie.

And with all dutch presents from our friends out of the Netherlands, it really looked like a dutch event aswell,

Following will be the quest of finding the recipe for 'pepernoten' & speculaas', because Sint is coming the 5th of December....

Doll Sam

Doll Sam is going to live with Noah and I think he will have a wonderfull time with him.

Have great adventures!

Amber on a stroll..picking acorns

project: doll fashion... for Amber, Suzie and Mila

This weekend I finished all the clothes of the new doll-girls.

So many clothes as I already made, so little made it to the dolls. Now they are nicely and ready to play, I think.

So with the idea to finish other waiting projects and not to touch my sewingmachine for a while, is it that I am seeing all those lovely fabrics laying on a 'working'pile, giving me fresh clothing combinations and great new ideas...

So first all the other projects I am working on will have their turn,as I promise myself.

Know that feeling????

Oja, and the best job of this weekend what I can advise you to do after a finished project is: cleaning up! Everything ready to use any time soon.

Happy Halloween,

Forgot all about my little witch.

Just in time on Halloween in front of our window.

Hope you had a great time!

My first carved Pumpkin!!!

And it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be..... I do however want to 'have', no, refrase I 'need' this special knife we used for it at the communitycenter at Coal Harbour....Just to do it again, so handy! even to use to cut up all the pumpkins for all the soups I like to make. (now you know how my shopping-alterego works)

The best Pumpkinsoup of our Family this season is: with Thyme/Bayleave/Sage!!!!

Yummie.

Just fry onions, add garlic and cutted pumpkin, bake. Add herbs, (If you have fresh just bundle it up with a piece, say: onion, or leek) Add veg.stock (or chicken if you like) and just leave it on the stove. Puree the mass, season it with salt to your likings. Serve with some sourcreme. we love to eat it together with a toasted sandwich and goatcheese!!!!

Pumpkinpatch at Laityfarm