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View from the mountain hotel // Aussicht vom Ferienhotel

Our mini-vacation started with our flight being cancelled. We lost a whole day, and then we almost didn't make it onto the next flight because an elderly gentleman lost his hearing aid at the security entrance and we just happened to be standing behind him in that row. Precious minutes ticked by as a bunch of security people searched the floor and most of the waiting passengers joined in! I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. We finally arrived at our destination amidst heavy rain. I'm sure we will laugh about this in five years or so...

Just a short post today to let you know I'm back. I missed you guys :) I hope to post some pics next week - there aren't that many I'm afraid, due to the bad weather conditions. Anyway, I've got so much to catch up on and I can't wait to do my blog round!

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Unser Mini-Urlaub fing damit an, dass unser Flug annulliert wurde. Dadurch haben wir einen ganzen Tag verloren. Beinahe hätten wir den nächstmöglichen Flug auch verpasst, da ein älterer Herr sein Hörgerät ausgerechnet beim Security verlor und wir natürlich genau hinter ihm in der Reihe standen. Die Security Leute fingen an den Boden abzusuchen und viele der Passagiere ebenfalls! Leider erfolglos. Ehrlich gesagt hat er mir Leid getan; er schaute so verzweifelt. Stunden später haben wir dann endlich unser Ziel erreicht. Es goß wie aus Kübeln. Ich bin sicher in fünf Jahren lachen wir darüber...

Nur ein kurzer Post heute, denn die Arbeit ruft. Ich habe Euch vermisst :) Ich hoffe nächste Woche ein paar Bilder zu zeigen - leider habe ich nicht viele Aufnahmen machen können, da es andauernd geregnet hat. Jetzt muß ich aber erstmal meine Blogrunde machen. Ich hoffe, ich habe nicht zuviel verpasst!

Oh, and upon our arrival back home a new little kitty greeted us. Extremely shy but very sweet. No idea where she's/he's come from, but seems to feel right at home here :)

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Und zuletzt noch: zuhause angekommen begrüßte uns ein neues kleines getigertes Kätzchen. Extrem schüchtern, aber sehr süß. Keine Ahnung wo es hergekommen ist, aber es scheint sich hier wohl zu fühlen :)

Home again!

Hi everybody!              Hallo ihr Lieben!

just got back from this beautiful (and famous) city. Did you know that the Christmas Market here dates back to 1434 and is officially the oldest one in Germany?

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bin gerade zurück aus dieser wunderschönen (und berühmten) Stadt. War auf dem ältesten Weihnachtsmarkt Deutschlands...na? schon erraten wo wir waren?

via

Thank you so much for all your kind holiday wishes ~ I hope you all had an equally nice time!

Ganz liebenDank für eure netten Weihnachtsgrüße ~ ich hoffe ihr hattet ebenso schöne Feiertage!

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The nostalgic huts of the Xmas Market offered everything from beeswax candles to traditional sweets and woodcraft from the Erz Mountains region. Although everything was lovely I was particularly drawn to one hut that sold rows and rows of colourful handpainted Matryoshka Dolls. I remember having one of these as a child - no idea what happened to it -  but I still find them absolutely charming! I finally settled on a ruby red one. It's an original one, so it wasn't exactly cheap! My Christmas present to myself :)

The Russian lady that manned the hut gave me some good advice: never twist the dolls to open, simply pull the top straight up and off. This will prevent the wood from splitting!

Der Dresdner Striezelmarkt (so nennt man den hier) ist einfach wunderbar nostalgisch. Es gibt alles von Bienenwachskerzen und traditionellen Süßwaren bis hin zu Holzkunst aus dem Erzgebirge.  Zu der Hütte in der reihenweise handbemalte russische Matroschkapuppen zu kaufen waren fühlte ich mich wie magisch angezogen. Ich hatte als Kind eine, die ging aber verloren. Nachdem ich ausgiebig geguckt hatte entschied ich mich für die rubinrote. Davon gab es nur eine Einzige, und deshalb nicht gerade billig! Ein Weihnachtsgeschenk an mich selbst :) Die russische Verkäuferin riet mir die Puppe beim Öffnen niemals zu drehen sondern stets das obere Teil abzuheben - sonst könnte das Holz nämlich reißen. Gut zu wissen.

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Normally there are five dolls...            Normalerweise gibt es fünf Puppen...

But mine has two more!              Aber meine hat zwei mehr!

two more tiny ones (left) / zwei Winzlinge (links)

On the right side, you can see the largest and the smallest in juxtaposition. Amazing!

Auf der rechten Seite sieht man deutlich den Größenunterschied. Erstaunlich!

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Well, that's it from me today. I'm looking forward to catching up with you and visiting your blogs shortly! See you soon...

Nun, das wars heute von mir. Ich komme euch sehr bald besuchen! Ich hoffe ich habe nicht zu viel verpasst! Schöne Grüße...

I'm back...bin wieder da!

I probably should have listened to my hubby when he told me to take along the laptop. I figured since I was only gone for a week, and my online shops were closed during that time I wouldn't need it. Boy, was I wrong!!!It made me realize how addicted I've become to my computer. It seems a big chunk of my life revolves around my online activities. I've missed you guys!
Back home I've replied to the most pressing emails, done three loads of laundry, packed and shipped the orders that were placed just before I left, cleaned, cooked and cuddled my cat Sammy, who is so relieved that things are "back to normal". Not that he had a bad time while I was away. I heard he got extra treats from hubby for being so patient ;-) And even though I told my husband not to worry about Entrecard, he still took on the challenge and continued to drop almost every day I was away. He's amazing!

I saw this double rainbow from my kitchen window. There is something so special and magical about rainbows. Don't you think so too?

double rainbow ~ doppelter Regenbogen, gesehen vom Küchenfenster

Kaum bin ich wieder zuhause geht es schon wieder richtig mit der Arbeit los. Vielleicht hätte ich doch auf meinen Mann hören sollen, als er mir vor der Abreise sagte ich sollte doch mein Laptop mitnehmen. Da ich meine Online Shops vorübergehend geschlossen hatte, dachte ich, daß ich ganz gut ohne Internet auskommen würde. Von wegen!!! Jede Menge Anfragen und Bestellungen sind während meiner Abwesenheit eingetroffen, die ich jetzt so schnell es geht bearbeiten werde. Unterdessen habe ich schon geputzt, gekocht, drei Ladungen Wäsche erledigt und verfasse gerade meinen monatlichen Artikel über deutsche Handarbeit für den EGST Blog. Mein Kater Sammy ist überglücklich, daß ich wieder zuhause bin. Mein Mann natürlich auch ;-)

Ich komme euch bald wieder auf euren Blogs besuchen, und darauf freue ich mich!

Lovely Lavender

I hauled out my fabric scraps box the other day and played around with the various patterns and colours.  I finally settled on combining large and small patterns in a two-colour scheme, i.e. brown-pink, green-pink etc. The scraps were quite small - just enough to make  4 x 4 inch dried lavender- filled cushions. Stacked up in fluffy piles of three they are a fabulous decoration for your bed or bathroom! Used individually they can be placed in your drawers adding a bit of  'old fashioned' scent. These cushion stacks make great gifts too!

Reminder: you still have a chance to enter my bag giveaway!!!

Hi everybody!

The week just flew by in no time and here I am back at my desk working through my emails, messages and sorting out the paperwork. Although short, I really enjoyed my stay with my mom. It would have been even more enjoyable if it hadn't been a freezing 10°C (about 50° Fahrenheit) and raining the entire time. In June! Of course I got to see Sumi there as well. She is one sick little kitty, but she is hanging in there... and despite her heart and kidney problems she is so sweet and content and loving. Here she is napping in her fluffy hammock.

Back here at my place it's an incredible 25°C (77°F), blue skies, not a cloud in sight. I am going to finish off my back load of work in double quick time, because the weather is too good to stay cooped up in the office. The sun is not a frequent visitor in our neck of the woods. I will be catching up with all of you, my dear blog friends and readers, soon!

Happy Friday!

Of trains and double-booked seats...

After several delays and, on one stretch of the ride a double-booked seat (guess who got to stand the rest of the way - yup, me), I finally arrived home late last night.

Thank you, dear readers and blog friends, for continuing to stop by my blog and your very kind comments while I was away! I hope to stop by yours shortly!
I also hope everyone had a happy Christmas and your gifts were well received :)
I had a great time, and for once blogging took a back seat while I enjoyed preparing and eating the marvellous food, listening to a boys' choir and visiting the oldest Christmas market in Germany.

But now it's back to work, and with new regulations for freelancers (like me) starting on 1st January 2010, I have a lot of forms to fill in and getting all my papers in order...

Until then

take care!

Catnip Kitty

Sammy needs to lose weight. He's not a particularly active cat, so the vet advised us to reduce his daily intake of food. No more snacks! He's been on a diet for about a month now, I thought he deserved a little reward...so I made a little toy shaped like a cat and filled with organic catnip!

Bumpy ride - but safe landing!

Hey everyone! I'm home again! I have missed you guys and look forward to getting back to my usual blogging routine. The flight back was awful. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared getting on that plane - particularly since the flight was delayed due to a technical defect. Thank you, airline staff, for being so brutally honest ;-) Typically we landed at Frankfurt Int'l Airport in the middle of a rain storm. There was massive security over there too, due to recent terrorist bomb threats. The Federal border police were even lined up right outside the plane when we got off, checking each and every one of us, but I was horrified to see that Asian passengers in particular were singled out! My apolgies to our Asian guests on behalf of the rather grumpy officers. When we collected our baggage hubby and I experienced 'a moment' while passing through the immigration. There were about five burly officers standing there watching us in complete silence. It was so intimidating. I don't know why, but I felt like I had to arrange my facial expression to neutral, you know! I mean I've got nothing to hide, so why was I feeling guilty?! I was even holding my breath while I shuffled past. It was so strange. I had to swallow the urge to say something, like 'good morning' or 'hi'. I didn't even dare look at my husband, because I knew exactly what he was thinking and I didn't want to burst out laughing! Those were the longest two minutes... Sammy greeted us from the top of the stairs then dropped straight into my arms! He must have been pretty bored, because every table cloth, blanket and kitchen cloth was lying in a heap on the floor! Hahaha. Did I get a tan? No. And not because of the fickle weather. It's because I later remembered that my skin has become more susceptible, due to the medication I'm currently taking. Oh well. Despite the freakish weather we had a lovely time! I really enjoyed eating out and not having to wash up afterwards. I'll tell you some more in upcoming posts. Till then,

I'm back

Phew. I've been released from hospital and I'm finally back home. I honestly don't know what happened. One moment I was sitting in a café enjoying a piece of marble cake, the next my hubby had to rush me to hospital with severe dehydration. I admit I had a bit of a headcold since about X'mas, but I never realized I was heading for pneumonia! They put me on a drip for 72 hours and made a bunch of tests. After a couple of days they found a particularly vicious virus that was causing all this. Unfortunately, there's no prevention or a cure. I just have to battle it all on my own. I've lost a lot of weight in the process, which is not good. I look like a stick insect. The doctor said it will take a whole month for me to get well again. I'm not supposed to work...I wonder how I can not work? Meanwhile I've been going through your comments and I feel so overwhelmed and quite tearful reading them...to think that I'm actually missed! Thank you so much for wishing me well and your support and your prayers...gives me a warm feeling all over♥ And even in my absence I've been given awards. I will get round to posting them as soon as I can. Promise. Hubby's been such a brick while I was gone, taking care of everything, relaying your comments, and dropping EC's every now and then, despite his 12 hour shifts. I'd be lost without him. Hubby, I love you. Now for some eye-candy... to make up for having to stare at a grey wall juxtaposed to an ochre door for a whole week. I dedicate these 'hearty' bags to you, my blogging friends! Thanks for being there - it means a lot to me....and if anyone cares to know. The window was fixed in my absence! Yay!