meet the family

I've wanted to introduce the four loves of my life for a while now- the human variety that is, the felines you have met on various posts.  I love my family because they are fun to hang out with, they have a great sense of humor, they can think for themselves, and are their own person.

They are compassionate, caring, and readily lend a hand to people in need of some support. They work hard, and enjoy live. They are curious and ask questions. The kids are supportive of each other, although that took many many years and a lot of fights and other nasty-ness...I'm just glad we are at a better point right now! We do not always get along, of course not. But mostly. So for me it is fun to spend some time with all of us together, before T goes to college at the end of the summer, and before V and E follow suit next year. All three are close in age, so close that it felt like triplets at times. T is just 15 months older than his sisters, and so for three months of the year, he is 2 years older, the rest of the time it is only one ( he used to like those three months a lot when he was younger).

T is the one in the front, E leans to the left of him, and V is next to R. Yes, the girls are monozygotic twins, both dying their hair (E lighter and V darker than the natural color). T was born in the Netherlands, and V and E in Germany.

That's my nuclear family, and we now live in the United States. Most of my extended family members are living in the Netherlands.
That's my family, enjoy yours!

unsuccesful

Because I actually need to do tons of other stuff, I decided to go shopping. For work clothes. I typically get quite warm during work, so I like cool breezy cottony tops that look good enough to make me a bit presentable. However. If I may ask, who has decided that nice cottony breezy tops are not in style for well-rounded women, ever? Why am I supposed to wear polystery sweat-inducing large/wild/busy patterned thingies?

Perhaps I do not shop in the right store, that is entirely possible. Luckily I found something, a dress that E has been wishing for 'forever'. A dress with bicycles printed on it! And it is cute! Although R commented that there really was not enough dress.

Another time, I will introduce some family members with for instance a picture of E actually wearing the dress, but for now, I need to bake some focaccia to go with our pasta dinner, which will be attended by an assortment of teenagers and needs to be early because there is a concert tonight !

already

And it is weekend again! There was a lot learned this past week. I can't tell you all about work, due to confidentiality laws and regulations ( a good thing!). So that leaves little to report, because this past week I was having some irritating problem with my neck and shoulder muscles and was thus exhausted at night. It follows that I will have to do major damage control in the home this weekend, now that I am doing a bit better. I am actually looking forward to it now that I can move without  pain!

hosta flower

Yesterday I started a little later and I had an actual stroll on the garden path with Lucy, a cup of coffee, and my garden shears to dead-head some daisies.

We still have a major heatwave going, but at 7.15 am, it was really quite pleasant outside! The weekend looks promising with all kinds of plans for everyone. I hope to share a few of the events with you all later!

progress

Sunday dinner is sort of an institution/ritual at our house. We used to have other rituals and habits over the years, which faded into history while we adjusted to the changing times. There was Friday night TV-dinner featuring a home-made towel blanket and home-made pizza.

There was Sunday-morning breakfast (pancakes or waffles and fruit) and there were times when weekday dinners were pretty much set menus. And for Christmas, we have always had sauerkraut, ever since R and I moved in together. 

Tonight, Sunday dinner was a little different, and even more fun than usual. T and his girlfriend L cooked dinner, and E and her boyfriend Z made dessert! V rolled in from an inspiring weekend among photography friends just in time to join us for dessert and shortly after K arrived. By then, I was enjoying this so much (and having everyone here!) that I instructed V & K to be next in this cooking extravaganza. A new tradition is born ?

Above you see one of the quilts I made for T. This one is called 'storm at sea'. T likes it, but it is a heavy quilt and thus not that practical, because when it gets cold, he uses a comforter. So I set out to design a thinner quilt. I gathered some solids and some patterns.

Then, I gave them to T and L for review. They made yah/nay piles. Now I can cut some trial blocks!

When, that remains to be determined. It usually takes me far longer to make a quilt than I wish in my optimism. And I do have a full-time job now. Will keep you updated on the progress!

Weekend

Gooooodmorning everyone! It was to be foreseen that I would not have much time or energy to update y'all on my daily experiences and musings once I started my job training...and thus it went. The camera (a 'hand-me-down' from V, but a very very nice Nikon D60) lay forlorn around the house. The garden path had to do without my admiration this past week. The cats were at the mercy of my teens, and the laundry...well, you can imagine. It is an adjustment process for all of us!

doesn't this look so refreshing? 

But of course, in a few months time, we will have that routine down-pad! Right?
Also in a few months time, it should be autumn, but because of the record temperatures and the drought, fall seems to be right now, at least in our backyard.

When the cats come in from their roamings, they flop down on the cool kitchen tile and don't move for a while. And then they go out again. Things are more exciting out there. My little Lucy is now unofficially the largest cat in the house (she is technically still a kitten).

Lucy and Mila- telling tails

Well, my coffee cup is empty, so I am going to have to attempt some conquering of the chaos. Greetings!

home-grown hot peppers, and mini garlic (the result of a planting mistake by yours truly)