Oh Snap and No Drawings to Show For Either!!!

Some memories stay engraved in your mind with date and all: two weeks ago, Friday morning I made the bed and whilst bending over I felt a sharp pain in my back which I had not felt for long time. Snap!!! I could hardly walk, not sit up straight, not lay down. Ouch Ouch ouch…

The next few days I spent dozing of on muscle relaxers, soaking in the hot tub, scurrying through the house in the most inelegant way. Mr. Walker felt so sorry for me whilst I wailed and moaned  I complained just a little because in the greater scheme of things life was still good right?

Of course it was, Monday morning I called a chiropractor and he turned out to be a man of action who does not waste time! An hour later he was doing his witchcraft with high tec machinery and skillfully pulling and twisting my arms, legs and spine, which I bravely tried not find scary at all ( in vain)

So for the past two weeks, I could not sit up right, so no drawing to show for what so ever. I did read plenty of books.

And I did have fun crocheting these pebbles..and they fit so nicely with my green and blue light. Do not watch too closely, crocheting is not really my thing. Raveled it here

I admired greatly a quiche I baked (yes, that is rather pathetic indeed)

Knitted one sleeve at my from the top down cardigan.

There was snow and cold, as you can see in the first photos. I had cut a few branches earlier and put them in a vase. If you wait long enough, they will flower and you have a little Spring at home.

I laughed out loud when the Oldest Walker Boy send this photo all the way from Toronto.We debated wether this was left by a contemptuous dog or was Mr. Snowman trembling in his little snow boots about the upcoming winter storm?

We have nice Spring weather now…and I am knitting an Easter Hare in happy anticipation. You can already see it’s pretty behind ;o)

And this is what Charley is suggesting every time, I lay on the floor, doing my re-hab exercises. That is twice a day…

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Back to Peaceful, Calm and Tidy

Oh man, what a wonderful time we had with the Walker Boys. They arrived just after Christmas and left only last Saturday for Canada again.  When you only meet a couple times a year, family time together is even more valuable!

There were plenty of good winter walks at Rowe Woods, excellent meals (Dutch Pea soup, now that sticks to your ribs!) Lots of good talks and banter or just quietly sitting together and reading. Charley was so happy with both her best friends around.

The Oldest Walker Boy went with Mr. Walker to The Air force Museum in Dayton, for a photo shoot. They have just opened a new wing and it lead to many new gorgeous photos. And we went with the four of us the FABULOUS Viking Exhibition at the Cincinnati Museum Center. No photos but I can indeed highly recommend it!

And then they left again…SIGH!!! I was sulking, and pouting for days. But of course, that won’t do any good. What’s a girl to do? Some vigorous cleaning (as any other possessed by cleanliness Dutch Girl will) and knitting. I finally finished this shawl and it was received with a little dance of joy by a wonderful Princess in Toronto. And I am having lots of fun with this summer colored yarn I received for Christmas. It’s going to be a little summer bag.

And a little thrift store shopping was in order too.(My comfort food, so to speak) I found these beautiful swans to compliment my collection of Fifties Kitsch Planters. But this one receives a place of honor in this nice cupboard because it is a little light as well…such bliss!! It makes me very happy and Mr. Walker says that is all what really matters. ( as long as it doesn’t end up in the living room ;o))

And I found this pretty little handmade quilt. I love the colors. And my darling girl Charley was very happy with it when she returned so cold from a walk. (She is getting on in age)

So back to drawing , I will show some later….drawing and pouting, not a good combination.

Och hemel, wat een heerlijke tijd hadden we met de Walker Boys: gezellig samen zijn, winterwandelingen, lekker Hollandse pot op tafel, wat museum tripjes.
Ze gingen zaterdag weer terug naar Canada. En ik pruilde natuurlijk nog dagen daarna. Maar kom, en dan als elke Hollandse meid maar weer verder na een flinke schoonmaakbeurt hier en daar en wat yoga breien en natuurlijk een rondje kringloop wat een knus kitsch lampje opleverde en een warm quiltje voor mijn wat bejaard wordende Charley.

Love and Liefs,
Johanna

Lately: Peaceful, Calm and Tidy

With all the worldwide upheavals I needed more than ever my home to be a safe haven of coziness to cope and stubbornly ploughing on with what I believe is right. So here some pictures of what gives me joy and energy. This is a rainbow cloud. It’s the second time in my life, I spotted one..a good omen right?

Charley and I enjoy the Fall view from our house on top of the hill.

During our invigorating cold walks we discovered more beautiful fungi.

At the thrift store, I found this crazy vintage owl jug, which I use as a vase. It makes me very happy! (and ohlala, only $2.-)

I made some pretty toad stools myself. Sewing is not one of my better talents but this was such fun to do and I was happy with the results. Aaaand I could use these old tea pots which I bought for pennies because of the pretty decorations on them. (One man’s junk…) The pattern for these toadstools can be found on Anne Woods beautiful website.

Charley came back from her bi-weekly bath (she has a skin condition) and shivered. My darling girl is getting on in age. I loved seeing her comfortably taking a warm nap under her blanket. (Also a nice thrift find)

And lately, Mr. Walker and I love these chai chocolate puddings..so pretty too in the little mason jars. Very tasty..but yes, how can chocolate not be???

And of course, the ultimate healing thing to do…baking the apple pie!

Wishing you all good apple pie moments in your life!

Love and Liefs,
Johanna

Lately…Important Nothings and Downton Abbey!

Well we had a little breather with cooler weather last weekend. Mr. Walker and I enjoyed a good walk at Rowe Woods..such joy!!!

Ragweed season has started and our Darling Girl is allergic to it. Her skin gets so itchy and she starts wriggling and crying. So immediately of to the vet for her shot and on coming home, she made sigh of relief and continued with her favorite activity.

With apologies for this rather blurry photo…but all this packing material was used to send  the three little bottles of vitamins in the front of it….

The Walker boys and I text a lot and send each other photos during the day. The Youngest Walker Boy received some doodles making fun of the difference in height between him and his Princess (she is adorable) and him spoiling those cats! ( there is always a lot of teasing going around amongst the Walker Clan)

I showed the Oldest Walker Boy this book and we decided to challenge each other drawing a map…this was his, of course so creative and original!!

Mine…your traditional medieval map. Good practice but not very original.

And what a great book this is!! Cocktails and literature…best of both worlds and beautiful illustrations to boot! 

And I leave you with all these photos of the splendid costumes from Downton Abbey!!! The traveling exhibition arrived at the Taft Museum and my friends and I ordered tickets all ready last spring and were of in a thunder gallop as soon as our time came up!! There was a lot of ‘Oohs’ and ‘Aaahs’ ….and I would be very happy with that red coat!

Have a great weekend!!

Love and Liefs,
Johanna

Lately….

Little important nothings of the goings on at the Walker Residence. Like the summer nights that gradually start a little earlier, now midsummer has passed. It’s really noisy with crickets and cicadas chirping and buzzing like mad.

Charley adorned with her favorite jewel is looking out for those cheeky raccoons!

And what a glorious feeling it was, to safe together with a neighborhood boy and two police officers 11 little ducklings who had fallen in the sewer. Mama Wood Duck had alerted us with running in circles around the grate of the sewer. Amazingly, once we started hauling up the little babies, she settled herself underneath a bush in the garden calling to and collecting her brood.  The long limbed lady in hat is me, the handle of the net was a bit short and my arms were by far the longest…

Summer baking..a lovely lemon pie and an upside down apple cake.

Experimenting with markers…that’s actually quite hard to work with!

Summer reading consists of revisiting classics like ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Middle March’ .But I also enjoy this delightful 1930 children’s book ever so much! I am certainly of a later date but it still brings happy memories!

Youngest Mr. Walker was here for a week, and Charley enjoyed going for drives even more!

And I always enjoy watching water striders. They have so many different names. In Dutch they are called ‘skate riders’ .

But the Stars of Summer in my opinion are these elegant water damsels.

De zomer gaat door, met steeds langere zomeravonden, samen met politie agenten en een buurjongen eendjes redden uit t riool , taarten bakken, lekker lezen, experimenteren met stiften , een bezoek van de jongste Walkerboy en leuke dieren in de natuur als schaatsen rijders en waterjuffers.

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Saturday!

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the week! Charley wonders if the weather is good enough for a hike or if visitors will come?  Well what more makes a good Saturday ?

Definitely a good breakfast! (best GF breakfast ever!)

A trip to Findlay Market…myohmyohmy the colors are so pretty there

We buy there the best tea and coffee and Mr.Walker’s sourdough breads.

How splendid can you look in a cowboy hat underneath one of the best signs ever?

Excellent healthy street food for lunch, sitting on a bench and watching other market shoppers go by…and they are watching us of course.

This area down town is becoming more beautiful each time we go there!

Whilst we are downtown, we might as well visit the Cincinnati Art Museum…even the Bicycle Rack is artful there.

When home again, a good nap is in order!

And we finish the day with an excellent BBQ, all local food!

Wishing you an excellent weekend…what are you up too?

Love and Liefs, Johanna

ps very proud to finally manage to use the photos of my phone on my blog with google photos…I only need to figure out how to watermark them.

Lately….

What happened in every day life at the Walker residence? Well, there was a fabulous tea party with a couple fabulous friends in honor of a birthday.  The weather was perfect…

Then the weather turned nasty hot and our backyard birds were so happy with our fountain.

I gave a lovely smart cookie of a girl a book and card for her 6th birthday and look what she send me for a ‘Thank You Note’ !! What a talent and a promise for the future!!!

It is always a secret wish of mine, to have chickens scurrying and scratching around in the garden. However, we travel too much and Charley loves chickens in different way (nicely cut up in her bowl…) So I am very happy with this jolly fat chicken, I found in a yard sale for 5 dollar and she takes care of herself!!!

Knitting these mittens is such bliss…at least when my hands are not too hot and sweaty.

And I finished and blocked this colorful shawl. Charley thinks it matches her coat very well.

Wat gebeurde er zoal in Huize Walker de laatste tijd? Nou bijvoorbeeld een gezellig thee partijtje met gezellige vriendinnen. Vogels die verkoeling zoeken van wel heel heet weer.Een bijzonder leuk meisje die een wel heel fraai bedankbriefje stuurde voor een cadeautje met kaartje. En ach…deze gezellige dikke kip!! Slechts 5 dollar op een garage sale en zij zorgt ook nog es voor zichzelf. Charley was teleurgesteld want zij ziet liever een kipje lekker in t pannetje ;o) Zij wilde wel even fotomodel zijn voor deze gebreide sjaal…en als t niet klef heet is, brei ik ook graag aan deze wanten.

Happy Canada day and Happy Fourth of July…a nice long weekend for all here in North America!
Love and Liefs, Johanna

Lately: Apologies, Taking a Break and Happy Easter!!!

Dear blog friends! Myohmyohmy, life is unusual busy here at the Walker residence. Kitchen redecoration, several travels, a garden that needs full devotion in Spring…most of it fun. However, my pace of life is usually very slow so when things speed up, I have a hard time moving along.

I have neglected you all terribly. So sorry about that.

Even too busy to do much drawing but I did make these two birthday cards for two veryveryvery special people.

So I have decided to take a break from blogging! I am going to miss you all terribly.

I wish you all Happy Easter and I hope we can all enjoy good spring weather.

Een ongebruikelijke drukke bedoening hier in Huize Walker! Keuken wordt eens opgeknapt, de tuin heeft alle aandacht natuurlijk nodig, er wordt gereisd ook…ohohoh, ik heb mijn blogvrienden verwaarloosd!!! Dus ik heb de knoop doorgehakt en neem eens even een pauze van bloggen!

Ik wens iedereen fijn Paasdagen toe en een heerlijke lente!

Love and Liefs,
Johanna

Portrait of a (Very) Bored Dog

 

Normally, when I am sick, Charley loves being the nurse. Laying on the bed, giving cuddles. That is when Mr. Walker is home and she knows by the end of the day she will get her long daily walk.

This time however she was out of luck: Mr. Walker was in Europe for business. And after two days indoors and some scurrying through the garden, she was pretty fed up with me.

My Darling Girl transformed into a Pouty Princess giving me the stink eye all day.

Ah, but good times are back for her. Mr. Walker returned from his trip and even better: her best friend, the Youngest Mr. Walker is here for a visit. Life is perfect again in Charley Land!

Have a great Weekend.
Love and Liefs,
Johanna

Back Again And Three Quotes It Is!

Well…long time no posts, I’d say. Time for me to start again. Amazingly 2016 is already almost two weeks old!!! Man, I had a great time. The highlight was of course traveling to Toronto, to see the Walker Boys and we all had a great time together. Did not bring the camera this time so no new pics there. I am using some older images of snowy weather. We have some decent snow here finally.

 
Anyhue, Universe Sketcher tagged me for the Three Quote Challenge. Now I have done this before but since The Sketcher has such a marvelous blog that spreads so much artistic knowledge and inspiration in the most creative way, I was honored by his request…I am all to happy to oblige and start my blogging year with three quotes that mean a lot me and I hope will inspire you too.

And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.
-Rainer Maria Rilke
I love welcoming a New Year, making plans, looking a little critical at last year and on what to improve on. My New Year resolutions will not differ much from last year’s…stay in the here and now, being kind to Mother Earth and her inhabitants, keep on developing creative skills.

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.
-Oprah Winfrey

And I will have to develop some discipline. I have too many projects that are not finished..not my style!!! And I need some discipline in using my sketchbook (love it more and more…) and yes…physical excersise!! Thou shall not stay fit by hiking alone!! Swimming and rowing have been added to keep up strength and general good health. ( and I will do my best not to whine about it ;0))

Everything has been done before…but not by me!
-Octaview.nl

I know, I know, I have said so many time before: but this is my absolute life’s motto, applicable to all areas of life and it gives me great joy and motivation every time I think about this!

As always when I am challenged…I do not tag other bloggers but I would LOVE to see some volunteers!!

Love and Liefs, Johanna

Ps Ik was een tijd weg maar nu weer terug hoor. T hoogtepunt van mijn afwezigheid was natuurlijk t bezoek aan de Walker Boys in Toronto. Nu weer aan slag vol nieuwe plannen en goede voornemens: ik  begroet elk Nieuw Jaar altijd met veel enthousiasme! (Ik ben wel verbaasd dat t al bijna 2 weken oud is…) Mijn voornemens zijn eigenlijk altijd t zelfde maar dit jaar voeg ik wat meer discipline en lichamelijke beweging er aan toe…en ik zal mijn best doen er niet over te mopperen;0)
Als je een interessante blog aan je lijst wil toevoegen…kijk naar eens Universe Sketcher!