Muggie's Hollow

Back in business!

Yahoo! Yippee! My new Airport Express gadget arrived and I am back up on higher speed connection with the rest of the world! LOL! I am such a geek!

Had another Amsterdam adventure yesterday. I needed to go back to IKEA as I purchased four wheels for my Expedit shelf only to learn that I needed six to really allow it to carry weight if the unit is sitting horizontal. Given that all my Sizzlit alphas were going to occupy a central spot I figured it was only a matter of time before I had sagging and warping with four wheels ("I have a few of those alphas", she said with a shrug and sigh). At any rate this trip was on my own, sans Corina and her auto, so I planned to head out direct from the office on Friday. I've made the trip before... it involves a reasonably long metro ride into south Amsterdam but the metro stop is about a five minute walk away from IKEA so doable (and the IKEA restaurant rocks, so I had the promise of something yummy for supper before doing a slow browse through the store and picking up my purchases - all in all a pleasant way to occupy a Friday evening). The metro trip isn't that bad and I've carried a fair bit back to my apartment in the last four years. Some of the funniest pictures (had they been captured) would have been the two times I've carried carpets in addition to shelves and other organisational containers) and one very memorable trip I made when Joanne was visiting when the shopping involved purchases to redo Anna's room. On that trip there were two of us carrying a ridiculous amount of stuff which we subsequently packed and carried on the plane the next day back to her place in Germany as the nearest IKEA to her in Germany is not convenient. The rub of that trip was that one of the boxes came open at the Zurich airport and we realised that the cute this will so go in Anna's new room red drawer cabinet we had purchase was actually white! Did I mention it was a memorable trip??

At any rate on the simple pick up another two wheels for your Expedit unit trip I was on I was not anticipating any difficulties. After all one set of two wheels and maybe a few candles hardly presents a hardship. Heck I had even remembered to pack my IKEA carry bag... this woman had it under control! Famous last thoughts... got on the metro, did Suduko for a bit (totally addicted) as we headed south, conscientiously noted stops so I didn't miss mine (it has happened in the past on trains so I am a bit paranoid). They called the IKEA stop (actually called Bullewijk, which always makes me think of Rocky and Bullwinkle which probably totally dates me LOL!)... and... the metro didn't stop. We passed a station obviously under major refurbishment and I thought okay I guess you're going to the next station and then what.......

So I faced a choice... get back on a metro going the other way OR suck it up and without a map (why didn't I bring the map??) head in the general direction I knew IKEA should be and claim my 5th and 6th wheels! I actually walked in a couple of circles on the metro platform before deciding that even though it was dark I had a pretty good chance of success. Wow am I dramatic... LOL! Obviously I lead a quiet life for the most part if this was memorable. The 'find your way' walk wasn't actually that bad... I found IKEA fairly easily as there is a HUGE sign advertising it that is viewable from a pretty reasonable distance.  The rest of the trip was pretty unpredictable but I reflected as I retraced my steps back to the other station that sometimes in life you just have to trust yourself and go for it! A lesson to carry to other parts of my life too perhaps!

Today I am sharing another LO of Rachel. She is growing up too quickly and I've been reflecting lately that it will likely be a whole year between visits that allow time with her... a bit depressing and 'lump in the throat' provoking but I guess it is one of the consequences of choice I've made working over here in Europe. Okay... less heavy Morag... it is a sweet sweet photo (her t-shirt is too cute) so I had some fun with some Colour Conspiracy papers and a new circle border punch from Fiskars. I stamped the background paper with my new Papertrey Ink Perfect Match Fresh Snow ink (great coverage!!) and some Autumn Leaves swirl stamps to frame things a bit along with some lines and doodling dots to pick up on the cute Daisy Ds rub-ons I used to frame the photo. Still not 100% happy with balance but tired of playing with it. TFL.

Internet frustrations...

You don't realise how dependent you've become until it is gone! I am having challenges with connecting to the Internet right now and it is giving me a headache on par with caffeine withdrawal! I use a phone based Internet connection but the incoming line is in the most inconvenient of spots (as in you cannot really set up your computer behind a door in the middle of a hallway) so I set up a wireless network using an Apple Airport Express base. This arrangement has worked well until it didn't... no light on the little machine meaning no signal and nothing has revived it... so I guess a small funeral is in order.  Luckily although my wireless network is now dead as a doorknob, I am able to pick up a very faint signal for an open network which allowed me to go on-line and order a replacement Express base. Bad news is it may take over a week to get here so I am on a tortoise type connection whose security I am very wary of, hence not much blogging occurring until the fix is in.

I did a quick Internet search regarding the problem before giving into the idea of replacement - as in I of Scottish descent tried to find a free fix from someone else who had been in this frustrating position - only to find out that I am one of hundreds who ordered an Express base during a period when there was a problem with some electronic component which means the units die a permanent death prematurely. Of course luckily for Apple (although not so for the masses) this typically occurs after the warrantee period is up! Thankfully more recent reviews seem to indicate that the problem has been rectified, so my replacement unit should not keel over for a reasonable length of time. So if I survive the frustration of the next 5-7 days all will be good again! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

On a completely different front I wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big sister who will be celebrating another year of being beautiful and talented today!

Given the speed at which things are uploading I am sharing one LO of Rachel and Calvin with their Grampa Lloyd. Very dramatic paper from Fancy Pants but it was intended for Xmas layouts and I thought it went well with the photo. I cut around the petals so I could slip the photo behind on the left and the flowers on the right are rub-ons or more obviously a diecut. TFL.

Now this is more like it!

Back up above zero and rain... this is the Amsterdam winter I know and dread! LOL! Had a great weekend of organising, scrapping and card making. Hardly went outside at all - not good but speaks to the contentment of the weekend. Back to the grind today... into the office where we have an active construction site right next door - very conducive to intense concentration!

My fellow Scrap Delight DT members are heading to California on Friday to take part in CHA! I was unfortunately unable to get the whole time free from work so it was not an option for me. I will be wishing them a swift and eventless journey with none of the mishaps of my last trip on Friday and I hope California greats them with a smile [sic] sun, fun and manageable yet memorable adventures they can share upon their return. I am sure I will be drooling at what they bring back in the way of scrapbooking stuff and I know Michelle plans on ordering lots of fun things for the store!

I received a bunch of photos from my B-I-L after a big beg and as he said in his email there were a few gems amongst the ones he shared.  I loved this one and had to scrap it right away. The page is a bit cutsy, but I like using little creatures on the kids pages. One of the things I am looking forward to is having the kids look back at the scrapbook pages of them in a few years when they are older... just think a few of these might even make it into a slide show at an 18th birthday party, a wedding or even a 50th birthday party LOL! TFL!

Nothing to complain about!

Poor whiny me last week... -15°C overnight lows and I was wimping out! Well it turns out that my parents have been facing -49°C with windchill in Manitoba for the last few days and everyone in Ottawa had -29°C or lower last week so I guess I really have nothing to complain about. Then again everything is relative so maybe I was as miserable as everyone at home! LOL!

I finally made it to IKEA this week - I've been wanting to go since the big scrap supply sort before Christmas as I realised I needed at least one storage shelf.  Timing finally worked out so Corina could accompany me with her car, which of course was needed to haul anything that big. I ended up getting two Expedit shelves one of which is now put together and standing vertical in my bedroom creating the perfect home for my paper trays and sundry other bits and pieces. The second has me more excited! I live in a very small apartment so I scrap at my dining table and that means carting stuff back and forwards from the bedroom where it is stored and the constant back and forward gets old so I end up with these unbelievable piles of stuff around me until I cannot stand it anymore and have to tidy up only to start the process over again.  The second new Expedit shelf is now horizontal and on wheels dividing the dining area from the sitting area and holds all my tools meaning I don't have to go back and forwards to much AND it all goes away so no more stacks (she said hopefully).  I'll have to take and post some photos I guess... in the meantime I am happier with the situation and after spending the first half of my Saturday figuring out where things should go I spent the second half of the day scrapping in the newly organised environment. VERY gratifying!

I am posting a LO I started a while back and finished today. It is based on the December 2008 sketch from ScrapDelight and features a happy photo of my nephew Cameron from this summer. He turned a whopping 11 years in October... gulp another sign that time is flying by. The blues are a little different in reality but this is how they scanned. TFL.

 

Brrrr... the Canadian gets soft!

Well since I landed back in Amsterdam on the 26th of December we've had colder weather than usual over here in the Netherlands (not to mention the rest of Europe too!) 2009 has started out chilly with well below normal temperatures for this time of year. There is actually ice on the canals and people are even skating on some of the smaller ones! Hans Brinker here we come (except I found out the other day that the Dutch tale of my childhood was actually fiction written by an American!! talk about bursting bubbles LOL!)

Temperatures are not so cold by Canadian standards, the overnight lows have hit double digits below zero, but daytime lows have not been colder than minus 7°C, which should be manageable. However I am finding it very cold! Perhaps four years in Europe have wimped me out, but I am thinking it is more that it is because it is such a damp cold... little fingers of it get in any nook or cranny you haven't wrapped up well and even then you don't want to stand still for too long! I am definitely not the only one complaining... the first week back at work the office building furnace had been off for two weeks. The building was frigid and the heating system could not seem to fight back.  Anyone in at work that first day was all wrapped up in their coat and scarf, hugging a hot mug of tea or coffee. Typing with ice cubed fingers was a challenge and we were all a little Rudolph-ed.  Many gave up and went home before noon, I stuck it out until they turned the heat off completely so the technician could begin to fix things, but wished on numerous occasions during the ordeal that the fingertip-less gloves I know are packed away somewhere in my storage container back in Canada had come with me to the Netherlands!

Enough about the weather... today is my nephew Calvin's third birthday so I am sending out a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY and a hug! I cannot believe he is three! Time is just flying. I understand he is having a dinosaur themed birthday party next weekend so I am looking forward to receiving some cute photos to scrap! Hint hint hint. In the meantime I am sharing two recent layouts.

The first was done for the Scrap Delight Extra and the challenge was to use felt in a layout.  The flowers, stems, decorative corner and chicken are all felt, as is the strip between the photos. It is a little hard to see in this scan, but I tried embossing the felt and it worked pretty well and so far is holding the pattern. I am thinking that dampening the felt might make an even deeper impression so will have to try that one out. The second layout features the birthday boy and his dad playing this summer. I love this photo - it is very dramatic as there was a storm front gathering behind them and it was later in the afternoon so the light was just gorgeous. I can so hear Calvin saying "again Daddy". I used a sketch posted on Scrap Delight as inspiration for the initial design, but it kind of took on a life of its own so the final product does not really resemble its exemplar. TFL.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone health and much happiness in 2009!! Wow as I type the new year it is hard to believe that the last year of the first decade of the 2000s has begun! It seems like only yesterday the world was worrying about the Y2K bug and how to spend the last evening of the century... I think time somehow speeds up as you get older!!

I spent a quiet evening with a few movies (Mad Money, 3:10 to Yuma and the Bank Job), some yummy tapas and a phone call with loved ones back in North America. The fireworks started in earnest at midnight - although there had been periodic bangs all evening - and went on at 'no way you can sleep through this' levels until 02:30 after which they tapered off. The poor cats spent that time under my bed with Mungo giving periodic growls. Needless to say neither of them is impressed with that particular human tradition.

A couple more layouts to share today... these ones are multi-photo layouts done for the December 2008 ScrapDelight Extra.