Back home!!!

Arrived back home again yesterday afternoon after spending a week in Utrecht!! ALONE!!! I left Zander with his dad in Utrecht! He will be staying there for a couple of weeks. So for the first time since his birth I will have a long vacation! I really need it! I've had a rough year with my son, his school and his home program. Also don't forget the impact of the fibromyalgia!
I'm not sure yet what I will be going to do the next couple of weeks. One thing I do know: I want to clean up my scraproom and decorate the garden house.
I would love to go abroad (France or USA) but I don't want to go alone. So I probably will be staying at home. I don't mind!

When I was in Utrecht I went to the Paper&Pictures store in Doorn. I bought some nice stuff, some things I needed badly and also some new books and 2 Creating Keepsakes. Love the Dares book and the Donna Downey!!

So, I probably will scrapbook a lot for the next couple of weeks!! I also still like to make digi's at Scrapblog! I wasn't able to make a lot when I was in Utrecht but finished already 3 last night and this morning. I just love it more and more every day!!

Took some great photos when we went on a bike tour to Oud-Zuilen. It's a small village just outside of Utrecht and near Ad's house. There is this lovely castle: Slot Zuylen, where used to live Belle van Zuylen, also known as Madame de Charriere. She was one of the first (maybe even the first) Dutch female novelists (18th century).

If you want to see more of the castle click on: het slot and then the third thumbnail. Select a room from the floor-plan with the mouse. Click again for a large photo!

We also saw a stork on one of the chimneys of the castle and some swans with little ones nearby the castle. Aren't they cute?!

Layout about Sinterklaas

Another layout I made yesterday with 2 pictures of my son when he met Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet for the first time. He liked to receive the present but he was a bit intimidated by there appearance!

First time on the beach

Another digi with a picture of Zander and his dad when we went to Schiermonnikoog for a daytrip. Zander was 1 year old and it was the first time he went to the beach.

Look ...

... at yet another digi! Made this one really quickly.

Two new digi's.

I'm having so much fun making the digital layouts at Scrapblog. And because I still feel tired it's a good alternative to let my creativity flow. If only the internet was working properly it is quite relaxing!

Newest digi

And another digi

Just finished another digital layout at Scrapblog. I think I'm officially hooked!
I love this picture of Zander and me! I'm still looking young (37 at the time) and Zander is looking so cute and funny!

Go China!

Yesterday, we went to an exhibition called Go China in the Drentsmuseum in Assen. It was Zander's last day of school so there wasn't any homework to do. Some time ago I told him about the exhibition and about the terra cotta army of Xi'an. Some of the large figures from this army are in the Drentsmuseum. There are also some other treasures from the Qin- and Han-dynasty.

Horst went along with us. He's one of Zander's home teachers. You can see him and Zander on the last picture.

It was quite impressive to see the large terra cotta figures. I took a lot of pictures without using a flash because it wasn't allowed. It was pretty dark in the museum but I managed to make some nice pictures.

After visiting the exhibition we went to the McDrive to celebrate Zander's last day of school. It is kind of a tradition.

Today we went to meet a family in Yde. They also have a son with autism and they would love to have Zander for 1 or 2 weekends every month and also 1 or 2 weeks during the Summer. Their son with autism (PDD) is almost 13 and his younger brother is 10. I have a good feeling about this family and Zander was also surprisingly positive and well mannered this time. So fingers crossed that it works out for us this time!! It's hard to find a nice and safe guest family or other facility for kids with autism!

I also made 2 new digital layouts this afternoon.

Still feeling tired ....

.... but I managed to make a new digital layout.

Tomorrow is the last day for Zander to go to school. He has to turn in his books and then his Summer vacation almost has begun. He only has an outdoor activity day from school to attend next Monday that he's not looking forward to. I have arranged that one of his home-teachers is going with him for support.
Well, nothing much is happening over here. I know, I have a very dull life!!

Finished another digital layout

This is my newest digital layout at Scrapblog.

Another digital layout!

Edited: Discovered how to make shadows on a digi page! So, I have made some changes in the layouts.

I still feel too tired for scrapbooking, so I've just finished another digital layout at Scrapblog!!
It is so easy to make a digital layout with this site!
Today I also received my order from Bol.com: Digital scrapbooking for Dummies. I also want to learn how to make digital layouts with Photoshop!

Digital layout made on Scrapblog.

I just made this digital layout on Scrapblog. It was fun doing it, but I still prefer to work with real paper and embellishments. But I have to say that it's not difficult at all making a digital layout at Scrapblog! You have to try it sometime!

I feel tired!!

Haven't been doing a lot yesterday and today because I feel really tired. No wonder, I painted a lot lately!!

Yesterday I went to the service of my aunt Maaike with my parents. It was a beautiful service.

Today I went to the recycle store in our village and bought 2 type cases for 20 Euros (7,50 and 12,50). I saw this fabulous idea at Ali Edwards blog of putting photos and papers and embellishments in the small spaces of a type case and I'm going to make one for Zander and one for me.

I also made some photos while I was white washing the walls of the garden house the other day. It looks even better in real!!

Garden house almost painted

This morning I started with white washing the walls inside the garden house. All the painting of the outside and the doors and windows inside is done!! For white washing the walls I use very watery paint and a cloth. A neighbour offered to white wash the ceiling because that's too much for me to do because of the fibro.

The saying 'it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back' is totally true. I'm really fed up with painting and I feel tired. And besides that: I WANT TO SCRAPBOOK AGAIN!!!!

In memoriam.

My auntie Maaike past away last Sunday at the age of almost 102!

She got a cerebral hemorrhage during her sleep and slided into a coma. The people from the Home for elderly people found her early in the morning. She was taken to the hospital to find out what was the problem and died piecefully a couple of hours later.

The ceremony will be held this Friday.

She was a flamboyant woman. She loved to wear dresses designed by Edgar Vos. Not so long ago she went to buy a new dress at the store with one of her daughters. She also liked to wear hats and high-heeled shoes.

She lost a child at a very young age and that was hard for her to accept. She also lost her husband at a fairly young age (he was around 50) and never felt the urge to remarry. Although recently my mother told me that in the Home for elderly people there were 2 men 'fighting' for her attention and she loved that and called one of them her boyfriend!

She lived alone all by herself till last year. Then she had a fall and broke her wrist and there was something wrong with her shoulder. After she had healed from all that she couldn't live on her own anymore so she had to move to this Home for elderly people in Groningen.

It's okay! I'm glad she died piecefully in her sleep. I'm sure she's reunitied now with her husband, her little son and her daughter Mieke, who passed away not so long ago.