Christmas at Vaarderhoogt!

 Good morning! The Warm White Winter Weeks have started at Vaarderhoogt Garden Center in Soest!

 A fun place to enjoy a bit of Christmas cheer!

Visit the shops! They change every 3 days!

Looks even better in the snow! In the evening!

 Pick up a few ideas! See what the spoons are standing in!

 There are a few animals!

 There's lots to see inside!

And don't forget the Poffertjes, Olliebollen, kampvuur and Hot Chocolate! If your in town, it's worth checking out!

Rolo's!

 Am I getting older, or are Rolo's getting smaller? LOL!

I seem to remember them being a bit bigger!

 Here are the wide brimmed Pilgrim Hats! I think I'll put the rest of the Rolo's in the freezer for the next Brownie recipe! I read in a Blogland recipe to use frozen Rolo's ! Great idea! Then they don't "disappear" while baking the cake!

Hope you have good teeth! These caramel nut clusters might be a bit chewy! Melting store bought caramels then mixing in peanuts sounds easy! But it's sticky work! We will defiantly have to try making Sweetened Condensed Milk Caramel during the handwerk Weekend! Have to keep the energy levels up! And since we're talking about caramel and chocolate.....we might have to try this soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Google Images

Happy American Thanksgiving!

Will you be enjoying a food filled, creative weekend?

I'll try making Pilgrim Hat cookies! 

And give thanks for all goods this year!

Wishing you a good year ahead!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 Seen on the way home this evening!

 Earlier today while in Soest!

 There's still colour in the garden!

 Watch your step! These are very small!

 Now here's a store we have to check out!

 Look what's for sale!

Would make a great place for a bakery/tea room and garden! I can dream big! Can you imagine it as well? LOL! You know what they say... "You're only as good as your last meal (Master Chef The Professionals) " For me, that would be dessert! I better get practicing!

Patchwork pumpkin!

It's in! My order from the Painted Pony!

So. I have a year to make this one!

And Picasa and Blogger are back in action!

Terra Cotta Candle Heater!

Hi! Glad you dropped by! I seem to have a bit of a SNAFU! Can't get the picts from Picasa to blogger at the moment! I do however, have a great new project! Do you have a few big terra cotta pots that you aren't using? Try making this Candle Powered Air Heater ! Thanks to blogland! This might be great for these chilly days!

An Autumn Walk!

Hello! Join me for a bit of a walk! 7C today!

 The sun still has a bit of warmth !

 But the winter sun hangs low over the horizon!

 You can see the glow through sheeps wool!

But it's hard on the eye's! Drive carefully!

 A Blue Heron seems to enjoy it too!

A walk along the Eem! We should do it again soon!

Time for tea! join me?
Heard the first Christmas song on the radio this afternoon!  

Lost in Translation!

 Good Morning! I thought I'd give these 

gluten free-chocolate-chip-cookies a try!

 I used desiccated grated coconut, not coconut flour!

I see there is a difference! It does taste good though! Makes the house smell great! Butter, sugar, coconut and 2 kinds of chocolate! Can't go wrong there! Great with a cup of tea or coffee! Enjoy your Sunday!

Cheese!

 Look! A pound of real English Blue Stilton ! Available at the Lidl! Winter's looking good! And a weekly Saturday evening with Downton Abbey! Cozy days! Cozy nights!

Cozy! How about this new scarf!
Hartjes Handwerk Weekend! Hint! Hint!

Cozy outdoors! And a bike that's repaired!

Hope you can get out and enjoy the last Fall colours!

Friday's Bake Day!

Good Morning! Great to see you!

I might have to create my own version of this wall art!
Did you watch Master Chef The Professionals on BBC  last night!
Now, there was one very good dessert that I'd love to try!  

Check out these measuring spoons!

Have you ever wondered how much was a 

Dash, Pinch or Smidgen?

I'll have to compare! A pinch does seem bigger that I thought!

Hope you can enjoy your day! 

"Happiness walks on busy feet!"

After years of service, It's time to say goodbye to these.

And say Hello to the newest Scout shop pair of work boots!

No. I don't think I'll be using these as planters for Hostas!

See you at the next Tupperware Party!

National Tupperware Day!

Today I'm Hosting my first ever Tupperware Party!

 Remember the Tupperware from years ago?

Or is that just dating myself! LOL!

We had this!You can even buy vintage on Estay!

 Tupperware measuring spoons!

Better get a few things ready!

Soon it might be time to make snowballs! 

Good News Week!

It's good news week!

 We'll start with It's Dutch !

 "Cah, cah!" Are you still laughing after reading yesterday's post? That came from my parents local paper! Thanks! We've had quite a week of Autumn weather! Lots of leaves to rake today! Great weather to bake! How aboout that new recipe for Cowboy Cookies or Salted Caramel Chocolate Bars? Add peanuts! This photo was taken in America! Now there's a selection of chocolate cake mixes! Imagine all the creative cakes possible! Don't forget the Cream Cheese! We have to try creating this ! Cheesecake seems to be the theme the last few days!

Macy's is ready for Christmas? How about you? LOL!

"I find out a lot about myself by sleeping. Dreams, they are who I am when I'm too tired to be me." - Jarod Kintz

Government Study

They found about 200 dead crows on the Highway between Haariston and Palmerston Ontario and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.
The had a bird pathologist examine the remains of all the crows and he confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu, much to everyones relief.
However, he determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, and only 2% were killed by car impact.( Didn't know there was a difference!)
The Province then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine the disproportionate percentages for truck versus car kills.
The Ornithological Behaviorist determined the cause in short order. When crows eat road kill, they always set-up a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.
His conclusion was that the lookout crow could say "Cah", but he could not say "Truck"!

Winter just got Warmer!

With Instant Chai Mix! Found a great recipe! 1 can sweetened condensed milk mixed with all the warming spices of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves! This will bring a new twist to a few recipes! Add chocolate and I think we're on to something great! Enjoy your Thursday!

Sometimes I wonder....

 What's that? Wasn't there earlier this evening!

 Look! Nature is amazing at times!

What's the destination? Always upwards!

I better go and see where he's gone to!

They do move quite fast when you're not looking! 

Galveston!

 We crossed the bridge to Galveston! This will be a longer post, so maybe you should go get yourself a coffee or tea! Here's the brochure ! Ready to go?

 See that stripe next to the front door, third plank up?

Look closely!

 Ike was here!

 The town really did a lot of work to get it looking "back to normal"! What a nice porch! See the fan hanging from the ceiling!

 Tree Sculptures have replaced the the majestic oaks that once lined many streets! Here's Tall Ship ELISSA Figurehead.

 Look what's growing outside! If you know what my favourite house plant is, you'll know why I took this photo!

 Mr Owl

 Squirrel with acorn

 Well done!

 Cranes were chosen to mimic the owners narrow house.

 Some info posted in a garden!

 Geisha, see info on above photo.

 Guitar! Idea! I know of a drum set somewhere!

 Now here's a great garden piece!

 Toad

 The Angels were the top of the tree that the Geisha is carved from. The tree was as high as the wires above and touched the house. It is one of the only sculptures that is not still rooted to the ground.

 Looking for a project?

 Nice porch!

 The historical East End District has marked many houses!

 King Vidor, one of the directors of "The Wizzard of Oz", was born in the front downstairs bedroom of this property.

 A future project!

 I didn't miss seeing this Singer stand!

 We stopped in at the Mosquito Cafe! Time for lunch! We have terrace heating here in The Netherlands. They have terrace cooling! See the fan!

 Ice Tea on tap! Refreshed? Let's continue!

 An antique store!

 And a visit to an old fashioned ice cream parlour!

 See the line on the wall between the windows, above the folder display? Hurricane Ike was here.

 We stopped by the waters edge. Don't get too close!

You don't know how big the waves can get! LOL! Time to leave Galveston. Tomorrow we're back home! The suitcase gained 10 kg and was just under the weight limit!  What a trip! 3C tonight, here in The Netherlands, and 10C tomorrow! Hot Chocolate time! Time to enjoy the colours of Autumn! Rake a few leaves, plant a few bulbs! Get ready for Christmas! Hope you enjoyed a few days of sight seeing with me!