The case of the missing hat

When I lived in Norway, the mother of a friend of mine made me a hat. It was orange and it kept my head nice and warm on those cooler days. However, when I moved to Northern Ireland, I didn't want to keep that hat, as I used it a lot. So, the same mother of the same friend knitted me a pink hat. Which could also be worn on colder days. 

I wear that hat a lot. So, when it went missing a couple of weeks ago, I was not pleased to say the least. And the thing was: how could it have gone missing. I had had it in my hands not minutes ago and then it was gone!

Picture this: my friend Pepperfly and I are driving to Amsterdam to see, amongst others, Gali Atari from Israel (see video) at the Eurovision Party. There are plenty of spaces to park, but a sign at the entrance states that it will be closed as of 10 pm. The show doesn't finish until 11 pm. So, Pepperfly parked the car (somewhat), I got out and asked a parking attendant. We would be fine! No new entries, but exits were okay. 

I got back to the car, Pepperfly decided she needed a different and better spot and drove around to a different and better spot. We got out, put on our coats and walked away. Hold on, where's my hat? I had it only a minute ago on my lap in the car. It is not in the car. *Sigh*

We walked off anyway, but I wasn't happy about it. That hat had to be somewhere after all. It couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. What if it fell off my lap when I first got out of the car. So, I walked back. But instead of my hat, there was a big big car. Right where we had been. 

There was nothing for it: I had to look under the car. And when I did, what did I see shimmer in the distance: my hat! Now to get it back though. Which proved to be a bit more problematic. See, Pepperfly's car is quite small and we had not been parked perfectly anyway. This car was huge and was parked as it should. There was no way I could get hold of my hat.

I did what any self-respecting person who is missing her hat does: I got up, walked around and tried on the other side of the car. Where it proved to be a bit more possible. *Pfew* I had my hat back!

Photos by Pepperfly, hat by a Unique Mamma

Thankful

Perhaps you remember when I wrote about the gratitude jar last year. If not, let me refresh your memory: click. Because I already started late, and was in the middle of yet another international move, I didn't think I would keep it going. But lo and behold...

I did! Every Sunday without fail I would write something I was thankful for. Not always the most inspired of things, but I wrote nonetheless. Occasionally I would write during the week as well. When something really momentous had happened. 

With my mum at the orchid farm

Yesterday I transcribed the lot and there was definitely a pattern. I thanked my parents a lot (in fact, three weeks in a row at one point) for letting me live here. I thanked work a lot. Getting a job, continuing the job, returning to work. There were also plenty of health related posts. From the good (no headache for a week, good news at the gynaecologist) to the bad (gall bladder and headaches), but still thanking medication, doctors and nurses.

I thanked the fun things: Duncan Laurence outright for winning Eurovision for the Netherlands, seeing Cats, seeing We Will Rock You with my mum, going to the zoo with my sister, seeing Rome with my sister, visiting my sister, going to the orchid place with my mum. I never mentioned the sand sculpture thing I visited with my parents, but I am thankful in retrospect!

Here are a couple I felt stood out!

10.02.2019: I am thankful for aunties who don't need to hear the whole story, but just comfort you when you need it.

The good health care was definitely something I was thankful for!

28.03.2019: I am thankful for people who recognise me and believe in me, resulting (finally) in a job starting this Sunday.

09.04.2019: I am thankful for my pay check! Money

16.06.2019: I am thankful for being home alone for nearly three weeks. No tennis, darts, cycling, football or whatever! Bliss

11.08.2019: I am thankful for my Kindle coming back to life, after it was nearly drowned.

10.11.2019: I am thankful for the continuing job; friends who got married and I was invited to celebrate; no headaches to speak of; plenty of time to make stuff in. Life is better than I sometimes feel it is.

Brom in Rome

Writing all those things down at the time is one thing, going over the list again yesterday has made me realise that despite the things that are still not working properly in my life, there are so many more things that do. I might not have the job I want (yet), or a place of my own (yet), I might still have headaches and migraines (grrr), but all in all, I have a good life. 

I will continue this year with the gratitude jar and hope there will be plenty more things to be very thankful for!

2020

A very miaow 2020 from Miss O

First of all I want to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and good 2020. May your year be filled with fun and laughter. And may it be filled with people helping you through the not so fun times. Remember there is always someone out there with a listening ear, a warm embrace or a glass of wine!

For my part, my year should hopefully be filled with more blogging hours. Last year was frankly atrocious: my lowest number of posts ever, not counting the first year when I only started in August.  There are a couple more things I really want to get done this year: find a proper job and find a place to live. I will need the first to get the second, so fingers crossed.

The past two weeks have been filled. First there was the Eurovision concert that me and Pepperfly visited. It was brilliant!! There were a few who decided that they wouldn't sing live, which was a shame, but most of them did and I would much rather hear a note off-key than a voice that definitely didn't fit the face anymore. Honesty is important, in music as in life. The little video is off Katrina (without her Waves), who did sing live and who was fantastic!!

Then after my last week at work, I prepared for my holiday. I was going to stay at my sister's in Northern Ireland for a week and a half. We had planned a lot of things to do: theater, watching television, eat, sleep, breathe, read, crochet/knit, eat some more, drink some. Basically nothing was planned (apart from the theater) and we would just take it the days as they came. I will elaborate a bit more in days to come.

My sister and I baked Christmas cookies, this being my batch

And now I am back home again. The Christmas stuff was taken down this morning, the laundry is going full blast and I am enjoying the last few days of my Christmas break before going back to work next week. 

Tired

45 minutes for a 3 mile stretch!

Wow, this was a week and a half. At least that is what my body seems to think! The week started off fine, but got progressively longer and earlier. One day even saw the alarm clock go off at 3.15 am! AM folks! That is early. 

Christmas decs? Naaah, bed!

In general though, the week went fine. I tried to be on time, but didn't always manage thanks to heavy traffic and accidents (not mine). It was topped on Friday by another trip to another Christmas market. 

Ferris Wheel near the Rhine in Düsseldorf, Germany

It was dreary, it was cold, it was wet, it was yuck. I was nice and early and then had to wait until past seven to get everybody back. It was a long day (close to 15 hours) and by the time I got home, I was thoroughly fed up. Thank goodness for the weekend!

Birds belong in trees. Even the duck!

One thing that didn't work the way I wanted was the buying of the tickets for Eurovision. Apparently I had to start queuing at around 6 in the morning and I got there when all the tickets were sold out already! There will be two more chances, and I will be queuing. But, tonight...

The big Songfestival Party! Lots of old winners (Sandra Kim, Johnny Logan to name but two), but also this year's competitors from Norway (loved them) and San Marino (loved him), plus lots and lots more. I am really looking forward to it. 

Back to old times

Between all the other coaches

This past week I was due to work two days. One relatively short, the other quite long. In the end I worked three days and made plenty of hours. 

One of the jobs I did was drive a lot of people to a Christmas market in Oberhausen (Germany). I had been there once before and didn't think it was worth spending a whole day, but of course, that had been over ten years ago. 

It had changed. The mall was still there, but around it there was a full blown Christmas market. It was heaving! I think there must have been about 60 buses as well. From the Netherlands (it's less than an hour's drive from the Dutch border near Arnhem), Belgium and yes, even Germany itself. 

This was my desert. Mmmmm

The day started off a bit wet, but fortunately it stayed mainly dry during the day. I got away with throat lozenges as I have been coughing my lungs up for the past three weeks. It was too busy for my liking and I didn't get anything. 

There will be another chance this coming week though: as it stands now I am due to go to the Düsseldorf (Germany) Christmas market at the end of the week. But the thing I am really looking forward to is the Eurovision party next Sunday. I wish it were then already!

But, it seems as if the planner has heard my silent plea for enough work and has me working plenty of days this coming week as well. Anything can still change though. Which is the essence of driving a coach!

The musical

I had heard about 'We Will Rock You' and seen the posters for a long time. When I had my London trip, the school would see the show, while I waited in my coach. I never did get the chance to see it. 

Then, back in June, a leaflet with my mother's weekly: We Will Rock You was coming to the Netherlands. I decided to go and bought two tickets almost immediately. Not sure who was coming, but that problem was solved within a couple of minutes: my Mum. 

On Saturday we made our way to the town where the musical was being tried out. First of course we had to get dinner (Greek, yummy) and then we made our way to the theater. A cup of coffee for my Mum and a short girly break for myself. And then on into the theater itself.

The place was packed. Not a single seat left and everybody was buzzing with anti....cipation (sorry, wrong musical). Well, what can I say? It started, the music was good (duh), the singers were great and Anasticia really has a throat on her! My goodness, can that woman belt out a song!

During the break there was a little drink, then back to see the rest. It was absolutely brilliant and well worth how ever much I paid for it. I wouldn't mind going again, but there is the small matter of not much income, a visit to the Eurovision party, a holiday in Northern Ireland and probably a cinema visit here or there. 

But, well worth the visit. Loved it!!

Oh wow!

Oh my goodness! It's been nearly four weeks since I last wrote! Where has the time gone? It's not as if I have been away from the computer at all. After all, I have to scan my work reports every time I work (two to three days a week), I still play games and I have been adding to Mice for Mama. For some reason however, I never got around to actually blogging.

So, first let's catch up a bit. Yes, I have been working a bit. Albeit only two to three days a week. Sometimes those days will go up to about 10 hours and with three of those, that can add up. Next week I am on the list for only two days, but I hope to get at least one if not two more. 

There is some news on the job front though. I recently dropped off my cv at the local public transport company, knowing they were looking for people. A couple of days later I was called by somebody who asked me to submit my cv again as they were indeed looking for people. It looks promising, but fingers crossed of course. 

I have been knitting and sewing a bit. Well, a lot really as I don't work that much and even when at work, I can take stuff with me. I have added some Norwegian inspired work, including some of my own. That is to say: the patterns for the individual parts were there, just not the combined bit I went for. If they work, they look great! Albeit very very fiddly at times.

I have been looking forward to three things a lot. Firstly, my Mum and I will make our way to see 'We Will Rock You' tonight. It is a try-out, but it is with Anastacia and we think it's going to be great. Secondly, my friend Pepperfly and I will go to the Eurovision Party in two weeks. It's not the official Song Contest, but there will be lots of old winners, some recent 'I loved that song, why didn't that one win' and some Dutch favourites. 

Thirdly of course is my holiday in Northern Ireland at the end of the month. I will be spending Christmas and New Year's at my sister's. We will do nothing, we will go see a Panto in Belfast and if the weather is good, we might finish our drive that we started two years ago! Plus there might be other stuff.

So, that's me caught up. Now, where was that knitting book again...

November

It's November already. Doesn't time fly? This time last year I knew I was going to leave Northern Ireland, but was still hopeful to find a full time job and a place to live by the time the move came. Not so much! I do have a job, which has been continued now, but it is not full time. And my own place to live is for now a fantasy.

But, not all is bad, I do work and I do live somewhere which is not my car or a cardboard box, so blessings and counting and all. I have also gotten back into the crafting part of things with a vengeance. I have so much yarn and fabric and then my mum comes out with more yarn that she has gotten from somewhere. The choices of what to make are endless. 

Find the lizard...

On November 1st, I put a fair few items up for sale on Mice for Mama, four of those were made by my mother, who is a keen lace maker. She didn't expect anything from it, but someone left lovely comments about her work and actually bought two of them! My mum is pleased as punch I can tell you! I have now started on the other big batch day, which will be soon. As I said though: endless choice...

Right, off downstairs to start on my next project now. 

Work

I have been hard at work. Both at work and at home. At work I was due to finish today, but I am working tomorrow and several days next week, that may turn into more. I had better contact the temping agency to hold the holiday money pay-out!

At home I have also been working hard. Knitting, crocheting, sewing. And the results will appear tomorrow on my Mice for Mama blog. If you don't know what that blog is: it's a blog where I sell home made mice (and other things as well), part of the earnings going towards charity. 

But, not only did I make things myself, I also got my Mum to help out. She makes lace and there will be several of her works up for sale as well. So go on, have a look! And perhaps you spot something you like the look of! 

There are only a couple of things to remember: 

A. Always use the contact form and make sure you state exactly what you want, using the code from the title. 

B. First come, first serve! If three people want the same thing, it will go to the first person who 'wanted' it.

C. Factor in packaging and posting costs, as those are extra! It goes by weight and where to send it, but it can add quite a bit to the price. 

D. Payment will be in Euros using PayPal.

So, remember to hop on over on November 1st and perhaps you find a nice Christmas present... 

Brom mostra di più

Coocoo

No! I didn't learn Italian, just that one sentence. It means that I am showing you more. More of Rome, because you may have wondered about certain sights.

And one of those sights that is really hard to miss is the Colosseum. Or as the guide said: Anfiteatro Flavio. Because I did listen to him. Even though by the time we got to the Colosseum, we were all quite tired. The two and a half hour walk had already lasted two and a half hours before we got to the Colosseum and we were still not done!

Part of the outside of the Colosseum

In the end Mara was defeated and we left the group and the guide to continue on their way. We went to find a place to sit and watch people go by. We chatted to a lovely lady, we saw people go by (jealous of our spot I think) and once we were a bit rested, we walked around the Colosseum ourselves. 

Where the cross stands now, the emperor used to have his place to watch what was going on.

It was big. Like really really really big. The guide had told us that there was room for so many people in the olden days, that if they would have used one door only, it would have taken them a day to get in and find their seats. Wow! But those Romans were clever and made so many gates, everybody could get in within twenty minutes. Much better.

From the inside you could see it was an oval, not a round

In the central area of the Colosseum there used to be trapdoors through which wild animals would have come up. Lions and bears and they would have had to fight with gladiators or Christians or each other. I think. It sounded not very nice, so I didn't hear everything. 

This wavy floor used to be flat before it collapsed.
It was the floor of the dining room and it was about four times what you can see here!!

The Colosseum stands in an area with a lot of other important Roman stuff. Like the forum, although there were a few of those apparently. The guide showed us a ruin that he said used to be the home of somebody. Their dining room was bigger and higher than our entire house! They sure did have some money, those Romans. Or stole some money...

We were quite tired after all that walking around and we weren't yet finished for the day either, because that evening we took a boat ride. More on that soon...