more from Denmark

Legoland really was a wonderful adventure!... many different rides .. everything from sissy to brave.











and, of course everything imaginable constructed of lego pieces.

space ship creations...












village scenes

lego characters in the aquarium

 exciting water slides

and planning sessions to figure out what's next.

and another day, we went to Silkeborg to the museum to see the BogMan, or Tollund Man.  he dates back to the end of the Bronze Age 4-300BC and was found in a peat bog where his body had been preserved all that time by the acidity of the bog.  he was found with a rope around his neck which has caused all kinds of conjecture on how and why he ended up in the bog!  he is so fascinating!  hence my second visit to see him.  you can see the stubble of beard on his face and the wrinkles in his forehead.  was great to see him again!

all sorts of interesting displays in the same museum, including what looked to me like a hooka.  the provided information was in Danish, so have no idea what, when, etc.

 
and we went to a deer park, where we mingled with quite a few deer.  they had already browsed the lower branches of the trees, so there was some scrambling and pulling down of branches to get some leaves to feed them.  Alex spotted this albino deer, who was also interested in being fed. they were really quite tame and it was fun to be able to get so close to them.

Pia and William

Pia's whimsical and colorful art really appealed to me.... lots of talent and creativity!!

this one says something like "give your stress wings and let it fly"  (is that close, Soren??)





there are many many more photos and stories from Denmark, and i just simply can't get them all up here.  

BSG fiber additions to my stash

Black Sheep Gathering, Eugene, OR 2013

time out from our regular scheduled blog update of our trip in May and June.

on Sat. Rachael and i drove down to Eugene for the annual Black Sheep Gathering for a fiber fasmagoric fondling and meet-up with friends and sisters, ogling of fiber animals, fiber stash enhancement, spinning, lots of hugging and telling of stories of what's been happening, good food and wine and making plans for future meet-ups.  once again our group of twisted sisters and friends were able to rent a house in Eugene for the weekend (thanks Laurie and Christy-Joe), which was perfect!... room enough to sit around together spinning, a nice kitchen, enough sleeping places and no one complaining if we made a bit too much noise.  perfect!!

i think these were my 2 favorite photos.  this young woman was holding a 2-week old Angora kid which is a bottle baby.  she was a star attraction with the little kids (and adults), showing him off with love and confidence.  and the kid was perfectly happy being held and shown off.

editing this because even tho this was in the barn where the angora goats were, i keep looking at this "kid" and really think it is a lamb, not a kid.  ooops....sorry....

 and then, of course, there was the spinning fiber attraction.  oh my, the temptation to fondle, appreciate and enhance my stash which is obscenely already way too abundant.  i was actually quite restrained and will get photos tomorrow of my meager acquisitions.... every fiber of which was irresistible.  so i didn't.

and back in the animal barns, i always spend a lot of time appreciating the angora goats.  i always wanted to bring home one of those beautiful kids and somehow managed to not indulge in that.  this wonderful goat was determined to take down that ribbon on his pen... perhaps, he felt that a red ribbon was not quite enough.  watching him trying to maneuver his way thru the wire and catch that ribbon with his tongue was too funny and i was laughing too hard to get a really good photo









this is my most favorite fiber to spin... it's blue faced leicester, wool still on the hoof.  i love the tight little curls in the wool.  easy to spin into beautiful yarn.

this ram is likely the biggest bulkiest sheep i have ever seen.  even with Rachael posing beside him, it is difficult to get the true picture of how big he really is!!!  massive!

the fiber i took with me to spin was some blue face leicester that i bought in Denmark.  many many people stopped by the spinner's circle and commented and wanted to know where i got it.  they were  quite sad to learn it wasn't available locally. so i've put the shop info in the caption on the photo.  Birthe, the dyer and owner of the business was kind to meet us at her shop so we could look at her fibers even tho she was in the midst of putting together a big family gathering/celebration.  her dye work is beautiful and we were so happy to meet her.

http://garngalleriet.bigcartel.com/

Denmark - May 2013

Legoland was only one of the wonderful times visiting Soren and his family in Denmark!!  and there will be more posts from that week.

we went to the original very first in the world.. Legoland.  AND it was the second visit for Chris, Jim and me.  Soren's dad, Jens, and brother Carsten met us there for a rollicking hot day of looking at many many displays of lego awesomeness, going on rides (some of us), the kids getting their legoland driver's license, walking for miles and miles (seriously, it's a huge place), and having a wonderful day!








and this is my favorite photo of the day!  Jens with his grandkids, Laura and William!

Alex taking his driving test.... he got his license!

the aquarium was amazing!  they even had places where kids could crawl up into a bubble in the middle of a display and view it all from the inside!

this fishy thing came right up to the window and it looks like he's saying "get me outa here!"

after Legoland, we went to Jens' home for refreshments... he had made a really delicious apple cake, which we enjoyed along with his warm hospitality.  being there surely did make me miss Lizabeth, who died several months ago.  she is missed by all!!

we were so happy that Carsten was off his ship and at home while we were there.  he just added to the fun and good times!

Chris and Soren were finally back together again... 25 years after their high school days.

on our way back to Hamburg, Soren was kind enough to stop the car and take this photo, just one of the many fart signs in Denmark.



there will be more posts from Denmark... lots more to show and tell!

back home in my queendom - partly

got home at 3:30am on Wed. from a 6 week whirlwind adventure in Hamburg, Germany, Denmark, Peloponnesus in western Greece, Arachova near Delphi in Greece, then 3 weeks in Vamos, Crete. by the time we arrived back at dome central it had been 35 hours since we crawled out of bed in Vamos.  we did not show the best judgement or behavior on that last night.... it was after 1a.m. when we went to bed... let's just say there was a LOT of raki and saying goodbye to friends before we made it home, set the alarm and went to bed.  and 4:30 came way too soon.

anyway.... my roses are in full bloom and lovely to behold!  and i vow to never again go away for an extended period in the spring... i just missed too much of watching plants and trees come to life and the blooming and renewal cycle of the year.  so, on friday i wandered out to stock up on some fresh veggies and fruit, and then to my favorite plant nursery for garden and hanging basket plants.  i do love that nursery... it gives me an adrenalin rush... and bought tomato plants (mostly heirloom types that i know i love), plus more of the usual.  most are in the ground now.  hmmm... it's beginning to dawn on me why i'm tired and my ass is dragging.  also, got 4 hanging baskets planted and hanging on the trellis.  as i was whackin' away at all the overgrowth, i came upon a bird nest with 4 eggs.  the silly mama bird put her nest on the trellis about 3 feet above the ground, tho it does have some fairly dense growth of rogue rhododendron in front of it.  i was afraid she wouldn't come back to the nest after i'd been so close to it... but she was back when i looked (from a distance!) a couple of hours later.

we were planning to meet Jens and Carsten Wollesen (friends from Denmark) for dinner at Bloumosifi our last night in Vamos.  they surprised us by finding us mid-afternoon having ouzo and wifi at AnoKato, so it was an afternoon of showing them around Vamos and surrounding area.  lovely surprise!  and tasty last dinner in Vamos!!

i'm pretty sure i should get this shirt for Jim!















i still have lots more stories and photos from the trip and will be putting them here, interspersed with current events.... because i need to have as much of it here as i can so it can be sort of like a journal.  and (major reason) so i can remember what i did when and with whom and where.  stay tuned, if you wish....

picnic fun with friends in Crete

on a lovely Sunday a few weeks ago, we went on a picnic with friends... lots of food, sun, kids, a couple of dogs, and a relaxing afternoon!  at a park area along side of a small river.  the only drawback of the day was the harsh "devil wind" coming up from the storms in the deserts of Egypt and Libya.

                                Ion kept track of things, warned us of any             other dogs in the area and kept the ground around the picnic tables tidy and free of fallen food.  looks like Wookie, huh?

watching the kids was all the entertainment i could handle!  in this episode, Lou was absorbed in reading his book and Daphne pulled up a chair beside him.  she was intent on showing him a scrape on her knee, he was more interested in his book... she persisted, he got fed up and ended up in tears.  soon they were both snuggled up with one of the moms, looking at other books.  I kept thinking about "it takes a village to raise a child", because that's what they have here.  there are 3 families with kids about the same age and they spend enough time together that the kids have the benefit of the love and influence of all the parents.  it is a beautiful thing to watch!  another couple has 2 kids a few years older, but they all fit together like extended family.

                                    there's Lou!!  nope, not having a pee break.... just in the bliss of the freedom from clothes!

Daphne has a Greek mom and Dutch dad, and shows a lot of her dad's genes!

a reading circle!

Chris, Kate and kids were also at the picnic.

no ice?  plenty of cooling coming out of this faucet.




in case there is any question about why we keep on going back to Vamos, Crete... a big part of the answer is these people who we have come to love and who include us in their lives when we are there.