LIGHT on the shortest day !

December, the year,

is rolling slowly to its end.

Things have quieted down

after the rush of felting and preparing

for the (not very successful) market.

All the stand holders managed to get there ...

then the snow really started :

so hardly any visitors !

More than 5 cm snow

and Holland comes to a standstill !

(towards the end of the afternoon

it started raining, so we came home safely !)

It's been a long time since I did some drawing,

so for this Solstice day

I took out my Inktense pencils

and some special pens,

and made a Solstice / Light / Feast drawing

(instead of a stitched piece)

A very

HAPPY

Solstice, Light Feast, Jul, Chanukah, Christmas

to ALL my friends in Blog-land

all over the world :

may you spend many joyful hours together with your loved ones !

And to remember that failed market-Sunday

almost two weeks ago, some pictures ...

...........

a special person

Since I started blogging

almost five years ago 

(uhhhhhhm ... that long already ?)

I've "met" a lot of nice people,

starting of course with Jude and her warm circle

of slow-stitching friends,

and also others e.g. after my on-line felting course of Fiona Duthie.

But because I read German easily too

I "met" others in Germany, Austria and Switserland.

Meeting people in Blogland is fun

and it's wonderful experience
to make an exchange with someone :
so you send and get a surprise, 

really on your doormat ;-)

But  it is even more fun

when the possibility occurs

to meet in real life !

The very first time that we arranged that 

was three years ago with Gabi (Filzkram)

drinking coffee

and admiring her wonderful studio.

This year it turned out that we were having our family holiday

very near to where Birgit (Olann-Wolle) lives.

We've had contact before so it was easy to take the step

to arrange a meeting.

It was (again) no surprise 

that I was going to meet a wonderful person.

We had lovely warm (hot even) weather

so had coffee, and later lunch, with  Birgit and husband on the terras.

(and talked a LOT )

We toured around the garden, with the neighbour's young cows,

which are used as lawn mower,

Birgit's three sheep,

we  looked at her vegetable plot,

and  even picked some raspberries ... 

Then we went inside (it was really hot then)

and I showed the things I took with me from home

which I thought she would like to see "with her hands"

(uhuh ... that's the way textile-lovers lóók !) 

But there was someone else :

Älfi  (one of Birgit's three (in fact four) cats)

came in and found his rightful place

on my "Sun and Moons"

Oh my,

that day was much, much, much too short !!!!!
We could have talked for many more hours

(so we agreed on seeing each other again  ;-) !)

THANK  YOU  VERY  MUCH  BIRGIT !

(and Kai)

For this wonderful day

and for being such a lovely person !

what a friend !

Some people might say that :

Blog-land isn't the real world .....

and that you should stick to friends nearer to "home"

I don't agree with that.

Of course I love my "real life" friends around the corner.

But a lot of times, people I encounter in Blog-land,

become friends,

just as good as the "real life" ones !

It's not the first time that such a Blog friendship/admiration

results in something special

like this swap.

(and it will probably not be the last either)

This time I had a swap with Jana

She makes such wonderful felted flower mandalas

and I love the way she writes

about all the things that move her

in her work and daily life.

Yesterday her package to me arrived

and I was very still after I opened it.

The most beautiful rainbow coloured flower mandala was in it.

And yet there was more

There was a lovely card, packets with seeds, 

a smoke bundle of fragrant herbs,and some homemade fudge.

THANK YOU SÓ MUCH, JANA

you made me very happy and privileged person !!!

Because little grandson was there when the package arrived

he loved to take part in the unpacking

and admiring the wonderful soft flower !

His dear knitted bear got a warm blanket

This was my part of the swap

The felted "Earth" necklace went to Jana

(well, I was in the mood for mandalas, when I sent my package to her)

What a wonderful (far away)  friends I have

!!!!!

happy holidays

Wishing all the best for the Holidays

to my blog-land friends :

may your days be happy and warm

(hopefully power restored in the UK, and maybe elsewhere in Canada too)

Lots of love to you all

*

(3FM Serious Request grand total 

up till tonight 9.05 pm when the Glass House opened up again :

€ 12.302.747,- )

;-)