Lilliput Lane Update

Yeah, I know, not a lot done last week. I really only started to cross stitch at the weekend - some weeks it just doesn't 'flow'. Quite a few different shades of green for the plants surrounding the house. I guess I will work on this for at least another 4-5 rotations.

On a different note - I'm back at work, after 9 weeks off! In a strange way, I was almost looking forward going back to work. It helps that I enjoy my job. The one thing not looking forward to is stress, and the fact that working full time takes a lot of valuable stitching and spare time LOL.

Hope Edelman 'Motherless Daughters'

I got this book out of the library and had planned to read it in connection with my job, as I am dealing with the bereaved in my job. I found this book often too emotional to read and found it very hard to detach myself, couldn't help but think that one day I will be 'the one' (Luckily, I still have my mum). While I usually find it easy to detach myself from the subject at work, it was harder here, and I'm not sure it helped me a lot with my work, as I found it just upsetting. We usually get taught 'Show empathy, not pity', and that's what I try to do. I suppose if you are a bereaved daughter the book might help you  to see that you are not alone and many others feel in a similar way.

From the blurp:

' For all women who have lost their mohers and who have looked for comfort and understanding, here at last is a brave and powerful book offering experience and insight. Ask any women who has lost her mother at an early (or any) age and she will tell you that her life is irrevocably altered: that this one fact forever changes who she is and who she will be. This is the first book that examines the profound effects of this loss on a woman's identity, personality, family, and life choices both immediately and as her life goes on.

Hope Edelman lost her own mother when she was seventeen. Her own story is interwoven with those of many others keen to share their common experience. In their own words they express how growing up without a mother continues to affect them in so many ways. Powerful and illuminating, it is a book which helps motherless women everywhere understand they are not alone'.

Proud mother - Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire / U.S.A.

Right... I was waiting to write about this, as we were awaiting final confirmation... Now it is confirmed! My son Danial will be going in the summer to the U.S.A., to the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. (1 hr. drive north of Boston). He has been awared a scholarship from the Academy, and had to undergo a selection process at this current school.- and has been chosen. All togehter, 4 students from his current school will go. They will fly on on 4th of July and return 7th of August and will attend the summer camp. Danial will go to the mathematics camp. I will drop him off at London Heathrow Airport and hope for the best LOL - a 16 year old all let loose on his own. No, seriously, he is quite a sensible young man and we are sooooo proud of him.

And here is Danial last week, at his 16th Birthday party. We went to TGI Friday's (his choice), we all loved it. Ruby and Nafees had burgers, the boys and me had steak with Jack Daniels's sauce - my favorite.

My new car

So, here it is - my new car. Meet Mr. Vauxhall Astra Estate. It's lovely to drive - I am a complete convert to Automatic ever since I've had my first Automatic car 5 years ago. And I suppose as we had quite good experience with the Corsa and never any trouble, we decided to go for Vauxhall (or Opel as it is also known) again. The boot is nice and big to get Bonnie in, and the children love the 5-door car - well, now we can go on holiday with the car and all 3 children. The only problem for me at the moment is getting used to the much bigger car when parking. Yes, you may all laugh... I've never been a very profilic parker LOL. Actually, I've never learnt to reverse park in my time, and simply never did it. The few times I attempted it myself it just went wrong, so I just never did it. As I always had very small cars, it never was a problem. Maybe I will take a few lessons with an driving instructor.

Berlin Trip - Egyptian Museum, Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Holocaust Memorial

Here are some pictures from my trip to Berlin with my friend Jo. I have lived in East-Berlin between 1987 and 1993, and Berlin still very much has a place in my heart. With my friend Jo who had never been to Berlin before, we did 'the tourist thing' and visited many of the touristy sites. As we both like Egyptian art, the Egyptian museum, housed in the 'Neues Museum' (New Museum) was a must. I loved it, was well impressed.

Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)

Entrance to the 'Neues Museum' (New Museum), situated on the Museums Insel (Museum Island)

Impressions from the Egyptian Museum

original papyros

the photo which every tourist will take - the Brandenburg Gate

The Holocaust memorial.

This memorial dedicated to the murdered Jews of Europe, was designed by American Architect Peter Eisenmann and consists of a large area with concrete blocks of various sizes. It gave us the impression of vastness and emptyness which made us 'take a step back' and think. You can walk into the structure.

The famous 'Checkpoint Charlie', a former crossing between East and West Berlin and manned by the US Army is now nothing more than a small portacabin type building in the middle of a busy road, with street vendors selling memorbilia right and left.

A concrete pillar from the former East German border, depicting the sign of the former East Germany. (DDR)

(Nearly) finish - Giraffe

I have been stitching like a mad woman last week on the giraffe. And it is finished - well, apart from the backstitching. Whenever I come to the end of a project I always stitch like mad!

I haven't been blogging a lot in the last two weeks, indeed, I haven't been online a lot. I am still at home, but say my Consultant in the hospital last week, and they are happy with my progress and discharged me from their care. The Consultant was very happy with his handiwork LOL. Tomorrow I'm going to see my GP to get a 'Return to work' Certificate for next Monday, but than I'm on annual leave for 9 days - so my time at home is coming to an end. In an strange way, I am looking even forward going back to work. It's just a shame that work takes too much of the time of the day... so there won't be that much time left for cross stitching and blogging and Internet groups.

The other news is that I bought myself a new car- a Vauxhall Astra Estate.  I started to get slight problems with my old Vauxhall Corsa - nothing major, it's been a good car. However, it is now 8 years old, and I thought I'm going to see a car dealer to see how much money they could offer me for it. And the offer was good (I did my research before!) so I decided to go for a bigger car which we need really with 3 children and now also the dog - that's why the Estate car. I can pick it up on Saturday - can't wait!! It's an Automatic again , I do have a manual licence, but since I've driven my first Automatic some years ago there is no going back for me - for me at least, a sooo much more enjoyable drive. Here is the link to my new car, pictures will follow on Saturday.

Cross Stitch up-date Lilliput Lane and car trouble

Voila - here is my progress on Lilliput Lane from last week. I can really see the house emerging now, and the chart is so easy to work from - it is fun to work on this piece. I don't like the 14ct Aida though, and should have changed to at least 16 ct. The top half of the chart is finished (pages 1+2), now page 3 and 4 to go, and a whole lot of backstitching, which I don't mind on this picture, as I think it will enhance it a lot.

I didn't write a lot last week.. somehow the days are just slipping by. On Wednesday, I tried to drive my car again for the first time since my OP. And the car didn't start.... I had battery trouble just before Christmas, so I knew it must be that. I hadn't moved the car for 4 weeks, and after all, the car is 8 years old. I've had it for nearly 5 years and never changed the battery. My friend Rachel came to jump-start me which we managed after about 10 mins of charging! Than we went straight to Halfords (car parts retailer) who also offer a service to fit the new battery. Done that... all went fine, apart from the fact that after fitting the new battery, the car did start, but didn't drive any more Aaaarrgggg! The guy from Halfords looked again and just said : 'Well. the battery is fine, there must be something else wrong with the car." So there I was, stuck in Halford's car park. Luckily,  Rachel was still with me and we than called the RAC. We had to wait for 2.5 hours! The RAC man than told us that, when fitting the battery, this 'messes' up the internal computer of the car - so that's what happened.. He managed to re-set it with his on-board computer unit (he told me sometimes they can't reset it and I would need to go to Vauxhall directly...). And when the car still didn't work, the RAC man looked further, and found that Halfords had also ripped an air pipe out whilst fitting the battery. Great! He fixed it within a few minutes, and I was finally able to drive away. Good service, Halfords (NOT!) Not only did they rip parts apart whilst fitting, but they should have told me that fitting the battery can result in the car's computer being messed up.