by Krista | Aug 4, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
We set out to run errands in Amsterdam the other day, heading towards a fantastic place I can’t wait to share with you.
Before we set off, my sis-in-law popped into her favorite spot for coffee – de koffie salon – to pick up drinks and delectables like cookies filled with dark chocolate or marzipan and topped with candied ginger. Yum!!
While she was gone I waited in the car, looking about me to see what I could see.
Here are a few shots of the side streets of Amsterdam I saw from my perch in the back seat.
Isn’t it charming? Yes, it rains an outrageous amount here, and the skies are gray more than they’re blue, but it is still such a beautiful place.
What is your favorite place for coffee in your home town?
by Krista | Jul 28, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
After weeks of pouring rain and cold days, this morning we woke to blazing sunshine and heat so intense we had to throw off blankets and put our hair up. Yay!!! We’re pretty darn excited. 🙂
Today I’m tucked away in my room whilst painters work until late into the night finishing up the last of the paint jobs. It looks like a bio-hazard scene in here with everything draped in sheets of plastic and men dressed all in white wandering about. 🙂
Here are a few more shots from the wonderful canal boat ride we took the other day through Broek in Waterland. Many of the cottages you see were the vacation homes of Amsterdam’s upper class during the 17th century. They remain vacation homes to this day since it’s too wet to live here year round.
This was one of my favorite places. I was captivated by those dazzling red shutters and the wild, overgrown garden.
A peaceful section of the canal, still and quiet on a stormy afternoon.
This cracked me up! What a splendid place for a driveway. We had to duck down to get under it. 🙂
I just love the profusion of cheery nasturtiums along that old wooden fence and the bright orange boat. Rainy days could never get you down puttering in a boat that color.
Tomorrow I’ll show you some of the gorgeous and wild countryside we saw as we meandered through a nature preserve just as the storm broke.
What would be your favorite type of vacation home?
by Krista | Jul 20, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
I absolutely love my brother’s rooftop terrace.
He’s been working hard cleaning it all up, power-washing and sealing the wood, hauling out old plants and nurturing new ones. It’s going to be a gorgeous oasis right in the heart of the city and we’re already smitten.
Every chance we get us girls (bro’s fiance, Mum-in-law, sis-in-law) are here soaking up sunshine, reading good books, and gabbing away happily as we watch boats chug by on the canals below.
Today we were up there and saw this chap across the way, hanging FOUR STORIES up in the air with nary a rope nor bit of scaffolding in sight as he painted the molding. Yipes! It made my stomach queasy just watching him.
Once he made it back inside without tumbling to the courtyard below, we settled back into our chairs with cups of lemony tea and disappeared into our books.
It was a perfectly lazy sunny afternoon.
Where is your favorite spot to escape to on an unexpectedly free afternoon?
by Krista | Jul 14, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
Mornin’ luvs!
I’m snatching a moment to hang out with you dear folks in the midst of the hustle and bustle of my last full day here in Washington.
I have errands to run, a car to sell, and a bridesmaid dress to find, but I need to take a few moments and let myself feel sadness, excitement, loss, gain, and to remind myself of the many good things I have to be thankful for:
- friends who stay up late with me getting everything packed.
- friends who come to help me pack and bring cake to boot. 🙂
- a little girl who comes in after all the work is done and asks if she could please do my hair and make-up. Who could resist?
- strapping fellows who haul boxes away with nary a word of complaint.
- folks who give hugs and luvs and remind me it’s all going to be OK.
- a gorgeous hand crocheted scarf from my Mum in the cheeriest colors imaginable.
- looking around my room and seeing that everything really is nearly done.
How are you doing today? How I wish I had time to sit down with you with a strong cup of tea (it’s pouring rain and cold here today) for a good, long visit.
Now I must be off. Make-up must be applied, breakfast eaten, crutches retrieved, and then I’m off to town to bid farewell to my lovely ol’ car and pass her along to a dear soul who both loves and wants her.
Hope you have a wonderful day! 🙂 xo
by Krista | Jul 6, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
Hi lovelies! I know I promised you mountain adventures yesterday, but the piles of boxes in the living room needed my immediate attention. Thanks to my friend Cameron they are now GONE, whisked away to thrift store, dump, and friends’ homes where they belong. What utter relief to have that done!!!
Now at last I can sit down and write to you dear folks. 🙂
After our jolly hike on crutches along the gorgeously raging Nooksack River, my friend Jenny and I drove high up into the mountains. It was a blazing hot day but, much to our delight, there was snow everywhere!!!
We opened our windows, breathing deeply of the amazingly fresh air filled with the scent of melting snow and pine trees. When we spotted sledders shrieking down the mountain side, we decided that was the perfect spot to pull over for a spot of lunch.
Jenny had made us scrumptious sandwiches of sun-dried tomato turkey with cheese and Dijon mustard, and we happily munched our way through them and a few handfuls of sugar snap peas. The sun felt so good and it was such fun watching the folks hollering and laughing their way down the mountain before rolling off their sleds and trudging back up the hill for another go.
Although I’d been brave enough to hike in my crutches, even I was not crazy enough to attempt navigating snow. But there was no way Jenny could be that close to snow and not at least touch it – even if she was in flip-flops! So off she went, skidding and sliding her way across the drifts, returning a bit later bearing a snowball for me so I could enjoy a bit of the cold stuff too. 🙂
Tomorrow I’ll show you pictures (and video!) from the oh-so-beautiful Nooksack Falls.
Where do you like to go adventuring when you have a free day?
by Krista | Jun 29, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
“We are friends and I do like to pass the day with you in serious and inconsequential chatter.
I wouldn’t mind washing up beside you, dusting beside you,
reading the back half of the paper while you read the front.
We are friends and I would miss you, do miss you and think of you very often.”
– Jeanette Winterson –
As my time in Washington draws to a close, I’m spending as much time as possible with my dear ones, meeting for long heart-to-heart talks over dinner, campfires, and tea. Lots of tears have been shed and much laughter shared. How I shall miss them and cherish their friendship from afar through Skype, emails, phone calls and visits.
Today I am off to spend the day with my dear friend Natalie who is visiting with her hubby and daughter from their home in Thailand. We first met in 1993 when we lived with friends on the same boat moored in Moscow, Russia. She is a true kindred spirit and no matter how much time passes between visits, each reunion is a delight filled with non-stop talking and a shared love for nature, travel, and as many berries as we can eat.
My poor foot is still kaput so instead of hiking we’ll be driving to favorite spots: ocean, lake, mountains. I can’t wait.
Cherries are ripe and ready here in Washington and I wish I could hand deliver a basket of these beauties to each one of you. These photos will have to do.
What is your favorite thing to do with an old and dear friend?
