Yarn and Garn

Hi there!

It's been busy busy at the office with some staff changes...which meant no crafting time for me...I didn't realise that I would miss it THAT much....sigh

All my fellow crafters out there...what is your response when you stumble upon a little shop stocked FULL of your crafting supplies? I wonder if you put your hands to your face and went 'ahhhhh'.....
Well, that's what I did on our family vacation to Denmark, when, on a day-trip to Aarhus, I stumbled upon this shop while we were walking around in the city... The teen and pre-teen went "oh no" while the photographer/husband  kindly took shots of the shop while I was busy admiring everything in the shop.

I definitely did not plan on buying any yarn (or GARN) on a family vacation, but....who could resist? Especially when such stores are virtually non-existent back home....

More yarn-related stuff from my trip -- this little display of early home-made yarn and even a pattern book was on display at the open-air musuem -- Funen Village in Odense. The musuem features old Danish buildings from the 18th & 19th century, with details about the way of life then. It was a pleasant surprise to see that knitting/crocheting was already around then.

Hope you have a great weekend ahead....

Wishing for crafting time...
Serena

Darkness and Light

morning sun on my patio 

Hit some difficult patches these couple of weeks - first at work, then at home. Amidst moments of uncertainty, worry, discouragement, disappointment, I had to remind myself to keep things in perspective. OR, at times, to shift my perspective. 

What's more, these experiences brought into focus valuable lessons I had to learn or relearn, just as how light seems so much sharper, cleaner and brighter when contrasted against darkness.  

So today, I am thankful for this timely reminder:

'Afflictions are but the shadows of God's wings' 

                                                                              George Macdonald 

May your week ahead be filled with light.

Sheon

Did you Notice That Too?

Hi there!

It's Part 2 of the post about our family vacation to Denmark...
Today we 'travel' out of Copenhagen to the greater Copenhagen area, across to Funen and even as far as Jutland.
Our main mode of transportation were the trains....and what better way to occupy oneself on a long train ride than...Crochet! (yep you guessed it...I brought it along...)

In the greater Copenhagen area we have:

ROSKILDE -- just a half-hour train ride from Copenhagen Central Station

3 large jars greet you as you step out of the train station



The imposing facade of the Roskilde Cathedral

A reconstruction in progress at the Viking Ship Musuem

Look what was on sale at the Viking Ship Musuem gift-shop!
(In case you're wondering...no...I didn't buy it....might try to make it one day though..)

Oops...couldn't resist 'craft-talk' even though this was supposed to be 'craft-free'....

HELSINGOR -- an hour's train ride north of Copenhagen

Kronborg Castle (popularly known as Hamlet's Castle) is probably the most well-known landmark here...

 

Koge -- an hour south of Copenhagen

Hillerod -- half hour ride from Copenhagen 

Federiksborg Castle is the most famous landmark in Hillerod

Unfortunately it was undergoing some restoration works.

Federiksborg has beautiful architecture.

On FUNEN island -- Odense and Svendborg are about 1-2 hours on the train from Copenhagen

Svendborg -- get on the ferries here to reach one of the little islands south of Funen

Svendborg -- town square building

Odense -- birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen

  

Beautiful artwork inside the Hans Christian Andersen Musuem

On Jutland where Denmark meets the rest of mainland Europe-- Aarhus is a 3.5 hour train ride from Copenhagen

Scenes from Den Gamle By -- an open-air musuem

At the local market in Aarhus, daughter and I looked covetously at the beautiful flowers which
probably wouldn't survive in our tropical weather back home.

We even journeyed to Malmo in  Sweden... (ssh...it was actually only 20 minutes away from Copenhagen)...

Malmo central station -- we felt like we had stepped into a Science Fiction movie in the year AD2100.

Malmo town hall -- one of the most photographed buildings

Building at the 'little square'...

A Family Portrait

Hope you like the pictures! (Special thanks to my photographers -- hubby and kids!)
Have a great weekend!

Serena

Did you Notice that?

Hi there! 

Have you noticed that when on vacation, we usually look around us eagerly (albeit a little desperately) in order to fully absorb the sights and sounds which we might never ever have the chance to see again....
Yet, how little attention we pay to the scenes we pass day after day?
So what is of little interest to some is so 'precious to behold' to another...that's the 'beauty' of travel isn't it?

For the next 2 weeks, let's take a break from 'craft talk' and look at some pictures from our family vacation to Denmark. Yes, we (hubby the photogapher and I) finally sorted out the more than 2000 pictures from 2 cameras...everything was just too beautiful and refreshing that we HAD to document it...
Our pre-teen & 'just turned teen' were given 'full autonomy' with our compact camera and it was VERY interesting to see the same places and experiences through their eyes as well....

Nyahvn, Copenhagen
(one of the MOST photographed places in Copenhagen)

The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen
(Did you think she was MUCH larger? Well...I did! Unfortunately the industrial backdrop took away some of the 'fairytale essence'.)

This gives you a PRETTY GOOD IDEA of her actual size... and as you can see...EVERY TOURIST is 'dying' to get there picture taken with her.

'The Royal Copenhagen' -- along Stroget -- the famous shopping street.

The Gefion Fountain (Copenhagen)

Copenhagen View from The Rundetårn (Round Tower)

Rosenborg Castle interior

Interior of the Dome in the Marble Church

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek -- art musuem in Copenhagen (It's free entry on Sundays!)

inside the Glyptotek

Lovely Flowers in Bloom

Sunset View from our Hotel Room
(Coming from the tropics, having the sun set at around 9.50pm was amazing! Gave the teens an excuse NOT to go to bed!)

Did you like the pictures?

Oh yes...here are two pictures taken by the teen who's wired to notice all things technical ....

Cophenhagen Central Train Station

 Next week we'll 'travel' out of Copenhagen....see you then!

Serena

Live full the life you have imagined

This week, I had the pleasure of filling a customised card order - a retirement gift.
While retirement may mean the end of a long and fulfilling career, it is also the beginning of a new way of life, and along with this, there are many potentially exciting discoveries waiting to be made.
Many previously postponed trips or activities that were deemed to be too time-consuming can at last be undertaken; one can spend long stretches of time with old friends and loved ones without being bound by the constraints of a workday.

Perhaps in a way the card's sentiment is also a reflection of how our busyness at work (or is it our mindset?) stops us from living the life we envision? When we are busy meeting our responsibilities at work, home or school, how close are we to living the life we aspire for ourselves?
Do we feel constrained by what we spend a big part of our day doing and using the lack of time or energy as excuses, put our hobbies, relationships and passions on the backburner?
Maybe when work winds down, when we save enough money to leave the job or... when we retire? Then there'll be opportunities to do what we've always wanted - pick up that hobby, climb the mountain, travel round the world...

Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project suggests that when a person is truly passionate about his work, he will gladly spend not just his actual working hours, but also his moments of leisure thinking about it or pursuing activities related to it. How many of us truly experience this luxurious state? Instead, do we spend a large part of our lives working at a job that no longer excites us but are too scared to move on because of the financial security it offers?

Some, like this couple, Betsy and Warren, have transformed their lives to pursue their passion of travel while others, like Courtney, is a 'retiree' from the corporate world who advocates living a life of minimalism filled definite purpose.

Whatever your approach (or your job), let us start living the way we imagine today and not wait till tomorrow, next year or till the day of retirement.

Sheon