Lizards, Checkers and Shutters

We are back ! We had a great time , lots of things done and the weather was surprisingly fine. 

A bit freezing at night but during the day the sun was so nice the lizards ( never seen lizards in real !!!! ) came out to take a sun bath. Came out from where ?! I suppose they live between the sandstone walls.?!

Little Komodo Dragons !

I painted a Checker board on the table, we have a TV with build-in DVD player but no cable yet, so besides watching movies or read in the evening we also like to play games.
Painting it on the table is practical and it looks nice ( according to me:-)
I asked our neighbour for some logs, I didn't know yet what to do with them but I love to use wood. They were the perfect size for stools.
 So I made a comfortable cushion , chequered fabric,a handy string handle ( you can't just pick them up, they are very heavy) et Voila !
They have become our Checker-stools :-)

 Pinky likes to watch us play and keeping an eye on the Salami and beer ;-)

We both didn't play Checkers for years so there is a mistake in this picture . . . . 
I thought playing Checkers is like riding a bike, you will never forget how to do it. Well, after an hour we suddenly remembered !

Am I a "checker" addict ? 
YES ! 
I bought chequered fabric for the curtains as well, I couldn't remember the measurements and took a gamble. They are a bit short. . . .but I will sew a nice border onto it the next time we are there.

 Aaaaw don't that look cute?


Erik went treasure hunting in the little attached "old-men-house" and TADAA : treasure !

 Look at those shutters !!! A good cleaning and a nice colour of paint and then. . . . . . .

What do you think ? I especially like the hinges ;-)

Pinky watching Erik . . . . . .



With this nice weather we wanted to be outside and we decided to give the house some air. It seems to be sandstone houses need to breathe .
 Well, this house couldn't breathe :  trees, blackberry bushes, brushwoods,ivy, you name it.

 Before. . . . 

After :-)

Oh and a pond appeared ! 

Well, the last day Erik decided to experiment with some plaster, we are not sure if it's the right stuff he put on but it looked nice and when we come back by the end of April, we will find out if it's still on the wall or if it's still white :-)

Pheeew, some week !

Of course we did go for long walks, Pinky isn't the usual "let-me-sleep-in-front-of-the-fireplace- Bully" while we are there.

She was busy all day, sniffing, barking, chasing invisible things, drinking mud from the smelly pond. 

By the end of the day she was dog-tired and so were we.

We visited Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, drank coffee on this beautiful square

I was trying to find a store where they sell wool and felt, there are more shops in Germany where they sell felting necessities then over here in the Netherlands.I promised to look for a wooden felting "mouse" for Katharine but no luck :-(
 
 


Didn't had time to play with my wool but decorating and taking care of the house is so satisfying and my wool is waiting patiently.