A Party.....The Hermitage.... &...

My plan to write every week at least 1 entry has failed last week. This afternoon I came home early (only 2 lessons this morning) and after searching for sock patterns on Ravelry (where would be without dear RAV??) time to write an entry. Last week Bram and myself went to a new cardilogist and to our surprise he was a real HUMAN BEING!! So we had along talk about what had happened in the past and he showed us all results from tests done previously. His plan was to do some more tests (till now nothing is wrong according the tests) and if he can't find anything we have to go to the vascular surgeon and if he can't find anything we are going to the neurologist and if he also can't find anything we are going to another hospital (yes it is a lot of "and" in this sentence!). It will take some time but we hope they will find the reason why Bram's mobility is so bad. We really want to know the reason and if nothing can be done about it so be it and than we will take precautions to make life easier. So it was at least a good experience in the Deventer hospital this time. We had a "Farewell of the Summer" gardenparty last sunday from residents in the first part of the Papenstraat. It was already planned 2 weeks ago but that day it was raining so the date was changed. Last sunday it rained again in the morning but luckily it became sunny but rather fresh in the afternoon. Behind our house is a wonderfull old Monastery Garden and if we have a outside party with the street we ususally go there. Ofcourse their are no nuns or monks anymore (but the old medieval buildings still exist) but the garden now looks beautiful (thanks to our neighbours who's garden is open to their garden and they love gardening. When we are having a party in our street we always cook or bake something. We are fortunate that everyone makes a big effort of it. I baked a very moist plum cake from a recipe from the wonderfull cookbook Kitchen Diaries by one of my favourite cooks Nigel Slater. Later I wrote him an e-mail to say that the cake was wonderfull and I got a very nice reply back from him. For the kids I baked some gingerbread men and decorated them with pink, white and blue icing and they loved them. Recipe from Mr. Easyknits and than search for knit and knibble. Jon the husband from mr. Easyknits is a wonderfull dyer and I am really found of his yarn (and he is such a nice person, real cutie!). We texted this weekend because he was selling his yarn at the I Knit Weekender in London last friday and saturday and he told me how the sale went. I was last year at the I knit Day and it was wonderfull to have a look (and buy ofcourse) at the real top-end of the yarn market. We had a little presentation of our Knitted Landscape project overthere and loads of fun ofcourse.. I would have loved to go again but there was just not enough money in the wallet after a wonderfull and long holiday this summer. So anyway the party was great with nice food, loads of good wine and fire to keep us warm in a chilly afternoon. Tuesdayevening was the weekly choir rehearsal with my Worldmusic choir and because of the fact that our conductor Floor is off to Afrika for a year we now have Michiel. He is great and very empowering for the choir (and he plays the piano very well). I think it is good for our choir to have this change for a year. So we really had to "work" on our Russian song Степь да степь кругом or Step' Da Step' Krugom or STEPPE ALL AROUND. or Coachman. It is a very tragic song about a men who dies on the steppe on a cold winternight and he asks if someone can tell his wife that he loves her. We all came into a real Russian atmosphere and it really sounded great. An evening singing is really relaxing for me because my mind is only with the singing. I am now 4 years in this choir after being in a Jiddish choir for 5 years. On tuesdayafternoon I was having the feeling that I really needed a day off to Amsterdam. So I phoned best friend Evelien and asked her if she would go with me to visit the New and Wonderfull Hermitage in Amsterdam. The opening exhibition is "" At the Russian Court. We were in Amsterdam round 10.30 and after taking the cable car (nr 9!) we came at the museum round 11. It was busy but no cue at that time but round 12 there was a long cue waiting to get in (and you only can go in if people go out, they are very strict!) The building is wonderfull renovated because it used to be a kind of care home and the inside is done to perfection by Merkx+ Girod architects. Beautiful Eames chairs in the restaurant and the routing is perfect. The exhibition is BIG, very BIG and almost TOO BIG to see everything in 1 day. There are beautiful dresses, shoes, paintings (some hung on a golden wall: stunning) porcelain and much, much more. I was struck by this little portrait from a boy from the Terlikov family playing with very nice wooden toys and wearing a kind of Russian Keel (we call it Kiel in Dutch) which reminded me of a picture I have from myself wearing a kind of "Russian Kiel" my mother made for me when I was about 2 years old. It was ofcourse all wonderfull but also very decadent and at some point far too much gold and glitter for my taste and my thought went to all the "poor" at that time who maybe would have adorned them but they also might have felt very angry. After that we had lunch on a terrace, did some shopping at Agnes B (men collection very boring this winter), visited the American Bookstore to see if the Yarnbombing book was there (2 copies sold, nothing left) and had a chat with a bookseller who gave us a name from the ABC Treehouse Gallery to get in contact with. Saw beautiful green shoes..Than tea at Pompadour as always with some chocolats and after that a visit to Yarnstore De Afstap (didn't buy anything this time, but lovely yarns from Rowan). We missed the train from 5 o'clock (3 seconds, dammmn) so I was at home at 7 after a very nice day. Current knitting: I finished the Gansey socks (picture next entry, promise) and just cast on the Earl Grey from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee in red yarn from my stash. Will also cast on the Nadine sock in my Wollmeise yarn..and perhaps the Escalator sock.