A boat trip to Unkel

Yesterday there was a strange appearance in the sky - the sun! After so many cold and windy days it was good to get out and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. We decided to make use of the good weather and take a little trip on one of the Rhine Boats to Unkel, a tiny town on the Rhine with an abundance of beautiful, old, half timbered houses. We were lucky to be able to *cruise* on the *Rhine Princess*, a new ship whose virgin voyage was on Easter Sunday. And it was possible to sit on deck and enjoy the fresh air and the sunshine without freezing. In Unkel we sat outside a café and enjoyed ice-cream, cakes and coffee to strengthen us for the journey back home, this time on a ship called *Beethoven*, which was also very comfortable, when not quite so luxurious as the first one. All in all, a sunny day in nice company, a little holiday from the grey weather reality of recent times.

Ladies' Night in Pseudonym.....

People who know me may not be disposed to believe this, but last night I actually went *out*. And I don't mean a visit to a friend's or a scrap shop, but to a club-discotheque here In Bad Honnef. Of course, I didn't want to. But some other gals had decided we should all go to Ladies' Night, and put the pressure on till I agreed to go with them. We all got a bit dolled up and went out at 8p.m., not really knowing what to expect. We knew it only cost 3€ to get in, and thought we couldn't expect too much for that price....But we were wrong. Nice surroundings, good music, very friendly service, and the price included 4 free drinks. Only for ladies, the men had to pay the regular prices. Perhaps they will be able to enjoy equal rights one of these days! The selection of free drinks was good - wine, beer from the barrel, mineral water, cola, juices, tea, coffee, sekt - there was something for everybody. We spent an enjoyable 2 hours there, listening to the music, chatting, dancing and behaving a bit like teens out for their first night on the town....All in all, the place is well worth a visit & very good value for money, so if you happen to be in Bad Honnef on a Monday evening, make tracks for *Pseudonym* ( www.club-pseudonym.de) and enjoy a nice evening....And they don't mind if you decide to spend more than 3€.

Mini Loo-roll Album

For this little tag album I used 2 coordinating papers from an Anna Griffin stack to cover the cardboard rolls. They have been embellished with die-cuts, dimensional cut-outs (also from Anna Griffin), transfers, clocks and frames printed onto overhead transparency foil, mini playing cards, textile flowers, some bling and some nostalgic pictures, etc. The tags all have sayings about time, seems to be my theme at the moment. They have been distressed with Tim Holtz inks in tumbled glass, Victorian velvet, crushed sage, wild honey and forest moss, and then stamped with diverse motives and embellished with everything within reach. Was fun to make, thanks for stopping by to look!

Crafty ladies, a walk through Bad honnef and a sunset....

Yesterday afternoon we managed to dodge the rain clouds and take a walk through town. Every time I see these wonderful old houses, alley-ways, little gardens and small cafés I have to get out my camera and start clicking....It is amazing that so many houses survived destruction in World War II, and still remind us of old times. If those times were better or not, I cannot say, but they certainly produced beautiful buildings which have lasted longer than many of today's houses will. As usual, our walk ended in a café where we enjoyed some delicous cake and coffee before strolling home again. The crafty ladies were taken one evening here, while we were decorating Easter eggs, as were the pictures of sunset over the *Drachenfels*. Except, of course, for the naked lady holding the flowers, who stands outside the Pizzeria day and night, waiting for customers....

Mini Tag Album

Made this little tag album from tags distressed with Tim Holtz inks and stamped with different motives, such as script, music-notes, diamonds, cherubs, skulls and crossbones, floral flourishes and little wings. It has been decorated with Tim Holtz clock faces, textile flowers from Prima, film-strips, metal embellishments, rub-ons and ribbons. I have written some sayings about time, mostly round the edges of the pages. It was, as usual, fun to make, thanks for stopping by to look!

A walk to Rhöndorf

Rhöndorf is a little district in the suburbs of Bad Honnef. The first German Chancellor after the second World War, Konrad Adenauer lived there, and his house - now a museum - can still be visited. Rhöndorf is also famous for its beautiful old houses, several of which are now *Wein Stuben* - wine restaurants, with a view to the vines growing on the slopes of the *Drachen Fels*, under the castle ruins, in the background. Well, today our afternoon walk led us there, in spite of hail-stones and rain showers. It was too early in the day to be drinking wine, so we went to an ice-parlour and enjoyed giant portions of delicious ice to strengthen us for the walk back to Bad Honnef, where we arrived just in time for tea....

Far, far away in a little town in Germany....

Today I drove with 2 friends to Linz, a little town on the Rhine about 10 kilometers south of Bad Honnef. Linz is a little jewel of a town, with ancient, half-timbered and stone houses dating back several hundred years, and 2 towers dating back to the middle ages. We almost ran from house to house, it was just unbelievable to see soooo many beautiful houses together. Many of the houses have hand painted sayings along the front, others were adorned with carvings, ornate lead plates, windows with hand made lace and artistically carved doors. One house - and its door - had been adorned with dozens of ancients tools, hammers, pliers etc. One old stone house had a wonderful double door with carved, 8-pointed stars set into it. I could ramble on for ages talking about it, because it was just one of those magical days where everything seems to fit - a parking lot directly opposite the old gate-tower, wonderful things to see, sunshine and blue skies, good company and last but not least a wonderful café with superb coffee and cake, and friendly, smiling waiters.
To cut a long story short - if ever you're somewhere near Linz, go and see it!