Anyone still out there?......

Hello!  (peers nervously around the corner....) is there anyone still out there? It's been three years since I last blogged so I'm not sure if anyone is still following.

Things are a little different around here - we have moved from The Hague to a small village near to Maastricht and are in the process of building our own house.

We have gained a dog! Madelinetosh - a Cyprus poodle rescued from a pound in Cyprus. She is amazing and we love her very much!

     

The kidlings have all grown beyond belief. Three of the four are now taller than me and in September there will be three at High School - how did that happen?!

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia

Some things are the same though - I'm still knitting

sewing

thrifting

baking

and dabbling in lots of other crafty things!

Life here in the south certainly has a slower rhythm and we are so enjoying the hills and landscape that surround us. We are so enjoying this new place even though we have only been here for six months and it feels like a breath of fresh air. While we loved living close to the centre of The Hague and made some deep, long lasting friendships (waves hello!) there were few relationships that really were not good and which left me doubting myself, my gifts and my value. I lost my confidence and my voice and it really affected my creativity - I just couldn't design or find the motivation to make, and lost the excitement of sharing my creations on my blog. I know that I shouldn't have allowed myself to listen, should have walked away, but it was so subtle that I didn't realise it until it was too late. It's only really now that we are out of the situation that I realise how much of an effect it had on me and it just feels so good to start being 'myself' again without fear of being criticised.

So that's it, the story behind my absence. I do hope there's still a few of you out there and that you'll forgive me for disappearing.. Please stick around while I dip my toes into blog land again!