Books and Museums to Spur us on.

Ken has done a little painting but hopes to do much more at some point - especially after viewing the works of Emile Claus, a very famous Flemish painter. It wasn't possible to take pictures inside the museum in Ghent but this book has everything in it!
Of course he doesn't have his oil paints with him - just water color material - but the juices are beginning to flow faster.

We also got to see the 'Lamb of God' in Ghent's Saint Bavo's Cathedral. An audio tour was necessary to appreciate all the many HUGE panels done by brothers, Hubert and Jan Van Eyck. If that doesn't make a person want to grab a paint brush. Again, no pictures were allowed in the church; however, we found this card in a nearby shop.

I don't think I mentioned that Thomas got to see the Louvre in Paris - and that he and his father spent almost a week together in Italy - the sculptures there are unreal (or so they told me!) I suggest you get on Facebook and ask Thomas to be your Friend - he'll have some dynamite pictures. 'Course he might not get to post them for a while. The last two nights were in Prague and now he's supposed to be in the Geneva, Switzerland area. He's hoping for some mountain hiking (and some good times with Isa, Line, Jean Marc, Matthias and Nathan!) By the way, I begged him to sneak me into his pack but our crazy camera woman caught us in the act! Another museum worth mentioning is the one which houses the Tapestry of Bayeux, France. I took shots of the outside of this marvellous building but wasn't permitted to photograph the inside (naturally). It's really an embroidery (not a tapestry) with the work depicting the Norman conquest of England in 1066 as well as the months leading up to it. The stitches and Latin words cover a linen cloth that measures 20 in high by 230 ft long. If that doesn't make you want to pick up your crochet hook or something...

I finished this pot holder pretty quickly after seeing that extensive work of art - so inspiring and yet no one is absolutely sure who did it! Maybe just a little group of women like the one that gets together back home - the Knitwits! Hey - Marijke says she misses all of you...
Did I mention 'books'? These days Ken has been reading "The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill" from Oom Hans' extensive collection (this learned uncle has lots of stuff in English!) and a new "Economist" to keep him up to date. Marijke, on the other hand, usually prefers to write books (hence this creation for the grands) but at the end of the day, there's nothing finer for her than crawling into a good novel. The one here is so old that the cover and first pages are loose but it's a book she's long wanted to read. Thanks, Tante Magda for lending it - it's fabulous. (And thanks for the idea for the potholder, too - now she'd better get Danielle's baby's blanket done so she can send it home with Thomas when he goes back in a couple of weeks.)
Happily expanding my beary fuzzy mind,
Teddy Ricardo