I just woke up from a long nap. I think I finally found some time to get a rest after a very busy weekend, and what a weekend it was.

Ingrid and her daughter, Pippa, arrived at casa Yvestown Saturday afternoon with a car full of clothing, toys and other bits and pieces. Around 18:00 our living/dinning room, in the works, were packed with stuff. After a lovely pancake dinner (on a boat that made the Bo and Pip seasick) and a good nights rest we got up at 7:00 on SUNDAY MORNING to put all our stuff in the front garden. What you see in the pictures was put together in an hour.

This is the layout from the bathroom window. We made a few spots so people could walk around it easily; a dinner table, a bedroom and a clothing corner.

We had so much fun and how nice it was that a few of you came to say hello. Ilaria and her man even rented a car and came to visit us, all the way from Italy we joked all day.

We're going to do it again next year and we'll be doing it two days instead. And we'll be serving drinks as people asked us a few times when we're going to be serving and Ingrid would definitely drink a beer. Are you going to be there?

Last Tuesday I was at Ingrid from wood & wood stool to pick up furniture for our joint garage sale Sunday the 25th of April. I sat (as I'm not allowed to do much) and watched Ingrid potter around in her garden. Ingrid always makes me happy, it's like I'm 10 when I'm with her and we're on a play date.

You're more than welcome to buy our junk next week. There are loads more vendors in the city where I live as it's a city thing. You can find more info here. We are located on the Bergeijk/Luyksgestel side of Lommel not on the Valkenswaard side. Even tough your navigator will advice you to drive via Valkenswaard, don't trust it as it's a machine and stupid.

My blog has it's own page in this months Dutch interior magazine Ariadne at Home.

Welcome to those who are new and for those who are old, as in old visitors that is, here a scan to the page. Cute eh? And FYI I wrote the piece, it's not an interview and yes I'll have a translation soon ;o)

Thanks so much for all your great comments and for your well wishes. In a way I don't feel so alone now and I hope that you don't feel alone either. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

So I promised to write more about me and what keeps me busy. Last Sunday we went to our friends Roel and Ruud (Roel is also my studio buddy) to celebrate their new kitchen with a brunch. Something, amongst the million things, we have in common is the love for white and food. When I took a picture of the dinner table I was almost convinced you wouldn't believe is wasn't my brunch table, so I left that picture out ;o)

These were the gifts I bought; Donna Hay's no time to cook, Danish dish cloths and a box of Food Loops.

I can't imagine my life without Roel and Ruud anymore. They were also the first people who sat next to my hospital bed when I was in a really, really bad state and made me laugh. They absolutely rock my world.

More about their home soon, you'll love it!

I've been thinking about what my next subject should be, how I have to get on with my life and try to find a way to combine my frequent hospital visits with all the other things I want and need to do.

I know that I want to get this annoying blood thing out of the way, how I have a love hate relationship with my catheter and that for the love of milkshakes I want to have a proper bath or shower. I get ecstatic by the thought of letting shampoo run all over my body and how I'd love to dip all the way under the water and be covered in bubble bath ... ah bubble bath. Do not think that I not bathe myself but I have to keep this catheter dry so it's quite complicated. I already had wild plans of inventing a special catheter shower bra but what are men going to wear? On the other hand the catheter is quite fantastic as they can hook up everything to the thing. If they need to draw blood they don't have to mutilate me with scary needles as they can draw it right out of it. You know it's there to make me better. I must try to embrace it.

I've decided to cover more of my life, instead of just writing about my rooms, my food and my projects. You see life is quite fragile, one minute you're happily walking around the next minute you have to deal with a catheter in your chest. I never thought I would have one of these in my chest, I thought I would be healthy until my 95th birthday and than die in my sleep.

If pigs could fly, right?

Hello again!

I'm home, so good to be home but I do miss the hustle and bustle of the hospital. I kind of have to find my way back to a daily routine. I'll have to go back twice next week for my blood flushing so it's not all over yet.

The last week in hospital was quite stressful as they put me on the oncology ward. It was a Piccadilly Circus of ill women coming in and out of my room and as I'm not such a super star in sharing rooms with people (Bo and I don't even share a room all of the time) it took quite a lot of me. I cried twice, I didn't use the bathroom in my own room as I have this thing about doing nr 2 in the company of strange people and I had one very athletic afternoon as a woman with cancer was just loosing it completely. I now know that I will never ever become a nurse and that I have the utmost respect for them. Also my Belgian tongue is much better now ;o)

After all, that was some scary shit. Thanks so much for your empathy. I received quite a few cards and letters from all over the world and they touched me so deeply. I didn't know I had fans. How cool is it that when you're not a pop or movie star and people still end their letters to you with; "with love from your biggest fan"? You're all so kind and lovely, I bet you smell nice too.

I'll pick up work again on Thursday so all open book orders will be send on Thursday the 8th. There will be some extra goodies and vouchers enclosed to make up for the super long delay. I'll also start to answer all your e-mail as from Tuesday. Please bare with me as this will be a slow progress.

For now I wish you a happy Easter. I've made the eggs in the picture with some mayonnaise, curry powder, salt and pepper. It's so damn good to be back!!

PS: the plate is a gift from Ingrid. Thank you for being such a good friend xox