I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Ladies!!!
I have just found the most fashionable, stylish and sophisticated website to do some great shopping! It's not just an ordinary site, like 13 in a dozen. This is an inter-active and highly entertaining one.

Keeping up to date with fashion and life-style has never been so much fun. It is almost like watching a soap-opera and getting all the information you need at the same time. On practically all fronts, like trends, cosmetics, fashion, accessories and so much more.

And what’s more, you can contribute as well and become a member!

Yeah, I am excited. It is so much better then shopping in a busy mall and this whole new presentation of online shopping is innovating!

Alida Withoos' Work

Alida, as well as her brothers and sister, was specialized in drawing and painting flowers and insects. Their work is referred to as "Withoosjes". Forrest still lives and Italian landscapes were amongst those specialisations as well.

At that time, Alida and her sister were taught to paint to help out their father with his work. Alida's work is not as detailed as her father's and the pencil strokes are a little corser as well. Several paintings, signed by Alida's father, can be contributed to Alida herself and her sister. Alida herself made 9 paintings fully signed by her and numerous drawings. Since there is little known about that time, it is well possible that several other paintings signed by other artists may have been from Alida's hand.

Being in the artist envirnment, Alida came in contact with Agnes Block, for whom she drew plants in 1687 and in 1694 she got paid for drawing 13 plants for the Amsterdam Hortus.

Many paintings and drawings can be found in private collections and museums.

About Alida Withoos

Alida Withoos was a botanical artist and painter. Not many records have been saved of the time she lived and what is known, comes from birth-, marriage and death records.

It is assumed she was born in 1661, or 1662, in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. She was the daughter of painter Matthias Withoos and Wendelina van Hoorn. Alida had another sister and three brothers and all of them were taught by their father in painting still lives and botanical illustrations.

On January 23th, 1701 Alida married the 29-year old painter Andries Cornelisz van Dalen, in Amsterdam. By that time she already had made her fame with her paintings and drawings. It is assumed she stopped painting, since no more paintings can be found from her after her marriage.

In 1703, after her father's departure, Alida and her husband moved to Amsterdam, where they lived until Alida died. There are no records of the couple having children, nor much else is known about that time.

Alida Withoos died on December 5th, 1730 and was burried in Amsterdam.

See also my post:
Alida Withoos' Work.

A Dog's Daydream

I am glad we don't have a cat anymore, so he will be spared of this. Not that I can see our dog Mia even consider this. She is way too loving. Yes, even when we had a cat. She would always come up to him and lick his ears and sit, or lay, beside him.

Then again, you never know, haha. I can't read her mind. She is a very smart dog and might have come up with this:

Toilet Cleaning Instructions:
1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. You may need to stand on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a 'power-wash' and 'rinse'.

6. Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can and quickly lift both lids.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will dry himself off.


9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.

Sincerely,

The Dog.


This was too funny not to share. I had a good laugh out of this and I hope you did too.

Have a great day and keep in mind: A laugh a day keeps the doctor away! :-)

Great Deal

I always loved to look at new furniture, even when we didn't need any. Mainly to keep update on trends and getting some new ideas we might use in our home. I could walk around in a furniture store for hours.

Now I don't. Simply because of the reason we do need to replace some furniture and the budget does not really allow for splurging on anything new. So I avoid the temptation, going into one of those stores, and we restrict ourselves to looking in second hand shops.

Another solution is finding beautiful, one of a kind and exclusive discount contemporary furniture online. I require a wide variety of colors and styles and it should all be in stock. Being shipped, for a flat fee, all over the US would be a pre! That would be a great deal and allow us to upgrade our interior for a fraction of the costs!

Say Cheese!

Yep, we have cheese in the States, but the choice is rather limited. How so?? Ok, here is why, hehe.

Gouda, Edammer, Leerdammer, Zaanlander, Limburger, Maaslander, Kernhem, Cummin cheese, smoked cheeses, cheese spreads and goat cheeses are SOME of the cheeses made and sold in the Netherlands. Add to that the imported French, Swiss and Italian cheeses and you have a rich assortment to choose from.

And if that is not enough, there is a choice of what age of cheese you would like. The cheeses are stored in warehouses until they are ready to be sold. You can have the following choices:

Young cheese: sold after aging for about 4-5 weeks
Young aged cheese: aged for 2 months
Aged cheese: 4 months old
Extra aged cheese: 7-8 months old
Old cheese: over 1 year old

The difference is in texture and taste. Young cheese has a very mild taste. The older the cheese, the sharper and saltier the taste and the color varies from light yellow for young to even light orange for old. You can get it in slices, shredded, in cubes or pieces in all kinds of seizes.
No wonder the Dutch are also referred to as "Cheeseheads", haha.

With so much diversity it's highly unlikely you won't find one to tickle your taste-buds and/or to develop a preference for.

A Smile For You

Yep, it's Monday and I can so imagine how you feel, looking at the week ahead. Some may say it's not that bad. They are off work, because it is Mardi-Gras.

But for those of you who don't have that luxury, remember that a smile takes less muscles than a frown. So why wear yourself out before you even started?!

I thought this one was cute and it sure provoked me to smile. I hope it does for you as well.

Have a great day! :-)