Unexpected.....

I have experienced a few unexpected things since my last update.

First there was my unexpected find. For a few years I have been looking at a certain chair in Ikea wondering if I should buy it or not. I wasn´t sure if it would suit the corner of the house where I was thinking of putting it and so I didn´t want to spend 150 pounds on it when I wasn´t sure. (If in doubt leave it out!)

From time to time I would check the second hand paper to see if anyone was selling one. I could never find the one that I wanted in the colour and checkered print that I wanted. But all that changed last weekend. I saw the exact one I wanted!! The people selling it were looking 50 pounds for it. I offered them 30 and surprisingly they accepted. I was the owner of a new chair!!

Even though I had always wanted this chair for a corner in our living room, I actually bought this with my painting room in mind. 

I had been re-organising and clearing up out there and thought a lovely comfortable chair would be great, so I could sit and read in the summer evenings. However when I saw what good condition this chair was in, it seemed a shame to put it out there. 

I tried it in the corner of the living room, where I orginally wanted it and thought it was a little too bulky. I decideded to let it stay for a few days and I have now actually gotten used to it and like it. It is soooo comfortable to sit in. A perfect place to sit and read and have a quiet time.

Speaking of quiet times....

I have had some really lovely quiet times over the last weeks. I love my new Bible and the fact that I can combine the two things I love - Art and Bible reading/studying. Illustrating what I am studying really helps me remember things better.

Here are a few of the things I have been studying over the last few weeks...

I did (and am still doing) a study on Who I am in Christ. I call it "My daddy says..." and I have been soooo blessed by it. It´s good to know what our Heavenly Father says about us....

Been reading some Psalms too.....

Last Thursday 9th June, I had an appointment at the Opticians. Small print is getting a little hard to see. A while back, I bought a pair of cheap reading glasses from the book shop and when I put them on, the small print was suddenly sharp again. I decided however, to go and get my eyes checked and buy a proper pair of reading glasses so I was using the right strength.

This is where my second unexpected happened.....

They did all these tests on my eye and discovered that I have a dark spot on my right eye. She gave me an Amsler Test which I had never heard of. The lines to me in the test were a bit wiggly and broken which showed that there was something wrong. The Optician told me I had to ring the eye doctor right away and get an urgent appointment. 

I was a little dazed - I only went in to get reading glasses!!!

Friday morning I rang the eye doctor and already got an appointment for Monday 13th June. There was no point worrying about what it could be, I decided to just enjoy my weekend and I did. 

We had such a lovely weekend. Andrew´s Camilla rang me on Saturday morning to hear if we wanted to go to lunch with them - their treat! Now who could turn down that!! Kristian and I met them at the shopping centre and we spent a few lovely hours together shopping. We ended it with a delicious lunch.

On Sunday we had guests for dinner. Northern Ireland was playing Poland  and so I had invited a bunch of people over for a BBQ and to watch the match. We were 12 people gathered in our wee house and it was soooo much fun.

It didn´t go so well for Northern Ireland, they lost the game against Poland, but we all had a lovely evening together. 

Monday 13th June found me at the eye doctor. He ran some tests and he  thinks I could have an eye disease called AMD Age-related Macular Degeneration. (My old lady friend had this so I knew exactly what he was talking about.)

AMD is an eye condition that leads to vision loss. It causes damage to the macula, a small spot near the center of the retina and the part of the eye needed for sharp, central vision. In some people AMD advances slowly and vision loss does not occur for a long time. In others it can progress faster. As it progresses a blurred area near the centre of vision is a common symptom.  Over time the blurred area may grow larger or blank spots may develop. AMD does not lead to complete blindness but with the loss of central vision it is hard to read, write, drive etc. 

So this is what I could have. For some reason the eye doctor wants to send me on the hospital to have more tests done. I have an appointment 8th July. 

So a routine checkup turned into something that I did not expect!! 

Even though the doctor is saying one thing, my God is saying something totally different. He tells me that He is my healer. He tells me that no weapon formed against me will prosper, so I am listening to what he is saying and standing on His word and His promises. 

I will keep you posted.:-)

On Wednesday I was out with my good friend Rhona. For my birthday she had given me a gift card for a day out at Louisiana - an Art Museum, with her, dinner included!!

I met Rhona from work and we started the whole trip in the best way - with cake!!! Cake with a view!!

It was such a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed the view, the cake and catching up with each other.

We saw a little art.....

Rhona loved the piece above, I not so much...BUT now that I have looked at this picture on my phone from time to time, the piece is actually growing on me!! I think I like it now too!! I want to colour it in! 

We ate the most delicious food and enjoyed the gardens and views around the place. The best part though, was just being together with my good friend. Thanks Rhona for a wonderful birthday present!! 

On Thursday we had invited some of our friends for dinner. Northern Ireland were playing Ukraine and once again we were going to BBQ and watch the match. Jette, Filip and their two children came this time and we had a great afternoon.

We enjoyed great food, great company and a great football match!! Northern Ireland won!!! Now that was unexpected!!! :-)

Now it´s weekend. Last night we had Andrew, Camilla, Leah and Lasse here to eat. We had a good evening, even though at time it was a bit hectic, as we were BBQing and trying to help Kristian pack go-karts, food, and equipment for his trip to Sweden.  He left this morning at 5.30am for a trip that he has organised for a bunch of young boys and their fathers. A go-kart training camp. Crazy man - up at the crack of dawn for that!!! Guess what - I woke with him and haven´t been able to sleep since!! Aaarggghhhh!!!  

Have a great weekend!! :-)

A couple of good days....

On Thursday I was out with my colleague. She had invited me on a trip to see where she had grown up. We had a really cosy, fun afternoon.

It started with a visit to the church where she had been christened, confirmed and married. It was a beautiful old church which was open so we could go inside and see around. 

We saw her old school, her old home and we visited old castle ruins. She had bought strawberry cake and coke along and so we found a beautiful place to stop and enjoyed them along with the hot weather and sunshine!

We headed into one of the local seaside towns and sat down by the harbour.

We ordered fish for dinner....

It was sooo delicious.

 We ended the evening down on the beach with a cuppa. The perfect end to a perfect day! I felt like I had been away on a holiday - none of us wanted to go to work the next day!! A really lovely day!

On Friday the weather was still sunny and hot! (We have had this weather for a few weeks now!) I was dying at work. It was just too hot, so I left work an hour earlier. I had a plan. I decided to invite my hubby on a picnic date with me that evening. 

I left work and went shopping to get all the things I needed for the picnic. I sent Kristian a text asking if he wanted to go on a date - thankfully he said yes! :-)

 When Kristian arrived home we headed out on our bikes. We wanted to find a place to sit and eat near a lake so we headed to our local lake, thinking we would just bike along the path down to a bigger lake a little further away, however we stumbled upon this lovely area and decided to stay and picnic. It was beautiful.

We had the whole place to ourselves, not one person came by, at least for about 3 hours, then we suddenly heard talking and laughing and from out of the forest came our neighbour Laura and our friend Pernille! They were so surprised to see us. We had a good chat with them before they went on their merry way. 

We sat there for hours and talked and enjoyed the nature around us. We enjoyed catching up with each other. Last week had been busy for us so when Kristian was home, I was gone and vice versa. It was great to be able to start the weekend like this - together. 

We had some fun taking silly pics. We were trying to be young, hip and cool and take selfies like a couple of young people.....

But it didn´t really work!!! Gave us a laugh though :-)

Yesterday was also a fantastic day here in Denmark - sunny and hot again!! Maybe a little too hot for my liking. 

After a quick clean of the house, Kristian and I spent the day in the garden getting things cleared up and cleaned. I do not enjoy gardening but it felt good to get things cleared up. 

I went shopping and bought some new plants and got them planted too. Now the garden looks a bit decent again. Although I think I want a plastic garden so it just looks nice and I don´t ever have to weed or look after it!! I would much rather spend my time reading, drawing or painting haha

Summer is here....

.....at least for a few days! The weather has been fantastic here and everyone has been enjoying the heat and sun. I must say though that today was a little too warm for me. We had temperatures of 28 degrees and that is fine when you can just sit in the shade and read - it´s another story when you have to work!!

On Thursday at work our 9th graders finished school. They have study time and then exams but it was the end of school as they have known it. It is such a big thing here in Denmark and it is a really fun day for everyone. The 9th graders always put on a good show and this year they didn´t disappoint. 

Last weekend Kristian headed to Århus to a race. Sara´s Christian was racing and my Kristian was going to take photos. He was the offical photographer at the race. It´s a big event in Århus and even though I did consider going with him, I decided in the end to stay at home. We have had something on each weekend for the last many weekends so I was looking forward to a weekend alone. (Well being alone during the day, Leah was home in the evenings.)

Leah was working on Saturday so I spent the day clearing up my desk. I cleared out and got organised. It felt so good. 

I had a nice organised desk at the end. On Saturday night I picked Leah up from work and we headed to McDonalds to get ourselves a burger, which we took home and ate on the sofa while we watched a girly film. It was cosy.

On Monday the kids at school got creative - they made these animal fruits. I think they are soooo cool! 

On Tuesday evening Andrew, Camilla and Lasse came for dinner. We decided to BBQ. It was good to see them again. We missed Sara and Christain. 

After dinner we decided to go a walk. We have a hill beside us which we have nicknamed Big Mountain as it´s the highest thing around here. So we went a walk up Big Mountain. It was such a beautiful evening!

We saw this wee guy on the way. Someone hitched a ride with him!! :-)

Today a pracel came for me. Something I have been waiting for, for about a week. 

 I ordered a new Bible. It´s called a Journalling Bible and there is space in it to be able to write notes or draw. I got the ESVersion as I didn´t have any in that translation. Bible journalling is big in the States and when I read about it last week I just had to get myself one of those Bibles. Here I can incorporate Art with Bible reading. 

I am hoping that by illustrating special verses that speak to me. that it will help me remember them. 

 I decided though just to decorate the first page for fun...... It says God... is the Ultimate Artist.

 Tonight a verse in Psalm 18, 28 spoke to me so I illustrated it.....

 and some verses from Psalm 19.....

I have had a blast this evening. I think I am going to like this Bible journaling!!