And another workshop? Yes!

Yes, indeed.  Another workshop, but first another meeting with miniature friends (or is it: 'friends in miniatures'?)  Anyway, a meeting with likeminded friends.  Who could ask for more?  Frank and I made our way to The Hague again to meet at Else's place.  I knew Else from our email group and had met her briefly during my other workshop in The Hague. Else had invited a few people with which she usually meets to her miniature crafts and/or workshops.  So I met Els (whom I've also known for a few years now), and Clasina and Leny whom I both know from the email group.  How nice it always is to meet 'internet friends' in real life.  Sometimes they look like you've known them for years, sometimes they even behave like you've known them for ever, and at other times they are nothing like you expect.  I won't elaborate here, it doesn't matter.  It's just great! I had brought them also the little present I'd made for everybody: a souvenir picture book about Australia, but I received so many unexpected presents in return that I felt a bit overwhelmed.  My little book just couldn't compare with them...  I got a series of little craft items that I will be able to use for workshops at home, beautiful fabric, a kit to make a table lamp, a kit to make some books, and a number of items that had been left for me during a meeting of the email group a few years ago.  I don't have time at the moment, but I promise I will take pictures later (perhaps at home) and show all those wonderful gifts, also the ones that I have received earlier during this holiday.

Unfortunately I forgot again to take pictures yesterday, but hopefully Else will send me one or two of the piccies she took yesterday...

Of course we chatted a lot and Else showed me around in her house and let me have a look at all her houses and roomboxes.  One I remembered: "Maison de la Rue"!  I knew the story behind it and it was lovely to see it for real.  Later Else had lunch ready for us and after that we chatted a bit more and then got ready to go home again.  Well, not all of us.  Leny invited Frank and me over to her house as well, and since I had seen most of her miniature scenes only on photographs too I accepted the invitation.  It was great to see her work as well for real, though we didn't stay too long, because we still had to go home and going home during peak hour from the 'Randstad' means slow going...

In the end we made it home shortly after normal dinner time, so it wasn't too bad.  However, we had to make almost the same trip, albeit a bit shorter, today for my workshop in Rotterdam.  This was going to be the pinball machine.  It was a workshop I had been looking forward to for a long time, because I had seen (and heard!) it at my friend's place in New Zealand.  Yes, it's a small world. :-)

Luckily the traffic wasn't too heavy this morning and we arrived in Rotterdam quite early where Anneke received us with a cuppa.  We chatted a bit and then we got down to the real job, soldering all the parts for the workings of the pinball machine.  I must admit I had underestimated the work that would go into it and not having soldered anything for a while it took some time to get into it again.  It was hard work and from time to time I had to repeat my effort, because I hadn't done a good enough job.  However, in the end I got somewhere, but not without the help of Anneke's son, who helped me out when I got too tired.

All in all, after lunch and a lot of talking (miniatures of course!) we got to the stage that everything was working and I could pack everything away to finish it off at home.  It's the story of this holiday: workshops to be finished at home!  At least I won't be bored for a while and eventually I will have lots to show...

One picture for today though:

Pinball machine in parts

And that's all for today, folks, and probably the last update for a while now, because next week we're going away on a trip through part of Europe.  We've got a motorhome and will be travelling, so no time for miniatures until the fair in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck at the end of May.  We hope to be visiting the fair just before the end of our trip shortly after.  Till then.