Socks Socks Socks and More Socks (cont'd)

Lest you think I haven't continued...HA!  Carrying on from my last post on socks, July 28, this will catch you up to date, for the record.  (Those of you following me on FB have already seen them.)

20th Pair (for daughter Amy), finished August 3, 2020

Flotte Socke, Rellana #1551, Germany, 46% cotton, 33% wool, 12% polyamide, 9% polyester

 (I also had a black and grey yarn without the turquoise but Amy liked this one better, "with color.")

21th Pair (for son Mark), finished August 9, 2020

Lana Grossa, Christmas #6756, Germany, 80% wool, 20% polyamide

 (Mark said he'd like something "seasonal."  Hopefully this will work?!)

22nd Pair (for Astrid), finished August 23, 2020

Scheepjes, Invicta Colour, NL, #951, 75% wool, 25% polyamide

 (Astrid and I decided it'd be fun to try a ribbed sock down to the heel.)

23nd Pair (for sister Ruth), finished August 29, 2020

Opal Fairytale, #9792, Germany, 75% wool, 25% polyamide

 (Whenever I have 2 skeins of the same yarn, there's exactly enough left over to make a footies pair,

which Ruth prefers to full-legged socks.  How cool is that!  A first for me, after 22 pairs.

Half a sock is better than no sock at all?!)

24th Pair (for BIL Don), finished September 10, 2020

Flotte Socke Scandinavia, Rellana #1475, Germany, 75% wool, 25% polyamide

 (Sister Ruth and hubby Don live in Maine.  This design reminded me of a winter Nor'Easter!)

25th Pair (for Chris), finished September 20, 2020

Flotte Socke Scandinavia, Rellana #1474, Germany, 75% wool, 25% polyamide

 (This is a Thank-You to Astrid's "Big Brother" in Bath, England,  

who helps ferry us all over tarnation whenever we visit.)

26th Pair (for moi), finished October 1, 2020

Flotte Socke, Rellana #1552, Germany, 46% cotton, 33% wool, 12% polyamide, 9% polyester

 (This is my favorite yarn, like 2 other pairs I've made, as for Amy above.  Perfect for my khakis.)

27th Pair (for sister Ruth), finished October 8, 2020

Flotte Socke Scandinavia, Rellana #1474, Germany, 75% wool, 25% polyamide

 (Remember what I said about left-overs when I have 2 skeins of the same yarn?  Footies for Ruth.)

And now I'm starting another pair for Astrid....

In case you're wondering, I still have 7 more skeins of yarn in my stash.

After those socks are made, I'll go on another shopping spree (with left-over money from my birthday)!

  I really AM addicted.  :)

Garderen Sand Sculptures 2020: "75 Years of Liberation"

My last post on August 27 was the first part of Astrid's birthday celebration this year, which included granddaughter Hailey at the Adventure Farm the day before her actual birthday.  Remember?  

Today's post is the actual day of her birthday, August 24, celebrated at the Garderen sand-sculpture festival 84 km from home.  It's our 3rd year in a row to visit these incredible creations that still blow our socks off.

Because I turned 75 in June, when we normally go (for MY birthday), it was the perfect theme, all about what happened in WWII, ending with Liberation from the Germans on May 5th, 1945.  It's a HUGE event for all of Europe (the world!), but you can be sure it's extra special for the Dutch.

Put on your seatbelt for the ride of your life.  It's long, mainly because I want it all in one post, but I'll keep text to a minimum.  Let the images tell you everything you need to know...and/or Google the rest.

It's a no-brainer at the entrance what this is going to be about.

And this is all before you enter the main door of the exhibits!

We noticed right away that THIS year "live" (non-sand) props were included everywhere.

All of the above was in the first walk-through room, with exhibits on both sides.

The second section, about the celebration after liberation, I'm leaving for the the end,

including the following walk outside.  You'll see why at the end.

Throughout the war, there was displacement as homes were destroyed.

Do any of us know what that felt like?

What about the Jews being transported to death camps?

And to think some today think it was all a hoax!

The attention to detail, let alone subject matter, still blows me away.

The biggest exhibit, straddling a "river," was about "A Bridge Too Far."

Remember that movie?

We took son Mark to see this bridge in Arnhem, 77 km away, back in 2018.

 

This is the video Astrid took of the exhibit, which gives a better feel for its size.

Warships and planes were a big part of the war, of course.

And the war reporters kept track of it all.

Don't forget the Enigma Code...and the various buildings significant in the war.

The Dutch remember these things!

In between all the exhibits were reenactments setting the stage.

Inside and out...so very life-like.

Speaking of outside (remember?), this was another large exhibit of sculptures.

Anne Frank

Hitler

Yalta Conference

In a couple of these you can see the liberation...

...which takes me back to the liberation section on the inside at the beginning.

Europeans remember this.  Americans like me have an inkling of what it must have been like.

Pure jubilation.

LEST WE FORGET.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

As if that weren't enough, each year, totally apart from the theme, there's a section of sculptures

that forms a riddle to be solved.  This year it was the names of 36 cities/villages in the Netherlands.

You had to figure out the name of the city by clues in the sculpture.

Some of them even you could figure out, without clues.

It had just rained before we arrived that day.

The flowers seemed an apt memorial for what we had just seen.

All of this during a pandemic!

And now we can hardly wait to see what next year's theme will be.