Some more Sinterklaas-pictures made by brotherdearest:)

Pile of presents:


Me and my spine:


Mom and suprise-package:


Missed the party?

Sinterklaas 2007
I was sick as a dog. A dog with the flue and a bad back. But I managed to have fun, which is further proof that the family-unit rocks :-)

Let's start at the beginning. I finished wrapping presents on Friday:


and spend all day Saturday building suprise-packages...
A showbiz-mirror for actrice Benthe (she's rehearsing to play Lady Bracknell in The Importance Of Being Earnest schoolplay)

(present inside is 'Shakespeare In A Box'-playset with scripts and attributes for Taming Of The Shrew)

A busking-hat for brother Hans, who asked for a harmonica and one of those contraptions to wear it while playing guitar. I fear he's planning to perform on the street...

(present inside is one of those contraptions mentioned above;)

A burka for mom, who has been showing an interest in eastern culture the past year (cooking in a tajine, reading up on islam, bathing in hammams, etc;)

(present inside is bodylotion "Heavenly massage"

A camera for Jaap, who is very into photography and old fashioned cameras

(present inside: two rolls of very rare film)

A badge for Gayleen, who next to her job as a specialist-nurse is studying to become a nurse-practitioner while setting up a clinic for guiding heart-patients.

(present inside: CD-rom to experiment with hairstyles)

And this is what my room looked after all the arts & crafts:


On Sunday mom picked me up to drive me and the presents to her place. The big round diningroomtable is where we traditionally put all our gifts. When the tablecloths are removed, the big pile of pressies is revealed:

(and there are more on the floor...)

Let the fun begin! Sint made Gayleen a car. (she passed her Dutch drivingtest without any problems) The presents are in plain view and still a surprise: cushions (made by Sint mom!)


I got a new spine - not because I lack courage thank you very much, but because of the recurring back-issues. Present is a cable-organizer!


Jaap got a turban filled with tea, because of his trip to India (see pictures here)


Hans got a pillow with dark clouds, because of his study-troubles at research-centre TNO (I forgot what was hidden inside)


The award for best surprise goes to the otherbrother: he build Hans an amplifier, accompanied by a poem saying that it was a too expensive present to put on one's wishlist, so Sint had no other option than to build a mocking surprise-gift. Inside was an actual amplifier. Heh.


Mom assists Benthe in opening her marvelous surprise-gift...


...an eye! Inside are earrings to match the colour of her eyes. Not red. The suprise-eye can be used as a box. It also has lashes. Brilliant.


Today (Monday) I'm still recovering... from the flue and from the awesome celebrations. I cleaned up the battlefield and not only my room, but also my arts & crafts closet looks very neat now:


Here are all my presents; a ridiculous amount of generosity. Thank you, Sinterklaas!


What I got:

A gripper - so I can spare my back and still reach for stuff, high and low

Part of a human body - with body parts, cooool:)

DVD Elizabeth (to prepare for the new movie)

DVD BlackAdder 1 - 3

CD and special edition DVD The Who

moviebook Yes Nurse, No Nurse

book Instant Graphics (to remind me I love my job - despite the issues)

magazines: 2 Empires, 1 Xposé

Cable organiser

Kings & Queens honey-showergel (Nefertiti)

Green and purple glass puzzlepieces

a Pirates Of The Caribbean torch- and tablelight (awesome!)

a snuggle box with Dutch pancakes + sirop + popcorn + nitted legwarmers and special edition DVD Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

socks

a bowl with a lid for the microwave

4 purple pictureframes

a Christmas ball you can write on - with a crayon

chocolate and candy

more chocolate

even more chocolate: frogs and mice!