Yes, the big one, the sampler, am I not rash? I have wanted to do this one for a while, and this seemed like a great chance.

I am sitting here in my apartment in Apeldoorn, listening to a series of small explosions, which is the usual evening entertainment of some young people here, letting off fire works in the street. Fortunately my bedroom is on the non-street side of the apartment, so I won't hear them when I go to sleep. Actually while I was at Gare du Nord this morning, the police blew up someone's abandoned parcel or suitcase, I didn't see which, now that WAS an explosion.

Also fortunately I did bring my dinner from Paris with me, since I had leftovers, and now I don't really want to go out and find any food in Apeldoorn with all of this going on. I am very near restaurants and takeaways, but better not to go out when there are fireworks around - Apeldoorn streets are very deserted at nights, apart from the ones who let off the fireworks, and none of us like to walk alone at night. Giulia, my Italian colleague, had a nasty experience just before Christmas - in fact it happened inside the Albert Heijn supermarket, she thinks - her backpack was opened, and a plastic shopping bag taken. There was nothing else in there, and it was one covered in Italian supermarket names and logos, so we are all looking to see if it surfaces somewhere in Apeldoorn.

Now I'm going to sit in front of the tv, and sort of my case of wips and future starts - time to select what I shall stitch on the train to Den Haag tomorrow!