Heaven is in Belgium

The Sinterklaas Parade in my Town

2012-11-26T10:03:00.001+01:00

Lots and lots of little children together with their parents or grandparents were gathered in the main street of my town Saturday afternoon. They came to see the Sinterklaas parade. Sinterklaas is a holy man, a friend of the children, a colleague of Santa Claus, let's say. He lives in Spain, but he arrives in Belgium at the end of November, and on the evening of the 6th of december, he brings toys and sweets to all the children.
I did not want to miss the parade, so I was there with my camera ...

The black faced men are the Zwarte Pieten or Black Petes. They are the helpers of Saint Nicholas. They help Saint Nicholas to distribute all the gifts and candy on the 6th of December. But above all, they have to keep an eye on the children to make sure they're good. When I was a kid, Black Pete told me he would come and fetch me and put me in a big brown potato bag if I did not finish my soup. I had many nightmares and sleepless nights over that!

But now, all they really do is throw some candy ...

... and pose for me!

Autumn 2012

2012-11-19T12:48:00.002+01:00

The last two weeks have been rather busy around here, that's why I haven't gotten round to posting the rest of my pictures from that gorgeous photo walk yet! The weather has been dull, rainy and gray since then, and that's a pity. The leaves haven't all fallen just yet, and their colors are still gorgeous. I have the afternoon all to myself today, so I'm gonna see if I can take some more Autumn pictures. I'm sure It won't be the same without the blue sky, but I'm gonna try it anyway!

The walk continues ...

2012-11-06T12:14:00.001+01:00

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon when we made this long photo walk. Part one of this series of photos is here if you're interested.

We continued our walk. It was a photographers dream, behind every curve of the path, there was another great photo.

Patches of sunlight highlighted beautiful details ...

and threw shadows on the trees...

Blue skies and gorgeous Autumn colors reflected in the pond...

I will be back with more photos from this beautiful walk sometime later this week.

Friday's Fave Five, the Halloween Edition

2012-11-02T17:13:00.000+01:00

A perfect week like this one just would not be complete without a collage of some of the highlights from it. That's why it's always a good idea for me to join Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and share five favorite things from the week that has passed.

1. Our daughter Patsy invited us for a little birthday dinner last Saturday. She's such a great cook, dinner at Patsy's is always a treat. She made a delicious pumpkin soup as a starter, and a roast of deer with salsify in a curry cream sauce. Yummmmmmmm!!

2. Sunday was such a beautiful sunny day, so we went out on a photo walk to try and capture the beauty of Fall. We had a rather unexpected photo opportunity when we met a falconer who was hunting for rabbits with a Harris Hawk. I was able to make some amazing photos of the man and his bird. Photos still need to be published, so come and see next week!

3. It was a bit of a slow week this week, no cooking lessons or ceramics class, which gave me a lot more time to spend behind my computer. I found some time to blog, and I just LOVED all the comments you gave me. It's great to get in touch with all of my friends again!

4. A Halloween market was held in my town on Wednesday evening.The whole town was decorated with pumpkins and skulls, the shop assistants were dressed up as witches and vampires, shops were open until ten ... It was a fun evening! Of course I was there with my camera, pictures are here if you're interested.

5. The Blue Tits around our house are already thinking of Spring. They were thoroughly inspecting the nest boxes on my patio this afternoon! The nest box on the bottom left of this collage is a new one my hubby bought as a birthday gift, and we repaired the other one, so there are two for rent this year. Let's hope they'll vacate one of them next Spring!

Halloween in my Town

2012-11-01T11:16:00.005+01:00

Halloween has become quite a commercial success over the last decade here in Belgium, and for the second year in a row a big Halloween event was held in my town yesterday evening. The shops were open until ten, and there was a Halloween Market at the market place. Of course, I had to be there with my camera ...

Some of the kids were dressed up and went from shop to shop trick or treating.
There was even an inflatable castle for the children.

The whole town was decorated with pumpkins and skeletons.

Shop keepers were dressed up as witches ...

There were special treats on sale like pumpkin soup with spiders or these pretty Halloween muffins at the baker's shop.

I've never seen so many witches, and they happily posed for me.

some sweet ....

some a bit evil ...

... and scary ones

Those lovely colors of Autumn ...

2012-10-31T11:47:00.000+01:00

Thanks for those lovely comments on my last blog post, it was so nice to find out I still have some readers left after such a long break! Your comments made me realize I DO miss blogging more than just a little bit.

This week is a holiday week, a lot less busy than my usual weeks, so I have more time on my hands. I also have loads of pictures to share for now. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes beyond that, won't we?

Let's just pick it up where I left off ...

What a beautiful beautiful blue sky, we don't get that every day around here!

Those leaves had such a beautiful color I just had to pick some to make a Fall decoration at home.

Me, waving at you!

Anyway, on with the walk ...

I really loved this quaint little house, I've never seen any like it!

The shrub with the blue flowers echoed the color of the shutters ...

It was even prettier than the photo!

The walk continued, I so enjoyed it, taking it all in, paying attention to every little detail. I still have lots more to share, so I'll be back!

My weekend in Pictures, I'm BAAAACK!!

2012-10-29T11:08:00.001+01:00

I got an email from a befriended blogger asking me if I was okay, because it's been so long since I last posted. She told me she missed my stories and my photos. I was very surprised, I never thought anyone would care whether I blog or not.
To be honest, I do miss blogging sometimes too, it's just that I don't get around to it as much as I did before.
I still take pictures - not as much as I used to though - but they just seem to linger around on my computer. And that's a shame, really.
Maybe I should publish something from time to time eh?

Maybe I should just begin by telling you what I've been up to this weekend eh? The weather was gorgeous, crisp, cold and very sunny. Unlike the west of the country where my Mom and my family live, we did not get any rain around here.
On Saturday, we got up early because my hubby had to catch a train to Brussels and we still wanted to go to the market before he left. I had to keep myself busy all afternoon, so I baked four loaves of bread ...

... and made some new Fimo jewelry beads. I had gotten a birthday gift in the mail from my sister the previous day and I wanted to play with some of the new colors I got.

Anyway, here is what I made ...

Saturday evening we were invited by our daughter Patsy and her hubby for a little dinner party for my birthday. Her food was delicious, as always!

Sunday was an even sunnier day, so we decided to go out and capture some of that stunning beauty of Autumn ( which never lasts all that long) with my "Big Guy" camera. We had a very long photo walk and I took over three hundred photos! Not all of them good, mind you, but still... And at the end of our walk we met a falconer, and I was able to take amazing photos of the man and his bird. It would be a shame to waste such beautiful pictures, so I will publish more from this walk later this week.

Friday's Fave Five, Chocolate and Good Music

2012-06-08T10:36:00.000+02:00

Friday already! After an uneventful weekend I've had a pretty busy week with a lot of good stuff going on. Time to join Susanne's Friday's Fave Five and share some of the highlights from it ...

1. A day out with my friend Nana on Wednesday. At ten in the morning when we were supposed to meet up it was still raining cats and dogs. The rain really was poring down with buckets, and at first we didn't really know what to do with our day. Nana bought herself a cute umbrella and put on some good music in her car. It was an hour's drive to reach our destination in Holland and we sang along with the music the whole time. That cheerful mood of ours must have changed the minds and the moods of the weather gods, because by the time we were halfway there the rain had stopped! Later in the morning we even had sunshine! We went to Etten-Leur, a small shopping paradise in Holland.

2. Shopping for shoes at bargain prices. I've been looking out for red shoes for quite a while now, but had not really found them until now. Nana took me to her favorite shoe shop.The shoes over there are a lot cheaper than in Belgium, and not only did I find the red shoes I had been dreaming of, I also found two more pairs! A girl can never have too much shoes now can she? I paid only as much as one pair would have cost me in Belgium!

3. Alcohol free Pastis. Pastis with the taste but without the sugar and the alcohol of our regular aperitif.
We stay away from alcohol during the week but me and my hubby are addicted to our aperitif ritual whenever he is home. This is a perfect alternative!

4. Toblerone mini chocolate bars. When I was on holiday in Switserland as a teen I tasted Toblerone chocolate for the first time in my life. Although I haven't bought it much over the last decade, I still think it's a heavenly treat. I found these individually wrapped minis in a local supermarket, and now I can enjoy the almond and nougat laced milk chocolate with a nice cup of Senseo coffee!

5. A hand written card from Kamil Vojnar. We bought one of his art photos about two years ago, and he let us know he will be in his galery in Saint Remy in France during Summer. Too sad we're not going to Saint Remy this year, but it was nice hearing from him. I'm sure we'll get to visit him and see his latest work when we go there next year.

Friday's Fave Five, Summer Days

2012-06-01T10:13:00.002+02:00

We've had a couple of nice "warm-weather-feels-like-Summer" days the past two weeks, so I spent more time outdoors rather than behind my computer, that's why I haven't posted in over two weeks!
June already, I just knew the month of May would whiz by in a jiffy!
It's Friday, that means it's time to look back upon the week that has passed and post some favorites. Time to join Susanne's Friday's Fave Five!

1. Last Friday was our 21st wedding anniversary, and my husband surprised me with a lovely bouquet of roses. He knew I would most probably welcome him on the patio, when he parked his car down below. He didn't want me to see the bouquet just yet, so he smuggled it in through the front door before he parked the car! That man is so smart, he still knows how to surprise me even after all those years!

2. I've got my camera back!!! My Big Guy has been fixed, and it cost me nothing! This time they had to replace the shutter, but there was a six month warranty on the previous repair job, so they did it for free!
I'm a happy camper now!

3. The roasted pineapple we had on the barbecue. We injected it with rum and coconut liqueur and roasted it for an hour. Served with some ice cream it was delicious!

4. We were invited to spend a day in the Ardennes by our daughter Patsy last Sunday. It was a beautiful day, and we made a nice long walk before lunch. After that, lunch was prepared on the barbecue. It was wonderful to be outside all day and enjoy each others company in the warmth of the sun.

5. We love to experiment and try new flavors on the new barbecue, and with the warm weather we had last weekend it was time to enjoy our patio! This time we tried shrimps with a raspberry dressing, served as an appetizer. I would never have imagined shrimps with raspberries, but it's wonderful!

Friday's Fave Five, November Weather

2012-05-11T09:38:00.001+02:00

You're probably wondering why I'm using a fall button to this post? Well, that's because of the weather we've been having here lately. It's been cold and wet and gray, not at all the kind of weather one would expect in a beautiful month of May! It doesn't feel like Spring at all, it feels like November around here!
Phew! I had to get this off my chest, the weather is definitely NOT in my favorites these past few weeks. We're desperately in need of some sunshine and stable weather.

That said, over to the real business of the day by sharing my favorites from the week. It's time to join Susanne at Living to Tell the Story in this weekly meme.

1. Highlight of the week was my Mom's birthday on Sunday. The whole family got together to celebrate her 79th birthday.Read all about it and see more pictures in this post.

2. Breakfast and a day out with my friend Nana. It's always great to spend time with her. This time she found us a very cozy vegetarian restaurant. The food was great, and time flew by way too fast.

3. Shopping for clothes. After breakfast we browsed some clothing stores together and fitted a couple of dresses. I found three dresses, a white cardigan and a very cute polka dotted T shirt.

4. Fimo fun. Ever since my daughter gave us a workshop on how to make polymer clay beads, we've been bitten by the Fimo virus! This week I made a necklace to match my beige dress and I'm rather proud how it came out.

5.The Senseo coffee maker my hubby surprised me with yesterday. I found a package of coffee pads in the shopping bag and thought he had gotten a free sample at some supermarket. He acted as if he had forgotten something and came back with the coffee maker!

6.Our new barbecue. Despite the poor weather, we've been cooking outside a couple of times this week, and I love my outdoor kitchen a lot!

My Weekend in Pictures, Happy Birthday Mom!

2012-05-07T11:20:00.001+02:00

I got up at seven in the morning on Sunday because I still needed to bake a cake for my mother's birthday.We were due at my sister's house at noon as we were invited for lunch, and after that we all gathered at my Mom's to celebrate her 79th birthday.

We had all baked something for tea, my sister Bientje baked a chocolate cake, my other sister baked an apple pie with lemon and I had brought an apple raspberry cake which is the one in front. There was also a delicious strawberry crumble and chocolate chip cookies my daughter Valerie had baked. Yum!

That chocolate cake was to die for!

Here's the Birthday Girl opening her first present, a picture of my dad with his cat.

Here is my Dad showing off his new sunglasses, a birthday present from all of us for his 80th birthday. Isn't he handsome?

After tea we had a little creative session with polymere clay. We're all into that since my daughter Valerie had taught us how to make our own jewelry a few weeks ago.

All the paparazzi were there too!

All too soon it was time to dress the table again and serve supper...

And then it was time for another present from all of us ...
The day went by much too soon, today it's a very happy memory with lots of precious moments.

These are the flowers I got from my daughter Valerie. She was one week early for Mother's Day! Beautiful eh?

My Weekend in Pictures ...

2012-04-30T09:58:00.000+02:00

Tuesday is Labor Day, so many people (although not us) take an extra day off in order to have an extra long weekend. We did not have anything planned, just the usual stuff like the weekly market and running a few errands.

I wanted to try a recipe from my new Weight Watcher's cookbook, so I made savory muffins, with feta cheese, red bell pepper and olives. Served with a green salad they made a perfect lunch.

After lunch we needed to take my camera to the photo shop for repair. Turned out there is a six month warranty on the previous repair (the one I paid 230 € for!!) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't cost me to have it repaired this time!

We wanted to buy a new barbecue so we visited a garden center to see what choice they had.We bought rosemary and thyme for my herb garden while we were there. My husband had spotted a good quality/price barbecue at Makro a few weeks ago, and while we were having coffee at the garden center, we decided to not wait any longer and drive to Makro to buy it. Barbecue season has not started just yet because of the poor weather, but when it does, this barbecue might be sold out before we know it, and we did not want to take that chance!

The rest of the evening was spent putting this new baby together!

The next morning I made crepes with pineapple and strawberry salad for breakfast.

We had a bit of a lazy Sunday afternoon, reading,blogging and watching some television.

The weather had been rather gray and dreary all day, but around six the sky cleared and the sun came out...

Happy hour on my patio with a refreshing Mojito!

I made pork roast with mustard sauce and string beans for supper and we watched the semi finale of the Ultimate Dance Battle after that. It was a great weekend!

Sunday Selections, The Mas Museum Site

2012-04-29T14:19:00.002+02:00

Today I'm joining Kim at frog ponds rock in this Sunday meme. This is what she says:

"I take a lot of photos and most of them are just sitting around in folders on my desktop not doing anything. I thought that a dedicated post once a week would be a good way to share some of these photos that otherwise wouldn’t be seen by anyone other than me."
"So I have started a photo meme that anyone can join in and play as well. The rules are so simple as to be virtually non existent.
Just add your name and URL to the Mr Linky.
Publish your photos on your blog using the “Sunday Selections” title."

My camera is in the shop waiting to be shipped to Canon for repair, so I cannot take any new photos right now, but I also have lots of photos lingering in folders that never made it to be published yet, so I guess this meme is just the thing on this gray and dreary Sunday afternoon!
The following set are from a photo walk I made with my photography class at the Mas Museum site in Antwerp. Enjoy ...

I will publish more from this very photogenic site in Antwerp later this week.

Friday's Fave Five, Good Company

2012-04-27T10:05:00.004+02:00

I missed last week's Fave Five because I was too busy getting everything ready for my house guests. It's one week later already, and I haven't posted yet, so I guess it's high time to look back upon the week and share some of it's highlights.Time to join Susanne's Friday's Fave Five!

I can't believe it's already the last Friday of April. The weather has been lousy around here, I've forgotten what it's like to be able to eat outside or bask in the sun! It's been cold wet, windy and dreary all month! Hopefully the month of May will finally give us some warm and sunny Spring days.
It's been a week with ups and downs. Ups because of the visit from my sister, downs because I'm worrying about my 19 year old cat Tisja. She has not been eating very well and she is getting rather weak. I changed her food and now she eats little bits a couple of times a day. I hope she continues to do so.
So anyway, on with the faves of the week ...

1. My sister and my brother in law stayed the weekend. It was great to be able to catch up on each other's lives, and hang out together. They arrived on Friday evening and stayed until after breakfast on Sunday. My sister is a very creative girl, and among other fun things, we experimented with Fimo clay to make a neckless.

2. The neckless I made later this week. I went to the craft shop on Monday to buy some Fimo clay and other stuff I need to make my own jewelry and made my first neckless all on my own. It's the purple one ( my favorite color ) on the bottom left of this collage, and I'm rather proud how it came out!

3. The new Weight Watcher's cookbook I bought. Lots of new recipes for me to try out, I love it!

4. My white Phalaenopsis is in bloom for the second time. I cut it back after it stopped blooming and pretty soon after that the new buds appeared. It is now in full bloom, lots and lots of pretty white orchid flowers, I never would have thought I could pull that off!

5. Extra time with my hubby. He is going to work from home two days a week from now on, and that means we get to spend more time together. This means I can cook for him and we get to eat together a lot more than I was used to before. I hate eating on my own, and usually don't bother to cook for myself, so this is definitely one of my favorites!

Midweek Blues, Old Jaquar

2012-04-17T17:34:00.006+02:00

Midweek Blues is hosted by Rebecca at The Dusty Cellar. You can be as creative as you like. Moods, poetry, photography, or music anything blue will do!

Project 366 #108

My Weekend in Pictures ...

2012-04-16T10:53:00.009+02:00

Happy Birthday Dad!

2012-04-13T16:25:00.003+02:00

Project 366 #104

It's my father's 80th birthday today. Happy Birthday Dad!

What Happened?

2012-04-12T09:14:00.007+02:00

Remember the nesting doves on my patio? Mr and Mrs Dove taking care of their nest one at a time. The nest was never empty.

Then one day I found the nest had been abandoned. The many white feathers make a pretty picture, but also tell me some drama must have happened here ...

Project 366 #103

And now the eggs have been destroyed as well. I see only one dove anymore, I don't know what happened to the other one, maybe a cat got hold of her?

Error 99, Is This the End?

2012-04-11T11:56:00.003+02:00

Project 366 #102

100 days into my Project 366 and my camera is acting up again. This is what happens if I try to shoot a picture. I get an error 99 code telling me shooting a picture is not possible and to switch the camera off and replace the battery.

I have googled err 99 and found out this is really bad news.
It probably needs servicing but I have already spent 229 € last time ( when I had problems with the shutter release button) and another 35 € to get the sensor cleaned, I don't think it is worth spending more money on it? I'm devastated, because I LOVE that camera, and I don't have the money to replace it right now. So I'll just downgrade to the old SX1IS, my bridge camera. It's not going to be the same anymore!

A New Beginning ...

2012-04-10T09:26:00.001+02:00

Project 366 #101

" Before beginning, prepare carefully"
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (Ancient Roman Lawyer, writer, scholar orator and stateman)

My Weekend in Pictures, Easter Weekend

2012-04-09T10:21:00.015+02:00

Inquiring minds want to know "what have you done this weekend?"
This meme hosted by Gattina helps you to remember what you did on the weekend.
I agree, weekends always seem to whiz by so fast, one tends to forget.
That would be a pity because they're precious moments, worth remembering.
That's why I love participate and look back on Mondays to share these moments with you.
My weekend in pictures ...

I played the Easter Bunny on Saturday ...

My two sisters and two nieces gathered at my daughter Valerie's for a creative afternoon.

It had been years since we'd done anything creative together, so we all had a real good time. We made beads in artificial clay (it's called Fimo here in Belgium) to create our very own jewelry.

Project 366 #100

Here's what my neckless is going to look like. We're going to assemble them next week when we all meet at my parent's home for my dad's 80th birthday.

Hubbie and I stayed at Valerie's for supper and some good conversation over a glass of wine so we were home rather late in the evening.
We stayed up to watch Bird on a Wire with Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. I fell asleep before the end of the film. *rolleyes* Needless to say I was in bed much too late!
On Sunday morning I baked fresh rolls and mini croissants for our Easter brunch.

We had fresh Belgian strawberries which I had bought at the weekly market. They were a treat!

In the afternoon I took a little siesta, because I was still very tired. I felt like a new woman when I woke up! So I took to the kitchen and made quails with apple and Calvados (which is quite an elaborate recipe) for supper and it tasted heavenly. After that we watched the Ultimate Dance battle on television and went to bed.

Happy Easter!

2012-04-08T17:09:00.003+02:00

Project 366 #98

Project 366 #99

Friday's Fave Five, an Eventful Week

2012-04-06T07:43:00.012+02:00

There is a lot that made me happy this week and I want to share it with you. That's why I'm joining Susanne's Friday's Fave Five, looking back upon the week that has passed and sharing some of it's highlights.

1. A dinner party and a lovely evening at our daughter Patsy's. Patsy secretly invited more family. My husband's cousin Hugo and his wife Hilda showed up as well and that was such a lovely surprise to us. Patsy is an excellent cook, her food looked as good as it tasted!

2. A big event in my town yesterday. There was an important bicycle race going on in my town yesterday. The 100th edition of the Scheldeprijs departed and arrived in my town. Of course, I had my camera clicking! The photos are here if you're interested.

3. The new plates I bought earlier this week. They look adorable and they match the pink and green bowls and cups I bought last year.

4. The new kitchen faucet my husband installed. It's on the top left of this collage and I'm very happy with it!

5. A postcard from Provence, France. Nobody seems to send you postcards anymore, but my friend Nana does! It's on my kitchen table now, and it makes me long for our own holiday there.

Project 366 #97

In My Town, Yesterday ...

2012-04-05T08:46:00.022+02:00

There was an important bicycle race going on in my town yesterday. The 100th edition of the Scheldeprijs departed and arrived in my town Schoten. Everybody was there, national and international press, television ...
Of course, I was there too and I had my camera clicking! I took more than 500 photos!
What follows is just an impression, I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves ...
Enjoy!

Project 366 #96

Tulips

2012-04-04T08:28:00.001+02:00

Project 366 # 95

These tulips were adorning Patsy's dinner table last Saturday. I LOVE tulips, they're my favorite Spring flowers.
Note to self: go buy a bunch of tulips today, they're not expensive and yet they give so much pleasure!