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Antwerp, Belgium
Welcome to the new, and improved version of Heaven in Belgium. I am Jientje. "Jientje", like the boys name Gene, followed by "chu"? "Gene-chu", that's how you pronounce my name. Yes!!!!That's it!! So now you know huh? I am an addicted blogger. I was born and raised and am still living in Belgium. Yeah, the "this-is- Tuesday-so-this-must-be-Brussels" kind of Belgium .. There, you see? Maybe you couldn't find it on the map, but at least I'm trying to change that a little by sharing lots of pictures. I really love to cook and create new things, like this blog for instance. I am a mother,a grandmothe and a wife too! They say I'm a traveler, and a photographer. Well that's just what they say, I love to make pictures, but I am far from professional ... If my English is not perfect, that would be because it's my second language. I do hope you'll forgive me any possible misspellings or strange vocabulary ... Now, as a result of all of the above, I get way too little sleep and my days are always much too short!

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Heaven is in Belgium

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

A thousand words in Idioms, S and T

As long as people have been around, they have tried to communicate with each other. As a means of getting the message across as clearly as possible, idioms and sayings have found their way into our language. Now, because "a picture paints a thousand words", I thought it would be nice to make this a photo challenge. The idea is to choose an idiom, or a saying, ( even slang is allowed) and illustrate it with a picture. Each week we'll cover two letters of the alphabet, okay? You can find the first edition here if you need some inspiration.




"A Thousand Words in Idioms"

If "language is the dress of thoughts" ( Johnson), then idioms must the wardrobe ...

S is for ....

“See which way the cat jumps”:
if you see which way the cat jumps, you postpone making a decision or acting until you have seen how things are developing.

I wanted to take a picture of a very cute cat sitting on this window sill in Lourmarin, but she beat me to it and jumped off. In a fraction of a second I followed the cat with my camera and tried to snap her picture anyway, but I was too late. When I saw the picture on my computer my initial thought was to delete it. And then I thought it made a rather nice shadow shot for the Scavenger hunt. I ended up using a different one for the photo hunt but I still kept it in my archives .
It's a good thing I did not delete it. I could not think of a better picture for this idiom!

T is for ...



"Take your hat off ":
If you say that you take your hat off to someone, you are showing your respect or admiration.

This man is an ice cream vendor in the streets of Lourmarin. I published another picture of him in my Photo Scavenger Hunt a while back. I'm very pleased to anounce that it has been voted best picture in the "laughter" category of Kirsti's Scavenger hunt. But I took more than one picture of this man, he had such a photogenic face!
This is the second one ... And once again, he tells the perfect story.

I’m very much looking forward to what you will come up with. Don’t forget to enter the URL of your blog post in the Mr Linky if you’re playing. It makes it easier for people to track the posts down or look them up later.



31 comments:

Gattina said...

Fortunately there are cat paws in the bottom of the picture ! love the second shot.
Your Mr. Linky doesn't work and there is something else with your blog. It never shows up in my Google reader, is there a reason ??

Gattina said...

Sorry, it's not right, you are in my Google reader ! I am a little absent minded today, lol !

Melli said...

LOL at Gattina!

Isn't it amazing how that picture that wasn't turned out to be the picture that WAS! That is so cool! And you're right - perfect for that idiom -- which I have not heard before btw! We do have a similar one - but at the moment I can't think what it is! (I guess I'm with Gattina!)

Love the guy with the hat!

Carleen said...

The photo with the cat fits the idiom so perfectly!

My post is up and can be seen here:
Idioms S and T

Sorry to link this way, but Mr.Linky isn't working properly.

Wanda..... said...

The man has a glint in his eye...I think he was flirting with you Jientje...after all you were in France!

moneythoughts said...

All this talk about cats and the man with the hat reminds me of the "cat and the hat". Sorry, it is just the way my mind works.

United Studies said...

I really like how you were able to capture his personality in such a simple shot. That picture definitely says a 1,000 words!

Kathy said...

Great shots Jientje, my hubby is always saying that cats, they do their own thing but dogs are a mans best friend lol. This guy has a wonderful personality and a lovely best friend. great idioms too. I had better go and link now, this is fun, thank you. happy Wednesday, Kathy.

Kathy said...

ops Mr Linky is not working for me too :-(

my url is http://casa-dolce-casa.blogspot.com/2009/07/thousand-words-of-idiom.html. Kathy.

Unknown said...

I had never heard of seeing which way the cat jumps - I like it, and usually I am waiter. :)

Barbara H. said...

Mr. Linky wasn't working for me, either, so here's my link:

http://barbarah.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/a-thousand-words-in-idioms-s-and-t/

Hope that's right -- it wouldn't let me paste it in , so I typed it out, hopefully accurately.

I had never heard that idiom before for S. We have a similar one about seeing which way the wind blows before making a decision. That picture is just perfect for it with the cat having jumped!

What a neat man -- he does look like he's maybe flirting or at least enjoying himself. :-)

spacedlaw said...

Tempting. I would have to review my idioms though...

Gattina said...

Thanks very much for all your comments on my Writer Cramps' blog. Photo memes are in Keyhole pictures ! My idioms are there and this time I have the right letters, lol !

PS. The week where it was nice and hot here, I was on holidays in Italy, where it was rather cool the first days, I really have no chance !
and then near the coast the weather is always better than here in Brussels. Really !

MrsLittleJeans said...

Love the expressions and the pics too. I will tell you first hand that the cat expression is TRUE... cats will always make spontaneous decisions that will beat us. And icecream man is cute : ).

xo

MrsLittleJeans said...

PS- your linky does not work, I know someone said that. I just added your link to my list manually so I won't miss these photos...merci

Anonymous said...

Excellent pictures and they so depict the idioms very well. The cat one is priceless. Very very good. The guy in the hat is also very well done. Way to go my Belgian Bombshell. You done did good. As you already know from everyone else, Mr. Linky is showing his ugly side. LOL. Mine is HERE. Aloha my friend

Unknown said...

Those two shots are just plain cool :D
The cat jumping out of the frame with the shadows is great.
And the man with the dog, love both of their face expressions :)!

quilly said...

When you are here, I must watch you photograph people. How do you get them to agree? And do you tell them you are posting their photo online?

I love your idioms and I am sorry I'm not playing. On my vacation I never know what day it is or what time and truth to tell, I rather like it that way. Still, I am thinking of all the fun I missed not coming up with my own idiom shots.

Carletta said...

I've been wondering the same as Quilly - if you ask permission to take and publish people's images?
I remembered the gentleman in the hat.
It is a great shadow!

Kathy said...

Thank you Jientje, this is fun.

Unknown said...

The cat is perfect - and so is the vendor - but the real winner is the dog!! His expression just says so MUCH!! Like - "Why oh why do I put up with this? I am so tired of this guy's schtick!"

Jientje said...

@ Gattina: There were some problems with the Mr Linky this morning. I sent a message and it took all day until they told me they fixed it!
You had an off day today, didn't you?
@ Melli: We have a similar one in Dutch too, something like : "Wait until the cat climbs out of the tree".
@ Carleen: You did great with yours too! I fixed it and added your link.
@ Wanda: Yes, he has... hmmm.
@ Moneythoughts: Would that be something like the rabbit out of the hat? Not sure what you mean here?
@ Jacki: The man had such an expressive face!
@ Kathy: He has, I thought he was cute!
@ Lisa: I had not heard it before either, but I
like it so much I'm going to use that one! Well ... every once in a while that is? !!
@ Barbara H: He was having fun! And so was I!
@ spacedlaw: Why don't you?
@ MrsLittleJeans: Aaaah, at last!! Someone has heard of it!
I fixed the linky.
@ Thom: Sometimes all you need is a little bit of luck. Or charm?
@ Nicole: LOL! Indeed! I had not yet paid much attention to the dog's face until I saw your comment and Lou's!
@ Quilly: That depends on the subject, and the way they react when I take their picture. I start shooting, and to my surprise some people really like that. Like this guy, and the two jeu de boules players. Sometimes I flirt a little, yes. Sometimes I show the picture, sometimes I tell them, sometimes not. Asking beforehand takes away all the spontanity of the picture. Difficult matter, I know.
@ Carletta: That depends.Sometimes I do. If they object, I show the picture, if they still object, I delete it. But very often they give me their email adress and ask me to send them some pictures. The long haired guy of the jeu de boules court gave me his adress and I'm sending him some printed pictures.
@ Kathy: I think it's fun too, and you're very welcome. Thanks for playing, I loved yours!
@ Lou: The things you see! And you're RIGHT, that's EXACTLY what he's thinking!

Libby's Library said...

Congrats - I think you should win the best in every category!!!

My brain just doesn't work well enough to join all these hunts. Can you believe it...my grand kids have been here for two weeks, and I've only taken about 4 pictures. I need a swift kick in the butt!

Jientje said...

@ Libby: Here it comes: * KICK IN THE BUTT*
Shame on you! LOL!

Alice (in BC Canada) said...

Wow... talk about perfection!! That cat shot is totally a match to the idiom. I too am glad you kept it. Sometimes these 'didn't work' shots have a perfect fit somewhere other than our original thought. So well done.

Willow said...

You're right. That guy is very photogenic. His personality leaps out of the photo.

I love the bird pictures in the previous post too.

Jientje said...

@ Alice: Thank you! There was something about it ...
@ Willow: He just KNEW he was. Thank you.

Robynn's Ravings said...

These are GREAT and you are so right about the cat picture. It says it all. And I LOVE that man. What a great face!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Is that anything like having luckycharms? LOL

Jientje said...

@ Thom: Witty, very witty. But yes, I think it is!

Jientje said...

@ Robynn: Yes, so did I!

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