About Me

My photo
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!

Followers

Heaven is in Belgium

Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday’s Fave Five, Of Gloomy Days and a Pink Sunrise …

 

It’s Friday again, time to share some of the favorite things of the week that has passed. Looking back, I find there is always so much to be grateful for, one of the reasons I love participating in this meme so much!
Don’t forget to visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to find more Fave Five posts.

 

 

FFF snowflakes-1.JPG

1. My husband’s 65th birthday was the main event of the week. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes in the comments, that was a real treat too.
Friday we went shopping at Ikea. I always enjoy it there, there is always something new to be found, or something that tickles your fancy. We did not get too carried away though, we bought the bed sheets we needed and went for a meal in the restaurant. Somehow shopping at Ikea involves having Swedish meatballs!
2. After that we went shopping at the Horeca Center. Pots and pans and kitchen utensils and all kinds of restaurant supplies for sale there. That place is heaven for me but for obvious reasons I’m not allowed in all too often! ROFL! It usually adds up to way too much money and I’ve got so much kitchen stuff as it is! Among other things I bought a new knife sharpener. I did not understand why I could not sharpen my kitchen knives anymore until I figured out the sharpener was probably seven years old! Time for a new one. I have to say, it makes all the difference in the world!  
3. That’s where we bought the lobster. A special treat from my husband. I was a little bit nervous because I was going to have to be the lobster killer, but all went well. There is this little trick I use, I stroke the lobster from his head down to his tail a couple of times. This puts him in some kind of sleep, and that’s when I go for the kill.  A huge pot of boiling stock, dip him in head first … I’m not sure if I want to try this myself but I think this procedure is pretty quick and relatively painless for the lobster.
The lobster tasted delicious I have to say. I let it cool down and served it with home made mayonnaise and crusty French baguette. The simplest of recipes.

Fave Five 22 January

4. Gloomy days and sunny days have been alternating each other all week. Tuesday was terribly foggy and misty almost all day. I took my camera and went for a walk and managed to get some moody yet beautiful photos. I lit some candles when I got home, sipped some tea and snuggled up on the couch with a magazine. I think this is a good recipe not to let dark days like this one was get you all sad and depressed.
5. The next morning we woke up to a stunning pink sunrise. As if Mother Nature wanted to make up for the dreariness of the day before …

23 comments:

aspiritofsimplicity said...

It sounds like a wonderful celebratory week! I love lobster. Over here in New England we boil it and then serve it hot with melted butter that we dip it in. Yummy!

Colleen said...

Sounds like a wonderful week. You know, I make AMAZING Swedish meatballs (tooting my own horn), but I still need to eat the Ikea meatballs whenever I go there.

RA said...

Wishing your husband a lot of joy and blessings as he steps into another year. Have a blessed week, Jientje.

Melli said...

Mmmmm! Lobster is always a treat - and doesn't need anything snazzy to happen to it. Lobster knows how to be yummy all by itself!

Christie, Describe Happy said...

Fantastic week indeed! I enjoyed your lobster story about how you put him in a trace and make it painless for him. And I still can't get enough of your boats in the fog pictures!

Unknown said...

I love me a stunning pink sunrise. The problem is the old warning about that:

red at night
a sailor's delight
red in the morning
a sailor's warning.

Fortunately, they do make pretty pictures.

Wanda..... said...

I agree with you Jientje...dreary weather can be enjoyed, your photos prove that!

The Retired One said...

I just couldn't kill a lobster and then eat it...
I still love the foggy pictures you got this week..just gorgeous!

Susanne said...

Happy Belated Birthday to your hubby!

I love the Swedish Meatballs at Ikea too. Also their salmon is yummy. The closest Ikea is a couple of hours away from here. That is a good thing in my hubby's opinion. I can spend way too much time and money there. LOL.

It's been foggy here the last couple of days too. I really like it but that's probably because it not like that very often. I love the hoar frost it leaves behind the next morning when it happens in the winter.

Carrie said...

Happy birthday to your husband!

wow, that's a pretty impressive lobster!

Hope you have a wonderful time of celebration!

The French Bear said...

Haha..... how nice is that, you put him to sleep and then boil him!!!! I loved that, I would do it too, for lobster, how divine!!! I do hope your husband enjoyed his birthday week!!! I love the photos of the gift opening and the pleased look he has!!! Wonderful!
Hugs,
Margaret B

kayerj said...

lovely collage

Islandsparrow said...

I love your recipe for a gloomy day. We've had quite a few of them too but the last week we had blue sky! So lovely.

I wish we had an Ikea here - I love their things.

You[re making me hungry for obster - we have some frozen packs - not as good as fresh but still tasty.

Belated Birthday wishes for your hunny!

Happy weekend!

Lisa notes... said...

Ikea—how fun. I’ve only been once, but loved it.

You’re much braver than I am with the lobster. Good for you. The sunrise is indeed stunning.

Unknown said...

You had a great week! Not as boring as mine! Fun pictures to go along with a fun story! Have a wonderful weekend and hope you stay dry! We are getting a lot of rain! lots of smiles across the miles...linda

Brenda said...

Happy Birthday to your husband! How nice of you to fix him lobster, I love it but don't like to prepare it. And homemade mayonaise, yum!

annies home said...

happy belated birthday to your hubby and sounds like you all had a great time

moneythoughts said...

Sounds like a good week, even with the gray days, but then again what can we expect from old man winter. As always, I enjoy your pictures. You have a very unique vision.

ellen b said...

Ahh beauty in fog and in a pink sunrise! A very happy 65th birthday to your husband!! Have a great weekend...

Momisodes said...

Those pink skies really are stunning!

Hope your hubby had a wonderful birthday.

I feel the same way as you do about Ikea. The place is synonymous with meatballs...and things I never thought I needed until I got there :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely week - sound if Horeca Center is a place to stroll through and enjoy! Your scenery - as always, beautifully captured!!

Kim (frogpondsrock) said...

Happy birthday to your husband,Jientje. My husband used to be a crayfish (lobster) fisherman. I always drowned them in a sink full of cold fresh water first. Then I boiled them up in a pot of water with sugar, salt and vinegar in the water. yummy yummy lobster. xox That is a gorgeous sunrise.

Sis said...

What a wonderful way to celebrate your husband's birthday!

Have a great week.

What am I up to? Follow me on Twitter

    follow me on Twitter

    FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

    Blog Archive