My Weekend in Pictures ...

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 ...

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

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

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

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 ...

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 ...



Our happy moment this week was my father's 80th birthday. The actual birthday was on Friday, but Sunday the whole family gathered to celebrate. I'll just let the pictuyres speak for themselves ...


Project 366 # 105


Project 366 #106



Project 366 #107

Happy Birthday Dad!

Project 366 #104


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

What Happened?

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?

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 ...

Project 366 #101

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

My Weekend in Pictures, Easter Weekend

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!

Project 366 #98



Project 366 #99

Friday's Fave Five, an Eventful Week

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 ...

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