Friday’s Fave Five,Where Has the Week Gone to?

 

 

Where has this week gone to? I’ve been very busy lately,  so busy that I hardly found the time to post on my blog. But I don’t want to miss out on Friday’s Fave Five, the meme which makes us look back and share some of the highlights of the week that has passed.

 

1. My Hubby was home early on Thursday evening, and he had no appointments on Friday, which made for a very LONG weekend for us to enjoy. But long weekends seem to whizz by even faster!
2. The bike ride we made on Saturday. We rode through heath land and the scenery was breathtaking. This time I had not forgotten my camera so I took some photos, but they don’t do it justice. The pink landscape was a lot prettier in real life than my photos turned out to be!
3. Mushrooms. One of the things I like about Fall. I love to photograph them, but I like to eat them as well, well, … store bought ones that is!
4. At the moment my house is filled with the lovely aromas of the brown veal stock I am making. It takes twelve hours of gentle simmering before I can strain it and let it cool down. I’m going to deepfreeze small portions of it and it will give some real depth of flavor to my sauces this Winter.  
5. We visited my Mom and spent a lovely afternoon with my sisters and the rest of the family on Wednesday. Nine people at my Mom’s dinner table and she loved it! I’m really glad my Mom is doing so well after her surgery!

Midweek Blues, Through Open Doors …

 

For those of you who missed yesterday’s post, please click this link to see part one of this story. I’ll wait while you look at the pictures of this old worn down farmhouse from the outside. Go on, they’re worth the effort!
Like I said earlier, the doors were all left open so I went inside …

 

From then on, it was just me, the house, the spiders and the cobwebs …

If walls could talk, what stories would they tell? Who lived here?

 

Was this room once filled with children’s voices, laughter and singing?   

Were they happy? How did they earn a living? Was life simple, or was it a struggle?

All these questions will be left unanswered …
It leaves me wondering.

I still wish I had taken more pictures though …

 

Play along with Midweek Blues!
Colors, moods, music, poetry...be as creative as you like!
Midweek Blues is hosted by Rebecca at the Dusty Cellar.

Visit my other blog, Heavenin365 for a photo a day with the Canon D40.

Abandoned …

It’s been a while since I took this set of photos, I finally took some time to edit them today. I applied an “Agfa” action from PhotoScape for that aged look.

One beautiful Spring day when we were out in the country we came across this old farmhouse. The sign said it was for sale and that’s how I found the courage to snoop around a little. After all, if somebody came after me I could always say I was interested in buying it, no?

 

 
 

 

 

  

 

 

 
Looking back, I think there were still so many pictures left untaken. I should have taken a lot more. But I was a little bit nervous because I was trespassing and my husband – who was waiting in the car - did not know what I was doing!

All the doors were open so I gathered all my courage to have a peek inside as well. Tomorrow I’m going to take you inside …

Chipped Paint and Broken Windows

 

There is something about ruins, barns and old abandoned farmhouses that I love. I think rotten wood, chipped paint and broken windows can be very photogenic. When we came across this one, I just had to investigate a little closer.

 

 

 

Friday’s Fave Five, Spring Blossoms and Good Company

 

Here we go for another round of Friday’s Fave Five again. It’s been such a wonderful week it feels like I could make this a Fave Twenty Five! So without further ado …

 

1. An unexpected phone call and a visit from my daughter has got to be my number one. Although Saturday was filled with lots of little surprises, this was truly the highlight of the week. We sat outside in the sun on the patio, enjoyed a lovely meal together, caught up on some stories from each other’s lives, it was wonderful. The afternoon and the evening went by much too fast. Although her company is the most wonderful thing on earth she can give me, she never comes empty handed. I just LOVE the mini succulents she gave me. They’re a lovely momentum of a wonderful afternoon!
2. My hubby fixed the little wall fountain!! The water pump had gone stuck when I forgot to keep enough water in it last year. I missed the murmuring sound of the  water so much, I’m so glad he got it fixed!
3. Weight loss! Eating healthy food and lots of fruits and vegetables is paying off, I have lost 9.4 lbs already! Woohoo! The best thing of it all is we’re really enjoying this new way of eating. It does not feel like we’re dieting at all!
4. The Swedish smoke box. A delicious way to prepare all kinds of food is to smoke it in a smoke box. I’ve had the box for years, but haven’t really used it much up until now. I have been experimenting with it lately and ’m really getting the hang of it now!
5. The lovely excursion we made to Haspengouw, which is the fruit region of Belgium. The orchards were not in full bloom yet, which gives us a reason to go back in two weeks, if the weather holds?  Despite that, there were photo opportunities galore, some of them quite surprising and unexpected like the abandoned farm house and the MG’s. So keep an eye on this blog in the next couple of days!   

So how was your week? Was it as wonderful as mine was?
Find more Fave Five posts at Susanne’s Living to tell the Story. 

Macro Monday, Barbed Wire and Moss …

 

 

 

 

 

Stakes and poles and rusty fences mark the boundaries of the farmer’s land.
A little bit of moss, a splash of color, a spider’s web.
Mother Nature taking over. 
Barbed wire to add to the drama.  

I love the countryside!

Macro Monday is hosted by Lisa at Lisa’s Chaos.

Ruby Tuesday, Countryside Rubies

 

Spending some time in my grandmother’s village is always a treat for me. 
My grandmother passed away many years ago, and my family does not live there anymore, but I’m so fond of that pure and unspoiled scenery that I love to go back there and let the memories carry me back to my childhood. 
The weather did not really cooperate, it’s a little gloomy and gray, but still…
I hope you’ll enjoy my rubies …

 

Knotted willows …

and ruby fences.

The church is never far away.

Oh and cows, I LOVE cows!

 
More Ruby Tuesday posts from all over the World at Mary’s Work of the Poet.