A New Beginning ...

Project 366 #101

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

Tulips

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!

Looking Back ...

Midweek Blues is hosted by Rebecca at The Dusty Cellar. Make a post with a little or a lot of blue in it and join the fun! You can be as creative as you like, poetry, colors ... moods .. music?



Spring is my favorite season, I just love it when nature comes to life again. But it always whizzes by much too fast. That's what I thought when I was scrolling through my archives a while ago. This picture was taken early March, when the grape hyacinths were nothing but little buds ...


Project 366 # 94




... and this was taken just a few days ago, they're past their peak already!
This is one of the reasons why I love this Project 366. It makes me grab my camera a lot more than I would otherwise. It makes me remember the way things were, sometimes only just a little while ago. Maybe I could do a couple more posts like this, make this a theme maybe?

Wordless Wednesday, Tulips

Project 366 # 74

Weekly Winners, Spring and More ...

I don't know if Lotus is doing a Weekly Winners this week, but I am! These are my favorite pictures of the week.

Saturday evening at the theatre.

Spring is in the air

Breakfast at Jientje's

First blooms

Playing with light

Project 366 # 71

What happened?

Friday's Fave Five, Spring is in the Air!

Friday again, and it has been a very good week for me. I already made a post about my weekend, ( which is here if you're interested) and now it's time to share what else I'm grateful for this week. Time to join Friday's Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.


1. It's week 10 this week. There is something about the tenth week of the year for me. It is, and has been for many many years the time of the year when my body and my senses seem to awake, and my energy starts to flow again. I can truly feel those Spring juices flowing through my veins! I am more energetic, more inspired, I feel much more alive. It's such a great feeling!

2. I bought a bunch of tulips when I went grocery shopping at the supermarket last week. I LOVE tulips, they speak of Spring to me.

3. Speaking of Spring ... There is a dove nesting underneath the conifers on my patio! Oh and the Muscari are starting to grow, my Clematis has new sprouts, nature is coming to life too!

4. The little plates you see in the bottom right picture. I've had them for years, really loved their shape (that's why I bought them in the first place), but never used them because I didn't know what to do with them! I use them as a bread plate now and they're perfect!

5. Reading the paper and some nice magazines. Really taking my time to read the weekend edition of the paper and my favorite weekly magazine. My husband gifted me this glossy photo magazine and I enjoyed that one as well!



This is my Project 366 photo for today. # 69
I took this one with my tiny baby camera, isn't that amazing?

A Walk in the Park

We visited the arboretum in Kalmthout today where the witch hazel shrubs AKA Hammamelis are now in full bloom. I had no idea Winter could be this beautiful!




It sure added a little bit of color to this very gray day.




It almost looks like Spring, doesn't it?


I love this photo, I'll make this my new entry for Project 366, # 29



I hope your Sunday was as great as mine ...


Weekly Winners is hosted by Lotus at I am Lotus.

Withering Blues ...

This is what I said about Project 366 two weeks ago:

"I know (from last time I gave this a try) how much you learn if you pick up that camera each and every day. I also learned I should not make my own rules too hard this time. I know there will also be days where I won't have the time or the inspiration to take a new photo.
Therefor, I'm not going to take a new picture each day, all I'm saying is I'm going (try to) POST a picture each day. Some of them might be from my archives, and I even might skip a day or two and post three pictures the next day."


I think today is the day. I'm not going to pick up that camera today, or if I do, I'm not going to spend all afternoon editing photos. I have to attend cooking class in the morning, and in the afternoon I really NEED to do some household chores! I want the house to be neat and tidy when our daughter Patsy is coming over on Saturday to celebrate her dad's birthday. I took a lot of photos yesterday, (learned a lot too, that's a bonus), so I'm going to post one of those.
Now, Rebecca - at the Dusty Cellar - is hosting Midweek Blues today, and I think I have just the right picture for this meme. While I was on my patio looking for signs of Spring, I noticed that the flowers on my Gentiana - which blooms early November - had not completely withered yet.
The flowers are closed and have dried up a little, but the blue color is still visible. Maybe it is because of the mild Winter we've been having around here, I don't know, and I don't know how long the color will last should it start to freeze?




So there, my entry for today, #11 for Project 366, ... enjoy!

Friday's Favorite Five, It's Good to be Back!

Friday again, time to reflect on the week that has passed and post about five favorite things from your week. Friday's Fave Five is hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, if you're looking for the rules, they're here.
Now, all I need to do is look at the pictures I've taken throughout the week to discover my favorite five things, so here we go!




1. We got back from France almost two weeks ago now, and I needed some time to get the laundry and some household chores done. We had a wonderful time in France and I came back well rested and full of energy.
I get up two hours earlier than I used to, just to be able to get some extra blogging time. I love the early hours when the house is quiet and my head is clear! The weather was lousy last Sunday so I took the time to post some pictures of my holiday in France. I was stunned and overwhelmed by all the lovely comments from all of you welcoming me back, telling me you missed me. I really had no idea how much this blog means to all of you and I want to THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your friendship and kind words. I promise I will continue to make time and try to be a better blogger in the future!

2. While we were away, we had the plumber over to do some work on my patio. Now that that's over and done with, I could finally rearrange the flower pots and decorate my patio again.

3. We bought some new hanging baskets and flowering plants

4. and two lovely coral red bistro chairs to go with the small table on my patio.

5. I had a lovely day out with my friend Nana last week. It was her birthday three weeks earlier and she bought me lunch. We had a lovely time catching up on the latest things in our lives. After lunch we made a little photo walk and photographed wild flowers. A day out with her is always such a treat, I'm already looking forward to the next time we meet!



6. Speaking of treats, I made Devil's Fire Shrimp ( Scampi Diavolo Fuoco in Italian, doesn't it sound better in Italian?) and my husband licked his plate with his fingers. Need I say more?

Street views in Provence, Bonnieux

Over the years, on the many walks through small villages in Provence I took photos of street views. Some of the houses, windows and doors are beautifully decorated with flowers and plants, and I can never get past them without taking pictures.
Over the next couple of weeks, this is what I intend to share on Thursdays ....


This is a street in Bonnieux, a village in the Luberon, Vaucluse department.
Population: 1 363 people (2004)

Bonnieux is one of the most beautiful villages perched north side of the Luberon. The territory stretched from the ridges of the Luberon to the Claparèdes plateau and to the shores of Calavon river.

Click this link for a virtual visit and more photos.

Friday's Fave Fave, What a Wonderful Week!

I really don't know where my week has gone to! I have been very busy all week and there were loads of good things foe me to enjoy!
Time to look back and share some of the highlights from this wonderful week!
Time to join Friday's Fave Five hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.



1. Bought myself flowers on Friday. They were the finishing touch to my Easter and Spring decorations.

2. We have a nesting dove on our patio. She has two little ones.

3. At the lifestyle exposition we visited on Saturday I got a massage with the spa capsule. It's a machine which gives you a water massage without getting you wet. Relaxing music from the headphones and a fifteen minutes soothing massage ... Needless to say, I did not want to get out of that machine, it was sheer heaven!

4. We had a day out with the cooking school yesterday. We visited a horses dairy farm, a brewery and a company which makes advocaat, refined jams, liqueurs, and chocolates.

5. The half liter of advocaat I brought home to gift to my husband, it tastes delicious!
For those of you who never heard of advocaat, I looked it up from Wikkipedia:

Advocaat (or advokat) is a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy. It has a smooth, custard-like flavor. In English-speaking countries it generally contains 15% alcohol (30 proof), but in Continental Europe the typical alcohol content differs from country to country and is generally somewhere between 14% and 20% ABV. Its contents may be a blend of egg yolks, aromatic spirits, sugar or honey, brandy, vanilla and sometimes cream (or evaporated milk)

Blossoming ...

We've had some very beautiful days with warm temperatures these past few weeks. As a result of that the trees are blossoming much sooner than they normally would.
I LOVE Spring, don't you?

Friday's Fave Five, Easter Decorations and Bike Tours ...

Another week has passed and it is now time to look back and share some of it's highlights.
Time for another Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living To Tell the Story.


It's been a very nice week. The weather has been warm and summery at the beginning of the week, with only a little bit of rain and cold spells yesterday.Well, it's only April first today I can truly say we have been spoiled by the month of March!
1. The nice weather made me spend more time outside. I even did my ironing outside on the patio. I love to iron and listen to the birds chirping, I think it's very relaxing!
2. Spring cleaning, cleaning out closets and decluttering, Spring seems to do that to you and I love it!
3. I put up my easter decoration and it looks lovely. I've decorated with eggs, a collection of chickens, easter bunnies, flowers in bright colors ... it looks lovely and fresh!
4. bicycle tour with my friend. We made a big tour on Tuesday and sat down to enjoy a glass of wine afterwards.
5. Artichokes. I ate my first artichoke of the season and loved it!

Friday's Fave Five, The New Look

Another week has passed and it's time to join Susanne's Friday's Fave Five and share some of its highlights.


1. My new look. I wanted a new hair style, so I went to a different salon and not only got a haircut but also had my hair colored. My new hairdresser did a great job, I just love it !

2. I got together with my friend Annie to choose some new recipes for next week's cooking session.

3. On Sunday I visited my parents and we made a little trip to the coast. The nice weather had brought loads of people about and it was hard to find a space to have coffee, but we did!

4. Snuggle up on the couch with my favorite magazine. A little bit of "me" time that I love!

5. A sandwich I made with Parma ham, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and pomegranate seeds. It was delicious!

Weekly Winners, Colors of Fall …

 

It’s been a while since I played with my Big Guy.
All photos were taken this morning with the Canon 40D DSLR.

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Winners is hosted by Lotus, AKA Sarcastic Mom, at I am Lotus.

Ruby Tuesday, the Flower Arrangement

 

 

 

My daughter gifted me this flower arrangement when she visited me last weekend. Isn’t it lovely?  It’s always such a pity when beautiful flowers wither, so I thought the best way to preserve its beauty is to take pictures while it’s still fresh and share them on my blog.   

 

More Ruby Tuesday pictures at Mary’s Work of the Poet.