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?

A New Beginning ...

Project 366 #101

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

Wordless Wednesday, Hazel Catkins

Project 366 #81

Friday's Fave Five, the Theatre

It's Friday again! This means it's time to look back on the week that has passed and share the highlights by joining Friday's Fave Five. This meme is hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.




1. Eating outside for the first time this season! We've been eating outside three times already this past week. It's still very early in the season so we enjoyed it even more!

2. Quick service at the photo shop. This time I had to take my Big Guy to the photo shop to get the sensor cleaned. I got it back only a few hours later instead of the three day wait like they had first promised!

3. Spring cleaning on my patio. We cleaned the tiles with the pressure cleaner. I can't believe how fresh and tidy it now looks. We bought some lovely Primula's at the weekly market to add a splash of color.

4. My husband had a sudden longing to go to the theatre. We haven't been to the theatre in years and we didn't even know if there was a play going on or not. Half an hour later we were the happy owners of the last two tickets. It was completely sold out but two people had cancelled their tickets and we got them! We had a wonderful evening at the theatre and laughed till our bellies ached!

5. New shoes! My husband and I both had traded a pair of old shoes for a coupon of 12.5 € last week. This week we used the coupons to buy us both a pair of new shoes. Now there's a good deal if you ever saw one! Aren't they lovely?


Project 366 # 76

My Weekend in Pictures

Inquiring minds want to know " what did you do this weekend? " This meme is hosted by Gattina and it helps you remember what you did during the weekend.

As always the weekend went by much too fast and I'm glad I took so many pictures. We did not have any special plans but to just go with the flow but some unexpected things made the weekend memorable!


The weather was a bit gray and dull on Saturday, but Sunday was a very warm and sunny Spring day. We went to the weekly market Saturday morning and we had to hurry home because we forgot to take an umbrella. I bought some Primula's to add a splash of color on my patio. After lunch we did some shopping. I had two coupons of 12.5 € each we had gotten in exchange of two pairs of old shoes, so we went out to buy new ones. Here are mine, nice huh?

Around four pm we had coffee in a tea room in our neighborhood. We had not been there yet since it had new owners, and the pancakes were delicious.
That's when my hubby got an idea. "I want to go to the theatre" he said. I said "you must be kidding, we don't even know if there is a play or not?"
Half an hour later we were the proud owners of the last two tickets for a comic play. It was all sold out, but two people had canceled their tickets and we got theirs. We were very lucky, don't you think?



We had salmon with a beetroot rösti and cucumber sauce for dinner.

I had my little baby camera in my purse and took some photos of the performance.

The play was about a family party for the sixtieth wedding anniversary of the grandparents.

It was hilarious, we laughed till our bellies ached!


Sunday breakfast, always a treat...

I had gotten up early and baked blueberry muffins ...

... and made a strawberry banana yogurt trifle.

In the afternoon we did a Spring clean up on our patio. Removed dead plants and cleaned the tiles with the pressure cleaner.

My hubby always finds ways to tell me that he loves me, isn't that sweet?

We had our tea outside on our patio, enjoying the warm Spring sun.
After that I practiced with my camera some more. I have two assignments for photography class that need to get done. I made a portrait of my husband and made some abstract compositions for the other assignment. After several takes, this is the result ...

Project 366 #72


By then it was time for supper. We had scallops with endives as a starter and pork with salsify in a cream sauce. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures!
The rest of the evening was spent watching television. Or rather ... sleeping, because I fell asleep in front of the television set! LOL!

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?

"Our" Robin

Remember our robin? I was able to make some more photos of him, again this was shot right through my kitchen window!



Project 366 # 40

Weekly Winners, Textures and Reflections

Weekly Winners is brought to you by Lotus, AKA Sarcastic Mom.
She makes us grab that camera during the week and post our favorite pictures from it!

I didn't take all that many pictures this week but I did manage to scrape together a random selection! So here we go, my favorites this week ...

Before ...

After.

Juicy

Empty plates

Rusty

Friday's Favorite Five, Sunshine and Rain

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.





1. The visit from my parents. Due to the operation my mother had last year and other circumstances, it' s been more than two years since my parents have been over for a visit to our place. At last we set a date and they came over by train last Saturday.We picked them up at the station early in the morning, and I served them breakfast. We've had sunshine and the occasional showers all day, but the sky cleared long enough for us to be able to visit the weekly market. After that we could eat outside on our patio and really enjoy some sunshine. No need to say the day went by way too fast!

2. The Mojito cocktail we had as an aperitif. Crushed ice, 50 ml of white Cuban rum, the juice of half a lime, some sprigs of fresh mint and two teaspoons of sugar. Very refreshing!

3. Black cherries I bought at the market. Juicy, sweet and so shiny I could see my own reflection!

4. Empty plates. I made a Moroccan lamb stew and it was delicious. Nothing but empty plates when we finished dinner!

5. Pancakes and fruit salad for breakfast. A real treat!

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?

Sunday Selections, Because I Love Spring So Much

Kim, over at Frogpondrock hosts this new meme called Sunday Selections and I decided to play along this week.
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.

I am also remarkably absent minded and I put photos into folders and think that I will publish them later on and then then I never do.

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 Selection” title.

Link back here to me.

Easy Peasy."

The first signs of Spring always make me want to grab my camera and shoot a lot of pictures. Suddenly my patio is an interesting playground again!
I haven't been blogging as much as I used to before and these photos could easily get lost in my archives. I don't want to let this happen, that's why I'm playing along this week.
I hope you enjoy this Sunday Selection.

Fall Rubies …

 

 

 

The small maple tree is decorating my patio garden with its fallen leaves …

 

 

 

More ruby pictures from all over the world at Mary's Work of the Poet.