Fun Monday, Holiday in Provence

This week's Fun Monday, is hosted by Patience at Patience is a virtue, and this is what she wants to know ...

How I'll Spend My Summer Vacation!

Y'know, it's getting on to that time of year.

Everyone's already thinking of what they'll be doing on their summer vacation.
So, let's hear about it already!! (And pictures are always welcome!)

There are still some other plans in the making for later this year, but each year our main holiday is spent in Provence, in the South of France. It feels a bit like coming home, because we rent the same house each year. It's been more than ten years since we discovered this beautiful region for the first time, but we never get tired of it. The landscapes, the lavender fields, the markets, the people, it's beautiful nature, good food ... this country has it all.
It's a feast for the eye if you're a photographer. Provence is where I took my first pictures, and learned how to handle a camera. That was only two years ago.
On previous years I refused to take a camera. I just wanted to mingle and blend in among the people living there. I much preferred it if they tried to sell us a mattress, because they took us for locals! Part of it is still like this. I go to the farmers market with my wicker basket, to look for fresh produce to cook with that day, just like any other French housewife does.
We sip a Pastis after the market, and just enjoy life.
The French easy going joie de vivre ...

I am counting the days until this gate opens...

No internet for at least two weeks.
Well, okay, maybe that's the down side, but ...
I'll keep a diary.

I'll open the trunk with my very own kitchen tools that have been waiting for me there.

I unpack the herbs and spices I brought with me.

We'll go to the farmers market.

Smell the garlic and the fresh basil?


Listen to Gig Street. My favourite jazz band.

Maybe look for a place to eat?

Or we could have a Pastis first?


Or a little picnic along the way?


Take a tour in a horse drawn carriage?


Watch the locals?
Or go home,

and cook a lovely meal with the fresh produce from the market?

Have some fun in the pool?

Chase the bees with my camera?


I know I can always find someone willing to pose for me?
And you know what?
I have a new and better camera this year...



Can't wait!!

Weekly Winners, Nothing Much ...

It's all Lotus' fault.
I'm addicted to my camera .
Yes, Melli, I take pictures of ANYTHING!
All I really want is to have a Weekly Winners at the end of the week?

Take this week, for instance.
It was just an ordinary week. We did not go out. No sightseeing. Nothing.
And because of that I thought I would not have anything worth sharing this week.
I really thought I had not taken many this week?

Okay. So I took pictures of the food I prepared?

And you're right.
It's usually not just one.
I ended up making a series of these.

Strawberries ...

... and Easter chocolates.
One really NEEDS to commemorate these too, right?

Another series, trying different settings, different angles ...

And when I get bored of food, I take it outside.
I remembered Avril asking what happens to the pussy Willows after the blooms.
So here's your answer Avril!

The Magnolia blooms in the street where I live.

I try to get into the heart of things ...

Looking for bokeh.

Trying to find a theme for my new header.

More bokeh ...

And when I get tired of flowers I can still find something else to play with.
You wait till I publish this series!! Ewww!!!
* Insert wicked smile*

Another little cutie I met along the way.

Okay, okay, I hear you.
The Magnolia blooms have opened.
Can't miss those, can I?
So what if I take my camera with me while I'm running errands?

Bought myself some tulips in that new flower shop around the corner.

And then I just HAD to take pictures of those as well.

I'm terrible. Right?

Find more Weekly Winners at Lotus' place.

Walk on ...

When you walk
Through a storm
Hold your head, up high
And don't be afraid, of the dark

'Coz at the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song
Of the lark

Walk on, through the wind
Walk on, through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed
And blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope, in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone
Alone

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your hearts
You'll never walk,
alone

You'll Never Walk Alone" Introduced in the 1945 musical, Carousel
Music by	Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by	Oscar Hammerstein II

Friday's Fave Five

It seems as if time and my days swift away ( yeah, I know that's not a real verb, but I like it) each week. Come Friday I find myself thinking, "oh my, where has my week gone to"?
And then when I look back ....


1. We're on daylights saving time now!! That is something I look forward to more than my birthday, Christmas and Easter packed together. I'm the kind of girl that needs a lot of light, and an hour extra daylight makes the days seem just a wee bit longer.
On the down side, my biological clock still is not functioning the way it should.
I'm used to waking up spontaneously at 6.45 am, but now I wake up at seven.

2. On Saturday I had a meeting with two blogger friends and my sisters in Bruges.
We took a trip on the canals, had diner in a lovely restaurant, took lots and lots of pictures, and it was fun! I love Bruges, it's the town where I was born, lived and worked until I moved to Antwerp when I was 23. Each time I visit Bruges I find that I've missed it ... so much.





3. The weather. I know this Fave Five has a tendency to look like a weather report each week, but if you lived in Belgium, you'd understand. Blue skies and sunny days are very precious to us, and we've been spoiled again this week! We had gorgeous Spring weather, nice and warm temperatures, flowers, blossoms .... sheer heaven!

4. Violets!!! I just LOVE those little violets, they are such sweet little flowers.
I enjoy looking at them, but I use them in salads and starters as well.
I just need to plant them on my patio each year. I bought some this week.



5. Another award!!! My friend Thom gave it to me last week, and it had already been passed on to me by Jan as well. It's an award with a very special precious meaning.




“This blog invests and believes in ‘proximity’ [meaning that blogging makes us 'close' - being close through proxy].”

Proximidade, created by Dawn at Twisted Sister and passed on to me by Thom and Jan is described as follows:
This blog invests and believes in proximity- nearness in space, time and relationships. Nominated bloggers are exceedingly charming, they aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. This blog award should be sent to another eight bloggers and they, in turn, should forward it to eight of their favorites. You should include the text for Proximidade in your blog announcement. And please note that all awards and tags are optional…Twisted Sister.

I'm going to pass this one on to:

Libby, at Neas Nuttiness
Jacki at Moving at the speed of life
Nicole B, at NicoleB Photography
Maggie, at Maggie's Mind
Sassydog, at Becky and her babies.
Mar at Maremagnum
Robin, at Around the island
And Evelyn at the Red Bell Farm

because of that sense of propinquity I have with each and every one of them.

I could have added so much more to my Fave Five's list today.
Such as blogging with the door to the patio wide open, children's voices at the school playground nearby, that first butterfly of the season I saw yesterday , the sun on my skin and the promise that today is going to be a beautiful day as well ...

But this is it from me today.
I hope you'll all have a great day as well.
For more Fave Five's visit Susanne's blog Living to tell the story.

Sepia Scenes Spring in Antwerp

I took this picture on one of my recent walks in Antwerp two weeks ago.
The beguinage, a place where time has stood still.
Perfect for a sepia.


Although I prefer half sepia for this picture.
I thought it would be a shame to make those glorious daffodils fade into sepia.
But what I like is that the apartment building on the right blends in and almost disappears into the sepia sky.

I used Corel Paint Shop Pro x 12, and I created a layer by copying the background, then turned the layer into sepia, and removed half of it using the eraser tool.
It's simple once you get the hang of it!

Find more Sepia Scenes here.

Melli's ABC challenge U and V

Time for Melli's alphabet challenge featuring U and V this week.
I totally overlooked U, and I had to browse through my archives to find one!

But there are three U's in this picture, can you find them?

This V is one I snapped in Bruges on Saturday.

But this is my pride and joy!!
My V for Melli!!
And the dragonheads are a bonus!


Looking for more?
Hop over to Melli's place to meet the other players.