Zie je in januari

Days of the week, months of the year, and the word "I" in a sentence are not capitalized in Dutch.

Cities, countries and names of people are capitalized in Dutch.

So a sentence might look like this . . .

In december, vertrekken we op een zaterdag op weg naar de Verenigde Staten waar ik zal krijgen om een heleboel mensen die ik lief en missen zien.

in other words . . .

In december, we leave on a saturday headed to the States where i will get to see a lot of people i love and miss.

True story :)

Linda

Sometimes I call our dog Winslow, Shakespeare, because Shakespeare was the dog we had for a long time before Winslow.  Sometimes I call him Ross or Randi.  I don't think I've yet called Randi or Ross, Winslow or Shakespeare, but it's sure to happen.  

Of course, Winslow and Shakespeare are very dear to me so it's not all bad that I would get these names mixed up, right?

My Aunt Bev always had dogs around her house.  I specifically remember large basset hounds and a pomeranian named Linda.

From time to time, my grandmother called me Linda.  I never once heard her call anyone else Linda.  I always thought that was a sure sign she felt about the same for me as she felt for Linda.  Now, in the case of Linda being dear to her, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but in fact, Linda was not a favorite of hers.  I'm not sure what that says about me . . . but this article made me think about it.

Thousands Of Americans To Notice First Signs Of Dementia While Visiting Parents Over Holiday

WASHINGTON—Noting that the experience is sure to be extremely upsetting, a new report has found that thousands of Americans will likely notice the first signs of their parents’ dementia while visiting over the holidays. “Shortly after arriving home from the airport, an estimated tens of thousands of adults will invariably witness one or both parents forget something that just happened, misremember details of their lives that have been discussed hundreds of times before, or momentarily lose track of what they were doing right in the middle of an action,” lead author Dr. Tim Belarde wrote in the report, adding that 80 percent will see their parents write down incorrect information on a calendar, 65 percent will hear their mothers refer to a completely nonexistent event from childhood, and half will observe their father mixing up siblings’ names. 

“For the remainder of their vacations, these Americans will spend hours carefully observing their parents for further signs of mental decline and then convince themselves that any brain lapses were anomalies due to the stress of the holidays, ultimately leaving with dozens of unsettling memories they will repress in an effort to deny the inevitable.” 

At press time, sources reported that an estimated 40,000 mothers had just asked their children to resend their flight itineraries for the fourth time.

Hope that made you smile :)  And please don't ever call me Linda.

Bauble and Bijou

Wreaths have been around for centuries not only hung as a holiday decoration, but also worn on the head, placed on a memorial . . .

I first admired the wreath in the photo about this time last year when I saw it on the website findinghomeonline.com.  The website has some nice decorating ideas, especially for the holidays.

Anyway, I think the wreath is amazing so now I'm collecting ornaments to one day make one of these myself. The ornaments don't appear to be all vintage so a few new ones thrown in will be okay.  Nevertheless, I know there must be hundreds of ornaments so it could take a while!

Another man's junk . . .

A man from Tessenderlo (that's a city in Belgium) appeared yesterday before the court because he has collected around his house refrigerators, freezers, cables, refrigerator boxes, washing machines, etc. in large numbers in the garden.

The municipality of Tessenderlo urged the man several times to clean up the mess. "It is mine. Who does that bother? " is his answer. "Collecting is a fun activity for me since my retirement. So I have the day to do something and I do not have to go sit at the cafe.

The municipality  of Tessenderlo sees things differently. It fears for fire safety, germs and nuisances, including rats.

The prosecutor was talking about deviant behavior and a collective rage where other people suffer (perhaps something was lost in translation here?) .  

The Looienaar (that's what people who live in Tessenderlo are called)  got the last word and promised to take everything away. Tuesday afternoon the man seemed already to take action.  The judgment follows on 7 January.

I think the Hallsville prosecutor would have his work cut out for him.

Remember this jewel?  What would the Looienaarens think of this?

Kitsch

Recently we went "kringwinkeling/kerstmis shopping" and spotted this little gem.  

I thought to myself "this looks like something that could have been sitting around my house when I was a little girl".

She was only 25 cents and I felt compelled to buy her.

Then I turned her over and saw this.  

Grutman is a fancy furniture/interior design store here in Hasselt. Things may be overpriced at Grutman, but 140 euros?  For this little 4 inch tchotchke?

I showed it to Ross and he immediately burst my bubble by noting it was probably 140 francs . . . which in today's dollars is $4.78.

I suppose the sticker in Chinese should have been an indication as well.

Completely worthless, but . . .

she's still pretty cute.

November in Pictures

This a post of photos I've taken over the past few weeks.  No rhyme or reason, just photos.

I used to be amazed at what people (like me) are willing to pay for here.  Like in a restaurant, it's not possible to get tap water.  Tap water = not an option.  

Water is on every menu, sold only in a bottle, and generally costs about 2 euros - same as a Coke and a beer or coffee (that's water on the menu up there under Coca Cola).  

You also have to keep in mind that the bottles of Coke and water are tiny, like the little 6 oz. Cokes you remember, but that probably don't exist anymore in the States.  

So you can either sip your 3/4 cup of liquid during your meal or buy 2 or 3  more.  This is your only option.

We sometimes like to take a break from Belgian food and eat at one of the only American restaurants in Belgium - McDonald's.  At every McDonald's in Belgium, ketchup will cost you.  This one pkg. of ketchup, equivalent to 2 tablespoons is 60 cents.  That's 82 U.S. cents for every little pkg. of ketchup, or mayonnaise, or barbeque sauce . . .  This, too, is your only option.

This is us at a Mexican BBQ restaurant celebrating our neighbor's birthday.  It you can call it a Mexican restaurant - Sangria was on the menu, but margaritas were not :-\

That's Pieter, Anse, Bert, Esther, Ross, me, Annemie and Jim.

This is an armoire at the kringwinkel I would have liked to purchase.

For only 140 euros.

You may think that says 740 euros because everyone here makes their ones look like sevens.  All sevens have a line drawn through them . . . to distinguish them from the ones, I guess.

This is another armoire at the kringwinkel I would have liked to purchase.

Also priced at 140 euros.  

Sevens and ones again.

Of course, neither of them (the armoires) would fit in the car so someone else will get to enjoy these bargains.

Also at the kringwinkel . . . this item was not tempting.  At all.  Someone else in the market for a pink bidet will get to enjoy this bargain.

We saw this truck in Glasgow.  Luckily it was stopped at a red light because it took me that long to get my camera out!

Isn't that great?! It reminded me of something clever Randi would invent.

This is us having drinks with Jim's co-workers and their wives.  

That's Jim, me, Elaine, Carole, Steve and Alan.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with some of our Belgian and American friends.  It was delicious if I do say so myself.

That's Laurel, Daniele, me, Jim, Annemie, Jenna and Ross.

This is one of two Christmas trees I put up in our house this year.  Ross swears I've had them up since Halloween and that may in fact be true.  I really love Christmas.

This is Winslow enjoying Jim's sheepskin - purchased at Ikea :)

Just a couple of photos Randi texted to me . . .

of these two adorable children . . .

whom we will get to see in person in only 2 and a half weeks!

And lastly . . .

Two of several attempts to take our own picture for our anniversary.

When I looked decent, Jim's head was cut off.  He always looked good except that his head was cut off :)

Happy 33rd anniversary to the nicest guy I've ever known!

If life gives you lavender, make . . .

One day as I was walking Winslow, I heard a little girl call out "Mevrouw, mevrouw" (the equivalent of Mrs.).  

I stopped and turned to see two pretty little girls about 7 years old standing behind an iron gate.

Thinking they probably wanted to pet the dog, I walked over.  

One of them held up this little bottle and best I could tell, they wanted to know if I'd like to buy it.  Of course, I said yes.  I gave them the 3 euros I had in my pocket.

About that time their grandmother came around (and of course spoke English!). She told me the little girls were her granddaughters visiting from Switzerland and that they'd tried to get the attention of everyone who walked by, but I was the only one who had stopped.

She explained that their great grandfather was a pharmacist and this was one of his old medicine bottles.  The girls had made a perfume from lavender in the garden and were trying to sell it.

The girls ran off to play while I continued to visit with their grandmother.  Suddenly they ran up and said something to her.  They told her they wish the money I'd given them had been American!

When I got home I realized the bottle had clearly been marked 5 euros (even homemade perfume is expensive here!).  Ha.  Realizing I'd only given them 3 euros, I decided to go back with another 2 euros.

But instead, I dug through our basket of coins and gathered all the U.S. coins I had.  It wasn't much, but at least one or two of each denomination.  

I walked back to the gate, but they were no longer outside.  I dropped the coins on the ground inside the gate.

I walked back by a few hours later and the coins were gone so I guess they found them.  Souvenirs of a visit to Grandma's house in Belgium and a chance meeting with an American.

It's not lemonade, but it actually smells really good and it sits on my counter as a reminder to always buy lemonade . . . or perfume.

Ornamental

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I've been thinking about decorations and gifts.  I decided to search ebay for Belgian vintage ornaments just to see what I might look for when at the flea markets.

I was surprised taken aback by the only results.  

These are them . . . by all means, read the description of these amazing vintage "style" ornaments.

Belgian Sheepdog REINDEER Christmas vintage style ORNAMENTS set of 2

Set of two vintage style chenille bump ornaments...doggie REINDEER...two different doggies in brown chenille with a collar embellished with glitter...with green tinsel belts and wearing reindeer antlers embellished with glitter...one is holding a green bottle brush tree and the other is holding a red and white glittered candy cane...

size: approximately 5" including gold tinsel chenille stem hangers...

IS IT A GIFT?  Just let me know and I can attach a cute gift card with your message...(I also can send directly to the recipient...)

These charming vintage inspired chenille bump ornaments are destined to become the heirlooms of tomorrow…they have been designed and handcrafted with a great attention to detail…the images printed on card stock were carefully chosen from my vast collection of ephemera acquired through many years…Victorian scrap, vintage postcards, vintage wrapping paper, vintage books, etc…many of these ornaments are embellished with glitter…after all, everything is better with GLITTER!

They will come to you packaged in a cello bag tied with a ribbon.

My eBay store has the largest assortment of these vintage style ornaments anywhere…there are kitties, doggies (all breeds), bunnies, babies, gnomes, clowns, snowmen (and snowwomen), witches, pumpkins, owls, reindeer, Santas and something for every holiday – Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday parties, baby showers, wedding showers, etc…so, start your collection now!

These ornaments are perfect to decorate a feather tree, give as hostess gifts, have for party favors or just hang to add a smile to your face…if you want and don’t have a feather tree, get a dead branch from a tree, paint it and make your own! BE CREATIVE!

Not into Belgian sheepdogs? No problem.

Decorating a Thanksgiving tree AND have a pug?  These are perfect for you.

Don't forget the kitschy tchatchke.

Happy Hanukitty.

Tealights

Jim read an article about a guy who could heat a room with nothing but little tea candles and some terracotta pots.  Naturally we decided to give it a try.  Not to heat a whole room, of course, but to see if they do in fact produce much heat.

Turns out they do.

Then I wondered if we could fry an egg.

Turns out we could.

GLIMMA

Reukloos theelichtje

2,59  / 100 st.

The guy in the news article had purchased his tealights at Ikea and it's true that you can get a hundred of these things for just 2.59 at Ikea.  I'm not ready to heat the house or cook every meal on them, but they do indeed put out a lot of heat.

We decided this method worked so well we then made paella.  

Impressive, huh.

Just kiddin'.  We went back to using the stove for this one.

Underrated gem

Lonely Planet is the largest producer of travel guides and it recently published the Best Places To Go in 2014.

Here are the top 10 countries recommended for a visit in 2014 . . . 

1. Brazil 
2. Antarctica 
3. Scotland 
4. Sweden 
5. Malawi 
6. Mexico 
7. Seychelles 

9. Macedonia
10. Malaysia

and coming in at number 8 is none other than . . .

8. Belgium

High emotions in Europe's underrated gem

Historic buildings along the River Leie in Ghent, Belgium. Image by Allan Baxter / The Image Bank / Getty Images

Belgium has picturesque cities – Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent – and in Brussels a walkable capital with great museums. The food and drink is a gustatory blast (think the world’s best beer, chocolate and fries), the countryside flat and placid, the seaside surprisingly chic, while cultural treasures range from medieval masters to Tintin. Yet the words ‘Belgium’ and ‘holiday’ don’t usually mix. From 2014, a huge influx of visitors is expected due to the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WWI – a festival of remembrance lasting until 2018 – which may change preconceptions. Belgo-newbies will find medieval towns where culture and gastronomy meet, with Gothic buildings, paintings by Breugel, Van Eyck and Magritte, canals and cool shops. And they’ll discover mellow meadows, where cows moo beside monuments, and battlefields and cemeteries that testify to the horrors of a war now shifting from living memory.

I've always said Belgium is underestimated as a great place to visit.  So . . . come see us!

Confection Perfection

Last week we bought a springform pan and that can only mean one thing.

Cheesecake.  

And yes, it was creamy and delicious and gone within a couple of days!

Since graham crackers or any real equivalent aren't available here, we used Speculoos cookies for the crust.  I highly recommend this.  You know, it's those cookies you get on the airplane?

I can only take credit for eating more than my fair share . . . Jim made the whole thing :)

Here's the recipe if you're interested in making the . . .

Perfect Cheesecake

2 lbs (900 grams) cream cheese, room temp.

1 1/3 cups (270 grams) sugar

pinch salt

2 tsp. vanilla

4 large eggs

2/3 cup (160 ml) sour cream

2/3 cup (160 ml) heavy whipping cream

Mix all ingredients until smooth.  

Prepare a Speculoos crumb crust made with butter and sugar like a regular graham cracker crust.  Press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.

Pour mixture into springform pan wrapped in heavy foil.  Place the springform pan into a large roaster and carefully pour 2 qts. of boiling water into the roasting pan.

Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours.  Enjoy!

John Lewis

John Lewis is a department store chain with about 40 to 50 stores throughout Britain.  When I saw this new advertisement the store created for Christmas, I couldn't help but share it.

As a bonus, there is also a video about the making of the ad and it's worth watching too.

Be sure to have your volume on and click the four arrows at the bottom so it becomes full screen.

Zippering

You know how sometimes in the States when you're driving along the interstate and you see a sign that the left lane is going to end soon due to construction or whatever?  

You know how sometimes in the States when this happens everyone in the right lane becomes an ass and squeezes those people in the left lane out?  Even riding the bumper of the car in front of them and probably saying something inane like . . . "I ain't lettin' you in".

When I took my driving test way back in 1975, the hardest thing I had to do was pull up in front of the DMV without running up on the curb.  There was no parallel parking, driving in heavy traffic, zippering.

I never quite understood the logic behind those right-laners in the States wanting to keep me over in the lane that was obviously running out, but it all became clear to me after driving here in Belgium . . . because it's AGAINST THE LAW!  

In places like Belgium where there is A LOT of traffic, ALL the time, there's simply no room for psychotic drivers who don't understand how to drive.  Okay, maybe there are a few no matter where you live :-\

Anyway, the concept is called a ritsen, or a zipper in English, and it's part of learning how to drive here . . . AS IT SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE!

Here's  how it works - at least in places where people have learned how to drive.

JUIST = Correct                    VERKEERD = Wrong

That's right, don't even try to get over before your lane ends because it leaves a space where cars could continue to flow and traffic flow is VERY important here.

GOED = Good                  FOUT = Error

Stay in the lane that's ending until it ENDS and then those people who know how to drive let you in one at a time.  Zippering.

ZIPPER = SMOOTH and COURTEOUS

When I took Driver's Ed., also back in 1975, I was in 10th grade and it was taught by my Civics teacher (aka basketball coach).  That alone tells you how seriously learning to drive was taken.  Who better to teach driving a 4,000 pound potential weapon and of course, citizenship than a coach?

In contrast, there are 556 recognized driving schools in Belgium.  That may sound like a lot, but with over 10 million people, it comes out to about 1 driving school per 16,000 potential drivers.  

In order to pass the driving exam here, you will need to have attended one of these schools.  You must be 18 years old and the course takes 18 months and costs around 1300 euros ($1750).  If you fail the test, you will pay an additional 500 euros and get some additional training so you can try again.

They are serious about learning to drive here.  And whether you're in the right lane or the left lane . . . if you decide not to ritsen here, it's gonna cost you 55 euros ($75).

You don't have to speak Dutch to understand this video and you might learn something.  I did  :)