Sunday Afternoon Drive

Do you ever take a Sunday afternoon drive? We like to do that sometimes and this past Sunday afternoon we rode out to an area near Hasselt known for its farming. There are orchards for miles. Mostly apples and pears and some cherries.

We saw this roadside "fruit stand" . . .

and bought this basket of cherries. They are just beautiful and they were delicious. We wish we'd bought both baskets.

Strawberries are pretty prevalent as well.

We could see these people from a distance and at first thought it was a "pick it yourself" field of strawberries.

Turns out these are real strawberry pickers and they weren't picking them to eat. They were picking them for the rest of us to eat.

And wheat!

I know I should get out more, but I've never seen so much wheat.

Prettig weekend!

Northern Lights

A week or so ago we watched a program that featured the Northern Lights. We even talked about trying to go somewhere in Scandinavia to possibly see them while the weather there is still warm enough. The closest Scandinavian country to us is Denmark. Just a 6 hour drive.

Perhaps we may get another chance, but apparently Tuesday night was a good time to be in Denmark. Auroras were seen there, as well as in Norway, Germany, Greenland, the northern U.S., and Canada.

Here's a video filmed in Denmark on Tuesday. It really is spectacular.

A Nice Day in Leuven

We spent last Saturday in Leuven. We visited Ross at his new apartment, hung out, took a nap, and walked around town. Ate lunch at the Domus Restaurant and Brewery. Hoped to tour the beer-making process, but we were not a group of 10 so . . . no tour.

It's only been around since 1985 and by Belgian beer standards, that's a blink of an eye.

It's really quaint and looked like a pub/restaurant should look.

And they have pretty good beer too. Even by Belgian standards!

The more I'm in Leuven, the more I like it. Kinda like Hasselt. I think that's why I wanted to live here as opposed to any of the other towns nearby. We stayed here on our very first visit and got familiar with it.

Anyway, we got a good feel for Ross's new surroundings and to make it even better, we found what is now my favorite Mexican restaurant in Belgium. El Sombrero. I know that's not saying much. Belgium isn't known for its Mexican cuisine. Go figure. But I LOVE Mexican food and I REALLY miss it. I have to say it was pretty warm as they had no windows and no AC - on another slightly sultry day, but the food was really good and the place was packed.

And the margaritas were so good I had two.

As we were walking back to the apartment, we could hear bells coming from the library. On Saturday nights in the summer, there is a concert of these bells. Chairs are placed in the square and it's just a free concert. We stayed and listened for a while. You will see on the video that there's a screen to watch the person playing the bells. She looks really young.

Ross's apartment is only one block from the library so we could continue to hear the bells even after we left. And although it's not a concert, he gets to hear them every quarter hour of every day too :)

Cheers! Gezondheid! Proost! Sante'! I'm looking forward to visiting again soon!

Firsts

I rarely mention other people's blogs. Well, never, I guess. I do follow a few blogs. And I don't mean stalk either. I leave comments from time to time so they know who I am :)

Sometimes I click on them several times a day since they're all in the U.S. and since I usually don't do the math, I'm never quite sure what time it is and perhaps they've posted something since my last click.

Well, both our children have a blog and it's one of my ways of keeping up with what's going on in their life. I love it when there's a new post. Especially with pictures. They are both really creative. I won't take any credit for that either!

So, July 16 was Frazier's first birthday and there was quite a party at his house. As I said, they are both creative and Randi can turn something really simple into something fabulous. Usually spending very little money to do it too. The decorations from the party look like they came out of a magazine.

And speaking of magazine. Ross has moved into his first apartment and has it looking like it should be in a magazine. Between Ikea and the second-hand store, he has made it look pretty fabulous too. And on a budget!

So check out the birthday party. And the decorations.

And the apartment.

I'm not partial, of course :)

Wyly and the S.E.C.

If you're from Ruston or attended Louisiana Tech University, the name Wyly is familiar. There's a building that sits in the middle of the campus and houses a whole host of classrooms and offices. Even the Office of the President where I worked as a student. But that's a whole other story.

So back to the building. Sixteen floors to be exact. By most city standards, not so tall, but in Ruston, it's the tallest building in town.

Wyly Tower.

You may or may not know how this building came to be. Sam and Charles Wyly, brothers, raised in Delhi, Louisiana, graduates of LaTech, entrepreneurs, funded the Charles Wyly, Sr. Tower of Learning in memory of their father.

No, they didn't inherit those fund from Charles, Sr. and they didn't make it all in Delhi, but apparently they've done pretty good for themselves. Billionaires. Associated with names like Michaels, Bonanza, Sterling Software, and Green Mountain Energy.

They're pretty involved in politics, but apparently they've also done some good with all that money.

Well, their lawyers are going to get some of it now. The S.E.C. has charged them both with insider trading and securities fraud. And this isn't their first wrangle with the S.E.C. Who knows if they'll join Martha with a rap sheet (no comment on that fiasco), but people in high places do seem to have a long way to fall.

A Tangled Web for the Wyly Brothers