Is there no end to this?

Ok, perhaps there is, but . . .

from somewhere around mid-May to about Halloween, the weather in Belgium has been stellar.  If the weather were like this every year, everyone would want to live here.

Of course, it's a national pastime here to complain about the weather so we know this year is truly unusual.

That's Belgium outlined in white.

The grey, overcast skies with daily rain and cool temperatures have set in now, but I'm optimistic that come May . . .

If this is global warming, I'll take it.

Save water, drink beer

In some cases, bottled beer is cheaper than bottled water here.

Recently, Belgian brewers have started a campaign to get more people to drink beer.

According to this article, Belgians aren't drinking nearly enough of their own spectacular beer.

Drink more beer, urge Belgian brewers

The Bulletin

The Belgian Brewers Association wants to do something about the declining beer consumption in Belgium, which has dropped to a historic low of an average of one pint a day. Therefore, the brewers are launching a media campaign, involving TV and radio spots and ads in newspapers and magazines, starting in November and continuing through 2014. "Forty years ago, Belgians drank an average of 120 liters per year," says director Sven Gatz. "Today that number is just 74 liters. It is a bizarre and conflicting situation because our beers are so highly praised abroad, while in Belgium consumption is on the decline."

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The comment below was at the end of this article and perhaps explains it all and they also have a nifty solution.

Comment

ANONYMOUs

Be delighted to drink more healthy delicious Belgian beer, but there is a problem! The police give you a big fine if you drive a vehicle.  Solution: Arrange a beer drinking week where there are no police fines.  That would generate money for the breweries, cafés and restaurants and the public would be very happy to relax. Extra tight rules and regulations need to be relaxed, from time to time.

Yes, that was an actual comment.  Anonymous is proposing that we set aside a beer drinking week where drinking and driving is not illegal.  After all, it "would generate money for breweries, cafes and restaurants". Furthermore, in this beer drinking week, "the public could relax" and who needs those "extra tight rules and regulations"? Relax them too!  Perhaps in some way that makes economic sense, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't qualify as common sense.  Try again.

Steentjes

That means "stones" and we've been in search of steentjes for our backyard for a while.

Well, we finally found some!  Aren't these great?!  Pure granite.

We piled all these stones into shopping bags, hauled them home in the car and unloaded them.  That means taking them through the house since it's the only means to our backyard :\  It's a lot more stones than it looks like!

I spent a couple of days arranging them as I envisioned them and yes, I was pretty sore!  This isn't in stone - pun intended.

After a lot of digging and rearranging and squatting and stooping, we're making progress and I love it!

Wine Decline

According to Morgan Stanley Research, a wine shortage is upon us.  Apparently wine consumption is outpacing vineyard production.  I do what I can.

The old world still dominates, but its star is slowly waning

Europe- led by France, Italy and Spain - still holds the crown as the world's biggest wine producer, making around 1.5 billion cases in 2012. But production from this part of the world is falling sharply, with output down 9.5 percent between 2011 and 2012. France - the world's biggest producer - suffered an even sharper fall of 18percent.

Wine consumption dipped between 2008 and 2010 but is back on the rise

The recession hurt wine consumption, but a recovery is well underway, with demand fast approaching its pre-crisis peak.

The French still drink the most wine, but the US is catching up

The French have historically both made and drunk the most wine. But the US is now a close second, while China's taste for wine is also on the rise, having doubled twice in the last five years.

With 4.3 billion Asians and 2.7 billion of the rest of us.  Yes, 60% of everybody in the whole world lives in Asia. 

Since their population certainly isn't waning, maybe their taste for wine will.

News to me

Study this infographic for a moment . . . it represents regular viewership of the news - by age.

Where are you and your favorite news program on the list?

Surprised?

If I'm reading this right, 80% of adults under age 50 watch The Colbert Report and 75% of those same young and semi-young adults are watching The Daily Show.

I know, I know, if, like some of us, you're over 50, that may or may not be past your bedtime :)  But you can watch it any time of day or night online.

If you haven't been watching The Colbert Report for the last 8 years and/or The Daily Show for the last 17 years, you are probably like some of us, but not all of us "over 50's" . . . out of touch with what our future is interested in hearing and reading.  

If we think Colbert and Stewart are just comedians and don't matter . . . I think we might be wrong.

See infographic above.

And see for yourself.

Click HERE for an episode of the Daily Show

and

Click HERE for an episode of the Colbert Report.