And the award goes to ....

Getting an award from a befriended blogger
feels like getting a very nice compliment to me.
An acknowledgement to the time, work and effort I put into this blog.
And every time I get one, my heart makes a little jump,
and I get quivers down my spine!!
Knowing that people actually enjoy what I try to bring here,
is what makes me want to go on and on.
And now, I want to pass it on to other blogs.

Blogs I admire, made by people I look up to.

I got the "You Rock" award from Christine,
but I kept the cute pussycat to myself much too long.
It's time to give her a new home now
so I'm giving her to:

- Quilly
- Secret Agent Mama
- Carletta
- Dragonstar
- and Leora,
who have been faithful visitors to this blog for quite some time now.
I have a warm heart for each and every one of them.
But most of all, I am a huge fan of their work.

Only last week, I received this one.
Another token of friendship and appreciation,
given to me by Eve.
Eve, as well as Christine are very sweet friends
I met in my early blogging days on Nablopomo.

It is with great pleasure that I'm passing this one on to
- Mary the Teach, at work of the poet,
because of all that work she puts into the Ruby Tuesday photo meme.
And she visits me each and every time I participate!
- Lisa, at Lisa's Chaos, because of her brilliant photography.
- Tiff, at Three Ring Circus, because I admire her as a mother.
- Evelyn, from the Red Bell Farm,
because we share the same love for
this gorgeous piece of France we call Provence.
- and finally, Maggie, from Maggiesmind,
because she quit smoking more than 58 weeks ago.
But also because I love her cooking and her photography.

There...
You know, this was harder than I thought.
I hope nobody feels left out,
because there are so many people out there that I love to visit!

Wordless Wednesday

It's Wordless Wednesday, so I'll say nothing more,
but I think I managed to "capture" this one well did I? ;-)

Visit the other Wordless Wednesday players here.

Ruby Tuesday Only One ...

I had some trouble editing my pictures last Sunday,
but I was able to solve the problem, thank God for that.
I don't really photo shop them all that much,
but I wanted to put my signature on them,
and that didn't seem to work anymore!
It was a bit of panic, but I managed to restore everything.

For this Ruby Tuesday, I have only one picture.
But it's one I'm very very fond of.
It was taken last month in Brugge - which is the town I was born -
when I revisited some of the very familiar places from my youth.

You know,when I was about eighteen
I used to look at that corner every day,
from inside the shop where I worked way back then.


It has this certain something, I think ...

For more Ruby Tuesday,
visit Mary the Teach, at Work of the poet.
Don't forget to say hi to the others!!

Fun Monday, What Would You Like to Rule?

This week's host for Fun Monday
is Mommy Wizdom
and she has the following assignment for us:

If you were ruler for a day/week/month/year (your choice on the time) you would...

ex...make coffee free to all citizens. Or you'd abolish the penny. You may also specify if you're ruler of the world or just your country. Have fun with it; be creative.

If you like to dress up, you may also choose to take pictures of yourself in your "ruler" outfit(s) and post them up with your entry.

Okay, as some of you might know, I live in Belgium.
Life in Belgium is not so bad ... except for the weather.
If there is one thing I would like to rule or change here,
it would be the weather.
I know it's fiction, but it works for me.

I 'd let the rain fall at night ...

Blow away the clouds ...

And let the sun shine during the day.
He or she who's in charge of the weather buttons
in my country screws up big time.
I mean really?
Hail and snow at Easter?

Rain and more rain?
Storm and clouds?


Who wants this?


Everything looks nicer when the sun shines.
Sigh!
We had four days of really sunny weather last week.
Four days in a row!!!
However.
It's raining again today,
no wonder it makes a girl dream ...


Update: This post was written this morning,
while the rain was pouring down, buckets full!
It's 1.30 PM now, and the sun is shining again!
Now ain't that a miracle?
Hmmm, maybe I did rule the weather today?
I should write about Belgian weather more often!


If you want to find out what others would like to rule,
go over at Mommy Wizdom's and find out!

Weekly Winners Lillo

This is a Weekly Winners from the archives.
I'm very sorry, but I have been trying
to get this week's pictures sorted out all morning,
but I seem to have done something wrong.
I'm getting very nervous trying to restore everything.

Instead, I am offering you a tour around the Lillo harbour.
I did a series on Lillo before, but these pictures haven't been published yet.
I do hope you'll enjoy those instead...
If you care to see the other pictures from Lillo,
just click on the Lillo tag beneath this post.




As you can see, it was still early spring ...



A couple of views on the river the Schelde.




This is my favourite one from this series


If you want to see more Weekly Winners,
visit Lotus' blog, AKA Sarcastic Mom.

Photo Hunt "Hanging"

This week's theme for Photo hunt is "hanging".
I saw this cute little bear in a shop in Saint-Rémy de Provence.
The reflection in the lantern was a bonus for this picture ...

Don't forget to visit the other Photo hunt players here ...

Gonna have Fun!

Today is my day off.
And I'm off!
I mean, I'm off to Gent, to the festival.
They call it the Gent Festivities,
a week full of entertainment, music, street acts ...
you name it, it's all there, in the streets of Gent.
I am meeting two blog friends, and I think it 'll be fun.
I haven't been to the festival in at least twenty years.

Now, according to my daughter,
when I talked about the festival the last couple of years
I would sound like this ....





I can't remember ever having said anything like that!
On the contrary,
I think it's going to be fun!
See you!!!

PS: I am taking my camera with me!!!

It finally happened!

Thanks to all of you who wanted to send us some sun.
You made it happen for us!
I'm not sure how long it will last,
so I'm off to enjoy it!

See you later folks!

Wordless Wednesday

They say weather in Belgium is going to get better, starting today.
We all hope so! Some of us are getting quite depressed by now.
And I for one would love to see my new hanging baskets
... in the sun for a change!


For more Wordless Wednesday pictures, go here.

Ruby Tuesday, at the Flowershow

Tuesday
means "Ruby Tuesday",
a new ( well, it is to me?) photo meme
hosted by Mary the Teach at Work of the Poet.

I took these pictures last Sunday at a flower show.
When I saw the red wagon wheels first thing I thought was,
"here's my Ruby Tuesday for this week! "




So here it is folks, my rubies for this week!
I hope you enjoyed them?
If you want to see more Ruby Tuesday pictures,
hurry on over to Mary the Teach,
and visit the others, or join us, that would be fun!

Project Black Happy Birthday Belgium!

Today we celebrate Belgium's birthday.
Now I'm not a great nationalist myself, but still I am proud to be a Belgian.
We're a small but very beautiful country.
And through this blog,
I feel as though I'm representing my country a little.
After all, it's name is in my blog title?

However, the political climate today in Belgium is some what... um ... unstable?
That's why I'm including this picture today ...
The red yellow and black are our national colours by the way ...
Oh, ... a sky like that is a typically Belgian sky ... on a good day that is!


This is my Project Black picture for today.


If you're curious what we in Belgium are all about, check this site.
It's a hilarious A-Z of Belgium, as seen through the eyes
of a foreigner who has lived here.
He has some amazing views on Belgian matters or places.
You should read about Bokrijk for instance,
the museum I featured yesterday in my Weekly Winners.
It's funny, but it's true!

For more Project Black pictures,
visit the others at Anna Carson's Photography blog.

Weekly Winners, Let's go Back in Time ...

It was a beautiful sunny day, last Sunday.
We had blue skies and some pretty clouds.
Ideal for a photo walk.

Let's go back in time, let's say about a hundred years .



Now, in case you're wondering,
you're not in a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.
This is a museum.
Everything is authentic and real, even the tiniest little detail.


The old houses are all original houses,
taken down at their previous location somewhere in Flanders
and rebuilt again at the museum site.


The housekeepers are dressed in the right style and fashion of that time.

Of course you can go in and visit the houses inside.
Each house is a mini museum on its own...


The previous two pictures are my Project Black pictures for today ...

Every detail is just right ...

Even the sounds, can you hear that horse and wagon on the cobblestones?
Or the herd of sheep?


The farm animals are old breeds ...
They are blessed to live there, look ...


A happy pig taking a mud bath?
When did you last see one?
(I could not only see and hear this one, ;-)) ...)

It was a paradise for a girl with a camera ...


Please click on this one, it will show full size.
It's worth it, believe me!

If you still can't get enough of this,
visit my previous posts of this week,
and you'll see more pictures from this location.

This link will take you to the website of the Bokrijk Museum.
You never know, if you want to visit Belgium, it's definitely a must see!

And if you want to see more gorgeous Weekly Winners pictures,
visit the home blog of this photo meme,
it's at Sarcastic Mom's where you can meet the other players as well!

For more Project Black ,
visit Anna Carson's photography blog.