Fun Monday Any more Questions?

Lisa, over at Lisa's Chaos is this weeks host for Fun Monday.
This is what she wants to know ...

What is one thing you would like to ask your readers? Come up with a question to pose to your visitors and throw it out there on Monday. As we’re all visiting each other’s Fun Monday posts we should answer the various questions we come across.
OR
Show&Tell me about a bird, I’m easily made happy.

Okay then, I'll show the bird first ...
Eww, does that sound funny? Sorry!

The birds in this slideshow are the parents
of the little birds on the right hand sidebar of this blog.

And this one could be one of the little ones from last year
feeding his or her own babies this past spring. That's how it goes ...

Click on the picture for full size viewing.




Now for the question, the question burning on my lips is:
What object would you take with you
if you could take only one thing with you
on an imaginary journey?
You don't have to worry about food or anyhing, all is taken care of.
Just imagine ...

Visit Lisa, and the other players here.

Ruby Tuesday The Shooting Constable Windmill

I find myself looking for ruby pictures week after week
ever since I joined Ruby Tuesday for the first time a couple of weeks ago.
It has become a weekly habit, or should I call it an addiction, hmm?
Anyway, as some of you might already know,
my hubby and I made a photo hunting trip again last week,
- this also has become an addiction, I should add -
and when we came across this windmill,
I knew I had found my rubies for this week!

It was a perfect day for a wedding, 08/08/08.
(You can see a bigger version of it in my Weekly Winners post from last Sunday)
But also a perfect windmill for a Ruby Tuesday.

I walked around it, and took pictures from every possible angle.

As you can see, there was some heavy weather coming up from one side,

while on the other side, the sun was still shining ...

And of course ... I'm saving the best for last!

Or at least I think I did?

Now, some of you might get confused.
I live in Belgium, not Holland.
We in Belgium, we have our own windmills.
In fact, the technology to build windmills was invented in Flanders,
(Belgium that is) don't let those Dutch people fool you!

Most of the windmills were lost throughout the years,
but in the last twenty or thirty years,
a lot of them have been restored and are functioning again.
This one was relocated in 1981.
It came from a village close to where my grandparents used to live.
A police officer trying to prevent that fired a bullet into the mill.
The mill is now called "Schietsjampettermolen" in Flemish.
If I translate that it would be something like " the Shooting Constable Windmill"
How's that for a story huh?


Update:
Quilly asked me in a comment:
How would shooting the windmill prevent it from being relocated? And why was the constable trying to prevent it from being relocated? Was it being kidnapped against its will? I need a bit more of this story!
quilly | Homepage |


Well, I looked it up for you.
The original mill on this location dated from the 16th century.
But it was destroyed by a storm.
In 1981, a certain Mr Van Hoe bought the Houtavemill.
which stood in Houtave, the village next to my grandparents.

He wanted to restore it and put it back up again in Kruishoutem.
It was in a very bad state when Mr Van Hoe bought the mill.

This is the mill on its previous location in Houtave.
It was dismantled and taken down, to be transported
to the new location, but the local chief of police
shot into the air twice to try to scare away the workmen
and thus trying to prevent the relocation of the mill.
As far as I can see, there must have been
some kind of a dispute on the sale of the mill.
There was a legal battle for more than ten years
before the judge finally decided the mill was to stay in Kruishoutem.
They renamed it Schietsjampettermolen,
and I translated that to "the Shooting Constable Windmill."


This is what's left of it on the previous location in Houtave.
(I nicked the two previous pictures from MrGoogle,
I hope he'll forgive me)
There, that's the whole story as far as I was able to track it down!

Update number two:
Now this is really something special folks.
I never knew the story of that windmill
up until now, when I did the research for Quilly.
I found the black and white picture, and updadet the post with it.
I posted the update, and went back to my chores here at the house.
While making up the bed, I had this lightbulb moment.
That's when I remembered ...

I was sitting on the backseat of my grandmothers bike,
looking at that mill as we drove by it every week when I was a kid!!!

I had no idea when I was taking pictures last Sunday
that that was one and the same mill from my childhood memories!!!
No wonder I was so attracted to it!!!
Thanks Quilly for making me do the research!

For more Ruby Tuesday pictures,
visit Mary the Teach at Work of the Poet.

Fun Monday Favourite Picture

Host for today is AOJ and the lurchers, and this is what she wants us to do:

Show me your favourite photograph and tell me why it's your favourite.

It can be one you've taken yourself or one someone else has taken, a snapshot or a more professional image. Is there a story behind it? Do you love it for the memories it gives or just because it's pleasing to the eye?

Show me and tell me!

When I saw the assignment, I thought this would be easy.
And then I started to browse through my pictures,
and found out it just isn't!
So many pictures, and so many beautiful memories,
picking only one is so difficult.
Pictures of happy moments together with my family,
my parents, my daughter, my husband ...
Pictures from one of the trips we made last year,
Normandy, Provence, Morocco, London ...
The skyline where I live, a beautiful sunset,
tits nesting on my patio in spring ...
All of them beautiful pictures, and memories I cherish.
Every day, and not so every day moments in my life.
I share them on this blog every day,
if you want to see my favourite pictures,
just browse through my posts and you'll find loads of them.


But if I have to pick a favourite one,
it would have to be one from that beautiful September day.
This is the apple tree in the garden where I grew up.
It must have been there almost all my life,
I can't remember that garden without it I think.
We had a swing right next to it,
and I remember sitting in its shadow,
playing with my sister, or reading a book there,
so many memories all connected to that tree.
But I can never remember as many apples on it as last year.



It was a beautiful day at the end of September,
we don't get too many of those here in Belgium,
especially not that time of the year.
We were all together at my parents house,
celebrating my sister and my daughter's birthday,
eating outside in the garden, a perfect family day.
And at the end of that day,
my father picked the apples from that tree.

And this, my dear friends is truly MY favourite picture.
It shows my father like I have always known him,
and that's how I will always want to remember him.

Always busy doing something,
and picking the fruits nature has given him.

And yes, thank God, both my parents are still alive and healthy.
I hope to keep it that way many more years ...


Visit the other players here.

Weekly Winners This is Belgium ...

It was a very busy week for pictures this week, and I took loads of them.
On Thursday I went for a walk with two blogfriends.


It had been raining quite hard that day.


rain = puddles.

puddles = reflections.
reflections = pretty pictures, so we didn't mind!

The next day I had a photo hunting date with my husband.


The village of Deurle looks like a postcard...

Or an art gallery?

Decay with character.

Antique baluster as a garden fence.


Driving off into the countryside ...

Sinking away into oblivion.

It kept it's treasure hidden safely behind the rusted bars .

Nature and drama.

This is not a painting.
And no, it's not Holland either, we have our own windmills in Belgium!


Fiday 08/08/08
A perfect day for a wedding ...
(Click on this one for full size view. )

One more?
Okay, but that's the last one from me for today ...



If you want to see more pretty pictures,
visit the other players at Sarcastic Mom's blog,
the home blog of Weekly Winners.

Photo Hunt " Dark"

This week's theme is dark.
I saw some very dramatic dark skies yesterday,
but I wanted a different approach on this theme.



Yesterday was a beautiful day, full of serendipitous events.
My husband and I made a photo hunting excursion,
we often do that lately. We get some healthy exercise,
while I take pictures, and try to get better at it.

We went for a walk in Deurle,
a beautiful and very artistic village near Gent.
I had never been there before but the village is a real gem.
There will be more pictures from there later on in the week.

This huge dark sculpture suddenly caught my eye.


It's a bronze, and it's called Mother Earth II.
It's made by a Belgian sculptress, Ann Deman.
If you click on this link, there is an interesting slide show
on the making of this sculpture.
I thought it would be perfect for this week's theme "dark",
and I made a few pictures from different angles.





There, this is my take on this week's theme.
If you want to see others,
visit the home blog of Photo Hunt,
and don't forget to visit the other players ...

Sky Watch Friday Kiss and Make Up

This is my first Sky Watch Friday.


I was working in my study last night, um... blogging I mean,
when I saw those pink streaks in the sky.
I grabbed my camera and went outside to catch this pretty pink sky,
and the view from my patio, the "skyline" of the village where I live.
It had been raining severely all day,
and I think this was a "kiss and make up"
surprise gift from the weather gods ...




You can see Sky Watches from all over the world here.

Wordless Wednesday Otters at the Zoo

Three words only: click to enlarge.


Visit the others at the home blog of Wordless Wednesday.

Fun Monday Words

This week's host for Fun Monday is Mothers of brothers,
and this is what she wants:

Words are our building blocks, our stepping stones, and, for many of us, our salvation. We string them together so quickly at times, we often lose sight of how precious they are. So tell us about your favorite word… or if you can’t pick just one, tell us about a few. Are there certain words that feel good the way they roll of your tongue? Do some words make you feel smart? Or silly? Or happy? Which words do you find yourself selecting to put in your posts? Since this response could be a short one, feel free to poll your family and friends and include some of their favorite words as well. If you think a definition is required, please share one. Please keep the words rated G for all audiences. Any language is acceptable, but please provide a translation. And stick to real words as opposed to ones made up along the way. We then challenge everyone to visit the posts on Monday and try to use other bloggers’ favorite words in your blog next week. We can’t wait to expand our vocabulary!

First let me tell you something about myself.
As some of you might already know,
I'm born, raised and living in Belgium
English is not my native speech.
It is Flemish, which is very similar to Dutch.
Similar but different, and I do want to point that out here.
We learn more than one language at school,
and I'm rather proud of the fact that we, humble Belgians,
can communicate with so many people.
I have always been fascinated by the English language myself,
and I started this blog to indeed try to expand my vocabulary,
improve on my writing and get the spelling right.
I know I probably still don't get everything right yet,
but every day I learn a little bit more.
Reading your blogs helps a lot , and I have my dictionaries close at hand.
I don't need them as much as I used to
but I prefer to look it up whenever I'm not sure.
Some of the early comments sure made me need them.
By now I know what "botched up bread" means,



and I know what dandelion puffballs look like,
all thanks to Christine and her lovely comments!

One of the favourite words I learned is "flabbergasted".



I came across it when I did Quilly's alphabet in pictures.
I read a chapter a day in both of my dictionaries
looking for a new word each day.
I illustrated each word with a picture,
then visited the other players,
thus learning new words there also.
There's a notepad in front of me, that's where I write them down.
Every once in a while I try to read them.
I really should write them down more though!


There are a couple more I like just because the sound of them.

" Ambisinistrous" = equally clumsy with either hand.
Well, I am sometimes, to be totally honest.
I can picture myself meeting one of you at a party and say,
"Hi, I'm Jientje and I'm ambisinistrous!"
while spilling my glass of champagne all over your rug
I'd have to drink a couple of them before I can pronounce it though!
And if I drink them, I can't spill them anymore, now can I?

I like beautiful words.
I want to learn to use more, and find new ones.
I don't think any of you will have learned something new here,
but I'm sure I will by visiting all of you.
Me and my notepad can't wait to meet them,
all those interesting, funny witty words ...


Make sure you visit the other Fun Monday players here.

"A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged,
it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly
in color and content according to the circumstances
and the time in which it is used."

Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Weekly Winners A Walk on the Wild Side

This week I want to take you with us ...


on a safari?


Careful, don't get to close to this one!

A dead animal in the river?
Creepy!



We could almost touch the giraffes.

Was it in Africa?

Well, you probably already guessed it.
It wasn't.
And that dead animal was a fake one.

I was in a zoo.




The one with the broken winged storks I showed you earlier this week, remember?


All kinds of animals,

but no elephants ...


except for these of course!


It's a stunningly beautiful park,


with all kinds of creatures, great and small.
Click on that last one to see it full size.
It's worth it!



For more Weekly Winners,
go over to Sarcastic Mom's .
She's the one who makes us do this,
each and every week!

Photo Hunt, Clouds

This week's Photo Hunt's theme is cloud(s).
Well, that shouldn't be so hard, plenty of clouds in Belgium!
It was hard to choose though,
but because I love reflections, it has to be this one ...



Visit the others at the home blog of Photo hunt,
or join us, it's fun!

Photo Story Friday, Broken Wings

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Check the rules for playing, by clicking on the picture.
Visit the other players by clicking on the links.
Click on the radio if you want to hear the music.

Discover Chris de Burgh!

These broken wings can take me no further,
I’m lost, and out at sea,
I thought these wings would hold me forever,
And on to eternity,
And far away I can hear your voice,
I can hear it in the silence of the morning,
But these broken wings have let me down,
They can’t even carry me home.


In broken dreams that keep me from sleeping,
I remember all the things I said,
Well I’ve broken all the promises,
I said I would be keeping,
They’re gone, like leaves they fell,
For it’s so hard when you’re far away,
All I needed was a shoulder I could cry on,
Now these broken dreams have woken me,
My love, will you carry me home.

Or will you treat me like some traveller,
On a dark and lonely road,
Who sees a light and a woman who will give him love,
Oh and just when she reaches the part,
When she’s supposed to comfort his broken heart,
She turns away, and sends him travelling on, on,


Oh when I left I believed that nothing would go wrong,
I thought the whole world would be waiting for my story,
Take me back, my love, I need you now,
Come back and carry me home,
Take me back and heal these broken wings,
Come back and carry me home.

Music and Lyrics by Chris de Burgh.
Pictures taken at the Planckendael Zoo, last Sunday.
The storks you see here all got injured and have broken their wings.
In the wild, they would not have a chance,
they would almost certainly die.
These are the lucky ones,
they have been saved, and can now spend the rest of their lives at the zoo.

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.

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 cli