Weekly Winners, Christmas in Bruges

Bruges. If you visit Belgium, you'll more than likely visit this town.
But to me it's the town where I was born.
I left Bruges to move to Antwerp when I was 23, but she's still in my heart.
I love this town, more and more each year...
Now let me show you what Bruges is all about...

Tiny streets and little alleyways.
There is a little personal history to this spot. I used to come here every day.
The door on the right is the back door to the shop where I used to work when I was eighteen years old. I used to park my bike there, go into the shop from the main street and open the back door from the inside. One day I was running late I forgot to put it inside, and my bike got stolen.

Lace shops.
A friend of the family owned one, and we used to work there on holidays and weekends.

The canals ...
They used to smell terribly when I was young, it was horrible.
Boats crammed with tourists always made us snicker.
But they know better now, the water is healthier, there's even fish in them nowadays.
And the tourists no longer need a clothes pin on their nose to survive the boat trip!


People call it Venice of the North.



I think it's so pretty ...


Oh, and the houses look like cute little gingerbread houses ...


with crow-stepped gables. I love them ...



Respect for what's old and keeping it authentic is what makes Bruges so charming and unspoilt.
Bruges still looks like a fairy tale town to me, look ...



Yes, I know, I have already published this picture,
but that was on Christmas day, and I don't think many of my readers saw it.
I had fun playing with some layers and an eraser tool on my photo shop program.
Click here if you want to know how to do it.



The Christmas lights in the streets.
They still make my eyes sparkle, even though I'm not a kid any more!
I hate it when they take them down again, and only darkness remains.
That's why I could not resist posting them, even though I know they're not my best pictures.


Click on the banner to visit Lotus and the other Weekly Winners participants.
But wait ...
Don't leave just yet!


This is my photo of the day.
I was trying to create "bokeh" after I read this tutorial.
This is what came out of it.
I'm not there yet, but at least it's a start?

Weekly Winners, It's all about Christmas this Week ...

This week's favourite pictures are all about Christmas of course.
I was very late to put up my tree, I finally got around to it last Sunday!

Murphy was here ...




Fun with the camera, Picasso style.
Julie taught me this little trick.
She calls it camera tossing, but there's really no tossing involved!
Click on the link and let her tell you how to do this!

My Boyds Bears nativity scene.


Everything was there, we were all ready for it.
But first ....

a glass of champagne ...
Lilacspecs asked me about the food, so I'll tell you what we had...

Cannelloni of swordfish and guacamole in the little glass, both with North Sea shrimps.

Smoked eel with leeks and pink pepper and salmon tartare.


Carpaccio of scallops with marinated fennel and Salicornia with a rosemary and fig mustard dressing. ( Salicornia is also known as pickleweed, march samphire or glasswort, I did a little bit of research!)


Salsify soup with croutons with walnut pesto.

I'll probably get executed over this, but this is foie gras.
With gingerbread and baked apples, and the spoon contains black pasta, tiny cubes of foie gras and Parma ham, perfumed with some truffle oil.


Main course was a poussin stuffed like a turkey, with morels.
The pink mushrooms on the right side are baby potatoes.
I'll show you how to do this in next Tuesday's Ruby Tuesday, okay?

Oh and dessert?
We forgot dessert!



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Home for Christmas

Christmas is family ...
Well ... not for us, not this year anyway. Christmas was just the two of us this year.
We will be celebrating and exchange gifts in January when my family gets together at my daughter's house. I'm looking forward to this, I am.

Up until now, I have never had the chance to enjoy a relaxed Christmas.
The previous years when I still had my own shop - or later when I worked in one - the last couple of days before Christmas were always extremely busy.
By the time I finished working and got home, I was exhausted.
Too tired to bother about spending much time shopping for food, let alone cook it.
This year, for the first time in many, I was not part of the rat race, uh-uh!
I observed the folly from my kitchen window.
The congested parking lot and crowded shops full of nervous people trying to finish their last minute shopping ...
This time around, I was merely a spectator and I loved every minute of it!
By doing my grocery shopping early Tuesday morning I got first pick and I was out of there before the crowds arrived. No shopping list for me, I love to just stroll around the supermarket and choose my ingredients, inventing recipes and making up the menu as I go along.


Going through the same department three times if I have to, just to find the right things.
I take pleasure in shopping that way. It drives my husband crazy, so I went alone and took my time. No stress at all. In fact, this is real bliss for a foodie like me!


Once I got home, I put the goodies on the kitchen counter, took a note pad and sat down to write some recipes and ideas that had crossed my mind when I was doing my shopping.


Stuffing the fridge with all these delicacies gave me the most comforting feeling.
Everything I would need to survive the next three days was there. Wonderful...

And then I locked myself in the kitchen for the next two days making up all kinds of little dishes with the ingredients I had bought. How I love to do that! I think it's fun to use the same ingredient in a different way the next day. And I absolutely adore making pretty presentations on the plate.
I had fun. Can you tell?

I'm a Poor Boy too ...

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more Wordless Wednesday participants.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas ...

Discover Stevie Wonder!

Ruby Tuesday Dear Santa

Oh Oh Yea
Dear Santa Dear Santa

Santa please don't forget me tonight
I've been acting real good doing all that I should
That I should have done right
Dear Santa Dear Santa
Could you bring your joy to the world
Don't leave out any place put a smile on the face of every little boy & girl

Santa I know you'll read every word
So I'm writing this letter to you
My Christmas wish is for peace on earth
I know you can make it come true

Dear Santa Dear Santa
Spread some happiness from up above
as you sore through the sky
With your Reindeer tha fly
Filling every little heart with love
Ummmm.......

Santa I know that your on your way
Better hurry up it's Christmas Eve
Tomorrow I'll wake to a magical day
When everybody believes

Dear Santa Dear Santa
I can already feel the good cheer
There' s a change in the air lots of hope everywhere
That's way Christmas is my favourite time of the year

Thank You Santa Thank You Santa
Thank You Santa Thank You Santa
There' s just one more thing that I want to do
I want to say merry Christmas dear Santa to you
All the joy you bring All you do
There's just one more thing that I want to do
I want to say merry Christmas dear Santa to you
All the joy you bring All you do

(Dear Santa by the Beu Sisters)

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Macro Monday Almost Christmas

This is part of my Boyds Bears nativity scene.
Boyds Bears are perfect for macro photography because of their cute little details.


I took dozens of pictures yesterday and this morning.
And I selected the best ones for this edition of Macro Monday.
You can click to enlarge the next three pictures.





To see more macro pictures, visit Lisa's Chaos.