Melli's ABC Wednesday ... on a Thursday!

Melli has made up a new ABC photo challenge. (Click on this link to learn what this is all about.)
Melli is a good humoured and fun blogger friend I met when I did Quilly's ABC. She's also the one who made us hunt dragons last Summer. Hunting dragons was fun. You have no idea how many dragons there are once you start looking for them. There are still quite a few dragons in my archives that never got published because the challenge ended too soon in my opinion. Anyhow. I'm still photographing dragons, can't resist them!
If you know Melli, you know she'll come up with something to keep us occupied sooner or later.
And she has. But it's not an easy challenge she admitted yesterday.

Now tell me something!
I started looking for an A from the very first day she announced the challenge and it drove me crazy!! If you look for a dragon, at least you know where you most likely can start looking for one, right? Although you would be amazed, look ...



A's are everywhere. Or so they say.
But they are very cleverly disguised into something else.
And when you want to find them, you just don't see them. I spent hours looking at shadows and shapes and forms and even tried to manipulate it a little, but nothing satisfactory came out of my quest.

My B on the other hand revealed itself rather quickly I must say.
I wasn't even looking, but it yelled at me. Yoohoo? Look at me? It's me.
I'm your B** for this week.
You must be kidding I said. You cannot be my B.
Still, it said. I am. I am your B**. Say whatever you want. I am your B**
I'm not going to do this I answered. Uh-uh.

And that was it. It was inauguration day, and I did not want to miss the ceremony, so I decided I was not going to join in. I had lost too much time already.
I told Quilly I did not have the right brains to do this and I got an e-mail back from her saying:

"Jientje, go out and take a photo of the eave of your house for an A, and post!"

And a little while later there was Melli's comment:

"Jientje - as I told Dr. John... I think you should PLAY the Alphabet Challenge anyway - and just put the ones you find. I am almost CERTAIN that even I am not going to find EVERY letter! Some of them are just too hard! But I'm going to TRY! That's the challenge... I know it's gonna kill you to NOT do this! LOL!

Okay, I said to myself. I'll take my camera with me on the way to the supermarket and try again. It won't kill me if I do. I'll just do what Quilly advised me to do and I'll be okay.
But that did not work. None of the houses had a roof I could pass as an A. Not even remotely!

But when I arrived at the supermarket ... there it was!! My A!! Tadàààà!
I had my point and shoot with me, and when I finished my shopping I tried to take a picture.
But the camera behaved rather strangely, it would not go off.
I tried again, and looked at the dial. That's when I saw I was probably filming this!
So I stood there fiddling with that camera, for the third time trying to take a picture of that stupid A, when this man entering the supermarket turned around and gave me a very strange look above the rim of his spectacles! Oh yes, by then I was getting even more embarrassed and self-conscious!

Can any of you imagine what kind of conversation would have enfolded if that man had asked me what I was doing there?
"Um ... I ... I was taking a picture sir? "
"A picture of what, lady?"
"Of an A".
"An A"?
"Yes, I need an A for Melli"!
"Melli? Who is Melli?"
"Melli is my friend and she lives in the US and she wants a picture of an A. And not just an A, she wants the whole damn alphabet!"

Don't you think there would have been a slight possibility they would have asked for the men in white coats to come and fetch me? Huh?
Anyhow ...
Here is the video I accidentally made...






And ... drumrolls please ..... Here's my A!!!

She's perfect, isn't she?

And because I know that he who says A must say B ...
Okay.
Ahum.
My B!
Well, it IS a B, right?
Right!!

Macro Monday Mushrooms

Now, I know I'm no match for Lisa's breathtaking macro pictures,
but I looooove to do this meme anyway.
My camera ( Canon S5IS) has no huge macro lens,
but it has a pretty neat macro function that I love to use.
So on my last walk with my Belgian blogging friend Nana,
we went looking for mushrooms.
( Or how should I call those?)



We did not find all that many.
When we found these, we both knelt in the (wet) grass.
I put my handbag in the wet grass, and my camera did not stay dry either.



We could not care less that the people passing by kind of stared at us a little.
And the fact that we had to hold on to one another
to get back on our feet again only made us giggle more.


I think it was worth it.


Find more amazing macro shots at Lisa's Chaos.

Photo Story Friday, the Halloween Edition

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Well hey hello there, dear visitors.
Now don't leave ... don't be afraid, just let me introduce myself.
I am Mrs Doubtfire, and I live at Jientjes house.
People commented on my portrait yesterday,
saying I could use a new hairdresser, and you'll probably
say that my clothes are in rags as well, but to be honest,
witches do not bother with stuff like that.
I'm way too busy to worry about my looks.
I know I look a little bit crazy, but to tell you the truth, I AM crazy.
Being crazy comes with the job, so ...



I died in the flames in the dark ages.
That was because people did not understand me.
I had a black cat, and my black hat and long nose may have scared people.
I still don't know why they did it, throwing me in the flames like that.
It was awful. Oohhh I had my doubts about those flames, I was so scared.
That's how I got my name in the first place.




I found out it's nothing really, you just stare in the distance
and try to keep your mind on more pleasant matters.
Because once you've you died in the flames, you get to become
a real witch, and I already knew witches can not die again.
So nothing can hurt me no more.

I've always been very eager to learn new stuff,
and do some experimenting of my own.
There's only one way to become a good witch, and that's to try things,
that's what my aunt always used to say to me.
If it does not kill you, it makes you stronger, so...
Mind you, I can be forgetful at times.
But that can lead to some very interesting new discoveries,
and I just love inventing stuff by accident.
Like that grape juice I forgot about a couple of months ago?
Well, I tasted it, and it made me a little giggly but I kind of like that.

What I really looooove to do is to go out in the woods and pick things.
And when I come home, I poor myself a nice glass of that giggly stuff
and start throwing a couple of things together.
I believe people call that cooking nowadays,
but don't forget that I was the one who invented that.
Oh and um, okay, I'll admit, not all of the stuff I try really works, but hey?
Like I said, if it does not kill you, it makes you stronger!
Mushrooms are really my favourites! You know, you would not believe
that purple colour you get from some of them when you throw them in the flames!
Mind you, some of those mushrooms I bring home
really can make you talk funny, but even that wears off in a day or two.
Oh but don't try this at home though, I've got to warn you!

Flames do not scare me anymore now, I've learned to love them.
It's my cat, she's not to keen on them though.

I think I'll have to teach her the hard way ...
Oh and um .... do not try this at home either!!

Click on the links to visit the other players.
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Wordless Wednesday ..... Spooky!

Okay, I know it's supposed to be wordless but
I'm going to spend some words on this one anyway.
The strangest thing happened.
I use Picture Manager to resize my pictures,
but when I hit the auto correction button
to see if I could make it a little lighter,
this is what came out! It turned pink!
But since it's Halloween, I think I can get away with it.
What do you think?



Which one is the spookiest?

See more Wordless Wednesday pictures here.

Photo Story Friday On the Border

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Last Tuesday I visited the village of Baarle Nassau.
The village of Baarle Nassau is a Dutch/Belgian border village
with a very unique feature.There is no straight border.
In fact, the actual border is a jigsaw puzzle of pieces
of Belgian territory on Dutch soil and vice versa.

Take a look at this map. ( Source: Wikkipedia)

Baarle consists of two municipallities, it has two nationalities, yet it is only one village.
Half of a street can be Dutch while the opposite side is Belgian,
and sometimes that border can run right THROUGH a house.
This house has two different house numbers, one in Belgium and one in Holland.

The people living here could sleep in Holland, and have breakfast in their kitchen in Belgium.
It can even get worse. If that border runs across your bed,
technically speaking your husband sleeps abroad every night!

There is a very amusing story about a pub with two doors.
Sadly enough, the pub is gone now, but still ...
This pub was called " 't Hoekske", which means " the Corner",
and it had the Belgian border running through it right across the pool table.
(You could play pool across the border there)
Closing time in Holland was slightly earlier, but the Belgian side of the pub
remained open, while Dutch pub door was closed, according to the regulations of the law.
The remaining customers enjoyed another beer at the right side of the border.

When real estate was sold there would be a Belgian and a Dutch notary present
and they would each (very conveniently) sit in their own national section
of the pub to handle all the necessary paperwork.



In the mid seventies, there was this Dutch movie which had been X rated in Belgium.
There is only one movie theatre in Baarle, and they were planning on showing it there.
So they built a fence that followed the borderline inside the theatre.
The audience and the projectors were at the Dutch side of the theatre,
while the Belgian police remained on Belgian soil to keep an eye on things ...

And this is how the Belgians and the Dutch live there in perfect harmony ...

Wordless Wednesday Signed by Van Gogh

It says:
" I can't do any better"
Van Gogh.

Look for more Wordless Wednesday pictures here.

Heaven and Hell ...

Heaven is where the police are British,
the mechanics German, the cooks are French,
the lovers Italian, and all is organized by the Swiss.

Hell is where the police are German,
the mechanics are French, the cooks are British,
the lovers are Swiss, and it's all organized by the Italians!
(Eliane Kirchner)


It could be worse.
They could all be Belgians ...
They'd speak three different languages,
they'd disagree on anything ...
especially the organizing part ...

Photo Hunt ...... " Lazy"

This week's theme for Photo Hunt is "lazy".
I know, I already published that one before,
but I really can't help it, it is my favourite one.
My husband and I took pictures from every possible angle,
and that cat never moved a muscle!
It's the cutest lazy cat I've ever seen,
and she was in front of a house in Goult ( La Provence, France).
I wanted to photograph this for my blogging friend Evelyn,
who rented this house once while on holiday there.

For more Photo Hunt pictures themed lazy,
visit the other 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!!!

Wordless Wednesday Mirror Mirror ...

( Click to enlarge)

A hatstand at the market of Saint Rémy.
I like the funny reflection in the mirror,
it was not intended, but it's a good capture for
a Wordless Wednesday I think!

Visit more Wordless Wednesday players here ....

It's a Men's World ...

This is a typically French game, called petanque
or "jeu de boules" in French.
I would not really know how to play it, it's really a men's game,
there are usually no women allowed!

Still, if you want to find out more about the game,
click this link.


Every village has a petanque court.



But in the village Saignon, it has a rather weird location ....
It's right next to the cemetery!

Wordless Wednesday/ Project Blue #4

For a Wordless, you need a picture that tells a story, I think.
For Project Blue, you need blue.
I have both in this picture here.
It has been waiting in my archives
for almost a year now!
Oh well, better late than never ...




The only word I want to add here is "lost".


(In case you're wondering, they're street actors, they were not really lost!)

Visit more Wordless Wednesday players here.
For more Project Blue, click here.

Photohunt " Shoes"

This week's theme for Photohunt is "shoes".
Now why on earth do I come up with a building?


The truth is, I don't.
Honest, I have shoes here!
Look closer, look ...

Can you see that second window on the top of this building?
Can you see the black dot?

If you click to enlarge this picture, you'll see what I mean.

I've got shoes here, see?
These pictures were taken in a monastery,
and one of the monks living there
must have had smelly boots!


Don't forget to visit the other Photohunt players!

ABC in pictures .... I is for Ice Cream

I is for ice cream and innocent tourists
who were being ripped off in London ...




Remember how I took a trip to London with my sisters?
My youngest sister and I were having this instant craving
for ice cream when we saw the ice cream car.
We ordered two medium ones because, you know ...
... small ones were just not big enough!
Our greediness got punished, because we had to pay FIVE pounds for them.
We were of course being ripped off as tourists,
five pounds is a lot of money for ice cream isn't it?
My sister Lena told us we'd better enjoy them,
as they must have been made out of liquid gold!
But when I turned around I saw this....

The Tower of London!

This is when I said " but of course sis,
it is a lot of money, but after all,
it IS an ice cream with a view, don't you think?
You have to pay for the view as well, don't you ?


Look?
I snapped a picture of it with the Tower behind it.
Yeah, I know I take pictures of everything, but still ...

We almost wet our pants giggling over this!
At least I got the picture!

The last two pictures were taken by my other sister Lena,
I guess she wanted some evidence of our sillyness?


I know I have told this story before.
It was in the early days of Nablopomo,
but I thought it would be a nice story for I.
I dug it out of the archives,
dusted and polished it a little re-edited it ...
here it is, the most expensieve ice cream ever!


Go over to Quilly's blog
and find out what the other players have posted!