Friday's Fave Five, a Rewarding Week

Friday again, time to reflect on the week that has passed.
Some of the best things happened to us this week, it's been a week of accomplishment.

1. My husband got an important promotion this week, and I'm very very happy for him.
He has put huge dedication into his work since the day he started working there about four years ago. We had suffered major set backs before -not through his fault though- and I always have had a huge admiration for the way he has dealt with it. The past years have not been easy for either of us, but all the hard work seems to pay off and starting Monday he's going to be able to do the kind of job he has aspired all his life. He has earned it, and I'm proud of him.

2. This blog and the things I learn through blogging. I started this blog to educate myself in English language. I have tried to raise the bar a little higher each day.
Like the barre in the ballet class I used to attend as a young girl, pushing my own boundaries and limitations. Reaching for a higher level, and the triumph of attaining it.
Yesterday's post was all about that. Your comments and support give me wings.

3. The Kreativ Blogger award.
Paz gave me one some time ago, and it's been gathering dust in my archives for some time until Libby bestowed me with it again yesterday.
Thanks girls, receiving an award really means a lot to me. It means that somehow in my own humble way, I make a difference to some people, and that's a wonderful feeling.



I am going to pass it on to some of the people who have made a difference to me in this blogosphere.
They have made me explore and push my limits, they are role models to me.

- Quilly: Her clever way with words has made me reach for dictionaries ever since I met her.
- Lisa: Her stunning (macro) photography has inspired me to try harder each week.
- Mary The Teach who has made me explore Photoshopping skills with her Sepia Scenes.
- Secretagentmama: Where great words and amazing photography go hand in hand.
- Louceel: He has me googling interesting things all the time when I'm reading his blog. I have a deep admiration for his writing skills.
- Lilacspecs. She's the one who dragged me into English blogging in the first place.
I know some of them don't care for awards, but I'm giving them anyway, as a way to say thank you. All of these people are role models to me, in photography as well as in writing.

4. A compliment for my hairdo.
New shoes ( Yay!!! a girl and her shoes huh? )
Some more weight loss ... It made me feel like a million dollars!

5. A new recipe I tried this week. It was a papillote of seafood and it was delicious!!
You can find the recipe here if you're interested.



(Click to enlarge the collage.)

It's been a great week as you can see.
A lot of happy moments to cherish.

Find more Fave Five's at Susanne's Living to tell the Story.

The Interview. My Answers.

There is this new and exciting meme going on in the blogospere.
The idea is to interview one another.
I first saw it at Maggie's blog, where Lou picked it up.
And when Lou answered his questions I asked him to interview me.
If you want to be interviewed by me, tell me in a comment and I'll send you five new questions. Not necessarily the same ones I'm answering here.

Want to be part of it? Follow these instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone

else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them
five questions.

You have to link back to the original post

(http://maggiesmind.blogspot.com/2009/01/ive-got-answers.html)
and also to Lou's post

(http://louceel.blogspot.com/2009/01/questions-and-answers.html)
and to mine.

So here are the questions Lou sent me.

1-What is your favourite childhood memory?

Now, a lot of my childhood memories are very blurry, they are no more than scraps and fragments, but the most vivid ones are from the holidays I spent with my grandparents.
I adored my grandmother, she was a very sweet person.
They lived from their land and the few animals they had.
My grandmother and I were always together. One day, we made our daily trip to the barn to collect the chicken's eggs. I had my skipping rope with me and when I started jumping, my grandmother said she wanted to try it too. Despite being rather overweight she was also a very playful woman. She started jumping the rope but she had forgotten all about the eggs until they came oozing out of the pockets of her apron. I can still see her face, and how we both cracked up laughing about the omelet in her pockets.
(This should answer the question, but if you're in the mood for more, there's another beautiful story I've written on this blog once about lollipops and candy. It's here if you want to read it.

2-Who is the person you most admire - that is alive today?

There are many people I admire. I have a huge admiration for ballet dancers because of the way they control every muscle of their body. But I could not name one at the moment, and my idol Rudolf Noureev died years ago.
On a very different level, there is this blogger friend of mine who is going through chemotherapy right now. I know there are probably millions of people like that every day, but I don't know if I would have her courage and her strength if I had to go through this the second time around.
She was diagnosed with a totally different type of cancer than the first time. She said it felt like falling off a ladder and having to climb all the way back up again when she first heard the diagnose. But she is climbing. Step by step, day by day. Without ever complaining.
She's the person I most admire this present day.

3. If you could live anywhere, where would that be?

Hmmm, difficult.
To make it my home, I would have to understand and speak the native language.
That rules out countries in Eastern Europe, or Asia.
But there are so many places in this world I would love to go to.
I have friends all over the globe through blogging and I would love to see for real what life in their corner of the world is like. But if I have to choose a permanent place to reside it would have to include blue skies and sun. And warmth. There for Canada and Alaska would be no option. Islands like Hawai and Tasmania, - however beautiful- would be too small after a while I think. Not enough to photograph I'm afraid?
I'm not sure if the States would be an option, it's so different to Europe?
The cultural history, the food ... people's ways ...

On a long term basis I would probably end up missing Europe too much.
I would most likely stay in Europe but move a little bit further South. I love the Provence in France and it already feels like home because of the many holidays we have spent there.
I like the French way of living, especially in the South.
Much more easy going and relaxed. They say "bonjour" and they MEAN it.
Nothing like the commercial song
"hi how are you-but-I-don't-care-shit"
they did in Disney when I was there. Sorry but that's how it felt to me?
So yes, hmmm, France would sound right. Or Italy, if it was not for the language barrier.
But who knows, I might even learn Italian one day? Never say never?

4-What do you like to eat when you're feeling 'down'?

Anything ready to eat that is easily available and hiding in my drawers somewhere.
It has to be crunchy, you know like cookies or crisps. Chocolate is good too, but it has to have some bite to it, you know like that white chocolate with puffed rice in it? Or chocolate cookies?
And I have been known to attack a box of corn flakes when I was in a real desperate mood!
If I'm really unhappy I will eat sweet things first, and then switch to salty or hearty stuff like crackers or crisps ... and then back to the cookies again. Oooooo!

And because I liked this question best when Maggie asked me -

5-What do you like most about being a woman?

I like being a woman, and I would not in any way want to behave or be ( like) a man.
Although I sometimes wonder what a man feels when he makes love to a woman.
Anyway, that's besides the point, I'm just being curious but that's a feminine quality too right?
I'm glad I know what it's like to have life inside of me and give birth, and be a mother
but there are so many women out there who have never experienced this and still they are women.
So, to me being a woman is not just that. And it's not about dressing up and wearing high heels and make up to get men's attention either. (Although I do love attention.)
I enjoy all things feminine, you know, do the cooking and the baking while the man is out hunting? Yep, I love it. Call me old fashioned perhaps?

To my opinion, men and women complete one another. Male strength versus female tenderness and softness. I like being the girl and have a shoulder to cry on or a strong arm around me.

But what I like most about being a woman is that in the end we are a lot tougher than we look.



So there ... I hope you liked my answers. I enjoyed answering them.

Honest Scrap and other Awards ...

It looks like I'm popular these days.
I had a shower of awards being bestowed on me these last couple of weeks I could not believe!
I can never help thinking, "Who? Me?" when people give me one.
But at the same time it feels like winning an Oscar or something.
And it makes my day, I'll admit to that!

Anyway, this is the last one I got and it came from Suzanne, a new friend I met through blog 365 (after we finished!). The funny thing is we're both sorry we haven't met earlier!
She's a great writer with a great sense of humour and I like her a lot.
And apparently she likes me too! Thanks Suzanne!



But as always, accepting an award involves certain rules:
The rules for the Honest Scrap award:
The honorees are to:
A) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!
B) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

Okay. I thought it would be a good idea to show you my true colours.

1. My eyes are green with hazel spots in them.
2. When my mood changes so does the colour of my eyes.
3. Over the years, I have dyed my hair in all kinds of colours, but the colour I have now is the closest I can get to my own colour.
4. I never go out without wearing make up.
5. Colour is very important in my life. Every room in the apartment has it's own colour scheme. The kitchen is yellow and blue for instance, and the bedroom is soft green and apricot with a touch of pink.
6. It has to be just right. I could not stand using a green pepper mill in my blue kitchen.
It can be natural wood or plexi, or metal, that does not matter, but if it comes in colour it should match with the rest.
7. My husband is colour blind! Now isn't that hilarious! He's hopeless with shirts and ties and matching socks. Greens are a nightmare for him, he just does not get it that all greens do NOT match together!
8. I am really really in love with the colour purple. It shows on this blog, doesn't it?
9. No matter how much I like purple I would never use it to decorate my home .
But I adore purple clothes!
10. I love red shoes. But not with purple trousers!

So there, ten little scraps of me.
Yeah, I know. I'm crazy, right?
Right!



Now, I will pass this award on to:
Melli: because I enjoy her daily scraps of life so much, even when she talks to a pumpkin!
Quilly often makes me smile, she has such a great sense of humour, and I like how she plays with words.
Tink from My Mobile Adventures. She lives in Florida and I love to see her pictures of Disney and Sanibel Island very much.
Kim from Frogpondsrock: Because the baby still has not arrived yet! Take courage girl!
Libby: Because she has become such a sweet friend since the day she delurked on this blog.
Gail from Gooselovingmamabear: Partner in crime um ... photography and the hostess
of Thru my eyes. Because I hope she gets well soon!
Robin from Around the Island: Lives in Israel. The war her country is involved in is a daily worry for her. Just wanted to say she's in my thoughts and prayers.


And then there is the award Christine from Chris' Coop gave to me about a week ago.


It's an award created by Rodger at Idaho Photo, and you really should read the story on this award here, it's a very funny story.
I got it for my "Art in Photography". Ahem. Who? Me?
Thanks Christine, you're such a great friend!

Now, I would like to pass it on to:

Mar
Terri
Paz
Lisa
Willow
and Secretagentmama
All of them are inspiring and amazing photographers who show me daily life in their corner of the world. It's always a pleasure dropping by their blogs.


And then there's this cute and fizzy Lemonade award I got from Gail.
It speaks of sweet sparkling friendship to me, and I would like to pass it on to:

Evelyn, from the Redbellfarm, because we share the love for Provence and France, and I would love to have a lemonade ( maybe we would prefer Pastis once we get there?) with her
at the Café de la Poste in Goult one day. Well,who knows huh, Evelyn?
Dragonstar, she lives in Ireland and I love Ireland so much. She has the cutest dragons living on her blog!
To Korie (Lilacspecs) who was my first English speaking blogger friend
and Gattina. They both live in Belgium too, so who knows, maybe we will drink that lemonade together one day?
And Jacki because I love how she has always something interesting and surprising to write about! And because she has the cutest family anyone could wish for.

And then there is this one, I got it from Korie /Lilacspecs ( a long long time ago, I know)
I want to pass it on to anyone who happens to read and enjoy this blog.
It's a big hug and a special thanks to all of my friends.
There are many, I know, and I'm grateful for it.



These are only a few of the awards I got in the past weeks, there are more. (?!)
It's been a while since I passed them on. That's because I have this double feeling about them.
I love getting one, I think it's a compliment being awarded. So I really love to give compliments to the people I love too. But you can never pass them on to everyone, it just would not be the same. That's why I save them until I have more than one, that way I can reward more than just a few at a time. And I can bend the rules a little as to how many I'm supposed to give, see?

People who did not get one today will get one next time, I really don't want to exclude anyone but this post is already getting very very long!
That's why I want to do another post with other awards from my archives in say, a week or two, okay?

Thanks for being my friends!!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot!!
My picture for today!
Thru my Eyes 2009


There...
Yours truly ...

Looking Back over my Schoulder ...

No wordless Wednesday from me today, but a very wordy one.

I got up early to write this, I wanted a clear head and enough time to write .
The rest of the day is going to be very busy, and writing does not always come easy to me.
The main reason I joined 365 was to create an incentive for myself to improve my English.

Today the lap around the sun is complete.
I have blogged this entire year, that's twelve months, 52 weeks, 365 days (plus one second!)
Each. and. every. day.

When this post is published later today I get to cross the 365 finish line.
I'm very proud to be one of the few who took the challenge and saw it through.
Nothing unexpected has happened in my life that would have prevented me from seeing it through, that too is something I am grateful for.
A lot can happen in a year, I've read the stories on other people's blogs, so ...

It seemed so far off one year ago.
But looking back it is as if this adventure started only yesterday.
Okay, two months ago sounds more likely.
What I never would have imagined is what I got out of it.

To me, blogging is writing a letter to a friend each day.
But I had no idea I would get so much friendship, so many friends.
There are the ones who have been visiting me from the very beginning,
the ones I met somewhere along the line who decided to stick with me,
and the new friends I met just recently.
Thank you all. I'm grateful for your friendship.
Thanks for visiting here, and for your kind comments.
Blogging would not be the same for me without the love and the comments.

Before this post gets any more boring than this,
what I want to add to this are my best wishes for the New Year.
May the New Year bring you good health and happiness.
And may many of your hopes and dreams for the new year come true for you.
I found this old Celtic blessing that says it far better than I can ...

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

What a Week it Has Been for Me!

These past couple of days have been a roller coaster of mixed emotions for me. Stressful moments worrying about my father being in hospital for surgery, some very busy moments, and happy moments as well.

My father is doing well. Thanks to all of you who have included him in your prayers. Your thoughts, prayers and good vibes have certainly helped him, he was wide awake, smiling and talking to my mother when she went to visit him last night. That's a very heavy load off my shoulders, because my father is very very special to me. He always has been, and always will be.
But it can worry me sometimes when I notice that he's slowly getting older, that he's maybe not as strong as he used to be, a little slower in his movements ...
Anyway, I'll be visiting him tomorrow and if all goes well he should be home by Tuesday.

All of the above gave me quite some stress yesterday, but to top it off, I lost all of my comments on this blog. To make a long story short, I messed with my template trying to install the new Google map Blogger in draft is featuring at the moment. And I managed to install it, oh yes! But at the same time I lost my HaloScan comment form and all of my comments on this blog. I care deeply about the comments people give me, I don't think I would blog if it was not for the friendships one builds through these comments?
It felt as if this blog was stripped naked of all of the friendship,appreciation, encouragement and love I have gotten from all of you throughout this whole year. One whole year worth of comments, tokens of friendship ... the history of my blog, they were all floating around somewhere in the blogosphere! Aaarggh!!
Anyway, as you can see, after a couple of nerve wrecking hours, I managed to get it back together, and what a relief THAT was!

Speaking of friendship ...
Remember the give away?

I am happy to announce, I have three winners.The first one to say "YES!" was Melli, then Quilly and then this morning I found Christine's comment, winner number three!
They will in their turn take this give away to their blog, and create something special for their winners.

And then there was a package in the mail this week. Jan of the Prytz Family had some books to give away some time ago.I had never entered a give away before but I did and I won the cookbook!
And it has arrived, ... look!
The cookbook has lots and lots of mouthwatering wintery recipes, beautiful pictures AND I don't have to worry about measurements as the recipes also include grams and kilo's as well as lbs, oz and cups.
I don't even have to worry about that, how cool is that?
Thank you Jan, I'm very very happy with it!

First time in my life I have ever won anything, but I won twice in a row this week, as I am one of the three lucky winners of the Pay it Forward on Lceel's blog!
I'm very much looking forward to get a painting from him. Thank you Lou!!

As for me, I have been very busy working on MY project.
I spent a whole day sorting out all of my tools, patterns, books and materials.

Ahum. Yes, I know ... It had been neglected for a couple of years.

And then I had to try and get the feel of it again...
But I'm getting there.

This is the progress so far.
Mind you, this is just a sampler, to figure out different patterns.
There, now you all know what I've been up to this week!
I hope you all had a nice week too?

Weekly Winners, One Year in Review

This Weekly Winners is special.
This is why today I'm adding my voice and you'll be able
to hear me speak for the very first time.
Just click on the white arrow and let me talk to you.




Hi!! I'm Jientje.
You see, today is my blogaversary.
This heaveninbelgium adventure began one year ago today.
I had almost finished Nablopomo, and by God, I did not want to loose
the friends that I had met there.
I remember clicking the submit button and stare at that screen that said
Heaveninbelgium was now a real blog. Heehee, oops!
Blogging in a different language than your own is quite a challenge.
Blogging every day is an even bigger one.
But I managed to do them both and meet a whole bunch
of very nice friends along the way.
Those friends and their comments make blogging special
and I want to thank you all for visiting here!

Now, I'm cheating today, hee hee, yeah!
Today is not about my favourite pictures from last week.
Today is about my favourite pictures from last year.
One for each month .
December through to November ....
I hope you'll enjoy them .


(Click to enlarge any one of them)

Autumn leaves in a puddle. Early December 2007.
I saw them on my way to the supermarket.

The pond of the Chateau de Renesse.
We did a photoshoot there in February.

This one was serendipity.
I saw the mistletoe in the bare tree tops, and asked my husband to turn the car around.

March 2007. This is Antwerp train station.
My sister came to Antwerp, we took a walk in the city,
went for coffee, and then it started to rain!
We sheltered inside the station for a while and that's when I took this picture.


April 2007.
My father's birthday is in April.
I remember discovering my zoom lens and the macro function
of my camera that very day.
From then on I was able to shoot pretty close ups like this one.

May. A short break in Normandy.
This is the famous Normandy Bridge.
We ignored a no trespassing sign to take this picture.

June.
Yeah ... I love to cook.
And I want it to look pretty on the plate, so ...

July. We had just returned from our holiday in the south of France.
Each year we spend two weeks in La Provence, a photo hunting feast!
This one was in Saint Rémy, just around the corner
from where the picture of my header was taken.

August. Three days in London with my two sisters.
If I had to pick a favourite, it just had to be this one.

September.
A Farmer's market near Lissabon.

October. This picture was taken earlier this year,
but I published it in Sepia Scenes in the month of October.
It's my nephew playing in front of an old school.
Sadly enough, the school was demolished this summer ...


And this one was taken a couple of weeks ago,
when my friend Nana and I went photo hunting.
We had to hold on to one another to get back on our feet again.
But that only made us giggle more!



Look for more Weekly Winners here.

Number 326

This is post 326 on this blog.
If I add the Nablompomo posts I blogged on Ning last year,
this would mean that I have already published over 365 posts.

It's been a wonderful journey.
I've met all kinds of different people who shared slices of their lives.
There are all kinds of stories with one thing in common ... we're all humans.
We all have our happy moments and our worries.
So many things happen in a year, it's not just the change of seasons.
I've seen Father Christmas in a swimsuit, now that's an unusual idea for a European.
I've seen the damage of an ice storm, I had never heard of that before.
I've walked the streets of New York and minutes later I was in Waikiki Beach.
People moved from one place to another, building new lives in different homes.
Young mothers getting pregnant, others hoping to.
Their mothers becoming grandmothers, it's all part of life.
Some of my friends have overcome major health issues,
while others lost a family member or even a partner.
There is kid's stuff and the wonders of nature.
Well, aren't they both ... wonders of nature, I mean?
Cats and dogs, squirrels and deer.
Amazing skies .... or even caterpillars.


Blogging has made me look at myself and my own life sometimes.
It had me thinking "I'm so lucky".
And every now and again I think others are the lucky ones.
Anyhow.
I still don't want to miss it ....

Ruby Tuesday

meets ....




This is an award I received recently from my dear blog pal Lceel.
He's a man I have been secretly admiring for a long time now.
But I thought I was no match for somebody like him, he is such a good writer.
Until one day he told me he kept loosing my link.
It was only then I realized he really liked reading my blog too!
That comment made my day, I'll tell you!
Some time ago, he gave me this official award, coming from him,
to me that's a ticket to heaven, and I mean that!
There's a lot of controversy about whether or not to give awards.
He explains how he feels about that in this post.
Although I agree with him to a certain point,
I do have my own opinion on this one too.
You see, I like getting awards.
Then why would I not make somebody happy too?
It's a virtual hug, a token of appreciation, and a wonderful way
to put some people in the spotlights every once and a while.
Now, I will never listen to " only five" or "seven" or worse "just one".
I never kept that part of the bargain in the past too,
so I'll pass them on to as many times I choose to, I'm a big girl you know?



Right, don't forget to visit Lou. He deserves it.
He's a flirt to the ladies, he always answers your comments,
so it's fun to tease him a little and go back to see what his answer is to you!
He's an excellent writer, a poet and a painter as well.
He's so gifted!

Okay, ... right! Yeah yeah, I love the guy, does it show?
Here we go, on to the awards:
I'll pass this award to:
Mary the teach: she hosts Ruby Tuesday and I would not miss it for the world!
She always comes back to visit everyone, and I love her comments!




Next up is:
Jacki at moving at the speed of light.
She likes to cook, to blog, she likes shoes


and she's a beautiful woman,
Her husband who has European roots has this wonderful photography blog.
So I guess that's a two in one for the Dyrholms!

Next is for an excellent photographer, I'm dying to get to know better as well,
she recently took the plunge to her own domain, here she is,
ladies and gentleman, Jeanette Verster, let's give her some applause please!



Okay, one more, another dear friend, Leora:
Her blog is a potpourri of ideas about Highland Park;
She likes books, she does Jewish topics. She's a very artistic lady
and she blogs about good health, parsha, web design, kids, food, gardening and …
She has always something interesting for you to read!



There, there is always one more, but there is always another award too,
and this post should not become too long to keep it a pleasant read.
Pick one, visit her or him, and tell them I sent you, okay?
Yeah right, sorry Lou, I nicked that from you, okay?



On to the Rubies, because that's what most of you came here for!
Oops, I think I already "threw them in"?
Okay okay, one more, I'm in a real generous mood today ...
One more thing, you can BIG them ALL!!!
I AM generous, am I not?


Oh and um .... all pictures were taken on my recent trip to Lissabon.
I had so much fun there!



Don't forget to visit the other Ruby Tuesday players at Mary's Work of the Poet!

Real Beauty lies in small things ...

This is a wonderful song by one of my most favourite singer/songwriters,
Mr Al Stewart. Some of you might remember his 1978 album " the Year of the Cat".
The last couple of days, I have been listening to that album,
and his careful chosen lyrics with growing attention ...








I myself was a young woman in 1978, giving birth to my daughter that same year.
Still I remained restless, where I was supposed to take life seriously,
you know ... with a baby and all that. I tried and I tried, gave it my very best.
But life decided "other-wise" Although I still question that.
I fell in love with another man, just before the baby girl turned three.
Just before she would go to school for the first time.
I never saw those heartbreaking tears she most probably must have shed.
In fact ...
I never got to see her again, until ten years later.


Heartbreaks and tears
were to be my share for the next decade to come ....

Thanks for listening to this.
I needed to share this.

This morning when I woke up, I received an award.
It came from one of my friends I admire endlessly.
It made my day.


Somehow, somebody like him, and thoughts like that
can put me on a ( much) higher level.
I want to thank him for that.
I will be back on this.
I'll share the love.

Please give me some time on this one, okay?

Blogless Thursday, Can't Blog, Won't Blog ...

Tink thinks Thursdays should be blogless,
but I think I may want to cheat today.
But we won't tell her, so if she comes over to see if I have been blogging,
we should all hide behind the couch, okay?
Never let her know we're all here,
because then she'll know I've been blogging anyway!
There are some things to be considered here.
First up, there is Melli, begging for dragons.
Now, I will have to dissapoint that girl for the rest of the week,
si I think I really should let her have her this one.
I keep finding them in the strangest places, they are fun!
This one lives on the canals in Bruges,
and you only get to meet him if you take a trip on one of the boats,
if you're lucky, and you look for him real well, that is ...
Here he is, ladies and gentlemen ...
** Drumrolls **

There, I think I may have made Melli happy.
Next subject please.
You see, I'm not going to be able to blog from tomorrow
up untill Monday evening, because I am out of town.
Out of the country, to be precise.
You see, today I'm packing my suitcase,
and I'll be leaving for London, first thing tomorrow morning.
Of course I'm not going to leave this place all empty
and blogless for the rest of the weekend,
you should know me better by now!
I have a couple of posts planned, so don't be sad.
I'm keeping a little bit of eye candy in store here,
just like you're used to getting around here, every day of the week!
So please drop by tomorrow for a Sky Watch Friday you wouldn't believe,
for a colourful Photo Hunt on Saturday, a Weekly Winners on Sunday
and I have a little question I want you to answer on Monday.
Please leave me a comment or two, that would be so nice!
I promise I will be back with loads of pictures for all of you to enjoy!

In the mean time let me take you on a sneak preview tour in London ...
By clicking this link you can take a tour on a boat on the river Thames.
You can drag the boat along the river,
and click on the buildings to get pictures and some history
on the buildings you see on that tour.
It's like taking the tour with me, you really ought to try it!

And I'm throwing in some of my own pictures
from last year's trip, now how's that?




You want more? Of course you do!
There will be more of them on next Sunday's Weekly Winners .
Of course that is cheating,
since I will be digging them up from my archives, but hey?

I'm cheating here as well, since today is supposed to be blogless,
but I didn't hear anyone complaining, did I?

Blogless Thursday

WARNING: this is not a real blog post.




Tink over at My Mobile Adventures,
the one with the funny stars in her signature *~*~*
Tink thinks Thursdays
(ooohh, try pronouncing that ten times in a row! :-))
any way, she thinks Thursdays should be blogless.
You go by her blog, sign a Mr Linky,
put a comment with a silly reason
why you're not blogging today, and you're done!
Only today she's cheating.
She's doing two silly memes, so she's blogging anyway!
I decided to join the new movement and not blog today.
I will visit back all who left a comment anyway,
you know all you faithful readers, the ones who like me,
and want to say hi, even though I have not really blogged today?


I'm not blogging,
because I am meeting two blogfriends from Belgium,
and we're gonna talk about ... blogging all day!!!
There, I haven't blogged?
Or have I?


And if I include another picture, would that be blogging?
A post without a picture is not a real post to me.
But since this IS not a real post, I can do what I want, can I?
Right? Okay, you want it ... it's yours!




I guess I'm in the clear here, legally speaking I mean.
After all, it says at the top,
that this is not a real post,
so I guess that makes it all right, does it?


Oops!
This is my 255 th post on this blog.
But since this is not a real one,
please tell me, does it still count?