Uitjes Enzo

Jezus loves my bike

2012-01-15T17:09:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately I forgot to make a photo of the title text above, which is also one I embroidered on a jacket at the new year reception of the Harley club yesterday.

New Sporrans

2012-01-01T11:17:00.002+01:00

Klaas and Rens of course stole the show at the new year party with their new sporrans. But Paula's party frock certainly did me proud too.

We need to talk about Kevin

2011-12-28T09:04:00.002+01:00

It began badly when the woman introducing the film got the title wrong. It never really got any better. I know that film versions of brilliant books often disappoint but this one was even worse than Even Cowboys Get the Blues. Despite excellent casting it never managed to even touch on the central theme of the book which was all about the choice to have children or not and the nature/nurture debate. It was also far too long. Endless shots of people in waiting rooms had me verging on leaving several times. A good editor could at least have carried out some damage limitation on this disastrously bad film version of one of my favourite books of recent years.
(The photo was taken by Maaike in the bar beforehand when we were still reasonably cheery...)

Finnegan's Wake Film

2011-12-19T22:18:00.005+01:00

Went to see this film tonight. Forgot to take a photo whilst there but can surely borrow one from Maaike's blog later...yep, mission accomplished.
There was an entertaining intro from the 2 men who did the nigh on impossible job of translating the book into Dutch.

Christmas Post

2011-12-14T23:18:00.001+01:00

Wonka Bars

2011-12-09T20:21:00.000+01:00

Oh joy!

Pakjes Avond

2011-12-05T15:53:00.001+01:00

Assorted nonsense parcelled up ready for Christmas. And that on Sinterklaas! (Smug Gits R Us.)

Fiat Doblo Cargo Test Drive

2011-11-29T17:44:00.006+01:00

I've been eyeing this possible replacement for the Wee Blue Van for some time so when by chance an invitation from the dealer for a test drive appeared on my doormat I phoned them straight away to arrange a date.

Redmond O'Hanlon in Utrecht

2011-11-28T13:04:00.003+01:00

Last night there was a special screening of the first episode of this programme in one of the filmhouses in Utrecht. With Mr O'Hanlon himself. Afterwards some discussion with him and 2 of the people who travelled with him during the filming followed by a Meet And Greet in the bar.

More Poppies

2011-11-16T21:41:00.002+01:00

Some days I manage to colour co-ordinate my knickers and my socks, and this always amuses me, but this is the first time I've ever managed to co-ordinate my book with my duvet cover. And my teacup.

Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T22:08:00.007+01:00

Joep and I drove to Poperinge to see the exhibition in the Talbot House around the new book by Stefan Brijs.

Typically grey November Flanders day with mountains of beet at the side of the farmroads.

Bookexchange Incomers

2011-11-04T14:41:00.001+01:00

These are the books I harvested from the latest bookexchange. The first 4 are for Riny, the ones in the basket are for me.

Halloween Book Exchange

2011-10-30T22:43:00.006+01:00

A number of years ago when I was living in a genuine crumbling mansion, the tradition of having a bookexchange at my place around Halloween was born. After a few years break when the mansion had finally crumbled and I lived in a tiny place with no room for such things the tradition has been revived again here in the latest forest dwelling.

Thirteen women from my online bookgroup, 3 kids and several hundred books. (And a LOT of food.) I forgot to take many photos (and actually stole the first one from this bloggrrl...) I also forgot to burn the Wicker Wummin I'd found in the woods behind the shed when everyone was there so Hanneke and I were the only ones to witness this fusion of Halloween with the cult Scottish film.

Janneke came along this morning to help us eat some of the leftovers and to pick out a few of the last books. Another thing I forgot to do yesterday was to take a photo of everyone with the picture frame so the leftover black cat was the only one to pose with it.

The Night Before the Bookexchange

2011-10-28T23:30:00.004+02:00

Am watching Tim Burton's film, 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (about how the people from the land of Halloween take over Christmas) whilst carving out Halloween lantarns from a turnip, a pumpkin and an orange. This afternoon tidied up the shed in preparation for tomorrow's bookgrrls meeting.

Meatloaf?

2011-10-26T23:31:00.002+02:00

During the felling of a sick tree this morning I spotted a bat clinging to the wall of the house. I think he must have been sleeping in the tree when it came down.
He hissed angrily at me while I was taking photos and didn't look like he wanted to be adopted and given a daft name so I set him free on the other side of the road where he could find a peaceful place to sleep further. (I was wearing leather workgloves during all this - bats are known to spread rabies by biting.)

Shoe Door

2011-10-14T17:32:00.002+02:00

In the doghouse

2011-08-22T16:08:00.003+02:00

Since Max I've never had a dog about the place who appreciated the doghouse but Shadow made himself at home right away.

New Workplace

2011-08-17T11:45:00.005+02:00

Moved one of the embroidery machines from Utrecht to the kitchen in Lopik the other day and the first order I made on it was for aprons with 'Kitchen Princess' on them.

Sil the Rabbit Whisperer

2011-07-27T12:29:00.000+02:00

3 dogs and a cat

2011-07-18T12:48:00.005+02:00

Last week I found myself in the unusual (for me) position of having a lodgercat instead of a lodgerdog in the house for one night. Full story can be read under this link. Just to assure everyone that I haven't been converted from my normal status of dogwummin, here's a photo of me with Shadow, the resident alsation belonging to the nearest neighbour together with 2 temporary alsation crossbreeds. (Shh, don't tell Shadow but his halfbred pals are both actually much prettier than he is...)

Hammock Dreams?

2011-07-05T22:20:00.002+02:00

Have decided to spend the night in the newly hung hammock. Or have I...? May decide it's too dark and scary and run in to my bed after all, but we'll see how it goes.

Bookswapmeet

2011-06-18T21:58:00.002+02:00

Orpheus en Euridice

2011-06-17T12:26:00.000+02:00

Some more photos - work in progress

2011-06-15T21:55:00.001+02:00

The Shed, before and after

2011-06-15T21:46:00.005+02:00

Different stuff, different dog...

To Answer Elsje´s Question

2011-06-08T23:08:00.001+02:00

The first books have been installed...

New House

2011-05-31T23:00:00.005+02:00

In Lopik, of all places.

Upstairs, Downstairs

2011-05-29T00:11:00.005+02:00

A few weeks ago I was offered a ticket to a Barenboim piano performance in the Concertgebouw. At this time it wasn't known that Princess Maxima had chosen this very occasion to celebrate her 40th birthday with 700 guests. Lots of extra security and the rather weird sense of being a gatecrasher as the balcony and podium seats were all occupied by her guests and us plebs were confined to the downstairs bit. The papparazzi were allowed in before the start and after the end of the music.

Of course I still had an image in my head as Barenboim being the young curly haired man who played him in the film Hilary and Jackie when in fact these days he looks more like Anthony Hopkins. So it was slightly disconcerting to have Hannibal Lector just a few feet in front of me playing Liszt. The concert was wonderful, though I could have done without the bit at the end where Maxima gave a speech where she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she hadn't actually hired the whole hall for a private party. She said she 'hoped she'd be able to have a word with everyone in the foyer afterwards' whilst the upstairs foyers were forbidden territory to all of us in the main hall. I would have thought an apology for kidnapping the concert would have been more appropriate but ach, it was all vaguely entertaining in its way too I suppose.

Flatfoot 56 in Amersfoort

2011-05-12T23:59:00.002+02:00

Harleykiedee op Erkemedestrand

2011-05-07T23:10:00.013+02:00

Proof that there are biker jackets in circulation with badges I made at least 22 years ago still on them.

The first band on Saturday evening were PRB Experience.

3 teenage girls who all (even the drummer) sang and played their way through a huge variety of covers (from AC/DC to ZZ Top with everything from Skunk Anansie to the Arctic Monkeys in between) with an occasional own number thrown in for good measure. These girls will go far.

Thorny Problem

2011-04-30T12:59:00.001+02:00

Question: Why was Sproet limping?
Answer:
This is him with Tanya, looking a lot happier once this embedded thorn had been removed from his toe pad.

Stormy Canoeing

2011-04-29T22:04:00.000+02:00

Tanya claimed it was like rowing out to Inchkeith but honestly, Tipi Island isn't that far away and the wind was more of a challenge on the way out than the distance. We made it eventually though and had the wind behind us on the way back so the return paddle took a fraction of the time it took to get there.

(For more pics of our destination see this previous blog as I didn't take my camera with me this time.)

Cupboard Love

2011-04-11T19:11:00.004+02:00

Ok, I'll admit, to the untrained eye the before and after photos might not look so vEry different, but believe me, it was a major expedition to get to the back of this storage cupboard and I'm pleased with the result. Have even got 2 bags of stuff ready for the charity shop and some empty shelf space on the shoeracks.

Zomer Dogwalk

2011-04-10T19:21:00.003+02:00

Isabella, Katie and Anita came along with Odie the waterrat to take Sproet and I for a walk in the Houtense Bos. (Sam couldn't come as he's recovering from an operation and can only walk for 15 minutes at a time.)

Sam, Sproet and the latest Harley Club Badges

2011-04-09T22:39:00.002+02:00

Sproet is here in Houten for the last night at Sam's house. At first I wasn't sure how they'd get on but they're both very relaxed about it all and so Sproet doesn't have to sleep in the car as I'd first thought I might have to do.

Walked along to the RegioBieren on the Loerikseweg to show the latest edition of the Harleykiedee badges.

Sam's Week

2011-04-08T11:01:00.005+02:00

Sam seemed to enjoy his week commuting between Houten and Utrecht. Luckily after a busy day supervising the house painting and meeting new dogs-about-town he was able to relax beside the fire in the evening.

Sam & Rens

2011-04-03T20:52:00.006+02:00

I'd only been in Houten 10 minutes today when I met Rens on the Red Bitch whilst taking Sam out for a first walk round the block.

I lost the dog in the house briefly but discovered him lying hidden behind a chair in the corner. Afterwards he came out to do some stretching exercises while I was cooking.

Next House?

2011-03-29T22:01:00.002+02:00

For a few minutes today I almost decided to move into this street in Utrecht as there was a house on offer from one of the other house gaurdian organisations I've signed up with recently. It has more space than the one in Soest but no more longer term certaintly and in the end I decided not to risk all the hassles of moving now when another more attractive alternative may turn up before the demolition men actually arrive.

Joep en Janneke taal

2011-03-27T20:37:00.002+02:00

Trigger Finger

2011-03-24T00:18:00.002+01:00

To Tivoli with Rens & Co (+ almost the entire crew of B-Where) to see Triggerfinger. Never seen anyone hit drums as hard (and as well) as this guy did.

Joep & Dusty

2011-03-23T22:45:00.001+01:00

"Don't you dAre slaver on my head!"

Vlissingen

2011-03-20T23:49:00.003+01:00

With my free train ticket I went to see Hanneke in Zeeland.

Book Week Gift

2011-03-18T21:57:00.008+01:00

Every year in March here in the Netherlands we have the Bookweek. During this week (which miraculously lasts for 10 days...) a writer is chosen to write the Book Week Gift. This hardback short book is given free to every client who spends at least 12.50 euros on Dutch books during the 'week'.

This year I bought my first 'dwarsligger' - a book that is printed the 'other way around' on very thin paper and is therefor a lot of reading for little weight so an ideal 'travelling book'.

At the moment I can't think of a suitable English translation for this publishing novelty - if I think of one later I'll put it in here. Yes, yes I could google it but would really prefer it to just appear in my head...

Deja Vu...

2011-03-12T19:55:00.003+01:00

Joep watched with amazement as I tidied up the garden area on what felt like the first day of spring today. Funny, I'm sure I did it last year too... Where does all the stUff come from?

Gooische Vrouwen

2011-03-10T23:59:00.001+01:00

10 of us went to The Film tonight in Houten. Afterwards some of us went back to Yvonne's house.

Pancake Day

2011-03-08T00:33:00.001+01:00

Sproet and Joep

2011-02-28T22:04:00.007+01:00

On Saturday Sproet came with me to Zwolle. Today we picked up Joep and he came with us to Utrecht when I brought Sproet home after her week here.

Joep later found a vEry interesting rabbit hole.

Back Blogging

2011-02-18T15:42:00.004+01:00

I'm going to go through all my photos now and make backblog posts for the relevant days so for those who want to follow the journey through Morocco, go back to the 20th of January and work forward...

(Later. Um, it may take a few days before I catch up with myself, I'm apparantly not really in the mood for photo sorting at the moment after all.)

Next day, am now going to go through my diary and try to put up at least one photo from each day to give me something to hang a text on later...

Museums in Tangier

2011-02-14T23:44:00.004+01:00

Trainstations in Fez en Meknes

2011-02-13T11:59:00.000+01:00

Tannery in Fez

2011-02-12T12:03:00.001+01:00

Oujda, Nador, Fez

2011-02-11T12:07:00.001+01:00

Nighttrain to Oujda

2011-02-10T12:09:00.001+01:00

Surfboard Accessories

2011-02-09T21:31:00.005+01:00

(Have just added this book photo for Chanou. I picked up the book there and left it behind for the next reader - this surf village is the perfect place for it to circulate.)

After the epic bus journey to the rather austere military dominated Western Sahara coastal town of Dakhla 2 days in Agadir and then 3 in the nearby surfers paradise Taghazout. Lots of reading; beach runs; sun. Every second person in the street has a surfboard under their arm. My food discovery of today is pistache yoghurt...

Appartment in Taghazout

2011-02-08T12:10:00.001+01:00

Agadir to Taghazout

2011-02-07T12:13:00.001+01:00

Above Agadir

2011-02-06T12:15:00.000+01:00

Bus from Dakhla

2011-02-05T12:17:00.001+01:00

Dakhla

2011-02-04T12:19:00.001+01:00

Dakhla

2011-02-03T14:30:00.002+01:00

Arrived here on Tuesday afternoon to find a wind blowing a gale, but the sun is shining. Leaving on Friday for Agadir.

Hotel Sahara

2011-02-02T12:22:00.001+01:00

Police Checks on the way through the Spanish Sahara

2011-02-01T12:27:00.000+01:00

(no photos...)

Marrakesh to Dakhla

2011-01-31T12:29:00.001+01:00

Marathon Day

2011-01-30T12:33:00.000+01:00

See here

Back in Marrakech

2011-01-29T20:47:00.003+01:00

Arrived bqck her yesterday afternoon and bought our tickets to Dahkla (the most southern town in Morrocco you can get to witout a visa) at the bus station. It leaves on Monday afternoon qnd gets to Dahkla 24 hours later. The weather in Essouaria was so cold and wet thqt south seems to be the thing to do. It was like a bad Scottish summer... Anyway; picked up my startnumber for tomorrow. Also my official teeshirt_ so now it seems like it,s really going to happen. Have arranged to have breakfast early so that I can arrive in plenty time for the 8.30 start in the morning (British time = Marroccan time). I got a black henna design painted on my hand this morning on the market _ it should last for 4 aeeks I;m told. Photos later _ I want to get to bed on time; have another bath first.

Essouaria to Marrakesh

2011-01-28T12:43:00.000+01:00

Harbour

2011-01-27T12:44:00.000+01:00

Rainy Essouria

2011-01-26T12:45:00.000+01:00

Sea Urchins

2011-01-25T22:06:00.001+01:00

Moved today from the Central to Al Fath(?), which has a view of the stormy sea over the wall. Had my first run. Ate sea urchins yesterday. Wonderful fish tajine today. Don,t think I,ve ever eaten so often and so well while travelling before. Food seems very...available here somehow. Maybe photos tomorrow _ I see a usb port on this puter.

Desert to City

2011-01-24T12:48:00.000+01:00

Camel Trip

2011-01-23T22:53:00.006+01:00

Overnight trip to Zagora via Quarzazate with a minibus (and camels) from Marakesh. More photos tomorrow.

Sheeps heads for tea...

2011-01-22T21:20:00.007+01:00

Sitting in the internet cafe with a 6 year old practicing his french via a programme behind the counter. Today we booked a 2day trip into the mountains and desert and then plan to go to Essouaria on the coast for 3 days before the marathon. Just had delicious mutton at a stall in the big square with the brains, heads and tongues of the original keepers of the meat on the table in front of us. Bought some apricots for the bus trip as I feel I should be getting more iron inside me before the race next week.

This photo is for Janneke - the Moroccan equivalent of the scribbled 'agenda' I was always referring to in Bath to keep track of what we had to do and when.

Marrakesh Express

2011-01-21T21:25:00.003+01:00

Arrived in Marrakech today from Casablanca. Everything fine but blogging isn,t going to hqppen very often qs French:Arabic keyboards have lots of keys in the wrong place. Haven;t run yet as when I was all reqdy to run along the boulevard this morning at dawn the hotel door was still padlocked shut so I went back to bed. Ah well; Insjallah; as they say here. Have just eaten lamb tajine at a stall on the huge square. Am reading Are You Experienced which is hilarious about backpqcking. Had a look around the biggest mosque outside of Mecca yesterdqy. I give up on this computer.... Off to wander about some more. More (maybe) another time, another place. Perhaps with photos:

Casablanca

2011-01-20T15:43:00.015+01:00

Arrived at the airport in the early morning and 'slept' there till the first train into town at 6.30. Walked in the direction of the harbour and checked into Hotel Central, with this view from the window.

Wander about town, Maroccan tea on the way to the artdeco catherdral.

Later walked out to the biggest mosque outside of Mecca, which is also one of the few non-muslims are allowed to see inside. Not during prayer times but in organised tours.

Strange really, that every Christian church is open to anyone who wants to take a look but mosques are seldom open to non-believers.

In the evening ate in a restaurant where the waiter praised the 'special' couscous into the heavens and said I really should try it, only to return a few minutes later saying there was in fact no meat in the kitchen that day so it wasn't available. The vegetarian option was indifferent. Later heard that couscous is a dish you shouldn't really eat in restaurants, it's more a home speciality. We also briefly went into Rick's Bar (a fake remake of the bar in the film Casablanca, which was actually filmed in Hollywood) but it was busy and we left after hearing the tail end of the piano player playing the inevitable 'As Time Goes By'.

The Hassan II mosque was also visible from the hotel window - it looks a lot closer than it actually is as it's so big.

Soestdijk-Casablanca

2011-01-19T21:35:00.003+01:00

On the station platform they'd put up a poster specially for our departure...

On the AirArabia flight I think we were the only 2 non-Maroccans on the plane. Most of our fellow passengers joined in with the 'Travel Prayer' in Arabic before take off. A lot of them bade us Welcome in Marocco when we were waiting at customs in the arrival hall.

Packed Bags

2011-01-18T01:06:00.007+01:00

As usual the most of my packing dithering involves transferring lots of creams and shampoos into dinky little bottles. And sawing the handle off a toothbrush to make it fit one of my wee bags full of wee bottles. Once that´s done it´s just a question of stuffing some clothes into the bag, tying my sleeping bag onto the bottom of it, measuring the completed bundle to see if it still fits the 50x40x20cm limits for hand baggage and then wondering if that insignificant-looking piece of paper from the airline is really going to get me a seat on the plane. Tomorrow lists of 'stuff to do' in Utrecht before leaving on Wednesday.

Travelling Jacket

2011-01-17T21:46:00.001+01:00

Started to get my stuff together for Morocco this afternoon. Great to get my many-pocketed-jacket out again. First things first - what books can I take with me?

Stable Start to the Year

2011-01-01T19:17:00.007+01:00

Katie and I left the party and went along to the stables shortly before midnight to make sure that the horses didn't go totally crazy when the fireworks mania was at its worst. They weren't happy about all the noise but by distracting them with food and moving Dancer into the empty stall next to Benti they didn't do anything too drastic and we left them at about 12.30.

BookSeat

2010-12-29T17:12:00.005+01:00

Here is one of my Christmas presents 'in action'.

And here's a 'naked' pic for those who have no idea what they're supposed to be seeing in the first photo. It's an ingenious system to allow you to read 'hands free'.

Chocolate Poisoning

2010-12-27T16:05:00.004+01:00

Luckily Sil didn't have too many ill effects from the chocolate she pilfered on Boxing Day though I had a few worried moments when I looked up the symptoms. She'd scoffed most of the decorative Christmas chocolate log which I'd (stupidly) left being decorative in the empty fire grate in its cellophane wrapping. She was extremely hyper and barking at any distant noise of fireworks for most of the day but I'm not sure if this was all due to the chocolate poisoning or if she just gets nervous about explosions anyway. Good job it wasn't dark chocolate or she might not have got off so lightly. See this article for some of the details of what quantities of chocolate can prove fatal for canines. (Although I do find the measurements a bit confusing.) I'm really just putting this blogpost in to warn those who might not realise that chocolate is poisonous for dogs. Though there's no reason to get hysterical over small amounts it can definitely be dangerous and often even fatal in larger doses.

Sprouts and Paper Hats

2010-12-25T23:58:00.000+01:00

Even when I have access to a double oven I still seem to prefer the gizinty method of one pot cooking...

Tidying Up Books, Hanging Up Maps

2010-12-19T23:31:00.008+01:00

After last week´s blog with this photo I realised that the piles of incoming books were starting to get to a dangerous height so I decided to take some safety precautions to prevent a possible yuletide avalanche.

The box on the floor full of not-yet-read hardbacks has been moved to a newly freed space on the bedroom window ledge.

This book of ReadAndToBeKept books has been culled from the random chaos of The Growing Pile.

While I was in tidying mode I hung the map of Marrocco on the living room door.

By lucky chance the part of Marrakesh where my hotel is for the marathon is visible on the other side of the door through the window.

Traffic Jam

2010-12-18T22:04:00.001+01:00

Along with most of the rest of the country today I spent some time in a snowy traffic jam.

All Wrapped Up

2010-12-15T23:19:00.001+01:00

Call of the Wild

2010-12-14T00:23:00.003+01:00

Joep was very concerned about the fate of the dogs on the film tonight.

I hope he doesn't have nightmares...

Buchmania

2010-12-12T21:08:00.009+01:00

Rianne and I went along to this today, on the top floor of the wonderful public library in Amsterdam. (Why have I never been here before?) Organised by a club of Boudewijn Büch enthusiasts.

Nop Maas read from the as yet unpublished 3rd part of his biography of Reve; the bit about an extremely controversial interview he gave to Boudewijn Büch. Later the 'surprise speaker' was indeed Theodor Holman. I'd spotted him earlier, first mistaking him for a possibly autistic bookseller who refused to make eye contact when I did my usual friendly nod to the person behind the booktable. It was only when I saw the pile of Theodor Holman books that I realised that the well-filled face beneath the explosion of white hair was in fact his. Snotty git - if he hadn't been so obviously unkeen to make any contact with the hoi polloi he might have sold more of his books. Though to be fair, he did make an excellent job of reading his monologue on the subject of what possibly went through Büch's head when he was acting out the death scene of his invented son.

He certainly made me feel like re-reading De Kleine Blonde Dood, which I can only remember as being a beautiful short novel about his relationship with his father. (Vague, vague, I can't really remember why I liked it so much, just that it was definitely beautifully written.)

Anyway, enjoyable afternoon. Excellent location. I'll certainly be going back there. In fact there's a Reve day next week... ach maybe not, but I'll certainly be going to have a look at the Reve museum on the second floor next time I'm in town.

Party Pasta

2010-12-11T23:21:00.001+01:00

Ground Control...

2010-12-09T00:49:00.002+01:00

Installing the new touchscreen involved a fair bit of despair but in the end it all seems to work as it should and I even installed a new and scary sounding Mozilla Thunderbird programme to deal with my old email address.

Sinterklaas

2010-12-04T11:42:00.005+01:00

While we were out in the snow with Minnie, Sinterklaas had delivered a big pile of parcels...

Lionel Shriver in Amsterdam

2010-12-01T23:59:00.000+01:00

Maaike and I had tickets for a reading organised by the John Adams Institute in Amsteram. Since I read her brilliant "We Need to Talk about Kevin" I've been A Fan of this writer so I was glad of the opportunity to see what sort of person was behind the books. She's very, um, driven. Very annoyed about a lot of things. Which, I suspect, if I had been unlucky enough to be born in a very rich and powerful country which can't even be bothered to arrange adequate (adequate? what about ANY?!) healthcare for the majority of its citizens, I would be too. She has a very fierce sort of lasersharp intelligence - she is in fact, exActly as you'd expect her to be from reading her.

Slow Cooking

2010-11-28T23:52:00.000+01:00

After yesterday's slow run I had a day sawing wood for the stove on the boat and making a big cast iron pot of food. Inspired by Chanou's blog I made some photos of the cooking process.
I don't 'do' recipes but here's a vague description of how it was put together. Stuff chicken with a mixture of bread, mushrooms, wine, Indonesian boemboe and some peanut and coconut mix stuff that was in the cupboard. (Mix together till mushy.) Wrestle stringy bit over back legs again to keep the filling in. Roast chicken in olive oil in the pan till it's browned more or less all round. Chuck in some more wine so that there's a layer of liquid on the bottom of the pan. Find the right way to balance pan on stove so that it's simmering rather than boiling furiously. (This involves bits or wire meshing and metal, you may well have a simpler method involving some sort of a temperature dial.)

Go away and saw some more wood/read book. Open lid and peer at miraculously cooking chicken occasionally. Turn once or twice if you feel the need to dO something. Add sliced potatoes round the edges. Stare at flames for a while. Read some more. Add chunks of courgettes and smear the rest of the stuffing that didn't fit inside chicken over the top.

Go away for a run to investigate beaver building progress. Add mushrooms. Look for big enough plate to put chicken on. Discover that no such thing is to be found on the boat. Add wee tomatoes. Prise bits of tender free-range, maize-fed chicken off the bones. Listen to enthusiastic noises. (Get home, make blog, wonder why some photos are turned to 90 degrees but not be able to get bothered enough about it to change it...)

My First Bento

2010-11-15T11:22:00.005+01:00

I've always admired the bento boxes one of the boekgrrls regularly makes up. On Saturday she returned a book I'd lent her and she'd made me a bento of my very own.

I've just been to her blog and found a post describing exactly what was in this bento. The spicy nuts were wonderful, well, it all was really. I ate it in the bath I had after my 3 and a half hour run in the rain yesterday. Luxury.

Joep the Sniffer Dog

2010-11-06T13:53:00.002+01:00

Joep was very interested in one corner of the big grey cover that I put over the couch for him. When Sproet was here it was folded up and under my desk for him to lie on and obviously still had his scent on it. After he'd had a thorough inspection of it he seemed satisfied that his predecessor was no threat and settled down for a snooze.

More Art in Zeeland

2010-11-01T23:41:00.005+01:00

Het Parade Paardje

2010-11-01T23:31:00.006+01:00

Hanneke, in her new role in life as patron of the arts, bought a bronze sculpture in a local gallery when I was visiting this weekend.

Mammogram

2010-10-25T21:11:00.002+02:00

I remember before getting my first one last year I was a bit apprehensive as I'd heard some women saying it was painful but I didn't even find it all that uncomfortable really so that was a relief. Today's control was fairly routine and the images were acceptable first time so I didn't have to have a repeat performance. Results on Friday from the surgeon.

Tight Fit Fridge

2010-10-19T12:39:00.004+02:00

I recently inherited a fridge from a departing tennant in Utrecht which was slightly bigger/better than the one I had. I'd measured the space between washing machine and table in the tiny kitchen in Soest and thought it would probably jUst fit. Not a millimetre to spare.

Flowers in a paper bag

2010-10-06T23:35:00.003+02:00

I'd put some carnations in a glass jar but they were a bit too long and floppy for it so I put the jar in this fancy paper packaging - instant tall vase.

In Stitches Online

2010-10-05T17:41:00.002+02:00

Finally took the first steps in building my own website today. Ah well, better late than never.

Last day B&B

2010-09-30T23:33:00.000+02:00

Before leaving for the airport I took some photos of Dorset Villa.

Also 'The Diary' which I'd scribbled down all our different activities on so that I wouldn't forget when we should be where.