saturday special

june 28 2008


~Questions, Silly Questions~

1. Who is the last person you talked to?

My third son.
He was going to town with some friends to buy a present for the host of a party this evening.
And he asked me to make a list with what I needed, and add pet supplies, because his friends mom need food for the cat and dog and wants them to bring it too.

2. What is your weather like right now?

Right now?
It's yucky humid,
cloudy and hot.

3. Where will you be this weekend?

At home.
Just at home.

Wish I would be in town, spending a lot of money. LOL!

4. What's for dinner tonight?

No idea.
Depends on what's brought in with the groceries and depends on the left overs.

So I guess it'll be:
tomato soup
potatoes
carrots
hopefully some fish

and the kids an icecream.


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perfect for me is

june 21 2008


~It's Perfect ~

A perfect day is
a day without stress. With everyone in a perfect mood and I'm not too tired.
A superperfect day is a day that I can do something for myself without any disturbance. A day that I forget the time, that I even forget myself.
A day of just being.

A perfect dinner is
One with everyone present and no hazzle.
A superpefect dinner is me with a friend at a not too expensive restaurant, wearing the perfect outfit for the moment and enjoying myself to bits.

A perfect evening is
No washing up, coffee served, casualty on TV, and silence. After that everyone going to bed without any problems at all.
A superperfect evening is walking at the beach with someone I love and who loves me.

A perfect vacation is
No problems with the boys, weather just right and relaxation all days.
A superperfect vacation is going away on a trip
...and never come back ... eh...
and come back and find everything at home perfect or just the way I left it.


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saturday special

june 7 2008


~ FAVORITES ~

~ WHAT'S YOURS?~

1. Favorite Outfit To Wear:?

Depends on the occassion.

At home I wear flexible trousers and a T-shirt.
When going to a meeting I wear something more bussiness-like. Black trousers and a jacket, and a blouse.
But to other occassions I like to dress according to my feelings of the moment.
Most often I stand out, because I like to follow my own style: colourfull, one step ahead of fashion, not adapting to the dressingstyle of women my age.

2. Favorite Hair Color & Style:?

I would love to have long curly hair, instead I have the thinnest and straightest hair in the world.
So it's earlength.

Oh.. and I've been blessed with reddish brown, or brownish red hair.

3. Favorite Kind Of Shoes:?

Flipflops. Didn't you know?

4. Favorite Way To Relax:?

Making music without an audience.

At times it's singing, but it can also be whistling,playing the guitar, bagpiping. It just depends.


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My dreamhouse and garden

may 31 2008



~Designer's Choice~

1. My home would be in the style of?

When I would be a designer I would use one of those wooden houses people can partialy make themselves.

I would use light-reddish wood, which colours through time to a warm golden brown, so you can measure your own age against the house.

Large windows, overviewing a wide panorama with mountains in the background, and between them a small stripe of horizon, enough to see the sun set.

I would use the same colour of wood in the furniture. Not too much.
Added deep brown coloured elements.

Curtains and main areas of colour would be blue. Depending on my mood I would use a medium blue. But it might even be matching the air of a bright sunny day.

To add a bit of spoof: a bit of red and yellow here and there. The yellow especially near the dark brown and darker blue.

No open kitchen, but one with windows to the dinnerroom or -area, and large enough to contain a large table, so the kitchen might be dinnerroom too.

The sleepingrooms would be rather small: a bed, space to move, a wardrobe and a place to throw the clothes.
But each speelingroom would have an annex with a nice spot to sit down and work at the computer or work, or be bussy with a hobby. Lots of shelves and a nice view outside.

Need I go on?

2. My kind of furniture style is?

Haha..I have no style. We still use what's childresistant. (and I hate it)

I don't know anything about furniture styles, but I don't like robust furniture.
Maybe in a large house, but not here.

Light wood will be OK in my dreamhouse. And one of a kind.

3. My floors would be covered with?

Wood. Warm real wood.

Roght now I'm in desperate need of a new floor here. Woodgrain vinyl. We had tiles and I love to have tiles again, but I can't find them.
Making regular vinyl into tiles is an option, but it's too expensive.

We need a vinyl floor because of the asthma (3 of us) and the mess the kids make at times.

4. My landscaping would look like?

Natural. Lots of flowers. Smells.
At my dreamhouse I would have a very large parc-ish garden.
With a winding path that leads to surprising views.
And a secret garden..... let me have a secret garden.
To hide, to dream, to stay forever.

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As a child I wanted to grow up to be...

may 3 2008



~Remembering Childhood~

1. As a child I loved to play...?:

in the woods near our house.
It was a completely different world as the world at home.
I could live in my imagination and in nature.
It was all I needed to be happy.

2. As a child I wanted to grow up to be...?:

A balletdancer - managed it.
a writer - did so.
a mother - yep, that worked out too
a world traveller - forget it..

3. As a child my favorite thing to eat was...?:

spinach, with eggs, and mashed potatoes.
carrots, with fish and potatoes.

4. As a child my favorite relative was...?:

My grandmother.


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saturday special

april 26 2008



~I Say..You Answer...~

1. Early Morn...you answer?:

I love spring and summer, because I can walk into the garden whenever I want, without the fuzz of coats and special shoes.

It's so nice to smell the early morning air and to hear the birds sing.
At a very early time they're not disturned yet by people going to work and school.
The world is theirs, and I'm allowed to be there.

It so nice to see the flowers, still closed, with a bit of moisture catching the first rays of sun.
During the day they'll open and seeing that change make me feel happy.

2. Foggy Mist...you answer?:

As an asthmatic I'm in conflict here.
Mist makes me feel short of breath.

But I love to see the mist above and around the lake.
So I'll take my inhaler and use it very well, and then go for a walk.

The mysterious silence is what I'm looking for.
The large willowtrees alsmost drawn against a grey canvas.

3. Full Moon...you answer?:

The full moon draws me outside.
Sometimes I even wake up the girls to have a look, and when it's vacation and they want to go with me on a walk in the moonlight they're allowed to.
Educating children about the old tales is so much fun when walking in the moonlight and understanding that people long before us had the same feeling of mystery and awe.

A few years ago I was bycicling home and the moon was very large.
It was good I can bycicle home on automatic pilot, because my mind was more high in the sky than fixed on the road before me.
Suddenly I saw a shooting star.....
I'll never forget that amazing evening.

4. Starry Night...you answer?:

A starry night is what I look for on my evening walks.
It's amazing that each night the sky is different.
Sometimes I can only see a few bright ones, and at other times I can see almost straight to the end of the universe...it feels.

I don't think they want me as an astronaut, but I wouldn't mind being one.
I wonder how it would be high up there.


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saturday special

april 19 2008

1. How many hours a day do you watch TV?:

I listen to As The World Turns and a few days a week I watch one hour in the evening.

2. How many days in a week do you cook at home?:

All days. Here in The Netherlands people don't eat out as often as in other countries.

3. How many times a month do you go to the movies?:

Never. We don't have the money for that kind of activities.

4. How many vacations do you take a year?:

Painful question.
I haven't been on a vacation for 23 years.
And I haven't had something resembling a vacation at home either.

I'm always looking around for contests, but I've never won a vacation.


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saturday special

april 5 2008

~My Senses Favorites~

1. Favorite Smell(s)?:

Honeysuckle on a summer evening
Rain after a long warm day
Lillies of the valley
Roses

2. Favorite Landscape View(s)?:

The sea

Looking down from the top of a mountain.
The best view I had was at the lake District, England.

3. Favorite Taste(s)?:

Cinnamon
Homemade apple pie
A glass of Porto woth old cheese, like Old Amsterdam.

4. Favorite Sound (s)?:

Native Indian Flute
The sea
A storm through the trees


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saturday special

march 29 2008

~Time Tells All~

1. 
   It's 1:00pm on Sunday and I'm usually
   just ready watching Country Files with the children and having lunch
   at this time.


2. 
   It's 6:00pm on Monday and I'm usually
   having dinner with most of the children
   at this time.


3. 
   It's 9:00pm Wednesday and I'm usually
   trying to get the girls to sleep
   at this time.


4. 
   It's 4:30pm on Friday and I'm usually
   making dinner, blogging or bussy with other things, like dreaming about travelling and surfing cheap flights.
   at this time.

saturday special

march 15 2008



In Honor Of St. Patrick's Day


1. While walking in a countryside in Ireland, I see a strange green glow coming from behind a large tree. Walking up to it I find
a green glowing lake, with the white clouds reflected in the deep water.
It's almost like someone has taken the wrong colour the match the deep darg green of the woods around it.
2. Being the curious kind I decide to
dive into it and take a swim, to see what's behind the stretch of lands that seems to divide the lake almost into two.
It's a wonderful time between the sounds of the woods, in the light of the moon.
When I arrive to the land, I walk a bit in true amazement.
It's so wonderful.

Then suddenly it starts to rain and in the light of the full moon a rainbow appears which seems to come out of the stretch of land.
3. Much to my surprise I bend to
see the spot where the rainbow touched the land, and I see a little clover.
4. Deciding this must truly be a Irish fairytale, I laughing think to myself:
ofcourse they have forgotten the pot of gold.
And I sit down to see if there are more little lovers between the grass.

While I'm moving my hand over the grass, two feet appear........

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saturday special,

march 8 2008



~What's Your Favorite?...~

1. Favorite Time Of Day?:

Late evening or early night. When everyone is sleeping and it's finally quiet here.

2. Favorite Day Of The Week?:

No school troubles, apart from an occasional letter.

3. Favorite Month Of The Year?:

It's not december. I always feel I fall short.

I love spring, so that's the end of april, early may.

4. Favorite Type Of Weather?:

I'm Dutch, so I like the wind, I like a drizzle,
but I like snow best.


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saturday special

march 1 2008


~I Sometimes Wish If Only I ~

1. If only I could leave right now, I would travel to the coast and enjoy the storm? I have been at sea when it was storming once and I really loved it.
2. If only I saved a little bit more money, I would be able to order my smallpipes now, as the representative of my country is at the factory now and he would be able to take my smallpipes to my country when he returns.
3. If only I said I'm bored with the complaining of one of the kids here, I would have a big row the rest of the day.
4. If only I had the chance, I would sing in a band again. I've done so in the past and I enjoyed it tremendously.

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saturday special

february 9 2008


~Just Name One~

1. Thing You're Afraid To Do?:
   Sitting in a box with snakes, scorpions and tarantulas
2. Thing Scientists Need To Invent?:
   How to generate energy from the movement of people. (I have a great idea)
3. Thing That Would Make You Very Happy?:
   A thing... not a person?
   I would be very happy to meet my online friends. For instance in the Oprah Winfrey Show.
4. Thing About Valentine's Day That's Special To You?:
   That the girls receive special valentine gifts. That's so nice to see.

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saturday special

january 26 2007

~Creative Adventure X~

1. While on vacation in Europe I decided to visit an old landmark Inn at the top of the cliffs. The Inn was the place to stay for the rich and famous during the turn of the 20th century. As I rode along the winding road up to the top I noticed __________?:

a bagpiper. His kilt was moving in the strong wind.
He was wearing the tartan of my ancestors, and he played one of my favorite tunes.
I was caught completely in the moment.

The lamenting sounds echoed from the stone of the cliffs and faded away over the sea.

He made me think of the history that was shared so many generations. One of our ancestors walked in front of the army and led them into battle, the sound of his bagpipes signalling important messages.

Then the sun casted it's rays from behind a cloud, and i had to cover my eyes for the light.

2. Gathering my senses I continued to the Inn grounds and drove the long unkept driveway to the now abandoned building. Stepping out of my car I walked to the door and found __________?:

the remains of an old bagpipe-reed.
It was worn out, and the top of the redd was chipped. The result of rain and bad weather.

3. Entering the enormous lobby I walked to the desk and opened an old falling apart guest register and as I was reading the list of guests who were part of the past of this once famous Inn I thought I heard __________?:

bagpipe music again.

But when I went outside there was nothing, but the wind and the sun, and the white foam on the tall waves beating against the cliffs.

So I went inside again and tried to read some names in the register.

My grandmother took pride when I was young, to teach me old handwritings and reading faded entries in old diaries and grocery shop books.
Now I could see which names where entered with swirls and bows.

One of them was the name of my ancestor. The H was entered with high pressure as if he was making a statement. And behind his name it said: bagpiper.

Right after the sunlight faded away, and the grey clouds started to float inland, signalling rain.

4. Leaving this lonely ghostly place with a smile on my face I thought to myself __________?:

that I can't deny the strong bond which excists between me and Scotland.
It was a pity that I didn't take my highland bagpipes with me to the old inn, otherwise I could have played along with the lamenting song from the old times.


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saturday special

january 5 2007

~My Personal Preferences~

1. Quiet evening at home or Out on the town?:

I'm having a quiet evening at home, but I'm not happy with it.
I should be with my girls at the Robert Burns night, and I'm at home,

because I didn't have a ride to get at the location. Grrrr.

2. Watching a movie or Reading a good book?:

After watching Atonement, which should be a good movie, according to so many,

I'm back to reading books. When time allows.

3. Ordering a meal or cooking one yourself?:

Cooking myself.
Ordering a mail... do you pay?

4. Going for a walk or taking a ride in the car?:

Well, as we have no car, it's either a walk or a bycicle ride.

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saturday special

january 5 2007

~It's Dinner Time~

1. Standard Oven or Microwave?:

Microwave.
We don't have room for a standard oven, but the function is added to the microwave.
I like the old fashioned cake... you know. A bit golden brown on the outside.
Lemoncakes are microwaved though.

2. Fry or Bake?:

We waved the fryingpan goodbye last year.
No frites in large quantities anymore, but a moaning father who goes to get the frites.

I bake things.
I hate greasy things, so I use only a little bit of oil (wok) or butter. Sometimes not even that.

3. Cooking or Fast Food Meals? Why?:

Cooking.
Fast food is far too expensive with a family of 8 and they always are still hungry afterwards.

I don't like cooking though, only when it's for special occasions.

But hey, the herds have to eat.

4. Sit Down or On The Run Dinners?:

We don't have much On The Run Dinners here, because that's not the national custom. (I'm in The Netherlands).
We have dinner at 17.00 or 18.00 hours and whoever is at home has to sit down.
It's a bit difficult to run with soup. LOL!

Those who are not at home will have to eat with their dad who arrives at 19.30 hours.


Happy New Year!!

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saturday special

december 15 2007

1. While cross-country skiing through an old country trail I notice a light through the trees ahead. Getting closer to the clearing, I see the light comes from an old cottage that looks inviting. I remove my skis and walk up the porch steps and knock on the door when __________?:

I hear the sound of highland bagpipes.
While it starts to snow again, I'm listening tp the skilled bagpiper.
He sure knows how to play the gracenotes, and he's able to bring into the tradional music a touch of artistry like it's seldom heard.

Only when I'm really cold I knock at the door.
A women opens the door en shows me the way to the wonderful room where I'm going to stay for the night.

"Your bagpipes have arrived already, but none has seen them yet, so no-one knows you can play too."

We smile and after she has left, I take a short bath and dress myself in the colours of my clan.

I'm a bit nervous.

2. I step inside to a cozy living room and sitting in a big leather chair in front of the fireplace is _________?:

the chief of the clan of my ancestors.
After much research I've found out that I stem from one of the true Scottish Highlanders, and I felt so proud and happy that I asked approval to wear the colours of my clan and top become a guard of the clan.

3. He smiles at me and offers me a seat and a cup of hot chocolate. We talk for a bit and __________?:

then he tells me that after some consideration he has decided to approve me as the first female guardian of the clan.
We have a pleasant evening.
The sound of our bagpipes match perfectly, and we enjoy a good talk with a good glass of whiskey.
The hours pass and I learn more than I knw about my great great great great great great grandmother, sho seemed to be so much like my own grandmother.

When the candles are small, and the cold creeps into the house, we decide to go to bed.

4. Happy and warm I thank them both for their hospitality and go on my way, as I turn to wave goodbye I'm surprised to see __________?:

a vague misty figure waving at me.
She looks like my gram and I feel it's her.

At my pillow I find a blue flower... the flowers my gram had in her garden.
Ouside I hear her laugh, before the silence of the night makes me fall asleep.

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saturday special

december 1 2007

~Dream Time ~ Have You Ever...~

1. Danced At A Ball?:

Not a real ball.
Do we mortals that aren't part of the movieworld ever experience this?
But I have dances like I was at a ball on stage as a ballet dancer.
Does that count?

2. Flown A Kite?:

Oh yes!! And I loved it.
I've flown kites made from paper bags, little kites and once even a very large one that needed two people to keep it up.

3. Strolled Hand In Hand Along The Seashore?:

Yes, I did.
But that's a long, long time ago.

4. Rode A Train For The Fun Of It?:

No, but I have enjoyed my trainrides.

All my children have had a good time going with the train.
They went for the fun of it, and I'm sure when they're olders they have great memories.


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