zondag 22 december 2013

Red Christmas bauble

Red and white are typical Christmas colours. And I admit, I always like to add a bit of red in the house around Christmas, a cushion with red touches or some red berries in a wreath or in a bouquet or of course some red Christmas baubles.
 
Wit en rood zijn typische kerstkleuren. En ik geef toe, met kerst voeg ik graag wat rode toetsen  toe in huis, een kussen met rood erin of rode bessen in een krans of boeket of uiteraard rode kerstballen.
 
 
But this year even nature is adding the smallest red touch outside. Last Spring there was one almost unnoticable bloom on the Malus tree we planted the Autumn before, and now, with all the leaves fallen, one small red apple is clearly visible.
One natural red Christmas bauble. 
 
Maar dit jaar heeft de natuur buiten ook een rode toets toegevoegd. In de lente was er één onopvallende bloesem te zien aan ons Malusboompje dat we de herfst ervoor plantten, en nu, met alle bladeren gevallen, valt één klein rood appeltje goed op.
Eén natuurlijke rode kerstbal.
 
 
 
 
 

woensdag 18 december 2013

Laatste week voor Kerst/ Last week before Christmas

Ongelooflijk dat het al de laatste week voor Kerst is. Kerst komt dit jaar precies te vroeg, ben er nog helemaal niet klaar voor. Vorige week was er wel even een sprankel kerstgevoel toen het enkele nachten vroor en de wereld 's morgens een wit randje had. Mooi vind ik dat altijd.
 
Unbelievable Christmas is already around the corner, only one week left!
I don't feel ready for Christmas yet, as if it comes too soon this year.
Last week, there was a bit of a Christmas feeling after we had some nights with
temps blow zero which gave the world a white edging in the mornings.
Always such a pretty view.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Deze week ontbreekt dat witte randje en weg kerstgevoel, al steek ik dan de lichtjes in de kerstboom (boompje eigenlijk) buiten aan, en al staat de Amaryllis bijna in bloei. Ik hoop hier binnenkort foto's van een bloeiende Amaryllis te kunnen delen maar voorlopig blijven de stelen groeien en laten de knoppen nog niets van de bloemkleur(die wit zou moeten zijn) zien. De Amaryllis is er ook nog niet klaar voor denk ik, voor Kerst.
 
This week there hasn't been a white edging though and with it all Christmas feeling disappeared as well, even if I do turn on the lights in the Christmas tree outside. And even if the Amaryllis is almost blooming. The stems keep growing but the flowerbuds are tightly closed and don't want to reveal any colour(should be white btw). It seems as if Amaryllis isn't ready for Christmas yet either.
 
 
 
 
Niet zo voor de kerstroos. Die staat wél in bloei, helemaal klaar voor Kerst.
 
Not so for the Christmas Rose, blooming and ready for Christmas.
 
 
 
  Toch al een klein hoekje Kerst in de woonkamer.
 
Just a little Christmassy corner in the living room.
 
 
En deze brownies (recept) hebben ook wel iets kerstigs, met cranberries erin verwerkt én op een mooi wit papieren kantje.
 
These brownies (recipe) have something Christmassy about them as well, with the added cranberries and presented on a white lacey paper.
 
 
Geen idee of ik nog wat zal bloggen voor Kerst dus vandaar nu al mijn allerbeste wensen voor een mooie en vreugdevolle kerstperiode voor iedereen
 
Lieve groet,
Marian
 
No idea if I'll be blogging again before Christmas, so I wish you all
a Merry Christmastime already now.
 
Bye,
Marian
 
 
 
 
 
 

vrijdag 6 december 2013

The first week of December 2013

 
Autumn at its end. Last colours of Autumn in the garden.
 
 
 
 
 After the fierce wind from the 'Sinterklaasstorm' that blew over Europe
yesterday afternoon and last night, all of the leaves have fallen by now.
It makes for quite a difference in the garden in just one week.
Winter is clearly on the doorstep.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Some frosty pictures from last week.
 
I was home on the particular morning that I took these pictures.
There was fog that morning and it became thicker really fast.
When I went inside after my very short(it was cold!) photosession outside
I heard the news on the radio and that thick fog had caused
a terrible accident on the highway nearby.
I immediately phoned my husband. He was safe at its job, a relief.
We always have to take that highway.
What I heard on the radio sounded very serious
and the extra news at noon with the first images confirmed it.
It's a miracle only one person didn't survive the crash.
There were a lot of people injured of course,
brought to hospitals all over the province.
Somehow this crash dominated my week.
Just couldn't get the images out of my mind.
 
Trying to set my mind to other things and started some knitting
with wool I've had for a whole year now,
a very different kind of wool, coming with an
explanation on how to use it. Maybe you've
seen this kind of wool already and know the trick. I still had to get the
hang of it but once I did I had a new self-knitted scarf in no time,
an ideal Christmas gift even maybe. 
 
 
 
 
Quietly knitting versus a chain reaction crash and the worst storm in years,
that was what crossed my mind when today the title of a book on our bookshelf caught my eye.
'Quiet living' is the title, a book about country interiors.
 
And then last night, I heard that Nelson Mandela died, such an icon.
This first week of December didn't just go by, not quiet at all,
as wasn't the life of this legendary man,
a legend already during his life and even more now.
 
 
Hope you all got through this first week of December safe and well.
 
Maybe this weekend I'll take a look in that book I mentioned.
What are you up to this weekend, quiet and easy living or will it rather be the opposite?
 
 
 
Marian
 
 
 
 

woensdag 27 november 2013

Today...

 
Vandaag...
 
 
Deze morgen viel dit kleine gevallen blaadje dat bleef kleven door de regen me op.
Was dit misschien een teken aan de wand?
 
This little fallen leaf that got stuck because of the rain drew my attention this morning.
could  this be a sign?
 
 
Een eerste zonnestraal na lange tijd?
 
The first sunbeam after a long time?
 
 
Ja hoor, en ook een blauwe lucht kwam tevoorschijn.
 
Apparently it was, and a blue sky appeared as well.
 
 
 
Een wandeling of fietsrit zaten er niet in
maar de camera meenemen in de auto en
binnenbaantjes nemen op weg naar huis
konden wel. Het werd een ritje langs de grens,
de schreve zoals we hier zeggen.  
 
No time to go for a walk or a bikeride but
taking the camera with me and taking small roads
on the way home was possible and so I did.
The largest part of the way was in France, just across the border.
 
 
 
Gouden bladeren tegen een blauwe achtergrond, prachtig.
 
Golden leaves against a blue background, gorgeous.
 
 
Wat zien die rozenbottels er vrolijk uit in het zonnetje.
 
These rosehips look so cheerful in the sun.
 
 
Wat takken ervan meenemen zat er niet in,
geen schaar bij, uiteraard niet, heb ik nooit bij,
maar de bottels hingen ook te hoog
en bovendien was er een diepe dijk nu vol water
tussen de weg en rand van het veld waar de struik staat.
 
Taking some rosehip branches home wasn't possible,
no scissors with me, of course not, never have that with me,
rosehips hung too high
and there was a deep ditch full of water now
between the road and the field where the rosebush grows.
 
 
 
 
Ooit een smokkelweg, nu een wandelweg,
die er momenteel heel nat bij ligt.
Toen ik daarnet de naam van de wandelweg googelde, las ik dit
"en période de pluie, le port de chaussures étanches s’avère nécessaire."
Dat was nu duidelijk het geval!
 
Once a smuggle path, now a walking trail,
a very wet walking trail at the moment.
When I googled the name of the trail tonight, I read:
"en période de pluie, le port de chaussures étanches s’avère nécessaire."
That was certainly the case now.
 
 
Het pad kruist de weg waar ik voor even mijn auto parkeerde
om wat foto's te nemen.
 
The path crosses the street I parked my car for a while to
take some pictures.
 
 
Nog meer mooie bottels hoog tegen de blauwe lucht.
 
More beautiful rosehips high against the blue sky.
 
 
Nog een korte stop om van dit zicht op de schreve te genieten.
 
Another quick stop to take in this view of the border.
 
 
Stel je voor hier te wonen met dit zicht.
Ik vroeg de bewoners die aan het werk waren in de tuin of ik een
foto mocht nemen. "Je vous en pris" was het vriendelijke antwoord
en uiteraard sloegen we nog een kort babbeltje.
Ze wonen er nu zo'n acht jaar en genieten ervan, uiteraard, kan
moeilijk anders, zo'n ruimte, zo'n zicht; en wat een schattig huizeke.
De vrouw zei wel dat de wind vaak een probleem is maar
dat er vandaag geen wind was, ideaal dus om wat werk in de tuin te
verrichten. De wind gaf de woning ook zijn naam
zoals je in de foto hieronder ziet, in het Vlaams zelfs.
Dit is uiteindelijk een stukje Vlaanderen in Frankrijk.
 
Imagine living here with this view.
I asked the inhabitants of the house who were working in the front garden
 if I could take a picture. "Je vous en pris" was the friendly answer
and of course we had a little chat. They have been living there for
about eight years now and love it, well, of course, all that space and
such a view, and the cutest cottage ever.
The woman did mention wind could sometimes be a problem
and she was glad there was no wind today to be able to get some work done
in the garden. The wind also gave this cottage its name(see picture below)
in Flemish. This is afterall a piece of Flanders in France. 
In English, the name would be 'The Crazy Wind'.
 
 
 
 
Frans-Vlaanderen heeft ook zijn molens.
Hier kon ik er toevallig één zien vanop de hoogte.
 
French-Flanders also has its mills.
I could see one here from up high..
 
 
Een spel van zon en herfstbladeren die nog aan de takken zitten.
 
The sun playing with some Autumn leaves still on the tree.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Een keuze aan wandeltrajecten, korte en langere.
Hier kom ik zeker eens terug met meer tijd.
 
There's a choice of walking trails, short and longer ones.
I will have to come back to do some hiking here.
 
 
De vorige foto's zouden je het idee kunnen geven dat ik daar alleen was.
Niets was minder waar. Veel mensen aan de wandel en ook spelende kinderen.
Skateboards, fietsen en zelfs rolschaatsen; ik kwam ze allemaal tegen.
 
Previous pictures may have you wondering whether I was all alone there.
Well, I wasn't, there were a lot of people taking a stroll
and because of the nice weather there were a lot of children playing
outside. Skateboards, bikes, even rollerblades, I saw them all.
 
 
 
 
 
Ik heb genoten van de zon, de blauwe lucht en de
mooie uitzichten. Hopelijk jullie ook.
Lieve groet,
Marian
 
I enjoyed the sun, the blue sky and the
lovely views. Hope you did as well.
Bye,
Marian
 
 
 
 
 
 

zondag 24 november 2013

November

"In the original Roman calendar, November was the ninth month of the year. It got its name from the Latin word "novem" which means nine. However, it became the eleventh month when the Romans added in January and February to the start of the year.

Throughout much of history, November has often been thought of as a somber month because it signaled the start of winter. People would spend the month storing up their harvest and preparing their food and homes in order to survive the winter."
 
The historical Germanic name for November is Nebel-mond (fog month)
 
 
 
Grey and somber are words to describe
the month of November,
at least in this corner of the world.
This year has more than proved this again.
 
 
By the end of november most leaves have fallen.
 
 
Not all that much fog though this year,
lots of rain, not one day without rain actually.
Even today, while sun was predicted the day before yesterday,
that had changed already by last night, and a grey day was predicted instead.
And indeed, it was another grey November day again
and we had more rain, nasty dusty rain.
Really can't say I love rain at this very moment ;)
Last week, at dusk already, a rainbow appeared,
a small token of colourfulness from nature.
I tried to capture it on photo.

 
 
Chrysanthemums are the flowers of the month of November,
but they haven't been looking too cheerful this year,
because they were smashed down to the ground by the rain
before they even started to bloom.
This is a photo from the beginning of November.
Things are looking even less photoworthy now.
 
But after reading what's quoted on top of this post today,
I realized this is just a 'normal' November month we're having,
at least for the Northern Hemisphere,
it's a completely different story for the Southern Hemisphere
where November is much more like May over here.
 
 
 
With December and Christmas on the doorstep,
I decided to move our 'litlle christmastree', not that little anymore actually,
from the side of the house to its proper place for now, on the terrace!
It was a huge job. I kept slipping on the mud that's now become
our lawn at the side of the house and I even managed to almost
loose my boot when at one spot my foot(with boot) went half a metre into the soil.
I think you get the picture of me struggling with this tree in a pot?
At first I thought I'd never be able to move it,
heavy as it was, even just to tip it over a bit to put the cart
I always use to move pots underneath it.
I'd rather have the tree planted out into the soil
but can't do that all by myself and my husband isn't really fond of this tree ;)
He doesn't want it anywhere in the garden.
Me on the other hand, I 'm so very glad it's survived all the time
from when I bought it as a little christmastree for inside the house until now,
I don't want to just get rid of it,
it puts a smile on my face to see it thrive and grow ;)
But hey, maybe it wouldn't even survive in our wet soil
and it's better off in its pot. I put it in a larger pot last summer,
because it had really grown out of the pot I originally bought it in
after three years. That alone makes it an amazing tree, don't you think?
I have to say, it doesn't really look like it should on the picture above.
It was raining when I took the picture, happy as I was that I had managed
to move it but it's otherwise a very happy looking tree, I can assure you ;)
 
Think I might start on some wintery decorations soon.
Dark and cold days have been here for a while now.
Did you start adding some winter or Christmas decor
into your home yet?
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marian



 
 Dec 1st: It's now official, this month november is on the fifth place of
most somber november months ever since weather records were kept.
Phew, so it wasn't just me, this month was really somber ;)
Only about 1 hour of sun a day average last month.