Rein's Cookumentaries and other Stuff

11-Red, green, white

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

I had invited the neighbour across for a cup of tea as it was her first day of her holiday, but her kids were watching a movie so she was shooed out, poor thing While I was putting the tea things out, the white cat – don’t know her name, but she’s bold as brass – didn’t move an inch.

She’s the cat of the back neighbours (diagonally) and I have to keep a very wary eye on her, as she’s always spying on the fish. It could be her colouring of course, but I think she’s got a rather snooty expression (a bit like her owner really )

It’s funny how a lot of the neighbourhood cats like to come and snooze in our garden, maybe there is a certain ‘ambiance’ they like?

There’s no love lost between Oki and this cat. The moment she noticed that cat was in the garden, she chased her out…

It’s a beautiful day

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

The garden needs attention, but it’s just too hot to lift a finger. Everything is lush and green and there’s even one bunch of grapes that’s colouring purple!! Full set of the garden pics here!

I can’t even bring up the energy to go and strangle the kid playing outside with a noisy toy (Side note for the kids – it’s Maya’s youngest, but luckily he’s playing outside in the road and not in the garden!). Hours on end he’s been at it – it’s a kind of bullhorn that amplifies his voice and emits wailing sirens at the push of a button – oooh the fun to be had! (Not!)

The neighbours across have given in and bought a big swimming pool too for their three kids, as they were constantly playing in the swimming pool next door, which didn’t leave much floating space for the teenage daughter there I had just wandered in their garden, as I was feeling a bit lonely and thought I would go for a neighbourly chat. Tempers were getting a bit frayed between husband and wife while setting up the pool, so I stayed and helped a hand before any bloodshed could happen

Yeah, summer is nice, but now it’s getting a bit too hot – it’s always something

10-Dinner for two

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

Hey! Being without the kids gives me the opportunity to indulge in food I like, and being the unselfish soul I am, I also gave Oki a new brand of food – which went down a treat as you can see

Anyone interested in a three minutes long video of her purring, smacking and crunching?

I think I’ll keep it for the kids when they’re back home

09-Food

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

Food for everyone – that spider has a fly and my tomatoes finally seem to be ripening. That storm 2 nights ago seem to have affected the leaves, it can’t be they haven’t had enough water, it was like the second flood… Talking about spiders, they’re everywhere – I thought September was the spider month, they’re too early! Another result of global heating?

I’m also trying out Flock – it doesn’t look too bad, especially with all the bits and bobs for blogging and photo uploading and such…

Now just getting that blogrolling sorted…

edit: Yaay – it looks like Steve’s commenting (yes, he’s in the blogroll too) has given that final jolt to the blogroll – it’s working now. Now I also would like a rollback – but as blogrolling only gives a javascript code for that, I will have to search on still…

08-Triptych – Peace

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

Nothing much happened today. There was a terrible storm yesterday – or well very early this morning, we didn’t get to bed till 2, so we’re having a lazy day today

It’s very weird to see lightning everywhere and every few seconds but not hear any thunder. It was raining like they were preparing for the next flood and then suddenly the rain stopped, the lightning lessened but then the thunder started crashing just above our heads – the windows and doors were literally rattling!

It was worse further east of us, looks like we escaped the wind that ripped out trees and ended scouts camps all over the place…

Bloody big job!

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

Date and Time on this pic: 2008:07:27 12:23:05

That’s when I started to clean the turtles’s aquarium…

I finished then: 2008:07:27 14:48:02

2 hours and a half that takes!! But they were grateful – I think – but even more so when I gave them a few grey shrimps. Kiki even took one out of my fingers, Seppe was a bit more snappy, I had to be quick to keep my fingers. I have a rather amusing small video of them fighting over a shrimp, but Flickr doesn’t allow me to upload it (it’s 5MB too heavy) and Youtube takes forever – ooh, I will give it another try – I just trawled through their help files and it seems Youtube’s new multi-uploader doesn’t like Firefox3. Actually, I haven’t checked yet if WordPress gives you an opportunity to upload vids…  Ooh, there is an icon here that allows it – but how long will it take?  I can always give it a try…

Ah, ok – you have to give a url to youtube or google thingie – d’oh!  Well, a bit of patience then – watch this space

Well – that took a while, but here it is:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JBFLns8t7o]

And after all that hard work I deserved a treat! The icecream van – the good one, the one that goes ‘tingtingting’ and not the one with the annoying jingle jangle – came round just when everything was done. I asked for lots of cream – and well, my wish was granted

Quarter to midnight – just in time to post this still on Sunday – the uploader is still uploading – we will see tomorrow…  Time for bed, Oki has been throwing me meaningful looks for a while already…

06-one down, many to go

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

Today was less interesting. Whenever the kids are gone for a bit, I try to sort out the house. Today I finished ‘het kot’ – what do you call that in english, the utility room, the pantry, the rubbish tip? As you can see, you could also call it the cupboard under the stairs

It was a rubbish tip before I started, that’s for sure – that’s also why there are no pics of the before stage

I made an extra rack for all my gadgets (electric grill, waffle iron, ice cream maker, popcorn machine, toaster, gourmet set, curlers – last ones never used yet – tool box, left over cables from the pc, even potatoes and onions), hung a rack for the brooms and hoover trunks, screwed hooks for all the shopping bags we need (shops don’t provide free bags anymore here, you have to bring your own, which is a good thing, really), sorted the tins and all the odds and ends but now I have no space for my 2 recycle boxes for glass and plastic, they will have to go in the garage after all.

It looks good, even if I say so myself

But now I’m pooped. I need a long, hot bath, preferably with a Lush bubble bath bar

btw – there’s finally a Lush shop in Belgium – in Antwerpen, at the corner of the Keyserlei, so woohooh!

Terraske thuis

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

It’s too hot in the garden – I know, it’s always something about the weather – so we took our chairs and a table to the front and had some coffee and biscuits in the street. Youngest of the neighbour’s kids was happy – now she could ride her bike too. In no time about 4 bikes, a scooter, her truck, 2 walkbikes, a skipping rope and pavement chalk was all dotted around. Luckily the car drivers in our estate know they have to drive (very) slowly during the summer holidays, so we had time to pull her stuff out of their pathway.

This is what holidays should be – niks moet, alles kan (nothing has to, everything can be)

I was just planning to start cooking when the kids sent me a txt to come on msn.

So instead of lamb’s tajin and couscous, what will I have for dinner tonight?

03a-not couscous
Originally uploaded by Reinhilde

Indeed – the best comfort food in the world – pancakes

btw – the weather is grey again, so nuts to summer

02-Cows and clouds

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

Yesterday the weather was foul – according to the weather people it was the coldest (bar one) National Holiday in 100 years. Today it seems the clouds are finally dispersing. The cows I always pass on my daily shopping trip seem to be content too, chewing the cud in the shadow of one of the few trees in their meadow.

Behind me there’s an enormous villa* – newly built – and the people are moving in today. Two big vans. They’re luckier than we were. We always seem to have rain when moving… I could have made a pic of that too, but they probably wouldn’t have appreciated it

* note for the girls – the one that looks like it’s already old. The modern one next to it is having a load of top soil been spread out in the front – I wonder how they will do their garden.