Rein's Cookumentaries and other Stuff

Or so they say

I’ve been busy playing around, creating a new blog, one I will be sharing with a good friend, what do I say, almost family

But as we both want to be sure everything is to both our liking – and as she’s in the US and I’m in Europe we have to coordinate time zones to find some overlapping – usually when she’s having breakfast, I’m already thinking about dinner, or when she’s ready to go to bed, I’m just drinking my first cup of coffee

So you guys and girls will have to wait a while to see what we’ve come up with – probably somewhere beginning next year

Caution

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

*sigh*
It’s there, we’ve reached a half-century. The neighbours snuck the warning sign in this morning. Proceed with caution!

Birthday present for a 7y old

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.

Eldest girl of the neighbours across has her 7th birthday today – what better stuff to give than lipgloss, body glitter, hair ties, a necklace and sweets and all that in a crackly, red, shiny paper? Problem is, her (almost) 3 year old sister wanted it all too, so was bawling her eyes out, until I promised her she would get such a present on her birthday too – which is in only a few weeks

Tomorrow and the day after no post, I’m in London, fetching the girls back – WOOHOOH!!

Let’s hope the weather is a bit clear and not like it is here now – I hope I will get to the Eurostar without looking like a drowned cat

The TV is on too – with half an eye watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing (of course I’m recording it!) They really have pushed the boat out – all very nice of course, but I do hope that later on the people who have been evicted and those in the poorer regions of China will profit one way or another of those games too…

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…

In dutch we have an expression “Beter een goede buur dan een verre vriend” (It’s better to have a good neighbour than a far friend) but it’s only by standing by your friends – even if you only know them virtually – that the world will be a better place.

Wes and Niki in happier days

Only a few nights ago I was chatting with Niki, she told me she needed to go to hospital for check-ups. Now, only by chance, I see at another friend’s blog that things are far more serious. I would like to draw your attention to this, those who know Niki and Wes will surely help, others who don’t know them, please read the post and follow your heart. Just a good thought towards them will help already.

Thank you.

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)

day 243: proof that people grow to resemble their avatars….

Originally uploaded by estherase.

Esther is one of the people I got to meet on the net after I moved back to Belgium. Then I found out she was living almost around the corner where we lived in the UK, d’oh!

Thanks to her I got to know more about London in these last three years than I did during the decade I actually lived there. Luckily we pop over regularly, because the kids visit their dad about 4 times a year. As Est loves chocolate, I try to bring her a box once in a while – and she lets me browse through her library and so I discovered Jasper Fforde and Dirk Gently for example
I think it was even her example that made me take an account on Flickr (my first year was a gift from another good friend!) and I’ve never done a better thing
Go and have a look through her stream. She’s got the most amazing view on ‘ordinary’ things, she makes me look at the world with a different slant and I love it. Her ’365 days’ series is a beauty – once in a while you just have to laugh out loud, really, just like when I saw the one I post here. I just had to blog about it, it’s too good not to share

You rock, Est, and with pics like this you make my day!

A friend – I’ve never met him, and now never will.
Cheers! Slainte! Proost!
Every Union Jack I’ll ever see again, I’ll remember you…

Thinking of you, the world over…

For Graham

Originally uploaded by Reinhilde.