About Me

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Antwerp, Belgium
Welcome to the new, and improved version of Heaven in Belgium. I am Jientje. "Jientje", like the boys name Gene, followed by "chu"? "Gene-chu", that's how you pronounce my name. Yes!!!!That's it!! So now you know huh? I am an addicted blogger. I was born and raised and am still living in Belgium. Yeah, the "this-is- Tuesday-so-this-must-be-Brussels" kind of Belgium .. There, you see? Maybe you couldn't find it on the map, but at least I'm trying to change that a little by sharing lots of pictures. I really love to cook and create new things, like this blog for instance. I am a mother,a grandmothe and a wife too! They say I'm a traveler, and a photographer. Well that's just what they say, I love to make pictures, but I am far from professional ... If my English is not perfect, that would be because it's my second language. I do hope you'll forgive me any possible misspellings or strange vocabulary ... Now, as a result of all of the above, I get way too little sleep and my days are always much too short!

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Heaven is in Belgium

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Greetings





Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...


~Norman Wesley Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas," 1976

Friday, December 17, 2010

Friday's Favorite Five, Old Computers and Snow Boots



It's been a while since my last post but that's because I had some computer trouble. I've had two viruses attacking my computer, and it is in the shop for repair now, I'm hoping to get it back after the weekend. I'm working from my old, slower computer now.




1. So thank God for old computers eh, it's still a hell of a lot better than nothing, right? Right!
2. It has snowed again, it's the second time we're getting snow this year. It's a little early for Belgian standards, I think it's going to be a long winter!
3. Anticipation. I'm very much looking forward to the trip to London I'm going to make with my daughter next week! Two days of mother-daughter quality time, two days to enjoy each other's company and taste that genuine English Christmas spirit, I just KNOW it's going to be fabulous!!
4. I bought some nice warm snow boots. No cold feet for me while we're roaming the streets of London!
5. Some of my Christmas shopping is already done and I like what I got. It's nice to see all the gifts underneath the tree!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Weekly Winners, Fog and Boats

 

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The weather was very foggy all day on Tuesday so I grabbed “the big guy” and took him for a short walk along the canal. I love Mother Nature’s natural depth of field and how my photos turn into almost black and white.

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Weekly Winners is hosted by Lotus, AKA Sarcastic Mom at I am Lotus.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Friday’s Fave Five, Rain, Fog and Good Food

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Friday’s Fave Five is all about looking back on the week that has passed and share some of the highlights from it. It is hosted by Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

 

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1. My new fridge, all white and new and shiny! It (finally) got delivered on Saturday, I had been waiting for it for days. It’s a little bit taller than the previous one,  which means more storage space inside.
2. Winter Punch Rooibos tea, with coconut, almond, apple and cinnamon flavors. I love to drink it while I’m watching television at night.  
3. It has been raining all weekend, so we stayed inside and had a nice brunch on Sunday.
4. Fog. The weather was foggy all day last Tuesday, but that makes for the loveliest photos!
5. The blueberry pancakes I made, sweet and delicious!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Ruby Tuesday, the Colors of Fall

 

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The colors of Fall were more vibrant this year than I’ve ever seen before. I could not get enough of it, so here are a few more photos of Park ten Brandt …

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Post a picture with a little or a lot of red and join the fun!
Ruby Tuesday is hosted by Mary the Teach at Work of the Poet.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Weekly Winners, A Walk In the Park

 

 

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My favorite photos of the week are from last Sunday when we made a photo walk in Park ten Brandt near Antwerp. Autumn has never been lovelier …

 

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More Weekly Winners at I am Lotus, AKA Sarcastic Mom.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday’s Fave Five, homeliness and coziness

 

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts this meme called Fave Five where one can reflect on the week and share some of the highlights from it. 

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So here we go …

1. That lovely pink sunrise I saw yesterday. The minute I saw this gorgeous pink and purple glow I got my camera out and shot a few pictures. From where I am I cannot see the actual sun, but I did enjoy all the beautiful colors in the early morning sky.
It really made my day!

2. We went out and had a lovely walk in a beautiful park near Antwerp on Sunday.
I took my Big Guy ( my Canon 40D ) along and really enjoyed all the wonderful colors and photo opportunities fall had to offer! After the walk we had some warm apple pie and I sipped my first hot wine of the season.

3. When I got home I made some fresh onion soup with lots and lots of cheese on top! We drew the curtains, made a nice fire in the fireplace and lit some candles.
Life is so good!

4. I’ve been looking for it ever since an American friend of mine told me about it and it’s been over a year ago now! Wrigley’s 5 chewing gum is finally available in Belgium. It’s the only chewing gum that does not loose it’s flavor after two minutes.
She was right, I like it a lot!

5. The gourmet meal me and my friend Annie cooked on Saturday. The picture in the bottom right was our main course, venison with endive mash and a little salad with red beets and apple. The meat was cooked just right and we made a lovely sauce to go with it, it was heavenly! 

 

As you can see, I had a lovely week, how was yours?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Fall Rubies …

 

 

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The small maple tree is decorating my patio garden with its fallen leaves …

 

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More ruby pictures from all over the world at Mary's Work of the Poet.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Weekly Winners, Colors of Fall …

 

It’s been a while since I played with my Big Guy.
All photos were taken this morning with the Canon 40D DSLR.

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Weekly Winners is hosted by Lotus, AKA Sarcastic Mom, at I am Lotus.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday's Fave Five, My Birthday Week



Friday’s Fave Five is the meme which makes us look back, count our blessings and share some of the highlights of the week that has passed. This week was a beautiful week, it had my birthday in it. Looking back it feels like we’ve been celebrating all week!



1. Our daughter Patsy invited us to a raclette party on Saturday.
2. My actual birthday was on Wednesday. We spent the day at my parent’s house.
It felt good to be home with my sisters and my parents again.
3. Birthday gifts! I felt like a little kid again opening all those lovely presents!I got my favorite perfume, a cookbook and a lovely shawl from Mom and my sisters.
4. Birthday cards and birthday wishes on Facebook.
5. My husband took me to one of my favorite restaurants last night. We had a lovely romantic evening and the food was exquisite!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Friday’s Fave Five, Friends and Family

 

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I missed a couple of Fave Five’s because I was so busy. Friday’s Fave Five is the meme which makes us look back and share some of the highlights of the week that has passed. These past weeks have been hectic and I haven’t been around my computer very much!  So for this Fave Five I’m also including the highlight of the previous week, as pictured in the first collage below.

 

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Two weeks ago today my daughter, her Spanish friend Marisol and her two girls came over for a visit. We had a lovely evening together over some good food and a glass of wine. My daughter had to translate the conversation because Marisol and her girls only speak Spanish, but that did not bother any of us.  

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1. My husband was on a business trip abroad until Thursday. I hate being alone, so I stayed at my parent’s house for the weekend. I slept in my old room again and was spoiled rotten by my parents! The weekend was much too short!

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2. My father taught me how to make pig’s head cheese the old fashioned way.
Many years ago when my grandparents still slaughtered a pig each year, my father used to prepare head cheese, sausages and pâtés. I haven’t had it since then and I’m glad I now know how to make it.

3. I used public transport a lot this week. The bus trip to Sluis I made with my parents, (where we had apple pie!) travelling back home again from Bruges on Monday and using bus transport to meet up with my friend Nana on Tuesday.

4. Friendship.  My friend Nana is such a good friend, I love her to pieces. We had breakfast and lunch together and just hung and enjoyed each other’s company. Another day that went by too fast!

5. The gift my husband gave me when he arrived home from his business trip. Among other things he got me a lovely handbag in my favorite color, purple! Woohoo! 

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Midweek Blues, Underwater World

 

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I experimented with the aquarium setting on my camera. I would have wanted them a little bit more clear, but still … 

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Have you ever seen a smiling fish?

 

Play along with Midweek Blues. Post a picture with a little or a lot of blue in it and join the fun at the Dusty Cellar.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Ruby Tuesday, the Flower Arrangement

 

 

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My daughter gifted me this flower arrangement when she visited me last weekend. Isn’t it lovely?  It’s always such a pity when beautiful flowers wither, so I thought the best way to preserve its beauty is to take pictures while it’s still fresh and share them on my blog.   

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More Ruby Tuesday pictures at Mary’s Work of the Poet.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sepia Scenes, Still Life with Egg Basket

 

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The furniture inside the houses at Bokrijk Museum Park is decorated with old kitchen utensils like this wired egg basket for instance.
The glass object is not a bottle, it’s an old fly catcher.

 

Sepia Scenes is hosted by Mary the Teach.

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