Worst meals on this earth

Dogs are not supposed to eat cat food. Rebba found out the hard way. We gave her the special dog food in her bowl and we fed the cat at the same time. In no time, fast as lightening, Rebba managed to empty the cat's bowl. She shouldn't have done that.. and we should have separated cat and dog to have their dinners. Rebba's intestines weren't too happy with the cat food and her tummy rumbled like thunder. She didn't feel too comfortable today. When I saw her munch on some green leaves in the back yard, I knew she was trying to find a way to get her sick stomach cleaned. And indeed, this afternoon she threw up. She emptied her gal bladder and now she's fast asleep on the couch. She didn't want to eat anything today, but that's okay. Her stomach needs to calm down now.

I spent the night downstairs. The plan was that Rebba would sleep in her brandnew dog's bed, next to the couch I was going to sleep on. But that's not exactly what happened. Arthur decided he liked the dog's bed. So he stepped into it and fell asleep. Rebba didn't mind at all and she joined me on the couch, laying her head in my neck. I could feel her heartbeat bump up and down and it was soothing.

In the middle of the night, Rebba decided she wanted to give Arthur some company. He did not expect her at all and it scared him. So Arthur ran off, Rebba jumped back onto the couch and we fell asleep again. Some time later, Arthur tried to figure out why I was sleeping on the couch. He probably forgot about Rebba, until she peeked from behind my back. So there went Arthur again..

They'll get used to one another. It will take some time, but Rome wasn't built in one day either, was it?

Don't let me be misunderstood..

I love my kids to pieces, everybody knows that. But hey, I'm glad school started again and everything gets back to normal. My routine is coming back and the children find their way around in school. Lana is still in the same school, but in a different orientation. She's studying economics now. Eva started boarding school and we won't see her until Friday. But we talked on the phone and she had already made friends. That doesn't surprise me at all, since she is really outgoing and pleasant to hang out with. She'll do just fine!

I'm looking forward to some me-time. I have missed being on my own for a while. I have cupboards to clean, dressers to be emptied, just little chores, you know. From now on, I'll be alone around lunch time, except for when hubby is not working. And I don't mind. I'll have a salad every day and nobody will tell me it's time to have lunch when it's only 12 o'clock. I will look forward to seeing Lana in the evening and Eva on Friday evening, but I will also enjoy the time I can spend on my own or with friends..

Off the hook

What a relief! Every now and then, I make the decision to turn off my cell phone. Because I don't feel like answering phone calls. Because I'm busy doing something else. Because I don't want to be disturbed. Because..

Strange that people are not used to someone not being available. I don't want to be available all the time. I need some time to myself. It's going to be one of those days.. Not just the phone calls, but I'm not up to seeing people either.

She's here!

Rebba is here!

Our new dog has arrived, just today...!

We are so excited!

This afternoon, we went to visit a lady in Holland. She keeps whippets and Italian greyhounds. There was one whippet she was willing to let go, to a family that could give her the attention she desperately needed. We entered the house and the first dog that came to greet us, was so appealing to

us. No surprise that was the dog she had in mind for us..

Her actual pedigree name is Frontrunner's Midsummer Love but the family calls her Martha. We decided to call her Rebba though and I believe Martha agreed, because she already listens when we call her by her new name.

What a surprise that the owner was willing to let us take her home right away. I was so thrilled and Rebba behaved perfectly well in the car. She loves to ride! That's great, because I know I will take her everywhere.

Our eldest daughter came home from school and she started to tell us about her first school day when all of sudden, a dog's nose poked her leg. She screamed and yelled and ran off! She did not expect a dog in the house. She's rather scared of dogs, but they became friends in half an hour.

The one that is not so happy with Rebba, is Arthur, our tomcat.. He is very upset indeed. He meows and cries and doesn't like her at all. So he's outside when Rebba is in and the other way around. They'll get used to one another. At least, Rebba is not at all cross with Arthur, she even ignores him completely.

We have been running around the yard and went for a walk. She's so tired now. Hubby had to give up his spot on the couch, although we bought Rebba her own bed. O well..

Rock-a-bye baby

Did your child have a favorite lullaby? Our oldest did.. She used to have a bear that sang Rock-a-bye baby. She was really attached to that bear. Until it failed and no longer played the song.. A couple of years ago, I found another bear on www.ebay.com and she was ecstatic about it. But it eventually stopped singing its song as well. So if any of you know where to find another Rock-a-bye baby item that sings the song, please let me know. Although our oldest daughter is almost 15, the song still comforts her..

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

Baby is drowsing, cozy and fair

Mother sits near, in her rocking chair

Forward and back, the cradle she swings

And though baby sleeps, he hears what she sings

From the high rooftops, down to the sea

No one's as dear, as baby to me

Wee little fingers, eyes wide and bright

Now sound asleep, until morning light..

Animal farm

Yesterday was the last day before school starts again. We had our nephew over for a day and we decided to go to the animal farm nearby, in Holland. I was looking forward to having a chat with my friend, so I asked her to come along. She brought 3 children, I brought 2. The children had a wonderful time in the maze (too bad we didn't lose them - NOT!) and they ended up in the water maze. Meaning they were soaking wet.. Luckily the sun was out and they weren't cold at all.

The animal farm is great too, although my children are getting a little big to play in the playground and visit the animals. There were guinea pigs, squirrels, turkeys, geese, rabbits, goats, deers (just the sight of baby bambi and his gorgeous hazel eyes..)..

School starts again today and the peace will return in the house. School books are packed, lunch boxes are made and ready in the fridge. I can't wait to regain my freedom!

So incredible!

I bought a true tajine in Agadir, Morocco. I love the Moroccan cuisine and I was looking forward to learn how to cook the traditional dishes. So the first thing I bought, was a Moroccan cookbook on traditional Moroccan food, translated in English. It is a wonderful book and I read it, laying by the pool at the hotel. Reading the recipes made me drool and I was sorry I couldn't try the recipes right away. Every day, at least one of the dishes was prepared in the hotel. I love tajines and I wanted to buy one.

Eva and I took a cab and asked the cabdriver to take us to a local pottery to buy a good tajine. He was very nice, but didn't speak anything but Arabic. But we managed to talk to one another and he took us to a small local pottery where we could pick out our own tajine. The young seller charged us 65 dirham (6.5 euro!), which was a real bargain for us, although he thought it was way too much and he was even afraid to ask us that much. We gladly paid him and the cabdriver drove us back to the hotel, charging us no more than 30 dirham (3 euro) in total.

It was kind of tricky to get the tajine home in one piece, but we managed.

And yes, I have cooked my first traditional couscous: beef meatballs with couscous, dried prunes and tomatoes and lots of parsley and coriander. I absolutely loved it!!

The tajine is a great piece of decoration as well. But I'm sure I'll use it pretty often and as a manner of speaking: I feel like making the 7 vegetable couscous right now! Bismillah!

Mr Cabdriver

We were in Agadir, Morocco and we wanted to take a cab to go to the local supermarket: Marjane. It was a 10 min drive, so not that far by car, but too far to walk. Especially if you don't know the exact location.

So we decided to take a cab. We had asked our guide the other day, and he told us the cab fare would be about 20 dirham (2 euro) per ride. That seemed like a very reasonable fare!

The cab driver told us the ride was going to be 150 dirham (15 euro) in total. We were amazed, but he convinced us it was the best price he could give us. He said there were no taxis on the parking lot of Marjane, so we needed him to bring us back. So we got into the cab and drove off. On the way, the cabdriver tried to sell us several excursions, to make more money. Too bad for him we were not interested. The longer we were in the car, the unfriendlier he appeared to me. In fact, I didn't like him at all.

We got to Marjane and the first thing I saw, was about 20 cabs.. Hhmhmhm.. We paid the cabdriver 100 dirham (10 euro) in advance and told him we would pay the rest on our way back. We told him what time he could pick us up. The supermarket was a lot of fun. We had some time left for coffee and cake and in the meantime, I went to the other cabdrivers and asked about the fare. Does it surprise you that they told me the fare was 20 dirham (2 euro) per ride? I decided we were going to take another cab home. I was not happy with our first cabdriver and as soon as he saw what we were up to, he rushed to the cab stand and started to yell at us and at the other cabdrivers. We ignored him and urged our new driver to drive to the hotel. Bad luck! I gave the cabdriver some extra money. And we told him the other driver was a crook. We taught him the Dutch word: "zeveraar" and he liked that! By the time we got to the hotel, he called everybody a "zeveraar"! LOL

Moral of the story: Make sure you know your prices when you are abroad and stick to them. Tip your cabdriver if he deserves it. Stay away from crooks!

What are you waiting for?

I hear so many people eat out instead of do some home cooking. But what are you waiting for? What keeps you from cooking? It's so much fun and it's relaxing and it gives you that much satisfaction. At least, that's what it does for me.

When I was at my friend's house, she showed me around in her archery. She has three different kinds of apple trees and we picked quite some apples for me to take home. I tried to figure out what to do with all the apples and this is what I did: I made apple pie and apple butter. Let me give you the recipe for the apple butter. It's easy and totally easy for lazy bones!

Okay, this is what you need:

3 lbs of apples (1.3 kg)

1 pint of apple juice (500 ml)

granulated sugar

cinnamon

all spice

You wash the apples and you dice them, without peeling or coring them. Now that's easy, isn't it? Don't tell me this is too hard!

Dump the diced apples in a pot and cover them with the apple juice (I used ginger bolero because it's sugar free). Bring to a boil and let it simmer until the apples are mushy.

Sieve the apples and throw away any leftover skins or core. Weigh the pulp. For every 1 lbs of pulp (500 gr), you use 1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 level teaspoon of ground all spice and 12 oz (350 gr) of sugar (6 oz or 175 gr of Tagatesse - a sugar substitute). Bring to the boil again until the apple butter has the desired consistency. Pour the apple butter in sterilised warm jars and screws the lids on immediately. Let the apple butter cool upside down on a damp cloth.

Keep the apple butter in a cool and dark place and in the fridge after you've opened the jar. Enjoy this delicacy on toast or on English muffins or Belgian waffles!

Staying alive

In order to stay alive and remain healthy, we need to take good care of our body. Because after all, we only have one body and we only have one life.

I had my annual check up at the hospital, just the other day. Some testing needed to be done and I won't have any results until September 22nd. That's when I have an appointment with the professor, who looks into my medical records. I don't think the results will be better than last year's. On the contrary. I haven't been doing too well this time. Most of it is my own responsibility, although I have conditions that make it harder to keep healthy.
I never look forward to the check up. You need to be weighed (as if I don't know how much I weigh, thank you very much!), measured (do you think I will have grown or shrunk this year? LOL), there is some blood work to be done (twice to be exact). A chiropodist checks my feet for foot sores and blisters and calluses. Sometimes, they prick needles into my legs, to see if there is any nerve damage, due to the diabetes. My eyes are being checked as well (I wear glasses since the diagnosis). And last but not least, a cardiologist tells me what condition my heart is in. I know my heart rate is way too fast. It's always been like that.

You could say it's like taking your car to the shop, to get it checked and fixed. The big difference is: you can buy another car if your beloved car doesn't do what it's supposed to do. I kind of like to hang on to my body just a little longer. You never know how long I plan to live.

Smokey Robinson

I call them Smokey Robinsons... By them, I mean the relatives and friends that smoke. I have never smoked and I don't know why I am that opposed to it. I know it has got worse over the years. Assuming it has something to do with my diagnosis of diabetes? On a daily basis diabetics have to struggle to remain as healthy as possible: we need to watch our food, calculate the right amounts of insulin we are injecting ourselves, keep low on the fats and sugar, .. We know how people all of a sudden get a chronic disease, just like that. Only a finger snap and you are "gifted" with a condition you can no longer ignore. Maybe that's why I find it so painful that first of all: my own husband smokes.. He has taken numerous of efforts to give up on smoking, but his attempts never last long. It makes me really sad to witness him destroying his own, healthy body. Why do people keep on doing this? It's not that they don't know the hazards, because they do, trust me.

You may call me a bore and you can say I'm not very tolerant, that's your right. I know smoking is bad for you. My grandfather had lung cancer. I remember how he suffered and how difficult it was for him to catch his breath. Why would one intentionally destroy his health? Because that's what they are doing... What profit does smoking give them, that is so pleasant, that it is more important than their body and health?

My husband always asks me what present he can buy me for my birthday. I always give him the same answer: stop smoking.. I would hate it if our daughters would start to smoke one day. He says it would be their choice. Kids that grow up in homes of smoking parents, are more vulnerable to this disgusting habit in their future life. Hubby never smokes in the house and that has been his own choice. I'm very grateful that he doesn't. I can't even stand the sight of him smoking, because it breaks my heart. It's like slapping me in the face and taunting fate. Will I or won't I get lung cancer???

A good friend of mine is so excited about having a baby. She promised me that she and her husband will stop smoking as soon as she gets pregnant. How come it's so hard for me to believe? Why do they think only a baby is worth quitting? Do they think their own life isn't important or valuable enough? What if they get sick before they get pregnant? What if their body is already that poisoned, that it will harm the baby before it is even conceived? I know she hates it when I ask her to give up on smoking. She's not serious about it, but I am.

Three other friends of mine, who happen to be brothers, smoke as well. They are very precious to me and I really value them for many reasons. I would hate to see one of them get sick because of their smoking habits. I love them, just like I love my other smoking friends and relatives. Why don't they love themselves enough to give up the bad habit?

My sister-in-law is a single mom of a nine yo son. She's doing real well at raising him and she has a good job. Her son nags about her smoking on a daily basis. He hates it, probably as much as I do. So yes, we fight a lot about cigarettes and cigars and all the other sh*t.

I love you guys. I do not want to loose you..

Sweet dreams

I was struggling in my sleep. I was too hot, my sheets were already thrown off the bed. I kept on hearing this voice of my eldest daughter: mommy, mommy, mommy, wake up! I had no idea where she were and I tried to locate her. I saw her fade away and then come closer again: mommy, mommy, mommy, wake up!

All of a sudden, I woke up, because I actually thought I really heard my daughter. But she wasn't in the room. A beep-beep came from underneath me. I was laying on my insulin pump and it was giving me an alarm: insulin reservoir low.. That's why I heard my daughter call me in my sleep. She tried to warn me, because I didn't hear the beep.

I believe in dreams. Many of my dreams warn me or tell me something about me or my relatives/friends. Not many dreams are scary, but if they involve my diabetes, I have to be cautious. Nightmares come when my sugar level is way too low. Those nightmares wake me up and when I test my glucose levels, there was a reason for the awakening.

Spank me

Did your child ever ask you to spank him? I have never heard of any child asking to be spanked.. I was truly amazed to watch this show on American schools that are convinced that spanking is a correct way of disciplining children. Over here, spanking was allowed in the old days. Now it is unthinkable that any teacher would spank a child! You would be on the news if you would ever lay your hands on a student, no matter what that student had done or what trouble he had got himself into. By no means is spanking allowed. So I was shocked to hear that the US approves of this. How can spanking be of any good? Do you feel you would be better off if your boss or your husband would spank you whenever you did something they didn't approve of? This really makes me sad.. Nobody is allowed to spank anybody else or abuse them in any way. Who gives us the right to hit other people and especially children? How could they ever defend themselves? We want our children to grow up to be responsible adults that are good to the people around them. And we would spank them in order to do so?? It just doesn't make sense.. I can't understand people still believe that spanking a child with a paddle is the right way to discipline. What happened with positive reinforcement? What's wrong with that? Why would we always point out negative characteristics of a child, knowing that positive reinforcement does so much better? Do we think WE are perfect?

My heart goes out to all children that are being abused, either by their teachers, their parents, someone else.. The hand that is supposed to protect them, hits them once in a while. These children grow up in fear and many of them become abusers when they are adults.. It's scary. The physical aspect of spanking is terrible, but the emotional bruises are even worse. How long does it take to spank a child? No more than 5 minutes! How long does it take for the emotional bruises to fade? Many many years.. And knowing that many of these kids are still loyal to the abuser. Just because it is so twisted and they get so mixed up. They never know when the hand that comforts and holds them, will hit them again, to give them a cuddle afterwards.

Some people even use belts to hit their young children. Those people state it is the only way to make them obey. Wouldn't you obey if someone beat the sh*t out of you??? Hello???? This has nothing to do with obedience, it's all about control versus fear. What a coward you must be, to hit an innocent child.. These children grow up in fear, they will lack self worth and they will become disturbed grown ups. These kids will mostly become parents that will raise their own offspring in a violent environment. Because that's the only way of discipline they know. Discipline is not about spanking.

People that spank are people that loose control. They freak out and they are at the end of their rope. Instead of spanking the other, they should seek help and guidance. Because they are victims as well. Don't create any more victims. Don't spank. Just don't.

E.T. phone home

I'm sure you heard about it: the creepy alien baby that was found in an animal trap in Mexico. It looks pretty creepy to me. But is it real? Or is it science fiction? We have heard this kind of story before and none of the stories appeared to be true. Its eyes look a little bit too familiar to me. Like the aliens you would see in a movie. Why didn't they give it different eyes, to make it look more real?

There are believers and non-believers. I must say: I'm a non-believer. I believe in spirits and I love to watch the Lisa Williams shows. But I must admit: I have never been a science fiction fanatic. The movies make me laugh and I can't even watch it for 10 min because I think it's so stupid and ridiculous. I prefer real life movies.

But anyway, this Mexican farmer found the creature in an animal trap. He was scared and he tried to drown the "thing" (wouldn't you call someone to come see it???). Of course he took its picture before he drowned it. This event occurred somewhere in 2007 and only in 2008 scientists have looked into it. What a shame.. lol

Apparently, the poor farmer died a terrible death afterwards. Revenge of the aliens? Maybe it is a good subject for a new movie?

Clouds across the moon

We were promised a whippet puppy to come live with us. We have been looking forward to having her for a couple of weeks now. But there are clouds across the moon.. The puppies are born, but there aren't as many as they expected: 7 instead of 8-11. Meaning we won't have a puppy from that litter.
I found another puppy. She was born in May 2009 and had the right age to go live with another family. But then the host family decided to keep the dog after all, because she is so sweet..
A third mail came in today. One little puppy that was looking for a new home. Too bad the family can't prove the ancestors of the puppy. I was told that there is another breed involved, so it wouldn't be a true and pure whippet.
It is disappointing and I'm rather sad. I have waited 15 years for a baby whippet, and finally my husband agreed to have a whippet in the house. And now I can't find any.. Maybe I have to be more patient, but the thing is: I'm not a real patient person. Although.. 15 years is a lot of patience.

So we keep on looking, asking around, writing e-mails and making phone calls. One day, we will have a whippet to take care of. I'm convinced it is going to happen. I have a guardian angel and she is helping me out. She's doing the best she can to help us find the puppy to fit our household. And I'm pretty confident that puppy is to be found in the near future. So I am not desperate (yet). Don't tempt me too much..

Potbellied men

Men with a little belly can be adorable and charming. Men with potbellies are not. Especially not, if they think the potbelly is something to be proud of. Men that pull up their shirt to show their potbelly to anyone who wants to admire it, are a big no-no. It's just not done. I'm sure you can picture the potbelly man, sitting on a stool, pulling up his shirt and clapping on his belly, being absolutely proud of the belly he's created!

Did you know that men and their potbellies are socially more accepted than woman with a belly? Women must have flat bellies. If not, they are considered fat and lazy and unattractive. How come many women don't bother if their men have potbellies? And even worse: how come men with potbellies feel they can ask of their wives to be slim and have flat tummies? I see them in the streets: the potbellied men with the slim and attractive women by their side...

I'm glad my husband is slim and I'm glad he doesn't have a potbelly at all. He has some love handles, but I find those rather amusing and cute and charming than disturbing. They come with the years and it makes him more huggable. I'm pretty sure he will disagree and say that the love handles bother him. But I like them. I wouldn't like him to have a potbelly though. Just imagine, his pants being pulled over his belly. Ugh..

Flip flops and nylons

I have talked about it before. I'm not very happy when I see men wearing white socks in sandals. They are becoming more rare. Do you think women tell their husbands it's not done, or did they finally realise it themselves?

In Morocco, I didn't see any white socked sandals. But what I did see, was even more ridiculous: nylons in flip flops!!! Many Moroccan women wear nylons in flip flops on the beach. Some of them even manage to wear regular socks in flip flops. Unheard of... It was kind of tricky to take pictures of it, because Moroccan women do not really like their picture to be taken by strangers. Right away, they hide their faces. So I didn't disturb them. But it makes me smile whenever I think of this Arabic habit.

Risky business

One of the luxuries of staying in a 4 star hotel, is that you don't have to do anything but relax and enjoy. Making the beds, cooking meals, running errands, mopping the floor... Forget it. You're not doing anything. There's a whole crew of people taking care of everything so you can enjoy a wonderful holiday.

The three of us headed towards the pool, after we had finished our lunch. Hubby had to go back to the room to change his clothes for swim wear. The cleaning lady had already mopped the floor and changed the beds. Hubby went through his suitcase to dig up his swim shorts and trotted to the bathroom to get changed. Apparently, the cleaning lady had left the room to get fresh towels, in the time hubby got in to get changed. So she came back and went straight to the bathroom, not expecting anyone. Behind the door of that same bathroom, hubby was standing butt naked, not realising he was about to scare a young moslima.. She yelled, he yelled back. She ran, he was stunned.. I bet his heart pounded in his body and she had the shock of her life. Poor girl.. She didn't come back to our room. Her elder colleague took over her duties. Hubby wasn't looking forward to a surprise visit of a 50 year old cleaning lady, so he made sure to bring his swim shorts to the pool the following days..

Sbah elgier!

We had a wonderful time in Agadir, Morocco. During our stay in hotel Decameron Tafoukt, we got to meet several sellers from the little shops (souks) next to the hotel. They were very friendly and not too pushy at all. It helped that we were friendly too, and we wished them a good day whenever they spoke to us. There was this one man in particular, an older man, no front teeth left, with an amazing grin on his face. Whenever he spotted us, he yelled: Sbah elgier!!! Meaning: good morning! So we Sbah elgiered him back and the grin on his face grew even bigger. It was contagious, because all of the other sellers started to Sbah elgier us as well. It was very nice to meet them and have a little chit chat now and then. The conversation between us and the other sellers didn't go much further than Sbah elgier, Masa elgier (good evening), shokran (thank you), aafwan (you're welcome), bislama (goodbye), felous (money), .. They did their utmost to make us understand them. Of course they wanted to sell us gadgets and souvenirs and yes, we did buy way too many gifts, but we liked them.

I love the Arabic language. The sounds are wonderful but not easy to mimic. It is funny to hear our daughters teach Moroccans Dutch. What a blast! And they mimic real easy, without any accent at all. Languages are important and without it, we wouldn't be anywhere!
Our youngest daughter and I took an orange "petit taxi" (little orange cab) to go to the supermarket Marjane. The driver only spoke Arabic, so it was somehow difficult to make him understand what we were up to. But he was patient and funny and he even took us to a small soukh because we wanted to buy an original Tajine to cook in. I tried to speak French, but although he understood some of it, he couldn't answer my questions. It's frustrating if you want to speak Arabic but you lack the knowledge. We're learning, definitely. I'm sure we'll visit some other Arabic countries in the future, so our language skills will improve in time.

Goodbye sunshine!

We came in last night. Everybody in the family is still sound asleep, but I wanted to check my mail.. Sorry, can't help it. I can't explain it. Call it exhibitionism, call it ego, call it whatever you want to call it. I missed the Internet! But not to the point that I didn't enjoy being away.

I need to sort some things out, before I can start blogging again. The pile of laundry is enormous and there are no buffet dinners left, so I'd better get some groceries before the Brady Bunch wakes up!

Glad to be back peeps!