I thought it was time for another news update, even though I have no idea if anyone is reading this or not ... it's like playing to a darkened theatre, and there's not really been any applause (or booing). Hmmm, though it could be (god forbid) that this is boring everyone senseless. Anyway ... news from Europe, as seen through the eyes of me.
Tthe latest oddities discovered in the supermarket up the cobblestoned shopping street - crocodile, KANGAROO, and wildebeast ... truly!
But to examine the civilised side of the Belgian coin, I would have to hold up my latest find as something that's kind of fun, if you like buying lots of 'stuff' for your house ... check out http://www.IKEA.be
Gert and I had a lovely time yesterday ... well, not the part where we carried Nikki's new bedroom furniture home in boxes, and much as I love the extra space on the new bookshelf, I did mutter and grumble about helping carry it all in from the Ikea hire van. In through the foyer, into the tiny elevator, then up the spiral staircase to our place on the top floor. The experience was given a slight oh-my-god surreal touch, with Ikea writing the exact weight of every box on the side. Somehow it's simpler to carry heavy things if you don't know the weight of them.
We took the van back, and then dined in their restaurant ... Swedish meatballs were on offer ... Swedish company. Afterwards, we wandered, looking for the small stuff like picture frames, a desklamp, and a feather pillow for me, a muffin tray ... talking of muffin trays, if anyone has my Peach Muffin, Chocolate Cake, or Sultana Cake recipes could they email them over to me. I've remembered I used to cook in another life, the one before Istanbul ... and have already whipped up Pikelets and a few other things that have popped up in my 'recovered memory'.
New music ... http://www.hyperlaunch.com/jamesblunt/ I was quite taken with a song they were playing on tv here, 'You're Beautiful' ... but the more I read of him (a soldier in Sarajevo) the more curious I became so ... I went out and had one of those 'buying accidents'. He's playing on the stereo now.
Belgian weather ... I'm not sure if it's worse than Dunedin weather ... but we get it from England, and it's not been kind lately. We have a hot day, then rain ... or a few hottish days, then rain ... as I write this, it's very grey and drizzling. Yesterday we were out on the balcony, sunbathing post-Ikea frenzy. There's a hint of a tan, but I don't know that it will be anything to skite about ... anyway, you'll be in summer and I'll be having another bizarre Northern Hemisphere Christmas; cold, no summer fruits, the possibility of snow, and strange dates for gift-giving. In Turkey, they celebrated New Years Day, had decorations, feasts and gave gifts. Here, the kids get their gifts about December 6, and there are rumours of every other weekend after that.
And so life goes ...
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