A good day in my Belgian world

I had a lovely day today ... Shannon came over from Brussels and two 'new' secondhand old-fashioned bicycles arrived in the garage.

My life is an odd one and a 'good day' is measured in new ways..

Last Friday I picked up my Yellow Card - the one that gives me permission to live, work and generally exist here in Belgium and while it's a grand thing, there are new complications with that but hey, why would that surprise me at this point in the journey.

Last Friday Gert's bike also died, with me as the rider on my way to the Districthuis ... a slight nightmare because the pedal kept falling off and we were a long way from home when it happened.

Nothing singles out a foreigner more than her inability to put the pedal back on in a permanent way ... coupled with the screams of laughter as it fell of yet again and again and again, yes definately outsiders.

And not being a natural born Belgian, I wasn't carrying that very necesssary bicycle tool-kit and despite working on it for ages, Shannon and I - strangers in a strange land - couldn't put that pedal back on again.

So I was yellow-carded but pedal-less.

Today we took out one of the new bikes and my beloved Abigail-bike, riding for miles through Rivierenhof Park's bush track and tree-lined avenues.

I do believe my soul was restored in the process.

Perhaps it's that simple ... who knows.

The South Beach Diet is looming on my next horizon ... I'll let you know.