Closing the Year 2009

I never could have thought that I would ever start a blog, and now here I am – closing my first blogging year.

It's not only the closure of a year, but also the closure of an era in my life.

Now it's already 105 days ago since Pipke died, and I still can't cope with her loss.

There hasn't been one day or one hour that she wasn't in my mind.

It comforts me, that I still can write about her, it's in fact a flight from reality. I'm really afraid that I'm going to fall in a deep hole when her story is finished.

It really would be a support for me, to know that there are people reading her story.

At the moment I'm still working on it, and it still keeps on growing, so it will take some time before I'm going to publish it.

I'd hope you have patience with me.

For new readers and the people who haven't followed my blog from the start, here follows the year overview of 2009.

Maybe there are things that can interest you.

January.

Two posts: just try-outs, in fact of no importance. I'm trying to find out how blogging works.

February.

Post: Oei .. oei .. ai .. ai .. plop! I laid my egg. Here I explain how it came that I started to blog and I also show here Pipke's first picture. I also tell here how she started her life, that I found her in an abandoned nest at the moment she cracked her egg-shell.

Post: Through the Eye of the Needle. Not such a cheerful way to start a blog. We feared to loose Pipke, we were glad that she pulled through.

March.

Post: No Good News: Pipke became ill again.

Post: Time for a Funny note. A funny strip about the situation here in my household. I advise you to read this, very funny!

Post: Changing Plans. Here I say: I think for an outsider ...it would be very boring if I would “only” talk about Pipke! So I decided to talk also about other subjects because some variation is always good!

April.

Post: Needle Work from the Past. Here I show you a little tablecloth in cross-stitch that I once made when I was only sixteen.

Post: Conversation at the Breakfast Table. Only a conversation that shows how men often think about women.

Post: Easter … Last Year. Then I found a injured Jackdaw.

Post: Will you be my Running Mate? Here I show you my running circuit.

May.

Post: Sense, Sensitivity and Insensitivity. Here I talk about cruel people, with no feelings at all. We could save a Blackbird and a Thrush.

Post: A Wish Fulfilled. Pipke's 14^th birthday with several pictures.

June.

Post: About Blah... Blah...Blah! About why we are all blogging.

Post: Photography: a New Challenge for Me. Here I talk about my father ( a press photographer) and how I assisted him in the dark room. I also show you a few pictures that I made of my former running circuit on the Belgian countryside.

Post: Warning: Indecent Exposure! If you are curious, look at it.

July.

Post: America .. here we Were! July the 4^th, 30 years ago we were at this place in America. In the future I will talk about this trip.

Post:. Me and the Translater. The translator deceived me. It went about a “scheet in een fles”. Literally translated into English: A fart in a bottle !:):) The English proverb for this is: "to make a mountain out of a molehill". Just read it. The comments that followed on this post, were an example of two naughty grannies.

August.

Post: Greetings from Belgium. Here's only someone waving at you on a sunshiny day.

Post: Our Garden … Pipke's little world. Here I show you our garden and Pipke's pen. Here I placed a picture of Pipke, not knowing that this would become her last picture, before she went ill for the very last time.

Post: Motherhood Fundamentalism! This Is a post intended to “all” mothers.

September.

Post: Sleep Soft Pipke. Her obituary.

Post: Pipke's Very Last Fight. This needs no explanation.

October.

Post: Finally. I received the book: Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien. I recommend you to read this wonderful life and love story of an owl..

Post: Pipke's Very Last Journey. About her cremation.

Post: The Days After. That speaks for itself.

Post: True Love! Film pictures. Here I show you how we cuddled.

Post: Paranoia? About problems that I had with my computer.

November.

Post: Our Little Sunshine. Beautiful film pictures of Pipke, I called this: “Dejeuner sur l'herbe” after the painting of E. Manet.

Post: RESPECT in a Funny Matter. A YouTube film about a funny Dutch song. I tried to translate it for you.

Post: Our Assistant Gardener. Film pictures of Pipke while she assisted my hubby to mow the lawn.

December.

Post: What's Sitting in my Christmas Stockings? A post about OXFAM.

Post: Closing the Year 2009. An overview of my first blogging year.

The closure of the most important era in my life – I only wished that I could turn back the clock!

I'd hope that this post will guide you through my blog, and I thank you for posting a comment , being a follower or only just for being a reader.

I'd appreciate it very much that you've visited my blog.

Till soon.

What's Sitting in my Christmas Stockings?

There we go again!

Santa Claus is coming, and we all have to go through the New Year's hullabaloo!

Many of you will be already joyful with only the outlook too it, but I am not.

It doesn't make me glad!

I'm one of these people who will be glad that it's all over very soon.

Please, don't understand me wrong. I'm judging nobody! Everyone is free to do what he prefers to do and to make his own choices.

Remember the lyrics of that Dutch song: *Respect, in my earlier post: Respect on a funny manner, “so many people – so many differences”!

If you've missed it, than I advise you to listen to it. (*see blog list November.)

But, maybe I'm getting old …. although, here in Belgium there are also many younger people who do think the same as I do.

Why: because it became all too excessive.

It can't be enough, there's too much of everything.

And while we possess plenty, there are so many people in the world who have nothing.

Therefor, this year I've decided to buy no longer presents to enlarge the garbage dumb.

The heap is already high enough!

There's yet an other reason: sometimes you bought something with the best intention but sometimes it can be that the person who receives it is not pleased with it, of course – we all don't have the same taste!

To prevent also this, from now on: enough fragrances and soaps, no more stupid gadgets which are never going to be used.

What is there then going to sit in my Christmas stockings?

These are the presents that I've bought:

1. A set of cooking pans: oh, oh, I hope my stocking will be large enough.

2. A little goat: oei, oei... for this I even need a larger stocking!

3. This is going to be a real problem, maybe this is a little too large for my stocking: a toilet and a washbasin!

And at last:

4. A fishing net: I hope my stocking will be very elastic!

I can imagine that you are now all thinking: “about what is she gibbering now”?

No, no ... I am not joking, I am serious, I am talking about: OXFAM

I am going to donate these presents to people who can use some help and who will be extremely happy with it.

For them, these presents can change their lives completely, and I am going to have a good feeling to know this.

I'd hope that the goat will have a long and beautiful life and that she will give a lot of milk to feed the young children – that the cooking pans may contain many healthy and tasteful good meals –

that the toilets may flush many times and that the washbasin will receive plentiful fresh water.

I also hope that the fishing nets may encounter many fish, although ... for the fish … this will be a less pleasurable experience.

If you have no idea what to buy as Christmas presents, maybe this can inspire you, also you can bring a change in the life of someone less fortunate!

My hubby and me, we are going to have a subdued Christmas and New Year's time, unpretentious – without overloaded stomachs or artificial cheerfulness. We are not yet in the mood to be cheerful, but – the knowledge that the money we've spend on “our” presents wasn't wasted – will cheer us up a little.

Enjoy your Christmas and New Year's time, on your own way!

Have fun, sincere fun – and don't get an overloaded stomach!:)

PS: “Santa Claus” is in fact something that we don't know here in my country, but we have a: “Sinter Klaas” (that's a kind of Santa Claus).

He visits the children on December 6. His helper is called: “*Zwarte Piet”, he always carries with him a large jute sack, and if the children have been naughty – as punishment – *he puts them in the sack! :)

This is an action of Oxfam that runs here in my country: I don't know if the same action runs also abroad.

You can choose among several presents which variates in prices, it starts already from 5 euro.

The most expensive presents are: a cow 146 euro (or 219 dollar), and a beehive, 150 euro (or 225 dollar).

Till soon.

Our Assistant Gardener

It's now more than ten days ago that I've promised you to show these beautiful moments, well here they come.

Sorry that it took so long, but at the moment I'm also working on Pipke's full life story and it takes much more time than I could estimate.

It's not that I had planned to write something down in a hurry, but after I've read the story of: Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien, I discovered that the part of her full life story that I had written so far was not good enough.

Stacey wrote her story much more detailed. What I had written was in fact rather a superficial story.

Thus: I started again, (for the second time) I adjusted what I had already written, and also supplemented it, and now the story “grows”, it becomes almost a book.

I have to do much research to find the exact dates that the events took place because I want it to be correct.

I am also trying to gather as much pictures and film images to supplement the story and it's a real joy to do that.

In fact, we have so many images to “substantiate” her story that it becomes almost like you are looking at a movie, a non fiction movie.

This is a truth story, and the images will show – that I am fantasizing not one element in her story.

I promise you: adventure in the wild world – labor – laughter – tense and tender moments – explosions – love – sensitivity – joy – tragedy and even escape from hell, all ingredients for a “good” book or/and movie.

I am not going to reveal more but be sure, I haven't told you everything, there are still many surprises. (That's for those who've already read my short story on Jen's blog.)

Obvious, there still lacks “the most important" element! To make a book or a movie successful you need also a “good” writer.

The writer is already busy, trying to become better – if she will become “good” – only the future will tell!

If that will not be the case then: at least she has tried it!:)

Meanwhile, imagine – it's a warm sunny day – you're enjoying the sun – and you are sitting in an easy chair in my garden with your feet up high – while my gardener and his assistant do the job!

Doesn't this sound great?:)

Enjoy the images, images of the time that she was still young, joyful and full of energy.

Wasn't she a good assistant gardener and pest controller?

Of course, this is only a small part of the film.She helped my hubby to mow the whole lawn.

Now I am going to write and enjoy myself, and while I am writing down her story I relive the beautiful times.

It seems almost if she is still here!

PS::) I was naughty and only joking in my earlier post! :):)

Of course: it isn't Summer here right now – and it wasn't also 26°C.

Only on these film pictures it was Summer, warm and sunny.

The reality is:

1. It's here late Fall now, and yes - it was raining very heavy and we had really very gusty weather!

2. We only had some problems with the film pictures!

For the U.S readers: Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Till soon :)

Mowing the Lawn: Canceled

Unfortunate but due to heavy rain showers and gusty weather, we had to cancel the appointment with our assistant gardener.

Mowing the lawn with rainy weather isn't possible.

The weather forecasts for the next few days are: sunny periods, alternated with rain and temperatures around 26° Celsius

(that's 78,8° Fahrenheit).

Our assistant promised to call us when he's available.

We hope that the weather will soon be better!

Keep an eye on it!

Important Message

My assistant gardener has made an appointment.

Tomorrow he will help my hubby to mow the lawn.

I hope you will all be present to control if he does his job well.

See you tomorrow!

RESPECT in a Funny Manner

I want to invite you to listen to this Dutch song so you can hear how Dutch sounds.

Probably you won't understand this but I will, or at least I shall try -- to translate the most important sentences for you.

I chose this particular song not only, because the lyrics and the melody are so funny, but also because the text is so meaning full. I find the refrain very sensitive.

Before you click on the link I advise you to read the lyrics (see under in this post) first so you will know what it's all about.

The title of the song is: REPECT the singer-songwriter is Pieter Embrechts (a Belgian). The name of his group is: (don't laugh)

The Embryo's.

I know this song already several years, but now it has a special meaning for me and it will keep up with me for the rest of my days.

Why, maybe you can guess it, it has to do with Pipke.

They played this song on the car radio (on September 8, 2009) while we drove with Pipke for one of the last times to the vet. It was the very last beautiful warm and sunshiny day of September. That day my hubby refreshed the water of her pond for the last time and together we cherished the last sunbeams!

In fact it's difficult to understand poetry in an other language, and of course it doesn't rhyme at all in English, but in Dutch it sounds not only  beautiful and oh so simple but also funny!

Everything is said in “these* few sentences”. If you are not interested in the Dutch text then just listen to the song.

Here follows the translation, I hope that you can follow.

START

sommige mensen houden van lasagna

some people like lasagna

andere mensen dan weer niet

then other people don't

sommige mensen drinken graag champagne

some people like to drink champagne

andere mensen ne Fristi

other people prefere Fristi (a fruit and milk drink)

sommige mensen poetsen hun tanden

some people brush their teeth

sommige mensen dan weer niet

then other people don't

sommige mensen eten met hun handen

some people eat with their hands

andere mensen dan weer niet

then other people don't

sommige mannen zijn zwaar geschapen

some men are build heavy (have big testis:):)

andere schapen hebben weinig wol

other sheep don't have much wool

sommige mensen gebruiken geen WC papier

some people don't use toilet paper :)

voor sommige mensen speelt dat gene rol

for some people it doesn't matter

sommige dames dragen een hoofddoek

some ladies wear a kerchief

andere madammen dan weer niet

then other ladies don't

sommige mannen dragen nooit een onderbroek

some men never wear underpants :)

het gaat dus niet altijd om wat ge ziet

it doesn't goes always about what you see

****

zoveel mensen, zoveel wensen en zo veel verschillen

*so many people …. so many wishes and so

many differences

zoveel mensen die vanbinnen toch hetzelfde willen

*so many people …. and they all want deep

inside the same

REFRAIN

warme dagen in de zon *warm days in the sun,

dat het eeuwig duren mag *that it may last eternal

en als ik u tegenkom *and when I encounter you

doe ik u een goede dag *then I greet you

This was only the first strophe and the refrain of the song, and although it becomes even funnier, I will make it short (to avoid that it will become boring), so l give you only the translation of the third (and most important) strophe.

have I, what I know found out myself

have I, what I say discovered myself

or do I repeat what everyone foretells me

and do I have respect for someone else

The essential point of the song is that: in fact we are all so different … but finally, we all want the same, that beautiful things could last for always, we all want to be happy.

Happiness has all to do with respect, be respectful for nature and all that lives, respect is a way to happiness.

Be happy!

**Warm days in the sun.... that it had might to continue to last for always!

Unfortunately …

I hope that you enjoyed the song, that it could make you laugh, and also that it incited you to reflect on it.

PS: I also hope that my conjugations are correct, especially the last sentences were very tricky for me.(:

**In Dutch it is: warme dagen in de zon.... dat het voor altijd had mogen blijven duren.

Maybe you can use the translator for the Dutch text, tell me later if you could make something out of it.

Till next time: probably I'll show you then my “two gardeners” in full action.

Our Little Sunshine

We have called this film scene: “Dejeuner sur l'herbe” after the painting of E. Manet because we were also sitting on the green and it was such a beautiful sunshiny day. This was in the Summer of 1999 and then she was four years old.

Can you hear her talking to me?

That's not the sound of an “ordinary” duck. People who have pet ducks probably can hear the difference, she developed her own language.

Maybe this needs some explanation for the “new visitors” of my blog.

I found Pipke in an abandoned nest at the moment that she hatched.

She imprinted me as her kind. We tried to introduce her to her family but without success. She never wanted the companion of other ducks, we were her family. Of course, it was not an ideal situation, but we were always there for her.

If I hadn't rescued her in this first moment of her life -- she would never have lived -- now she “has lived” and she was a very lucky duck!

Enjoy the sunshine!

Thanks for your visit!

Paranoia?

In my previous post "UBUNTU" I wrote an update because there happened something very weird that we didn't trust.

Only a few hours later, after I had published that post, I was working on my Apple Mac Book and I was reading blogs.

While I was searching in the field: "next blog", on the left side on top of my blog, suddenly, instead that I came on a “next blog”, I received a message from a virus-scanner that my Win. operating system was infected.

How is that possible! I work with Apple and I receive a warning for an other operating system than where I work with.

Very strange!

We could not close that message, we were blocked. They gave us only one possibility, accept the offer to install it, which means: to buy it. Of course we wouldn't do that.

Because my husband didn't trust this at all, he Googled on it on our other computer and found out that it was: Malware!

He decided to give the computer a restart. Thereafter the computer worked again as normal.

This was something we never had experienced before.

Therefore we are now very suspicious: I only “once” mentioned the name of the operating system of our other computer on my Apple, and I get malware.

You can't even trust blogs. They present themselves as a blog, but they aren't, they are “hackers”, who try to sell a program and/or cause problems.

In what a world do we live! Who can we still trust!

Is this paranoia or am I only just precocious?

PS: I hope that this explanation was not too ridiculous, I don't know that much about computers and I am also not so familiar with computer language (still learning).

I only wanted to warn you.