Le tour!

This is getting so reptitive...

The Tour started again. And this year I'm not scanning any old photographs from Normandy but rather show a picture from our recently renovated National Gallery.

A house in Normandy :-)

Jurij Šubic - A House in Normandy, 1882

Reading update

Just a quick recap on the books I've recently read.

Four Colin Dexter novels. I quite enjoy reading them but I just wish he would write about Cambridge and not Oxford so that I would recongnise every street, every bridge and every house.

I've read two further Jo Nesbø novels, including the Leopard. As uncomfortable as it is to read (especially the beginning), I quite liked the location -  a mountain hut in the middle of nowhere in Norway.

I've also re-read several Edgar Wallace novels, just because I have them at home. Ah, the English countryside...

And oddly enough, I read a John Green novel, Looking for Alaska, just because I got it for free in a bookstore. And I must admit I enjoyed it. Maybe just because it was so different from what I read currently or maybe because I miss some teenage immaturity in my life or maybe just because it's a good book. And no, I don't have any photos of Alaska :-)

Sour cherries!

You know that Masha and the Bear cartoon where she cooks porridge? And they end up with porridge everywhere?

Taken from Youtube.

This is exactly how I feel now if you replace porridge with sour cherries.Everywhere. In every form.
Sour cherries just picked.
Sour cherries pitted.
Sour cherries frozen.
Sour cherries jam.
Sour cherries compote.
Sour cherries ice cream.
Sour cherries muffins.
And about half of them still on the tree.

A month sans sucre

I've made it!

I've made it through all of May without eating any (added) sugar.

Or stevia.
Or sweeterns.
Or dextrose.
Or added fructose.
Or whatever food industry adds to make everything taste better.

I did have difficulties finding food with ZERO added sugars, because things like ham, salami, cornichons, mustard, crisps ... all contain (added) sugar. I won't even mention sweets like fruit yogurt, corn flakes, baked beans ...

But I've made it.

And how do I feel after a month?

Relieved.
Hungry.
Grumpy.
Miserable.
And I've lost 7 pounds.

Looking forward to tomorrow :-P

What's up

April was too hot, May is too wet. But we still manage to have a day without rain and what could be more satisfying than hiking among gorgeous wildflowers...

 

 

Oh, and after many years (twenty, thirty ... who knows) the local sailing club organised a regatta in the city centre. Optimists :-)

The kids were cute, though.

34 km!

During the second world war, my hometown was encircled by barbed wire. As a symbol of remembrance, a wonderful walking path has been arranged that follows the route of where the wire used to be.

Every year in the first weekend in May, a traditional recreational walk takes place, 33 kilometer long (34 this year due to a detour). About 15% of the city's population participates in one way or another, and this is just amazing.

I never really thought about taking part - until about two weeks ago. I loved the idea and today I did it. The full circle!

Do I need to say my legs hurt?

Vintage obi purse

An almost-niece of mine is a huge fan of Japan and everything Japanese. So when she was celebrating her 16th birthday, I decided to make her a vintage obi purse. Made from the Fukuro obi my brother brought from Japan a few years ago.

 I cut the fabrics so that one side is red and the other green.

It's not 100% perfect but I had such troubles sewing through 16 layers of fabric I broke a needle... Ooops!