z e e b o d e m

I don’t know if you can call that snow but it comes close; something icy cold and white that came from the sky.

We stay warm indoors today thanks to S who went out to cut some wood for the stove while I was busy doing “nothing” – walking around with the cam or reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. He’s now busy with the satellite channels (a “hobby” he borrowed from his work for the weekend) – surfing on tv. It’s so weird having a television that actually shows programs in the house. We have been using our flat screen only for watching dvd’s or playstation until now. Today we receive about 600 channels and most of them just crap. None of the Flemish senders show up which is a bit disappointing. (just a bit)

The wind is howling in the chimney. If it was dark and i was alone it might sound a bit spooky. Now it just sounds cosy.

Tonight we’ll go to Brussel and Róisín Murphy will be there too. The whole concert will be filmed and soon to be seen on her website.

It was promised for us tonight and yes, indeed it works: our hidden oasis is now homeconnected to the wide world. My refreshed macbook accessed the Connection Point for the first time at 20:01 CET. S connected his wooden case a minute or two earlier and the first thing he put on was crooze.fm – we’ve been missing our radio!

So here we are in a room heated by wood, in a house surrounded by darkness. It’s been five weeks since we moved in – only 35 days and i can barely remember how it was living in G. We’ve been finding our ways here, getting to know the house and a bit of the garden too. Unpacking. (There are still enough unopened boxes in the garage.) Discovering the area bit by bit. (There’s a huge open-air market in Zelzate every monday. They sell “everything” there.)

S has been busy with the stoves and chimneys. Last weekend we discovered that there’s no other way than to tear down the kitchen chimney and then rebuild it. The brick part of it is crumbling in pieces and we can’t fit the new tube in either because the flue is too narrow at one place.

My regular activity lately has been combing the leaves from the moss-grass. Gelukkig hou ik van harken. It’s fun and zen. I’ve also emptied the ear shaped pond and cleaned the bottom. We’re hoping to get some frogs there next spring.

The cats find their way here. They learned to use the cat door after we kept it first fully open for two weeks. Spock has become a cosy cat who likes to sleep in the house overday. Miri is changed into a half wild animal and is not always so willing to let us touch her. But they’re both healthy and enjoying.

Just as we are.

Some art nouveau champagne in bohemian crystal glasses after the stove was heated. Yesterday.

The tickets arrived this evening by a special delivery (which is the ultimate proof that there’s no trusting in the Belgian post services) – so yes, i could update the photo.

Today, between showers from the sky, we managed to wash the blue kangoo. It was filthy inside and dirty outside, now it’s still a bit dirty inside but clean outside. We need to buy new floor rugs. Should have left the old ones in the container park yesterday already.

Kids were just playing like trampoline upstairs where there’s no trampoline. S raised his voice and it’s calm.

Miri is learning to be inside again. When my mother and brother were visiting us she only came indoors in the nights, until morning. Spock needs a sleeping basket; he claimed Gk’s car seat (with a cushion on it) immediately when it was brought inside during the car wash.

Here i am again, next to the gas-powered fireplace, exhausted but shower-fresh, sipping dry “tio pepe” and waiting for the carrots to cook. The past 5 hours i’ve been busy with melting the freezer-fridge combination and with all that comes with it plus other domestic tasks. The cats are sleeping (Spock down here and Miri upstairs) and crooze.fm plays it smooth on a national holiday. For the rest of the day i’m gonna take it easy.

#foto: Strash

Home alone with the cats since yesterday. Nothing much to do and it’s gentse feesten so i’ll keep avoiding the city as well. Had to go there yesterday to buy some extra dekens for my mother and brother – and any other future guest. I’ll pick them up at the airport next thursday and they’ll stay a week with us. S comes back on saturday. Then before Gk comes back on sunday we hope to visit the houSe with my mother and brother.

Hope it will get warmer by the time of our holiday as they promised it would.

Went for a walk in the watersportbaan/blaarmeersen today and it was windy and chilly when the sun was behind the clouds. When sunny it was only so-so warm. Sitting here downstairs i’ve just turned the fire on. Gotta enjoy the easiness of it while i still can. Soon it will be real fire with wood – though much more work, i must admit that’s what i prefer.

Been waking up around six in the morning for two days now. Sleep is ok all night through but it’s gone when the sun rises.

Been reading a book of Murakami in dutch (translated by the husband of one of my japanese colleagues) – i’ve read it five years ago in english but wanted to re-read it opnieuw. I like to read his books again. First time i ever heard of Haruki Murakami was via Justin Hall’s links.net site (currently offline). Justin was so mind-blown by “a wild sheep chase” – which he was recommended to read by his girlfriend Egg – that i immediately wanted to read that book too. Needless to say that was quite some time ago, back in the ninetieS (i think). And then i re-read it again – also five years ago – while traveling across europe.

After the first visit to our dream houSe (on last saturday) we stopped in the center or Wachtebeke for one verwenkoffie and three duvels. We saw few boogschieters entering the second café (where a woman sitting next to us said those words). Our car was parked not so far from a corner bakery.

Barbeque at (current) home on saturday evening; tea party birthday in Brussels on Sunday.

We drove back to the High Street yesterday evening and took another step forward into the future! Papers were signed on the soft moss garden. Back to the concrete city. Next steps will bring us to the bank. They want both of us to take life insurances.

S came to sauna and brought me a towel as well.

Half an hour overtime with a huge load of excel files. At least it was sunny again when i biked home. Evi was busy with the kids on our street: they were attaching colourful plastic straws in a line as long as our street. Some time later our next door neighbour (and his children) got locked out of his house but he managed to get back in through an open kitchen window that could be reached from our patio. We had some ravioli’s for dinner.

S did some paper work and found out his Happy Days points were already supposed to be outdated. Yet he could find them on his account online. We’re 19 points away from an electric footbath! ;) He said we’d try to get those missing points anyway, then materialize them and dump the system. There’s nothing to dump for me though ’cause i’ve lost my card already long time ago.

Sunnuntai [Zendag] on kääntynyt iltaan ja taas sataa. Etsimättä jäivät kopioidut kielikurssit timolle, koska en saanut aikaiseksi etsiä niitä valoisan aikaan. Kiipesin juuri ennen nukkumaan menoa tikkaita parvelle vain todetakseni varastoni olevan kylpyhuoneremontin jälkeisen pölyn peitossa. Ei natsannut pöllytellä iltahämärässä etenkin kun hengitystieni ovat kärsineet ylirasittuneessa tilassa jo muutaman viikon – siinä määrin, että astmapiipun hankinta on käväissyt mielessä useammin kuin kerran. Yskittää.

Tänä Gentin vallankumouksen päivänä teimme uhkarohkean teon piipahtamalla vihollisreviirillä länsiflaaminmaalla. Paluutamme ei onneksi estetty millään lailla.. Olosuhteiden pakosta (pääsiäsloma = “suljettu”) söimme keskinkertaisen iltapäivälounaan the loungessa. Saatuamme annokset eteemme olimme ravintolan ainoat paikan päällä syövät asiakkaat. Minun annokseni ongelmana oli runsaalla kädellä ammennettu (valmis?)valkokastike, joka sai ruuan maistumaan einekseltä. Vieruskaverin lautasella wok oli kuulemma kuivahtanutta vaikkakin näytti herkulliselta.

Lopun valoisaa aikaa makasin sängyssä katsoen eilen alennuksesta ostamaani leffaa Sylvia Plathista. Päiväkirjan uusintakierros on odottanut keskeneräisessä tilassa jo useamman kuukauden.

Olin pakotettu ostamaan uuden kännykän, koska nykyinen on luovutettava tulevalle entiselle työnantajalle ensi perjantaina. Piti saada halpa, siedettävän näköinen ja tietyillä ominaisuuksilla kattamaan aikaa ennen iphonea. Hetken harkittuani valitsin sony ericssonin mallia K550i.

Pitäisi jo nukkua mutta -