Sunshine

It took a long time for it to arrive but finally the Netherlands is getting the well deserved sunshine!

The sun started showing itself (and even felt occasionally) around 10 days ago. The narcis bulbs sprouted and their flowers started coloring all the Dutch roads. Right after that hyacinths started budding and now there are whole fields colored with all sorts of flowers. The sun, the blue skies and the flowers seem to always improve my mood!

It's time to spend time outdoors, enjoying family and friends, start running outside again and soon enough we'll have our first BBQ for the year!

Flower fields at Noordwijk

First day at the beach at Noordwijk

Spring has reached our garden

My aim to write more about my latest trip went down the drain. Working on a computer 5 days a week is quite draining so when I'm at home I'm always trying to relax and spend quality time with my Dutchie.

We have started indoor climbing again after a winter break. So once a week I can be found hoisted around 15 metres above the ground. I'm still stuck at a beginners level but looking forward to improve my technique. Thus we'll be off for a weekend climbing in the Belgian Ardennes soon.

In the past weeks we started working on improving our garden. Seeing that now we can start spending more time outside we started planting some plants and flowers. Little did I know how many plants you need to fill up a garden!

Here's the colourful additions.

Love is....

Love is...

receiving an unexpected bunch of flowers from your loved one.

Week Snapshots

Here's what made my week more than just a busy working week.

Spring is definitely on it's way. Finally I am getting home before it's dark and I can enjoy the last moments of natural light.

I'm still amused at all the different types of birds that swim along the canal at the back of our garden. This time I looked out and saw a couple of swans. They did manage to scare me when they hissed at me when I got close to them. They sounded like angry cats!  I'm also fighting the urge to feed all these birds in case they keep coming.

 

Having a delicious dinner cooked by my boyfriend is a nice way to relax in the weekend after a busy day. Below we have meat cooked in a Belgian beer jus with freshly made pommes duchesse which are baked mashed potatoes and filled tomatoes with peas.

Spending the Sunday afternoon listening to Blues and Jazz music.

Since I live in a flower country I am making more effort to keep flowers in the house on a regular basis.  Flowers just brightens up the place and also my mood! Visit Cultuur Podium Boerderij for these type of events.

Making home-made coconut ice-cream. It was the first trial of my birthday present and it was a success. It was so successful in fact that I actually forget to take a photo of the ice cream before we finished eating it!

Reasons for a good week

These are the reasons why last week was a good week.

Putting up lights in the house

The lights are up!

My first 'auntie' card

Breakfast delivery for my birthday

My 30th birthday and all of its surprises

Ducks swimming next to the garden

Flowers for the house

A short wait remaining

In 3 days I will have the keys to this beauty! We will become the owners of a mortgage disguised as a home.

And to make the experience even more sweet this tree is blooming with small pink flowers!

Flowers

It started as a joke. I always pointed out to my boyfriend how nice it is to receive flowers from a loved one each time we passed in front of a shower shop. My boyfriend would than point out that each time I implicitly ask for flowers he'll add a couple of months more before he'll get me some. A year and a half later I had just accepted the fact that I won't be getting any flowers from my boyfriend, but yesterday I was proven wrong. Back from work he had a nice big bunch of flowers for me!

Needless to say I had a smile on my face all evening. This morning while eating breakfast I happened to notice them on the living room table and there again a nice big smile on my face.

So all you boyfriends out there reading this, this evening before you go back home to your dear ones stop at a flower shop and get your woman a much deserved bouquet of flowers!