Today ....

.... I went skating on natural ice with my friend Ina. Finally the ice of our local Ice club, called AOL-Gloep (= old decoy), was thick enough! The ice was great, very smooth. I don't have great skates but it was fun to make a couple of rounds on normal skates and then try out my old figure skates. I think they need to be sharpened because I couldn't make the figures I normally can make. We took a warm cocoa inside the cantine and when our hands and feet were warmed up again we made some more rounds.

After that Ina wanted to go and watch the young and older people of our village shoot the carbid cans just outside the village. This is a tradition that exists for a very long time over here and in some other regions of our country. You need an old iron milk can (or is it tin?), a piece of carbid, some water and fire. You put the carbid in the milk can with some water. Then you have to close the can with the lid that has to be made a bit wider so that you need to use a hammer to slam it in the can. After that you warm the back of the can with fire. The lid will explode off the milk can and that makes a very loud bang.

I never went to see the carbid shooting because Zander doesn't like hard noises, but because he's still with his dad I could go and watch this year. It's not really my thing, but it was fun! I even went home to get my camera and went back on my own to take some photos.

As you can see there's a lot of fog. I took these photos around 5 p.m. It was like that all day and it's even getting worse. Like last year we won't be able to see much of the firework at midnight!!

On the last photo you can see the lid of the can flying in the air.

I won't be alone on New Years Eve after all!!! When Ina found out I would be alone this evening she invited me over to her place.

Long walk and good talk.

Today was yet another beautiful sunny day!!! It was really cold up here in the North of the Netherlands! At night it was minus 8 degrees Celsius.

After my heart chakra meditation, a late breakfast, some computer time, and finally was able to make an appointment for this evening with the guy I opened my heart for, I left the house around noon for my daily walk.

Today I took a complete other route. I even walked over several crop and grass fields to be able to walk in the sun most of the time and to cut short the very long walk. I stayed outside for more than 1 hour and a half!. I saw a huge buzzard in a tree and flying away when he saw me coming his way. I was able to make a photo while he was sitting in the tree with my 12x zoom, but it was too far away to make it a cool photo. You can see the buzzard in the middle of the first photo in this post. He's sitting on the lowest branch of the tree. Just click on it for a better view.

The light was great today: clear but also a bit hazy in the distance. I'm not sure if hazy is the right word but look at the photos I took and you'll understand what I mean.

On the last photo you can see some rayes of sun!

In the wood I felt the need to stand with my back against an oak. I later found out that standing with your back against an oak can give you strenght. And I just needed that for my appointment later this day!

Back at home my legs were all red because of the cold, but other than that I felt great and very calm. Those walks, being outside and connecting with nature are making me feel more alive but also less stressful! I'm so glad that the fibromyalgia and the chronic fatigue don't bother me anymore. A few months ago I wasn't able to make these long walks!

When I felt warm and comfortable again I went outside again to do some shopping for the days to come. I probably will be celebrating new years eve on my own and because I don't want to gain weight again after I've lost over 6 kilos the last couple of months (yeah, love can do that!!), I decided to only buy healthy foods. So no oil-dumplings for me this year!!

After a nice dinner (ratatouille with rice and a steak) I waited for my appointment reading in an Osho book about chakras and kundalini.

When he had arrived we soon started to talk about the things in our sudden break up, that were still confusing to me. It was a good and open talk. I now have all the answers and I feel that it's okay. It is time for me to let him go. I still love him though, so I will be feeling pain and sadness about the loss of a love relationship, but we can still be friends! End of a very short love story! But also the chance of a new beginning and new opportunities for me!

Another sunny day!!!

I just love the fact that the sun is shining so brightly the last couple of days!! I went for another long walk this morning. Almost took the same path to be sure I was outside for an hour. Took some other photos near the fen. Look how low the sun is!! It was exactly noon when I took that photo.

Other than that I'm having a very lazy day!

Well, before I went out for that walk I did the heart chakra meditation. I do this meditation every morning for the last couple of days. It's a nice way to start my day and I really do feel more peaceful throughout the entire day!! Look here for the cd you need.

Sunny day!!

It's a really sunny day today!!! I went for a long walk nearby my house this early afternoon. I stayed outside for more than an hour and keeping up a smart pace all the time! Took my camera with me just in case and was able to shoot some nice photos near a small fen (peat-moor?) in the woods.

Here's another thing I want to share with you.

Not so long ago I bought The Goddess Oracle from Amy Sophia Marashinsky. These are cards with all kinds of goddesses from myths, legends and sages that can bring you their wisdom.

One of the cards I picked not so long ago is Pachamama (Mother Earth) and this card asks me to connect more with the earth or nature. It will help me to heal. So this afternoon when I was all alone on a nice spot in the sun I made a prayer to Pachamama and asked her to help me heal.

Another card I picked is Brighid. To tell you the truth I already picked her twice! Brighid comes to inspire me. She asks me to live inspired because a life without inspiration is boring. That is soooo true!!! I already have been asking Brighid in a self-guided fantasy trip to inspire me. Not only in my daily life but also in scrapbooking. Because really, it has been way too long since I was able to sit down behind my scrapbooktable and be inspired to make something beautiful!!

I hope to be able to show you some scrapbook layouts soon!!!

Oh yes, I'm on Hyves now! So if you're a Hyver I invite you to be my friend. Just go here!!

Merry Christmas to you all!!

I hope you have a nice day with your family and/or the people you love!!!

Zander and I are in Utrecht with his dad. We arrived on Monday. Ad and I did most of our Christmas shopping on Tuesday. Yesterday I did some last shopping and then went to see some old friends I had lost contact with years ago (like 19 years ago). I met them 31 years ago in Paris when Elise and I both worked there as an au-pair. She met her husband Kiwi (nickname) in Paris in 1977 and they got married in 1981. I spend some nice couple of hours with them and their 2 children (19 and 16). Elise and I talked about making a trip to Paris together. We both haven't visited Paris for years and we both would love to go there! It would be nice to be able to go there soon!

I'm not feeling the X-mas spirit this year. I suppose it's because the guy I talked about in my previous post has pulled back and just wants to be good friends. It hurts and makes me feel a bit down, because I still feel in my heart that he's the one I could grow old with! Have to let him go though and accept the fact that he's not ready yet or never will be ready to commit himself to me.