Mouser mousing

Finally we got some rain. Quite refreshing. The lawn was begging for some drops, manifesting its will by turning a lightish brown/gingery colour.
I haven't had a peek at the water tank, but I imagine it will not turn to cement powder just yet.
Mouser has been out and about, surprisingly, during the intermittent showers.
Just before I headed out to bed I opened up the front door to see if Velvet Claws™ was going to join us.
There was a flash of fur and then it stopped mid-way down the hall.
I flicked on the light switch and lo and behold: It had rescued a fluffy friend from drowning.

I saw a mouse scurry round and head into the living room.
Of course it hid under the first available book shelf. Mouser was poking about trying to coo the rodent from under there, to no avail.
It ran into the study and I closed the door.
Dr Livingstone came out to help catch it and we moved some furniture about.
Mice tend to walk along walls and never straight across open spaces.
I had been in a similar situation a couple of years ago in the old house. To jog your memories: see my blog entries Cat & Mouse & Human Game and Got Him!
I though this was going to take hours.

But to my own surprise I caught the little bugger at the first attempt, although it did try to bite me. I had to hold the plastic container down because it just moved the whole thing across the floor while under it.
I relocated the mouse to the doorstep and it disappeared into the night.
Needless to say, teh Kitteh was still hovering around the bookcase looking for its playmate.

Headline hegemony part 2

I've been following the World Championships Athletics in Moskow on and off for the last couple of days.
Today the Borlée brothers were running their semis.
One of them didn't make it.
Incidentally one of our national newspapers sported two pictures next to each other.
The left hand caption says: "Firstly, point to what's going wrong" where the 'loopt' could be interpreted as 'running' when translated literally.
Right hand caption says: "Jonathan Borlée through to WC final, Kevin eliminated.

I can tell what's going wrong. He's on the phone, not entirely focussed on his race. Kids these days. Can't go without their cell phones for 5 minutes these days...

Mihi.

Summer blogging break

I haven't been updating the blog of late, as there is so much work to do at the shop, in the house, with the studying, in the garden.
I promise I will make some time and post some garden pictures pretty soon. I will leave you with a picture of Mouser's share of hard work.

Stories from the garden

Crazy neighbour told us to wait another weekend before eating our own salad. The inner heart of the salad needs to firm up, so the crops are still all in place.

We have however eaten our very first, very sweet, strawberries. They are delicious! And they look gorgeous. I'll have to make some room for them to grow and get some cuttings of the tentacles that are feeling their way around the flower beds. They keep flowering, so that's good. Every flower is a strawberry. The bees are also out in full force. We need to bind the peonies together, they are collapsing under their own weight, but I'm scared we'll get a nasty response from the honey making winged insectivores. They're fighting each other in mid air to get to all the yummy pollen.

I've impersonated a bee this week. We bought a paprika-plant that brings forth white (!) paprika's. It's already sporting a few items. But because the plant is in our conservatory I'm playing the part of the pollinator with a swab, going from flower to flower.

Anyway, last weekend was another D-Day for the garden, the next big step to completing is has been taken. The area has been tilled, levelled and the grass seeds are in place.

It's not exactly Centre Court at the All England Lawn and Croquet Club, but it'll do for us.
We're roaring to give those balls a good walloping and have Pimm's on the lawn.
We're keeping it wet, Dr Livingstone went out and bought one of those interval rain spectacle things, that move about to evenly spread out water (it does about 60 square metres at time). We wouldn't have been able to do so if we hadn't put in that rain collector of 5000 litres. It is ca. 500 square metres to keep wet.

But I've just had a call from him telling me they're expecting rain this evening or tomorrow in gigantic proportions. About as much is going to fall as we could expect in an entire month. So I think if that should happen here (chances are it will, and not some miles further on), all the seeds will wash away and it will have been in vain. That is probably what is going to happen, these things never work out the way they have been planned.
But anyway, the soil has been levelled, so that's that. In the event we will have some kind of flood we can always just go out and buy two bags of new seed and spread that out.
We've been promised if there is a good balance between the temperature and water, germination should start in about 8 to 10 days. Or even as quick as 5.

In other news: Dr Livingstone got a present from his old mentor: a motorbike!
I'm not very pleased about that, as he had promised he wouldn't rid one ever again. But now I've seen it, it's ok. I can live with it. It's a light chopper king of bike, not a heavy one. It is 'easily' manoeuvrable, better for his back too.
He has made his mind up at first getting some lessons in with the driving school to freshen up on his biking skills again.

I tried to clear the bike with customs yesterday, as it has been imported from an other EU country. We checked with customs in the other country, checked with the importer here in Belgium and then called again with customs here to make sure we had all the documents we needed.
Of course when I got there, they told me I had to have some kind of proof of ownership.
I explained to the guy we had brought everything along as we had been told to do so, and we didn't have an invoice or something as it was a gift.
'Well, you didn't listen and haven't understood what was said on the phone then' said the officer.
I was very, very angry.
But I will get my own back. The whole custom office was reeking of cigarettes. It's a federal office. They are not allowed to smoke in there.
I'm putting in a call to the appropriate services to deal with that.
Mihi.
Mrs B doesn't take no for an answer.

More jobs completed

All this happened last week, but I'm saving some stuff and spreading it out over a couple of entries. We had the gate and the enclosure from the coral pulled out so we can start afresh. We're re-using the gate (after it's had a good clean and paint job). We also had to make sure the next time we put the posts in they don't suffer from water eroding the wood. As long as they're in the ground and wet it doesn't matter. But the rain from the roof where we keep the wheel barrow and some other stuff just fell near the post and it had rotted away.

I had the idea to put a gutter there and then collect the water so we can use it to water plants and such.
We still had some pieces left over from when we made the flower pots out front.
And there was a discount on a water butt so we got one in. It's got a flexi hose attached to it, you can see how much water is in there plus it works very easily thanks to the principle of communicating vessels. Just unhook it, lower it and you can fill up whatever you want. We still need to hose the wall down with the high pressure cleaner and then treat it.

Dr Livingstone really put his back into it (literally) and also cleaned out the little shelter. It was still full of leaves and stuff from last winter.

No really. His back is very bad at the moment. He's been seeing doctors, physiotherapists and taking ice pack remedies. Too much work in the garden! His hands are itching and he just can't sit still for one bit.

I'm sensing he's enjoying this gardening stuff. Especially since some of the veggies are ready to eat this coming weekend! yes, we're going to give the salad a try. All homegrown, no herbicides, pesticides or what have you. Just water and sun.

Next little step: completed!

Another step closer to completing the herculean task of transforming the garden into something we like.
I completed cleaning up the borders around the plants where the borders have gone in. Pulled out all the weeds, laid down anti-root membrane (which I had recuperated before the bulldozers went in last year) and then filled it in with tree bark (red pine). It looks very neat and tidy now.

I also filled in the path Dr Livingstone has made to get around his veggie beds and crates. It's not quite finished yet, but I'm nearly done. I'll finish it when the exams are over. Now I'm just doing stuff during my study breaks to get some fresh air and a little exercise.

The grass man rang to say he's going to do the job this coming weekend! Yay.

Cobblestones part 2

Around 2pm Dr Livingstone was home and I got up from my reading and comfy warm chair to lay some more cobblestones.
He fetched three wheelbarrows from next door and then I cracked on with my new found cobblestone-laying-skill.
After a lovely afternoon (around half past three I got rid of my jacket and hat!) I have now just under 4 meters to go.
Eat your heart out Tom Boonen! I'm the queen of the cobblestones!

I'm now back in my comfy chair, with dessert wine at arm's reach and considerable back ache. But I hope it will wane in due time as I feel I cannot stop now and have to finish Dr Livingstone's romantic path.

I just let Mouser out and Kitteh did NOT use the path. :-(

Gunning for controverse?

Bit of a no-go on the Paralympics website. I was looking for the events that are going to be hosted at Sochi at the 2014 winter paralympics. On the homepage of the London 2012 Paralympics under the banner 'Best Games Ever' I saw following screen still: Oscar Pistorius crossing a finish line with his hands in a gun hand gesture...

Barnie Rubble

20 tons of concrete rubble 20/40 was dumped on site today.
I took a ride in the truck from the load-in site 'till home to give the driver directions. Dr Livingstone was ahead of us in the van to lay down some rubber matting on the slabs to protect them. Wasn't necessary, the dumpster could move 1 meter out of the truck, so the guy nicely dumped it in two convenient piles on in the petanque area so Dr Livingstone and someone called Simon can spread it out. There's also 10 ton in front of the garage which needs to go around the house.
Don't really know if Dr Livingstone is really up to it, he had extreme pangs of pain shooting up his back, he's going to the physiotherapist tonight to see if he can make him go again.
I can help the odd hour tonight, but I have an exam (actually two) in the morning.

They test the missiles here or what?

Right, I wanted to blog a little earlier to keep every one up to speed on the stuff going on around the house. I took loads of pictures, but I can't seem to find the little USB cable I need to download them onto the computer.
We decided to go tabula rasa on the garden. Nearly everything has been pulled out and transported away to be turned into compost.
I apologized to each and every shrubbery and tree before they were plucked out of the ground.
The only things left now are two peony bushes, a cherry tree, two other trees -I don't know what they are- but they give enough shade where needed, two bushes which have white leaves in the spring, a curly hazel and something that brings forth pink flowers twice a year.
I tried to salvage as much bushes as possible, I planted them in the corral for the moment, hoping they will survive.

This weekend Dr Livingstone and I dug up drains and replaced them. What a sacré boulot. We haven't decided yet on where we are going to put the rain water harvest tank. We replaced the old rain water pipes so far, but just to evacuate the rain until we can hook them up to a solid system.
We want to use the water to flush the toilet and use the washing machine, we are now doing everything with tap water which is a) expensive b) selfish & decadent.

All the drains were delivered on Thursday, together with the concrete borders which will be placed around the house and our petanque court before the weekend.

Right now the garden looks like a tornado tore right through it.
Or, it could also be described by those epic words of the guy who gives Tom Hanks a ride home in The Money Pit: 'They test the missiles here or what?'

Belgian Olympic medal winners

A very nice picture taken by bronze medallist Evi Van Acker (lazer radial sailing) with judoka Charline Van Snick (bronze) and Lionel Cox (silver medallist rifle 50m).The pic was taken in Inner Temple, converted into Belgium House for the duration of the London Olympics.
For now we are on par with Armenia and Mongolia in the medal race!

A least we're good at something

I was too busy with exams and work and forgot to blog about this important bit of news.
Believe it or not, but Belgium is actually good at something!
Do I have proof to back up this bold statement?
Why yes: Let's take a good look at the table with finishing positions at the 2012 World Championships Cyclo Cross.
7 Belgian athletes were selected for the national team to take part in the event. All of them finished. Places 1 thru 7.
Eat that world!

Belgian Wheelchair Rugby team secure place at 2012 Paralympics

The Belgian Wheelchair Rugby team has secured a place at the 2012 Paralympics today.
England defeated Poland this morning and so Belgium is through.
So far at the European Championchips in Nottwill, Switzerland Belgium has pummeled all teams they played against (Finland, Netherlands, Austria and Denmark).
The toughest competitor is yet to come today: Sweden. Let's hope their Ikea chairs are missing some bits or wheels come off.

So now on to the medals!

Currently the Belgian wheelchair rugby team is 7th in the World Ranking.

Finished

Got back from my last exam just on time to see the Kuznetsova-Wickmayer game at Wimbledon.
Mouser is also watching it from an uneasy angle. A lot of moving about always holds kitteh's attention for at least 10 minutes or so.

Dahon Eco Folding Bike

Yesterday I went and bought me one of these: a Dahon Eco folding bike, in a nice dark shade; Baltic Blue.
It took me a little while to get used to fold it.
The step by step drawing wasn't very consistent as to how the pedals should be. I'm easily confused.
And Dr Livingstone was watching me from afar and shouting: 'This'll never last. I don't see you doing that in the midst of winter when it's freezing. I'm waiting for the day I get a call from you telling me you're hair's caught in the gears.' etc.
I've got it sussed out now. On the site it says it takes about 15 seconds to fold the thing. I can do better. But the Dr refused to time my folding escapades.
So the plan is to
a) cycle to the station in the morning to catch the train in February when we've moved (busses tend to be slow and also stuck in traffic jams)
b) fold the bike
c) board the train
d) make a complete arse of myself unfolding the darn thing and cycle off to whatever seminar I need to attend.

I still need to buy and über cool helmet at the skate shop.

Lorre-a-like three

I couldn't resist. Here's one more.

Lorre-a-like too

He's another mock-up I did of the Lorre/Özil tandem. It's eary how similar they really look.

Lorre-a-like

During the football match Belgium - Germany I noticed something. I'm probably not the first one.
Germany's midfield star Mehut Özil is the spitting image of the legendary movie star Peter Lorre!

Don't do it teens!

Finally went to a doctor today who can help me get rid of my painful elbows. My physiotherapist had advised me to go and see someone but I'd been putting off visiting one (for over six months) because of the interference it would have with my school work. But it has severely been impeding the way I live. Everything hurts. Ironing, holding a book, gardening work, sleeping, stroking Mouser, holding a pot, typing,... You name an activity that involves using arms (or not), it takes ever so long to get work done.
So I rung up for an appointment last week, went in this morning at 9.20 am, went to the other hospital in town to get X rays and echo and by 10.30 I was driving back home. I love living in Belgium and its super duper health system.
In two weeks time I'll be hearing the results and then it'll probably be shock wave treatment (yeah baby!) to get rid of all the unwanted bone that has been hampering my tendons and what not. Shock wave therapy is a newer form of nonsurgical treatment. It uses a machine to generate shock wave pulses to the sore area (the same principle they use to crush kidney stones).

She reaffirmed what I'd heard from other doctors: I'm put together all wrong. The story of my life.
Hyperextenstion. My body bends ways it's not supposed to.
It did help with the Rhythmic Gymnastics I did as a teen. But probably is also responsible for all the problems I've experienced now that I'm older.

Sports: don't do it teens!

Not enough hours in a day

My apologies for the light posting not posting at all during the last month.

I have some very good excuses:

- I had a ton of exams (Everything went swimmingly. Got a first @ Antwerp & Louvain. Looking forward to next semester already)
- I went on a three day hiking holiday in Germany with Dr Livingstone and Middle Teen™ (will post later about that)
- Wimbledon was on (My computer was hooked up to the plasma screen because we don't have cable tv and all we could get on the digital antenna was flaming footie. So I had to stream the matches)
- Dr Livingstone is currently moving his workshop (ZOMG our garage is huge! Will post later when all is finished)
- Still have to write a thesis for my course in Antwerp. Been doing research (The Uni library is very quiet now. No students!)

Had Still have 1000 things to do:
- collect my new Airbook tomorrow (and visit my mother in law)
- help Dr Livingstone out with the workshop (I have temporarily assumed the name of Mrs Spic & Span)
- clean my Mini (the poor dear needs a good scrub down and a bit of love and attention)
- do a spot of gardening after the huge storm we had yesterday (and I haven't mowed the lawn in two weeks because of the oppressive heatwave)
- visit my grandmother (she's had another severe gout attack)
- get a bit of reading done (I'll have to brush up on my non existent Latin and Italian)
- clean our house (everything is caked in dust because of the extremely dry summer)
- get some sleep (and lots of it).