As I type Rene is fixing up a string of lights above the new kitchen benches in the hope that it will encourage the 'Work Completed' Fairies to smile down on us because the new kitchen extension had a glitch in the levels of the stone bench tops so have had to be replaced, and 'hopefully' that will be on October 25. Until then, we can't finish the back and side of the extension that is open to view. We decided we would undertake that, but as I said, we're held up until the bench tops are securely in place and the trimming finished. I do love the new kitchen and have got used to the added luxury of bench space really quickly. There is still lots of room spare in the cupboards and most drawers, and the new oven is superb and the previous combi microwave/oven is in a much better position (it was tucked down low beside a wall).
Wednesday October 10 is the 10th anniversary of Mum passing away. I'm absolutely amazed at how fast time has past and even though it has been a decade I think of her often, and I'm positive that she would have been thrilled with my meeting Rene and celebrating our 10th anniversary of meeting this year in late December. The picture was taken around 1943/4 for use in publicity for posters where Mum entertained the troops during the Second World War in and around London and Essex. She and her sister Gwynneth were The Owen Sisters, singing opera and light classics. As I said to the priest at Dad's funeral - Mum entertained the troops vertically, NOT horizontally! Mum and Dad first met when he was playing trumpet in an orchestra pit and she was on stage - Dad thought she was around 30, when in fact she was about 22...the war years were tough on the civilian population too. Long hours, stress and no makeup didn't help either. This is my favourite picture of her.
Recently Rene's sister Claartje and husband Jan met up with us in Den Bosch, the premier city of North Brabant. It is an exceptionally impressive city and boasts one of the best cathedrals in the country.
Here we are with another food picture. We dined at a fine fish restaurant and here I had a huge steaming bowl of mussels all to myself (well, I shared one with Rene). Impressive dining options in Den Bosch too - and the city was very busy this Sunday with a 40km bike ride for women and several thousand participated - all wearing pink for breast cancer.
The cathedral was conducting a mass and the congregation appear incredibly tiny compared to the massive walls and ceilings. I wonder what awe it must have inspired in ordinary people way back in the 13th C when it was built. 700 years later I still walk into these places and marvel at the enormity of the construction.
OK, back to food...I made a 'posh' fish pie last week and it was rather good. Lovely just walking down to the harbour and buying fresh ingredients. Mind you, the green prawns were frozen and from Vietnam - the cooked ones are local.
Our gorgeous niece, Lotte, took us out to dinner on our final Wednesday night together before she finished up at a local hotel and moved back to Brabant to a new job in a village not far from home. Delicious food, lovely wine, wonderful ambiance and lots of talking and laughing...will miss Lotte coming around every Wednesday night for dinner.
Last weekend it was the International Kite festival at Scheveningen, our beach, and we ventured onto the sand to see the many kites - some small and others large, but the largest of them all (as in World's Largest Kites) weren't flying this day because it was too windy for them. Regardless, it was most impressive (but cold!)
Last Tuesday we went to Amsterdam to see the newest museum in the city - reopened after 10 years closed for extension and renovation. The Stedelijk Museum was in 1874 the world's first 'modern art' gallery and has had this 'bathtub' added to the original 1895 building and works fabulously well.
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