A "blog stick"

A lot of bloggers in Flanders are participating in 40 days of Blogging again during this lent.  And that means that blog meme's (or blog sticks as we call them in Dutch) are being passed on again. I received one from Josiesstories a few weeks ago. Thank you for throwing it to me. 

What do you find the most beautiful place in own country? 
Wow, that's a hard question.  

Sponaneously I think of the boglands at the Signal de Botrange with its wide uninterrupted view across the border.  I also think of the sea, but then very strongly the view on the wide water landscape with my back to the many ugly overcrowded beach cities in Belgium.  

But at 2nd thought I might be most proud of our medieval historic city centres. They are gorgeous and unique: our beguinages, gothic city halls, belfry towers, the rivers, our market spaces full of nice pubs and restaurants.  They don't have anything like it abroad. Not like ours. 

Do you believe in the one and only love?

No I don't.  With 8 billion people on the world, that would be statistically unrealistic to find "the one and only".  People would all be single. The fact also that people remarry and get happy again after divorce or widow ship proves that too. 


So no, there is not a "single" potential match in the world. There are thousands, and we end up with one that is good enough, that lives in our neighbourhood so that our paths cross at the right moment.   It's not romantic but the truth. 

If you had the chance to return, what would you do differently in your life?

I think I should have gone out and partied a little more as a student. I've lived my student years behind my desk. But maybe it wasn't necessary to be as much a top student.  Maybe that would have developed my social competences a bit more 

Do you have a special talent?

No, I am not aware of one.

Which blogger did you already meat in real life?  And which blogger would you like to meet once? 

In the last 20 years of blogging (!!),  I've met quite a few I think even though I've always shied away from big blogmeets.  Most of my blog friends are no longer blogging. 

Many years ago I got in touch with an American expat in Scheveningen (Jenn in Holland) and with the encouragement of my husband, I visited her on her birthday party and met her more later.  She's been more than a decade back in the USA and her toddler children are adults now. Crazy. 
She was friend with a blogger in Boston, Soccer Mom in Denial, who guided us around during our visit of Boston.  And this lady actually ensured we met Q, our Texan mucisian friend who now lives in Maastricht. 

You will not be surprised that I also followed some Canadian bloggers and one of them Jennifer (JennandLucas) has been an online connection too since many many years.  She drove to the Rockies to meet up with us in 2019 and in 2023 I had the honor to guide her around in Leuven. 

I also took my courage to meet the group of bloggers in Leuven for "Leven in Leuven".   Yab is still blogging, and we meet quite regularly to have a (sushi) dinner together or more.   Also L is still a friend with whom I meet up now and then to have lunch. 

In more recent years I think I crossed the path by accident with Kris10 in Planckendael but with running children around we just barely made it to recognize each other, greet and then run off behind our little ones again.  

And after years of online chatting, I finally met up with my music buddy Anne at the end of 2024. 

What do you like most about yourself? 

Honest down to earth

About which blogpost do you feel most proud? 

Absolutely no idea, there's over 5000 to choose from! 

Which is your favourite parfume? 

Ha, I described this in one of those many blogposts.   I always wear Calvin Klein and I really regret that he's not produced any CK One Summer anymore lately. I miss that.   Or a new CK One Red or so.

Did you have a teenage crush on someone? Do you still think (s)he is handsome? 

Oh probably a lot. I had posters of André Agassi (with long hair) in my room and with some classmates I also drooled over Georges Grün or Enzo Scifo.  

In the mean time they are no longer handsome no. 

What are your favourite songs all times? 

Any song you play too often becomes annoying. And songs need to match your mood, so I can't select one song that is the best of all times.