Top articles
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Poor James
I was born in a family where we like James, admire Bond, enjoy Q, feel for MoneyPenny, collect all the DVDs and go to the new 007 as soon as it's out. So naturally, I went to see Quantum of Solace...and for the first time ever I didn't enjoy myself. As...
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Erik's brother in the Netherlands
Erik's brother, Arjan, and his family live in Hong Kong. Before the long awaited holiday in the South of France, they stopped by in Loosdrecht for a couple of days at Erik's. Chloe had lots of fun with Julia and Sophie and the whole family gathered for...
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Jeu, set et match Chloé
Chloé's second tennis lesson! What basically happened was that Chloé and her best friend Amber were too busy chatting to each other to do half of what the instructor told them. They therefore got more attention from one of the 2 charming young men who...
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New boy in town
Surprise, surprise, Mister-too-busy-to-take-any-time-off, made it to the South of France for the week end with just enough time to meet my parents for the first time...which actually went very smoothly (sorry to spoil the excitment for a potentially juicy...
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Anybody out there?
Yes, yes, I am here. I know, what's the point of launching a new blog, if you don't write on it. True, very true, point is: I AM BUSY! You know, working and stuff...Last week I was 2 days off site with my management team on a Dutch island (yes they have...
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A different world
December 5th is a big day in the Netherlands: it is Sinterklaas' birthday (Saint Nocholas), the day when he gives presents to all kids who were good before he goes back to Spain on his boat accompanied by the black Petes and the naughty kids they caught...
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Wednesday afternoon
Today Chloé and I had a daughter-mum afternoon. For once there was no play date so we set off for town after school. Naughty girls as we are, we had very bad yummy food from Mac Donald's, went to see Ice Age 3 together with a big bag of sweets and then...
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Emotional day
10th September: 3 noticeable things happened: I moved out of my flat. It's empty. The movers arrived at 8:30am and by 1pm, everything was in the truck. As I mentioned before I am very happy to have sold it but it felt weird closing the door behind me....
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All the way from Spain, Saint Nicolas part 1:
Sinterklaas (Saint Nicolas) is back in the Netherlands! He arrived from Spain on his boats with his helpers, the zwarte pieten ("black Peters") and thousands of presents for the kids. The navigation Pieten managed to mour the boat in the haven of Loosdrecht...
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Getting old...
There was a time when my eyes were young, sharp and when the lines around them only appeared when I laughed..... the fact that I dribbled wasn't an issue at the time either... and then one day you take your boyfriend to the optician. He is 11 years old...
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Holiday day 1
Chloé and I arrived last night in La Londe les Maures for a 10 day holiday with Paddy and Kinou. After a gooooood and looooong night (niiiiiiice), we woke up to a sunny and very windy day. Not quite the summer yet but definitely a day to be outside, feel...
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Huh?
One of the disadvantages of being separated from the father of your kid, is that you lose control of some of the aspects of his/her life. Some of these aspects are major ones when they touch values, education or manners. I wondered whether to mention...
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A day at the beach
As incredible as it may sound, we do, very occasionally, get good weather in the Netherlands. Mainly when we expect it the least and in any case hardly ever when it is supposed to be (read = summers hardly qualify as such in Holland). But anyway, I had...
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Les vacances
Not easy to sum up an eventful holidays in a couple of pictures or a couple or words. Yes I'll give it my best shot and will publish some of them too ;-) This was my first long holiday with Erik in the South of France and one he certainly needed hard...
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Chloe's school report
Language: on track but Chloe needs to listen better to the teacher... Maths: you can count very well but need to understand figures better. This will be a focus for the second half of the school year Sports: good balance and enthusiastic but Chloe needs...
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Pumpkin soup/la soupe de citrouille
Ingredients 1 large pumpkin, cut in chunks 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 medium red chilli, chopped 1 can coconut milk or cream lots of coriander leaves salt and pepper Method 1. Cut the pumpkin into quarters so they are a manageable size to work with. Scoop...
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Chloé's first school report!
When this report came in, it somehow made me feel very nervous, a mix of hope she did exceptionally well and anxiety she might have not. I guess this is the first reality check you really get as parent about how you kid is doing and whether she is the...
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Les vacances d'été #1, part 1: l'Estagnol encore et toujours
I couldn't believe how many people there was on the beach. Of course I hadn't taken any holidays in July or August for as long as I can remember. Taking my holidays in June and/of September always meant sun, space and the gentle buzz of the holiday season...
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Tonia in the Netherlands!
We either live in a small world or we live in a world where some people are meant to keep in touch despite the fact that the world is actually pretty big. I met Tonia in Australia when I was 17! We spent time together in Perth, between the university...
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Une poule sur un mur, qui picotait du pain dur...
There is a first time for everything. This time it was "buying chickens"! As much as it amazed my Dad to see me maw the lawn on a tractor with plastic boots on, trim the hedge or weed the path, it will amaze you to hear that my boyfriend now also owns...
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A beautiful spring day
The thermometer said it was 16 degrees but it felt much warmer. What a beautiful day: blue sky, sun, light breeze, the whole nature slowly finding back its colors, Chloe and the love of my life. We decided to have a picnic in our garden and spent the...
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Sudden beauty
These pictures were all taken in my street, within 10 meters of my flat, nearby the center of town, in the middle of Hilversum. Like I said in my previous article, Holland is at its best in April and look at this clear blue sky! Isn't it beautiful? It's...
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Karen's hens week end
I flew to London for Karen's hens week end. No way I was going to miss it after shamefully missing her 40th birthday party last year. The week end went so fast that it felt kind of surreal. I landed at 11am on the Saturday and got picked up by Karen Blythe....
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Rotterdam, the biggest European harbour and #3 in the world
After enjoying a lunch on the brasserie of the Euromast (that big tower, which takes you up to 185 meter high) and the 360 degree view from high up, we took a boat tour in the harbour of Rotterdam, which was not short of impressive. A last drink in Hotel...
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Classic concert in Amsterdam
Miep and Gerlof invited us to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam for a beautiful classic concert: Royal Scottish National Orchestra Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus Stéphane Denève , dirigent Lisa Milne...