Saturday in the Park

  • June 7, 2010 9:28 PM

Wow, you guys had some great ideas on meat-free recipes. I will have to try a few and post an update.  Thanks!

Flowery Carpet

The weather this past weekend was very un-Belgian and gorgeous. We had bright sunny skies and temperatures around 21C (70F, that’s hot for Brussels!). Thomas and I packed a picnic lunch and headed over to Bois de la Cambre, the large park just a couple blocks away from our apartment.

Strawberries, Baguette, Salami, and Chimey Abbey Cheese

The park was packed!  We live fairly close to a couple Universities, so sunny days always have sunbathing students. There were also lots of families, picnickers, and ball players.  My favorite  was a guy who danced elaborate modern dances for about 3 hours straight – I wish I had a video camera with me.

A packed Bois de la Cambre

We picnicked, soaked up the sun, and then headed home to the shade before we got burned. I was excited to just pull out my sunglasses for once this year. :)

Soaking in the Sun

This weekend really felt like Summer.  We’ve opened all our windows. The sun has started setting around 10pm. We pulled out our Rummikub set and played a couple after-dinner games. And we tried out our new grill (thanks Sarah!). Have you started your Summer yet?

Veggie Meals: Got Any Suggestions?

  • June 4, 2010 2:10 PM

After our US trip, Thomas requested cutting back on our meat intake. Although the US has many more vegetarian options in the grocery stores and restaurants, I think he was overwhelmed by all the beef in our meals. We’re not ready to go vegetarian, but we decided to try to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our diet.

One of the nearby towns, Gent, does a citywide meatless Thursday, where once a week, all schools and public offices serve only vegetarian dishes to promote sustainability. I think it’s a great idea! This last week, I tried to cook a few vegetarian meals (and they were tasty too). Here’s what I made:

Couscous and feta stuffed peppers

Coconut rice and beans

I also made some penne alfredo with zucchini and tomato, but since it was without a recipe, I didn’t take a photo. I’m now quickly running out of ideas and would love some recommendations on vegetarian recipes or websites. I still have a bunch of black beans (from the US) to use up, and I would also love to find a tasty veggie burger recipe since you can’t buy those here. Got any suggestions?

Whirlwind Spring (with photos)

  • June 1, 2010 3:03 PM

It was a whirlwind Spring this year. Though our trip to the US was fun, I’m not sure it would be catagorized by most as relaxing – we were pretty go, go go… It’s a long post, but here’s what we’ve been up to:

Marisa and Baby Emiliano

Meeting Baby Emiliano

Remember the baby shower I posted about a couple posts back? That was for my friend Marisa, and she had her baby right before I went to Taiwan/Japan, but I had the flu and couldn’t meet him. I finally got over there for a quick trip right before our US trip, when he was already a month old. He’s adorable, but I’m sure he’s already changed a ton since then.

Fly to US

The week before we left, the volcano in Iceland cancelled most European flights. We anxiously watched the news, and we’re lucky to be one of the first flights back in the air. We arrived in the US without a problem, just some lost luggage, but it arrived before Thomas had to fly out the next morning.

Dave and Lauren’s Wedding in Dominican Republic

Happy, Tired Clover

Thomas was the Best Man for his friend Dave’s wedding in the Dominican Republic. It was a tiny wedding (just 9 people there), but Thomas said it was beautiful. Thomas also posted some amazing shots of birds he saw around the resort.

Relaxing in Raleigh, NC

Unfortunately, due to costs, I couldn’t make the wedding, but that gave me some much needed family time in Raleigh. My whole family was traveling, but coordinated so that I could visit with each person at some point through my trip. It was great to be able to drive a car, speak English, and know where I’m going. I spent lots of time shopping, snuggling with Clover, eating American food and watching American television – it was even worse than when I left. :)

Monks blessing the Mandala

Meow Kiat and Nick’s Wedding, Bloomington IN

When Thomas got back, we headed up to Bloomington, Indiana where I went to graduate school. We attended my friend, Meow Kiat’s wedding, and had some time to visit our old haunts. It was such a joy to have all our old friends reach out to us to get together while we were there. We also fit in some geocaching and saw a new mandala being built at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center.

Connor plays with her Grandmother

Connor’s 3rd Birthday

As soon as we got back, Thomas headed up to Lenoir, NC for work. He came home on the weekend to spend Mother’s Day with me and my Mom. We also went to Connor’s 3rd Birthday – yup, the same Connor from Belgium, except her family moved back to the US on the same day we flew there. Since Reid and Kirk’s families live in Raleigh too, we will surely overlap some of our trips ‘home’.

Three and a half generations!

Mother’s Day Trip to see Mama C

Thomas headed back to Lenoir, and my Mom and I flew out to Beaumont, Texas to visit my Grandmother for a late Mother’s Day. It was a relaxing long weekend with lots of time to chat, a chance to visit with some of my Mom’s sisters, and I got my Rummikub fix with Mama C. Meanwhile, Thomas was able to celebrate Amanda’s 5th birthday back in Raleigh.

Thomas’ 32nd Birthday in Boston

When I got back, Thomas had headed up to New Hampshire for a DNS conference where he spoke about his latest open source project, Namebench. At the end of the week, we met up in Boston and celebrated Thomas’ 32nd birthday with his family who was also in town. We stayed in an awesome YWCA hostel and did some touring of the city.

Meeting Friends and Family in Boston

Thomas and his brother, Dr. Michael

Thomas’ entire family, plus some family-friends from Sweden all flew in for the weekend to celebrate Thomas’ older brother’s PhD graduation. We enjoyed many good meals with his family and did some touring too.  We met up with a couple friends – Thomas’ friend, Aaron drove in from New Hampshire, and Georgy met up with us a couple times.

Dallas and Sarah Jump!

Saying Bye to Sarah

We flew back from Boston to Brussels, switching from gorgeous 90 degree weather to rainy 46 degree weather. Fortunately, we had no plans for a couple days and were able to focus on laundry and catching up on sleep. My quilty friend Sarah spent the night before she moved back to Canada at our house. I’m going to miss her, but Thomas captured his favorite-style jumping photos of us before she headed off.

At the moment, we’re enjoying having no further travel plans this year, but I’m sure our calendar will fill up with a trip or two before too long.