Yesterday afternoon, D and I went to pick up the car.
The entire replacement process of the trusty C2 to an almost new DS4 has taken about two and a half months! I am pleased that the papers are finally in order, that the car is in our possession, and that D is adapting and driving this beautiful machine…
The last time D mowed the lawn, with our new lawnmower, was two weeks ago. We did not participate in Maai Mei Niet this year, but we do practice infrequent mowing the best we can.
Who the heck in their right minds want uniformed manicured grass carpets deprived of blooms and insects?! Boring…
This is what part of our backyard looks like today, and I just love it!
This morning, I sowed some pakchoi seeds into a big flower pot. The flower pot was relocated from the shed to the vegetable patch a few days ago. It was previously used for cultivating witloof in the utility room during the winter months. I am just going to leave this pot outdoors in the vegetable patch. *fingers crossed*
Yesterday afternoon, D and I cycled to Sinksen Kortrijk. Pentecost weekend has always been a big deal here. There were so many people, so much to do, and such good weather! We met up with D’s mother and the three of us went walking, browsing, eating and drinking. Even though there were activities that last till late night and I could have meet up with a friend who lives in the city, D and I have other plans in the evening. So, at half past six, the three of us cycled back home together. I probably cycled about 12km in total and my day was not over yet…
At home, D and I rested and prepared for a little while, and then off we went in the car to Oudenburg. We met up with our DJ friend and his family members, drank something and enjoyed the music and ambiance.
D and I were safely home by eleven, and managed to finish watching an episode of DS9 without passing out. Ha!
Yesterday was a sunny day, so I machine-laundered two pillows and air-dried these outdoors.
In the afternoon, I used up most of the leftover breads to make a second strata this week. I added a flax-egg replacement in the three-egg mixture. Fingers crossed…
Today, D and I went to do bulk grocery shopping. Long weekend, crowded store, long lines, but it was okay. We survived.
This morning, I set up an automatic conversion of the Dollar to Euro in my multi-currency account. I also did a wire transfer from Malaysia to the United States.
In the evening, D and I had an early dinner and then biked to the library for a talk about investment. The young speaker only touched on fundamental investment basics, and did not offer any special tips. I have a feeling that the majority of his listeners probably have more investment know-how than him.
After the talk, D and I went to the café and had a beer each. I was pleasantly surprised to find my Dutch teacher sitting there with her friends. I have not seen her for more than a decade! We chatted a bit and then went on to do our own things.
D and I got home by ten.
Yesterday, I spent two hours at my volunteer work of plastic covering new library books. Now that I got a hang of it, I find the process quite therapeutic.
This morning, I received the payment card I applied for on Monday. What?! Wow!
In the afternoon, I baked a strata to use up some of the breads that I bought via Too Good To Go. I still have so much left… I think I will need to bake a second strata, make a few jars of croutons, and then finish up with some bread crumbs.
This morning, I applied for a card that will serve as an alternative payment means. It is sensible to set up alternatives – especially in terms of finances. I have also moved some funds about so that I am optimizing the benefits of my different accounts.
In the afternoon, I took a brief stroll to the grocery store to buy some discounted food items. Walking is good gentle exercise, and the freezer is my friend.
This week has been quite eventful.
On Friday, D and I went to Ghent to enjoy one of my favourite Belgian events – the culinary festival known as Gent Smaakt. It was lovely as all the previous editions. We got home by midnight.
Yesterday evening after a light dinner, D and I biked to the city square for a local beer festival. We drank beers, ate a pizza, and enjoyed being amongst strangers, friends, neighbours and family. A completely different atmosphere than Ghent, but still fun.
Side note: whoever designed the beer festival booklet, forgot to change the year before sending it off to the printers… 😛
I surprised myself twice in the past forty-eight hours. 🙂
Yesterday afternoon, I went to my yearly dental check-up. I decided to rely on public transportation instead of cycling the five-kilometre route on my own. Too many ‘what ifs’. It took me a couple of minutes to walk from the house to the new bus stop. Except for the little goof of placing my lijnkaart on the wrong scanner (yep, it was that long ago), I had a fun twenty-minute bus ride getting driven to my destination. A short walk later, I was at my no-nonsense dentist, having my teeth checked and cleaned. After my dental appointment, I decided to cross another bridge to go to the bus stop located at the other side of Kortrijk. I was just in time to see the bridge getting raised on some badass hydraulics for a big cargo boat. Damn, I was impressed and wanted to say wow to people standing next to me, but I held it in. It was not the time to kampung out. Ha!
For the next fifteen minutes or so, I walked through the city, stopped at the library for points, gawked at things, and was constantly telling myself not to buy. I navigated myself easily to the designated bus stop and got home safely. Finding my way in the city of Kortrijk at such ease was little surprise number one.
This morning, I have to deliver some paperwork for D. At ten past nine, I was out of the house, on my bike and cycling to the insurer’s office. The bike ride would normally take about five minutes, but I decided to check out the street that the city is still working on, thinking maybe there might be a bike path. Nope, not risking my ass on that makeshift thingy…
At the insurance office, I handed over the required documents and tried my very best to voice our displeasure about the way that they are proccesing the car insurance. Heck, bitching was difficult when the person sitting across you is a soft-spoken kindly secretary doing her damn job. She said that they will do their best. I was evoking my faith in humanity and ALL my Sabahan patience-training at that moment.
So that was that. Little surprise number two – executing an errand by bike on my own.
