This week, two days in a row now, keeing an empty belly for some blood and health checks…not my thing…I am the kind of the person only mentally and physically functioning on a breakfast: a little bowl of oatmeal, some fruit, some tea or juice and my pain medication, that get’s me started!
The blood check was done yesterday, nothing painful there, though you never know in advance with my veins. They are very tiny, invisible and jump away when a needle gets close, a nurse’s nightmare!
The examination scheduled this afternoon then again is not my idea of fun. They need to have a closer look at the mitral heart valve as there appears to be a leak. I already had a normal echo last week, that’s how the valve problems and leak were discovered, but to determine the severeness they need to examine through the esophagus to have a better view on the heart, valves, and the veins leaving. My cardiologist explained the procedure could be somewhat compared to a gastroscopy, which I had earlier this year,and not a big fan by the way, but this should be somewhat more comfortable as they do not have to reach down as far as to the stomach…comfortable is not exactly the word I associate with any of these examinations, it always seems so much easier sitting on the other side of the room and wearing that white coat!
early morning frost in the garden to warm the hart
I initially went to see the cardiologist as lately I start to experience more and more shortness of breath in daily activities, which are already limited in my case due to my back and chronic pain condition, by activities I just mean doing stairs, riding the bike, lately they all left me gasping for air as if I had just finished a one hour extensive workout! Besides the valve leak some other issues were discovered too, when in activity modus, my heart rate goes sky high too fast, that could be just a separate thing and no link to the valve issue but depending on how great the leak is and how the valve exactly behaves when in higher activity, there might be a link, so at this point this seems like the most urgent thing to further examine, so I just follow and listen…
…for when it comes to matters of the heart, I still want mine to continue to beat normal, feel, love, explore, wonder for a very very long time!
The word foodie, you see or read it a lot nowadays, right?! It seems to me lately everyone with a latte or salad posting a pic adds the foodie hashtag. And that’s just fine by me as long as you are savouring it with inner joy and an even bigger outer smile!
‘Foodie: onewhohas an ardent or refinedinterest in food; a gourmet.Alsocalledfoodist.’
If this definition is the standard, then yes, I tick the box, consider me a foodie…when in a book store, I head straight for the new releases on cookbooks, I adore tv shows mixing food and origins and culture like the Rick Stein series and The Two Greedy Italians. I love it when a recipe doesn’t only show the ingredients and how to proceed but tells a background story, like for example in Nigella’s books or Flemish Pascale Naessens, oh and need I say I adore cooking and baking, that is when my back allows me, and do not forget the eating experience!
Finding inspiration in one of the 50 something cookbooks at home
Yep, I’m probably an addict: when breakfast I already think about lunch or dinner, when throwing a party, putting together all the pieces of the food puzzle gives me joy and thrill, and okay I admit stress too sometimes, and drop me on a farmers market or a food store or in a restaurant and I’m in heaven!
Even the small town I live in has the luxury to have access to farmer market produce, due to the rising awareness that we are what we eat. Food isn’t just about keeping us alive, keeping our body engine up and running, it’s so much more than that: it brings us together, that moment around the table, the great expectation, all the senses on sharp as to not to miss the aromas and colours revealed when the dish is served! That’s what gives me joy, it’s the total package: the food, the table setting, the company, the occassion: it may be just your daily lunch or dinner or a family or friends get together, make it something special, food shoul be fun! If the mood is perfect, any dish prepared with care and love tastes great!
Proper Food, discovered on our recent trip to SF has an excellent food philosophy: fresh, local and organic
I don’t have to convince you of the benefits of healthy food, enough studies have been published on that and there are people far more qualified than I am to tell you something on those topics. I am not a fanatic, not in my general everyday life and behavior and not in my food. I don’t buy the expensive so-called superfoods, I believe in a balanced food plan, I like my piece of dark chocolate when I drink my afternoon tea, I appreciate a glass of red wine by the fireplace. Like another Flemish cook and author Jeroen Meus, recently said, it’s all about using your common sense. Keep it in balance, there’s no harm in eating a cookie or two or a piece of cake, just not the whole cake! Invite some friends over to share and enjoy the goodies of life 😉
That being said, all this food thinking made me really hungry, so made some of Jeroen Meus’ apple muffins today, the recipe is in dutch, however think it’s pretty clear and if not, just ask me, then I’ll translate for you. The apples have been diced and caramelized in a bit of butter and maple syrup before adding to the batter. The recipe mentions brown sugar, but I used half brown, half white, only because I was running low on brown sugar and it is pouring outside so another run to the shop was no option.
Belgium’s little gem Durbuy, situated in the province of Luxembourg and nicknamed smallest town in the world, could not leave you more enchanted than on the last day of October when the medieval town centre becomes the magnificent open-air stage for the annual Halloween celebration. Think Captain Jack Sparrow parading in the winding cobbled 17th century streets, fairies and witches, jugglers and other costumed street artists performing, lots of food and drinks of course, musical acts and a show with light and sound effects and fireworks to end the festivities with a sparkle.
Château des Comtes d’Ursel, Durbuy
Some window shopping in Durbuy
Halloween not your thing? No worries, Durbuy and this region have so much more to offer: nature lovers can stretch their legs and catch some oxygen in the surrounding woods or tiny hidden villages. Those searching for some more adrenaline can go kayaking or head for the outdoor adventure parks and if you are searching to excite your taste buds, look no further, this region has a large number of gastronomy level restaurants and chefs using excellent local produce.
Chapel St-Hubert, Vervoz, tiny village breathing history and architecture being an ancient Roman colonyLovely autumn coloursLunch is served!Typical house in Ny
Hot air balloon experience in Durbuy‘tiny’estate in Vervoz
Being blessed on this little getaway of ours with plenty of sunshine and temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius have our batteries recharged. Nothing beats a wonderful yummy breakfast, some nature exploring and lunch and dining al fresco when end of October/early November, right?!
Just like four years ago again we stayed at b&b La Lisière, just outside Durbuy city centre. They have three lovely cosy and spacious rooms, one gîte and one cabin in the garden, all offering nature views. Bénédicte and Stéphane, your hosts, are keen on reducing their ecological footprint, this also translates into fresh local produce at breakfast and promoting local beers which you can enjoy relaxing in the cosy bar.
Panoramic views outside the b&bPanoramic views outside the b&b
Well, Halloween has left us for this year, peace and quiet have returned, but plenty of good excuses remain if you want to plan a trip to Durbuy: November hosts a lot of hunting season concerts and December says Christmas market of course! Just check out the city’s tourist info page for more detailed info on upcoming activities or nature inspiration.
Fall…of all seasons surely the one with the most vibrant colours, the purest emotions, the strongest contrasts…we said goodbye to those long warm Summer evenings carrying the sounds of crickets and playing childern. We start cocooning again and it’s the sound of wood cracking in the fire place that brings comfort…that and the aroma of a beef or lamb stew!
the hydrangea blues turning to purple
‘Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autum tree’ (Emily Brontë)
Though I am a big fan of the changing seasons, it’s a double feeling as for me it usually announces a period of more back pain. The combination cold and wet weather just doesn’t match my bones and joints and consequently my mood. So far we have been extremely lucky as we are blessed with a dry and sunny fall, keeping that blues and those aching joints under control and leaving more time to enjoy and observe the changes in surrounding nature!
Our tree of gold in the garden
Of course you can schedule a walk in the woods or countryside somewhere remote and sometimes it’s truly worth it covering the distance by car to get there but very often, well, just stepping outside is sufficient. These photos are all taken in our own garden and local communal park so whenever that ‘fall of the leaves’ blues get you in its grasp, just start walking, let your eyes wander and let them lead you through the wonders of this season…enjoy!
From all desserts made in this home over the past many, many years, I think clafoutis definitely ranks number one when it comes to made most often. It definitely wins when it comes to easiest and quickest one, that is if you cheat a bit and use a jar of sour cherries. Personally, it ranks absolute top on comfort food too!
Traditionally made with cherries but you can use apples or, one of my personal favourites, the green reine claude plums…you get the idea: just use what’s in season! But let’s get back to the real thing! As the name gives away, we are talking a French dessert, mais oui, finding its origin in the Limousin region where local griottes, sour cherries, are used. The name is said to come from the Occitan dialect word ‘claufir’, which means to cover or fill. you can find many recipes on the internet or in culinary magazines or books, some use butter, some don’t, this is how I make it…The combination of fresh juicy fruit and the sweet batter will transport you to dessert heaven, promised, so head towards your kitchen!
What you need:
1 round baking dish and a little butter or oil to grease
4 large eggs
4 tbsp of flour
100 gr sugar + extra 2 tbsp for baking dish
185 ml cream
125 ml milk
+/- 400 gr cherries
I usually add a little Kirsch too
Optional: a few drops of almond essence, two or three, just to give a hint, you don’t really need to flavour
clafoutis
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 180° C.
Grease a baking dish large enough to hold the cherries in one layer, add two tbsp of sugar. Spin the dish round to coat the inside with the sugar, remove any excess if any, then set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients, then add the milk and cream and next add the eggs.
Layer the cherries in your baking dish. If you use a jar, let them go through a sieve first, but catch the liquid, you can use this for a nice gelato sauce or to accompany your clafoutis.
Pour the liquid (not to worry, it’s a very liquid batter) over the cherries and place in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and puffy.
Dust with icing sugar and serve lukewarm or lightly chilled depending on your own preference.
Namasté, aaah, if only I had nature’s souplesse and way to adapt to any given situation! The power to re-energise en to be a able to shut myself and especially my mind down whenever I feel the need to.
I had my very first yoga session yesterday but deliberately waited until today to write down any ‘yay or nay’ experience…surely giving it some time I would be more able to evaluate how I would feel…wrecked, in pain or just the opposite, more energetic or more at inner peace?
So, let’s flash back to yesterday and give you some background info…I have been playing with the idea to give yoga a try for some months now. With the start of the new school year, so did many activities in our local sports centre. I did some research and mailed the yoga institution for more info especially regarding my medical history and whether yoga would be a great idea or not. I have a back condition called scoliosis, have had multiple surgeries, major part of my spine is fixated and I am in daily pain, backpain, as well as radiating pains. More info on that on one of the earlier posts here Crash and reboot, the chronic back pain tales
As it turned out, next class was scheduled the next afternoon and I was welcome to join in and just give it a try.
I must admit I was not sure what to expect, my knowledge of yoga was what I had seen on tv or read in magazines and it all looked very complicated and technical, that is in my particular case as I am on sports level and more general any movements level rather limited!
I explained the situation to the teacher and found myself a spot front row next to two lovely ladies who made me feel very welcome and told me to just take it slow, not to worry if things seemed difficult the first time and not to over-do. I felt confident to start…and then we had to do the so-called ‘sun greeting’ and I just thought: “What am I doing here?!” Is that to scare off any newcomers or is it just me being not that flexible? Greeting one, I was still ignorant of what was coming…my fellow yogi were already at sun greeting three when I was still trying to figure out all the different positions, realising technically I couldn’t do them all, so I just sat down and felt really really stupid, had that “What was I thinking” moment while I was in a ‘sitting bear’ pose…does that one exist?
But hey, I’m no quitter and I must admit of the entire lesson, that lasted one hour and adding twenty minutes of relaxation, those first minutes were the most challenging. Sure, other poses came along were it seemed my two lovely neighbour ladies (of whom I if I would have to guess their age would say somewhere between seventy and eighty) ignored all laws of gravity: their legs and body high up with the candle pose and switching between different poses with a flexibility and smoothness I could not help admire and be jealous of!
Namasté…my soul honors your soul. I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the light, love, truth, beauty and peace within you, because it is also within me. In sharing these things we are united, we are the same, we are one.
During class the teacher helped me out or handed me some alternatives so in an overall sense this try-out got a ‘yay’ and yes I do feel a bit more pain today but not in a bad way.
I didn’t put too much pressure on my body, after all these years I tend to know my limits, but even more, there was no need…everybody just did the poses on their own pace and level. Aside from the sun-greeting I must admit the relaxation part turned out rather difficult, curious if after a few weeks or months I can see or feel a change there…
So yes…am gonna give it a try, though there might still be a ‘sitting duck’ or ‘hanging bear’ once in a while!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Not just any prison of course, talking about Alcatraz, the Rock, limitless source of inspiration for writers, moviemakers, travelers, etc…bottomless frustration for those who ended up there, most of them already serving a life-long sentence.
The Rock, Alcatraz Island
Normally offenders couldn’t be sent off to Alcatraz directly by jurisdiction or court, they were transferred to this ‘super max’ institution from other prisons, due to bad behaviour, not complying with the prison life system or being a danger to other inmates, guards, themselves or escape risk. Needless to say some of America’s most notorious criminals called this place ‘home’ before it was shut down in 1963. After closing down the penitentiary this place stayed abandoned for several years as no one came up with an actual plan or great idea to re-use the facilities. In 1969, and this up to 1971 the island was occupied by American Indian activists. Each year, members of all different tribes still return to Alcatraz to remember this occupation. Many Indian people now consider the seizure of Alcatraz to have been a new beginning, a kind of reawakening of American Indian culture, their traditions, identity and spirituality.
Since 1973 Alcatraz falls under the National Park Service and the number of visitors just keeps growing year after year. Just to give you an idea, every year, more than 1.3 million visitors travel to Alcatraz Island!
Need I say that during the planning of our recent road trip and visit to SF this ranked top of the ‘must visit’ list?! On advice we decided to go for the night tour, adding just that extra mystery, also the experience is more intimate due to lesser crowds, there are additional programs and guided tours and don’t forget the bonus skyline by night on the ferry ride back! Consider that ferry ride a treat on its own, if you’re a bit like me, nose and hairs in the wind!
Do make sure to book as soon as ticket sale starts, which is three months in advance, especially in high season! Do take the English narrated audio-tour and not your native tongue as otherwise the original voices of inmates, guards, etc will be overspoken and that spoils the fun, at least to my opinion! And do take a look in advance at the chalk board mentioning the theme presentations and programs that evening/day because some of them overlap. Wear comfy shoes and enjoy! Choices will have to be made! In total, ferry ride, audio tour, personal time, taking photos, following one or more guided tours will give you about three hours of fun! Go to Alcatraz Cruises for all info and booking tickets.
Now you see me…
…now you don’t!
Hospital room
yummy!
Choices, choices!
More than some people have these days, not that I would want to trade!
Laundry room
Not the medical attention we have in mind, right?!
aaaaah, the key!
After the audio tour we ourselves opted for the presentation on Robert Stroud, better known as Birdman, what a great tour guide we had, natural born story-teller! We got there ten minutes early and could chat with our guide a bit about our road trip, the itinerary, etc…Yosemite NP would be our next destination and guess which one happened to be his favourite Park? So we got a lot of tips on which hikes to do etc,…guess the sweet man just didn’t realise we where not that hardcore hikers and we didn’t have a whole week to spend there, but we loved him and were thankful for it nevertheless!
During the tour we walked from site to site but never long distances and always in the open air so we had perfect views on Golden Gate Bridge , SF skyline and Bay Bridge the whole time.
How frustrating that must have been, from this point, the city and freedom doesn’t seem that far!
Definitely must rewatch that movie now that we have so many inside details on the intriguing person Stroud was!
He was imprisoned after committing a murder but due to several severe incidents with other inmates and afterwards stabbing a guard to death, he got sentenced to death by hanging. Later on this death sentence was changed into life long imprisonement in Leavenworth in a segregated unit, due to his violent character and outbursts. Apparantly Stroud had developed quite an interest in ornithology after finding a baby sparrow and inmates were allowed to have a canary as company in their cells, so that’s how the ‘Birdman’ story begins. He wrote several books on bird and diseases topics and even got the attention of J Edgar Hoover, …rings a bell? He was the director of the FBI…well he ordered a canary with Stroud…only it wasn’t a canary, Stroud had used a sparrow which he had painted! Ah well, make no mistake, this was no nice guy in the end…he was considered a psychopath with an IQ of 134 who manipulated and knew when to stay under the radar. He was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942, none of his birds allowed there, he spent his days in segregation and afterwards in the islands’s prison hospital. He later was moved to a medical prison centre in Springfield. Stroud never saw the movie that made him famous by the way, he died in hospital prison the day before JFK was murdered. This is just a short version of the little bits and anecdotes I remember the guide telling us, if you want to know more on the Birdman or other famous inmates of the Rock, just go to Alcatraz History and Alcatraz Cruises History.
Ferry ride with Alcatraz Cruises to the Rock
No Visit to Alcatraz without the ferry ride, if you’re lucky to have clear skies, enjoy the wonderful views on the bay, SF skyline, the bridges, Angel Island and of course that thrill when approaching the Rock and on your way back, if you had the night tour like we had, well it’s enjoying with a Big Bonus ✨
Day turns into night , final view on the Bay and Angel IslandWaiting for the ferryThat view!
and let’s not forget the most important thing: the taste of freedom…we escaped!
Alcatraz Cruises night tour experience with a smile!
Hope you enjoyed! More stories and pics of our trip to follow, so stay tuned and if you ever visit SF, hope this has inspired you to put Alcatraz on your ‘to visit’ list, you won’t regret it!
Making notes for this post I wasn’t even sure if I would ever publish it…it’s not a ‘happy’ topic, but it’s part of who I am, right, so why not?! I promise it will not be a depressive or even too long post!
Just to fill in the blanks for those who do not know me, or those who didn’t know that part of me yet: I have been a chronic back pain sufferer for more than thirty years now after several surgeries between the age of 14 and 19. I take tons of medication daily, have regular treatments in pain clinic and stopped working years ago as physically no longer manageable though I left many tears for giving up my job, and still do.
Daily meds
End of story right, take your meds, physio once in a while, lots of resting, respecting the boundaries…oooh I wish it was that simple!
I have a lot of radiating pains, to my legs, to my arms and neck and sometimes to my head leading to migraine. I call them my ‘attacks’: they vary in severeness and in duration, from a few hours to two days. They come on top of the usual daily pains I have and to which I have grown accustomed. They start at random, not triggered by anything specific, though I should not start vacuum cleaning the whole house😉, I can only do one room, or cleaning windows, etc,…things I have all learnt to work around or find other solutions for.
My days are planned based on how I feel, after doing groceries I rest, I sometimes leave them downstairs to unpack half an hour later because I need to lie down first. When cooking dinner I start my preparation in the afternoon so I can rest before doing the actual cooking, that means if dinner is something more elaborate than just cooking pasta! I split up nearly every activity, so I can rest in between. When having a party or invitation by friends or family we try to avoid two evenings in a row, as I know that is asking for trouble. When I know in advance we go out, the schedule is extra cleared the days in advance and resting is doubled. Luckily I have two lovely, understanding men in my life and here in the house helping me out, my husband and son, I honestly would not know what I would do or who I would be in all this without them! I feel blessed with the lovely friends, family and neighbours stopping by concerned and offering their help, so warms the heart!
Though I have learnt these attacks don’t last, every single time they knock me out big time, it’s not only my body that crashes, it’s a mental thing too and takes time and a lot of inner power to reboot every time again, over and over again. Sometimes I’m lucky and I am only overrun by such an attack once every two weeks, sometimes it’s two in one week!
During those attacks, depending on their severeness, visualisation usually helps me…oooh the beaches I’ve been on, and mountain streams, feet in the splashing water, or recalling happy memories from past holidays…I have a happy song too that goes over and over in my head: Katrina and the Waves’ Walking on Sunshine😀how bizarre is that, but it helps…
The most difficult thing still is to let go: letting go of the plans made for that day or evening, my social world has already been reduced and changed, so I do want to hold on and cherish the people and the things I still have or can do but on the attack days I have no choice: it’s letting go, hoping for better hours, days to come, finding that inner strength to reboot again and focus on the many things I can still enjoy like cooking and baking, reading, gardening, photography, holiday planning and dreaming, making new friends, so once I’m up and running again, well, figuratively, don’t it feel good!
It’s like that quote “it’s not about the destination, it’s the journey”.
Some of you already know we just did an amazing three week road trip through southwest USA, starting in San Francisco and ending in Phoenix. Will definitely post some stories and pics of the wonderful places we’ve visited but today it’s all about hitting the road, literally!
As a chronic back-pain patient the miles to cover between each of our destinations had worried me a lot in advance…was not really looking forward to spending four, five and sometimes more hours in the car…but you know what, the driving part, or co-driving in my case, was so much more fun than I could have ever expected! We stopped a lot, we just had to, not only to stretch legs, back and neck, just too many jaw-dropping moments on our routes…many of those stunning views will be imprinted on my retina forever!
Here are some of my favourite road related pics of our trip, hope you enjoy the ride!
Ingrid
State Route 1, Pacific Coast and Big Sur
Our son Nick, Tioga Pass Road, Yosemite NPArtist’s Drive, Death Valley NPNo roadtrip without wheels, right?!‘Straight roads do not make skillful drivers’ – Paulo CoelhoValley of Fire State ParkZion NP route to Checkerboard Mesamade my husband stop the car to shoot this one!we all need to refuel sometimes, even cowboys!must be wildhogs then if the sign says to watch out for animals!Could’t miss out on this one, right?!well, there may be something to tell about the balloon hanging here above the motorway in Sonoran Desert, Phoenix…another story 😉
The other day I got inspired by a recipe in a German magazine called ‘Frau und Familie Ratgeber’. Well, I am a woman, I have a family and never say no to some good advice, especially if it involves desserts and some sweetness in life!
The article covered some desserts that didn’t need any baking: just your two hands, some time to spare and in the fridge it goes…sounds easy right?!
The cover showed a delicously looking blueberry layered cheesecake, well, had to test that one, being full berry season now!
If you’re thinking it might be just the thing for you to try, get your hands on the below ingredients and follow the instructions!
5 slices of pumpernickel bread (or use a mixture of cookies/chocolate or cookies/ speculoos like I did)
60 gr butter
2 tbsps honey
6 gelatine leaves (or 7 if you think your mixture is rather runny)
1 bio lemon (orange is an option too)
200 ml cream
500 gr cream cheese
250 gr quark cheese
1 vanilla pod
120 gr Sugar
4 cl Cointreau or another liquor based on oranges or just use oranje juice
500 gr blueberries or a mixture of red fruits as to your own taste or like
Line a springform pan(24 diameter) with parchment paper, break the bread into pieces and mix it with the melted butter and honey. Replace the bread by cookies if you prefer a sweeter cake bottom. Press with your fingers or the back of a spoon so the mixture is spread evenly and set aside in the fridge.
Dissolve the gelatine leaves in cold water and whip the cream up until stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, quark cheese, vanilla, sugar, lemon or orange juice and zeste until you have a smooth mixture. Heat the Cointreau in a small bowl or pan, just gently, it doesn’t need to boil and then press out any water from the gelatine and place it into the liquor mixture. Add two big spoons of your cheese mixture to the liquor, mix and then transfer to the big bowl with the cheese and sugar mix in it. At this point you can add the whipped cream, making sure you have a smooth mixture without lumps in it. Transfer to your springform, spread evenly and set aside for at least 4 hours. You can add the fruit just before serving.
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Note1: preparation time is about 35-40 minutes, quicker if you make the cake bottom the day in advance and you can start straight away with the filling and topping.
Note2: I used 400 gr Philadelphia light and 350 gr cream cheese, as that was what I had in fridge at that moment, works fine!
Note 3: fun too, instead of using a large classic springform, to use tiny cups, great if you’re hosting a party as no fuss about who’s to cut the cake and gets the yummiest fruit parts…
The Back Road Chronicles 