Vêves - Gendron - Furfooz

We visited the castle of Vêves with my mom-in-law some 6 years ago. The reason for romantic memories might be my fresh pregnancy, at that time, when despite the really bad nausea I felt like I was walking on air.

Reading about the possibility of hiking in the castle surroundings I wanted to go there again.

The guidebook promised splendid panoramic views of the La Lesse Valley, glimpse of castle of Noisy, crossing of the river and her tributary for several times, climbing steep slopes through a wild forest...
In some way I missed the busy paved highway and exposed field roads.



Luckily there was a great wading spot in the creek. The water must be really cold but Maarten found a way to warm his frozen feet afterwards.
He simply peed on them. Boys?!!




We left the woods. I sensed troubles seeing the long road through the wheat fields stretching ahead of us.
Yet the roadsides were lined with wild flowers, with chamomile in particular. It filled the hot air with a wonderful subtle scent.


Maarten amused himself by collecting the flowers for his favorite tea and it seemed he didn’t notice much of this boring road.

PS: Regrettably, the heat took its toll. Maarten got a fever during the night and therefore he had to miss the long-awaited school trip to the "Brielle meester".

Hunting and fishing

Maarten caught a baby toad in the backyard. It might be the offspring of the big toad living in our cellar.
Maarten was about to hold the little guy hostage in an old glass jar. We reminded him that the toad’s mommy was probably looking for her baby and convinced him to free the poor creature immediately.
In a dignified manner and somehow provocative the released toad took all her time before it disappeared into the bushes.


Too bad that this hunting luck left Maarten when he went fishing later that morning. But I don’t think to catch a fish was the real target. To do things like that with daddy is already a big deal.
You know, manly things!


PS: Despite the heat, the school party was quite a success with a lot of games, races and a of course a lot of ice cream.

Ach jo

It's been almost 4 months now since my accident and my eye is still swollen.
I can't sleep on my left side yet. It’s too much discomfort.
And I look kind of freaky when I smile.
My folks can't see the swelling but unfortunately I do. I feel it. It is worse in the morning.

Doctor said it will heal normally with no intervention.
But it is still numb around my eye with occasional burning, tingling and spiky sensations.
It feels like a bee sting when I touch it.

I’m afraid, beside the bone fractures there is probably also some nerve damage.
Am I going to have numb face forever?!

Message in a bottle

Maarten:

"En ik was aan het eten
en toen was ik opgestaan
en ik had ook een grote ballon
en met die naar de zon gegaan."

How much is too much?

Today Maarten almost got run over by a car when walking to school. The person reversing out of the parking spot didn't look behind her before starting to back out.
She was only centimeters away from hitting Maarten. He had to jump back.

I know Maarten is still a little guy but come on! I am not that hard to see!
She was just backing out without checking. In fact, she didn’t even know we were passing. She was really surprised when I knocked on her window.
Well, it can happen...

Yet this accident doesn’t really surprise me.

Every day I’m relieved when I safely reach our driveway.

I still haven't gotten used to the Belgian driving style. I don’t understand how such friendly and timid people got that aggressive as soon as they sit in the car.

Everyday I’m confronted with impatience, rubbernecking, harassing, speeding... you name it!

I also noticed that people react surprised when I yield to them, even the pedestrians in crosswalks.
Would someone wait when I need to drive out of the parking space? Forget about it!

In my opinion the local driving is everything but courteous and very far from safe.

Speaking about safety, what do you think about little kids being transported without a car seat and even without a seat belt?! I even see children hanging out of car windows on sunny days!

There was a birthday party in Maarten’s class the other day and to get all the children to the party they all cramped into one car as long as they fitted.

I know I’m probably comparing again with the US where everything is about safety and precautions but considering our kids safety, how much is too much?

PS: Photo Courtesy of Miss G.

Happy Papi's Day!

Maarten gave this magic cookbook to his papi for father's day.

Juf G.: Wat kookt je papa? En hoe doet hij dat?

Maarten: Hij kookt alleen 1 dingetje: erwtensoep en ik vind dat heel lekker. Hij is dan niet lang bezig, en we eten met een lepel. En er was heel veel van die erwtensoep en daar waren ook boontjes in. Maar die boontjes waren groen en rond en ze zijn zacht. En aardappeltjes. Maar er was geen ham in.


Miss G.: What does your dad cook? And how does he do that?

Maarten: He cooks only one thing: pea soup and I like it very much. He doesn’t spend much time and we eat with a spoon. And there was plenty of that pea soup and there were also beans in the soup. But those were green beans and they are round and soft. And potatoes. But there was no ham.


And of course a little poem about cooking shouldn't be missed!

Hauts Pays

I saw a picture of this view in an ‘unbeaten-paths-kind-of-a-book' about Belgium and got interested in this former coalmining area in the southwestern tip of the Borinage.
Despite its industrial past green is the color of the Grande Honnelle valley and here is where once the French writing Flemish poet Emile Verhaeren drew inspiration for his poems.

We started in Onnezies, one of the local villages with Gallo-Roman past. A friendly guy seeing us entering a sheep path tried to explain a better way to reach the forests.





But the creators of the trail probably loved the countryside the same way like we do, meaning they surely didn’t want us to miss this detour excursion along the backyards with grazing cattle.



The omnipresent blooming elderberry bushes, red poppies, daisies, the mild relaxing scent of chamomile, even Maarten seemed to enjoy the walk through the fields smelling wildflowers along the path.
Hares, partridges, crowing pheasants nothing could be more interesting than chamomile! He will make tea from the fresh flowers back home.


This was truly a pleasant hike through a less known part of Hainaut.






Once in the forests we tried to remain quiet not to disturb the deer and boar and of course hoping to see them.
We were not that lucky but fresh footprints on the muddy path confirmed their presence.

At many places we were confronted with the remnants of old railway which at the turn of the 19th century connected Roisin-Autreppe with the French Bavay.

Bridges, tunnels, old station building and the deep railroad bed reveals how the train once cut his way deep through the landscape.





We crossed the Grand Honnelle River several times and naturally spent some time “fishing”. Maarten with his self made fishing pole watched with admiration a fisherman pulling out a good size fish.
Do not despair! His dad has already bought the looong promised fishing license!


Along the trail there were many opportunities for climbing . Not only along the well known rock Caillou-qui-Bique, that was brought here by a devil all the way from the Pyrenees.




Also many fallen trees were ooh so tempting for our little scamp. Already in the beginning of the trip he got stuck on a tree branch and as he dropped down trying to release himself his pants got ripped.
Luckily he was not harmed!

Unfortunately this event somehow didn’t remain without consequences.

Later that day Maarten started to whine and complain about pain. As usually I was not allowed to check it and seeing him fighting the pain I got suspicious.
He had a big tick on the scruff!

I succeed in removing the tick but for Maarten this was quite a dramatic experience. He was all wet with sweat swearing he will never enter the woods again.

I have quite an experience with ticks. I believe they just like some people to others.
And they really love me and sadly it seems they love Maarten the same way!
After today’s outing I had 3 and Maarten even 5 attached ticks!
Despite wearing long sleeves and a hat, the giant rip in his even though long pants was offering a great opportunity for those nasty bloodthirsty devils.

PS: On our way back home Maarten drew this picture: mommy pulling out the tick.

Weekend

Two days of partying in all this hot weather cost Maarten a bad ear pain and me a looong and sleepless night.