Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Egg, Bacon, Spam, Baked Beans, Spam, Sausage and Spam






Spammity spam, wonderful spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam! That seems to be on the menu lately and frightfully often too. Is it me or has there been an influx of spam recently?

Comments is something we bloggers love so please dear reader, keep them coming.  But spamments? Not so much!

It's very annoying when your blog gets hit by spamments. At one time a fully paid up member of the SadPeopleRUs society left 12 spamments on 1 of my posts. Twelve! How silly is that? Of course I removed them all forthwith. Fortunately this doesn't happen all that often. What does happen with nauseatingly regularity is spam left on older blog posts. The reasoning behind this tactic is probably that you are too lazy to search for that old post and remove the spam. Ha, how little do they know me. 

Blogger has been busy developing new thingumabobs and has given us, apart from the word verification thingy that stops spam bots, a new little tool to help fight evil spam! And fight it we will for the sake of Christmas, puppydogs, and fluffy kittens and stuff!



If you haven't discovered the latest Blogger Fight-That-Evil-Spam thingy yourself here's how you do it:
-go to Settings
-Click on Comments
- scroll down a bit till you reach comment moderation on posts older than ..
- fill in how many days you want
-save settings

This way you'll never have to hunt for spam on older posts ever again.

Of course you could also opt for moderating all comments before they appear on your blog but I personally am not that keen to spam-sit (simply can't be bothered) so I've chosen not to go that route.

Copyright 2010 Y.E.W. Heuzen

Monday, February 1, 2010

WeR3



Outdoor space, the final frontier

These are the voyages of the Bliss Gardener

Her continuing mission to explore strange new worlds

To seek out new life
and new civilisations

To boldly go where no gardener has gone before

Quite some time ago it struck me that embarking on a journey in space is strangely akin to starting out as a gardener as you never know what will happen next, who you'll meet and what new things you will discover. Thought it might be fun to do a post about it, especially as quite a few of my USA garden blogger friends are Trekkies as I am. I discovered Science Fiction when I was 11 years old and have never stopped reading and watching it since.

Last week I finally got a new computer, a notebook this time. My old desktop pc was so decrepit it had oak cladding and was as fast as very thick molasses. Now I've embarked on a new journey of discovery; how does my new notebook work? In the process I've discovered unknown depths in the use of both my own and the English language. Fortunately you were not there to witness it.

Today is a bit of a special day for me as I am using my new notebook for the very first time to write a post for my Bliss blog and today it's also 3 years ago that I started this blog, which explains the tittle.

Never thought that blogging could/would be so much fun and it would be such a great and fun way to explore new gardening worlds, to seek out new garden friends and encounter strange new media such as blogger and twitter.


copyright 2010, Y.E.W. Heuzen

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Bad

Dolly: I can't watch this anymore, I really can't, that dog is so bad. Bad, bad, really, really bad!

Tara: who's bad?

Tara: when we went shopping the other day I just popped into the butcher's while Yolanda wasn't looking and helped myself to a string of sausages.
It is self service in there, isn't it? So who's bad?
Dolly: but stealing sausages is not the only bad thing that pup did. I won't look but have a good look yourself. I hope you have a strong stomach because this is bad, bad, really, really bad.





Honest, I kid you not, that pup is pure evil.







She's bad.





Bad, really, really, bad!






Who's bad? Well, that dog is.






See?










Been hitting the bottle lately.
Often! That dog is a lush. And if you think you've seen it all, think again.
Still not looking, but if you keep your eyes peeled you can probably catch that dog doing something very, very bad. Oh yeah, at one time in her life she must have been a fully paid up member of Fagin's gang.
See that hankie sticking out of Yolanda 's pocket while that bad pup is pretending to look the other way?
Here she is, still pretending not to look. Yeah, right!
The bad, bad, really, really bad dog lifted the hankie without Yolanda noticing a thing. And if being a pickpocket isn't bad, really, really bad enough, she added insult to injury by shredding it to bits.
Who's bad? Well, that dog is. Ladies and gentlemen of the blogging world jury, I rest my case.




Yolanda: in case you are wondering what Tara's favourite tipple is:
What else did you expect?
Tara: who's bad?


On a more personal note:
Also bad was that I had to go to the dentist yesterday to have a tooth (molar) out. For the past 2 years I've had an infection in my lower jaw and even after 4 root canals and antibiotics twice, the infection kept returning. It was a bad, bad, really really bad infection so the tooth had to come out. Today I'm feeling ever so slightly sorry for myself as I now have a gaping hole in my mouth, which is bad, really really bad. It will take 6 months before that will be sorted with an implant and some bridgework which is too bad, really!

copyright 2010 Y.E.W. Heuzen

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Indulging in a Spot of Indoor Gardening

Gardening outside is not an option when my garden is covered in 15 cm of snow so I've opted for a spot of indoor gardening today.
First off I went to buy a nice bouquet of tulips. After I had turfed out the Christmas tree I felt in dire need of some floral therapy.

Gorgeous, are they not? I think so anyway, and they seem to get even more beautiful as time progresses.
I've put my tulips on a pedestal, literally, so that they are the first thing you see as soon as you enter the living room. You need this colour boost like a shot in the arm at this time of year.
I also bought this bright pink Azalea and some Hyacinths to brighten up the living room and kitchen. See?
Well, you will once Vita has made herself scarce.
It's not always easy to take pictures of plants and stuff when your home is filled to overflowing with cats that feel that they should be the centre of attention. Always! But I digress.
A lot of indoor gardening can be done in my kitchen as the windowsill is chock a block full of plants,
herbs,
bulbs,
and lettuces and rocket salad.
And then there's my conservatory, at this time of year better known as the jungle, for obvious reasons.
There are several Palms, one under planted with Agapanthus,
2 Olive trees,
1 Aloe Vera,
3 Citrus trees,
a collection of Orchids and several other plants that keep me busy indoor gardening during the bleak winter months. What with the watering, feeding, pruning, potting up and very much enjoying my indoor garden this gardener is kept busy and happy.
The citrus trees are starting to flower now and fill the conservatory with their heavenly scent. Isn't it simply wonderful that they bears flowers and fruits at the same time?
As soon as there are enough ripe citrus fruits I'll make marmalade with them. There's nothing better than to start a bleak winter's day in the light and airy conservatory with a fragrant cup of tea, some hot buttered toast covered lavishly with your own homemade marmalade. Mmmm. It's one of the very the best recipes for staving off those winter blues!

copyright 2010 Y.E.W. Heuzen

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Do Not Disturb!

Snow...................
gently falling inch by inch, transforming the dreary, bare landscape into a magical place
where any moment now, the Ice Queen will make a frosty appearance.
Wreaking havoc, polar bears and all, on the purity of the driven snow.
Stop this nonsense immediately Ice Queen, so we can enjoy this pristine blanket of snow that has turned our dull and drab winter world into something sparkling and new.
But no, even if you would put up notices saying: Keep Off the Snow, would anybody pay a blind bit of notice?
Of course not. There is a veritable army out there just chomping at the bit to spoil the utter sublimeness that is the driven and untrodden snow.
With their humongous sized feet they trample all over the place, leaving not a bit of snow unscathed. This rather uncouth behaviour is displayed by the usual suspects:
Snow is, rather regrettably, magically pretty for only a very limited period of time, before you know it it has been crushed, bruised and pounded all over and turned into a rather unsightly mush.
So whatever you do, do NOT disturb the snow, keep off it, especially with that giant sized pair of feet of yours. Just stay indoors and simply look at it and be blown away by its breathtaking beauty.

Also not to be disturbed are the plants, trees and bulbs in your garden. Let them gently slumber under their cozy blanket of snow dreaming about the arrival of Spring.

In my cupboard there are 3 hyacinth bulbs who also do not want to be disturbed. When I first put them on water they looked like this.
Now, after a long sleep in the dark, they look like this.
Soon it will be time to disturb them and move them to the living room where they can flower their hearts out and their socks off with gay and fragrant abandon.

copyright 2010 Y.E.W. Heuzen

For those of you who were expressing concern for stray kitty Jeeves:
Jeeves is doing great. Here he is (on the right) with his arch nemesis Merlin in a rare moment of truce on the living room couch. Now that it is so cold outside Jeeves is popped into the utility room every evening just before dinner and turfed out again, on his request, every morning after breakfast.

People who don't like cats, simply haven't met the right one yet.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Tick Tock

Tick tock, the old Mora clock ticks away the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries.
She was made a long time ago, round 1850, tick tock, in the Swedish province of Dalarna. Bad weather and poor soil forced the farmers in the Mora (town) area to look for other ways to supplement their income. The villagers of this area turned around 1750, tick tock, to traditional home crafts, building of wall clocks and tall case clocks. Each family specialized in a certain part: some made the brass clockworks, some painted the faces, while others built or painted the tall case clocks. Just like an assembly line, the workers became very skilled and did excellent work.

Tick tock
At the height of production more than 90 families were engaged in the trade, and Mora functioned as one large clock factory. More than 1000 clocks, named for their place of origin, were produced each year and were sold throughout Scandinavia. Within 80 years, tick tock, competition from Europe and America brought an end to this communal enterprise, but the curvilinear shape of the classic Mora clock is still sought after today.

Tick tock
In 1993, tick tock, I went to Denmark for the first time where I encountered my very first Mora clock and fell head over heels in love with her. This type (pic above) of Mora clock is referred to as she/her as her shape is very reminiscent of the female form. There are also male Mora clocks that look like the well known grandfather clocks. I searched high and low for a Mora clock of my own but unfortunately in my country no Mora clock was to be had for love nor money.

Tick tock
Then, earlier this year, tick tock, I discovered on the Internet that a Dutch couple, Sune and Pien, had recently immigrated to Sweden and started up a business of selling antique Swedish furniture via their website. And guess what I found? That's right, my long awaited Mora clock. She was made, amongst others, by A Linder from Sil in Sweden, around 1850. Tick tock Her white coat she got fairly recently, her original garb a deep blue.

Long ago, tick tock, this Mora clock must have graced the hall of a Swedish farm or two. Once upon a time, tick tock, they were considered status symbols. And now, tick tock, from the Swedish province of Dalarna, she has been transported to the Dutch province of North Brabant, where she proudly stands in the hallway of a 1960's bungalow. Tick tock
When I can't sleep I listen to my Mora tick tocking the seconds away, this steady metronome of life sounds very reassuring somehow. Her chimes sound as a silver bell, marking each passing, fleeting hour. Tick tock

The New Year, tick tock, is almost upon us and many of us are full of New Year's resolutions. But gentle reader are you sure you want to go that route, are New Year's resolutions really worth the breath they are spoken with?
Wouldn't you be better of with the heartfelt wish from yours truly: may you be able to make every second of your life count in the New Year. Do not ask for whom the Mora clock ticks, it ticks for thee. Tick tock
Happy tick New Year tock!

copyright 2009 Y.E.W. Heuzen

Friday, December 25, 2009

Mainly Basking

is what we're doing this Christmas. We are frightfully comfy and toasty in front of a roaring fire. And we are loving it. A lot.

Outside it may be cold,
bitterly cold, but Tara doesn't mind one bit. She loves snow and she is not the only Kooiker doggie that loves it.
After the first snowfall about a week ago, Tara and I went for a nice long walk with Tara's breeder Margo and 4 of her doggywogs. It was great fun, the sun was out and had melted the snow away in places but it kept us nice and warm.
Dogs love playing in the snow and they were not the only ones.
But after that long walk and all that playing Tara was pretty tired and soon she was asleep on the footstool, close up and personal with her feline friend Vita.
While Tara and Vita slept, I put on the Christmas decorations outside,
and in.
Then it started to snow again, this time rather a lot.
The garden looked great in her pretty, sparkling white dress.
And it kept on snowing, day after day. Some of it melted away during the day, but every night a new layer was added. Was it finally going to happen, would we have a White Christmas this year?
With our heads filled with dreams of a White Christmas, Tara and I met up with quite a few snowmen like this jolly chap,
and these two grinning geezers. Don't you think that the one on the right bears a striking resemblance to Chris Beardshaw?
While the snow kept falling,
the cats kept basking in front of the fire.
Tara is good at basking too, here she and Vita are both on my lap in front of the fire. Utter Bliss.

The postman rings a lot around Christmas time and we've had quite a few parcels delivered to our door. One of them contained a Christmas stocking stuffed with catnip.
Willow loved the sock very much.
Merlin too, but, and this was a bit unexpected,
so did Tara. Here she tries to steal the sock from Merlin,
Who's a naughty doggie then?
And while the snow kept falling, yours truly was quaffing mulled wine in vast quantities
all the while happily munching delicious Christmas cookies.
And today, while the rains keeps falling (that's right, it started to rain yesterday evening at 10 and it hasn't stopped since so we are having another wet Christmas over here)
we keep basking. How many cats are there in the pic, you think? Yeah, trick question because you are thinking 7 but actually the whole indoor Bliss Team is there. From left to right: Kadootje, on her right Merlin, behind Kadootje is Pippa and next to her Willow. The red and white Maine Coon is Dolly and behind her on the cushion in front of the woodstove are Vita (left) and Surprise but .......
hiding behind Vita is Russian Blue Delia.

From the Bliss Team, Tara and me, a Blissful Christmas to you all. And whether you are up to your ears in snow, rain or sunshine; keep basking!

copyright 2009 Y.E.W. Heuzen