Friday, February 8, 2008

Lucky Seven

Yesterday, the 7th of February, was a very special and blissful day for me. For starters it was my darling boy Merlin's birthday. He's my youngest Russian Blue and I thought he would be the last addition to our family for many years to come. But I had not reckoned with the fact that I would get a Small Present and a Surprise as well.
And here's a pic of the birthday boy, 5 years old today. Merlin, wake up!
Ah, that's better!
Happy birthday darling boy!
And here he is in the kitchen headrubbing and headbutting away with Willow. This is something that they do every morning and it is such an adorable sight to see, although very difficult to take a pic of.

After kissing and hugging and petting Merlin and telling him he's the bestest Russian Blue kittycat ever, I had to go to the dentist. Just a check up and it went well, no problems with my teeth. Phew, what a relief.

Shortly after I had arrived home again the doorbell rang. It was a delivery man with a parcel for me. I thought it was from Amazon as I had recently ordered some books from them. But no, it was something completely different.
It was a present from Angela of Cottage Magpie, who has a lovely blog, if you haven't discovered it yet, go have a look. I had helped her out with something and in return Angela send me this. Curious to see what's in it? Well, so was Kadootje, and me too of course.
This is what it contained, a lovely gift basket. I'll unwrap it further.
Uhm, Surprise, I said that I will unwrap it, thankyouverymuch! And here it is!
Kadootje, leave that chocolate alone!

Angela has sent me a lovely basket containing some very nice stuff for the bath, yummy choccies, a few candles, pina colada body butter and shimmer body splash in my favourite scent; sweet pea. Isn't it just absolutely lovely? And so very kind! Thank you very, very much, Angela, for such a wonderful present! I appreciate it, Kadootje does too. ;-)
Kadootje, that's my chocolate! Give it back!
Right, that's it!!! As you can see I was forced to eat that choccie straight away! The things my cats put me through! :-)

As I was happily munching away on my delicious choccie, the doorbell rang again. Guess what?
My parcel from Amazon had arrived. Yippeeee!
I had ordered a few garden books; The Jewel Garden; A Story of Despair and Redemption by Monty and Sarah Don (intriguing title, don't you think?), My Roots and Around the World in 80 Gardens both by Monty Don. For those of you who don't know Montagu Don, he is the current presentor of Gardener's World on the BBC. Right now he's doing a tv series called Around the World in 80 Gardens and this is the accompanying book I bought. It's really worth watching, so if you can receive BBC 2, the programme is on every Sunday night. If you can't, well then you'll just have to wait until the DVD is out. Sorry!

I'd been waiting about a week for those books, so when they arrived I wanted to read them straight away. And I did, well, at least one of them and not quite straight away. It was a truly lovely day yesterday and when in the afternoon the sun came out, I was able to work in the garden while soaking up the sunshine.
There was a lot of weeding to be done and a general tidying upof the garden as well.
Discovering some more snowdrops when I tidied this bed.

After all that hard work came my reward: reading one of my new books outside in the sunshine with a nice cuppa tea in the very enjoyable company of Surprise. Mmmmmmmm, utter Bliss!
Being able to sit outside, soaking up the much needed sunshine, is a rare treat in February so I enjoyed it to the max, and so did Surprise.

But this day had more in store for me than "just" a birthday boy, good news from my dentist, a lovely present from Angela, the arrival of my garden books and working and sitting in the sun. A couple of months ago I had bought tickets for a concert of my favourite Dutch band Within Temptation. I've been to their concerts (their live performance is great!) before and they were absolutely wonderful but this time it would be something very, very special. This time they performed together with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra and a whole classical choir too in Rotterdam, the place where I grew up. I was not the only one at the concert as you can see. Some impressions:
It was a truly spectacular show, Sharon, the singer of the band, has a fantastic voice, the choir and band were wonderful and the Orchestra was nothing to be sneezed at either; in short a very unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience. I'm so happy I was there to see and hear it all as this was a one off. Woohoo, or something! ;-)
Have a Blissful weekend!

copyright 2008 Y.E.W. Heuzen

31 comments:

gintoino said...

yolanda, what a wonderfull day!
Happy birthday to Merlin from all the cats in Jardim com gatos :-)
P.S:I sent you an email regarding the asparagus seeds, did you received it?

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What a wonderful day!! Happpy Birthday Merlin. Sorry you didn't get a chocolate for your special day. Ha... It sounds like your Momma got to celebrate more than you did. Oh well, it is a rough job but someone has to do it. :)

Your snowdrops are a much larger clump than mine. I can't wait until mine are like that so I can spread them around some.

stadtgarten said...

This sounds like a perfect day: Merlins birthday, good news, two parcels and the concert. And sunshine!
Have a nice weekend, groetjes, Monika

Whyite said...

What a great day for you and your kitty. Its always great to be able to soak up some sunshine.

Anonymous said...

I received Monty Don's "My Roots" for Christmas last year. Something he said rubbed me the wrong way and I wrote a post about it. Just a couple of weeks ago, he read my post and commented on it...in a very nice way. We then had a further discussion offline in email. He is a very nice, erudite, interesting guy. I wish we could get his new show in the US. I've seen some clips on YouTube and it looks fascinating.

Frances, said...

A very happy birthday wish to Merlin. We also had a Merlin, one of the sweetest cats we ever had, a foundling as a tiny kitten, growing into a long haired beauty. You certainly had a wonderful day. Thanks for sharing it with us, your adoring public.

Frances at Faire Garden

Anonymous said...

Proficiat met de jarige ;))) en ik wou dat ik zulke leuke pakjes kreeg zeg ;)))
ik krijg nooit wat , hahahahahahaha, is nu eenmaal zo , mag er zelf voor zorgen !! De winterakoniet is mooi zeg , wil ik ook altijd nog ;) komt wel zal eens kijken in het tuincentrum vandaag of morgen ..dat concert lijkt me leuk zeg ..wel een eind rijden voor mij .....dik 3 uur ..en ook weer terug , dus maar niet ;) zet wel een cd op !!
meis mooi weer , en een béétje lente , moet een mooi weekend worden ....dus héél fijn weekend !
groetjes Leen

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Are your Winter Aconites anywhere near your Snowdrops? They would look great together. I can't wait for a day that's warm & dry enough to sit outside reading. Sigh...

Poppins said...

Sounds like a great day! What a nice present from Angela.
A trip to Scotland - something fun to look forward to!

Anonymous said...

What fun! Don't you love it when surprises come in threes---or more?

healingmagichands said...

I planted aconites but the squirrels ate them, right along with the Grecian windflowers. Oh well.

Happy birthday Merlin! and thank you for the links to the stories about Surprise and Small Present. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them both.

Angela @ Cottage Magpie said...

Tee hee! I'm so glad your package arrived safely and you enjoyed it! It was the least I could do. Thank you very much!!!
Best,
~Angela :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow, a big big day! Happy birthday, Merlin, you big huggable boy! I must say, Kadootje knows a good thing when she sees it and doesn't seem too intent on letting it go!

Sharon said...

Happy birthday to a pretty kitty! Your suprise in the mail was very nice!

Your flower and garden pictures are nice. I bet your garden is beautiful.

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

You've had a really full and glorious day! Give Merlin lots of belated birthday pettings and head-butts from all the kitties here at Rosehaven Cottage.

Happy Birthday, Merlin!

P.S. Kadootje's little choccie-grabbing paws made me laugh because it looked SO familiar to what I go through all the time!

Karin said...

What a great day you had! The sunshine in your pics are just great to see. There are so many people in the blog community that are soo nice. :) Happy birthday to Merlin! Have a nice weekend all of you at the Bliss.

Anonymous said...

Dit was zo'n dag met een gouden randje. Ik hoop voor je dat het nog even door blijft gaan dit weekend. Het weer is het eerste cadeautje dat je krijgt :-)

Ik heb me gister bij Welkoop ingehouden. Alleen de zakken grond gekocht, waar ik zo mee aan de slag ga. Maar het was wel moeilijk, er stond veel moois :-)

Sue Swift said...

Phew - good job you went to the dentist before your present arrived...

Remember I told you you'd been nominated for the Garden Bloggers' Carnival? The link is up today.

Sue

Naturegirl said...

Yolanda so much to catch up on here! I cannot belive that you are already working in your garden as I take a lovely walk into a winter wonderfland!! Yes I said I am walking on my own now!! You must come see!
Iwant tp wish Merlin a Happy Birthday!..purzzzzzzzzzzzzz Sir!

We made the same page of Garden Voices and I see we both have nominations in this years Garden Bloggers Carnival!! What a joy when we post about what we ourselves are in passionate about and others enjoy it as much!
I enjoy my visits here with you and Bliss team! hugs and purzzzzz NG

Rusty in Miami said...

You can ask for more. What a great day.
And happy birthday to Merlin.

Robin's Nesting Place said...

I'm glad you had such a wonderful day. It is so funny how cats have to be in the center of everything, especially if it involves boxes or paper.

Anonymous said...

i am having a Cat Tournament where you can win $32! The first 32 cats will be entered in the contest. There are already 13 entries, so hurry to enter if you would like to participate! Go to www.wozog.com read all about the details. Basically, all you have to do is submit your best photo, making sure that you have your hand giving a "thumbs up" in the photo. You can enter each one of your cats so you will have a better chance to win! It will be lots of fun! Enter as soon as you can, and good luck!

Entangled said...

Sounds like a splendid day! With winter aconites too - I haven't seen any sign of mine yet.

Sherry at the Zoo said...

Wow! Do I count 9 cats? Do you really have more than me? That's fantastic! I've been looking for someone with lots of cats to prove we aren't the only ones who are crazy!

Happy Birthday Merlin. Sounds like the perfect day!

kate said...

A big Happy Birthday to Merlin! What a lovely day - presents, books and music. Besides you got to read outside and more, you've got yellow blooms in your garden.

Ewa said...

what a lovely and loooong day it was :))

I wonder how books are - will post review?

Angelina said...

Since losing my one and only kitty a couple of weeks ago I've been getting my cat fix here at your blog! (We will, of course, be getting more cats, but probably in spring).

Angela is such a thoughtful person (I know from personal experience).

LadyLuz said...

Books, music, chocolates and pampering bath stuff - what a fine time you've been having - and so deserved.

Sorry to have missed Merlin's birthday - we were busy with our own!

Am enjoying Monty Don too.

Kylee Baumle said...

Wow, girl, you had a busy day! Wonderful fun! Your garden is certainly waking up and looking fabulous as usual!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Hi all and welcome to Bliss!

* Gintoino: Merlin sends lots of purrrrs to all the cats at Jardim com gatos!

* Lisa: Merlin got something which he likes much better: cheese candy and lots of cuddles of course.

* Monika: yes, it was a perfect day. We should have more of those, don't you think?

* Curtis: both the kitties and me are very good at soaking up the sun. ;-)

* MSS : thanks for the link to your post with Montagu's comment. It was very interesting to read. I haven't finished My Roots yet, but will write a review soon. I see him often on the telly (Gardener's World) and he comes across as a very nice guy.
It really is a pity that you can't get Around the World in 80 Gardens in the US as it is such an interesting programme. I enjoy it very much although some of the things Montagu says ...... uh oh! ;-) Would it surprise you very much if I told you that I am an INTJ too? :-)

* Frances: the Merlins of this world are very special cats, don't you think? I'd bred another Merlin before, he went to a dear friend of mine in Denmark and he was such a loveable kittycat too. This Merlin is called Merlijn, the Dutch version of Merlin.

* Lenie: toch niet weer jaloers he? hihi Het concert was helemaal geweldig, echt de moeite waard. Voor mij maar een half uur rijden, dus goed te doen. Winteraconieten zijn soms moeilijk te vinden.

* MMD: no, not yet but I hope that they will spread out in the coming years and meet each other half way.

* Poppins: yes, that was a lovely present from Angela, wasn't it? I'm very much looking forward to Scotland!

* Pam: yes indeed, it was a very serendipetious day. ;-)

* HMH: oh those pesky squirrels! Such a pity about your winter aconites. Glad you enjoyed the stories of Kadootje and Surprise. Have you seen that there is a part two of Surprises story?

* Angela: I enjoyed it very much and so did Kadootje as you can see on the pics. ;-)

* Nikkipolani: Merlin sends lots of purrrrs and Kadootje too. She is a clever little thing and knows what she wants. ;-)

* Sharon: purrrrs from Merlin! I agree it was a very nice surprise.

* Cindy: Merlin sends his love and purrrs to all the kitties at Rosehaven Cottage. Kadootje is a card and a bit of a handful at times. ;-)

* Karin: you are right, there are a lot of very nice people in the (garden) bloggers community.

* Brimstone: wat knap dat je je zo hebt kunnen beheersen bij de Welkoop. Dat is mij niet gelukt, ik heb nog 2 helleborussen gekocht. hihi

Thanks for all the comments, I enjoyed reading them!

Anonymous said...

Dit logje heb ik gemist (schaam)
dus ook de verjaardag van Merlin,
hoe kan ik dat nog goedmaken. . . .
Oooow wat een heerlijke foto die twee knuffelaars!!
Leuk zeg, zo'n pakje vol verrassingen in de post met (oa)lathyrusluchtje, mmmm
Mocht Kadootje nou echt niet langer met je chocolaatje spelen?
Flauw hoor ;-)
Benieuwd hoe je de boeken vindt, maar dat lezen we tzt hier wel!
Er komt weer een hoop fraais tevoorschijn als je even bezig bent in je tuin hè, wat zijn je akonieten al ver, ik begon te twijfelen of ze hier nog tevoorschijn kwamen en gisteren zag ik er ineens een paar voorzichtig uit de grond komen! Toch nog!!
Wat een weertje was het afgelopen weekend hè, jammer genoeg kregen we zondag visite die ook nog bleef eten en heb ik, buiten een rondje tuin showen, niets van het mooie weer meegekregen.
Maandag wel even de schade ingehaald, maar pas na drie uur, want ons huis moest gekeurd worden voor het energielabel.
Dinsdag 4 kruiwagens troep uit een klein stukje tuin gehaald, nu de rest nog, maar het is me vandaag te kil en er moeten ook andere dingen gebeuren.
Fijn dat je genoten hebt van het concert, de band zegt mij niets, Metropool orkest wel ;-)
groeten maar weer