Vote for Foofur!

Foofur is featured today on the One Million Pet Pics blog. It has been in the works for over 2 years now. The ultimate goal is to feature one million (or more) pets. Anyone can send in a picture, just fill in the form. I love to look at all the cute pets and their stories.
I decided to submit one of my favourite pictures of Foofur, made 5 years ago when we were rebuilding downstairs. Many of you will recognise it, I guess. :-)

Would you please go over to Foofur's post and vote for him? We thank you in advance!

TT #86: posts without comments

Thirteen posts without comments (Yes, I did a TT like this before. It's too hot here to be creative!) Mainly, I blog for myself, like writing in a diary. Doing it online gives me the chance to share it with others and get comments. I like comments, in all shapes and forms: just a virtual hug, a long story that makes me think, sharing something, a helpful link, etc. Sometimes it's clear why a post gets no comments, sometimes it's a mystery. I gathered the last 13 posts on this blog (starting last week), that didn't get comments. They all open in a new window. If you read them and you want to comment, you're welcome to of course. Just please don't feel obliged to do so, that's not my intention. No cause for complaint about comments. :-) 2008, July 18: Medieval Kampen 2008, June 29: European Soccer Championship 2008, June 14: Ara Ritual Apart Together 2008, June 12: Kerstin Fritzl wants to see Robbie 2008, June 11: Ghost Ryder 2008, May 19: BMW E46 meeting 2008, May 11: PFI conference 2008, April 14: First Communion 2008, January 30: Guided tour 2008, January 21: Shadow Workshop 2007, December 24: Yule on the Brookberg 2007, November 21: Romance 2007, July 31: Anno Domini 1407 (2007) How about you? Do you need/like/love comments, do you care at all? Do you leave a comment when you visit a blog? Do you always answer questions on yours? ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ SJ Reidhead ~*~ Anthony North ~*~ Hootin' Anni ~*~ Malcolm ~*~ Chelle Y. ~*~ Pretty Life Online ~*~ Sandy Carlson ~*~ Puss Reboots ~*~ Yasmin ~*~ Karen Bastille ~*~ Lilibeth ~*~ Bernieq1 ~*~ Poppingbubbles ~*~ Kim ~*~ Joy Renee ~*~ Soul Pockets ~*~ Gattina ~*~ Ben ~*~ Cheryel Hutton ~*~ Lisa ~*~ Tempest Knight ~*~ Clara ~*~ storyteller ~*~ Elaine ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Amazing duck story in Spokane

I read the following story on one of my e-maillists. It's such a great story; I just had to share it here (with permission).

Joel is a loan officer at Sterling Bank in Spokane, WA. He works downtown in a second story office building, overlooking busy Riverside Avenue. Several weeks ago he watched a mother duck choose the cement awning outside his window as the uncanny place to build a nest above the sidewalk. The mallard laid nine eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks and Monday afternoon all of her nine ducklings hatched.

Joel worried all night how the mamma duck was going to get those babies safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment to take to water, which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching.

Tuesday morning, Joel came to work and watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the edge of the perch with the intent to show them how to jump off! The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In his disbelief Joel watched as the first fuzzy newborn toddled to the edge and astonishingly leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement below.

He couldn't watch how this might play out. He dashed out of his office and ran down the stairs to the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling was stuporing near its mother from the near fatal fall. Joel looked up. The second duckling was getting ready to jump! He quickly dodged under the awning while the mother duck quacked at him and the babies above. As the second one took the plunge, Joel jumped forward and caught it with his bare hands before it hit the cement. Safe and sound, he set it by the mamma and the other stunned sibling, still recovering from its painful leap.

One by one the babies continued to jump to join their anxious family below. Each time Joel hid under the awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall. The downtown sidewalk came to a standstill. Time after time, Joel was able to catch the remaining 7 and set them by their approving mother.

At this point Joel realized the duck family had only made part of its dangerous journey. They had 2 full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs, and pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the Spokane River. The onlooking office secretaries then joined in, and hurriedly brought an empty copy paper box to collect the babies. They carefully corralled them, with the mother's approval, and loaded them up into the white cardboard container. Joel held the box low enough for the mom to see her brood. He then slowly navigated through the downtown streets toward the Spokane River, as the mother waddled behind and kept her babies in sight.

As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping into the river and quacking loudly. At the water's edge, the Sterling Bank office staff then tipped the box and helped shepherd the babies towards the water and to their mother after their adventurous ride.
All nine darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up snugly to mamma duck. Joel said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward the beaming bank workers, and proudly quacking as if to say: 'See, we did it! Thanks for all the help!'

Thankfully, one of the secretaries had a digital camera and was able to capture most of it (except the actual mid-air catching) in a series of photographs of which I made the slideshow above.

TT #85: Luxembourg

Thirteen interesting facts about Luxembourg A few weeks ago I told you some things about Belgium, where we had just spent our vacation. The coming days we'll visit Luxembourg, so this week that's my subject! Luxembourg is an independent sovereign state neighbouring Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg is home to nearly 450,000 residents, with about a fifth of these individuals residing in or near Luxembourg City. Foreign residents represent more than a third of its population. Luxembourg is a parliamentary representative democracy with a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a Grand Duke. It is the world's only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is just 60 kilometers (36 miles) wide east to west and 90 kilometers (51 miles) long north to south. This small country has a total area of 2586 square kilometers (999 sq. miles). It is located on the crossroads of several major highways; just a four hours drive from Paris, three from Frankfurt, five from Amsterdam or Basel. The written history of Lucilinburhuc (i.e. Luxembourg) starts in the year 963, when Siegfried, Count of the Ardennes and founder of the Luxembourg Dynasty, had a castle built on the territory of the present-day capital of Luxembourg. This castle was the origin of the establishment of a town, which later was to develop into a formidable fortress, known by the name of 'Gibraltar of the North'. At its height, the fortress was girdled by three ring-walls studded with 24 forts, and linked underground by a 23 kilometre network of Casemates. In 1994, Luxembourg City was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. The present ruler, H.R.H. Grand Duke Henri, is the youngest European monarch. He succeeded his father Jean to the throne in October 2000. Executive power is in the hands of the Grand Duke and a Cabinet of 12 ministers. The legislative power rests with a Parliament (Chamber of Deputies) elected by men and women over 18, all of whom in Luxembourg have the right and duty to vote. Already forming a close economic union with Belgium since 1921, the Grand Duchy is a founding member of the EU. Together with The Netherlands and Belgium it forms the Benelux. A lot of European institutions and organisations are based in Luxembourg The linguistic situation in Luxembourg is characterized by the practice and the recognition of three official languages: French, German and Luxembourgish (“Lëtzebuergesch”). The plurilingualism of Luxembourg results from the coexistence of two ethnic groups, a Romanic and a Germanic one. Grand Duke Jean, the father of Henri, actively participated in the D-Day landings. Grand Duke Jean's father was a British Brigadier. Grand Duke Jean is a Knight of the Garter and Colonel of the Irish Guards, therefore rides immediately behind H.M. The Queen during the "Trooping the Colour" ceremony, along with Prince Charles, Prince Philip, and the Duke of Kent. Incidentally, the Luxembourg Army trains at Sandhurst. While the Grand Duchy does not have no Navy nor Air Force, the country does have a sea-going flag. NATO's entire fleet of Airborne Early Warning reconnaissance aircraft is registered in Luxembourg. The Luxembourg flag (used in the TT-header) has three horizontal bands of (top-down) red, white, and light blue (as opposed to the dark blue of the Dutch flag). People may well confuse the Luxembourg flag with the Luxembourg civil ensign. The latter is also known as "Roúde Léiw" which translates as "Red Lion", and is often seen at e.g. sports events to support the national team. History tells us that Luxembourg has been independent, with a dynasty of its own, for a relatively short period of time. In the 19th century, Luxembourgers celebrated their national holiday on Kinnéksdag (King’s Day: the birthday of the Dutch king). The new country’s first real patriotic holiday was Groussherzoginsgebuertsdag (the Grand Duchess’s Birthday). Grand Duchess Charlotte who reigned from 1919 to 1964 was born on 23 January, but to take advantage of the better summer weather, her birthday celebrations were postponed by six months, to 23 June. After Grand Duke Jean ascended the throne, 23 June became the official national holiday. Luxembourg City ranks as the world’s top city for personal safety and security, according to a 2005 Quality of Life survey by Mercer Consulting. The commune of Luxembourg City covers a total area of over 51 km², or 2% of the Grand Duchy's total area. Luxembourg City is not particularly densely-populated, at under 1,500 people per km²; large areas of Luxembourg City are maintained as parks, forested areas, or sites of important heritage (particularly the UNESCO sites), while there are also large tracts of farmland that lie within the city limits. Every summer Luxembourg City hosts the Medieval Anno Domini Festival on the Marche-aux-Poissons behind the Grand Ducal Palace and surrounding streets. The festival provides a live presentation of the middle ages, with the sights and sounds of market life, troubadours, dueling knights and wandering musicians. In 2008 the festival is called "Anno Domini 1408", in 2007 it was "Anno Domini 1407", etc. It is our main reason for going to Luxembourg. Some interesting links about Luxembourg: Wikipedia, Visit Luxembourg, Luxembourg.co.uk, Luxembourg National Tourist Office, Luxembourg City Tourist Office, Luxembourg fansite ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Nicholas ~*~ Pretty Life Online ~*~ Sue ~*~ Chelle Y. ~*~ Claudia ~*~ Anthony North ~*~ Sandy Carlson ~*~ Hootin' Anni ~*~ Puss Reboots ~*~ Adelle ~*~ SJ Reidhead ~*~ Carol ~*~ The Gal Herself ~*~ Picturing of Life ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

I'm Freya

Which Norse God or Goddess are you most like? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Freya Freya 90% Njord 70% Sif 70% Balder 60% Thor 60% Skadi 60% Freyr 60% Odin 50% Tyr 40% Hel 40% Frigg 30% Bragi 30% Heimdall 30% Loki 30%

Switching antidepressants

I don't feel very well at the moment, or rather: I feel miserable and depressed. For some time my psychiatrist and I have been talking about switching antidepressants. I have been using fluoxetine for a long time with variable results. The last time it worked very well, but lately it decreased. I tried to phase out a few times, but that wasn't a success to put it mildly.
Before our vacation in Belgium I discussed it again with my psychiatrist and we decided to make the switch after the vacation. I phased out the fluoxetine and I am now building up the new one. Of course I have to start at a low dose. I knew it wouldn't be a pleasant period of time, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I didn't expect it to be this tough...
I'm depressed all the time, nervous, restless, indifferent, even more tired and so on... I sleep long and deep, or I'm awake all night. My bad eating habits are back and I can't control it anymore. I hate myself, I hate my body. It's dark around me. I've fallen deep and it feels as if it will never end...
I'm a pain in the ass for the people around me. This week I hurt my best friend by attacking him in his soft spot, talking absolute nonsense. How can I do that? I don't recognise myself anymore. I'm so sorry... Ron does his best to help me every step of the way, but it is hard on him and I feel horrible and guilty about it. I don't want to be this burden I am at the moment, I love him so much..!
I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel now, but I know deep down it's there. I want to have faith, I will survive this!

God and Goddess
please grant me

The power of water
to accept the things I cannot change
with ease and grace

The power of fire
to change the things I can
with courage and energy

The power of air
to know the difference
through intuition and wisdom

And the power of earth
to handle the situation
with love and respect

Medieval Kampen

Yesterday Ron, IJs and I drove to Kampen for a medieval event: "Campement van Campen" (Encampment of Campen), organized by the Ridders van de IJssel (Knights of the IJssel). On a square in the historical city center were all kinds of activities. Although the weather was imminent, we were lucky to keep it dry most of the time, just some heavy showers a few times.
There were stalls all around the square with herbal remedies, a medieval mustard maker, a potter, a silversmith, a blacksmith, a wood carver and lots more. The (real!) mayor of Kampen and his wife visited the square, dressed up in style. Enactment players and artists were all dressed up in medieval clothing too. One of them was Aye de Lichtekooi (the "Light Woman"), who was busy seducing men all day. The green goblins of Greenthingz were great as usual!
The children's farm had provided donkeys and goats. A falconer had come with three birds of prey. Children could try archery and fighting with (wooden) swords. Adults could try and buy a bit more serious stuff.
At the end of the day a ship arrived on the river IJssel with "enemies" from Zwolle. A battle breaks out and the knights come to the rescue. In the end a truce is arranged and everyone gathers to eat and drink together.

TT #84: wiccan principles

Thirteen Principles of the Wiccan Belief The Council of American Witches was founded in the early 1970's by 73 witches. In April 1974 they adopted the following document. At the time, Wicca and other Neopagan religions were greatly misunderstood in North America. This document helped to set the record straight. The thirteen statements are necessarily vague. They do not precisely and completely match any one Witchcraft tradition. But they do provide an introduction to the full range of belief systems found within "Wicca." Its policy of including all persons, regardless of "sexual preference" -- now referred to as sexual orientation -- was almost unheard of back in 1974. These principles were later incorporated into the army's 'Chaplains handbook' for use in the U.S. Army. Shortly after this achievement the Council of American Witches disbanded, this due mainly to the difficulties inherent in reconciling differences among its many member traditions. The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief lived on however, and today many American Witches continue to endorse it. Introduction: In seeking to be inclusive, we do not wish to open ourselves to the destruction of our group by those on self-serving power trips, or to philosophies and practices contradictory to those principles. In seeking to exclude those whose ways are contradictory to ours, we do not want to deny participation with us to any who are sincerely interested in our knowledge and beliefs, regardless of race, color, sex, age, national or cultural origins, or sexual preference. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility towards our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called "supernatural", but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all. We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity-as masculine and feminine-and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship. We recognize both outer and inner, or psychological, worlds -- sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc. -- and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership. We see religion, magick and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it -- a world view and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft, the Wiccan Way. Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch -- but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature. We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and our personal role within it. Our only animosity towards Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way," and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the origins of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future. We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil", as defined by Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another. We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being. Sources: Religious Tolerance, Controverscial ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Shannon ~*~ Christine ~*~ Gattina ~*~ Carolan Ivey ~*~ Pagan Witch ~*~ Wyndsong ~*~ Nessa ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Olive Riley (1899-2008)

“If a woman who left school in 1914, can embrace the internet in her 106th year, what is there you can’t do, friend?”



Some time ago I told you about Olive Riley, world's oldest blogger. I'm sad to tell you Olive has left us... At the age of 108 she passed away peacefully in the nursing home on July 12th. I was a regular visitor of her blog "The Life of Riley" and I will miss her messages dearly. I posted my favourite Olive-quote next to her picture in this post. Just one of her witty and wise sayings... She will be missed by her many many blogging friends all over the world. We all knew it was bound to happen, but didn't we all wish she would become at least 208 years old!

Farewell dear Olive!!

Dutch house cat adopts rejected red panda

A newborn Red panda from Artis Zoo in Amsterdam gets a special adoptive mother. After the cub was rejected by her mother, a domestic cat owned by one of the keepers took over the task of caring for the young panda. The cat now suckles the Red panda, in addition to its own four kittens. Within the European breeding programme, this is the first time that a Red panda has been suckled by a cat. Under the circumstances, the young panda is doing well. The animal constantly receives the greatest care, both from her keepers and from her adoptive mother, who lovingly treats the Red panda cub as one of her own. The baby panda was one of two cubs born to the Red panda female Gladys and her mate Werner. One cub unfortunately did not survive the first crucial days. This cub was already in a weakened condition when the two young pandas were first placed with the cat.
The Red panda, also known as the Lesser panda, lives in the bamboo forests of the Himalayas, as does its larger cousin the Giant panda. Pandas are an endangered species.
See live footage here (wmv-file) or here (YouTube)!

Sick 2

The stomach flu has come back to me. S**t (literally...). This afternoon it hit me again. Yuk, I hate it! I feel weak and dizzy, so I'll keep this short.
The only good thing is that after I emptied myself I could control the vomiting reflex going on and on by using breathing techniques I know from meditation. That saved me the very sore throat I had last week.

My slogan

While browsing Entrecard blogs I found this on Emilia's Illustrated Blog. I thought it was fun and tried it too. This came out for me:

Happiness is Tink-Shaped.

Enter a word for your own slogan:

Generated by the
Advertising Slogan Generator.
Get more Tink slogans.

What's your slogan??? You can post it in a comment or let me know when you put it on your blog too.

Litha / Midsummer

I'm feeling much better, but unfortunately it's Ron turn now for the stomach flu. He left for work this morning, but had to come back for a sprint to the toilet...

I promised to tell you about my Litha / Midsummer! I attended two lovely celebrations.

Saturday the 21st we drove back from Lier to the Mastbos in Breda. Under "my" tree we had a picknick with friends and did a ritual. The weather was wonderful and we enjoyed ourselves very much! The ritual was dedicated to Titania and Oberon, queen and king of the little folk.
Before we started I found a good branch to use as a staff / big wand to cast the circle. Later I took it with me to Lier, where I removed the bark. Now it's home with me and I want to decorate it a little. Great to have a part of that magnificent tree...
We had all brought a liitle jar with water. We wrote down two wishes (one for ourself, one for someone else) and tear them into shreds in the jar. Then we did a guided visualisation to charge the wishes. After a while we were interrupted by two women, who kept on quarreling which way they would go. It wasn't nice to be disturbed, but we also burst out into laughter.
After the ritual we drove and walked to the river Mark, where we emptied our jars in the flowing water. In the end the water flows to the sea. That way our wishes were entrusted to the Gods and the elements.

Sunday the 22nd we went to the LithaLier Midsummer festival, organised by PFI Belgium, Camelot Boom and Greencraft. On fields in the outskirts of Lier was a magical fair with stalls, workshops, music, covered wagon trips, tree walks, etc. For the owners of our cottage I bought a little pixie figurine with a harp. We left it in sight on a shelf in the cottage when we went home with a bottle of wine and a thank-you-note.
There were very interesting stalls from all kinds of sellers: bee products, gemstones, crafty work, herbs & spices and lots more. I walked around several times. I was enchanted by a beautiful wooden Book-of-Shadows-box with gorgeous image burnt into it, but it was too expensive. Absolutely worth the price, but I didn't have it.
When I was looking at some brochures in the last booth someone threw a ball of paper towards me. It was Wynndig! I know her from an e-maillist and met her several times. Good to see her again! She gave a workshop chanting and of course I attended. We sang the most well-known chants. I didn't know all of the chants, but they aren't difficult to learn. We had fun and it sounded quite good actually. Some girls could add a second voice, that sounded even better!
Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the ritual. We had walked around a lot and Ron's knee was hurting. So we said our goodbyes and drove back to the cottage.
You can see my pictures here!

Sick

I had planned to write some more about our vacation, but that'll have to wait. Last night I didn't sleep very well and I vomited once. Today it has become worse. This afternoon I felt really lousy and weak. I perspired like crazy and emptied myself "above and below" (I'll spare you the details...).
I have started with a new anti-depressant a few days ago, so we consulted the psychiatrist / doctor. I was glad to hear it couldn't be caused by that; it is just a stomach flu. Just very unpleasant! I've slept a lot and eaten lightly. Early into bed and better tomorrow, I hope!

TT #83: Belgium

Thirteen interesting facts about Belgium We just spent our vacation in Belgium, so that wonderful little country is this week's theme for my TT! The kingdom of Belgium spans an area no bigger than Maryland, situated between The Netherlands in the north, France in the west and south, Luxembourg in the southeast, Germany in the east and the North Sea in the west. Spa is a city in Belgium where all other spas get their name from. Luxury spas are located throughout Belgium where you will surely get the royal Spa treatment. The saxophone was invented in Belgium by Adolph Sax in 1846. There are numerous jazz festivals throughout the year celebrating the love for jazz music. There are more castles per square mile in Belgium than anywhere else in the world. Some of our castles are moated and others have labyrinth garden mazes to get lost in. Brussels is headquarters to the European Union (EU) & NATO. With this much international activity, it's no wonder English is widely spoken. The little blue cartoon creatures known as Smurfs are absosmurfly Belgian, created by Peyo. Throughout Brussels there are murals attesting the love for Comic Strip Art. Actress Audrey Hepburn, probably most famous for her role in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's, was born Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston in Brussels. The famous statue of Manneken Pis is found in Brussels. Heads of state and famous artists have donated over 800 outfits for him on display at the Brussels Museum. Belgian endive was accidentally discovered by a Belgian farmer in 1830. All endives sold in the US are imported from Belgium. Belgian Rene Magritte was a surrealist painter. He developed a style which used misleading realism to create provocative fantasies around commonplace situations. Belgium produces 172,000 tons of chocolate per year in over 2,130 chocolate shops. Our chocolate has pure cocoa flavor because we don't use vegetable shortening. There are over 400 different types of beer in Belgium running the gamut from white to raspberry beer. Most beers have their own glass in which only that beer may be served. Action film hero Jean Claude Van Damme, a.k.a. the Muscles from Brussels, hails from Belgium. Some interesting links about Belgium: Wikipedia, Visit Belgium, Portal Belgium, Belgian Tourist Office ~*~*~*~ Links to other Thursday Thirteens! ~*~ Allison ~*~ Hootin' Anni ~*~ Lost Hemisphere ~*~ Lilibeth ~*~ Carol ~*~ B Boys Mom ~*~ Claudia ~*~ Bellezza ~*~ Lori ~*~ Sandy Carlson ~*~ Lisa ~*~ Bernie ~*~ Robin ~*~ Stace ~*~ Chris ~*~ Some Law Student ~*~ Alice Audrey ~*~ Jen ~*~ Pussreboots ~*~ Rims ~*~ GuusjeM ~*~ Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

COT #16: holiday cat

CATS ON TUESDAY is a group of cat lovers

who share pictures and/or stories about their cats once a week,

hosted by Gattina.

We couldn't take Freyja, Bastet & Maia with us to Belgium. Of course they were very well taken care of by our friend Monique, but I missed them dearly... Fortunately I always meet cats wherever I go!

(picture by IJs)

This is Molly. I met her when we were sightseeing and taking pictures in the Begijnhof (beguinage) in Lier, created in 1258 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

(picture by Wonder)

Molly walked to me when I made a special sound to call her. Of course I made time to stroke her and talk to her. She followed me through the lovely little streets. Her human mother smiled when she watched us and told me her name. Molly, a beautiful and friendly cat...