Kickin' It Old Skool - the end

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 31
Yay!! We kicked it through the holidays. We kicked it through ice storms. We kicked it all month long! Give yourself a gold star - or a turquoise star or a fuchsia one! It's time to celebrate! What would you like to celebrate about this month and Kickin' It Old Skool?

~*~*~*~

To celebrate the transition from old to new year Ron and I walked a beach labyrinth at sunrise this morning, made by friends. It's becoming a tradition, 4th time this Dec. 31:

I want to thank Jamie & Shannon Ridler for organizing this blog-a-thon. Also thanks to everyone who participated and commented on each other's blogs. I've tried to visit as much as possible and ended up following quite a few new blogs! Yay for meeting new friends and their blogs, and for reconnecting to old friends and their blogs.

I really liked getting back into blogging again. I didn't succeed in participating every day because of various reasons, but that doesn't matter! It was fun and I want to try to stay more active this coming year.
Therefore my question for you all: do you have tips for memes to do? Prompts to find? Anything fun to help me keep blogging?

A new year's wish from me for everyone that participated and the readers of my blog:

all the best to you and yours and I hope to see you again in 2014 (and after).

Final Friday

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 27
On our final Friday of the year, let's share a little bit about the year that was 2013 by answering the questions.

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Are you sure? I didn't write a lot in 2013 and before, because I didn't want to fill this blog with depression, misery and rants. Read on at your own risk...

1. What will you remember about 2013?
Surviving instead of living, depression, poverty, unhappiness, powerlessness, sadness, distress, stress... Seeing my better half feeling the same way, crying together, pulling each other up again in desperation...

2. What are you ready to leave behind?
see most of answer to question 1

3. What's something you learned in 2013? 
Life goes on, even if you don't want it to most of the time.
If you think you hit rock bottom, there's always another floor underneath to sink to.
Together we are strong and we are stronger than we think.

4. What would you like to celebrate about this past year?
I had to think long and hard to find an answer. It's not that we didn't do nice things, it's not that we were never happy in 2013. Of course there were moments to be thankful for, and we definitely are, but they disappeared quickly because it couldn't counterbalance the misery. It does help to survive though!
What I do want to mention is that we are very thankful for all the wonderful people we have around us that helped and are still helping us survive this ordeal. Whether it is a lit candle, an arm around us or substantial material help doesn't matter. We value them all and are very lucky and happy to have people like that we can count on.

Pfew, I managed to end on a positive note.
Can't wait for 2014: new year, new chances!

found on Facebook

10 things in my fridge

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 26
I skipped the holiday prompts. No disasters to share and not in the right mood for memories. Besides, we have been busy yesterday: wonderful day with my sister coming over for dinner. I drove her home around midnight and back at home I went straight to bed.
Over here in The Netherlands we celebrate Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), First Christmas day (Dec. 25) and Second Christmas Day (Dec. 26). Some regions even celebrate a Third Christmas Day. Enough is enough though... I enjoy the Yuletide, but the christmas days aren't my favourite ones of the year. But I'll stop before this ends in a christmas rant. :-)

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Today's prompt is "What are 10 things in your fridge?" So, without further ado:

1. leftovers from yesterday's dinner - (hmm, I don't know the English word... we cooked our own dinner on the table with a raclette set - we call it a gourmet-set, see this) so that's several kinds of meat, mushrooms, fresh pineapple, sauces and more - enough for the two of us to have another go today 
2. milk, yogurt, whipped cream
3. eggs
4. water kefir, the drink and my supply of grains (probiotics)
5. beer
6. Skadi-water (melted snow I use for rituals)
7. cheese, including my favourite Old Amsterdam
8. pickles, pickled silver onions, pickled cucumber, Amsterdam pickled onions and other pickled stuff
9. superglue
10. self-made herbal vinegar (assorted herbs in apple cider vinegar)

Books!

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 23
Yesterday I couldn't join, because I simply don't have any digital pics of 'Wee Me' and the analog ones are somewhere in a box with many boxes on top...
Today the prompt is about one of my favourite subjects.
Let's talk about books!

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So, what do we talk about...? I talk about books here on my blog: books in general, book-lists, a book I recommend, etc. Lots and lots of my many books are still in boxes because I simply don't have room to display them. Might sound silly, but I miss them a lot...
Today I decided to share pics of the book wall in my room. Ron made it for me so I could have at least some of my books at hand. The top 3 shelves are fiction (fantasy, thrillers, literature, etc.), the 4 below are non-fiction (paganism, herbs, history, etc.). Both are in alphabetical order. The bottom shelf is extra high, so there are the larger books. On the floor are magazines in file boxes.
The book on the stand is "Luna Moon Hare" by Wendy Andrew, a lovely book with beautiful illustrations.

If you want to see what I have in my library, you can see 1200+ of my books in my LibraryThing. One day I hope to have added all my books there! It's a very nice community and a great way to store your books online. I also have a Goodreads account, but I prefer LibraryThing.

And I Quote...

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 21
If Pinterest is any indication, we are inspired by quotes!
Today, share with us a quote you love.

~*~*~*~

True, I absolutely love quotes. It is impossible for me to choose only one! But then again...

Gene Roddenberry created my favourite series of all time: Star Trek. He was ahead of his time, a pioneer and a visionary man. This is one of many great quotes, spoken by Captain Jean-Luc Picard:

10 things in my bag

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 19
Inspired by one of Jamie's most popular videos in which she shared what's in her purse, we thought we'd ask... What are 10 Things Currently In Your Bag?

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I made a picture to show you the inside of my hand bag:

1. brown leather purse and coin dispenser
2. retractable umbrella
3. keys with mini-Leatherman and car-key (in black pouch)
4. pocket torch
5. deodorant
6. mobile phone
7. hairbrush and scrunchie
8. nail file & cutter
9. lip balm, arnica gel and herbal healing salve
10. sweeteners (normal and stevia)

Make a wish

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 18
Yesterday I didn't have time to join, but I'm back. :)
Today's prompt is in honour of the first meme that Jamie Ridler ever created: Wishcasting. There is magic in wishing together. Today, make a wish.

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That's an easy one...
I wish for a lasting, structural solution to our financial crisis. Whether it's from winning the lottery or the right job for Ron or anything else, I don't care (an' it harm none!).

"As you wish for yourself so I wish for you also."

...and then you forget to publish the concept-post... way to go, Tink! I really want to bring this wish into the universe again, so I posted it a day later... The universe won't mind. ;-))

Favourite music

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 16
"It was so much fun sharing our movies last week. In fact, we're sure many of us have filled our wish lists and our Netflix queue's with all sorts of fresh options! Let's do the same with our playlists. Share with us some of your favourite songs!"

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Wow, I like so many kinds of music... I can never be complete. I like pop, folk, classical music, jazz, swing, 80's and sooo much more! It all depends on my mood and what I feel like at the moment I'm listening. I have a lot of favourite artists and songs too, old and new. :-)

~*~

I can always listen to Robbie Williams though. He is a pop singer, but also does swing / rat pack stuff with side-steps to rock, rap and more. He is an all-round, born entertainer. I love his music, both the albums and live. It would be impossible for me to pick one favourite. I'll just pick one of them and give you the official video:

~*~

My favourite Dutch band is Rapalje, a celtic folk band. Their website explains it better than I can: "Irish, Scottish (and Dutch) folkmusic with a difference. Dieb, William, Maceál and David sing and play on instruments like fiddle, tin whistle, gitouki, squeezebox, mouth organ, bodhrán, Highland pipes, border pipes and tea-chest bass. This diversity of instruments, a varied repertoire and an original presentation make a concert of Rapalje a special act. Dressed in medieval kilts, Rapalje performs in every conceivable venue." Ron's favourite song is "The Rattlin' Bog" by Dieb. Voice-wise I like William the most, especially in songs like 'Caledonia' and 'Loch Lomond' but also his solo-album. The up-tempo songs are great too, as are their live shows.

~*~

Who do you love?

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 15
"We'd love to see your loved ones! Your cats, your kids, your loves, your sisters, your brothers, your friends, your visitors, your elders, your neighbours, your besties. Who do you love?"

~*~*~*~

First and foremost I ask you to click on this picture to open a new window with a post I made yesterday to celebrate the love of my life, my husband Ron. Cliche as it may be, it's the truth!

Although they are no longer with us in this world, I will always love my mum and dad. Dad died in 1996 and mum in 2006, but I still miss them every day... Here they are opening christmas-presents at our home somewhere in the 90's:

I love my sister Joke. She is 10 years older, but at our current ages of 45 and 55 that's no issue anymore. We've had our ups and downs like all sisters have, but we both know we can unconditionally count on each other whenever needed. Her husband Leo came into my life when I was 8. I love him too, but sadly we lost him on my birthday in 2009. Here are Joke and I in Disneyland Paris in 2010:

And of course our pets belong here too. Although I won't share pics of all that went before, they all are still in my heart too. I'll see them at the rainbow bridge... Here are the beloved ones that share our home today:

Foofur, Welsh Corgi / Jack Russell, 14

Arwen, Bernese Mountain Dog, 4

Freyja, silver/white Balinese, 7

Bastet, tortoise European Shorthair, 7

Maia, white/grey European Shorthair, 6

~*~

A sentence from a book

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 14
Yesterday I was too busy, but I decided that's okay. It has to be fun, not something to stress out about, right?
Today's prompt: "We're making it easy today! Share one sentence from a book. Okay not quite that easy. Grab the third book in on your top shelf of books. Share the first sentence."

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"Op een grijze, winderige dag in oktober 2010 stonden we aan de rand van een vijver, op de plek waar ooit een heidense offerpoel lag."
Yes, sorry... Dutch book! It's called "Heilge bronnen in de Lage Landen" (Holy wells in the LowLands). I opened it on a random page. The translation of the sentence is: "On a grey and windy day in October 2010 we stood on the edge of a pond, where once was a heathen offering pool".

This particular chapter is about a place nearby (Heemskerk), where they were building new houses and encountered archaeological finds going back to the Bronze Age. After the archaeologists did what they could, the place was still treated with respect. They covered the excavation site to protect it for future research. A park was built in which you can still recognize what is underneath, for example a pond where the offering pools were, bushes point out certain lines in the landscape, etc. No big trees were planted because the roots could damage what is underneath.
I visited the site with a group, guided by the author of the above chapter. You can see my pictures here. If you are really interested, you can read and/or download the full report of the excavation here.

18th anniversary

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary...

Together for 25+ years...

True love...

And he still gives me butterflies...    

(I just found out the 18th anniversary is called the turquoise anniversary - a beautiful gem!)

10 things I know for sure

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 12
Today's prompt: "A Truth? A Constant? A Wisdom to Share? Your Superpower? What Are Ten Things You Know For Sure?"

~*~*~*~

10 things I know for sure in no particular order... I'm sure there's more, but these are the ones that came out today. Are they truths? Some universal, some just to me.

1. The only thing that is constant is change.
2. The pagan path is the right path for me.
3. A house is not a home without books and pets.
4. Love is a verb, always keep on communicating and trying to improve.
5. I believe in the power of magic and the power of love.
6. Depression and eating disorders are illnesses, not weaknesses.
7. I will never know everything I want to know.
8. Everything happens for a reason, but nothing is guaranteed.
9. Everyone has a right to choose how to live (and die).
10. I will die.

What Makes You Weepy

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 11
Yesterday we were 'on the road' all day to Germany and back, so I didn't have time for KIOS, but I'm jumping right back in again!

Today's question is: "What makes you weepy?"

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Onions make me cry, but that's just a physical reaction. Romance, children... nah, sorry, no cry. What really makes me weepy is happiness. Little things, major things... happy is weepy! :)

Weeping in sadness, yes that too. Especially when animals are ill-treated, abused, left behind and that kind of thing. It makes me very angry, but also cry for the poor souls... Although I can cry from anger too, for example when I feel I'm treated unjustly.

Listening to music can make me weepy too, for a variety of reasons. Often sadness as certain songs remind me of people that are no longer among us. Listening to 'their' music can make me feel close to them again. Music helps to remember... Sometimes I listen to songs on purpose to get the tears going; that can be very healing. Except for songs with a history there's music I like to listen to when I'm sad; I have a sad playlist on YouTube. My favourite classical sad music (sounds strange, but true) is Pavane by Gabriel Fauré (for orchestra or with voice - in this case Barbra Streisand).

Movies rarely make me cry, but there are scenes that bring tears to my eyes. Let me think... Ah yes, the end scene of 'Ghost', when Two Socks gets hurt in 'Dances With Wolves', when Rose has to let go of Jack in 'Titanic' and more I guess. Sometimes it catches me by surprise, but I'm not ashamed of it.

Favourite movies

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 9
"Let's share some of our favourite movies!"

Do you have Twitter? KIOS has its own hashtag: #kickinit.
My account is @TinkNL.

~*~*~*~

At first I didn't want to see the movies of my all-time favourite book. In my humble opinion it could never ever do justice to the book of this brilliant author. Then other genuine Tolkien-(book!)fans posted positive reviews, so I got curious. And I won tickets for the Dutch premiere of part two... Long story short: I've seen them all, loved them, got all the extended versions on dvd. :) Although I still have some pet peeves about how things from the book ended up in the movie, I'm a fan of the movies.
I've seen the first Hobbit-movie and it looks like that's going to be a great trilogy too, but i'm not completely sure yet. :)

And there's another favourite: Star Trek! I'm not a huge fan of the Original series, but I like the movies with the original series cast. I love the movies with The Next Generation. The last two movies with the younger Kirk & friends are good too. I would have loved a Deep Space Nine or a Voyager movie, or both, or all together!

In general I like fantasy, SF, action, history, horror, adventure, thriller, detective and lots more. I'm not a fan of what marketing snobs keep calling 'women's movies' and of comedy, although there are always exceptions.
Some random titles of movies I like: The Green Mile, Ghost, Pearl Harbor, Robin Hood, Titanic, X-men, but also Monty Python, Tristan & Isolde, The Wicker Man, Practical Magic, Dances With Wolves, and a lot of classics and cult-movies. Too many to list, different genres. I'm sure I'll think of 20 other movies I could have mentioned once I hit the publish-button....

Where I Blog!

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 8
"We hope you don't mind if we invite ourselves over. We'd love to see where you blog!"

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I have older pics of my desk, but I decided to take a new pic here and now. No cleaning or tidying first, just stand up and click that camera. You can see the KIOS-blog of today is on my screen.
So, without further ado, this is where I blog:

It's a roll-top desk in the living-room, but it's only closed when I'm sleeping. The black cloth on the right hides my printer, because although there's a scratching pole next to my desk Maia's favourite spot is on top of my printer. And cat's hair and computer stuff don't go that well together... In fact this is a rare occasion as none of the cats are on or around my desk, they usually are most of the time. The buddha fountain on top is their drinking place.

One Sentence Saturday - Your Day

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 7
"As best you can, capture your day in one sentence!"

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Okay, that is convenient, because I am on my way out. :-) Here it is:

Although I suddenly got a backache this morning (ouch!), we are going to have a day of fun with friends at the Midwinterfair in Archeon!

Friday First - Share Your First Blog Post

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 6
"Whether you've been blogging for 5 years or 5 days, share with us your first post. What inspired you to start, what have you've learned or how you've changed since then?"

~*~*~*~

I started blogging on LiveJournal on December 24th, 2002. To my surprise that journal is still online! I got the idea from my friends in the PostcardFairies, a US-based but worldwide spread group of mainly women that sent each other self-made postcards by snail mail. I still have loads of cards. The group still exists and I have stayed in contact with quite a few of them!
Although I'm Dutch I've always blogged in English so all my international friends can read it too (and to practice my English).
Back to LiveJournal... This is my first post (click the link to see the actual post for yourself):

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Tinkerbell ( tinkerbell_nl) wrote, 
@ 2002-12-24 20:39:00 
 Current mood: happy 

 Hellooooooooo!!!! 

Well, here I am! Thanks travelfairy for the code! I just created this journal. It will change, it's rather dull right now. I'll have to find my way here. This is just a test-entry; more to follow later!!
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In 2004 and 2005 I also had an account on Muselog. I tried to find it back, but I guess it's no longer online. Of course I saved it myself, so here it is:

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Friday, August 13, 2004 
Intro 

As my first post I decided to copy what I wrote on my application form for MuseLog. 
 * 
I'm a Dutch eclectic solitary witch who likes exploring the www, meeting other pagans, learning about other paths and religions, etc. I have a LiveJournal, but I hardly use it to write about my spiritual path and every-day-life as a witch. On MuseLog I hope to find kindred spirits and being able to share my thoughts about spirituality, paganism, witchcraft and the like. 

Perhaps I can contribute a little Dutch touch to MuseLog! 

Tinkerbell has been my online nickname for as long as I have internet access, because I just like that little fantasy-pixie! On a serious note: in a way I do believe in the existence of creatures like faeries, nymphs. 

I'm the first to admit my knowledge of HTML/CSS/PHP is very basic, but I'm ready to learn! 
 * 
If you have any questions, feel free to ask! 

Posted by Tinkerbell on 08/13 at 09:44 AM
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In 2004 I moved to Blogger/Blogspot and that's where you're reading this now. :-) In the beginning I posted the same on both LiveJournal and Blogger, from August 2005 on it's Blogger only.
This is my first post on Blogger, a meme called Witches Weekly:

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 04, 2004

Witches Weekly

What do you like most about the summer season?

Certainly not the heat! I like nice weather, but too hot is not my cup of tea (for sure over here in The Netherlands with the high humidity). I like the summer season because it gives its own different touch to nature (as do all the seasons). People are happier, more joyful in summer.

How does weather affect your spirituality? Are you more active in the summer with pagan activities or less? Do you meditate outside or inside depending on weather?

I'm not more active on my own, and there aren't many get-togethers in summer also. If the weather allows it I love to meditate outside. If it's hot like today, I don't do anything, spiritual or other! ;-)

What's your favorite summer ritual? (Lughnasadh, Midsummer, whatever you celebrate)

Midsummer / Litha is special because of the very short time of darkness that night. If I can I stay up all night and celebrate, preferably with others.

posted by Tink @ 13:24

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So, that's my start of the blogging adventure. Blogging has gone through a lot of changes over the years. I was quite active until social media started to become bigger. That's why I love this blog-a-thon to give my blogging a new impulse. I hope I can keep it up! I'm having fun again and love to meet new people and their blogs this way.

10 Things About Me

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 5
Today's idea is a classic, simple as that: "Tell Us 10 Things About You". Sounds easy peasy, but is it? What to tell? Try not to state the obvious, or perhaps I should exactly do that. 10 things, pfew... Let me think...

~*~*~*~

If you don't know me yet, I'll share 10 things you should at least know about me...

If you do know me, can you predict which things I'm going to share in this list? Stop reading, make a list and tell me afterwards how many you had correct. :)

1. I'm married to the love of my life, Ron. Next Saturday is our 18th wedding anniversary, but we are together for more than 25 years. We met at a local marching band: he was on drums, I was a majorette/twirler. And the rest as they say is history... and present, and future! :)
2. I'm pagan, more precisely I call myself an eclectic heathen witch. Interested why or what that means to me? Read more here and of course you'll find lots of pagan stuff on this blog.
3. I'm a Robbie Williams fan ever since he left Take That back in the day. I have all his albums, dvd's and more. I've been to several concerts. This year I went to his Take The Crown Tour and just yesterday I scored tickets for his Swings Both Ways Tour next year. Woohoo! :) Read my posts about him here.
4. I love reading, I love books. I have a lot of books; you can see a small portion (appr. 1200 of them...) in my LibraryThing. I breathe books, like the smell, sound, feel, etc. of real books. My all time favourite book is The Lord Of The Rings, but there's so much more...
5. I'm a Trekkie! Love, love, love Star Trek. I like The Original Series and love the rest. I have all seasons of The Next Generation, Voyager and Deep Space Nine and all movies on dvd. I would love to have Enterprise too. Years ago I've been on television talking about Star Trek. That same day I've met Patrick Stewart, my favourite actor (not only as Capt. Picard).
6. I'm very fond of (all!) animals. I'm a cat-lover and a dog-lover. Some say you can't be both, but I am. We share our home with 3 cats (Freyja, Bastet & Maia - goddess names) and two dogs (Foofur, a crossbreed Welsh Corgi / Jack Russell, and Arwen, a Bernese Mountaindog). Read and see more of them here on my blog.
7. In the past I have been struggling with eating disorders and depression. For some years now I use my experience to help others. I tell my story, educate and give information to different groups of people: teenagers, students, fellow-sufferers, nurses, etc. I coach social workers and medical professionals in how to be of real help to a patient on the way to recovery by showing them a different point of view. 
8. I'm a computer-addict. :) Internet, social media, downloading, digital photography and lots, lots more. I like to learn and try out new things. It's my window to the world.
9. I love all seasons, but especially winter. Snow, ice, cold sunny weather... I've written about that yesterday, so I'll leave it at that here.
10. I like to make herbal home remedies. I'm a reiki master. I make my own candles. Ron and I brew mead. I collect Dutch stamps. I miss my mum and dad. I'm a hobby-genealogist. There's always more to know... And yes, I know this is cheating. ;-))

Weather Wednesday

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 4
Today we talk about the weather. Wherever we are, whatever we do, we all experience the weather. It's one of the ways we connect to nature and often to one another when we first meet and engage in casual conversation. It's such a part of where we live and even who we are!

~*~*~*~

If you know me (or even if you have only been reading here for the first KIOS-days), you know that I love winter weather: snow, ice, cold.... Yay!

I'll quote a part of my column in PaganPages about the seasons (read the whole thing here):
"Even as a child I had a preference for cold over heat, hence winter over summer. Even though I could handle heat much better than I’m able to now, I loved winter more. Cold, ice and… snow! Playing outside in the snow, ice-skating on the frozen waters… A healthy Dutch winter girl! We had longer and colder winters back then, some 35 years ago. When everybody was fed up with it after weeks of snow, I only wanted more. Well, nothing has changed there!"

I just made this my new Facebook-cover:

source: Desktop Nexus

It shows my favourite weather: sunny, blue sky, snow and icy cold. :)

Every year when it's getting colder, the speculations start in The Netherlands whether it will be cold enough to have an "Elfstedentocht" (Eleven Cities Tour) this winter. It's a 200 km long skating tour (a speed skating match and a leisure tour) on natural ice in the province of Friesland. It's a huge event and I'd love to see it again. The last one took place in 1997, so it's about time we get a new (16th) edition this winter! *fingers crossed*

Colours & Swap

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 3
Today an 'old skool swap' is announced and we talk about colours. I won't be able to participate in the swap this time, but here are the colours!

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[ RED ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of red? love
Closest red thing to you? cd-cover of Swings Both Ways (deluxe version)
What is the last thing that made you angry? fireworks in the street (poor pets...)
Are you a fan of romance? in real life yes, movies and books not so much
Do you have a temper? sure, at times

[ GREEN ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of green? nature
Closest green thing to you? little jade polar bear
What's your favourite green environment? park, woods, forest...
Are you jealous of anyone right now? nope
Are you a lucky person? in some ways

[ PURPLE ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of purple? ...
Closest purple thing to you? wool hat of a Harrods christmas-bear
Do you like being treated like royalty? no, with love and respect is good enough
Do you like mysterious things? yes!
Are you intuitive? yes, a lot

[ BLUE ]
What's the first thing you think of when you think of blue? sky
Closest blue thing to you? my sweater
Are you good at calming people down? they say so...
What's your favourite body of water (i.e. lake, ocean, etc)? all, water is my favourite element 
What was the last thing that made you cry? music that reminded me of someone I lost
Are you a logical thinker? yes

[ YELLOW ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of yellow? sun
Closest yellow thing to you? notebook
What was one of the happiest times of your life? my wedding day
What's your favourite holiday? all pagan holidays, but esp. Samhain - Yule - Imbolc
What makes you happy? having no major worries

[ PINK ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of pink? Yuk! I hate pink.
Closest pink thing to you? nothing, yay! let's keep it that way
What sweet things do you like? chocolate
Are you sensitive? yes, very
What is your favourite flower? any flower in nature (please not in a vase to die for me)
Does you have a crush on someone? yes, my hubby!

[ ORANGE ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of orange? Netherlands (our national colour)
Closest orange thing to you? plastic bag
Do you dress up for Halloween? no
What gives you the warm fuzzies? puppies, kittens, other animals
What would your superpower be? invisibility would be nice

[ BROWN ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of brown? chocolate
Closest brown thing to you? statue of a horse
What is your favourite type of chocolate? Koeienvlekjes (cow spots) by Milka
What makes you feel grounded? being outside in nature
Paint the wood or always leave it au naturel? au naturel

[ WHITE ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of white? snow
Closest white thing to you? paper
Do you always try to keep the peace? not all the time anymore, but when possible
Do you like to play in the snow? YES, I love snow!
Are you afraid of going to the doctors or dentist? nope

[ BLACK ] 
What's the first thing you think of when you think of black? night
Closest black thing to you? my mobile phone
Are you sophisticated or silly? mainly silly :-)
Do you have a lot of secrets? not a lot, but secrets... yes
What's the new black? black

Time Capsule

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 2
Today we are capturing this moment in time by answering a few questions. So let's start!

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What are you reading?
I'm always reading multiple books, so here are the ones for now:

• The Fishing Widow by Amy K. Marshall - I got it for free through LibraryThing Early Reviewers Giveaway and I like it a lot! I'll write a review later.
• Heilige bronnen in de Lage Landen by various authors, a Dutch book about reclaiming holy wells in the Lowlands. I attended the book presentation last Saturday.
• and there's more: a thriller by Jo Nesbo, several pagan reverence books and some magazines.

What are you watching?
Besides my all-time favourite Star Trek there are several tv-series I like: Criminal Minds, The Mentalist, NCIS, CSI, Bones, Castle.... and so much more. We recently watched Under The Dome. I also like movies, documentaries, detectives... really too much to sum up here. Did I tell you I love television and dvd..?

What are you listening to?
In my car, computer and cd-player there's one cd on repeat... Swings Both Ways by Robbie Williams. Here you can hear samples of all the songs on this great album, Rob's second swing album. Wonderful new songs, old songs and duets with Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, Lily Allen, Rufus Wainwright and Olly Murs.

What are you loving?
I love.... Ron of course! :) But I also love nature, books, music, internet. I love my pets, my friends and family. I love snow and ice, the cold season. I love walking my pagan path. I love the beach and dunes, trees, stones. And I could probably come up with a lot more I love!

What are you wearing?
Same as always, because i'm comfortable in it: jeans and a sweater. A new black jeans this time, just bought it a week ago, a size smaller than last time, yay!

What are you creating?
I'm busy writing a new column for PaganPages. For the December/Yule issue (coming any day now, soon!) I've writen about creative witchy stuff. My latest creation was a rite-of-passage-cord for the daughter of a Craft-sister. You can see it here.

What are you looking forward to?
I'm so much looking forward to the end of the financial crisis. In general, but especially in our own personal situation... I can't wait for it to finally end. I know there's light at the end of this very long tunnel, but I wholeheartedly hope we get there real soon!

De-Selfie

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Kickin'It Old Skool, Day 1
Day One of Kickin It Old Skool (KIOS) and I'm already slacking... Oops! To be honest I completely forgot about it until today (Dec. 2). Sooo.... I'm cheating and posting this as if I posted it yesterday, LOL! 'Today' we share selfies!

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I could make it easy and post this 'selfie':

It IS me, at least my online presence as Tink, made by the talented Emila Yusof. 

But I guess you want to see the real me? Okay, here is my current Facebook profile pic:

It's an old one, but dear to me because it shows me with 'my' tree. I love trees and this is a special one to me. 

Okay, okay... I'll make one right now with the webcam....

So... that's me!

Get ready for some blogging...!

Remember when blogging was fun?

Feel like you missed out on that time entirely?

Get Ready to Jump Into Our Time Machine 
and Join Us in December for...

read more here

I suck at blogging since social media became bigger. So when I noticed Suzie's post about this (on Facebook...) I hesitated, but then decided: what the heck, I'm in! This could be exactly what the doctor ordered to get back at blogging! :-)) It's always nice to meet new blogs & bloggers and I can at least TRY! The rules are "be nice and have fun", so it can't be that hard...

Blogblast for Peace 2013

Today I'm joining hundreds of bloggers across the world in a movement called "Blogblast For Peace". Bloggers will unite in a global cry for peace in this annual event. One day. One voice. All it takes is one post. Won't you join us?

This is my 6th year of participating. I chose a picture of my favourite statue, the Millenial Gaia by Oberon Zell. His enchanting artwork shows Mother Earth and all of the creatures living and extinct in her hair and etched in her skin. Our Earth needs peace so desperately...


Blogblast for Peace links:

• BFP website
• info on Mimi's blog
• fanpage on Facebook
• grouppage on Facebook

Pagan Pages November

PaganPages is an online magazine or e-zine about all things pagan. The November Issue is up now!

This month I wrote my column about holey stones. You can read it here: Tink About it

There are lots of other interesting articles too:
A Shamanic View
Across the Great Divide
Art & Mystery
Astro Report for November 2013
Barefoot on an Earth Path
Connecting with Nature
Goddesses of Sorcery
Interweavings
Meditation Moment
Musings of a Hereditary Witch
Oak-corns and Apple-thorns
Paranomal Path
Seed, Root, & Stem
Signposts
Spiritual Seeker
The Mugwort Chronicles
The Neon Pagan
Tink about It
Tree of Life
Warrior Women
Tarot Talk
The Witch’s Cupboard
Art & Mystery
November Correspondences