I have had the lamp in my livingroom for about ten years and when I bought it I was thrilled to be able to change the design whenever I wanted. Ehm. ...Tonight was the first time I got on a chair and moved the arms in another angle:





(Here you can see what it looked like for the past years)
Man, it totally changed the whole look of the room.

Sinterklaas-celebrations were once again brilliant. We had such a great time together, pictures don't really capture all the fun we had yesterday. (If only because the best moments were so overwhelmingly amusing that I just forgot to get my camera;) But here is an impression of our afternoon reading poems and unwrapping presents.
As usual I'll start with showing off some of the suprise-packages I Sint made: SintSurprises!

1

A telephone/computer gadget for mom, because of all of her trouble with the phone and internet-connections. It was the first present to be opened: behind the massive amount of presents you can see mom starting the party by reading the poem:



2

This year brother Jaap bought an apartment with girlfriend Gayleen. They had to put in a new kitchen and dad put in a new toilet. To remind Jaap of how much work he didn't do I hid his present (luxurious black toiletpaper, imported from Portugal) in a tiny toilet, so now he had to get his hands dirty:-p
Here he is reading the poem that went with it:



3

Because of nightshifts in the hospital Gayleen almost wasn't able to join the celebrations, so I made her an assistent who can cover for her at work next time she needs a day off. I hid a jar of fairtrade footlotion in her left buttock. However: Gayleen was more impressed by the robotnurse's boobies:



4

Babybrother Hans got his heart broken big time. Inside I hid two comforting pillowcases. Okay, maybe more distracting than comforting: each had a picture of a lovely girl on it. *g* This is Hans reading the poem and bravely smiling all the way through. Goober;)



Mom also made some lovely surprisegifts:


Jaap got a fancy bottly of wine... or did he...



Hans got a 'wuppie' because he missed the rage last summer (when this eighties-phenomenon had a revival because of the WorldCup Football) Notice the pink glasses that cuddly thing is wearing? That was the gift: here is Hans showing it off: so very cool (remind you of someone? *giggle*



Gayleen got an extra suprise gift I found in Amsterdam: a bandana wrapped like a lollypop:




To her and our surprise Gayleen accidently brought back an old tradition: she hid a present inside a piece of food! It was a beautiful creation: she had made an old face out of chocolate and put mom's gift inside: a pair of earrings. It was messy and mom needed some help getting to the present, but she is clearly enjoying herself ;o) Mmm chocolate:



And just because I love this picture: grinning Jaap and that anticipating look on Gayleen's face: that's what Sinterklaas is all about:)



My fifth creation was saved for last:

The final present of the evening: mom had to repair and remake a lot of clothes this year, so she got a huge needle and thread, because no doubt people will ask for her help again. A leather belt with a fancy buckle was hidden inside.

I love Sinterklaas!

Stayed up until 02.00 to work on surprise gifts for Sinterklaas-celebrations. Obviously I can't post pictures of the finished project, because you never know if the family gets bored and decides to visit the picture-corner. But here is an impression of my room after I went wild with arts and crafts....





After Sunday I will post pictures of the party and presents:)

Today I did some pre-emptive shopping for Sinterklaas;) I ended up buying a sweater and a shirt for myself;) Hey, I didn't receive anyone's wishlist yet, so I really couldn't buy them anything:-p

Besides showing off my new clothes, I'm also posting some pictures of the massive amount of candy that's available in the shops right now. I bragged to lizphairrulz about it a couple of weeks ago and today I asked some shopkeepers if I could take pictures to proof that I wasn't making it up. Tadaah: (click for a closer look)











And I kid you not: everything you see is eatable. The pigs and other figures are mostly marzipan, the letters are chocolate. There are also some ''speculaas'-cookies and loads of stuff made out of sugar and nothing else;)

Here are my new clothes (yes, the lettering is supposed to be that blurry;)





And a random picture of the main shopping street:

For your convenience:links to my travelblogs and all the pictures of my trip to Ecuador (and New York)
Reisverslag in het Nederlands + foto-links (in dutch)
and Travelblog in english + picture-links

On my way back from studying (ha!) and traveling in Ecuador (you can find pictures here: week 1, week 2 and week 3 ) I made a long stop-over in New York to visit my little brother for a couple of days. He already posted his pictures (august 19, august 20, august 21, august 22) here are mine:
(here's a little babble about those four days;)

August 20: Laundry, Bodies Expostion, Central Park
and hanging out with Willemijn and Laila


Eating at Whole Food with Willemijn, Laila and Hans


August 21: Brooklyn College, Coney Island,
Burrito's (Chipotle) + Snakes On A Plane!


NY Hans at Brooklyn College



Burrito's at Chipotle. (There is also one of those
conveniently located right next to the theatre,
which we discovered after running a couple of
blocks to get to the movie on time. Ehm.;)


August 22: on my own to Grand Central and Battery Park
that brought back memories...


NY Grand Central Station: I just love that symbol of the train
(the wheel with the wings)



Battery Park, view of Manhattan
(formerly view on WTC...)



In front of the Statue of Liberty...
Honest, it's there, right behind me I swear...

See:

The Statue Of Liberty and me, August 22 - 2006

MEMORIES.... lalalalalalala:


Been there, done that: standing proud in 1988:-)

Fences... fashionsenses *g*... a lot of things change
in 18 years (has it really been that long, sigh)


Back to 2006: going back home:
goodbye Hans, hello Mom!


Goodbye Hans, New York (August 22)



Back in the Netherlands:
on the train from the airport with mom. (August 23)

Ecuador 2006: Pictures August 12 - August 18
I'm working on the final part of my Travelblog.
In the meantime you can enjoy the pictures:
(Missed the earlier parts? Click for week 1, click for week 2)

August 12: Bus from Quito to Riobamba


View from the bus Quito - Riobamba



View from the bus Quito - Riobamba



Hotel Estacion - Riobamba



Hotel Estacion - Riobamba



Riobamba - Iglesia de San Antonio



Playground - Riobamba: I love those monsters!



Lovely tiles - road to cathedral Riobamba



Cathedral, Parque Maldonado - Riobamba



Waiting in line for traintickets - Riobamba



Getting a ticket for the train is serious business - Riobamba


August 13: Spectacular trainride - on the roof!)
from Riobamba to El Nariz del Diablo
(and from there a bus from Aluisi to Cañar)


Breakfast (early!) Riobamba



On top of the train - Riobamba



My pov to the front of the train



And we're off: 07.00 am: train Riobamba - Aluisi



I love this picture:-)



It's kind of chilly early in the morning



Train to El Nariz del Diablo: around 9 am stop in Guamote,
empaladas con queoso (y bananas;) for breakfast: tasty!



Enjoying the ride;-)



Watch your heads!



Spectacular views all around



View from the train



Another amazing view



and another one



There were a lot of Kodak-moments;)



Short stop in Aluisi, next is the loop to El Nariz del Diablo



And this is it: El Nariz del Diablo! (ehm I don't see it,
but I guess if you have been working for monthts
on getting the tracks across that big mountain,
all the rocks start to look evil;-)



Smudgy hotel in Cañar, with the very important TV
including tvAmazonas-channel *g*
(more on that in my travelblog;)


August 14: bus from Cañar to Ingapirca
=most important Inga-ruins in Ecuador
(from there bus to Cuenca)


Road to -you guessed it- Incapirca,
a five minute walk from the village with the same name



Incapirca ruins



Inganahui, near Incapirca,
now that is what I call a face in the rocks;)


August 15: exploring Cuenca


In the background you can see the old cathedral



Cuenca: piñata-party:-)



Parque Calderon, Cuenca



View from the restaurant in Hotel Milan, Cuenca


August 16: Bus from Cuenca to Guayaquil


Heh: entrance (and me;) busstation Cuenca


View from the bus Cuenca - Guayaquil
(Parque Nacional Cajas)


Another lovely view from the bus to Guayaquil *g* (What?)



Guyaquil: boardwalk & Las Peñas



I could post another picture of another cathedral,
but thought this would make a nice change: a statue!


August 17: Bus from Guyaquil back to Quito (about 8 hours)


On the road: banana-trees!


August 18: leaving Ecuador


Leaving Quito: (on to New York!)