tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9829095900525536152024-03-05T12:23:15.247+01:00Brusselsstyle?Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-64414243648048737482013-01-13T19:54:00.001+01:002013-01-13T19:54:37.972+01:00Brussels Fashion Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back in October I was invited to the <a href="http://www.brusselsfashiondays.be/index.php?p=splash">Brussels Fashion Days</a> by my colleague Isabelle. Brussels is aiming to challenge London, New York, Paris and Milan but is starting small and went for a weekend of fashion inspiration rather than a whole week.<br />
I am not much of a fashionista, but I was curious so we set off from work on the Friday evening and arrived at the venue "<a href="http://www.addictlab.com/component/content/article/130">The Egg</a>", a converted 15.000m2 warehouse, now used as a venue for all sorts of creative things, made up of 6 parallel halls. Doesn't look like much from the outside:<br />
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But inside:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTjTchFNL90PlgBd8hTzyHye5Z3o-Ea0qERj7GMYD_6YUGYjkPJgZcLN3BmbNBcRmuy7YuHQ4ictxXjbEd9sMqrMBgTw-sQmwFO-zuXJDXeXe-Y3UhdqTC_KGUVByZZTA-YRT1fVmRcY/s1600/464302_546659742030420_1573478147_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTjTchFNL90PlgBd8hTzyHye5Z3o-Ea0qERj7GMYD_6YUGYjkPJgZcLN3BmbNBcRmuy7YuHQ4ictxXjbEd9sMqrMBgTw-sQmwFO-zuXJDXeXe-Y3UhdqTC_KGUVByZZTA-YRT1fVmRcY/s320/464302_546659742030420_1573478147_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/edanhier">Eric Danhier</a></td></tr>
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The first warehouse room was an exhibition of all the designer creations, some more wacky than others, I was particularly inspired by the jewellery designs of <a href="http://www.aurorehavenne.com/http://www.aurorehavenne.com/">Aurore Havenne</a> and <a href="http://www.nayestones.com/">Nayes Stones</a>, and the bags and accessories designed by <a href="http://thecookietherapy.com/">The Cookie Therapy</a>.<br />
We then explored further into the next hall, where we launched ourselves at the bar and emptied three bottles of champagne between 8 of us, then we took turns for makeovers with L'Oreal and Makeupforever, then stepped into the next gallery for the fashion show. <br />
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I was quite taken with some of the designs (Natan and Elvis Pompillo's hats), my friends were quite taken with the male models in skirts, making sure they knew it by wolf whistling and cat-calling...thankfully it was dark and I don't think anybody noticed exactly who it was (not me). <br />
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We ended the night back in the central hall watching the stage show, and having our picture taken: <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pics by Eric Danhier and Pierre Fera</td></tr>
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Would I go again next year? If I get free tickets, yes, it was fun and interesting. I'm keen to see what it becomes in the years ahead too. Next time we should maybe go easy on the champagne though.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-41554420581007537562013-01-06T18:54:00.000+01:002013-01-06T18:54:24.270+01:00Brussels DesignSome bits and bobs found on pinterest. Brussels is not short of style!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wolfers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pompillo Hats</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Catteau Ceramics<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jewellery from Hé Madameke</td></tr>
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<br />Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-42610196158395079972013-01-05T14:08:00.000+01:002013-01-05T20:15:08.464+01:00Good Resolutions2013 started for me with a bout of illness, nothing better to spur on good resolutions for the year ahead. For the past three years I have been somewhat neglectful of my health, particularly eating a lot and exercising little.<br />
I had put this down to a desire to enjoy life in spite of our legal and financial problem (that I may get back to posting about, some day): busy job, happy marriage and good friends leads to long boozy lunches, cosy comforting suppers and an interest in baking for my own consumption.<br />
I am now at an age where I can't really get away with it, the kilos I've put on are well hidden, but I feel the lack of energy and the need to change some choices for better ones.<br />
My attempt at "dry January" failed yesterday, when our neighbours invited us round for champagne, but one blip shall not defeat me!<br />
Yestreday I received a gift at work of a kilo of scottish smoked salmon...mmm. But one whole kilo to myself? Matt doesn't eat fish, and smoked salmon is kind of filling, so two-thirds of it has gone into the freezer portioned up, the rest I will share with our lovely champagne purveying neighbours.<br />
For lunch today I was inpired by the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vq8c6">Hairy Bikers, with their current series on diets for food lovers, </a>and created my take on their<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pan-fried_bacon_with_76907"> cooked breakfast alternative</a>:<br />
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Simply a plate of rocket (argula), sliced cherry tomatoes, sliced smoked salmon (I used about 120 grams) and a poached egg. Some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and:<br />
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Bon appétitAlicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-21915808716785560692012-12-28T21:54:00.004+01:002012-12-28T21:54:58.998+01:00A blog resurrectedI thought I'd come back to blogging for a bit. Things have moved on, but not how you'd expect! One of these days I might get round to posting the rest of the saga. The project is mothballed, but we have moved from our little flat in Evere to a bigger apartment in Woluwe. It's Christmas, I have the flu, but the place looks nice:<br />
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Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-42740101856188455852010-11-07T21:09:00.000+01:002013-01-05T14:15:58.718+01:00In the past 4 weeks...Matt has been to Istanbul, Milan, Zagreb, Manchester, Prague and Nuremberg. He has designed a website for my mother's music coaching business, he has fixed the rotten piece of #@%&!!! that is our flat....no wait... I mean the rotten piece of wood at the bottom of the balcony doors, stripped some walls, plastered some others, made roasted wild boar, bangers and mash, chicken kiev from scratch (with much swearing) and various other meals, countless cups of tea and coffee, and learnt to play 3 pieces of the Associated Board Grade 1 piano selection. <br />
I've either been asleep or eating pasta.<br />
Although I did go to an overnight training course on "Personal Leadership" in deepest Limburg, the entire thing was in Dutch and my brain was so fried by the end of it I couldn't string a sentence together in any language at all, the resulting effect was not unlike Esperanto. <br />
Here are some pictures<br />
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Yes this is the progress we have made since <a href="http://bxlstyle.blogspot.com/2010/04/electricity-and-bathroom.html">April</a>.<br />
I say "we"...I say "progress"... hmpf.</div>
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I do not love the flat anymore. I feel a bit sorry for it though, which is daft, but a bit like a toy truck that's lost one of its wheels, it was once a source of all sorts of positive things and now it just seems like a piece of junk. Poor flat. I don't even want to live there anymore, it's kind of small and echoy and cold, it smells of dust and drains, the floor is full of holes and the walls are kind of moulting. We have owned it for a year. We have spent over 9000 euros of our budget on costs related to Crazy Bastarditis, and 3000 euros on miscellaneous renovation costs (of which 1000 is an deposit still held by Selfmatic in anticipation of us someday in the next decade being able to install some heating). </div>
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What a miserable post. I'll have cheered up by next week. For behold, I am making a list! Lists are a sign that things are moving in the right direction, right?</div>
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Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-51515328726270620262010-10-30T16:22:00.001+02:002010-10-30T16:23:41.264+02:00BackYes, well, I kind of lost my motivation there for a while. I didn't feel I had anything particularly interesting to write about, and I seem to be very bad at taking photos, so the whole blogging idea seemed a bit pointless.<br />
What's been going on?<br />
Firstly, we are not moving yet. After lots of sums on the backs of envelopes, giving the hassle and emotional drain a numerical factor, we came to the conclusion that staying put until the end of our lease makes the most sense. Matt travels a lot for work, I'm very busy in my new job, last thing we need is to be packing boxes and moving to loony Wallonia. Lease ends in April. Will we have a home to go to?<br />
Looking at the rate of progress of our legal appointed and highly expensive expert and syndic, we'll be in a tent with the asylum seekers in Parc Gaucheret.<br />
The syndic is a complete jerk, but at least he's a jerk to everyone (he answers my emails "cher monsieur" and yells at us when <i>he</i> gets appointment times wrong). Perhaps by pissing us all off he's trying to build some kind of camaraderie among the owners that will somehow propell us to finally getting the damn project off the ground? Don't you believe it...<br />
Our last meeting all together at the end of September went something like this<br />
Syndic: so have you considered the expert's proposal?<br />
Crazy bastard: yes, and I reject it! Are you mad? I don't want my neighbours to have windows, ceilings, hot water and heating! How absurd! Let me build my balcony! Have the top floor flat condemned! Ban the roof terrace! No chimneys! <br />
Expert: um...well if we make pipes for your heating, we have to make them for the others too<br />
Crazy bastard: I DON'T CARE, I HATE YOU ALL, YOU PEOPLE ARE NOT NORMAL, I'M GOING HOME TO DESTROY THE WHOLE BUILDING!!<br />
Everyone else: *blink*<br />
Ah, my dear expert and syndic, finally you have seen that the problem is not one of silly neighbours not getting along, but that we are dealing with psycopaths.<br />
The answer to this from the expert has been complete silence. Our court date went by with no case, as he hadn't finished his report. WTF is he doing all this time? Is he going to hold us to ransom for another 3000 euros? Probably. He can stick it. I'm now hoping Crazy Bastard will actually carry out his threat and spare us all the expense. <br />
Anyway, on a happier note, the stress of the past year has given me a fun type of gut rot disease with the consequence that I am only able to eat foods like pasta and cheese, or bangers and mash. Hurrah! No more worrying about fresh organic vegetables and whole grains and muesli! Waffles! White bread! Rice Krispies! Down with cabbage and associated cruciferous vegetables, boo to beans, raspberries to raspberries! <br />
Oh, and I've also "learnt" to "drive", which would be terribly useful if my company-car-to-be hadn't sprung a leak from the oil tank 2 weeks ago and been in the car hospital ever since. I'm hoping I won't have forgotten everything by the time I can get it back. Heck I could barely remember anything from one lesson to the next.<br />
What else? Still no government, but who could tell? And the Delhaize has started stocking proper cheddar again which is handy. I'm going to eat some now, with my own home made plum and pear chutney! Unless I am not allowed pears and plums. Bugger.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-15099391041261267302010-09-03T19:55:00.000+02:002010-09-03T19:55:11.303+02:00Our summerToday it happened. Autumn arrived. It was chilly but softly sunlit this morning, and misty and grim by this evening. The temperature thingy on the pharmacy said 19 degrees but I didn't believe it. Time for a bit of looking back...<br />
We had a great summer. It started in June in the drizzle at the wonderful <a href="http://www.hassonville.be/">Chateau d'Hassonville</a> near Marche en Famenne in the south of Belgium. Matt took me there as a (re)treat, the first half of 2010 having had me almost stretchered off to the loony bin.<br />
The chateau is delightful, in acres of green grounds. It was first built as a hunting lodge for Louis XIV, bits were added over the years. It's now a hotel and spa, with a good restaurant (perhaps a little underwhelming for the price but redeemed by a fab wine list)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNkqu4OdIYOI_HH0rtVTZ3uL6GTUfi_QDKo6QPwwCmXQyNlC3dM79rLGYxYajdMF4GNKJIAJuydMD0LBPONZJ24HuBn8t6LuVx1wf7iZ23FVsioOVdGvAEBE2rZWd1e4DaNEFMCDhiT0/s1600/caption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNkqu4OdIYOI_HH0rtVTZ3uL6GTUfi_QDKo6QPwwCmXQyNlC3dM79rLGYxYajdMF4GNKJIAJuydMD0LBPONZJ24HuBn8t6LuVx1wf7iZ23FVsioOVdGvAEBE2rZWd1e4DaNEFMCDhiT0/s320/caption.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKQqmrCDC02rs9NrgrRVJmfPqAnKznMH7Pc4ozBWz3cfB2hdHBpTYxP4-BWZ8r2FGLT4GRwm557H1UyFj4WTK3suMh7bF7BiGV_ZjCrdTgqNF3kwjcfP2Mn8SMgHnUQi2d3xnj5wc4Hw/s1600/609034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKQqmrCDC02rs9NrgrRVJmfPqAnKznMH7Pc4ozBWz3cfB2hdHBpTYxP4-BWZ8r2FGLT4GRwm557H1UyFj4WTK3suMh7bF7BiGV_ZjCrdTgqNF3kwjcfP2Mn8SMgHnUQi2d3xnj5wc4Hw/s320/609034.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_O_jK7FIq9oyP5Rer8PbgkszboEYqbKejOYm3eP-Sph9wIldQVz9N3CwtzhSzX77mnvalnauLN9qlwabi__2kFYeFGB5Tm2f-mfIVYw1vBjrRAYuG1I27vFMs6o0oHaUO3Sm1ZAlTmg/s1600/hassonville2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_O_jK7FIq9oyP5Rer8PbgkszboEYqbKejOYm3eP-Sph9wIldQVz9N3CwtzhSzX77mnvalnauLN9qlwabi__2kFYeFGB5Tm2f-mfIVYw1vBjrRAYuG1I27vFMs6o0oHaUO3Sm1ZAlTmg/s320/hassonville2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Later that month, our friends Hilary and Leon invited us for a weekend on a boat on the river Meuse, just outside Namur. It was FREEZING that weekend, so we kept ourselves warm by drinking vast quantities of beer. Then we went into the centre of Namur for the Fete de la Musique and ended up watching a gig by the hilarious <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vedettes">Vedettes</a>, a pop-punk band fronted by a dozen slightly washed-up looking majorettes. Some extracts from their repertoire: "Je Hais Les Adolescents (encore plus que les enfants)" - I hate adolescents (even more than children), and "Papa est Mort" with lyrics such as "who cares, he was a fascist anyway...but we didn't kill him".<br />
Namur is cool. I even enjoyed the end of the night, being locked out of the car park in the pouring rain.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZW62OEElPXPCe1khCThHNMNyCK-UvHSitqmxrV_MX9ph5JENY5RI4Z3jFQyj0DBnwiJqPLeNiyrJbV0dM52CYHlt1e48rCyhwm2eLcDts0dFgfbtz800wzyXmwxG_1-jJr3ZjqlaIaCU/s1600/Namur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZW62OEElPXPCe1khCThHNMNyCK-UvHSitqmxrV_MX9ph5JENY5RI4Z3jFQyj0DBnwiJqPLeNiyrJbV0dM52CYHlt1e48rCyhwm2eLcDts0dFgfbtz800wzyXmwxG_1-jJr3ZjqlaIaCU/s320/Namur.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In late June we sang in a concert with our choir, the <a href="http://www.brusselschoralsociety.com/">Brussels Choral Society</a>. We sang some Boulanger, and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms to a rather small audience at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven. Next bash is 25th of November in the Bozar. See you there!<br />
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All of a sudden, July arrived and it went from mild to boiling, with weeks of 30+ temperatures and blazing sunshine. I love the heat so it was bliss for me, even though our apartment does a good impression of a greenhouse in such weather (30C outside, 32C inside!).<br />
We spent a few days in Mouzaive, a tiny village on the Semois river near the French border. A lovely weekend with some good friends, in a renovated cottage. We swam in the river which was a bit like swimming in a tepid but muddy bath, and barbecued under the hot rain. It was gorgeous.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX71qBJi5qt0dQ8MXFswWeSGOBdQ06PpQR_cXgTxGw23W4pQ4y8c3xB6IWoINpEnzWi3ERyxDzG1-IIg_IIPrxA32DYJuKTj-8i1jAvohegcNRxtKlke0Aa5dY58b4z1GvE9a-dM7ZByY/s1600/P1040557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX71qBJi5qt0dQ8MXFswWeSGOBdQ06PpQR_cXgTxGw23W4pQ4y8c3xB6IWoINpEnzWi3ERyxDzG1-IIg_IIPrxA32DYJuKTj-8i1jAvohegcNRxtKlke0Aa5dY58b4z1GvE9a-dM7ZByY/s320/P1040557.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YhFYm2u7VMnXpZpk59r3oMm-5BGVN8skZ1Jmy_S7eJBwH5erOyS4jnzl_XLbChEyLZv9-LhSrb4V4Qgqu6QdSyEDr_B_JkM0kM1bviPpvi5ncyKCKDSCX_WjfxvgH19AzzqI5LQ6fJ8/s1600/P1040744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YhFYm2u7VMnXpZpk59r3oMm-5BGVN8skZ1Jmy_S7eJBwH5erOyS4jnzl_XLbChEyLZv9-LhSrb4V4Qgqu6QdSyEDr_B_JkM0kM1bviPpvi5ncyKCKDSCX_WjfxvgH19AzzqI5LQ6fJ8/s320/P1040744.JPG" /></a></div><br />
The National Day celebrations seemed to pass without a hitch, we did our bit to support our funny fragile country by attending the Bal National, but took no pics. Drank lots of beer though. Another encounter with the Vedettes too (do we now count as groupies?).<br />
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In August we spent a week in Scotland, here are a few pics of that:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJE210GLx1QOfz8e2NC6xMsb0KUcTIJc5ZXG7eIF3_5uMayHTw5qGW0F94v9lYCh1UCHMaS4MWZLpEd16Pp_q0lPOFas6w59GZz-g8YIlvP5tFpeEBpPLCYuH0xVWORccs7TW72oSidbY/s1600/082010+015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJE210GLx1QOfz8e2NC6xMsb0KUcTIJc5ZXG7eIF3_5uMayHTw5qGW0F94v9lYCh1UCHMaS4MWZLpEd16Pp_q0lPOFas6w59GZz-g8YIlvP5tFpeEBpPLCYuH0xVWORccs7TW72oSidbY/s320/082010+015.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5q2vzMRd1_nbPRrNMREVqZX7GJIWzpIf7nm94GOVzTs8iWPTL-lTtjA9FV_3LhR_ItvXu9TJgdtutS6kPGpCVirFHKBcAS0UGTTEwpo33gBYgjSeOx8Byc1jHY4A2gixcefKNyQ9a7bg/s1600/09082010137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5q2vzMRd1_nbPRrNMREVqZX7GJIWzpIf7nm94GOVzTs8iWPTL-lTtjA9FV_3LhR_ItvXu9TJgdtutS6kPGpCVirFHKBcAS0UGTTEwpo33gBYgjSeOx8Byc1jHY4A2gixcefKNyQ9a7bg/s320/09082010137.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eb0TdqEp_hNhFhK-zHW_QskgTLdsbv4R74czgyvx8F3GojIuYw3tTs28irCLYybr9MdZ3_iwNrsp-263xOfyLRD11-wO09lYutiErTEs-eHocB3cslUMd-OQ7EE1bmNpfE1_SWcnxfw/s1600/082010+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eb0TdqEp_hNhFhK-zHW_QskgTLdsbv4R74czgyvx8F3GojIuYw3tTs28irCLYybr9MdZ3_iwNrsp-263xOfyLRD11-wO09lYutiErTEs-eHocB3cslUMd-OQ7EE1bmNpfE1_SWcnxfw/s320/082010+002.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Then returned home to this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_SlXk0-pLhmr1nSUe7q11EEfWgOyf5jX3ZrFlU-DY33S7pId3RIhjZIcJHvUV7y1FNcMVxxbNbvS2hD6HbQW4520JM-krYZk2xbgXDhdmY0YvMW9jAxUJ3oQUSY4euSkC_QScpgbsbk/s1600/301742_PhoDoc1__ROG7130_jpg_0KJN1MGR.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_SlXk0-pLhmr1nSUe7q11EEfWgOyf5jX3ZrFlU-DY33S7pId3RIhjZIcJHvUV7y1FNcMVxxbNbvS2hD6HbQW4520JM-krYZk2xbgXDhdmY0YvMW9jAxUJ3oQUSY4euSkC_QScpgbsbk/s320/301742_PhoDoc1__ROG7130_jpg_0KJN1MGR.JPG" /></a></div>We rounded off the month of august with a whirlwind trip down to Burgundy to see mother-in-law's newest acquisition, a beautiful french townhouse with it's own courtyard AND TURRET. Matt really likes the turrets that Belgian architects seem to enjoy putting on all sorts of houses, he's very keen on having one ourselves one day.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6ezQ3HcGLQ7y7SDpEdHVT_ICchVsBVB3EGcIW3nMR_9QKtqLTZGj2HhfKPZaVSc-Yzjn1RxTtXmkDLxBrrX8Eu0Jd2lzB4kWIU0n2I3Kf2c4fQbLQG_nOPA-GYD_KKPhq78vQWYX588/s1600/2600437756_0573955533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6ezQ3HcGLQ7y7SDpEdHVT_ICchVsBVB3EGcIW3nMR_9QKtqLTZGj2HhfKPZaVSc-Yzjn1RxTtXmkDLxBrrX8Eu0Jd2lzB4kWIU0n2I3Kf2c4fQbLQG_nOPA-GYD_KKPhq78vQWYX588/s320/2600437756_0573955533.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Place Colignon in Schaerbeek - turrets!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FQSKe1kBdA_bstc9m9Sq7-nN0rkr9G9-DpbtCF7DZaZqc11KNitF26gIOqORsvEkcpwi2rco39d2gYRAkRCtVgFo1G7mEME73gaLmd_j0m1Ep7Xlz_422iFu1UX4joMY9i4PKOwtYkw/s1600/REF+JL18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FQSKe1kBdA_bstc9m9Sq7-nN0rkr9G9-DpbtCF7DZaZqc11KNitF26gIOqORsvEkcpwi2rco39d2gYRAkRCtVgFo1G7mEME73gaLmd_j0m1Ep7Xlz_422iFu1UX4joMY9i4PKOwtYkw/s320/REF+JL18.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">La Maison en Bourgogne</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Burgundy is gorgeous. I lived there for a while </span>when I was a student, in Dijon, and I'm looking forward to going back again soon to reacquaint myself with the area.</div><div style="text-align: left;">And now, it's back to work, back to weekly choir practice, back to the treadmill (ugh), ooh! But also back to a packed Autumn full of <a href="http://www.monument.irisnet.be/fr/sensibi/newsjdp.htm">heritage visits</a>, <a href="http://www.aywiers.be/fr/fr_accueil_lieu.html">garden festivals</a>, <a href="http://www.abconcerts.be/nl/">live music</a>, <a href="http://www.mmmmh.be/">cookery courses</a>,<a href="http://www.desingel.be/productionDetailView.orb?pr_id=9138"> cultural events</a>, <a href="http://www.lamonnaie.be/en/opera/41/">opera</a>, and anything else we can cram in.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-55449789745214681812010-08-27T16:34:00.000+02:002010-08-27T16:34:35.984+02:00teabagsYes, I have 640 teabags. <br />
Being a cultural hybrid of Belgo-English, or Anglo-Belgian, or Belgish as my mother-in-law calls it, I have some engrained habits of both nationalities. My British side is tea obsessed. And one thing that is almost impossible to get in Belgium is a Decent Cup of Tea, mainly due to the lack of Decent Teabags. Belgians swear by the Lipton Yellow stuff which does a very good impression of being tea but tends more to the colour and flavour of sawdust.<br />
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You can find decent British tea in Brussels, even in ordinary Delhaize or Carrefour sometimes, but they seem to think proper tea is some kind of delicacy and they sell PG Tips in boxes of 20 teabags at an extortionate rate that only a true addict would pay (more on that later). 20 teabags would probably last me about 3 days.<br />
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So as a family we engage in regular teabag smuggling, getting PG Tips supplies brought over by whoever can do so. Last time Matt went to London on business, he bought 3 boxes of 80 teabags and lugged them all the way to the Eurostar terminal only to have the bag disintegrate, leaving him with no other option than to decant the teabags from the boxes into his overnight bag and laptop case. It’s a wonder none of them ended up getting run through the washing machine with his socks after arrival back home. We had to store them somewhere and this is where my jar collection came in handy.<br />
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A few months ago a terrible thing happened. I had mistakenly assumed I had another jar of teabags stashed in the back of a cupboard but no! No tea to be found, and my mood darkened for it was a Monday morning at 8 a.m. when the only thing that saves me from a pit of gloom is a cup of tea with my tartine. I frantically called my mother, my PG Tips back-up supply, who by coincidence had also run out of teabags that weekend. Alarm and despondency on both ends of the telephone. Whatever shall we do? Carrefour had stopped stocking them…Stonemanor might have them but it’s out in the murky depths of Vlaams Brabant, or in the desperate ribbon development of Waterloo, and we have no means of transport! Could we face the trek? I’ve never been to Stonemanor. I expect it to be a place full of grim-faced British expats queuing in an orderly fashion for their fix of 8 euro jars of Branston pickle and cans of Strongbow while whingeing about the awful Belgian weather and absurd Belgian bureaucracy. Basically a shop full of people just like me. Nightmare. <br />
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An emergency supply of Yorkshire Teabags (not a patch on the old PG) was found in a local Delhaize that evening (where it is also marketed as some sort of exotic beverage with a pricetag to match), but everything British I have ever found in Delhaize mysteriously stops being sold there within a month or so, so it wasn’t long before I was back on the Liptons….<br />
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Thankfully we were due a trip to Norfolk a few weeks later, and were able to raid Tesco. I was gripped by tea panic and picked up as many boxes as I could carry, the 240 bag boxes causing havoc with our packing as it meant we couldn’t also fit in all the Fray Bentos pies Matt wanted to bring back. After some negotiating and rearranging of bags, we set off with 6 boxes of 160 teabags, 5 tinned pies of various flavours, 2 bottles of Ribena, a few jars of chutney, a box of shortbread, half a kilo of cheddar and some hot cross buns. <br />
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Needless to say the train journey back from Norwich to London on a Sunday with 2 suitcases, one laptop, one backpack and half a grocery store was fun and games (National British Railtrack “Express” liking to make travel on Sundays as awkward as it can by sending passengers by stopping train to Cambridge, then by coach to Wensdon Ambo where you have to lasso your own donkey to trek over the runway at Stansted, canoe down the river Chelmer and finally pick up a disaffected 1950s school bus to Kings Cross.)<br />
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Getting from London to Evere was a piece of cake by comparison.<br />
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The pies and perishables did not last long, but I am still working my way through the tea. I have got through 2 boxes (320 teabags) since May, that’s about 100 teabags a month. I should be safe until Christmas.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-34191889009351568402010-08-18T12:02:00.000+02:002010-08-18T12:02:59.167+02:00How do I do that?A few jobs need tackling at home.<br />
How do I stop husband from having 3 towels in use at once, each to be found damp and scrunched up on the sofa every evening?<br />
How do I organize all the empty jam jars I've been collecting?<br />
Where do I put 640 teabags?<br />
How do I keep a herb garden alive over a week's holiday? Do I need a herb sitter as well as a cat sitter?<br />
<br />
How do we save 600 euros a month? Why, by handing in our notice on our current flat, that's how. EEEK. We shall be out of here by end of November. Where we will then be is a question I cannot answer. Works may have started on the new place by then, but I have only faint hope of this.<br />
Our friend and neighour, the former syndic and ground floor owner, is now seriously ill and will be having major surgery around the time of our next meet with the Juge de Paix. He will then be convalescing for 3 months, right around the time we may need to do the major works on the house. We are hoping beyond hope that his brain tumour is not cancerous. After months of telling ourselves that whatever happens we at least have our health, this is a knock to our thin armour of optimism.<br />
Staying strong and positive...how do I do that?Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-47715807545102965222010-08-17T10:55:00.000+02:002013-01-05T14:19:20.979+01:00Ahoy there, Arrrgh, Shiver me timbers etc...Growing up, I used to spend long summers with my grandparents in Cornwall. Grandpa was a keen sailor, and used to take me out in his Wayfarer on Plymouth Sound. My uncle Dan worked for many years on cargo shipping lines. Uncle Josh has always worked at sea - merchant navy, tall-ships sailing instructor and more recently as captain of some fairly high-profile vessels. The sea is something that is in the family, even if nowadays I rarely get the chance to sail.<br />
While thinking of decoration plans for our someday-new-home, I came across this post from Style Files, a <a href="http://style-files.com/2010/08/11/boat-bath-by-wieki-somers/">bath boat (or boat bath?)</a> . I LOVE it. It made me think of this bath, by <a href="http://www.aquamass.com/menu-en.htm">Aquamass</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLezo4BwjRQaG6lZet9CeW2BVxZjH7oVePYQOhmyEmJaXIOKJ4u1OwegP8H-zSn9DrgFIZRI4r9rBWZAdxrHrQFBI_oGn7fsiovMm3FiCEhK4k1QzbNt4uPqFpEv-9MNIyRuJb36iZOck/s1600/baleine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="611" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLezo4BwjRQaG6lZet9CeW2BVxZjH7oVePYQOhmyEmJaXIOKJ4u1OwegP8H-zSn9DrgFIZRI4r9rBWZAdxrHrQFBI_oGn7fsiovMm3FiCEhK4k1QzbNt4uPqFpEv-9MNIyRuJb36iZOck/s640/baleine.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Which in turn reminded me of a style of lighting that we fell in love with having seen it in a brochure at <a href="http://www.batibouw.com/index.cfm?P_ID=6">Batibouw</a>. The Nautic range from Tekna: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-s93SeygrsqALP1ECefjhB2iGSgZd7cndOs_T5-T9WW61r5rUgVZqeZgMjAvflxLTTGD_QdeD0CFeMzdqVCB1BpCjJUFoAa8SAIKRhGk5oExAGXA8c0GsyZq1bt-zB1IAtRHHqEKXPI/s1600/poster3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin-s93SeygrsqALP1ECefjhB2iGSgZd7cndOs_T5-T9WW61r5rUgVZqeZgMjAvflxLTTGD_QdeD0CFeMzdqVCB1BpCjJUFoAa8SAIKRhGk5oExAGXA8c0GsyZq1bt-zB1IAtRHHqEKXPI/s1600/poster3.jpg" /></a></div>
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Nautical style can be very subtle and charming, with just a few elements of the theme and an appropriate white and blue colour scheme:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjBjQM7iNtgEgVjURsprLEWYXkzng78VbySF5LL2r-bsoUtYQ0fzUwSdIMne6MIrkhSoPq4vUuO5aWxw5XHqMEbNZabYHj35x8jNcCfDzXI7UTMzEgow6sdtis_BQEfmUuryvHC2cZf8/s1600/Nautical-Bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjBjQM7iNtgEgVjURsprLEWYXkzng78VbySF5LL2r-bsoUtYQ0fzUwSdIMne6MIrkhSoPq4vUuO5aWxw5XHqMEbNZabYHj35x8jNcCfDzXI7UTMzEgow6sdtis_BQEfmUuryvHC2cZf8/s320/Nautical-Bathroom.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbctpyXDOMlprn8VvbvTGQI9V3IglUeUN-Ol8m6v14GPMy0-kxw9FcdsTUhyphenhyphenUgXlajKJyaKuPT-G8-CuXZRD2kBhNGh-_qUPiUHUr-lCtLYfW9LwNAZJ6CaXHm2jvBiMjOqm61Fp9mth4/s1600/30364_0_8-3155-eclectic-bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbctpyXDOMlprn8VvbvTGQI9V3IglUeUN-Ol8m6v14GPMy0-kxw9FcdsTUhyphenhyphenUgXlajKJyaKuPT-G8-CuXZRD2kBhNGh-_qUPiUHUr-lCtLYfW9LwNAZJ6CaXHm2jvBiMjOqm61Fp9mth4/s320/30364_0_8-3155-eclectic-bathroom.jpg" /></a></div>
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Or how about a bold and daring statement:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQMsnmOcEfMXJTiwW-hwjUX9-pWqlTVSUVCap31kBR6Tzv98hvl94wjygx01f1n3pceobRJOTorw5yOJw4lysEqvTS9hbpWoEhj6meBY4JjILUYQBgcg7PBnb_WkN4ZfktNUjh-X_GUE/s1600/img7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQMsnmOcEfMXJTiwW-hwjUX9-pWqlTVSUVCap31kBR6Tzv98hvl94wjygx01f1n3pceobRJOTorw5yOJw4lysEqvTS9hbpWoEhj6meBY4JjILUYQBgcg7PBnb_WkN4ZfktNUjh-X_GUE/s320/img7.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLypqHQ9lDEQYACc5xeTTmXufIy8-qu5VX52aQTiHCf0B7nvU2Q65qjL_eQ-iZnDVjqPz2-L2bL74LDWChRAd2HsvtyrBB1gZRVzDV0R2C5VNgMk0zARsaJRzPdcHXawoAdGKr7LbWhc/s1600/692PI01L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLypqHQ9lDEQYACc5xeTTmXufIy8-qu5VX52aQTiHCf0B7nvU2Q65qjL_eQ-iZnDVjqPz2-L2bL74LDWChRAd2HsvtyrBB1gZRVzDV0R2C5VNgMk0zARsaJRzPdcHXawoAdGKr7LbWhc/s320/692PI01L.jpg" /></a></div>
Or how about...maybe not. This is not a theme park! Less is more, people!<br />
Thoughts on incorporating nautical elements to a bathroom when one is over 100 kilometres from the sea?<br />
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Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-54350144189055994142010-08-16T13:09:00.000+02:002010-08-16T13:09:46.277+02:00FamilyJust got back from a week-long trip to North-Eastern Scotland where we spent some time with my aunt and uncle, cousins and grandfather. I also celebrated my 31st birthday, along with my aunt Rachel's 25th wedding anniversary, my second cousin Livs' 18th and various other bits and pieces that have occurred since our last family reunion.<br />
We stayed at my aunt's house, in the valley of the Deveron, and despite the average temperature of 14C and changeable weather, it was gorgeous and I had a great time.<br />
I spent some time getting to know my cousins a bit better. For a family dispersed quite widely we are remarkably close and seem to click back as if we'd hardly seen each other a week ago. It's especially important to me as I am the only child of two single parents, and I am also the oldest of my cousins by quite a stretch. My cousin Alex is 15, scary to think that when I was his age he was 1! Cat is almost 19, I find it hard to reconcile this grown-up with the Cat I remember who is about 3 years old in my head.<br />
Hanging out with them and their equally grown-up friends made me feel old old old, yet somehow young, because we all seemed to be on the same wavelength. I'm still in the same funny place I always was - partly my mother's generation and partly my cousins'. I'm going to need the young ones as I get older and my parents get older too.<br />
I was very lucky to have the best years of my grandparents, I spent a couple of years when I was very young living with them in a small village in Cornwall, the first 5 years of my life I was their only grandchild and they picked up where they left off with my aunt who was only 21 when I was born. I am like the 5th child to them in many ways, and I grew up with not one parent but 6 if you count my aunt and uncles who were all big parts of my early years.<br />
I visited my grandma in hospital. She's 89 and suffers from altzheimers. She is now almost totally bed-ridden. She can't see, and she can barely hear. It's just amazing that a person who was so frail in her childhood, living through severe illness and war, is physically still so strong. Yet her mind is gone. Is grandma still alive? Plainly so...but what of her soul? If I ever did (and I'm really not sure I did), I don't believe in souls anymore. Maybe a trace of her is still there: when I said "goodbye" a few times, she raised her hand as if to wave. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEOWsJa88JlDpwFiMQs3-rSIaX6A0MsKFWbQ2zKOhch5A35WhzznD1_eBvsHmhaunHhqbER9rsdYzy_uQ9m9diyOyohr9D1fudjmSXVn95bRzK-rJZ8DTsFitQbruoO2JbcBi4vNrFWs/s1600/40474_424893456444_516976444_4662814_6606354_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEOWsJa88JlDpwFiMQs3-rSIaX6A0MsKFWbQ2zKOhch5A35WhzznD1_eBvsHmhaunHhqbER9rsdYzy_uQ9m9diyOyohr9D1fudjmSXVn95bRzK-rJZ8DTsFitQbruoO2JbcBi4vNrFWs/s320/40474_424893456444_516976444_4662814_6606354_n.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">cousins united</span></div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-64336527616481498522010-08-05T12:18:00.000+02:002010-08-05T12:18:57.003+02:00One hurdle - clothesHURRAY!<br />
Procrastination be damned, I can actually cross one item off my list.<br />
I purged the clothes.<br />
Piled some of them together for a reassessment, stuck the rest in two piles, one to give away and one to donate to charity. I chucked the stuff beyond repair.<br />
<br />
The reason for the "reassessment" pile is that I cannot get on with any of these so-called decluttering schemes that require an instant decision on whether to <em>keep-throw-donate. </em>If you are anything like me (hoarder tendencies, fear of being wasteful and of making a mistake), contemplating items that may have sentimental value, or that were gifts or cost a lot of money, needing to categorize it immediately will send you running for a cup of tea and studiously ignoring the pile under the bed...<br />
So I make a pile of clothes that I am not sure about.<br />
<br />
Of course, part of the challenge is to not find everything back in the I Don't Know pile. Some things have to be ruthlessly purged.<br />
<br />
I start with trying everything on. If it doesn't fit, it GOES, either to a friend or relative, or to the charity bin.<br />
If it's cut weird, or the colour is off, or it's gone lumpy and misshapen - goodbye! <br />
Does it fit, look good, but not my style? Well, I keep those items. It's amazing how trends recycle, and how something that doesn't fit your life now might do later. I kept 2 fitted shirts that I hadn't worn in 3 years because now I have the kind of job where smart shirts are OK to wear without being overdressed. <br />
<br />
In other news, I have done no exercise and have been eating cake for breakfast for the last 5 days.<br />
You win some, you lose some.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-29615187812167022912010-08-01T13:16:00.000+02:002010-08-01T13:16:19.239+02:00Planning and living lifeOK, Grapes, you're on, I will just blog about anything and everything going on right now. Renovations, legal wranglings might turn up at some point in my ramblings, but let's go!<br />
I am on a constant quest to self-improvement, I view myself and my life as an ongoing project, and the consequence of this is that I am a chronic list maker. I make lists and sublists and lists of the lists I should make. Then once I've listed my lists, I sit back with a cup of tea and think the job is done.<br />
Hmm.<br />
Here is a list.<br />
-archive all coursework and former employment papers (we both have files and textbooks lying around from our university days, I realised with horror that I graduated from my BA 9 years ago!) <br />
-finally purge old clothes that don't fit<br />
-on the "don't fit" front, it would be good to lose, not weight, but bulge. I've put on a grand 2 kilos since my fittest days 3 years ago, which wouldn't make a huge differenc if it wasn't for the fact it's all gone to my middle. Consequence - trousers no longer fit and I can't breathe when I sit down in jeans. And dresses make me look pregnant. Oh vanity......I've long given up on a flat stomach, but there must somehow be a way to relocate the belly fat to the non-existent arse area? SURELY??<br />
<br />
Anyway, sub-list is:<br />
-stop drinking half a bottle of wine a night<br />
-join the gym next to work and try and go once a week. Devise an exercise programme that shortens my neck, reduces my bust, increases my hip-waist ratio and fixes my SI joint issues. Hmmm.<br />
-take up yoga again after the summer break<br />
-perhaps, if brave, try to follow in my sister-in-law's footsteps to healthy eating (oh cheese, oh cake, oh cheese....this could be tough)<br />
<br />
Which leads me to a conflicting point which is cooking. I've been making, yes, a list, of my favourite recipes, trying out new ones, getting into baking a lot more since I started working for a sugar company that gives me 20 kilos of sugar a year (picture it, that's a lot of sugar). I'd like to learn to do some traditional Belgian recipes properly, to stay in keeping with the "Brusselsstyle" idea.<br />
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There are other things on my list: piano, choir, driving, German, not killing my herb garden, not chewing my nails, getting up earlier on weekends, making new friends and getting to know old ones better, concerts, museums and trips, photography, oooooh so many things to do....<br />
....I'll put the kettle on<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv11QssUslMP51SehTgOk_BPc8fMnyN0Jmxp2XmEFBWucJnf5mIfPbRN4gBOnOeBXtx6DvTDzX_CadQNjGUk7uFqj-Uyg0eHsF23sitQdbRLopqUi2t9MWPeOkoHGdBYdhfXlkBlKq5Pw/s1600/article-1193865-056765DB000005DC-274_468x369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv11QssUslMP51SehTgOk_BPc8fMnyN0Jmxp2XmEFBWucJnf5mIfPbRN4gBOnOeBXtx6DvTDzX_CadQNjGUk7uFqj-Uyg0eHsF23sitQdbRLopqUi2t9MWPeOkoHGdBYdhfXlkBlKq5Pw/s320/article-1193865-056765DB000005DC-274_468x369.jpg" /></a></div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-16854329095699096652010-07-31T13:27:00.000+02:002010-07-31T13:27:28.939+02:00No homeWe're sort of in limbo now, waiting for the judicial expert to finish his reporting, hoping we can get going again, but all the fun has gone out of the project now.<br />
So instead we are making the most of Belgium in the summer with good friends, good food and good weather.<br />
I'm wondering what direction I can take this blog in now. I'm starting some new hobbies and taking up new ones, getting very into cooking and baking, enjoying learning to drive and settling into my new job. Planning for our move to wherever sometime in October (it's hard to plan with no idea where we're going!). Matt is back to satisfying his DIY enthusiasm by helping friends and relations with odd-jobs.Picking up piano again, starting to learn a new language in September.<br />
Life is good.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-78961353456425375702010-06-14T15:36:00.000+02:002010-06-14T15:36:22.357+02:00Rolling on summerSince my last few posts things have moved forward...and also not moved forward at all! <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We went to court.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The outcome was...a mixed bag, really. The judge seemed to get the general idea of things, but declared that we were all victims of an unscrupulous original seller who should have set up the services before dividing the building up for sale.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This is not untrue, but some of us (well, Matt and me!) have suffered undue delay and damage due to the actions of no one other than Mr A and his witch girlfriend.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The judge has appointed an external syndic or building manager, and an external expert in building matters to assess the damage caused and help us forge a path forwards. We will not allow the slate to be wiped clean, and if the worst comes to the worst we will sue individually. At great cost…but now I’m at a point where another 700-800 euros feels like a drop in the ocean…</div><br />
So where does this leave us? No sign of a date that we might be able to fit our heating, and a moratorium on ALL works ordered by the judge means that setting up our camping-out option is unlikely to be of any use.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The good news is that the experts are answering to the judge and not the co-owners, which makes me feel a little more secure that A&B won’t manipulate the situation to their advantage. I’m looking forward to seeing if they can act like normal people now that they’ve got what they want (pigs might fly, right?).</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We need a solution to the extra money we are spending on rent. I made a detailed budget for the next few months and we need to be free of rent expenses by October, so it looks like we hand in our notice within the next month, pack our stuff off to storage and move to…Rixensart!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It’s where I spent my teens, it’s where we got married, and it’s where my mum lives with a spare room in the attic and a garden for Nina to explore.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In other news, we have had some elections, with a predictable champagne socialist win in the south and Flemish flag waver win in the north. Things roll on…plus ça change…..</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-25492326333591329682010-05-28T14:43:00.000+02:002010-05-28T14:43:38.219+02:00Twins!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Check out what I just found, for sale in Brussels......it's our flat's twin!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It's in a building just round the corner from ours, and although in slightly better shape, it has been cursed with some rather harsh renovation (no ceiling mouldings of note and the dreaded UPVC windows!).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Somehow, it looks narrower than ours, but maybe that's just an optical illusion due to the doors being smaller.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here's the link:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">http://www.immoweb.be/fr/buy.estate.cfm?IDbien=2698961&xmycurrentxsection=buy#ongletphoto</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And here are some photos:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlbJaoNQ27SPeeD3V91lyGc7BG-etiD7qXNROORzK9ftK54THGnJaEGxG2RWYu3GCHy43a8E4oRFA3NNtEXizvTSWUpU5kwwP3nsMTUU9_0e1eliHqugSnyTPrkkeDuMycpSRYFeEH4w/s1600/2698961_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlbJaoNQ27SPeeD3V91lyGc7BG-etiD7qXNROORzK9ftK54THGnJaEGxG2RWYu3GCHy43a8E4oRFA3NNtEXizvTSWUpU5kwwP3nsMTUU9_0e1eliHqugSnyTPrkkeDuMycpSRYFeEH4w/s320/2698961_2.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVn0KEGc6M6c735wHNWflB4JjGGUOWVmQFGlWcFQ1twn8DSaS0WHCjSNi5NxTH8jjJABXDv7G43m8MZK4mpdIla1AoTTtdjVeKHzZEOend6j-69a9Xv4L8ebh1oe3pOckNJVhIljaujc/s1600/2698961_A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVn0KEGc6M6c735wHNWflB4JjGGUOWVmQFGlWcFQ1twn8DSaS0WHCjSNi5NxTH8jjJABXDv7G43m8MZK4mpdIla1AoTTtdjVeKHzZEOend6j-69a9Xv4L8ebh1oe3pOckNJVhIljaujc/s320/2698961_A.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBo0J9ECZjYQ-kaJwEmJfTDcqGzgaF9wnnOwQ4Jk0s6SXEacBC9JEV2N-HmaNPX2z1t48ioZv5dGTQ01lAhpOPrljFAoEoT9jANn_vb6QcwsPJ-CHKmVGsWyaXcSORs2Mg5SlfbegyD8g/s1600/2698961_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBo0J9ECZjYQ-kaJwEmJfTDcqGzgaF9wnnOwQ4Jk0s6SXEacBC9JEV2N-HmaNPX2z1t48ioZv5dGTQ01lAhpOPrljFAoEoT9jANn_vb6QcwsPJ-CHKmVGsWyaXcSORs2Mg5SlfbegyD8g/s320/2698961_4.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEknbt0GhBeNHDrpBr1Q6544QcWODbboUSaDSQvhuGCqAbW6XDXRCkZ7BQiOOTRcgj-DkgDE8unDndESDfIox_Ltj2mbc6EnLke0EYcoEU_HUFGwNSqQi8LLuAH4wY7swJmYEzfZxUS4/s1600/2698961_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEknbt0GhBeNHDrpBr1Q6544QcWODbboUSaDSQvhuGCqAbW6XDXRCkZ7BQiOOTRcgj-DkgDE8unDndESDfIox_Ltj2mbc6EnLke0EYcoEU_HUFGwNSqQi8LLuAH4wY7swJmYEzfZxUS4/s320/2698961_7.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDpD6SeRy-gbDoNqFUNal0SUapWdbVITOlV4lqiEAnKY75RiOjSY1SiHf_5fXof4kKnfLMqaWOu4cvlJNS6-FBny-jT6aZoI7q0EG4OS9-DYJtjHi0agqkHGiD85h9kDyXhnqEKbFKXQ/s1600/2698961_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDpD6SeRy-gbDoNqFUNal0SUapWdbVITOlV4lqiEAnKY75RiOjSY1SiHf_5fXof4kKnfLMqaWOu4cvlJNS6-FBny-jT6aZoI7q0EG4OS9-DYJtjHi0agqkHGiD85h9kDyXhnqEKbFKXQ/s320/2698961_8.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKOwdoYXAf30Xv26VIG4MyLb6F07X_mDke4vC2_nLEnYBjtETPtJVnijMI0m4H_K-gzZY4wZ58dxElcKN2FKu0JjsatreGHOsL3Jr_EI1h22WPOocxjyC2ls2KnkHAQxGGWQlgWGj_YQ/s1600/2698961_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKOwdoYXAf30Xv26VIG4MyLb6F07X_mDke4vC2_nLEnYBjtETPtJVnijMI0m4H_K-gzZY4wZ58dxElcKN2FKu0JjsatreGHOsL3Jr_EI1h22WPOocxjyC2ls2KnkHAQxGGWQlgWGj_YQ/s320/2698961_9.jpg" /></a></div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-36632587053521464912010-05-03T12:03:00.001+02:002010-05-03T12:42:15.824+02:00So what now?I will skip the catalogue of awfulness of 2010 so far, apart from a few choice gems:<br />
<br />
1. CBN (crazy bastard neighbour) has taken to cutting off the gas supply to the top floor flat by turning a valve in the hallway. He believes this is "his" pipe, so he is justified in tampering with it. This is for the heating and hot water for X & Y's flat. Not that CBN can do anything with this pipe anyway, though it originally supplied the gas to the gas lamp in his ceiling. Like, back in 1935.<br />
<br />
2. CBN believes X & Y's cupboard that, admittedly a construction slightly "bricolage", sticks out over the hall, should be removed. Because it's "moche". Cupboard is part of X & Y's floorspace (it's built-in, or built-out I guess).<br />
<br />
3. CBN wanted X & Y to stop using their terrace for safety reasons (the same guy who went walking on his own beams, 5 metres above ground, to fix ("fix") the drainpipe), and took pictures of them on their terrace as evidence (of what? reckless behaviour?). X & Y smiled and waved on all pics.<br />
<br />
So anyway, there is more. I will spare you.<br />
<br />
9th of June is the date we go to court to sort the mess out. We are suing them to put right their damage. They are suing us for some sort of tenuous obstruction motive. I have absolutely no confidence in the legal system, nor do I have confidence in anyone ever anymore, so I am preparing myself for defeat and yet more financial burden. Boohoo.<br />
<br />
The next plan is, what do we do to get into the flat without having to rely on CBN?<br />
What I need to have, for moving in to be tolerable:<br />
<br />
1. Cooking facilities (got microwave, toaster, fridge, kettle. Will live off tea + toast + Aiki noodles. Fine.)<br />
2. Hot water<br />
This?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RKQNNBTTxzYXHnq5Hq-u60lWlV-5JwOMHdW_vBjpIIRvwE5aBikuDRve8bXFLm1wek-Kkm60MxG4BFlAzMu2OrLsdO815QJkwql2YT7joe8jCx-4rYn6O0nHaDVlGx_1SiU3U3IVfSA/s1600/p_1843517_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5RKQNNBTTxzYXHnq5Hq-u60lWlV-5JwOMHdW_vBjpIIRvwE5aBikuDRve8bXFLm1wek-Kkm60MxG4BFlAzMu2OrLsdO815QJkwql2YT7joe8jCx-4rYn6O0nHaDVlGx_1SiU3U3IVfSA/s320/p_1843517_1.jpg" /></a></div>It's a small water heater.<br />
We could fit the old sink from the now removed kitchen, or one of these free-standing Ikea whatsits:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-wt9MSHdBOlXOPgZ2uodR89ba-yLEE90xzEQpH0P-94yRdIemyPmqg2xv8TZMkBpV3t6oeFEoRoWoz-_hKxcvMrj1IgsFTqZihGvVYBWnNcH-e-WAEms2vt7cJsZlGwMGsjsjY8IJA4/s1600/img-thing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-wt9MSHdBOlXOPgZ2uodR89ba-yLEE90xzEQpH0P-94yRdIemyPmqg2xv8TZMkBpV3t6oeFEoRoWoz-_hKxcvMrj1IgsFTqZihGvVYBWnNcH-e-WAEms2vt7cJsZlGwMGsjsjY8IJA4/s320/img-thing.jpg" /></a></div>3. Heat: we have these old gas heaters still, of which at least one allegedly works.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSBlD0sZ16woXeTj5bCczkvkgk0Iau8AuzBrPCih4DMFlp2oelVDTOqsNNm2ZtQtfGLbOBlNouo8lefxT0dmGCczrWFSd4EMBijo3S-GQbt7BMMeLWkWYCJBGZcaWUT_rkCUDZ_JAocc/s1600/eisen+079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSBlD0sZ16woXeTj5bCczkvkgk0Iau8AuzBrPCih4DMFlp2oelVDTOqsNNm2ZtQtfGLbOBlNouo8lefxT0dmGCczrWFSd4EMBijo3S-GQbt7BMMeLWkWYCJBGZcaWUT_rkCUDZ_JAocc/s320/eisen+079.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Stylish, non? Made by Nestor Martin, still going strong after all these years (must be at least as old as me), Nestor Martin themselves going strong since 1854! <br />
True Belgian quality :)<br />
<a href="http://www.nestormartin.be/">http://www.nestormartin.be</a><br />
<br />
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4. Washing facilities: fit a basic bathtub with shower attachment, it would be great if it could look nice and simple and non-building-sitey:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyedzJ2i2g4UiyzAV5Z_Whj8KnabRU6iIbAj5KamY0NzOtuB_NWejws7bP-L4Rk23kw9ECBapU5x28pivzlMJHKRgx9AgULglA4TYEZ6kqAcnRTCKW07-ovWxQyB6yZbxAGn64Fa2ajk/s1600/eisen+064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyedzJ2i2g4UiyzAV5Z_Whj8KnabRU6iIbAj5KamY0NzOtuB_NWejws7bP-L4Rk23kw9ECBapU5x28pivzlMJHKRgx9AgULglA4TYEZ6kqAcnRTCKW07-ovWxQyB6yZbxAGn64Fa2ajk/s320/eisen+064.jpg" /></a></div><br />
5. We'd also want to plumb in our washing machine to the existing old pipes, and perhaps a basic sink in the bathroom too, though we could use the kitchen sink for most stuff. This from Brico is only 25€<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRKoVJW2CjrZXgqxDKq-K-IZugu19tLYtLzjen17JS1NA0mf2ayrjiOyn43ziVw-LurEZzfEjFq1DJDRKm0HvxGQqUumldlQzW7q_-fF7QQrWwGJXt9BoQBWELSTCrATbJUtEg-MvDxs/s1600/p_1417979_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRKoVJW2CjrZXgqxDKq-K-IZugu19tLYtLzjen17JS1NA0mf2ayrjiOyn43ziVw-LurEZzfEjFq1DJDRKm0HvxGQqUumldlQzW7q_-fF7QQrWwGJXt9BoQBWELSTCrATbJUtEg-MvDxs/s320/p_1417979_1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Finally, we'd need a place to store all our belongings apart from the basics, until the renovation project is finally complete, some time in the next decade at this rate. Storage costs around 70€ a month, that's not too bad.<br />
Then we'll need to rearrange our floor to cover the gaps (we could call it "reclaimed flooring"), and live with mood-lighting due to no ceiling lights being fittable.<br />
<br />
There's actually a hotel in London, the <a href="http://www.roughluxe.co.uk/">Rought Luxe Hotel</a>, that seems to have made this style of semi-renovated living into an enterprise worth upwards of £250 a night. So we could find ourselves the height of fashion, you never know.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHEnJUqomXZEOGmPzGWL2sAzFMuIEevcnSA_Mh1Cuscg6aONj1w5IsA4QKwnSjdEzNEmX1x1-CbzdP0ZdZaIWsGGiyzWuPSpA4uuS3Dh0evsA0Kdw8gkwe1jmrnr6U9lFKhx-WI59B3I/s1600/room_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHEnJUqomXZEOGmPzGWL2sAzFMuIEevcnSA_Mh1Cuscg6aONj1w5IsA4QKwnSjdEzNEmX1x1-CbzdP0ZdZaIWsGGiyzWuPSpA4uuS3Dh0evsA0Kdw8gkwe1jmrnr6U9lFKhx-WI59B3I/s320/room_02.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZUzOIBAHYgXJ8nS2el1jJtdsZHEvIr7axT1m_pMXBcW4AFJ4lUUqYBWfGuhaFkA7u5SpUNOR9ltuB9lBSjJVIQXL9FW2oX8iNx_g0DS-q8TSQxqeVxZCJuwvieTx4EvLnqAdwLRU_-E/s1600/rough+luxe+hotel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZUzOIBAHYgXJ8nS2el1jJtdsZHEvIr7axT1m_pMXBcW4AFJ4lUUqYBWfGuhaFkA7u5SpUNOR9ltuB9lBSjJVIQXL9FW2oX8iNx_g0DS-q8TSQxqeVxZCJuwvieTx4EvLnqAdwLRU_-E/s320/rough+luxe+hotel.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK89nTVQS31jYE8frUH0wjSyZ0KGOrGSVa_WD5-T-SyV1KEVvML9KdBUj0Q1a0J4BFqffF3jKBw-p6K-wCL1oEeLYGsP-V0YVQ7Kl4uLSd0nfgQigDfElRIGM0kuTZtg04zyhGZmxBzqA/s1600/dining_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK89nTVQS31jYE8frUH0wjSyZ0KGOrGSVa_WD5-T-SyV1KEVvML9KdBUj0Q1a0J4BFqffF3jKBw-p6K-wCL1oEeLYGsP-V0YVQ7Kl4uLSd0nfgQigDfElRIGM0kuTZtg04zyhGZmxBzqA/s320/dining_1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">pics from Rough Luxe</span></div><br />
Milan designers Emiliano Salci and Brett Moran have also made their home out of an unfinished rough-hewn style. And they were featured in Elle Decoration and Wallpaper* magazine (stupid farty asterisk).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqyJAvew21mlnWh1Z6J2Tn5plL8-Hpudogzvf3IKJSeMBIFGvc9vUd3-h1Z2l4J-DCBHveJKbl2_USEG07gsfV40WHyrquiBkGmjqZYkQhAPQy2m1p3jiBegLRsLbf7kYW3hQlt5BlbU/s320/01_lestan_fab_it_jp151009.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PisSwiuzNIbyA8iIsX4lOBJhfW5O1TdSPAmezvNitC_zpn8MxmBcbB4fbtjSiag0UNDPFAkGBwJCddKITNtJHqDrCXSiQBlBZqZCyBcfXjQ4yqgkDLorXCfQtMs88yPCDaZuS9dnm_k/s1600/05_lestan_fab_it_jp151009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PisSwiuzNIbyA8iIsX4lOBJhfW5O1TdSPAmezvNitC_zpn8MxmBcbB4fbtjSiag0UNDPFAkGBwJCddKITNtJHqDrCXSiQBlBZqZCyBcfXjQ4yqgkDLorXCfQtMs88yPCDaZuS9dnm_k/s320/05_lestan_fab_it_jp151009.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">pics from <a href="http://www.wallpaper.com/interiors/fab-40-le-stanze-di-dimore-gallery--workspace-milan/3850">Wallpaper*</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">So a stylish Brussels* future may await us after-all!</div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-2824914692797232362010-04-29T16:47:00.000+02:002010-04-29T16:47:01.332+02:00Bathroom LightsWe've gone for recessed spot lighting for the ceiling, a bit like this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_DNm-lmkpvIDlRL24ZBCrd_zSYVa-I_3sVwYI61w78Dtrdwx4MjT0vGNVof96OXWuK-X2RmLaCLbzDtZFN2xSQPKEKcw0-EDUbQH1vSKorsN2RXazrLfmowJu7lzaVDFpke30DPh9mY/s1600/spot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_DNm-lmkpvIDlRL24ZBCrd_zSYVa-I_3sVwYI61w78Dtrdwx4MjT0vGNVof96OXWuK-X2RmLaCLbzDtZFN2xSQPKEKcw0-EDUbQH1vSKorsN2RXazrLfmowJu7lzaVDFpke30DPh9mY/s320/spot.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><br />
I would really have liked a chandelier in the middle, for a touch of decadence, but the rules are strict concerning exposed light fittings in a bathroom. Shame.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9z2N18m3d-WZPdn7iujFXf_yz92olivgQNEAEjARRoSJKQOd424ay5DRGbpBGhi7mjPtcK4aowVI-akFPpW6BdPVGDoAI1c3S7OT5wBkrVFv1mzvKelgUuEh6VRlxIVwLw28IEuSecI/s1600/031308Bathroom_Berkus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9z2N18m3d-WZPdn7iujFXf_yz92olivgQNEAEjARRoSJKQOd424ay5DRGbpBGhi7mjPtcK4aowVI-akFPpW6BdPVGDoAI1c3S7OT5wBkrVFv1mzvKelgUuEh6VRlxIVwLw28IEuSecI/s320/031308Bathroom_Berkus.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><br />
We now need to decide on the lights for either side of the bathroom mirror.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Classical?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOmfa1Fb2INsgQPz596CHwnFmD9x4LJcxVyd5lD5Ju5BDtx2qRCmrzcy-Jq0ZI9futLSqeee8ui9wckffZX_O_Bw8phZLgchOiYpVJa0gcbIMk2ojvk4E35_xP43crS2PG-MFnVr_HF4/s1600/bathroom-lighting-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOmfa1Fb2INsgQPz596CHwnFmD9x4LJcxVyd5lD5Ju5BDtx2qRCmrzcy-Jq0ZI9futLSqeee8ui9wckffZX_O_Bw8phZLgchOiYpVJa0gcbIMk2ojvk4E35_xP43crS2PG-MFnVr_HF4/s320/bathroom-lighting-01.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Modern?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraH-HPeN1_xMWaVmY4cwfEfDaV7iUfe9ixcIy0iK4L2rDyUyV7GTjF36JJu2faHVvBbCvbqDYA49fmL-qozQG6ChngrrorJJ7_CzV7mYW7gOyM7pdpFBfem-mGFP_MSL6Fswh4iioRrM/s1600/new-bathroom-lighting-ideas-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhraH-HPeN1_xMWaVmY4cwfEfDaV7iUfe9ixcIy0iK4L2rDyUyV7GTjF36JJu2faHVvBbCvbqDYA49fmL-qozQG6ChngrrorJJ7_CzV7mYW7gOyM7pdpFBfem-mGFP_MSL6Fswh4iioRrM/s320/new-bathroom-lighting-ideas-1.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Deco?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDe9Y6W4GKEw5Oyd8puFtw0alhn6eCQTlFmliqbBotDXnPQxPHZyKiC87xxgj8NnuGcJvnDsawcw5oGJn1qPxLsZNW9_VEc2NSZTNs47JY6o4aQ-hoC96we9rXeOuqboM9Vv0iuJltIgQ/s1600/bathroom-lighting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDe9Y6W4GKEw5Oyd8puFtw0alhn6eCQTlFmliqbBotDXnPQxPHZyKiC87xxgj8NnuGcJvnDsawcw5oGJn1qPxLsZNW9_VEc2NSZTNs47JY6o4aQ-hoC96we9rXeOuqboM9Vv0iuJltIgQ/s320/bathroom-lighting.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Strange?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cqR1qbOS7KdKkUF_t0-HQ-bBZQDf4ePCT6Cmltkwu1_RDXeqjL2GiJf1iWqfZ5SBuwItN_E39wBPGGGgNUBxHTT5c0hFpSg6fVuLN2ZAkYJmw3LZwJjUFSYkt9Jaq47oN-4QIeZIOos/s1600/bathroom_lightings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cqR1qbOS7KdKkUF_t0-HQ-bBZQDf4ePCT6Cmltkwu1_RDXeqjL2GiJf1iWqfZ5SBuwItN_E39wBPGGGgNUBxHTT5c0hFpSg6fVuLN2ZAkYJmw3LZwJjUFSYkt9Jaq47oN-4QIeZIOos/s320/bathroom_lightings.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">STEAMPUNK? I say Yay!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsZ9iCm4aTahq4eFNgO4hEyX5MJSD9yj53UxrptQDkpbbU2k_br0oLkTZHWF-W8UHz_6wRvsMe6xpOn3zuxTv3r4cOLUgdtnnRB3F92OcGk031NME-7S8qs1IAOkxwc6WhzxahjggJUk/s1600/DSC02547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsZ9iCm4aTahq4eFNgO4hEyX5MJSD9yj53UxrptQDkpbbU2k_br0oLkTZHWF-W8UHz_6wRvsMe6xpOn3zuxTv3r4cOLUgdtnnRB3F92OcGk031NME-7S8qs1IAOkxwc6WhzxahjggJUk/s320/DSC02547.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-80214423729864248962010-04-23T17:50:00.001+02:002010-04-23T17:52:32.492+02:00La suiteSo, la suite, le prochain épisode...<br />
We got an email from A&B today that once again spiked my blood pressure and I didn't even open it! I had to get Matt to read it and summarize it so I didn't have to read the general tone of spite and menace of Ms B.<br />
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For those of you who mentioned the Urbanisme, read on:<br />
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The urbanisme's involvement got more tricky - they sent a PV to Mr A asking him to stop all works, submit a regularization permit or put the works right. <br />
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So...what was the response to this PV? Ms B called the urbanisme, and made her very own complaint about the veranda at the back of the property on the ground floor apartment, and the roof terrace that is part of the top floor apartment. These too were built without planning permission! The other neighbours are too in infraction (she likes that word)!<br />
And yes...there was no planning permission for these constructions. The veranda was built, we think, in around 1980 and the roof terrace was set up in about 1989, by the previous owner of the whole property. We all purchased our properties in the house in the full knowledge that some things were perhaps not quite "en ordre", however this is the case for practically every building in the city. If you start dobbing people in for the irregular works committed by the owner before the owner before the owner who sold them the property, the fun will never end.<br />
As a result, the urbanisme, forced to take the complaint seriously, miserably slapped a PV on both other owners too, to submit regularization permits, or remove and restore. Cue a fine of 1000 euros each, for things they didn't even build themselves. Not fair, not fair, but as the urbanisme said, they have to stay impartial and they have to apply the rules, and rules are rules, whether you are friendly, sane and sensible...or mean, crazy and irrational.<br />
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Thankfully for us, our apartment had never been subjected to any eccentric additions, and I doubt we would have bought it if it had as we wanted to avoid precisely the problems we've ended up with. It does however put us in the position of being the only ones with leverage against Ms B and Mr A (at least in their minds).<br />
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One thing Mr A and Ms B never really grasped, and still seem to struggle with, is the idea that there are rules beyond planning rules: when the building was divided into separate properties, a document was drafted called the Acte de Base. This document is a standard document which determines the manner in which we are to live together as a co-ownership of a building. Mr A and Ms B never read the damn thing until AFTER their destruction-construction spree, and were a little (a very very little) abashed to see that there were many rules, and they had broken most of them. Once I pointed this out to Ms B, she started to use the Acte as the basis for all her trivial complaints against the rest of us. She is however unable to get her head around the fact that a veranda built in 1980 cannot be "in infraction" to the terms of a document drafted in 2009 (particularly as the veranda and roof terrace are actually mentioned in the Acte).<br />
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Earlier in October, we had called our very first Assemblée Générale Extraordinaire, with the purpose of asking Mr A to put things right with his neighbours by submitting a list of the works he intended to carry out, and giving us architect's plans and perhaps a quote, or other supporting documents. We also put Electing A Syndic on our agenda for the meeting. Pseudo-syndic sent out the convocation by email.<br />
Big Mistake.<br />
You see, the Acte de Base states an AGM or EGM has to be called by registered letter. Oh yes. So on receipt of the email convocation, Ms B knocked on syndic's door to say they would not attend, as the meeting had not been convened according to the rules.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Vg-w9Sfz-0KlGk1dXcfN7UX7Qqt5gLLeWg0V8lz2pmQxD7mdKAQ9n2AIKUq0Y3kAiCBwUNpBqLFIXEAeJw99ptvmYnGUlwh96KR25baRTMWMwO3pp0cRrNgXtk1Yd0hfjgqnLLKXsRI/s1600/Franz_Kafka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Vg-w9Sfz-0KlGk1dXcfN7UX7Qqt5gLLeWg0V8lz2pmQxD7mdKAQ9n2AIKUq0Y3kAiCBwUNpBqLFIXEAeJw99ptvmYnGUlwh96KR25baRTMWMwO3pp0cRrNgXtk1Yd0hfjgqnLLKXsRI/s200/Franz_Kafka.jpg" tt="true" width="151" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Recognize this guy? That's Kafka. He makes regular contributions to the story of my life.</span><br />
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We held our meeting anyway, and tried our hardest to get them to come, compelling them to attend as this would help them too - how can we progress in renovation works otherwise? But no, they refused on a point of procedure, so we went ahead, held our meeting and elected the syndic in their absence. We also made a summary of our concerns about Mr A's balcony and various constructions, and sent the meeting minutes to him.<br />
Needless to say, by this point the idea of Mr A having a balcony was fairly abhorrent to all, and we were itching to get him to provide his plans for us to "nay" them unanimously...but the plans never appeared.<br />
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Let's go back to the planning permission stuff. So we then had a situation with 3 of 4 flats in infraction to planning rules, 3 PVs, and 3 requests for regularisation plans. Mr Urbanisme had by this point had the pleasure of seeing Ms B about 7 times (including 4 before they even built the darn balcony, when they kept going back hoping for a different answer), and was getting sick and tired of her. To make things simpler, he suggested the best way for the fellow neighbours to ensure their constructions were allowed was to put in a shared project and regularisation plan. Seems reasonable? At this point, I kind of lost the thread of what was going on, being not a party to the whole permit thing, and we simply assumed the other three were working away at the plans for their permits.<br />
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It was in November, I think, that we got a copy of a registered letter Mr A sent to the syndic. In this letter, he requested we call an immediate urgent AGE (emergency assembly) in order to sort out the renovations of the shared areas, and shared services.<br />
The fabric of the house being a little out of the ordinary, we were all of the opinion we would need the help of an expert to draw up the project. Enter Mr W, the architect from next door. We were convened to a meeting with him and discussed our project. Things were going....ok...considering, and Mr W was ready to draw up a draft for us. Wonderful! Things were finally moving in the right direction! Because balcony aside, we desperately needed to sort out our boiler situation in order to fit our heating...<br />
A few weeks went by, and we heard the plans were almost ready. We were also informed that Mr A intended to go to [enter stage left] the Juge de Paix. What for? Don't ask me, my brains were so fried by this point I couldn't have followed their reasoning even if I'd wanted to. But I was not too worried, after all, Mr W's plans were in the pipeline, we were able to hold a conversation with Ms B without considering throwing her off the infracting terrace, and it all looked hopeful, if chaotic (bearing in mind Mr A and Ms B refused to recognize our syndic as syndic, due to the invalidly convened asssembly wherein he was voted to power!).<br />
Attempts to find a time to meet in order to finalize the plans were thwarted by the syndic's lack of availability in December.<br />
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Next thing we get is a letter from a cheerful Other Syndic, informing us brightly that on request of our neighbour Mr A, the Judge had nominated him as our temporary syndic to deal with the urgent matters of renovation of the house.<br />
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*blink*<br />
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Now, if I have to explain one more time what led the judge to this decision, I will jump screaming from the roof of the Hotel de Ville. Yes, I do know why the JdP named a temporary syndic. No, I don't want to go into it. No one understands it when I explain it, but let me just say: there was nothing we could do about this, and if someone tells me I should have challenged it I will stab them in the thigh with a spoon. Ok, good. <br />
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So at the cusp of 2010, we had: one new flat, one old flat, 3 new neighbours, 2 syndics, 3 urbanistic infractions, 1 architect, 1 misinformed judge, 1 contested AGE, 1 sacked french lawyer, 1 unwanted balcony, and a partridge in a pear tree.<br />
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I'm getting agitated again, so I shall leave this post here for now. More next week. Bon weekend!Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-11883170994005586082010-04-22T15:38:00.000+02:002010-04-22T15:38:38.169+02:00Brussels Blues?I've been browsing a few blogs, Belgian related, and I'm kind of sad to see how much people dislike it here. Maybe it's the transient nature of Belgium's expat community that brings them down. <br />
Seems the government has fallen apart again, too. It's a funny sort of place. <br />
I'm looking out of my window at work at the sun and blue sky and depsite everything I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.<br />
Seems the bluebells might be out, shall we go and see them?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAmFn9DQhyphenhyphenrw1ZH-vP9G0o9IVKf-NfIwqE1Kxu7W6oiNIwVmJhkjisWxYhw_3deeee-fJ5NiZu-pHPX5m7k6x3-GJm0qSWOHEZHJaC30qIgsCwhQHwiN96JRoINMaFZY1SrnsvCMcUXg/s1600/hallerbos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAmFn9DQhyphenhyphenrw1ZH-vP9G0o9IVKf-NfIwqE1Kxu7W6oiNIwVmJhkjisWxYhw_3deeee-fJ5NiZu-pHPX5m7k6x3-GJm0qSWOHEZHJaC30qIgsCwhQHwiN96JRoINMaFZY1SrnsvCMcUXg/s320/hallerbos.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Pic Johan Vanden Borre </span></div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-24383362206368776532010-04-21T23:09:00.000+02:002010-04-21T23:09:43.721+02:00Some pics of the alleged damageHere are some photos of the damage caused by our neighbour.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Firstly, the chimney breast problem.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our floor</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk45nOvD3VUQ6FztVnOfOQzmlO9QMvGC7Ky_gQYXmckZ9D1oYXfD5ocFs82RCRPsRdQSd1I4Plb1l82WsB905e_megB66X22Yd0JxCKOuXhmzn2yjG7uBnliU_LCknWgGu_6Er_DZ3URA/s1600/before+056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk45nOvD3VUQ6FztVnOfOQzmlO9QMvGC7Ky_gQYXmckZ9D1oYXfD5ocFs82RCRPsRdQSd1I4Plb1l82WsB905e_megB66X22Yd0JxCKOuXhmzn2yjG7uBnliU_LCknWgGu_6Er_DZ3URA/s320/before+056.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The floor above: </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkz15kUBBO3y1ZI-__BQDFpfjStTPpvJ4xcfvZrgkGBybgriQ90wKlSJmjfCOcd09aQhY1JTbzI_Dr8imaOYNQGn1pij2KiObuMUO7s2WH5Lxh4HJK6caPdnACCHDozCbQwU0Z5Ly9M0/s1600/aug+09+047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkz15kUBBO3y1ZI-__BQDFpfjStTPpvJ4xcfvZrgkGBybgriQ90wKlSJmjfCOcd09aQhY1JTbzI_Dr8imaOYNQGn1pij2KiObuMUO7s2WH5Lxh4HJK6caPdnACCHDozCbQwU0Z5Ly9M0/s320/aug+09+047.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Which shows the former path of our boiler flue and the path of our ground-floor neighbour (syndic)'s cooker hood flue.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The beams for the balcony:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrM5dzIMm3vE7Dixsj1CPEA-pIjEX0www8dBgND1O9JEG45FSeqZGZGkV0AJOkzY64KkFgKCZ9PxjrnhyCKFJPuX6L6aW-JC8zcsvnvF922e_VRGeFhbIULT-yP6l9aywrgnObPBOHOA/s1600/eisen+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrM5dzIMm3vE7Dixsj1CPEA-pIjEX0www8dBgND1O9JEG45FSeqZGZGkV0AJOkzY64KkFgKCZ9PxjrnhyCKFJPuX6L6aW-JC8zcsvnvF922e_VRGeFhbIULT-yP6l9aywrgnObPBOHOA/s320/eisen+003.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCaVwL4Cm-cJA0oYCYFYpbkbUOGz1Z44Lkc7BeI3b13TVx-Uf2G073CIgpsktUuu8VEluYIs96gFFVkPBtEIoR45F4og17hfGFdhjW4FKyTe9LDk1ykALkjddpLc1uI4o4hq8WDBVxpc/s1600/march+2010+120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCaVwL4Cm-cJA0oYCYFYpbkbUOGz1Z44Lkc7BeI3b13TVx-Uf2G073CIgpsktUuu8VEluYIs96gFFVkPBtEIoR45F4og17hfGFdhjW4FKyTe9LDk1ykALkjddpLc1uI4o4hq8WDBVxpc/s320/march+2010+120.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From the outside. Oh WHOOPS it looks like the rain water downpipe will need re-routing...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiuKrvehlFuRr-8nZLXQpx3mPXpeOhDjF_T64ITmTEJd9w2VPqVWzFqRR0vZjLR1-gCw3VCX5ajIOeJHir7jSrAgOOEfywM25kcDJyNxauWBbAn2MKozWRPw_Ey_IjHEu0uqL4NSjX0U/s1600/eisen+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiuKrvehlFuRr-8nZLXQpx3mPXpeOhDjF_T64ITmTEJd9w2VPqVWzFqRR0vZjLR1-gCw3VCX5ajIOeJHir7jSrAgOOEfywM25kcDJyNxauWBbAn2MKozWRPw_Ey_IjHEu0uqL4NSjX0U/s320/eisen+030.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That'll do it:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXdDpo6VwM28BsrT_x8DluQ8zVeFtIaztoy4qECcgRDaqgseE4pZCOEUIuj4-Q2kazT9pDrQQRoDBZapZ-7Q296aejtZo_TwlDnsh_CBd4IAXzaJWrvX5kUrCUnGaBrvraznY6q8lOAo/s1600/Jan+2010+115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXdDpo6VwM28BsrT_x8DluQ8zVeFtIaztoy4qECcgRDaqgseE4pZCOEUIuj4-Q2kazT9pDrQQRoDBZapZ-7Q296aejtZo_TwlDnsh_CBd4IAXzaJWrvX5kUrCUnGaBrvraznY6q8lOAo/s320/Jan+2010+115.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Note the "I R SMRT" school of pipework, that was causing the wall to get saturated with water. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some rather interesting new pipework for gas and electricity: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0qQ23pLSqHaLBGepVt8qxTQ7p72hyphenhyphencSPwoT8kobpY3mBXyBPwgHNky40xQbK7bC8rr8R2a3y9ptKlNgUrXC1Imuw2XDSFJ9dGcAu5f9C5HPZbHhWAN56E1ldPu7qgD1fIXpdUA2wSwc/s1600/Jan+2010+094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0qQ23pLSqHaLBGepVt8qxTQ7p72hyphenhyphencSPwoT8kobpY3mBXyBPwgHNky40xQbK7bC8rr8R2a3y9ptKlNgUrXC1Imuw2XDSFJ9dGcAu5f9C5HPZbHhWAN56E1ldPu7qgD1fIXpdUA2wSwc/s320/Jan+2010+094.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2w0wk7q40-a8kDyv_ma9wqXnEFuxBd40dT6ihOClYYVjc8IzYfloJYKjaadxDtiUdPo9vI2UUVkzlK_QPH6leHNPxeNFRh0yaBBLTVMnx2aMemjCWToaJgAE7m_P1rj4ueQR34Is6_M/s1600/Jan+2010+090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2w0wk7q40-a8kDyv_ma9wqXnEFuxBd40dT6ihOClYYVjc8IzYfloJYKjaadxDtiUdPo9vI2UUVkzlK_QPH6leHNPxeNFRh0yaBBLTVMnx2aMemjCWToaJgAE7m_P1rj4ueQR34Is6_M/s320/Jan+2010+090.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yep, those are in a load bearing party wall, and once again, done without anyone else's permission or knowledge. Because, you know, they were in a HURRY.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What else? Oh yes, while complaining about they bicycle and beer crates in the hallway, we also had this delightful sight in the front garden from about July til November:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdx9kDM2KyB9gkEHgPSQBpANluDYdTx4TJpQ2rnlcwOQLASYhSARqkcKcQXwKijC_lWbj6Utn_3uWcqGj6bnQC31CBZ4O5-IiCpKtIa729bQ3Q7rl4TI6ruvpZs9fMnzXvDJ9LkjneEU/s1600/eisen+047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdx9kDM2KyB9gkEHgPSQBpANluDYdTx4TJpQ2rnlcwOQLASYhSARqkcKcQXwKijC_lWbj6Utn_3uWcqGj6bnQC31CBZ4O5-IiCpKtIa729bQ3Q7rl4TI6ruvpZs9fMnzXvDJ9LkjneEU/s320/eisen+047.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And this is the sight that somehow makes me saddest. Our little chimney-pots:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhsvI-paLnLIQ-BIVksvjechJ-9UJh0IyMoXJTEI2d0_UhAJR9IBYKemQF_AGKrjxI1-KOFk-2-qYmNt-HqFMulemZf150A1S9Ui_wGjbU9u8TSnmUR99jru4K1N9wAOXfFxNI5Q__jc/s1600/eisen+021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhsvI-paLnLIQ-BIVksvjechJ-9UJh0IyMoXJTEI2d0_UhAJR9IBYKemQF_AGKrjxI1-KOFk-2-qYmNt-HqFMulemZf150A1S9Ui_wGjbU9u8TSnmUR99jru4K1N9wAOXfFxNI5Q__jc/s320/eisen+021.jpg" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-84330543167903776182010-04-20T18:18:00.001+02:002013-01-05T20:07:51.549+01:00RAGE part 2So we couldn't get out of the sale, is the short version of the story.<br />
Due to the aforementioned principle that the sale is done and dusted at the time, not even of the compromis, but when the offer is accepted, Mr D the seller was understandably NOT going to let us back out, especially as the upstairs neighbours had now revealed themselves to be Difficult. Our lawyer attempted some round-about way of getting us out of it, our notary was a complete spanner (no, spanners are useful. He was as useful as the new metro line 6 - makes sense in theory, but in fact doesn't help anyone, at all), and after a fair amount of trying to negotiate with the bastard balcony builders, we found ourselves trapped.<br />
Ah yes, because our big mistake was attending a meeting in early October to try and deal with the balcony building bastards in an amicable and civil manner. This apparently sealed our fate. By trying to find a solution, we'd inadvertently given some sort of implied consent to the sale (like one implies consent to molestation by wearing a short skirt?).<br />
So, 300 euros down the drain, a bollocking by phone from severe french lawyer lady (resulting in a hysterical crying and throwing things fit in my office one lonely day in autumn 2009), we found ourselves stuck with the flat and stuck with the neighbours.<br />
While we were trying to manoeuvre out of the contract, the urbanisme had sent round their minion to take a look at the fantastical construction out of the back of our house. I was not present for the visit, but I can imagine there was much tut tutting and head shaking, and pursing of lips. Minion beetled back to the town hall, and issued a Procès Verbal against Mr A for his shenanigans. <br />
Well we might as well have barged into the flat wearing crusader armour and planted the flag of St George in the middle of his beautifully renewed floor. Since that moment relations have just plummeted further, and every time we imagine things will improve they get worse!<br />
I cannot really do justice to the insanity of things, I don't even know which strand to start posting about as it is all so damn messy. <br />
Shortly after the visit of Mr Urbanisme to our house, I decided to take matters in hand and hold a meeting. At this point there was still some confusion as our paperwork stated the ground floor neighbour was the syndic, but nobody else's did. He just happened to be doing the syndic's role as he was the first to buy. Either way, someone was going to have to get things rolling and of course, that person was me.<br />
I couldn't call it a General Assembly of Co-owners, as the Assemblée had not yet been properly constituted (round and round we go!), so I called it a sort-of-AG and left it at that. There were lots of things to discuss:<br />
1. Mr A's balcony<br />
2. Renovation of the electrics for the shared spaces<br />
3. Modifying existing pipework: the front rain-water pipe runs into the house and down the middle, and the waste water for the top floor flat evacs into it. This is illegal, as Ms B kept pointing out.<br />
4. New pipework for everyone's services<br />
And other matters deemed of EXTREME importance to some (Ms B) such as the ground floor neighbour's bicycle being stored in the hallway and blocking access to the cellar. Oh yes.<br />
We met on a Saturday morning. Mr A didn't come, he sent Ms B. Ms B is a neat and sophisticated looking Spanish woman in her 50s. She has a face like sour milk and the body of a teenage boy. She has a Southern French accent and an abrasive manner, once she starts talking she will not shut up. Her verbal attacks remind me of being pecked in the head by a chisel. She avoids obscenities, yet manages to be both rude and aggressive nonetheless. She is incapable of structuring any kind of argument, and speaks in riddles and clever quips that leave everyone else unable to either understand what the hell she is banging on about, or do anything about it. Ms B thinks I am stupid, and she thinks the syndic is evil. She hates X&Y, the top floor owners, as they have accomplished what Mr A hasn't been able to: Moving In Despite the Chaos. <br />
But I digress. Ms B is a liability, not least to Mr A who she is claiming to represent.<br />
At our Sort-of-AG, we couldn't get anywhere, Ms B flatly refusing to address the balcony and instead turning things around by complaining about the syndic's bicycle and beer crates in the hall. We barely touched the problems of renovating the shared spaces and water and gas pipes. The meeting was a nonsense, the syndic had no official authority, we weren't officially owners and Ms B clearly impossible to deal with.<br />
Ms B turned nastier, firing off emails to us all, garbled essays with complaints, threats and accusations: Mr A was unable to complete his renovations, and this was all somehow our fault. With hindsight (ah...hindsight), we should have cut the crap right there, signed our completion of sale and taken the buggers to court. I tried to get a little more assertive, but the other owners (syndic and X&Y) preferred a softer approach. Understandable - they already lived in the house and couldn't escape if Mr A and Ms B decided to become crazier (they did anyway). <br />
Ms B was not interested in the wrongs committed by her companion, she wanted us to focus on what was preventing Mr A from moving in. <br />
Indeed, Mr A had the bright idea of ripping out the interior of the flat he bought, and moving his kitchen to the front of the house. We also had this bright idea until we realised there was nowhere to run the waste water from. Mr A was not to be hindered by this...according to Ms B, where Mr A's kitchen waste water facilites run are our responsibility too. <br />
To this day, I have no idea if we actually have the full story of what Mr A actually wanted from us. I have r-read our email exchanges in anticipation of our court case, and still find it hard to decipher them. I sense there is a piece missing, but Ms B will not do us and herself a favour by explaining things as if to the idiot she believes me to be.<br />
Looks like I'll need to post a "Rage part 3!"Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-76693854176632099712010-04-20T16:48:00.001+02:002010-04-20T18:29:22.988+02:00RAGEUgh.<br />
I had a sudden surge of anger and feet-stamping-pouting sulkiness earlier. I thought I would channel it into a blog post, rather than channeling it into chewing my nails or eating waffles (mmm...waffles...).<br />
<br />
About one year ago we decided it might be time to buy our own place. We looked at our budget (modest) and our wishlist (extravagant) and started a search for something sensible. We looked at compromises on location, and compromises on space. We found a lovely appartment, large, bright, great area and good price. We bought it in optimism and planned how glorious it would be.<br />
And then we met the neighbours on the second floor.<br />
We signed the "compromis d'achat" for the place in July 2009. At that point, future buyers of Belgian property beware, we were beholden to complete the sale. As soon as an offer is accepted, the contract is binding and there are only a few ways out should you change your mind.<br />
In between the compromis d'achat and the "acte authentique" (when the sale is completed), the notary of the buyer does some investigating into things like the planning laws, the property title etc..., before the keys are handed over and the new owner can take possession. <br />
Come August 2009, the seller contacted me to say the upstairs neighbour, Mr A, had plans to repair his floor, which happens to be the ceiling of our back room (kitchen at time of buying). Mr A wanted to discuss the plan with us, and we agreed with the seller that the costs of the repair would be shared between him and Mr A. So far so good.<br />
I met Mr A, a man in his late 40s from the Middle East, on the 15th of August. He seemed friendly, though his French was really not very good. He seemed to understand my horror at seeing that the chimney breast above our hot water heater had been taken out, and didn't seem to have trouble understanding "DO NOT DESTROY ANYTHING ELSE" as he intended to remove all the chimney breasts on his floor!<br />
He explained to me, in broken French, that he planned to construct a balcony out of the back of his flat, above our bedroom, and planned to put in the structure while replacing the floor and ceiling: "petit, 60-80cm, pas grand". <br />
We pondered this balcony idea that evening. I sent Mr A an email asking him for more details. Any plans? Any discussion with the seller of our floor? I got no answer.<br />
Oh wait, no, I did, I got my first phone-call from Ms B, Mr A's "adviser". She burbled on at length about the balcony and other matters. However no plans or designs appeared. <br />
We discussed the idea in person about a week later, but still no plans...no design...and no planning permission "we'll get it later on, we're preparing our application". We moved too slowly at this point. Had we known what we were dealing with our reaction would have been swifter, and we'd have nipped it in the bud. Ah, hindsight...<br />
Buildings divided into separately owned flats are managed by a co-ownership association (Association des copropriétaires), and represented by a manager called the Syndic. Our little house of 4 appartments had only been sold off to individual owners in December 2008, and ideally the new owners should have set up the association and sydic there and then. For various reasons, they didn't. Like us, our neighbours were unsuspecting as to how things would turn out...<br />
At the point we discussed the balcony with Ms B and Mr A, we were still under "compromis" - we were not yet 100% owners of our property. We focused our attentions in the wrong direction, assuming that at some point in the past few months the owners had held a meeting, had a discussion concerning plans for renovation of each appartment, nominated a syndic...because that is how it is done. Never assume! <br />
Another week further on, in late August, we were the proud owners of a new bedroom ceiling...and of a wonderful view of three iron beams sticking out 1 metre deep above our bedroom window. This was Mr A's "petit" balcony...its structure alone revealing what we would have above us - a 1,20m deep and 4m wide structure obscuring light and views of the sky from an appartment we didn't even fully own yet.<br />
Oh we were slow, we didn't expect them to move that fast. We thought we'd see some architects drawings, thought Mr A might show us his quotes, his builders' plans. Didn't expect them to start building without even introducing their planning permission request. Didn't imagine they would have installed 3 tons worth of metal structure into the very fabric of a house jointly owned by 4 parties without anyone's consent. But they did.<br />
In alarm, we contacted our ground floor neighbour, the syndic according to our documents. In alarm, he contacted the planning department, who took...their....time...<br />
We also contacted a lawyer, to get us out of the sale. <br />
As you can tell...that didn't exactly work out.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-5557985435224904992010-04-18T22:53:00.001+02:002013-01-05T14:21:33.006+01:00Sunny daysFirst day of spring! Or it felt like it. I took a stroll from my current neighbourhood, the edge of Evere, to my new neighbourhood "le haut de Schaerbeek".<br />
So here are some pics.<br />
First, a picture of the <span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Cite Terdelt. A garden city created in the twenties opn the model of British garden city idea pioneered by a chap called Hubbard. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9C_MQKqSNcZ0l6zH3SOsmKu2dBXuagRsbBpXfiOfvaSCReTGdUTJthLn3XjNmUXRLFy3xlWt5UUzDE5cauLnxxSEQTM_JAnCX_0YhgM-PvmRRQXKDTTWV1W-8KoHHa5mf_JUyU_VILSA/s1600/march+2010+084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9C_MQKqSNcZ0l6zH3SOsmKu2dBXuagRsbBpXfiOfvaSCReTGdUTJthLn3XjNmUXRLFy3xlWt5UUzDE5cauLnxxSEQTM_JAnCX_0YhgM-PvmRRQXKDTTWV1W-8KoHHa5mf_JUyU_VILSA/s640/march+2010+084.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Here is a better pic from Wikipedia (I'm not much of a photographer)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6YJBaLxgg8FrBE0AfLys3PbXSNbGpZeWfl_lQqEvkv-1zf_Apq0r5q4RIMN4i-nePQo9X5u5Na6gWQrSUFVFJLvPEKVQACW-s-U83YjKGnM6kh4IUdGhb83VO7EhFvvcMeaFck7Z1PM/s1600/461px-Cit%C3%A9-jardin_Terdelt_03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6YJBaLxgg8FrBE0AfLys3PbXSNbGpZeWfl_lQqEvkv-1zf_Apq0r5q4RIMN4i-nePQo9X5u5Na6gWQrSUFVFJLvPEKVQACW-s-U83YjKGnM6kh4IUdGhb83VO7EhFvvcMeaFck7Z1PM/s320/461px-Cit%C3%A9-jardin_Terdelt_03.JPG" /></a></div>
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I took a stroll a little further and took a picture of one of the streets with slightly bigger houses. All different, yet similar:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2RhSN0PLGlA7MeB6JZ_mlM5MS-slSPedDdeqfnTzadOOFBBfTsSdsNHts0xG4GOuH-b5rJsWLnyvKBiAP_OVNMQzsmG5A4PQd3vXgz_N1B9itY43OQVaS3_iqx9d5CY-R_qfZ8Cf8Rc/s1600/march+2010+088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2RhSN0PLGlA7MeB6JZ_mlM5MS-slSPedDdeqfnTzadOOFBBfTsSdsNHts0xG4GOuH-b5rJsWLnyvKBiAP_OVNMQzsmG5A4PQd3vXgz_N1B9itY43OQVaS3_iqx9d5CY-R_qfZ8Cf8Rc/s320/march+2010+088.jpg" /></a></div>
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Then I crossed the Boulevard to the park. Parc Josaphat, so-called as it reminded someone of the Josaphat valley in Jersualem:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlVy3NJMT_lAH1VNtKh4VS-ZWAEyFptcNRv_Awz1aEtWBGyZLseW-doVbXRAi7uK5ZIsDJKnGo_WYciqEYhfasamvqQsf8S9LuHb3cA6vv2gaQNK1FZ-DmtTv7REUJKjIZJvbp2gS9dQ/s1600/march+2010+092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlVy3NJMT_lAH1VNtKh4VS-ZWAEyFptcNRv_Awz1aEtWBGyZLseW-doVbXRAi7uK5ZIsDJKnGo_WYciqEYhfasamvqQsf8S9LuHb3cA6vv2gaQNK1FZ-DmtTv7REUJKjIZJvbp2gS9dQ/s320/march+2010+092.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUEIoj9yuPTacKiVkbRub4mGSp7tAIrIVaXBplb6qWg_KaPsqHfBh1bsmmRuBOZ34PG8M3W7n9EvpvvB4OR0ZFOrpXoK3iHiCRNDnmPkkQGgWKWZJ-Tc8xNth9rKDbDcqqd1gWqul7jQ/s1600/march+2010+108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUEIoj9yuPTacKiVkbRub4mGSp7tAIrIVaXBplb6qWg_KaPsqHfBh1bsmmRuBOZ34PG8M3W7n9EvpvvB4OR0ZFOrpXoK3iHiCRNDnmPkkQGgWKWZJ-Tc8xNth9rKDbDcqqd1gWqul7jQ/s320/march+2010+108.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Here's an etching of Josaphat in Israel, from ariadne.org:</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AKcOaiaX4tXa4Cs80XKrCKMUnnrcCt2HSYBvq5yDHU-LXsXcmrLzVQPoeIRATAFtDpuHuzStNt5vUDnsgXFbZAnm8xvAAsqzRjWk08E3EQLZ0wDE6GPsbBm-b84m5fcph4kB772ttXM/s1600/jehosaphat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AKcOaiaX4tXa4Cs80XKrCKMUnnrcCt2HSYBvq5yDHU-LXsXcmrLzVQPoeIRATAFtDpuHuzStNt5vUDnsgXFbZAnm8xvAAsqzRjWk08E3EQLZ0wDE6GPsbBm-b84m5fcph4kB772ttXM/s320/jehosaphat.jpg" /></a></div>
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Here's a picture of the Brusilia. Built in the eraly 70s, it seems surprising to those of us familiar with high-rises in the UK that this way of living should be desirable. Belgians like their high-rises. Great views, big balconies, comfortable spaces with large rooms and well serviced and maintained shared spaces...the idea of a copropriete serves some very well:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxRL54cmP6URTKqE1Wmiz45R9Nfj4h5dFOWKcVA0wjDaWWNsFI83Fo1rw1Wk53-tJUt8gNJ8WsBAbLly3WvaoDu7wrVKshxd11FkYNqtSyEX5-FWRdbneor_8WH-K1BdaaC815I4g748/s1600/march+2010+100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxRL54cmP6URTKqE1Wmiz45R9Nfj4h5dFOWKcVA0wjDaWWNsFI83Fo1rw1Wk53-tJUt8gNJ8WsBAbLly3WvaoDu7wrVKshxd11FkYNqtSyEX5-FWRdbneor_8WH-K1BdaaC815I4g748/s320/march+2010+100.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">The views, you can see them here: http://www.brusilia.net/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Then I went to the new place, where Matt was fixing the bathroom ceiling with metal beams, levelling it so we could place LED lights</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj877h1tGiN3QPL49mdsyTfXGMsiH_qWGvJOGGlY8qv3O8esj2WuHMckLJEKHABm27M9Em0LVhP-hZsoFSSIGJFAhiZcrnwZmJxS91EV8_BgECEpcVY6cd-1A4qjQ3xBMtw6LfXIEOqLq8/s1600/march+2010+119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj877h1tGiN3QPL49mdsyTfXGMsiH_qWGvJOGGlY8qv3O8esj2WuHMckLJEKHABm27M9Em0LVhP-hZsoFSSIGJFAhiZcrnwZmJxS91EV8_BgECEpcVY6cd-1A4qjQ3xBMtw6LfXIEOqLq8/s400/march+2010+119.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPQlsGAH29tVK5LZXa4tu67orF6wAjzHsCiO-j4Vqo59OA91moe6WOB9j5gSFmuc4m4PxbYo9990p2jOXAYbLE3gVbig3e1poI5il_SVjkQ-vraM35BWvu0ohw5NwuAqfKRdJhf5vEdY/s1600/march+2010+126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPQlsGAH29tVK5LZXa4tu67orF6wAjzHsCiO-j4Vqo59OA91moe6WOB9j5gSFmuc4m4PxbYo9990p2jOXAYbLE3gVbig3e1poI5il_SVjkQ-vraM35BWvu0ohw5NwuAqfKRdJhf5vEdY/s400/march+2010+126.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> Then we went to Avenue Rogier for a well deserved late lunch</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyd5AfDV1oItb7MeRCTxTN6qfq0t8jLO-HTfsfB98cPKgj1I3A4nlV9KNvVhUONLKhSuyCKu2cYs7Qq-6n0p6W-yPSyZeqZk9Qko8_VH1n9Ze98YIDBua5VJ2htOTKtb4GdIROL9tW7c/s1600/march+2010+122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyd5AfDV1oItb7MeRCTxTN6qfq0t8jLO-HTfsfB98cPKgj1I3A4nlV9KNvVhUONLKhSuyCKu2cYs7Qq-6n0p6W-yPSyZeqZk9Qko8_VH1n9Ze98YIDBua5VJ2htOTKtb4GdIROL9tW7c/s320/march+2010+122.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pcB4Z_-3I3PfUCTXcjOVpVIciHG6cbf9BaO8rubUgehUlc-LTaxAaJAoZFbhntkT5FyJ3osg_C3RjB8qzinJPp-6mFSb8Y-_ZwNKHCpMFuQ7yjlLR27e-ID7U-dqDDVcyHEUg6gtcJc/s1600/march+2010+131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pcB4Z_-3I3PfUCTXcjOVpVIciHG6cbf9BaO8rubUgehUlc-LTaxAaJAoZFbhntkT5FyJ3osg_C3RjB8qzinJPp-6mFSb8Y-_ZwNKHCpMFuQ7yjlLR27e-ID7U-dqDDVcyHEUg6gtcJc/s320/march+2010+131.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOu-R8axNNR6idvuwPD6RW1oq3nCzVFpBdJuA-rlWyek72LLhOci3Ty_z54ER4zCpM-TG64B1Ehg3rSXEMJdwsHpw3MGPhwmFXr6ysX4ZI0-2Qi4SJf6wknVrZC_BBpmPp8w-ADXaSDi8/s1600/march+2010+135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOu-R8axNNR6idvuwPD6RW1oq3nCzVFpBdJuA-rlWyek72LLhOci3Ty_z54ER4zCpM-TG64B1Ehg3rSXEMJdwsHpw3MGPhwmFXr6ysX4ZI0-2Qi4SJf6wknVrZC_BBpmPp8w-ADXaSDi8/s320/march+2010+135.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Then I took some pictures of the spring trees and lack of any plane in the sky!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLRBSZraxva3OGWSecm6T9HqfyrEATyhlsS2aFGqz0BU1DwDLDNetVu22yCA8CwklOfwAQQVuJvyHyPgueEC9zkuzBeEA-Vup423piHU4gaSTPHLhDx8wz-HkI5TmazKLiAPFJSoYGtI/s1600/march+2010+139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLRBSZraxva3OGWSecm6T9HqfyrEATyhlsS2aFGqz0BU1DwDLDNetVu22yCA8CwklOfwAQQVuJvyHyPgueEC9zkuzBeEA-Vup423piHU4gaSTPHLhDx8wz-HkI5TmazKLiAPFJSoYGtI/s320/march+2010+139.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQHBHIuX44xys6n2qeHkchVABX6fm7phfNp4EOJcOtIsHk8XSmFG38By94jfDyya31bWdhEhHN_IiS_85Z3hTwwgHJioU_nflrJnRHf_BVbShgfuchQvXFBts6hTlTqsK43koQkWs4YY/s1600/march+2010+142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQHBHIuX44xys6n2qeHkchVABX6fm7phfNp4EOJcOtIsHk8XSmFG38By94jfDyya31bWdhEhHN_IiS_85Z3hTwwgHJioU_nflrJnRHf_BVbShgfuchQvXFBts6hTlTqsK43koQkWs4YY/s320/march+2010+142.jpg" /></a></div>
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</span>Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982909590052553615.post-7556970888461397112010-04-11T18:43:00.001+02:002010-04-11T20:09:06.045+02:00ElectricityMatt has completed as much of the electrics as was possible in the current situation with the neighbours.<br />
Here are some pictures!<br />
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The master at work:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiQXGIIcy165MiuG2FIID7Pv7csVKW7Hyfu5TPwDmzqML2PBASWud4Ndx2AhyltzfcBllJAi4Ah18kspmZGCsplpxZLj3go7w3WZ-hRj0Za-qPCI76Jj7nIVflZZoo8vgTiYNWjFIemg/s1600/Jan+2010+078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiQXGIIcy165MiuG2FIID7Pv7csVKW7Hyfu5TPwDmzqML2PBASWud4Ndx2AhyltzfcBllJAi4Ah18kspmZGCsplpxZLj3go7w3WZ-hRj0Za-qPCI76Jj7nIVflZZoo8vgTiYNWjFIemg/s320/Jan+2010+078.jpg" /></a></div>First, take up some floorboards:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKKgNOl5MfSCaTs-N8-u2kOt_047e-1fxTCvelpaGGib419BUyEhyphenhyphenVrVuidJ6L9PaLOyEkbVNxMLOSBHzpDYdS0WU3pqq97bxLLC6FGPOEek1RbZnDoZMkfee189eVOxgl9MtqDKlir8/s1600/Jan+2010+077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKKgNOl5MfSCaTs-N8-u2kOt_047e-1fxTCvelpaGGib419BUyEhyphenhyphenVrVuidJ6L9PaLOyEkbVNxMLOSBHzpDYdS0WU3pqq97bxLLC6FGPOEek1RbZnDoZMkfee189eVOxgl9MtqDKlir8/s320/Jan+2010+077.jpg" /></a></div>Then drill some holes rather awkwardly through the beams, and run your cables through:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqHHHO_SIcTXLlXjIVYxXhhCFLKawdFrL-Eix4TdcE41A9jYN6nf1A3jK63h3b3HqXCHf-XnOecQnFd_Bntz0bhKQU8nS4wWfG-D__46T7hZx2XIbHwmNgrIRcBg-eqoJEQd5wJbz4m4/s1600/Jan+2010+066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqHHHO_SIcTXLlXjIVYxXhhCFLKawdFrL-Eix4TdcE41A9jYN6nf1A3jK63h3b3HqXCHf-XnOecQnFd_Bntz0bhKQU8nS4wWfG-D__46T7hZx2XIbHwmNgrIRcBg-eqoJEQd5wJbz4m4/s320/Jan+2010+066.jpg" /></a></div><br />
You can also make some incisions into the walls up to your sockets and switches, and cement the blighters in:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyvlmVwxJs_7auEd5g9hW2LLxFwJMTuoF_KFPke0WFJ14VIQgfZyB4ODPmbhZiZfDqAbMcibU4JV2_nK8oI-nJUfEh-PQeRSfbeOgYdpx8N11NvYbPFSSrPsiwq0EuQZUtYcfP15J9Uw/s1600/Jan+2010+079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyvlmVwxJs_7auEd5g9hW2LLxFwJMTuoF_KFPke0WFJ14VIQgfZyB4ODPmbhZiZfDqAbMcibU4JV2_nK8oI-nJUfEh-PQeRSfbeOgYdpx8N11NvYbPFSSrPsiwq0EuQZUtYcfP15J9Uw/s320/Jan+2010+079.jpg" /></a></div>Keep your building site tidy:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGmfHM_EpNlVXyEEros0JKzRbwbtHloMIjEXVkIVqKndD-vsysIpEoTuYHmTohjnijYHOQ0k9wR4aoG1qHwDuIbYvYDjrGNPsLEZFqsRZVXRqiivJ_ES9BywdUxqDy9zhRw31KnMDUns/s1600/Feb+2010+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGmfHM_EpNlVXyEEros0JKzRbwbtHloMIjEXVkIVqKndD-vsysIpEoTuYHmTohjnijYHOQ0k9wR4aoG1qHwDuIbYvYDjrGNPsLEZFqsRZVXRqiivJ_ES9BywdUxqDy9zhRw31KnMDUns/s320/Feb+2010+005.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jfO8WBley5UDB-JOPeje0U38eI9zWLBg2_uweCv8uISEnEXjde0VI6Gu_OeX0gx7-NjfYUp0Y0cRXcMII3usQhVUfujYhGZ6e-WaCEg-UXCgvTWEbMaD6Yo9CYh_8YPslmOowYNzaFg/s1600/Feb+2010+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4jfO8WBley5UDB-JOPeje0U38eI9zWLBg2_uweCv8uISEnEXjde0VI6Gu_OeX0gx7-NjfYUp0Y0cRXcMII3usQhVUfujYhGZ6e-WaCEg-UXCgvTWEbMaD6Yo9CYh_8YPslmOowYNzaFg/s320/Feb+2010+006.jpg" /></a></div>And find a place for your fuse box - ours is going to hide in a kitchen cupboard near the front door:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxRmQgtCdFiVLsyufQ-JauQSqZKBtby1Vbo5yfqVJMM_mH5J4hIXMp7fDYjYBU3ywVo8_4DarjlT2llyGv4d7oqhRlrviq24iLayQsBXVJ3OqWGm42yWOXWimvTO1bE-U-woGZBBPnFc/s1600/Feb+2010+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxRmQgtCdFiVLsyufQ-JauQSqZKBtby1Vbo5yfqVJMM_mH5J4hIXMp7fDYjYBU3ywVo8_4DarjlT2llyGv4d7oqhRlrviq24iLayQsBXVJ3OqWGm42yWOXWimvTO1bE-U-woGZBBPnFc/s320/Feb+2010+011.jpg" /></a></div>Once all the wiring had its path, Matt connected his fuse box:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Gb-ikB_MKAnlN6cTeeEBO9_-S6vOY8rjjfBEUylQqT3xOtzNt2qoyqd_CHIaB4fUDUY2zGy5lOi64weTkL_x2JNfjl-JxiuuILmQbOfPUN8I-sTPXaJonrEIx5D1fIajbMkyY_404HE/s1600/P1030591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Gb-ikB_MKAnlN6cTeeEBO9_-S6vOY8rjjfBEUylQqT3xOtzNt2qoyqd_CHIaB4fUDUY2zGy5lOi64weTkL_x2JNfjl-JxiuuILmQbOfPUN8I-sTPXaJonrEIx5D1fIajbMkyY_404HE/s320/P1030591.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylT1zmAUaZotHVPgib25NFCWOeQRV7ItdaogTt7IEFjhYLvz91jOUek46WltRnQxvX0liiOEQtJ3GUulaJAzfzSQnzX20XhcuDjdBM4JYOpa7QO8q8DfE1q3LCrtz1F0-Y1khSgin85E/s1600/P1030602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylT1zmAUaZotHVPgib25NFCWOeQRV7ItdaogTt7IEFjhYLvz91jOUek46WltRnQxvX0liiOEQtJ3GUulaJAzfzSQnzX20XhcuDjdBM4JYOpa7QO8q8DfE1q3LCrtz1F0-Y1khSgin85E/s320/P1030602.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZB6nvgj5LsNCjs9d9jt_poxwly31Tke0VYERMxCL3tjeAcAd3IL0uV5L8Jb2aTkRfakQsL0cAn447FyanBTIRlsbp2neICAfCwThMDpdyGk85hhbF1ihyMTUBLxEnc1qYtnEzF35llxM/s1600/P1030601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZB6nvgj5LsNCjs9d9jt_poxwly31Tke0VYERMxCL3tjeAcAd3IL0uV5L8Jb2aTkRfakQsL0cAn447FyanBTIRlsbp2neICAfCwThMDpdyGk85hhbF1ihyMTUBLxEnc1qYtnEzF35llxM/s320/P1030601.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsEpF76Rwp4QsMDELZQsl-bJ_EaV6KGVgo_SnmzK_Kqs68tzzgl2SV7yf9VrMKR4XgScR5cw0ZybF277oEwD5kcjodEOEN8mMpsr4wcLDaZskquCgD7zjcWJLSeZHwktPD0qcg5ggJlc/s1600/P1030603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsEpF76Rwp4QsMDELZQsl-bJ_EaV6KGVgo_SnmzK_Kqs68tzzgl2SV7yf9VrMKR4XgScR5cw0ZybF277oEwD5kcjodEOEN8mMpsr4wcLDaZskquCgD7zjcWJLSeZHwktPD0qcg5ggJlc/s320/P1030603.JPG" /></a></div>What we have not been able to complete is the ceiling lights. We need access to the dastardly neighbour's aparment above in order to do this without slicing into the ceiling mouldings. Needless to say, our foe was not very forthcoming about allowing us to do this.<br />
I'm totally prepared to manage with floor lighting until they leave. Which I'm pretty sure they will.Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17239894772989627977noreply@blogger.com3