Start

My two weeks vacation is nearly finished. The first half was about cakes. And a wedding. That Saturday was a lovely day. Sunshine, not too warm. The cakes were great. A bit worn out by the sun. Some a bit dense. Especially the vegan ones. But still good. The weddings celebration was in a farm in a small town south of Rotterdam. Easy going. Great food. Ice cream. Music. Games.

I did went home late in the evening. My bed back home was calling to me.

The final week was warmer. I decided to stop working on Thursdays in Park Pompenburg. More time for me and what i am working on. The videos. I love working in the garden. I love most of the people. But my work, this website, is the most important thing in my life. The photos, the songs, the videos, the things i talk about here. All very important to me. Not all true, or impressive to others, sure. But for me, my life. Everything.

I write this post on Saturday evening. Tomorrow i will be working in the Vredestuin. And there is a potluck in the evening. I already made some pickled courgette. I will bake a courgette cake. And courgette salad. Guess what the main harvest in the garden is?

About Spring. I love it. But i can see why people overlook it. It is quiet, the filming is getting better. Gardeners World has better filming in it. But, I already have my next idea lined up. I will start filming shortly. Three months i expect. So no, i’m not giving up.

The photos in this post are made by Nitai. Thank you!

Published on July 2, 2018 at 6:00 by
Categorised in:
Leave your thoughts

Spring

I hope you will enjoy the video Spring. It was a pleasure working on it for the past months.

I will take a short vacation for the next two weeks. Baking cakes for a friend’s wedding. Enjoying my time off.

Salute!

Published on June 15, 2018 at 6:00 by
Categorised in:
Leave your thoughts

A few more days

Two weeks of vacation. Looking forward to that.

First i have got to finish the clip i’m working on for the past few months. I have wild dreams. Wild fantasies. Of course. About becoming famous. Sure.

I don’t know what i really want. But i do know this. I need to stay close to myself. Really close. Not fake anything. Make something i love. Something that touches me. Not think of the future. Not think of a way out. Stay here.

Only a few more days.

And then it is cake preparation time. Buying all the ingredients. This weekend i made strawberry jam. For a cake. For the wedding. Today i picked the first courgettes. Or zuchini’s for you US people. And then bake all the cakes. Brrrr. Getting nervous now, but i’ll be fine.

I don’t know what the future will bring. No idea. Yes, i have wishes, dreams, fantasies. Of course.

Of course.

Published on June 11, 2018 at 6:00 by
Categorised in:
Leave your thoughts

Elderflower

A walk. I talked with a friend about elderflower. She had picked some growing besides the Rotte. So i got out today, a warm sunny day to look for more elderflower.

I was too late. I picked some flowers, but most were already perished. So for my elderflower cake i do need to ask my friend for a bottle of the elderflower cordial she made. For the cake at the wedding! Soon!

It was lovely walking. I saw many young birds in the water. Moorhen, goose, swan. Not every egg had hatched, still a lot to come. I loved seeing all the plants growing and blooming and flowering.

Happy!

Published on June 7, 2018 at 6:00 by
Categorised in:
Leave your thoughts

TED

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

11 must-see TED Talks

The most popular talks of all time

I do enjoy watching a TED talk occasionally. I watched some yesterday, about youth and porn. I had to remind myself these talks were about the United States. Hopefully things are better here in the Netherlands. A bit.

I also enjoyed this one about the power of vulnerability by Brené Brown which i watched over the weekend. A good story. And yes, already confirming ideas i had myself.

I do realize these talks are rather short and geared to a general public. I did a search for this and found this article and the video: We need to talk about TED.

The key rhetorical device for TED talks is a combination of epiphany and personal testimony (an “epiphimony” if you like ) through which the speaker shares a personal journey of insight and realisation, its triumphs and tribulations.

What is it that the TED audience hopes to get from this? A vicarious insight, a fleeting moment of wonder, an inkling that maybe it’s all going to work out after all? A spiritual buzz?

I’m sorry but this fails to meet the challenges that we are supposedly here to confront. These are complicated and difficult and are not given to tidy just-so solutions. They don’t care about anyone’s experience of optimism. Given the stakes, making our best and brightest waste their time – and the audience’s time – dancing like infomercial hosts is too high a price. It is cynical.

Also, it just doesn’t work.

I’m happy to see this is actually a talk about TED. I listened with interest.

Actual change is difficult. To get through to people is hard. People may like what you do, but for them to actually change something in their own life is extremely unlikely. Almost impossible.

Something for me to think about.

Published on June 6, 2018 at 6:00 by
Categorised in:
Leave your thoughts