Fog fog fog

Last year's New Year's eve was so foggy we couldn't see much further than a couple of meters, it was just dangerous to get on the road. A combination of mist and powder made sure you couldn't see the other side of the street let alone any fireworks.

For this year I've bought 1 rocket..not too expensive (around 7€) but I doubt I will see anything of it's effect when I light it just after midnight. I might wait a while before launching it so I at least get to see something.

Oh and it's freeezing cold out here. I might try and take a pic of frost-covered cobwebs, they look awesome.

A shadow of myself

I was sitting behind my computer at my desk and saw my shadow and my apparently gazillion inch flatscreen as a shadow on my wall:



An hour later I took this hasty shot of the sun setting:


*I'm also guestposting over at Lee's while he's seeing a man about a dog.

Sinterklaas versus Santaclaus

In the Netherlands most people celebrate Sinterklaas on or around the 5th of december. To keep it simple (if you really want to know more go google it!) it's the Dutch version of Santaclaus with it's own background story entirely.
There are of course some Dutch traitors who don't celebrate Sinterklaas, but celebrate Santaclaus instead...they should be deported to Alaska or something. I'm sure Palin would be happy to welcome them.

I could write up a whole story about what's different about the whole ceremony but I'll bring it back to a couple of basic things that make Sinterklaas better!

1 Pepernoten or Kruidnoten(peppernuts or spicenuts)
Real pepernoten:

Kruidnoten (often just referred to as pepernoten because most people don't know the difference but like these better):

These are thé number one snack when it's nearing (or is) Sinterklaas evening. You can either make them yourselves or buy them in supermarkets.

2 Taai Taai cookies

I sent a couple of these to Debbie last year. I don't know if she really liked them, but I do! Their name (I've heard it get's confusing because it's spelled like a word in Malay meaning something entirely different to say the least) means something like 'toughtough' referring to the sticky tough nature of this cookie. Only eaten during the period near Sinterklaas. Délicious!

3 Poems
Maybe this is a #1..but I had to start somewhere. It's custom to give eachother presents *psssst don't tell your children sinterklaas is often helped by parents and the kids older then.. say 10-11 years old* and write up a poem about the specific present. Most of the time it's just a basic rhyme working like:

'This rhyme
isn't worth a dime'

Next to referring to the gifts, these poems also are used to get back at eachother or make fun of something someone did the last year. It's a friendly way of mocking and as I've written a bunch of simple poems this night (ugh..1.30 am GMT+1) I already enjoyed the prospect of watching the victims read these poems out loud.
If you're really into it, it's even normal to give an extra gift that's nothing more than just a jest towards a person with an appropriate poem.

It's these 3 simple things that made me realize today that Sinterklaas is the best time of the year. Santaclaus doesn't bring these three things, and nothing he brings..can top Sinterklaas..at least in my mind.