Eating, Reading, and Listening.

Life hasn’t been too eventful in the last weeks… so I’ve decided to give you all a little run-down of the mundane but hopefully mildly interesting goings-on as of late.

EATING: 

Today is Sunday and we began the day by sleeping in a bit late… I was then coerced into making a trip down the block to pick up some tasty breakfast items from the bakery. I quickly readied myself and donned my hat, gloves, and scarf because the autumn air is beginning to bite your ears and sting your hands as you ride your bike these days. All bundled up, I set off through the churchyard, breathing deeply and enjoying the smell of the crisp leaves. I rode slowly and had time to enjoy the flowers left from last week’s Armistice Day still lying on the monument in front of the church. The edges of the heavy mom blooms are beginning to brown but their buttery-colored smooth centers were still a pretty sight. I carefully passed a family who were walking happily with their toddler along the path and then came up behind an old woman taking her little Yorkshire terrier for a morning walk. I’m sure she thought she was alone and unnoticed as she playfully talked to her little pup, asking him why he was in such hurry. She gave in, to his delight, and started running alongside him for a little ways. As I passed her I dinged my bike bell so as not to startle her and I’m sure she realized that I was privy to their spontaneous frolic. At the bakery I stumbled my way through ordering all of our goodies and just couldn’t leave without taking home this little friend for mijn vriend (of een dier voor my dear — okay, okay. Done with the language puns.).

READING:

In other news, I’ve been reading a lot of books. I finished George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier last week and have just begun reading Henry Green’s Living. My copy of Living comes bound with two other works by Green, Loving, and Party Going. So far Living is proving challenging and based on reviews I think I would be enjoying reading Loving more than Living but so is the life of the literature student. Additionally, I’ve been trying to make it through a couple of Shakespeare plays for the coming week. We’re quickly approaching the end of the semester and my reading plate is fuller than ever. Dorian is the ever-present reading companion, sometimes proving to be an obstacle but always well-meaning.

LISTENING:

Perhaps not a lot of my American readers know this, but in Belgium (and in many other countries) there are shows produced based on other successful shows (often American). For example, in Belgium we have the Belgian versions of Dancing with the Stars, The Voice, So You Think You Can Dance, and many others. The show I’ve been enjoying lately is De Beste Singer-Songwriter van Vlaanderen (The best singer-songwriter from Flanders). It features Flemish musicians that come and perform their original songs. The judges are selecting two to continue with the show during each episode so far and I think in the end they will all be competing against each other for the title. Anyway, I wanted to include the clips from their songs because I think some of them are really great. I enjoy the type of music they are creating and there’s a level of talent that these people have to possess that I don’t always think other reality shows require. Have a listen yourself, #3 might be my favorite so far.