december is a time of festivities...

lk: and big familiy gatherings.
zz: and loads of dining and wining.

december is a time of festivities...

lk: and I'm loving my first white Christmas!
zz: when decorating the house is a joy.

december is a time of festivities...

lk: when i go in search of a white Christmas.
zz: and snow is a rarity.

december is a time of festivities...

lk: when Christmas baubles may be up but my level of excitement for the season still isn't.
zz: which kicks off with Sinterklaas - the Dutch's skinny and stern-looking Santa Claus.

a breather from busyness is...

lk: getting close to nature.
zz: enjoying a walk in the park in Oxford.

busyness can be overcome by...

lk: being organised.
zz: the art of yoga as I seek to quiet the mind and focus on the basic human needs of breathing.

busyness makes me...

lk: snack a lot.
zz: a grumpy mess

busyness means no time for...

lk: a proper meal.
zz: sleeping in.

busyness is...

lk: my excuse for the mess.
zz: falling behind in blogging

my favourite meal this week...

lk: is a friday late night dinner @ 15 minutes, which promises "friends, food & fame" -- but we only got the first two!
zz: is Wouter's yummulicious creation of ravioli with tricoloresauce.

my favourite meal this week...

lk: is weekday lunch @ Spruce -- it wasn't about the food but more about the company, of a dear friend whom I haven't met in ages.
zz: is a cream-cheese bagel with tapenade, pinetree nuts and sun tomatoes at the delightful Bagel and Beans.

my favourite meal this week...

lk: is a home-cooked breakfast served with love.
zz: is a home-cooked dinner of fish fillet marinated with chilli flakes, oregano, sea salt and lemon pepper.

my favourite meal this week...

lk: is a belated birthday brunch @ Mimolette with my best gal pal, after which we conveniently crashed into another gal pal's birthday brunch!
zz: is a dessert of this sweet and pretty-looking Barbie cake.

thirty

lk: something to mark the occasion...
zz: as I embrace the next decade of my life.

twenty-nine

lk: one of the many light switches at my school's canteen.
zz: no more...

twenty-eight

lk: is the day we still bear with zanne when she insists that it...
zz: is the day when the whole world should revolve around me!

twenty-seven

lk: (cont'd)and in the red lot if you have.
zz: 27th august put a stop to freeloaders who rode on Amsterdam metro for free as they switch over to the OV-chip card.

twenty-six

lk: park in the white lot if you haven't got season parking...(to be cont'd)
zz: is one of the rare artistic graffiti that brightens up gloomy Amsterdam in autumn / winter.

twenty-five

lk: passed by this bus-stop as I got lost while driving.
zz: 25th October is my company's annual fair - only one more month to go!

twenty-four

lk: for those wee-hour hunger pangs, there's always Ronald to rely on...
zz: 24-hour restaurants are a rarity in Europe.

twenty-three

lk: one of the old blocks of barracks (I think?) spotted near Mimolette.
zz: is the number that is spotted on my new Desigual bag.

twenty-two

lk: my trusty little driving companion.
zz: twenty-two hundred milimetres is written as 2,2 metres in the Netherlands, instead of 2.2 metres.

twenty-one

lk: you know it's time to stop shopping for a while when there's still a bagful of unworn clothes from months ago...
zz: is Good People by Jack Johnson and is one of my favourites.

twenty

lk: a seldom-seen dollar bill that I received in an ang-pow last year.
zz: metres of walking zone line in and about Dutch cities.

nineteen

lk: just the right volume for my favourite drive-along tunes.
zz: is now another day for me to get another present :)

eighteen

lk: little cheesy almond crackers make a lovely quickie tea-break.
zz: is the ridiculous hour when shops in Amsterdam close.

seventeen

lk: a freebie tote from a magazine that is obviously too young for me!
zz: is the one of the two trams that brings me to the city centre.

sixteen

lk: 16 is my favourite channel on cable television.
zz: in the sixteenth century, this is what kept Holland dry.

fifteen

ik: drive ve-ry, ve-ry, ve-ry slow-ly when in the carpark.
zz: even with this discount, it's still way too expensive to buy clothes from this Dutch label.

fourteen

ik: (cont'd) in this hongkong drama serial.
zz: is the platform where I wait for my morning metro.

thirteen

lk: currently engrossed...(to be cont'd)
zz: is but one of the ugly graffiti that litter the walls of Amsterdam

twelve

lk: is the level where my mom's been staying at for the past few weeks.
zz: is way past my Dutch bedtime.

eleven

lk: Plot 11 at Bollywood Veggies...I'd love to grow some cheery cherry tomatoes here.
zz: 11 flights of stairs is how high I have to climb up should the elevator break down.

ten

lk: I wouldn't want to be stuck with 10 people in this tiny lift.
zz: 10 euros is how much I spent on phone calls to Singapore every four weeks.

nine

lk: 090909 -- three 9's make a long-lasting marriage... or so they believe.
zz: the cheapest meal in Holland is usually Asian food that costs slightly over EUR 9.

eight

lk: 8Q -- an exhibition I went to late last year.
zz: 8 means prosperity in chinese and is often over-rated.

seven

lk: focus on the digit, not the word.
zz: the platform where I catch my train to Haarlem.

six

lk: so I live in zone six... never knew till now.
zz: six railway tracks make this Dutch train station a mini one.

five

lk: in a bid to get some exercise done I skip the lift and take the stairs to my flat.
zz: there are at least five billboards / signboards that I see daily that I fail to comprehend fully.

four

lk: four crotchet beats in a bar.
zz: two doubles make the night a blast.

three

lk: the game of mahjong is all about sets of three's -- three consecutive numbers and three of a kind.
zz: three o'clock is the time when I always feel drowsy.

two

lk: A2 is my favourite deck in my estate's car park.
zz: two is a part of a whole.

one

lk: be as one -- national education begins at the bus-stop.
zz: one is a competitive egoistic concept I wish to avoid.

week 30: one good thing out of this recession...

lk: I've got a slightly less lame excuse to steal from his wardrobe now!
zz: we eat what the family grows in the greenhouse.

week 29: drawbacks of recession...

lk: having to go through pangs of guilt everytime I see how much shopping I'm still doing.
zz: having to eat ice-cream on a square rather than in a restaurant.

week 28: activities we need to drop in times of recession...

lk: long-weekend getaways -- travel mags and a vivid imagination will have to suffice for now.
zz: cutting back on shopping despite the ongoing sales.

week 27: I hate the recession because...

lk: it is associated with everything imaginable in the news everyday.
zz: there is a constant dip in my savings.

week 26: recession is...

lk: the end of a venture for some; the beginning of a new business opportunity for others.
zz: bringing drinks with us to the beach so we can save a couple of euros.

week 25: all I want to do in this heat is to...

lk: dive right into the water and pretend I'm a mermaid.
zz: feel the breeze from the lake as I cycle like the wind.

week 24: my favourite drink in this heat is...

lk: something icy and fizzy.
zz: a homemade crushed ice tropical fruit juice.