>So in about an hour we are off to the Hortus in Haren, up North. Right under the city of Groningen you’ll find the biggest botanical garden of the Netherlands: the Hortus Haren. On approximately 20 hectares plants from all over the world grow and blossom. The Hortus is worth a visit in every season.…

>(photo has nothing to do with what I write) I don’t know about you but I do know about me…. I miss my friends when they are on holiday.I miss my friends and I miss my family.Do you know what I mean?You are reading something in the paper and you think: hey what would Suzanne…

>A friend sent me this: Two moons on 27th August 2007* *27th August; the day the Whole World is waiting for …… Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will culminate on Aug. 27 when Mars…

>It is that time of year again when this is happening: Woke up early this Sunday as at 9.05 the white Jaguar of Annemieke came to pick me up to go to Zeist where the SGI has a cultural centre.The car was packed with ladies.We had a beautiful drive. The centre was packed. 11 people…

>Went out with my two oldest girlfriends last night. We ate at the vegetarian restaurant De Vliegende Schotel where we used to eat weekly when we lived around the corner. It hadn’t changed much, still the same kitchen and still the same menu. They had an extra room now for the non-smokers and that is…

>Last night while talking to my friend Hannah a new chapter to my book flew into my head. Today I have begun to materialize it: I am going to close loose ends. Title so far: The missing chapter.I have not yet decided how much time I will give myself but no more than six weeks..(@#$&**)…

>Visited my sister last night with Britta in her basket on the back of my bike & got a shiny shell in the harbor of Amsterdam. Look at the two swans, they survived a Bulgarian family who killed their sibling some weeks ago while preparing the BBQ and ready to eat.

>Finally it is Summer here.Yesterday I had a wonderful day with my two friends Marcel and Mathilde. We met in the open air public swimmingpool around the corner from my house. It was totally packed with families and friends. We sat on the grass, ate peaches and cucumbers, we swam and I did a Tarot…

>Every first weekend of August it’s Amsterdam Pride. The Gay boat parade floating through one of the canals, the longest one, the Prinsengracht. 70 boats, 400000 spectators, airplanes with banners are flying over the city, it is hard to avoid. I have not tried to but I had something else to do today. A Buddhist…

>Every morning when I turn on my PC and open my internet browser, mostly after I have done morning gongyo (Nichiren Buddhists recite part of the Lotus Sutra mornings and evenings) I read the words of President Ikeda of the SGI, the lay buddhist organization I am a member of. Mostly these words of wisdom…